Nancy sent me to the store with a grocery list for the ingredients she needed for the meal she was preparing. With my wife, it’s never “butter, eggs and sugar” It’s more like “Sun Dried Kumquats, Gluten Free Squash Flour and Pickled Toad’s Feet.” For the life of me, I can never remember which aisle the Toad’s Feet are on.
But along with her list of exotic ingredients, she needed a head of lettuce.
I know exactly where the lettuce is, and I went there first. There were exactly 5 shrunken heads of lettuce in the bin. They were about the size of a softball on a diet, and they were $1.99 each. But I had no choice. I bought the nicest looking head and proceeded to the Gluten Free Squash Flour aisle.
When I came home, Nancy wanted to know why I didn’t buy two heads and I said it would have maxed out my best charge card.
What is with lettuce? It’s expensive everywhere. I don’t know if all the lettuce pickers went on strike or it’s inclement lettuce-weather in Guatemala, but it’s damned expensive.
As with all items, the best way to combat inflation is to buy in bulk whenever possible.
Sam’s Club, for example, has two heads of lettuce – nice sized heads, too – for $2.99. That’s a buck-fifty a head, not good, but better. However, I have a hard time keeping one leftover head of lettuce from wilting, much less two.
The experts say that the best way to store lettuce – even up to a month – is to, and I quote, “Wrap the lettuce in a dry paper towel and place it in a plastic bag or storage container. You can reuse the container it came in if you wash it first. To maintain the proper temperature and moisture level, store your lettuce in the crisper drawer in your fridge.”
I’m now off to Sam’s to buy two heads of lettuce. Wonder if they have Pickled Toad’s Feet in bulk?