Day Two Hundred and Eighty - Fresh Obsessed

Back in my first apartment I lived very close to a very nice and very huge Dominion grocery store. As it was my first time being on my own, I had no idea how much groceries were supposed to cost...but after moving into a different neighbourhood and dealing with the Price Chopper - I realized that I was saving about 50%. Dominion might not be Whole Foods, but it ain't cheap. However, they did [and possibly still do - it seems they advertise less these days] have this freshness guarantee thing. If you found something past its sell-by date or like a gross piece of produce they would give you that thing for free [not the expired thing, but a new fresh one]. Let's just say that my current food shopping situation is not @ all like that - one is lucky to find any decent produce ever [this is how the man really keeps us poor folks down - malnutrition]. And yet, until today I thought that the dairy case was safe from unplesantness...I was wrong.

This evening I had visions of grandeur - I wanted to create this fabulous-seeming spaghetti casserole thing with homemade tomato sauce and like a million kinds of cheese and all baked into gloriousness. And, I was well on my way and mid-way through creating the mixed cheese component when I realized that the cottage cheese was expired...by like over a week. Sick. So everything had to be shut down - the sauces, the melting, the boiling - all of it - and yes, I was pissed off. It was pouring rain and I was beyond miserable, but I wasn't about to pay more @ Al's across the street - aw hell the the no. What I was going to do was make a statement to the Price Chopper - I returned something to the grocery store. It didn't really make much of a statement. The cashier was super disinterested - I feel like I could have just stolen myself a new cottage cheese [which might have been a more powerful political statement - but I so hate prison] as no one cared. Even more gross was returning to the dairy case and seeing other tubs that were like way, way beyond expired [several weeks] - cottage cheese lasts a long time, too! So I think they have been there since the beginning of time. But yes - if you do plan to return something to the grocery, you would best be advised to clear your schedule - lots of queues.