Dumb Ducks etc...

We woke up late on Saturday...K1 dutifully went down to the gym, with K2 snoring softly (still asleep) ...I toasted a slice of Cinnamon Bread and made myself a cup of ginger tea...morning went by in blissful procastination and K1 and I decided last minute to drive down to Gilroy for shopping...did we shop much...not really...but it was wonderful driving down to nowhere land for a couple hours away from it all...did I mention the temperatures were at 108 degrees...Sizzling Hot!

On Sunday, I was driving down to the Farmer's Market for my weekly shopping...you know me, I was driving at 22 mph in a 35 mph zone...I knew our area is notorious for its gaggles of geese and a paddling of ducks who thought they owned the roads...suddenly out of nowhere this goose flies out of the sidewalk with no warning and slams into the front of my car...I stop the car on the side of the road, turn my flashers on...can't really stop shaking and am very close to tears because I think I have killed a living thing...I get out of the car and the damn thing is standing right in the center of the road with a dazed look on its face, otherwise quite fine...suddenly I look up, there are 3-4 cars coming down the road...with curious onlookers watching, I physically shoo the hissing goose to the side of the road...I wait for 2-3 minutes to make doubly sure it is alright...it calmly gets to pecking and eating stuff off the ground in a minute...hmm, why was I still shaking like a leaf then...I slowly make my way to the Farmer's market cursing - dumb ducks, geese and there were mutters of Foie gras from me...hey, I am human !!!

I have 2 books on my reading list currently that I picked up from the public library -

(A) How to Talk so Kids Will Listen & Listen so Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

(B) Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent by Jeffrey Alford

I will definitely post a review on both the books once I am done reading them...I did watch the movie District 9 and my word of advise, don't waste your 10 bucks unless you want to see a movie like the Blair Witch Project...enuff said. I have been definitely keeping an eye on my grocery spending habits, I had mentioned on one of my older blogs that the Recession has had a very positive effect on our wasteful spending (which was not really that much anyway)...the Frugal Product Manager has been cooking up some whiz bang food on a reasonable budget. Some ground rules -

(A) Very Little Meat

(B) Lots of Lentils, Whole Grains and Fresh Produce

I have focused on buying in season fruits and vegetables.I am not ashamed to take shortcuts and buy some pre-cooked meals for those super busy days. Sunday Dinner was a thin crispy Tuscan Chicken Pizza from Digiorno paired with some roasted red potatoes and fruit salad ( ~ as Whole Foods Value Guru put it about $3/ a person). Monday dinner was a Garlic Naan (Indian Flatbread) with a spicy chicken seekh kabab (from the frozen section in the Indian store) and a quick green salad with Red Onions, Cherry Tomatoes, Crisp Cucumber, a lovely carrot, Mixed Greens (Lettuce, Arugula, Raddichios), one spicy jalapeno, a bunch of fresh Parsley, Fresh Lemon juice.... and how can I forget a Reed's Ginger Beer (non-alcoholic) to wash it all down....(again about $3-$4/a person and the best part on the table in less than 25 minutes...

I have for some months now followed key ground rules that I had learnt on MSNBC -

(A) Don't go shopping on an empty stomach...you will buy more than you need

(B) Shop the perimeters of the shop...especially works for Whole Foods...Produce, Bulk Grains, Dairy...

(C) It's ok to watch Sales and buy stuff on Sale
I am happy with my decision to live simple, waste little and not covet more...its difficult to live by this principle sometimes...but most days I know its the right decision...

How was your weekend...did you run into any Dumb Ducks...ahem sorry Geese?