Grocery List

Many people would face a mess of this proportion with a positive attitude. They would make a plan and attack the problem methodically, and have it solved in a few hours.

I am not one of those people. Instead, I am sitting in my apartment surrounded by piles of spices, cooking equipment, oils, vinegars, and other detritus that I somehow have to shoehorn into my very small kitchen. So unlike the vast organized, I have decided to write a blog about what I do with my new possessions (see sample, left).

As background, my friends Shannon and Jim are leaving Sunday to fulfill a long-standing dream to travel around the world. They quit their jobs, threw a great party, packed up their apartment and have spent the past week sloughing off their possessions into various corners of San Francisco. Most of it, including the kitchen that took Shannon four days to pack, has gone into storage for their return in 2007. Some of it went to Goodwill, some was thrown away, and an assortment of things has made its way into my apartment.

Shannon is famous for her dinner parties - she's a fantastic cook, a thoughtful hostess, and generous with her extensive wine collection. She took the opportunity while packing to edit her existing spices, cookware, cookbooks, serving pieces, etc - and offered me a choice of the spoils.

So I am now the owner of the following:

One bag pretzels
Williams Sonoma Risotto Cookbook
One jar capers
One jar green peppercorns
One-half jar caperberries
White pitcher
Bamboo steamer
a set of two mini pizza stones
One can hearts of palm
A bottle of D'anjou pear vinegar
Some sage meat seasoning
Half a jar of tamarind paste (plus recipie)
W/S au poivre marinade
W/S Meyer lemon/rosemary marinade
"Better than Bullion", mushroom flavor
One jar dijon mustard
One bottle oyster sauce
Two bottles margarita mixer
One bottle rosemary balsamic vinegar
One bottle Zinfandel
One bottle Fume Blanc
Two cake plates (these are only on loan, but have to fit into the kitchen somehow)
Seven wine glasses with leopard theme
Williams Sonoma Mango Peach Salsa
One-half jar roasted red chili paste
Canyon Ranch cookbook
Four red and white tea towels
One bag cranberries (fancy)
High-end olive oil
One jar honey
One bag poppy seeds
One jar peach balsamic fruit condiment
two wooden spoons
two spatulas
One olive oil container
Two containers sea salt
One box christmas cookie decoration sugars
One bag truffles
Four mini cake pans
A salad shooter
One container veggie demi glace
A wok
One box chai tea
One box "calm" tea
One-half box decaf earl grey tea
One bottle turmeric
One-quarter bottle saffron
A bottle of vanilla
One vanilla bean
One box birthday candles
One spray bottle of Wine Away
Various wrappings and papers
Kirsch
Baileys
W/S Vegetarian for All Seasons cookbook
Canyon Ranch's Great Tastes cookbook
The Authentic Cafe cookbook
One canvas bag

So that's 58 things, and I have at least 52 weeks until they return. I figure it's just about one new thing to try per week, both to remember my friends and also to salute the spirit of adventure that takes them all over the globe.

I'm actually ahead of the game, as I polished off the bag of pretzels while writing. Maybe I will start in on the wine?