Today was a day for playing in the sun before noon and going to the store in the afternoon. Before noon, I took my kayak down to the lake for a paddle and as I was getting out there were moms and kids showing up. Good timing was my thought. My other thoughts were about what would be for dinner. Well, I’ve been wanting to make curry and I have tomatoes, peppers, basil and chicken. Perhaps I could make some sort of Panang curry (which is what I like to order for Thai take-out). Also, the detective novels I read are set in England and they are always mentioning curry take-out which makes me instantly desire some sort of delectable cuisine such as Indian food, Vietnamese food or Thai food. I imagine it will be in a little box in my fridge waiting for me. So…I decided upon making chicken Panang curry but was without any coconut milk in my cupboards.

Oh, Hell, I thought. I will have to go shopping. Then came the thoughts of where to go…I could go up the road to the Food Pavilion where they are having a drawing in October to win $5000 toward new kitchen gear. I could go to the Food Co-op where I can get local, organic foods and where I always bring my own bags. I could go to my new favorite store: Grocery Outlet (bargain market). I decided on Grocery Outlet (mostly hoping there would be that super-good-deal, tasty red wine I got last time for $3.99 a bottle that was regular price $18.99). Such a good deal! (and tasty) So…off to the Grocery Outlet I went after starting some laundry and letting the dogs out. All I needed was coconut milk…like $2.50 for a can maybe. Well, they didn’t have any coconut milk but I did get two bottles of that red wine that was such a good deal (chocolate box red) and some chili cheese weenies, some mozzarella balls, organic whole wheat flour and some cookie sheets. I got some other stuff, too. It was all a good deal. I did not get coconut milk which was the only ingredient lacking for my curry dinner. My next thought was:  where to next? Food Co-op, I decided, and there I got a can of coconut milk, some naan bread to go with dinner and some cans of grapefruit sanpellegrino to go with my cheap-o wine. I didn’t take a bag for these items as I had already plenty of yellow bags from the Grocery Outlet in the back of my car.

Home I went with my groceries and out to the garden to get tomatoes and peppers. The chicken was thawing in the sink and I had time to make myself a beverage. Usually I call it a wine cooler because I mix red wine (of the screw cap variety) with some sort of juice like strawberry lemonade (usually of the glass bottle organic variety). This time it seemed too fancy for the mason jar with a straw so I put it in a beer glass with a stem. I drank some while sitting outside reading my detective novel before getting started on dinner. A tasty wine spritzer, indeed. I’m sure glad that grapefruit sanpellegrino was on sale. The chicken curry turned out to be tasty, as well. It was an eclectic dinner of Panang curry, saffron rice, naan bread and salad with ranch. (and my wine spritzer)