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2001.september.29 ----------------- birthday in detroit. after lunch at the russell st. deli, i went with jamie to eastern market. it was a great time to be there, just before 2: everyone was wanting to pack up, go home, get rid of their stuff quickly, in bulk. i bought some asparagus, and an old bowling pin. that makes two. 2001.september.17 ----------------- i had to make a tough call today: where to buy rice milk. i'm not vegan anymore, but i don't drink cow milk, it's gross and really bad for people. but where to get my vanilla enriched rice dream? i haven't found any local store that sells it, and i consider whole foods to be corporate. the walgreens by my work sells it for pretty cheap, and since i don't consider it a grocery store (i get prescriptions there), i went ahead and bought the stuff. i'd like to find another place to buy it, though. 2001.september.15 ----------------- THIS IS SO SWEET. i just found the best boba ghanouj that i've had in a long time, since sydney, and it's just a decent walk from my house, one blue line stop away: the sultan's market, on north ave, just west of the crotch. i'm *extremely* picky about boba ghanouj, and this stuff is awesome. perfect creamy texture, well-balanced seasoning, and you can buy it by the pound. and they sell damn fine falafel sandwiches, too, though the falafel itself is served cold. 2001.september.11 ----------------- the world changes forever in a horrifying act that claims so many lives and what do we do? go buy groceries. well, i didn't leave the house, just sat on the couch watching cnn all day, reacting. but my roommate mandy freaked out and walked to pete's, bought water, pasta sauce, cookies, miracle whip, and a huge bag of chips. survival food, right? 2001.september.08 ----------------- went to chinatown today with alicia, ellen, and robin for dim sum at the pheonix. while we were there i took the opportunity to hit up my favourite chinatown grocery store, chicago food market. the stash:     + two packets of thin rice noodles     + 1 can of wheat gluten     + soy sauce     + 3 boxes of botan rice candy     + black bean garlic sauce     + coffee candy     + sesame seaweed snacks     + vegetable ramen total: $16.45 2001.september.05 ----------------- maybe it was the change in weather that inspired me, or the twenty-seven dollars i found in the pocket of a pair of jeans. for sure it was the trip to stanley's, where i planned to blow the wad on a ton of fresh vegetables, herbs, and cheese, but my basketload ended up only totaling ten bucks. coming home, my roommate ellen remarked that i could easily live off food from stanley's and pete's, this little store down the street. i thought about it and she was right. so i decided to spend the next [while] not shopping at corporate grocery stores, living instead on food purchased at neighborhood places. i figure this way i'll save money, explore chicago's independent food sellers, eat better(?) or at least, more interesting food, and i won't be supporting the man. it's not such a drastic plan, more of a personal experiment, one which i am loosely logging on this site. it's not my first food experiment, nor the most extreme; i was vegan for three years, vegetarian for six. i'm not one for arbitrary deadlines though, so this will last until i'm done with it. so for dinner ellen and i made sauteed tofu and shitake marinade (green onions, garlic, lemon juice, brown sauce) and salad caprece with these awesome tomatoes she brought back from beverly. it was nice to spend such time making something, and then eating it.