Mostly I don’t like shopping–unless it’s food related shopping.  So most of the time, I like going to the grocery store (even if it’s just the supermarket). I make lists for things like dish detergent, or paper towels, and the like, but I don’t make lists for my food except in a very general way.  I want to shop for what looks good, is priced right, or maybe even something unusual.  In short I do meal-planning on the hoof.

Yesterday was one of those shopping days–I came out feeling like I had gotten some bargains and that doesn’t happen often.  I went to get milk specifically, but my general list was for meals for the weekend and into the first of next week.  Since I have had a bit of a splurge on eating out recently (OnlyBurger two days in a row) it’s time to eat in.

When I’m shopping where I’m comfortable about the quality of the meats and produce and the handling of perishables , I’ll sometimes find some real bargains.  Yesterday was one of those days.

I found tuna medallions at a great price which means that I’m going to be making some tuna confit to have for lunches or light suppers since that will keep in the refrigerator for two or three weeks (if it lasts that long).

My next “find” was a rib-eye steak that had a healthy mark-down tag on it–its sell by date was yesterday evening, but it looked good so that came home with me for supper last night.  (It was really tasty.)

My other glorious find was a plump 4-1/2 or 5 pound, free range chicken that had been marked down to half price since the sell-by date was today.  That means that as long as I’m planning to cook the chicken tomorrow and treat it appropriately in the intervening day (I keep my refrigerator really cold, about 34 or 36 ° F, constantly monitored with a thermometer), I’ve gotten a real bargain and something that I would not usually buy.

True, it’s a lot of chicken for one person and I may be looking to invite friends for a meal and still have more meals for me (and the cat) but I haven’t made roast chicken in a while.  Now I can have fun perusing the wine selection and thinking about how I’m going to cook that bird.  Weather permitting, it may go on the grill to be smoked, but I’ll see what tomorrow brings.