I’ve moved a lot – no place overly exciting, so don’t start thinking I’m going to enthrall you with stories about that time I lived in Bangkok (as an aside, do you know that Bangor, Maine, is pronounced, “Ban-gor”? I learned this the hard way.) No, in a desperate attempt to keep a roof over my head, I’ve found myself in Baton Rouge, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Evansville (IN), Champaign (IL), Oxford (MS), Diamondhead (MS), and Slidell (LA). You can see why I jumped at the chance of making my life in/on Flat Rock.
But the point of all this being that when you move to a new place, you cannot find the things at the grocery store that you are used to. The brands you love. The ones that never let you down.
Example?
I’m originally from New Orleans. I eat red beans. If I’m cooking them myself, I want Camellia brand dried red beans. And if I’m eating them out of a can (heresy, I know), I want Blue Runner New Orleans Style Red Beans. And I want Van Camp New Orleans Style Dark Red Beans to mix in with them (Blue Runners are soft and fabulous, Van Camp’s have some tooth to them. Try it if you can find it. Super good.)
But try finding that that when you live in western North Carolina. The store manager shook her head and offered me something called “mush.” (Which, it turns out, is some sort of liver smash. It’s not terrible, if smooshed liver is your thing.)
So what this has led to is me stuffing my luggage with Zapp’s potato chips and cans of Blue Runner beans whenever I go to New Orleans. And insisting that when people come to visit, they bring the goods. It’s a bit like ransom food.
Which means that our freezer is now stuffed with french bread and boudin…just in time for Will and I to go on a low-carb diet.
Until next time….cheers!