Pete, Sylvia and Whitney are coming over at 7:30 tonight for dinner. One of the dishes on the menu is white bean and hominy chili slow-cooked in our fabulous crock pot for eight hours.
That's right: Eight hours. So imagine my panic when at about noon, after visiting three stores, I realized I couldn't find hominy anywhere in our neighborhood. Not even at the health food store, which usually has all kinds of obscure stuff. (I'm assuming the lack of hominy has something to do with the fact that our neighborhood is primarily Chinese and Russian immigrants, so hominy -- a staple in the Mexican food aisle -- is non-existent here. In fact, the Mexican food aisle at the Cala down the street from us is full of Taco Bell products, if that gives you any indication of the kind of Mexican cooking that happens in this part of the woods.)
So there I was, frantically flipping through the phonebook and calling all the grocers within decent driving distance. (I really, really didn't want to have to drive all the way across town -- 30 minutes, not including the time it takes to find parking -- to go to a Mexican grocer in the Mission.) Andronico's in the Inner Sunset normally carries hominy, but they were sold out. (Seriously, was there a rush on hominy today or something?) Luckily, I found what I was looking for at Cal-Mart in Laurel Village. Despite the horrible name, Cal-Mart turned out to be a fantastic store -- all kinds of goodies, plus a real deli counter with real butchers and meats from local farms. I wish I had discovered this place earlier, instead of two weeks before I move out of the city.
And yes, not only did Cal-Mart have hominy, but I actually got to choose between white hominy and gold!
So the chili is in good shape. Phew!
1 comment
oh, just you wait. the city knows you're leaving and it's going to set up all sorts of horrible tortures for you, as punishment. it will be beautiful weather and lovely discoveries and s.f. joys all over the place.
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