What’s even better than a bag of crap? A bag of cheap food of course! On my way home from signing some tutoring paperwork (I’m teaching an SAT prep course this summer), I stopped by a new Asian market. I think this one was Vietnamese. In the Bay Area we have about a bagillion Asian markets and I love checking them out.
This one had a bargain bin where I found:
super-ripe mangoes for $0.39 each (I got 4)- a bunch of eggplants taped together for $0.79
- a bag of lemons for $1.99
I also bought 8 kabochas. They will last me about a week. I got “shrimp rice sheets” for $1.29 (not on sale, just cheap).
I made a pad-see-ew type dish with a mish-mosh of things in the kitchen. Process:
- saute chopped turkey ham, an organic nitrate/nitrite-free beef/pork hot dog, and celery in sesame oil.
- add peanut butter, hoisin sauce, and soy sauce.
- chop and add the rice sheets.
- taste, then add fish sauce, rice vinegar, more hoisin sauce, and chili powder.
- add an egg. be sad because no more eggs to add.
- smell delicious noodles and throw fear of oil out the window. enjoy real food.
- don’t take pictures because dish is ugly.
I wasn’t going to have any but it was too good to pass up. I supplemented my bowl with a kabocha + organic ketchup + parmesan + pate. It was a weird dinner.
So far in my de-clutter box I have my old Vera Bradley purse and a bunch of books that I want to try to sell. I also have some bags of clothes that I’ve been meaning to give away, but haven’t yet. Can these count towards my 30 items? 
I didn’t do that well with decluttering the pantry/kitchen yesterday, but Bobby did eat a Lean Cuisine out of the freezer around midnight so I suppose that counts.
Be back later with a challenge update…
Are you a clutter-bug? What is the hardest for you to decide to give away? I tend to buy clothes on sale that I never wear. And then I don’t want to get rid of them because I didn’t get enough use out of them.
June 3, 2009 at 12:32 pm
I used to be such a packrat, then right before I moved into my apartment I cleaned up my room and threw so much stuff out, I have to do that again soon, I do have some clutter, and in a tiny apartment clutter is no good.
June 3, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Which Asian market did you go to? I ask because I go to Asian markets in the bay area with my mom all the time when I’m at home
It’s definitely more bustling than the avg American market for sure!
And I am such a packrat too. I buy clothes that I don’t really love just because they’re cheap… and then I don’t throw other things out because I’m afraid that I’ll need them later!
June 3, 2009 at 1:25 pm
wow you weren’t kidding when you said you love kabocha!! i haven’t tried it yet, i think i will now!
June 3, 2009 at 1:28 pm
I LOVE your bag of goodies… 8 Kabocha’s…WOW you DO like em’
yes, anything you put in the box counts….just because you thought about it , and didn’t earlier…doesn’t disqualify you. …silly
I have an opposite problem…together with my husband we make a perfect pair.
I hate stuff. It breeds. (I think moving 6 times in 5 years cured me of STUFF)
the sum of my child was given to me one day in a “bag” and even though I still have the “my life in a bag” somewhere…I am not even sure why I have that. Thank goodness it’s in a safe place (which means I have no idea where it is) or, on a mad clean day… it would go…trash or good will who knows.
my husband is my polar opposite. He recieved his childhood in a POD. (JK) after 9 or so years together it amazes me that I haven’t seen it all.
he saw mine in like, 2 minutes.
one day I’ve got to introduce him to E-Bay…we’d be RICH
i’ma chucker. i think there’s a group for that but not one in my local area.
What’s a shrimp- rice sheet and what do you make with it?
June 3, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Asian markets are THE BEST! I love all the cute candy with bunny rabbits, hello kitty and stuff on them. Asians have such cute food! Plus really interesting fruits and veggies.
June 3, 2009 at 1:58 pm
asian markets have the cheapest produces; unfortunately, most aren’t organic, but I still frequent these places all the time.
June 3, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I’m a bit of a packrat myself, so I really like the idea of this giveaway challenge. I have improved after moving so much in college and now in my young professional life…you go where the jobs are and that tends to mean packing a lot. And I HATE packing, so I get rid of a lot of things. My major problem is keeping mementos from events with the intention of scrapbooking them, and then not doing it. Therefore, I have at least one large shoebox from each of my years of college (one is the leftovers from after I scrapbooked that year! yipes).
At least I quit saving the maps from every Disney Park EVERYtime we go (which is a few times a year).
Good luck with your decluttering!
June 3, 2009 at 3:32 pm
8 kabochas?! Jealous =)
June 3, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Just had to tell you that I bought Jillian at Costco today and am TOTALLY engrossed. Now if I could just buy kombucha at Costco, I’d be set!
June 3, 2009 at 5:09 pm
I give away clothes very easily. But I find it hard to giveaway my old stuffed toys!
LOL at how 8 kabochas last you only a week. Same here! We’re the kabocha-killer sisters!
June 3, 2009 at 6:10 pm
cheap food is soooooo good! It really makes me happy when I get good deal on groceries! 8 kabochas??? how big are those? Do you eat 1 kabocha per day?? woooooooo!!!! I’m jealous of you!
I used to be reluctant of giving away old clothes, but I think it’s better to give to someone who needs than sitting on my suitcase…so I finally made my mind and give them away to Good Will!
dinner combo sounds yummy although I can imagine that it might not look so pretty!
June 3, 2009 at 7:12 pm
I hope one day you can take me to these fabulous asian markets and teach me all about these fabulous things!
I am a clutter bug, but more because I am kind of mess than I am sentimental. Also, my mom never ever throws away anything, so it’s hard for me!
June 3, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Shrimp rice sheets sound really interesting! And I love Asian eggplants. I can’t believe the price you got on those mangos.
I’m not really a cluttered person. I’m good at throwing things away when I get around to it. Clutter just arises, because I don’t get around to it.
June 4, 2009 at 4:54 am
wow 8 kobocha!! Were they tiny? My last one lasted me like a week and half. It was huge and I just cut pieces of to use and then stuck it back in fridge.
~Justine
June 5, 2009 at 9:19 am
Love the deals … a post after my own heart