Anti-Kabobs, Dump Cake, and the Horrors of Grocery Shopping

When you move to New York City, people all around you warn you about the crime, the pollution, the bad attitudes. But no one ever takes the time to warn you about grocery shopping. Perhaps it is the fact that there are so many fabulous restaurants in the city and no one really needs to buy groceries. Maybe people just hire their personal shoppers to buy their milk and butter and bread for them. But shopping in New York is unlike any experience you will ever have.

The difficulty begins in getting around the store. The aisles are narrow and impossible to maneuver with a cart, and a hand basket is equally as difficult if you are trying to follow a list and carry your purse at the same time. Often times there are many other people trying to get down the same aisle as you and since you are the only ones taking pains not to get in others' ways, you will get pushed from side to side and it will take you forever just to get to the other end. The stores are all small so items are stuffed together and certain items that you need may be found in the strangest locations. You may also have to dig through the frozen cooler of random things (deli trays, pizzas, sangria, cheesecake) to find something particularly tricky. And often times the store you are at does not have everything you need, so you must purchase your items and head out with your bags to the next store over. At this store you must hold onto the bags from the first store, your purse, your shopping list and the basket for the new items. And fighting your way to the counter to pay with all of this baggage is a mission set for James Bond.

Once you have finally paid for all of your items, you must somehow get them home. If you are lucky, you do not have to get onto a full subway and risk smacking several people with your packages in the process. Your arms start to get weak and you regret any impulse purchases since you have no car trunk to throw the stuff in (I especially like to curse the 6 pack of beer...who knew it would be so heavy with your 8 other bags). And perhaps you could buy a cart to push around with all of your things, but then how would you get it up to your 6th floor apartment by yourself when the elevator only works about 1% of the time. Once you finally get home and put things away, you may realize that you have forgotten an item...this is when you truly become a creative cook. Perhaps you make Kabobs without the kabob...they taste the same anyway, right???

Kabobs (kind-of)

2 1/2 boneless chicken breasts chopped into pieces

2 red bell peppers, cut into large pieces

1 green bell pepper, cut into large pieces

1 package whole button mushrooms, cut in 1/2

1 medium onion, cut into large pieces

Large chunks of pineapple (which one may forget about if you haven't set them out with the veggies :-( )

Marinade:

4 Tablespoons Honey

4 Tablespoons cider vinegar

pepper

Chili powder

curry

crushed red pepper

paprika

garlic powder

Mix together the marinade and let the kabobs marinate for at least one hour before grilling.

Dump Cake

1 18-21 oz white cake mix (I suggest French Vanilla instead of plain white...really yummy!)

1/2 c. Chopped walnuts

1/2 cup coconut

1 21 oz can apple pie filling

1 16 oz can crushed pineapple

1 stick butter or margarine, melted

Combine cake mix, walnuts and coconut in a bowl, mixing well. Layer pie filling in a 13x9 baking pan. Then layer pineapple on top. Then layer the cake and coconut mixture on top of all and pat down to make even. Drizzle butter on top and bake at 350 for 50 minutes until golden brown.