Whopping Weasels and Christmas Goodies!

I went shopping after my riding lesson yesterday, which requires changing out of my sweaty riding clothes in a very chilly tack room. However, it was worth a few shivers, because while I was in Bloomington, I wanted to make one last stop at a couple of my favorite groceries before Christmas. You know the kind I mean--the ones that have so many interesting and exotic items you can't begin to try them all.
My first stop was at a store on 3rd Street called Sahara Mart that has beer and wine from all over the world, plus cheese, chocolate, spices, coffee, rice, beans, olive oils, and huge crocks filled with olives. You name it, they've got it, along with some stuff I wouldn't even know what do do with. I could spend hours sniffing all the soaps, and they have an entire aisle of nothing but tea. It boggles the mind. The miraculous thing is that I only spent about $40. I could spend thousands in that store.
I'm going to make some bread over the next week or so, and I'll let you know how it turns out. I found a recipe for that fabulous bread they serve at the Outback restaurants. I already had the rye flour, so all I needed was dark molasses. Sounds utterly decadent, doesn't it? Like dark chocolate or a tall, dark, and handsome hunk... Oh, yeah...
Anyway, the import grocery didn't have dark molasses, so I went to the Marsh store down the road, and just stood inside the door for a minute, taking it all in. The smell of roasted chicken. The blaze of poinsettias in every size.


The fruit, the wines, and yes, the bread.

If you've ever watched the movie Scrooge and seen the part where the Ghost of Christmas Present has a feast all laid out with tinsel and garland for Ebenezer, you get the idea. I was only there for butter and molasses, but you know I found more stuff to toss in my cart.

I know a lot of you live in larger cities where stores have everything from everywhere, and the IGA in Bloomfield does remarkably well for a small town independent grocery, but sometimes, I just have to make a run into Bloomington and indulge my inner globetrotting gourmet. *sigh*

Now for today's whopper, who is, of course, tall, dark, and exotic!

Enjoy!