Searching for Squid

For the first time in a long time I had a hankering for home-cooked calamari. Back in the 1980's it was plentiful and cheap, and I became reasonably proficient at cleaning and slicing squid.

I was surprised to see that Safeway did not carry calamari, either fresh or frozen. I searched Lucky supermarket and got the same result.

Finally, I went to 99 Ranch, which has a large selection of fresh fish and shellfish, but I had to go to the frozen section to find calamari.

The 99 Ranch freezer had a half-dozen calamari items, and most were from mainland China. The one box that was sourced in the USA was more expensive ($19 for three pounds) than the Chinese products, but I wasn't going to risk consuming a product that probably had higher levels of heavy metal contamination.

The box label said that the squid was "wild caught in area FAO77." Below is the world fishery map from Wikipedia. Area 77 is the Eastern Central part of the Pacific Ocean.

The squid is defrosting in the refrigerator. In a few days I'll wash, clean, and braise it. If it turns out well, I'll be returning to 99 Ranch for another box.

Shopping Till I'm Dropping

Costco: temptation averted

Buying in bulk to get the lowest price--like finishing everything on the plate--is a compulsive behavior that I'm trying to control.

Needing only six AA batteries, I nevertheless was tempted by the Costco display in Hawaii Kai; the pack of 40 Duracell AA's was on sale for $13.99, 35 cents per unit.

There was no foreseeable requirement for buying extra for my own use in Hawaii; my local relatives are also hoarders prudent shoppers and had plenty of their own, and I wasn't going to carry nearly three dozen batteries onto the plane, possibly slowing the TSA process.

Safeway: nope.

Safeway was selling them at 4 for $7.49, or $1.88 per. I would have to buy eight for $14.98, just to get six. Nope, I would rather buy the Costco 40-pack and leave 34 on the sidewalk for someone else to use.

CVS' promotion had the Duracell AA's on "sale" at 8 for $7.99. $1 per battery was much improved but still wasteful since I'd have two extraneous units.

I finally settled on the CVS store-branded six-pack for $5.49.

Paying 92 cents each was 2.6x the Costco price but was the optimal decision.

After all this running around, there's a philosophical point that I've been pondering for quite a while.

My investment portfolio has reached the point where I can gain or lose thousands of dollars each day.

Is it worth spending an hour agonizing over $14 vs $8 vs $6, especially since the sands of time are running low? We know that we should change our behavior to adapt to changing circumstances, but it's much easier said than done.

Better Than Too Little

Sixty-five (65) people were waiting at noon for the free hot lunch. We had made ten trays of lasagna in anticipation that there would be 100 diners, like last December. But we needn't have worried that there was too much food. Many returned to the table for second and even third helpings. 

Safeway donated 15 loaves.

What the guests lacked in numbers they made up in appetite, and only a few loaves were left to take to the Catholic Workers House, where all leftovers are welcome.

Perhaps the heavy rains over the weekend kept the crowd away (though the clouds parted on Sunday). We'll still plan on serving 100 next time, though. Better to prepare too much than too little.