Saturday, December 5, 2009

I Will Allow It

Hank Eating Jelly

Part of me feels like I shouldn't permit Hank to eat jelly straight from the jar, but I just can't work up the necessary mom energy. So you know how there are things in your house you just let happen? This is one of those things. (I also let the dog lick plates, and even summon her to clean up kitchen spills. She's a poor man's Roomba.)

Blackberry Preserves

I feel more okay with the jelly thing since I found a source of good jelly. Remember how, months ago, I was all like, "OMG, what jelly do I buy that isn't loaded with HFCS, is acceptable to the people who live here, and costs less per ounce than uranium?" I even made a Venn diagram to explain my dilemma. Then one weekend we were up in North Carolina, and I was shopping at the lovable local grocer, Harold's Supermarket in Sylva. I highly doubt they have Google alerts set up for themselves, but if so, hey Harold! Anyway, I rounded the corner and was greeted with this happy sight.

Home-canned Jellies at Harold's Supermarket

All Kinds of Jellies

A LOT of jellies and jams of every conceivable variety that seem to be canned just for Harold's, with all natural ingredients. Yes, I took photos with my iphone, because I was agog at all the industry. They have everything: two different kinds of jalapeno jelly; plus other pepper jellies; and tons of hyphenate jellies, you know, like strawberry-kiwi, strawberry-guava, you name it. Hank is working his way through a jar of blackberry preserves right now. I want to be clear that Harold's is NOT a chi-chi all-natural store, it's kind of grungy, the prices aren't great, and they sell weird cuts of meat. So the home canned jelly comes more from their countrified orientation than an all-natural orientation. But I've carted lots of this jelly home in the last few months.

At $2.99 a jar, it's not rock-bottom cheap, but my calculation is that, in North Carolina I'm on vacation and it's okay to pay more for things when you're on vacation. Again, look for my book on personal finance soon. After my book on child nutrition.

What Jelly?

17 comments:

Jenni said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jenni said...

It's worth allowing it just for that cute jelly face.

Beth said...

I'd allow it, too. Sign me up for an advance copy of your personal finance book.

Keely said...

Hey, that sounds like my kind of math. Also pretty much exactly the kind of thing I let slide (the dog is our Roomba also).

Elisa @ Globetrotting in Heels said...

oooh, that's a pretty sight! And who said you shouldn't eat jam out of the jar? If you can stomach it, why not. That's how I eat Nutella. which is why I never buy is, as my ass is already the size of a small island.

Meg said...

Meh, you do what you need to do right? And I think this is one of those "pick your battle" things.

And WOW at all that jelly! That's crazy!

Common Household Mom said...

Good jam is one of life's best and simplest delights. You might as well allow it. Nobody can go around sneaking jam and stay honest.

Amy said...

I'd allow it too. :) And it's funny that you said it wasn't cheap--cause I looked at the price and thought, "Wow! That's a great deal!"

Cute photos of Hank! He's such a dude.

gretchen said...

Damn, that looks like some good jelly. You know, you could just make your own. Just saying. Okay, never mind.

delaine said...

Some other great things about Harold's: it's NOT Walmart and during tomato season, they were selling grapefruit-sized, juicy red tomatoes for 25 cents a pound. Oh, and they carry your bags to your car like in the old days.I think we ought to support small, independent businesses when and where we can. See Better Than Machines for a news flash about the nefarious Walmart.

Fantastic Forrest said...

Be sure to come out here to Powell's for a signing when you go on book tour.

I will feed you jalapeno pepper jelly and cream cheese on crackers. Mmmm.

XO

The Stiletto Mom said...

Can I come eat jelly with Hank? Because I'm a little in love with his chubby cheeks!

melondonkey said...

Can you blog about making money with your blog? You don't have to put exact figures, but it seems kind of interesting. I try to click your ads when I think about it, so I may have made you like a nickel.

The Dental Maven said...

Are there people who don't use their dogs to clean up food spills?

Michele R said...

Can we borrow your dog sometime? Seriously. The boys want one and my floor needs cleaning. Once a week would be fine.
That is so cute about the jelly. I can't stop looking at the spoon.

Becky said...

I promise you guys that if you come to my house for a PB&J, I'll open a fresh jar for you.

Also, Melon, thanks for clicking my ads, dude! I make at most 30 bucks a month. I don't mind sayin'. I'm not all that into the "monetization" angle, so I don't have that much to say about it. It's nice when BlogHer puts money in my paypal account though.

Suburban Correspondent said...

Poor man's Roomba! Ha!