{"id":4488,"date":"2024-05-17T14:08:46","date_gmt":"2024-05-17T04:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=4488"},"modified":"2024-05-17T14:08:46","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T04:08:46","slug":"the-author-argues-with-an-american-supermarket-salad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=4488","title":{"rendered":"The Author Argues with an American Supermarket Salad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-sitebg-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">Salad: Hey! Looking at me? Trying to lose some weight, huh?<br><br>Me: No. Actually. I\u2019m just \u2013 you know, on the road, eaten a lot of deep-fried food. Kinda looking for something grown in nature, you know?<br><br>Salad: Say no more! Just for you, here\u2019s a giant basin full of chopped romaine lettuce.<br><br>Me: Errrmm. Uh, OK. Yeah.<br><br>Salad: You could fit a toddler\u2019s head in that basin.<br><br>Me: I believe it.<br><br>Salad: But lettuce isn\u2019t much fun by itself, right? So here\u2019s a packet of black beans, corn and chopped tomato. Flavour time!<br><br>Me: Oh, that\u2019s better.<br><br>Salad: But there\u2019s not enough protein in beans alone. This packet is full of grilled chicken breast, white meat only! Now we\u2019re talking!<br><br>Me: Protein is good. Yeah, OK, great salad. Thanks.<br><br>Salad: Hold on, you need dressing! Always have to have dressing on a salad. This packet is full of ranch. Tangy, creamy, and only a thousand calories a teaspoon!<br><br>Me: Uuh, wait a minute, that\u2019s not \u2013 I mean, all right. I guess I can\u2026<br><br>Salad: And of course, here\u2019s your cheese!<br><br>Me: What?<br><br>Salad: Your packet of salad cheese. It\u2019s not a salad without cheese.<br><br>Me: Why would a salad have cheese?<br><br>Salad: Sorry, I can\u2019t understand you. Must be the British accent. This is shredded tasty cheese from Wisconsin, and it\u2019s orange! I can\u2019t tell you why the cheese is orange, nobody actually knows.<br><br>Me: Right.<br><br>Salad: And your packet of bacon!<br><br>Me: Oh, for fu &#8211;<br><br>Salad: No fudge in a salad! Ha, weird tourists. Salads are healthy. And here\u2019s your packet of corn chips.<br><br>Me: Why on earth would I need corn chips in a salad?!<br><br>Salad: For the crunch! Crisp, crunchy salad!<br><br>Me: What about the lettuce? The bacon? Don\u2019t they crunch?<br><br>Salad: Not enough.<br><br>Me: I\u2019m leaving.<br><br>Salad: WAIT! YOU FORGOT YOUR PACKET OF BBQ SAUCE! IT\u2019S DOUBLE-SAUCE TIME!!! SWEET, TANGY BBQ SAUCE FROM A SECRET RECIPE IN SOU-<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sitebg-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\"><br><em>*The author would like to acknowledge that the BBQ Chicken Salad from Trader Joe\u2019s Santa Monica is indeed delicious, if pushy.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Salad: Hey! Looking at me? Trying to lose some weight, huh? Me: No. Actually. I\u2019m just \u2013 you know, on the road, eaten a lot &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4491,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,7],"tags":[626,624,623,32,621,622,17,625],"class_list":["post-4488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","category-travelarium","tag-america","tag-argument","tag-double-sauce","tag-humour","tag-salad","tag-trader-joes","tag-travel-writing","tag-usa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pff1uY-1ao","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2750,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=2750","url_meta":{"origin":4488,"position":0},"title":"Woomargama","author":"Elissa McKay","date":"October 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The problem was Frank. You see, nobody enjoys making the trip from Melbourne to Canberra in one day with a toddler, unless you\u2019re a big fan of hours of howling and seat-kicking until you buy an over-priced monster bus toy from Yass petrol station just to make the pain stop.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Review&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Review","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/IMG_4699-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C864&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/IMG_4699-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C864&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/IMG_4699-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C864&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/IMG_4699-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C864&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/IMG_4699-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C864&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2183,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=2183","url_meta":{"origin":4488,"position":1},"title":"Baked Potatoes","author":"Elissa McKay","date":"August 30, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"What I love about baked potatoes is that they bend to your will, or, more accurately, your fridge. Whatever random semi-expired leftover ingredients you can scrounge in the back of your fridge, there you are. Bacon, capers, parsley, zucchini, fish, onions, all of it can go in! Just as long\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Food&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Food","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=119"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/scott-rodgerson-6EUytsLiw3U-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/scott-rodgerson-6EUytsLiw3U-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/scott-rodgerson-6EUytsLiw3U-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/scott-rodgerson-6EUytsLiw3U-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3860,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=3860","url_meta":{"origin":4488,"position":2},"title":"How to Save Money and Beat the Cost of Living","author":"Elissa McKay","date":"September 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"1. Die.2. Grow a veggie garden. You get fresh air and exercise, and three to six months later you may also get a grub-infested head of organic broccoli and three whole green beans.3. Check the prices on grocery items*. Did you know underneath every item on the supermarket there\u2019s a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Soapbox&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Soapbox","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/konstantin-evdokimov-UUYkTnQkn9c-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/konstantin-evdokimov-UUYkTnQkn9c-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/konstantin-evdokimov-UUYkTnQkn9c-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/konstantin-evdokimov-UUYkTnQkn9c-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/konstantin-evdokimov-UUYkTnQkn9c-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2421,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=2421","url_meta":{"origin":4488,"position":3},"title":"Soup","author":"Kel White","date":"September 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I don't like soup.\u00a0\u00a0 You can like it if you like. But I don't. I used to; I loved nothing better than a hot creamy pumpkin soup on a Sunday night in late autumn. With crusty bread and hot, dripping butter, and the company of my dear sweet partner.\u00a0Correction; ex-partner.\u00a0\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Stories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Stories","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=5"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hans-eiskonen-qTxwKHZwl6M-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hans-eiskonen-qTxwKHZwl6M-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hans-eiskonen-qTxwKHZwl6M-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hans-eiskonen-qTxwKHZwl6M-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hans-eiskonen-qTxwKHZwl6M-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2115,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=2115","url_meta":{"origin":4488,"position":4},"title":"Baked Ricotta Cheesecake","author":"Kylie Eklund-Denman","date":"August 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A majority of the years that I worked in a professional kitchen were spent in the dessert section. Which was ironic, as I'm not really a sweet tooth. Or maybe I was, but quickly got over tasting everything I made? Even creme patisserie and tiramisu get boring after a while.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Food&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Food","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=119"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Mountain-Ash-7-of-7-scaled-e1660628209681.jpeg?fit=667%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Mountain-Ash-7-of-7-scaled-e1660628209681.jpeg?fit=667%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Mountain-Ash-7-of-7-scaled-e1660628209681.jpeg?fit=667%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1350,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=1350","url_meta":{"origin":4488,"position":5},"title":"Oz ComicCon 2022","author":"Morte Oakley","date":"June 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"For our family, ComicCon has been a tradition for six years now. It would\u2019ve been seven, but 2020 was cancelled for obvious reasons. I started out taking our daughter, and a couple of their friends. Then we did it again, then we added a new friend. Each year, I have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Travelarium&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Travelarium","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/287898767_3390216394636050_8818912835975348945_n.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/tania-melnyczuk-xeTv9N2FjXA-unsplash.jpg?fit=3854%2C2876&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4488"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4492,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4488\/revisions\/4492"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}