Wednesday, March 12, 2025

I May Have Created A Monster

     I like ham salad sandwiches.  Since the Marsh supermarket chain went bankrupt, dependable ham salad has not been easy to find.  Our neighborhood grocery only has it in their deli case occasionally; tuna salad is their daily staple, with egg salad (and I like it, too) as a frequent backup.

     The Meijer store has a decent grocery section, especially for a super-giant everything-under-one-roof place.  And they nearly always have their own brand of ham salad.  It's been a long time since I bought any, but I picked up a tub of it a couple of days ago and made sandwiches on toasted rye bread last night.  Tam polished hers off and went for seconds.

     Tonight, there was just enough left to make a couple more sandwiches, and why not use it up before it turns?  I added a bagged salad,* and there's a decent supper.

     Tam had all of hers and then allowed as how she would not pass up another sandwich.

     "Those two were the last of it," I admitted.

     "What?  No more?"

     "Nope."

     She sighed.

     "You know where the Meijer is," I said, "And you ran your car just a couple of days ago, so the battery's charged."

     "I'm thinking about it."

     She decided it could wait until tomorrow morning.  But she's right -- there's something about the simple pleasure of cool ham salad on rye bread, the crisp crunch of the celery bits, the umami of the ham....

     Y'know, I could run over to the store tonight, myself.
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* Those things are an utter indulgence.  There are dozens of varieties, with everything you need and not too much excess -- and some olives and fresh tomato will elevate most of them.  They're even making single-serving sizes.

4 comments:

Stewart Dean said...

...and why not, the simple pleasure of a good sandwich, a friend and maybe a beer. SO much better than watching the news....who invited the AntiChrist is what I want to know.....

Monty N8VD said...

One time when I was delivering meat to another store, the owner was mixing up a big batch of ham salad, and he asked, "Do you know why I like making ham salad? Because I get as much per pound for celery and onions as I do for the ham!"

Cop Car said...

Good ham salad, I appreciate. Yum!

Roberta X said...

Monty: And there you have the basis of trade: It's quick and easy for that grocer to whip up a batch of the stuff and he does so routinely; it's a time-consuming process for me, fraught with chances for error and waste. He considers the price easy money -- I consider it an excellent trade-off for the lost time and dirty dishes I won't have to deal with.