whole paycheck

i went to the new whole foods in downtown oakland last night for the first time. wow. it's truly spectacular. the circular layout is ideal for browsing the store in its entirety and discovering things to spend money on that you really don't need. i know people hate whole foods because it's elitist and pretentuous. i know people despise whole foods because it is insanely overpriced. take for instance last night's purchases. paper towels, one shallot, one package of green beans (slightly brown and dry, and from mexico to boot...the california ones were moldy...wtf people), a small "to-go" container of mixed berries (1 pint) and an even smaller container of scharffenberger pudding (1/2 pint). twenty bucks. jason (my man) and i were going to get a tuna steak so we could try out a recipe for tuna burgers, but it would have cost us $22. for one steak. needless to say we changed our minds.

despite the high cost of being a part of the elite green grocer club, i'm still a card-carrying member. that place is amazing. and close!

my lone shallot and mexican haricots verts were the final ingredients necessary to complete the meal i've prepared for this evening. last night i marinated a 1-lb. london broil (niman ranch, from trader joes - cheap, local, sustainable, damn good) in a ziplock bag with:

3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 medium (overpriced) shallot, minced
4 cloves garlic, pressed
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. dried tarragon
1 tsp. dried oregano

it's getting all yummy and juicy in the fridge as we speak. tonight i will broil it (at some temperature that eludes me now) and pair it with garlicky (mexican, dry, brown, expensive) haricots verts. this is an easy side dish and i think is only a point or two...

steam 1 lb haricots verts in a steamer basket over 1 inch of boiling water for 3-4 minutes, until crisp-tender
toss with olive oil and pressed garlic, pepper to taste.

i really like the words haricots verts.