Not cooking, but generally food related. I've been stimulating the economy again, both directly and by proxy.

My lovely mother sent us a box of delicious cheeses as a prize for my having filed my dissertation. Mm. I know Zingerman's is expensive, and people I know who have lived in Ann Arbor tend to feel that they're overhyped as well as overpriced, but they really do make great presents. And I'll tell you, the cheese is great.

In anticipation of the weeks when the farmer's market is bursting with so much fresh produce that we can hardly carry everything we buy, I've ordered a few more of my favorite reusable bags. These are exactly what I want in a shopping bag. I love that they stuff into their own attached stuff sack. You can never lose the sack, and you don't fuss around with rolling the bag up just so -- just quickly stuff it in. When stuffed, they are small enough to toss into any old corner, so that you always have one or more on hand. The bags themselves are strong and lightweight. They hold a lot and conveniently fit the metal frames that hold plastic shopping bags open, found at the end of many supermarket checkout lines. They hold up well to being used ungently, week after week. The only trouble is that I've lost a couple in the few years since I bought my last batch, while also finding more places where I'd like to stow one or two (my suitcase, for example). So I'm replenishing the stocks.

While I was at it, I also ordered this collapsible market basket, because I'm quite terrible at managing my purchases without one. I don't do a good job of shopping in descending order of sturdy denseness, so I'm always having to try to shuffle things around in my bags in the middle of the market, while also trying not to get in anyone's way, and then accidentally dropping my eight plums directly on top of my tiny lettuces anyhow. We'll see how the basket works.

Do you have any favorite sacks, baskets, carts, or other useful reusable containers for food shopping?