When I’m visiting my family in California, one of my rituals is to go to Costco with my sister to buy an enormous box of Reeses for my sweetie. Those are not available in France. Once, my sister grabbed this huge bag with about 10 heads of Romaine lettuce in it. I’m like, “What are you gonna do with all that lettuce?” She casually says she and her family (of 4 which includes 2 very little girls) would eat it of course. Me: “I know that but how long will the lettuce last?” She says “About a month.” Me: “OMG A month??! Eiuw.”

In France, whenever I buy a head of lettuce at the market, I will be lucky it if lasts three days. Though, rarely it lasts even that long. Seriously. Doesn’t it makes you wonder how on earth the lettuce from Costco lasts an entire month? That is insane.

Back to this post. During the winter in France when her potager (veggie garden) freezes, my mother-in-law resorts to buying lettuce in the markets. The same freshness rule applies: lettuce freshness = 2 days. That means that you would really need to eat an entire head of lettuce quickly if you don’t want to waste anything. Or eat rotten lettuce. Do-able, I know, but sometimes you don’t want a salad but you need just a few leaves of lettuce. And no, eating rotten lettuce ISN’T do-able. What to do?

My mother-in-law does this: say she just needs a few leaves for hamburgers or something. In the market, she picks a leaf off a lettuce here, and another leaf off a separate lettuce there, etcetera; that way it doesn’t make much of a dent. She then puts her stray leaves with a bag a radishes (tops still on) or other vegetable and so the lettuce SORT OF gets camouflaged. She goes to the cashier buys all her stuff, and voila! No rotten lettuce leftover and problem solved.

Though not exactly stealing, I only consider my mummy-in-law commiting a half of a crime because she does pay for the radishes which would include the weight of the lettuce.

If you think about it, it is sort of practical – but that isn’t to say I’m recommending that you do the same. Really!

So, don’t go crying to the police when you get arrested for shoplifting, and say something like, “but officer, other people do it! Look it up on this blog…”