I find myself throwing together a picnic type supper more and more often these days. The one pictured is fresh creole tomatoes with three different cheeses from the sample basket at Whole Foods and some crackers. A lot of times I will sub hard boiled eggs and artisan or fresh baked bread for the tomatoes and crackers respectively. And I think a lot of this is inspired by the sample basket at the Whole Foods cheese counter. Under a quarter ounce chunks left over from portioning whole wheels end up in the basket and make it easy to try different varieties without a huge investment. I’m a Gouda fan and I like to try other semi-soft cheeses when I come across them. Just one of the many improvements since Jeff Bezos bought the place. If you are single and comfortable and all in with Amazon Prime and the Prime credit card, Whole Foods just fits. You get 5% back on anything you buy there with your Prime credit card which makes the pricing a little more bearable, plus there’s an app for your phone that gets scanned at checkout to give you more specials. Obviously if you are married with four teenage sons you’d be better off at Costco or Sam’s, but for quality me-time treats and entertaining it is hard to beat Whole Foods. Their fresh produce and meats and seafoods are very high quality (which of course you pay a premium for) and the selection is expansive. I’m attached to the extra large brown eggs and, since I live alone, I very much like being to pick out a couple of chicken thighs to take home and bake and they will cut your fish to order. They also stock lamb regularly, which can’t be said of every local grocer. All in all probably my number one place to shop.