He is not alone

RUDY FAILS $UPERMARKET TEST

New York Post Wire Services

April 11, 2007 -- Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani hasn't done a lot of grocery shopping lately, based on his answers about the cost of milk and bread while stumping in Alabama yesterday.

"A gallon of milk is probably about a dollar fifty, a loaf of bread about a dollar twenty-five, a dollar thirty," he said, missing the mark on both.

According to the Web site for D'Agostino supermarkets, a gallon of milk is priced at $4.19 and a loaf of white bread costs $2.99 to $3.39.

Giuliani, who has become a millionaire through his consulting firm and speaking engagements, did get the price of gas right.

"Gas, I think, is $2.89," he said.

The ex-mayor addressed the state Legislature in Montgomery, focusing on tax-cutting and barely mentioning his stands on social positions.

This was a blurb I caught in the paper yesterday and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it … especially after my Bertoli rant of a few weeks back. So I’ve been writing and today am hoping to submit an op-ed to a few newspapers. Regardless, you’ll see it here once I hear (or don’t :/) back from them. Until then, I’d like your help gathering some info for the presidential hopefuls. Sure, they know the price of gasoline is wearing us down, but what else? For me it’s milk. I paid $2.98 for a gallon of 2 percent, $2.78 for a gallon of skim … it varies from store to store, but this milk was at the middle-of-the-road place. But we don’t have time to run from store to store seeking the best prices … it cuts into the time we don’t have to gather at the table. My point here has nothing to do with any particular candidate. It has to do with the fact that none of them has a clue about real life. It has to do with the fact that, no matter how much they wave the average guy around as a weapon in their rhetoric, the average guy is the one with less to show for his money at the end of longer and longer work days. My dream candidate is a regular person … unbuffered … no advisers … no polling results … nothing between him and us but, well, a grocery cart. Of course this candidate could never get elected. So, as an alternative, I’d be glad to host one of the "electable" for dinner. My $1.25 per-serving chicken dinner probably tastes better than their $1,000 per plate did … and I guarantee the conversation would be lively!

Speaking of my dinner table, here’s something we whipped up yesterday before karate. The kids helped (which is why there are no measurements :). They sampled the prepped ingredients and crushed crackers. As always, we baked it when we got home from class and laughed together as we ate. The kids were brave, jumping right in to something created from what was on hand, then trying to name it.

Chicken-oc-iflower casserole
3 large chicken breasts, boiled and diced
1 lb. cooked elbow macaroni
cauliflower and broccoli flowerettes, steamed
2 14.5-oz. cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
Milk
Grated cheddar and mozzarella cheeses
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
1 stick butter

Put chicken, macaroni, veggies and soup in a large bowl. Mix gently. Fill empty soup can with milk twice and add to bowl. Stir in cheeses. Bake at 425 for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, crush crackers and melt butter. Toast crackers in melted butter, stirring constantly. Top casserole with toasted cracker crumbs and bake a few minutes more.

Remember to leave a note about what prices get your goat … --L