Hold the Bag, Get a Reward

As I've mentioned before, I always carry my fold-up shopping bag from Monoprix around with me.  In fact, when I pulled it out in the Boulevard Raspail market last month, my friend, Louisa Chu, mentioned that mine was a collector's item - it seems that the black bag was a limited edition, which explains why the bags in my current stash are pink and red.  Anyway, this week I reaped an extra little perk from having the bag in hand.  I was in St. Helena, in the Napa Valley (about which a lot more, when I've got some time), and shopping at this wonderful store, Baksheesh, which offers
" handcrafted gifts from the developing world".  I was just window-shopping, but a display of trivets like these caught my eye

They're made of recycled newspaper, come from Guatemala and will look terrific on my wood table, so I bought four of them (and yes, for the quality, look and price - $6 each - I should have bought more).  When the trivets were wrapped in one thin piece of recycled paper, the shopkeeper asked me if I wanted a bag and, before I could even say "no" or whip out my trusty black carry-all, she offered me a bribe: "If you don't take a bag, I'll give you a piece of chocolate!" 

Now that's a deal!  Good for the planet/good for the palate. 

I know that goodness should be its own reward - and carrying your own bag, so that you don't have to use more paper and plastic is good and rewarding - but a little bit of chocolate never hurt. 

Comments

[Anna C. S.]

Ha! We make it a point to carry Trader Joe's bags practically everywhere, but I've never come across an offer for chocolate! "Sweet!" (cliche, I know, but it seemed to fit)

I know this has nothing to do with the bags, but I had a question - I found an excellent recipe for caramel, and I altered it a bit and made turtle truffles better than any I have ever bought. It was perfect, but I wanted to make a dish I had in Mexico, a sort of crepe with caramel inside and chocolate syrup. I googled it but all I got was crepes con chocolate, which doesn't include a recipe for the caramel. I want to be able to serve it cold with the caramel hardening the least possible. Here's the recipe (without the experiment alterations, because I'm to lazy to write these things down):

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon sodium chloride
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pretty much, you heat everything but the cream and the salt for a while on the stove, and then you add the cream and salt.

My gut says adding cream will make it more liquid and make it at least a little better, but I don't know.

If anyone has any ideas, or knows/finds a recipe I didn't find, please let me know.

[ride&cook]

Dark chocolate -- that's a good reward! I just ordered 10 string bags from EcoBags; no more plastic for me.

[Jenny]

That looks like a much handier bag to carry around than my fabric bags, which don't compact very well.
And the $0.02 refund I get for every bag when I shop is a pretty good bribe, but chocolate is so much nicer!

[clotilde]

Cute baksheesh indeed!
I have the brown and pink version of that Monoprix bag -- super handy.

[Jeannette Mara]

Was it good chocolate, Dorie?

[Louisa]

You must have brought me luck, because later that week, buried in a sea of pretty powder puff pink, I found what may have been the very last black Monoprix bag in all of Paris! Do I dare wish for chocolate too? ;)