thinking about smut

I found the most awesome cookbook at the thrift yesterday. "Buen Provecho", a bilengual Mexican cookbook compliled by the Junior League of Mexico City. I picked it up for selling but once I started to look through it I got attached. It's an easy to read, spiral bound large format book with the recipes in English and Spanish side by side. I made the spicy shredded chicken for quesadillas already and they were magnificent. Luckily, we have a large population of people from the DR and the PR here so the stores have bigger than average Mexican foods sections. There are several recipes with huitlacoche, other wise known as corn smut. It looks just like it sounds, and it sounds like what it is. A can of black gooey fungal infection. I saw some in a field once and it was actually frightening. I do plan on making the "Delicious Cookies" though because I like delicious cookies.

Trying to buy the book itself was the usual exercise in Utica style frustration. The thrift sells its books with sticker prices on the hardcovers and by taking 90% off the cover price of the softcovers. This is a softcover book with no price printed on it which is not unusual for a book of its age. Usually, whoever is running the registrar can suggest a reasonable price but this time a girl I have never seen before refused. We looked at each other for a few minutes and then I (politely) asked if a manager or supervisor could put a price on it. Nope, no such person in the store. It's a shame, says she, because several people have tried to buy this book before me. Huh, that is a shame. Welp, I'd better put it back then. Not in a mood to be thwarted, I walked back in to the employee area, found someone with a pricing gun and had them put a sticker on it. This is the very same thrift that earlier was selling USPS boxes and mailing supplies that you get for free from the post office. And people were buying them! This seems extra wrong to me. Lots of immigrants and non english speakers shop this store heavily. I hate to think of them spending their money on something that should be free. Some of those boxes were marked up to four and five dollars. Poor people really get the shaft.