Exceptions (Brown family version)

Not really. These items just happened to be in the New College refrigerator. Overall, I'd say this would be a pretty good random sample from an American fridge anywhere.

Let's see what we have here:

Mandarins in orange "gel" (the fruit, presumably, not the people); lean cuisines (30% MORE FOOD! MMMMMMMM!); the ubiquitous ketchup (fresh tomatoes teasingly implied by the label, undetectable in the taste); and the synthetic chemical substance masquerading as cream known as Cool Whip (strawberries not included). Now, I'm not trying to get snobby or anything, but I am starting to look at "food" like this with amazement comingled with a real sense of horror and disgust. Ignatius J. Reilly from A Confederacy of Dunces would be applauding the development of a culinary "valve", something akin to an extra sensory organ that detects taste, decency, theology, and geometry in my diet.

Our actual exceptions to our all-Alabama diet are much the same as the Graces: tea and coffee, cooking oil, beer except for homebrew or from a neighboring state, salt (but not pepper), leavening agents, vinegar. I do plan to grow my own yeast from one starter and I hope eventually to make some vinegar from Alabama wine (perhaps the best use for some of the local wine we've tried here, in any case). Sara has chosen to eat the occasional piece of chocolate as well, but I won't object if I want to keep the peace in our household.