This week my trash buddy is planning a barbecue for his birthday, and the dumpsters were kind in giving him all that he could possibly need, except buns. He found a couple of packages of ground beef, vegetarian burgers and sausages, four or five big packs of chicken wings, Havarti, Muenster and Swiss, salad greens, even five cans of Montauk. First time I’ve ever seen beer; he’s found it a couple times.

We found about twenty cans of beans and over 3 dozen eggs, a bunch of jars of liquid probiotics and a few small bottles of tonic. I found about eight boxes of fresh figs, though after picking out the bad ones it went down to three. A smashed case of strawberry jam held two unbroken jars, which we carefully removed the glass fragments from. There were surprisingly few sweets. He got dibs on pretty much everything and I still went home with five bags.

• Tilapia and sole filets
• Sliced ham
• A chunk of deli meat, probably turkey
• Smoked salmon
• A dozen eggs
• 6 cans of beans (2 pinto beans, 2 black beans, Cuban-style black beans, white Navy beans)
• Cooked lentils
• A half gallon of milk
• A pint of heavy cream
• Sour cream
• A ball of mozzarella
• Rembrandt Gouda
• Gruyere
• Shredded Italian cheese blend
• Frozen chicken fried rice
• Frozen fish curry with rice
• 2 frozen macaroni and cheeses
• Frozen bean and vegetable blend
• Tuscan bread
• Pita
• 2 bagels
• Strawberry jam
• About 8 blood oranges
• 5 lemons
• About a dozen assorted pears
• 3 boxes of fresh figs
• Dried figs
• Trail mix with macadamias and pineapple
• Shredded coconut
• Marinated artichoke hearts
• Marsala sauce
• Frozen peas
• Frozen rainbow carrot slices
• Vegetable and soba kit
• Southwestern chopped salad
• Greek salad
• Broccoli florets
• Shredded Brussels sprout salad
• Some strange kale buds that were loose in a bag
• A head of garlic
• 2 small cucumbers
• Turbinado sugar
• Red wine vinegar
• A bag of flour
• Generic Cheerios and Cocoa Puffs
• Strawberry lemon and banana puddings
• Assorted rice crackers
• Mango kombucha
• Green juice
• Dishwasher detergent powder
• Red tulips