Grocery bill

Last night, A and I were talking about why our grocery bills have increased about three times over last year. Of course gas prices have a role to play: but here is a list of what we've eaten for dinner over the last week or so:
Day 1: Dal, Rice; eggplant "bhartha"; palak paneer; salad. The Family Gyne (R&R, E&O) was visiting, and it was a visit filled with great food and drink, besides all the other intangible but supremely satisfying delights of having an old, valued, trusted and bald friend visit. R made the palak paneer; I now have the recipe.
Day 2: Lamb tagine (made in our new tagine), couscous, chickpeas, salad. The tagine was a gift from the Family Gyne, and R inaugurated it by making the lamb, a triumph of simplicity (in preparation) and harmony (in flavors).
Day 3: Cold cuts, breads, hummus, butter bean dip, cheeses, fruit, salads. This was A at her finest, pulling together a fabulous meal for a hot evening.
Day 4: Too full from a day of eating hot dogs, brats, cotton candy and soda at the Mallards game that The Boy and I went to, I opted for just a salad that A had thoughtfully made to cleanse our palates. The Boy ate this willingly enough while watching Fawlty Towers, but then, when it ended, plaintively asked, "Is that it for dinner?" So I ended up making him an omelet.
Day 5: Strip steak, Tuscan style, grilled medium-rare to medium on charcoal by me; A made mashed potatoes, corn, and salad. This was a smash hit with The Boy, because not only was the food to his liking, but the menu was out of Sport, a book A is currently reading to him.
Day 6: At the Brasserie V, after watching Wall-E, which all of us enjoyed, I had the Steak-Frites washed down with a couple of pints of Fuller's London Pride bitter, A had the Ricotta Gnocchi, and The Boy had the Avocado BLT without avocado, his standard order at the V.
Day 7: Rice, Dal, and cumber raita.
Day 8: Last night, while shoveling down freshly grilled jerk chicken from an excellent recipe in the NYT, accompanied by roast potatoes, rice and cucumber salad, we totted up the damage and agreed that we had literally inverted our old habit of eating simply most days and elaborately occasionally.