Lori in PA
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Posts posted by Lori in PA
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Wow -- thank you! This is EXACTLY the kind of information I need. Anyone else?
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Do you go to several different grocery stores?
I certainly do. I go to an Amish bent and dent store an hour away from me, Sam's Club (also an hour away), a regular grocery (Giant), sometimes to my little local grocery (Jane's), to Trader Joe's when I can get to one (about two hours away), and various little produce stands/markets in season.
Do you clip coupons?
Rarely -- we use few prepared foods and don't regularly get the newspaper.
What do you usually buy at the grocery store?
I cook from scratch for our family of 4-5. We rarely eat out, so I buy pretty much all we need except the herbs and veggies I grow in season. Oh, I'm not buying any beef now because we bought 1/4 of a steer recently.
Do you tend to buy more meat or more produce?
At the regular grocery, I buy more produce, but that's because I buy a lot of my meat at Sam's Club.
Are you too ashamed to make purchases from the "reject bin?"
Our regular groceries don't really have one, but I certainly buy seconds at the produce markets if I can use them and buy discounted meat at Sam's -- I rush it home and prep it for the freezer right away. Oh, and the bent and dent store is like an enormous reject bin, I guess, and I do major shopping there.
Do you make a list?
Do I make a list???
I have Word documents for the three main stores I shop at, arranged by aisle, so I can just check off what I need.How many refridgerators and pantries do you have for food storage?
I have a fridge with a top freezer in the kitchen and a somewhat smaller one in the basement. I also have a small chest freezer in the basement.
Do you enjoy grocery shopping as much as I do?
I do like to shop most of the time. I enjoy the challenge of feeding my family well on a pretty tight budget.
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Oh, the kitchenware shop is wonderful! I wanted to go there when I was in Paris, but didn't fit it in. Had you been to it before?
And, gorgeous sun ceiling in the rotunda...
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My two boys (tween and teen) and I plan to visit Mt. Vernon this week. We don't want to eat on site at Mt. Vernon. We need:
cheap
tasty
cheap
plenty of protein
cheap
not OVERLY adventurous, but a little adventurous is good
cheap
Do we ask too much?
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My American brother and his wife are moving to Perth in a few weeks. I was musing this morning about what we could possibly send them for Christmas and had a brainstorm: I want to give them a Discovery Day in their new city. My idea is to gather the information for one or two activities/places to visit/experiences in the city and for a place for lunch or dinner. I will mail them the addresses, directions, and plans for their Discovery Day, along with money to cover the meal and/or admissions.
I think this will be a brilliant gift -- if some of my generous eGulleteers will help me plan the itinerary. Here are the things you need to know:
--Bro and sil are in their thirties, energetic, athletic, and boundlessly curious.
--My budget is about 30 US dollars.
--They don't drink alcohol, so that isn't a consideration.
--They love nature, history, and more.
--I think they will have a car.
So, please describe for me a perfect day for two people who are pretty new to the city. Where would you go? What would you eat (and where)? If you can provide addresses, web sites, approximate costs, and whatever, bless you.
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How nice to "meet" you, Mei. It will be lovely to spend a week with you, I'm sure. Your charge is adorable in the picture, but I'll bet he's not always smiling so sweetly. Be sure to tell us about your favorite and not-so-favorite food discoveries in your temporary hometown.
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Hoagies, hoagies, HOAGIES! (Please.)
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(Side note: I'm writing this in the coffee house across from my apartment, and a young man just sat down next to me and started speaking in French on his cell phone. Sigh.)
And suddenly you find yourself homesick for a place that is not your home...
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About the flat cookie club:
Chocolate chip cookies (and their ilk) are the worst for me, too, and I actually know at least part of the reason. Our budget is pretty tight and I often reduce the number of chocolate chips/nuts/other additions by about half to cut costs. The cookies are appreciatively flatter when I do this because there is less stuff to make lumpiness. Other things that have "pumped up" my cookies:
--when I use eggs from a friend's farm, I have all sizes to deal with. The jumbo eggs give a little more leavening to the cookies.
--a quarter cup or so of extra flour makes them stand taller, but of course they are also drier.
(That's another big key for me -- I like my choc chip cookies nice and gooey and slightly underbaking them to go for the goo factor will give flattened cookies.)
--A thing I learned on this particular thread (think I already knew it but never "obeyed" it before) is the cooling the pans between batches thing. That really made a difference with the pecan-brown sugar shortbread I made for the second time -- much sharper edges on the squares.
The reality is that I'm usually in a hurry when baking cookies (so I don't cool the pans) and my budget is tight (so I skimp on the add-ins) and I'll probably keep turning out flat cookies, but I don't really mind that much, so for me, Dorie, don't keep scratching your head and trying to figure out solutions.
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Made the maple cornmeal biscuits last night. Why? Because I really wanted to eat biscuits and I didn't have a biscuit cutter. These drop biscuits came together so fast and easy, and were just the right sweetness. Great buttery flavor, but not too rich - just perfect. Now if I can just find a biscuit cutter....
You probably have several -- they are also called drinking glasses and cleaned, empty cans.
Seriously, an actual biscuit cutter may give you a somewhat sharper cut and therefore somewhat higher-risen sides after baking, but thousands of grandmas turned out thousands of perfectly delicious biscuits cut with an old tomato can or whatever, so don't let that stop you. -
Well, l've tried again, and they're still flat. I chilled the dough, put the mounds on chilled sheets, chilled again, and they still spread. They are flat, and smooth looking, rather than puffy and crinkly (?) looking. My kids still love them, which is the important thing, but I can't stop wondering what I'm doing wrong. Chocolate chips seem to be my downfall, where cookies are concerned...any more ideas???
We need to form a club, Maggie -- Otherwise Good Cooks Who Bake Flat Cookies. OGCWBFC, for "short".
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Nice!
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Thank you very much for the follow-up report -- this is so valuable because, while it's nice to hear about your choices as you are making them, it's more helpful to know how they are playing out in day to day use.
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Re cellar rats: they looked basically the same as the "courting candles" of the PA Dutch. The story is that the father of the young lady being courted exerted some measure of control over the length of the suitor's call with this candlestick. The custom was for the young man to stay until the candle burned down level with the stick, so if the day liked the guy he would push the candle high up in the candlestick. If not, he could push it down low so the visit would be over sooner rather than later.
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Oh, Megan, this is an appealing city! The Husband would love it -- France, germanified.
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So today I was following a vehicle with a Widener University license plate and I thought, "Now where to I know that from?" Is it you? Do you work there?
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If possible, have one at the diner first, because they will heat it on the grill for you and you'll taste it as it is meant to be consumed. Then buy some from a local grocery like Wegman's before you leave town, take them home, and "grill" them yourself in your own non-stick skillet with a little butter (directions on package). DON'T buy a package and just open them and eat them as is -- in that case they're just another sticky bun.
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Megan, now I've lost sleep twice in two days over you. I went to bed last night later than usual but was up at 4:15 this morning, so I promised myself a nap between lunch and taking one of my children to an appt, but just kept sitting here at the 'puter reading...
Great job, though. I love how writing about my travels cements the whole experience in my mind and turns it into a firm memory.
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"it's considered terribly cool and rebellious to go there."
I've never thought of KFC is such a light.
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Skip the pizza, have a stickie
What she said. Wow, I didn't know I could have had one with ice cream!!!
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My first post here...
The one thing that I would add is, everytime the wife and I do a dinner I also make notes on things like whether we needed more serving spoons, how many quarts the punch bowl holds, (so I can better plan for the drink) and all those other things that occur to you while you are serving and entertaining or washing the dishes and cleaning up.
Good idea, and welcome, Vilasman!
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Oh, Megan, I gotta go to bed! I CANNOT stay up to read the undoubtedly wonderful posts you are writing even as I type this. In the morning, friend, I expect to read more about Prague. SOOO glad you are back and are telling your tales...
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Happy Birthday, Sandy. I think of you of PA's most enthusiastic representative here in Eg-land, so I'm glad to see you blogging.
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I just spent 45 seconds going NUTS trying to figure out what kind of hanging/broiler contraption you had. Never seen anything like it !!!
Then I tilted my empty little head to the right.
I'm still laughing out loud.
Sorry! I was posting in a huge hurry, with the family urging me, "C'mon, we've gotta go now!" (Must remember to hit that rotate key...)
Supplies for Houseguests
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
It depends on how well we know one another. I have an altered digestive system, so it is important for me to have the kind of food that makes me have good days. (Kind of like older folks' need for fiber.
) I'll usually just say I'd like to go to the store and pick up a few things that I need for food and then I do it. Similarly, I want our guests to feel at home enough to do that. I usually tell them what's available for eating for snacks and whatever and ask if there is anything they particularly like to have on hand. We have a little grocery quite nearby, so it is no trouble to pick up some extra things.
Re coffee: before I became a coffee drinker, I had a coffee maker but often forgot to offer coffee at dinner parties, etc. I'm sure my guests were miserable. When I visit my sister, I go out and buy fresh coffee to replace the leftovers she still has in the cupboard since my last visit -- like a year ago.