BeeZee

Random shortages, definitely. Even if I go to the Shop Rite near my office, which is about 30 miles from the one by my house, I'll find different things missing likely due to them being owned by different "buying groups". To some extent, it seems like if there is a product that has different "options"...the most popular one is on the shelf. So for the dairy products, my guess is they put their efforts into distribution of milk rather than cream, to satisfy more customers.

Eating the rainbow, from Whole Foods salad bar.

Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Bisque, in the refrigerated section (plastic container). I bought this for lunch at work (microwaved) and shared with a co-worker. Not the overly sweet flavor like usual, this was definitely savory with a noticeable taste of sage. A good stand-in since I haven't gotten into soup-making mode yet.

I modify my behavior based on the circumstance. Business/formal meal, yes, I'll break off a little piece, butter it, and consume. Eating at a casual place with my husband, I'm biting in. I love the sensation of biting into a thickly buttered piece of bread. If I suspect that the crust is going to be too tough to bite easily, I might pull it off first.

As my husband used to work in that business, I can confirm that some, but not all, TJ's products are made by the brand name company. They know how to tweak the recipe just enough. However, sometimes they wouldn't want to play (or reduce their price enough), so that's where his company came in...they formulated "knock offs" for manufacturing in alternate facilities.

Looks great, like an edible jewelry display!

Wow, as a seafood (and ice cream) lover, you make a good argument for going to the Cape just to eat! The other scenery is nice, too😄

Massive blueberries (from Peru), which were tasteless, became whole wheat/oatmeal muffins. Used coconut sugar, which made them nicely brown colored.

What I've seen done in my area (NJ) is a display tray with a clear cover (bug protection) which is set over some kind of cool packs to keep the items from melting away. Works well enough for 2 hours or so. Selections are stored in coolers so when someone picks the item(s) they want, you reach into the cooler with gloved hands and retrieve them.

Yep, BIL put a bottle of Prosecco in our freezer one time. Aside from the wine mess, broken glass.

Supposedly Pedialyte is better if you are recovering from the flu...less sugar. I suspect the issue is more around the plastic bottles. They seemed to have the smaller bottles (6 pack format).

I enjoyed the butternut squash risotto that I made last year, perhaps there is an alternate type of pumpkin available to you in China?

oddly enough, there is an issue with sports drinks (Gatorade and Powerade). The shelves have been pretty empty for a couple of weeks - there is a sign about supplier issues. My husband drinks the sugar free version while playing golf, guess we'll switch to diluted coconut water for the rest of the season.

@blue_dolphin, that looks like quite possibly the perfect summer breakfast...

Everything on the grill last night: salmon fillet cooked on cedar plank; shishito peppers; eggplant/zucchini/red pepper salad; yams.

Our new-ish neighbor saw my husband cleaning the grill after dinner in the backyard and gave him a bunch of tomatoes from his garden. They are all in various stages of un-ripeness, so I've got them sitting in a dish. Fairly gnarly specimens, I won't be shocked if I find an insect or two when I cut them. But I was touched by the gesture, as the prior neighbor gave us nothing but grief.

They have imposed rationing of certain liquor at the State-run stores in Philadelphia. The word is, it is due to a glass bottle shortage for those suppliers.

As a culinary item, I have mixed feelings. I like it in small doses, and do like it better in lightly sweet preparation like a protein drink/smoothie. Poor quality dried turmeric, used in excessive quantities, can make something taste like dirt. I do take turmeric as a daily supplement for inflammation, I know the research is a mixed bag on that but as far as my doctors are concerned, it certainly isn't harmful and I personally feel that it provides some small benefit.

Non-observed Rosh Hashana dinner for the two of us, no family dinner for various reasons. Grilled swordfish, corn, massaged kale salad, red sweet potato not shown. I did work apples and honey into the kale salad, so….

Frozen yogurt/berry pops, recipe from Serious Eats. I used frozen mixed berries that I defrosted, I was lazy and did not deseed the puree, which is a mistake I won’t repeat. Or I will use frozen cherries and avoid the seeds.

I recently bought a bunch of basil at the supermarket (said to be local) that had roots intact, it said to put in water just to cover the roots, not in direct sunlight. It kept nicely for a week in my kitchen, but I noticed the stems were very light in color after a week, as I suppose the plant wasn't getting any nutrients! Otherwise I follow Weinoo's method, which works very well if you cull out the bad leaves before wrapping.

Leftover linguine w/homemade pesto, tuna, sliced grape tomatoes. I had really undercooked the pasta, so it actually held up well as a cold dish.

Rice Krispie treats with peanut butter chips

Continued my NJ tomato-fest, lunch was a little ciabatta roll, lightly toasted, little bit of chive cream cheese, lots of sliced tomato. Made it open faced to maximize the amount of tomato. Ate in my office with the door closed, hunched over like a starving raccoon.

When NJ tomatoes are abundant…panzanella. Radicchio not necessarily authentic, but works well in the mix.