Annie_H

Like many, I don't play the discount game much. But just delivered today a new paring knife. I have a half dozen I've had for years....a favorite I've had since college from a thrift store. Recently left one with a cracked handle at a Vrbo beach rental by mistake. Not much knowledge about the maker but the price was nice and the hand hold is excellent.

I was a bit taken back when I opened the packet. I had just taken out a 1/2 dozen shrimp to thaw. Usually get a snapper head and frame, sometimes a couple collars. This was just heads and collars full of meat. Arctic char I think. Wish I had some lemon grass. Shrimp and the fish cubes went in the freezer.

Wait, what. (!?) Did Raymonds close? Did not know Jeremy has a home in the Gros Morne area. Todd Perrin left Mallard Cottage. But now back on Water street opening Rabble recently. Lost track of those fellas. The Thursday before storm Sandy the 'Best Chefs of Canada' cooked at the James Beard House in Manhattan. Those that left the next day made it home. (Jeremy and Todd) Those that had the weekend planned to hang and have some fun had their flights canceled. We ended up with a housefull...and great food. Raymonds sommelier and Mallard Cottage sous chef among the crowd. I think Andy Warhol was at the Met at the time. We have a home in TrinityEast, for 22 years now, so I know all those guys. One Christmas holiday we flew in with a checked baggage full of hMart delights and made fresh spring rolls for a big gathering. Newfoundland can be a bit of a 'food dessert' in the winter months. Thai basil, mint, cilantro, garlic chives...

I order FreshDirect every 6-7 weeks and always get the fish cubes and a soup carcas....tomorrow 7-9am delivery so some sort of stew or chowder planned.

Good noodles. Made by A-Sha. Not fried and dried like instant noodles. Slow air dried. You will pay extra for the Momofuku brand. They also colab with HelloKitty, haha. I purchase from the A-Sha website. The 'pantry' pack. 20 cakes for 24.99$. Without the seasoning packets. Clean ingredients but I always stock soy and toasted sesame, fresh scallions, homemade chili crisp. One noodle 'cake' is two servings in our home because of lots of other included fresh ingredients. Ramen eggs, avocado, greens....lots of vegetables, dashi/miso, fresh ginger. We like the 'knife cut' wide noodles

Stock up and enjoy your favorite bean. They freeze fine. Some coffee geeks suggest to package for the freezer in amounts for 4-5 days. Espresso geeks will often use containers for one pull. But they often have multiple varieties. Most important is to bring your package/canister/bag from the freezer to room temperature before opening. Otherwise you will get immediate condensation in the bag. Why the in-and-out is not recommended. We roast 2-3 pounds at a time and freeze in 1/2 pound food saver packages. Re-usable bags if given a long cut. But I'm not sure a food saver is necessary. No coffee geek or nerd here. Just follow those that are. Similar advice in the link, HERE

I order Misfits every 4-5 weeks in rotation with our local FreshDirect. When I logged onto Misfits a few days ago, they had a header banner saying they had stock issues due to weather. Mostly vegetables. I logged on and checked before starting a cart....sure enough, most what I usually order and rely on were out of stock. So I went with my other market this go-around. Still the best prices if careful. I never rely on them to be 100%. I had some issues last spring before taking a summer break from Misfits. During the holidays I had an unprecedented perfect order. As if a supervisor packed my order maybe during a training 'new employee' event. We wait for the Misfits delivery before any other shopping. Can't rely on them for meal planning. My orders are usually 100-120$, so now free shipping.

I'm always annoyed by bad amazon reviews. I've had this one from LeeValley or maybe BroadwayPanhandler (back in the day) for at least 20+ years. Still sharp and my go-to. Two others are dull purchased just a few years ago and one in a plastic housing cracked in just a few months. Personal choice, I avoid handles as they tend to break and harbor bacteria and rust. I still use a paddle style that lost its handle but it is a bit dull. Used it for ginger for a while but a bit of a grind to get much out of it. This one is effortless...

Yes, local makes sense. Most groceries do that. Maybe overstock HFog from the holidays. !/2 pound of HumboltFog was 9$ and change. Amazon prime for diNapoli is 35$ for six 28ounce cans here. 28ounces is about one.75 pounds. So 5.75$ per can. (3.33 per pound, not per can) Anywho, nice to be stocked up for the year.

I've not shopped WholeFoods in about a year. Maybe this time last year. I've had an open cart all this time. Down to my last tin of tomatoes. Just opened my back-up tin of tomato paste. (I prefer the tube but my markets have been out) Good price on diNapoli. I missed the 12 days of holiday cheeses this year. HumboltFog is 18$ right now. 10$ off per pound. I bought a case of diNapoli during lock-down and paid close to 6$ each.

The cute Italian gal with her US husband on their U-tube channel rubs all around the tomato with the back of a knife and peels. I suppose another method would be to cut a small x on the stem end and blanch 10 seconds, then into ice water.

The Sunset website has a 'find a store' search. They list 60+ varieties. Sunset link Kumato and wild wonders are my winter go-to tomatoes. I make Dad a favorite feta bake using wild wonders. Olives, artichoke hearts, lots of lemon and olive oil on a bed of shaved fennel. Served with a big fresh baked boule.

Another key word is coarse grater. I have a heavy duty set of three. Fine, medium and coarse. This is called a flat grater. The other is a paddle grater, (with a handle) This seems a bit pricy but judging by the positive reviews it is similar to my set of three. Mine were a gift from my Mother purchased in 1985. They will outlive me ten fold. Mine are similar 12 inches. The fine one I use for ginger. Brand is Kuthcenprof. No longer made as far as I could find. I was traveling with my parents through Italy, Germany, France. She is painfully shy and not comfortable with languages. Especially currency exchanges. Very frugal but likes to shop/just look. We started fibbing the exchange rates so she might buy herself a travel gift. I probably told her they were 5 bucks and a nice French soufflé ceramic. Thrilled she bought herself something finally but gifted all to me the following Christmas. She does not cook, bake, or grate, lol. We use them all-the-time. Nice memories. We would dine sit-down every few days. Mostly grazing markets and street food. She would never order in a restaurant saying not hungry but then pick off Dads plate. Until we started fibbing about the cost.

An FYI. Costco has Argentinian wild caught shrimp without any preservatives. I will re-new my membership before x-mas but I don't need shrimp.