Annie_H

I had trouble finding anything not written by the company. But some yelp or some such reviews have some pics posted. Seems some locations have a pick-up or delivery for 7bucks. One customer posted a layout of their loot....a bar of soap, one root veg I think a radish and two tiny garlic bulbs. So tiny they should really have been planted in October to for next years harvest. And I think a bag of meatballs. Might be valuable if you are familiar with your local vendors. Would prevent multiple shopping stops. Like a familiar farmers market. Imagine a smart kid videotaping a walk through the UnionSquare market once a week and shopping for you, then delivering. Or starting a collective and gathering local produce in one location and shipped or delivered from there. I've photographed rooftop greenhouses in Brooklyn. If someone put together my favorite NYC things and local greenhouse produce I'm all in. What makes WaldenLocal HudsonValley work so well is having their own vans and delivering in each area just once a month. Except when our second bag never showed up April 2020. No door pic. Delivered to the wrong door obviously but no-one fessed up. They did reimburse but could only re-deliver a few weeks later. Bummer since we really needed it at that time. Baldor to the rescue. So many great things made right here in the NY metropolitan area. It would take days to gather all of it. This is pretty great, posted recently in the NYTimes, Katz's get well soon package

I've said here and elsewhere multiple times...if someone said I would be ordering on-line veg pre-covid I would stink-eye them insane. We never shopped via delivery. Nothing but good experiences via local meat farm shares and Misfits. No box deliveries are a commitment. Even ButcherBox or my local. No issues suspending for a few months. My freezer is stuffed with seafoods and local quality meats. No pressure from any suppliers if we hold off for a few months. With a freezer full of seafood protein and some meats...Misfits provides the best deal on veg. I just made some humus and my 10 day old cilantro is still great from Misfits. Learning how your fridge can keep veg fresh is key. Like ovens our fridge crispers are different. My misfits veg lasts weeks. Never would I have done this pre-covid. But so thrilled with the quality.

I got caught of-guard by the monthly fee charged to my credit card with ThriveMarket. I recall it is 9$ ? a month. That seems old school 80's where shipping and handling was often more than the ordered item. Most of their advertising is on social media where the recipients are given free and endless product. Sponsored. Paid. I would be surprised if Misfits ever cancels. They are 'thriving' after the CBS SundayMorning feature a couple months ago. They are working so hard and smart to make the company work. Misfits claims to not leave out anyone located in a food dessert. They seem very transparent. Any zip code. Imperfect declined to be interviewed in an article I posted months ago. They make more money in a higher income area...city centers. Misfits sets up their warehouses in low income areas and hires locals. Most without cars or transportation for employment and hire those difficult to get jobs. Fresh out of prison. Walking distance. Giving them a chance at honest employment. Just a personal observation having hired similar.

Thrive has an audience I guess. I signed up April 2020 and was immediately charged without ever ordering and became a big ass pita to cancel and get out. The prices are a bit less but not by much. Very vegan, keto, and gluten-free, organic positive, and that is fine but a bit heavy handed. We are 90% organic fresh whole food plant based but not strict. Lots of wiggle room here. As you know Misfits gives you a couple days to shop so check back before 8pm before the day charged and shipped. My location out of south NY transfer has garlic. I really like the new system. Just ordering what you want and not sending replacements at all. If my order does not hit 30$, it is not sent, no questions. No mysteries. No zip-code is denied. Good for a two family household. I'm ordering twice a month or every three weeks. So fresh. Misfits has eggs and my favorite yogurt now. Good avocado mayo and always something new to try without too much $$ temptation. If you see the SuperReds soup in your penny store...so good. 32 ounces is huge and shelf stable. Good ingredients. Not anything I would purchase in a market but for a penny....I used it in a Japanese curry last night. The rest I froze in 1/2 pints. I seem to always get something free. I did not order the salsa verde. (I make my own) If the three red onions ordered are tiny I get an extra, etc. Something off or funky so easy to contact and quickly refunded without question and no picture needed.

I love both as well. I do have a box of salt cod purchased over the holidays. But this is fresh. I salt it overnight for 10-12 hours. It draws out moisture and firms the flesh. A rinse under water and a milk/yogurt/water soak until ready to poach. Is not salty at all. Salt will 'pull' water until about the 18-24 hour mark, then start to enter the flesh and start the salt cod curing. At that point it is called a 'pickle'. I like soaked salt cod for Mediterranean seafood salads. Dream about it...capers, olives, celery, cucumber....

I had an amazon open cart going for a few weeks. At one point I had 60-ish items. Then 45. Constantly looking for similar replacements. That is fine as I can usually find a different brand replacement. I ordered three different soy sauces and 3 different brand of eggs just in case they were out of my choice. When I finally ordered, a dozen things were out of stock and too late to find a replacement. (delivery was already on its way) Direct from the farm like Palouse or a local warehouse supply do not need multiple travels and self stocking like a grocery. A company like RanchoGordo with one warehouse location will be more reliable. And local farm shares. Misfits is probably the best deal I've found. And reliable. Produce direct from farms. 95% is loose packed organic. Their inventory does not need much travel. They have eggs, cheese, meats and seafood now. Lots of bread choices like naan, and sourdough. I'm ordering twice a month. Next delivery is Monday but still have lots of produce from a week and a half ago...even the cilantro is still fresh. I have collards, spaghetti squash, leeks, scallions, celery, fennel, lemons, limes, celeriac, radish, red and Napa cabbage, carrots, red onions, and shallots. Russets and sweet potatoes. Lots of choices for the weekend. Oh, and boston and a bit of arugula. End of the romaine. I have until 8pm tonight to add or delete. Excellent customer service if something is off or missing but that rarely happens now. Recent EATER article on supply chain issues.

Our weekly miso dumpling ez-meal. Extra credit is a ripe avocado. And a marinated ramen egg. Win-win this week.

😂. Similar issue with OldBay. Grew up on the Chesapeake. So salty and on everything. Last Spring before a visit to family I made my own. Took a few tweaks and ended up with a boat load. No salt in mine. I can add salt later. Amchur was the best addition. (dehydrated green mango). Added the right zip/zing. I like MountainRoseHerb for spices. They have some spice blends now but I like to make my own. I just stocked up with free shipping at the moment. I don't usually care about shipping charges with them but took advantage. We use so much spice. My OldBay is perfect without the 'one note' it is so famous for.

Cod Cakes. A family favorite. Spicy horseradish cream. Last night's wings.

This was surprisingly good. I did an early am quart zip-lock spicy marinade. A few hours. Then a dry brine and into the fridge uncovered. 4-5 hours. Then into a low oven for an hour, turned up the heat to finish at 425º. Turned once. End of a Colman's jar, added miso and rice wine vinegar. Darn if I forgot to use the fresh hot peppers again to garnish with thin slices. (right in front of my face). Nice feta salad side. (-checked ButcherBox and wings were not on my order. Must have used the wing pack to meet promised weight totals?) Have not had Coleman's in years. A favorite Irish pub closed ten years ago. They always put a fresh unopened jar on every table. Amazon has an 8 jar bundle for 23$.

😬I've lived in fear of wings for years. So expensive in NY. Even pre-covid when we stopped at a local farm for eggs, thighs, and whole chickens, the farmer always gave me an extra couple pounds of thighs. NewYorkers want wings, breasts and legs for their BBQs. Wings are a year round favorite. Just don't see them that often or at all. I was dragged into a Hooters in Memphis once and a tittie bar in Austin with wings on the free buffet table. 😂 In NY pubs for events like sports, they more often put out Italian American foil trays of baked ziti for drunk food. Maybe I'll French/lolipop them and challenge myself. The baked glaze on the Frenched legs above was so good. I made for the first time some fried crispy shallots last week so no fear of a shallow fry. (small high sided dutch oven)

This falls in the 'new-to-me' category. I had a ButcherBox goof. My second box I switched the selection and let them decide. "Surprise me". I received legs and wings. Not parts I ever buy. We are a thigh and whole roaster family. With three packs of legs, I thawed one pack to go into a stock on the back burner. But seeing there were 5 legs I decided to make a meal out of them. (Original plan was a simple veg/red miso soup with dumplings). Decided to try frenching. Went through the cuss word dictionary a few times. It was worth it. I'll do better next time knowing what to expect. Into the fridge to dry brine a few hours. Then a glaze of chili crisp, red miso, tamari, and yellowbird.

Last nights Ham, Beans, and Greens Soup

Hard to believe it is the third week of January. Like previous years in recent memory, we make chowders and brothy soups, some easy familiar comforts, and try new things. Lots of seafood purchased during the holidays in the freezer. paying attention not to overcook. And last weeks hump day frittata.

^Gorgeous Ann. I'm thrilled you are up to cooking with some supervised help. Letting the dough hook on the mixer handling the heavy work and on-line ordering is getting more satisfying. Nice that options exist even if shopping in person was your passion as mine used to be. I'm getting better produce straight from the warehouses. Or I suppose they call them transfer stations.

They are iced teaspoons. But no need for 'iced tea' here. My iced tea is green---ginger/lemon, lots of ice, after morning black Chemex coffee. No sugar or cream. The 'tea' spoons are narrow that fit my spice mix containers. And double duty as tasting spoons. Simple as that.

It is pretty sweet. I seared a NY strip last night for a salad. It is in the freezer with little room but no problem being so small. (slightly frozen for easier slicing thin). Another goodie purchase a few years ago is 'iced tea spoons'. They fit in my spice jars and have prime real estate in one of my drawers just under my prep. Sitting the long way left-righ front. I just open the drawer a few inches and no need to even look. Tasting spoons and with RG scarlet runners at this moment on the back burner, I can check for tender and stir in salts and aromatics. I used demi-tas expresso spoons for years. What a pleasure to have long tasting spoons. Just another under 20$ purchase used daily all day long...

Only exciting if once received we say over-and-over, "how did we live without?". Two small mini stainless sheet pans with racks. Since delivery Jan 3rd they have been in rotation use since. One is always in the dishwasher. I have a couple aluminum ones that need to be hand washed. I use them for thawing and fridge dry brining. Tiny but perfect for finding fridge room. I'm salting some cod fillets for tomorrow and thawing some chicken in the other one right now. The only bad reviews were, "much smaller than the pic seemed". Well duh, you need to get out a ruler. 'baking sheet rack mat set' from amazon.

Having all the ingredients in my pantry, I made a big batch. So good.

A nice companion to that is Mark Weins visiting Oaxaca. He finds someone to make molé from start to finish. making molé

Miracle Grill had a good run. It was in our rotation to meet up with a couple friends. One knew Bobby well so we would get the table visit. He was always so chill. I make a master stock about every 6 weeks. Or when the gallon zip bag of bones in the freezer fills. Usually a carcass from a whole roasted chicken and various collected necks and meaty beef bones. I started one Thursday morning in my maslin. Toasted the aromatics, added the crushed roasted bones, a few cups of water to get it going. Two thawed raw turkey wings into the oven to roast a bit. Only then did I start the veg hunt. Celery, carrots, leek tops, garlic, onion, etc. Celery and carrots first filling the voids. Turkey wings barely covering with water, then the load of leek tops and onion. No more water. All the veg is full of water and quickly covers. No salt. A bit of natural salt in all the veg. But agree added salt would probably do a nice draw. We use a bit of miso often that is very salty. Pedestrian grandma stock but sitting on the back small burner at a simmer I can add veg and more protein as I find it. I had a pack of chicken legs I had planned to use in the stock and roast with the turkey legs. (came in the ButcherBox order). ---not a chicken part we like usually. Frenched them, (new to me). Unplanned dinner. Ladled off some back burner simmering stock for a broth. I don't have a PC. But could not process and add as I go, and remove stock if in a PC. When I pulled off the leg top meat 'balls' from the bones, they went into my stock. I ended up with a perfect 4 1/2 rich pints for the freezer, plenty for dinner, and some skimmed off fats for the pups food. Not much effort when cleaning out the veg drawer. I suppose my stocks are more about no waste, like the big root ends of the celery. If I roast a dozen heads of garlic, then squeeze out the 'cream', the remainders go into the freezer zip-lock with the roasted bones waiting for a stock making day. I do find making smaller batches saves freezer space, uses all scraps. I look for impurities but rarely see it. I'm assuming it is like the first 1/2 hour simmering soaked beans. Especially chickpeas. The foam I skim off. Maybe roasted bones have less? Or raw freshly butchered, especially marrow bones give off more?. Where do impurities go when using a PC? Maybe it is obvious when pressure is released and then skimmed.

Probably as the website is the same format as Baldor?. Baldor sells Pierless on their main site as well as other suppliers of seafood. I was not happy with the wild caught Carolina shrimp from Pierless through Baldor. This was 2020 and may have purchased 3 pounds during that time. I first blamed myself but even trying to peel before cooking the shell was fused to the flesh. Then tried a NewOrleans shell-on bbq style. Again fused. A pound gives us usually three meals. I had plenty of trials. On-line searches said "overcooked'. But before cooking I had trouble cleaning/peeling. 20$ a pound was a bit high. We just gave up on shrimp for a while until I tried the Wild Gulf. Wild Gulf shrimp from WF 365 has been excellent. I think it is 25$ for 2 pounds. I'm always hesitant to give disappointing reviews as things change all the time in the sea. How they are caught and how they are frozen/handled. Seems every delivery has at least one disappointment. My second ButcherBox had an excellent ham for NewYearsDay and awful burgers that are going into the pups food. (we grind our own) so I think best, like mentioned, to find a delivery service that lets you select just what you want rather than a 'suppliers choice'. Curious what they charged you. And I did not know FultonFish has a monthly dealio. I'm guessing the nasty ammonia scented old squid I was sent was an out-of-stock item so they tossed in a few extra pounds loose. And not what I ordered. DH said it was closer to 8-ten pounds. And straight to the garbage. Gagging. Bad business plan. I did a coin flip and did not try WildFork last holiday month. They were on the short list. Canceling get-togethers was a bummer. So we downsized the meal planning. Misfits tosses in free stuff but it is hot sauce, salsa, capers, or any number of pantry staples---not old perishable crap. Sharing with neighbors or family might be my plan. When I was delivered 6 dozen eggs instead of 3 I gave to my neighbor that then gifted treats in return. She bakes. When a Palouse order went missing, they said no problem and sent another right away. 25 pounds of beans. Not sure how 25lbs of beans goes missing but said I would donate to the neighbor firehouse if it showed up. Never did. No way would I enjoy seeking compensation for a wrong order not my fault.

It is painfully impossible to describe my experience with Fulton. I thought I posted here before. They may have lost my order. A rare snafu. in the system. Then blamed a wrong e-mail address. (I use finger recognition on my laptop). I blamed myself being dyslexic. But I got a 'welcome to the Fulton family' e-mail immediately. But no order# or tracking. I e-mailed but no response...then a delivery date for the 29th dec. It came on the 23rd without any heads up or 'delivered'. Alarm delivery pup barked at around 8pm. We could have been out of town visiting family. I ordered various 1/2 and one pound selections for the holidays. A squid small packet via the website photo i should have received a cryo-vac'd 8oz small squid rings with tentacles for a mixed Mediterranean seafood salad app. They sent a giant 5+ pound bag of giant squid rings, not tentacles, and not sealed so it leaked all over everything and soiled the bottom of the box. So nasty it reeked of ammonia. DH sick to his stomach from the smell could not bring it inside. (poor delivery person)😬 The ice pack was still frozen so we hosed off the crab and shucked oyster containers, etc. Clearly the squid was old before sent. It was a big thick bag that easily could have been tied to not leak. Disgusting. Surprised they get such high-on-the-list recommended places to order from on-line. Never again. I must have looked 20 times on their website....what did 'I' do wrong? 😂...I blame myself for everything. On the other hand, Misfits just sent an over-the-top apology letter for a one day delay due to covid employee issues. And possible delivery trucking for the same reason. And, 'let us know if anything is suffering from fresh' and we will promptly refund. The kettle chips and Tates cookies will be fine. 😜

Oh, 'balls'. So sorry for Susan and her staff. This is really stressing our restaurants just when we want to support them.

I've mentioned elsewhere that I ordered from iGourmet, SuperMarketItaly, and Eatily(gift certificate), the year of 2020. Now that this new faze of lock-down is imminent for a while and we need to be careful....a few treats at grocery store prices meeting the 'free shipping' cost is better than fast food take-out or some local deliveries that charge so much extra for tips and fees. One of them used a boat-load of bubble wrap but no memory. Not many times ordered at all because our palates went pretty pedestrian for a while. Soups and comfort over HumboltFog and GooseLiverPaté. Why master stocks and kombu became important. Any having miso on hand at all times. Quick Miso soup with a 1/2 pint of stock for lunch or dinner. I did use a silicone cube tray for a couple years but 1/2 pints work best for us. One less step. Into the freezer asap. The pups get the skimmed fat in small doses in their food. We go through stock quickly especially now being soup and noodle bowl month like every year. Found a shelf stable tofu in small boxes like kid juice boxes. Misfits has it again now but on amazon....tofu 12 boxes for 20 bucks. Handy pantry staple. Misfits is probably organic. I think I paid 1.29.