Klatsch: Don't Shop Now!

[andiesenji]

I could probably go on for at least a week longer but I have guests coming tomorrow that are vegan and I need to buy fresh fruits and vegetables - they don't eat frozen either.

I still don't need any staples - won't need to shop for those until '10 and I now have an accurate inventory of all my staples, up to date and with "use-by" dates on stickers stuck on to the containers - I even have then color-coded. Red for use it up quick, yellow for use it within a couple of months and green for use it whenever........

It's been fun. Sorry I didn't post about all my meals. I've been using the Thermomix a lot and also spending a lot of time with my holiday baking.

[Fat Guy]

Today I was feeling pretty desperate for fresh fruit, and look what arrived courtesy of dear friends in Vermont:

Between all that fruit, and the excellent stock of frozen berries I haven't yet dipped into, I think I'm set for at least a week of fresh fruit and frozen-fruit-based smoothies.

Nonetheless, I think tomorrow I'm going to go to the supermarket and get a few things. Not my regular shopping, but I'll acquire the various pieces of the puzzle that I need in order to utilize some of my stockpiles efficiently.

Back to today, for breakfast we made scrambled eggs and home fries. So excited were PJ and I that we ate most of them before I remembered to take a photo. But here are some remnants:

We didn't have a real lunch today, just some pretzels, nuts, raisins and whatever else was around. It was a grazing lunch.

At dinnertime (I had both breakfast and dinner shifts alone with PJ) I suggested spaghetti and PJ asked if we had meatballs. No. Meat sauce? No. Then I realized: we had 3 quarts of chili in the freezer. I told PJ about how once, before he was born, his mother and I visited a city called Cincinnati where the local custom is to eat spaghetti with chili. I reminisced about Skyline Chili, told him about the vernacular of the 3-way, 4-way, 5-way, etc. He bought it and agreed to try spaghetti with chili.

Now, my experience at Skyline Chili has been that it's not very good. But I thought maybe the concept could still be sound, assuming spaghetti that's not overcooked served with chili that isn't watery and bland. I like my chili, and I know how not to overcook spaghetti, so I got the chili from the freezer and went to work.

The final product was surprisingly tasty. It turns out, if you use good spaghetti and good chili you get a credible dish.

[snowangel]

Nonetheless, I think tomorrow I'm going to go to the supermarket and get a few things. Not my regular shopping, but I'll acquire the various pieces of the puzzle that I need in order to utilize some of my stockpiles efficiently.

I think this is key to making the most use out of what you have.

I'm now ready to dive in. I had a half-hearted attempt, but a women's weekend away and birthday party bashes for my mom precluded full participation.

So, last night, I reorganized and went through the downstairs freezer, and have cleaned out the upstairs freezer. Outside of milk (which I need to purchase regularly, I should be in good shape. My one exception will be that if I'm near the Asian market, and if they have fresh Thai basil, I'll pick it up. It is very perishable. We love the basil in curry, and I've got tons of everything else to make curry.

On another note, I've been getting together with a couple of friends most Sunday afternoons while Peter is in confirmation, and we've started a Sunday afternoon leftover trade. These are leftovers that are fairly single-purposed, and one can only eat the same thing for so many lunches in a row. We all cook in very different styles, so this has been a great way to re-use leftovers.

[snowangel]

Thanks, Steven, for the report on the fried chicken. But, $14.95 for a bunch of ingredients that I have on hand and probably cost a buck? I don't think so...

[Fat Guy]

Just getting caught up on the inventory of photos I didn't have a chance to post during last week's convalescence. I mentioned the loaf of raisin challah I found in the freezer, which turned out to be a goldmine for peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches. I have no idea where the challah came from. I don't think the French Culinary Institute baking program produced it. I didn't buy it. How does a raising challah magically appear in one's freezer? Parallels to the miracle of the oil on Hanukkah suggest themselves.

I have had in the refrigerator for several months the last bits of a jar of almond butter. Not enough to make a whole sandwich. Not enough to throw out. So for this sandwich I did a blend of peanut butter and almond butter. Worked out great. In fact I may do it on purpose at some point.

I did a little supplemental grocery shopping this morning so in future photos you may see some fresh products (lettuce!) creeping in, but I really kept it to a minimum. We're talking 30 or 40 bucks for a month.

[snowangel]

I did well today. We had scrambled eggs with some bits of leftover smoked fish for breakfast. For some reason, every time I go to Costco (weekly, primarily for milk -- Costco is only 1 mile from my house and the savings on milk are huge), I buy the two-pack of 18-count eggs, so we always have a shelf full of eggs.

Church, then took my sister to the airport. Peter is sick and needed something to eat on the way home, so we stopped and I got him a bagel.

Lunch, when I finally arrived home from the airport was the last four Ritz Crackers in a tube with the last of the smoked fish (from Russ Kendall's in Knife River).

Dinner. I'd actually thought about this in advance (it's been a very busy weekend what with a big birthday bash for my mother and my sister coming from Berkeley -- she'll never hear the end of the fact that she neglected to bring a double levain from Acme) and pulled out some chicken from the freezer. Not long ago, my supermarket had 10 pound packages of leg/thigh quarters for $.39/lb, which I dutifully split into legs and thighs and froze on cookie sheets and then stuck into zip locks. Mashed potatoes, adding in the last of the filling from twice baked's I'd made on Thursday. I added the filling to the mashed potatoes and then crisped the shells for me to eat with butter and pepper. A half a bag of frozen corn was thawed and heated.

We didn't eat all of the chicken (I roasted more on purpose), so tomorrow, I'll dig out some stuff from the pantry and freezer and make enchiladas.

So, my question for the day is my mom had four 8-oz packages of button mushroom in her fridge. We traded them for Tort Mahn mixture (she was having folks over for dinner). They won't last long in the fridge, and I have intentions for them. Should I just go ahead and dry roast them in a pan and put them in the fridge? After cooked, will they freeze?

I did stop at the market today and bought yogurt and squishy pseudo wheat bread for lunches for Heidi for this week. No way is she eating homemade bread, and no way is she eating sourdough. She's tiny and has health and eating issues (80 pounds at age 15), so I will cater to her. Oh, I also bought some cream cheese because we have at least 4 dozen bagels in the freezer.

Why do I have this stuff, and like Steven, I wonder where some of it came from.

[Pierogi]

I guess I'm sort of out after about 2&1/2 weeks. I did some shopping over the w/end, but not certainly on a normal level.

I did make the pasta with a cream sauce supplimented by the leftover pancetta and coppa on Thursday. The recipe I was using called for sun-dried tomatoes, and come to find out when I went to make it, I had none. Normally I'd have ditched the recipe and done something else, but I *did* have some fresh tomatoes, and used them. The final result was OK, and certainly satisfying, but I can see how it would be better with the sun-drieds.

Yesterday I was invited out to friends' for dinner, and tonight I made Ma-Po Tofu from Ah Leung's pictorial of a few years ago. I'd been wanting to try it. I'd say it was a mix of 90% stock items and 10% purchased for the dish (notably the tofu and the hoisin sauce, which I was out of).

Tomorrow I'm making a chile verde/posole stew from mostly purchased ingredients, but it's going to be miserable and rainy all day, and I had nothing in the larder condusive to a stew. Tuesday I'm planning on kielbasa (purchased) with pierogies (from the freezer) and Wednesday fish tacos (purchased tortillas for the chile verde and purchased cabbage) with fish from the freezer. I'm right now aiming for about 50% new/50% from stock.

I'll drop out of the narrative at this point, but keep watching for as long as it goes. It was a HUGE learning experience. Huge. I was amazed at how little I had in my curbside garbage can each week.

And yeah, I would absolutely be up for doing this again in the spring. Now I feel the need to lay in a few stocks to make up for what I used. But I know I will be MUCH more respectful of the fresh items I purchase and hopefully will do much more directed shopping on a routine basis.

To the others....CARRY ON !

[Elisabeth]

ok! Day One of Week Four.

The amazing (somewhat embarrassing, but totally mindboggling just the same) thing is that there seems to be no increase in available space in a. fridge, b. pantry, c. freezer. HOW CAN THAT BE? Is my pantry a bottomless pit? A magic porridge pot? Gulp.

In three+ weeks, I've spent $15.21 on bagels, crumpets, milk, cream, and creamcheese (week one). Then, $21.95 on bananas, soft bread, chocolate milk, two packages of udon vacuum-pack soup, shrimp flavor, and a big bottle of ginger ale (sounds strange? M. had a thyroidectomy last week, and those were the things he craved. I've a soft touch for a convalescing man).

Other foodstuffs that have come into the house:

1 box of clementines (M), 2 lemons (a guest), 2 installments of my CSA farm share (for the 2 weeks, about 18 pounds of assorted:

Sweet Potatoes

Radicchio

Lettuce

Kohlrabi

Potatoes

Leeks

Turnips

Rutabagas

Onions

Carrots

Butternut Squash

Kale

Beets

Shallots

Onions

Spinach

Salad Mix

Brussels Sprouts

Parsnips

Marjoram

Apples

Pears

and 3 dozen organic eggs with the yellowest yolks you've ever seen.

So it's not exactly like nothing has come into the house - just the same, I've made bread (three times), started sprouting alfalfa seeds (just before the last farm share took care of the fresh stuff craving),

[Elisabeth]

(oops, just posted unfinished by mistake.)

Ahem: to resume:

For some reason, I wanted ricotta cheese and a.) of course couldn't buy any, and b.)didn't have enough milk to make it: so I used a can of reconstituted evaporated milk, a cup or so of leftover buttermilk, and the half cup of half-and-half in the fridge: came out decent enough, surprisingly. But whatever impulse made me want to have ricotta hasn't translated into using it yet (having your ricotta and eating it are not akin): so I've got this bowl of strange ricotta-type cheese in the fridge, a character looking for an author....

But I *did* use the whey for the liquid in my last loaf of bread. A little too tart without being sourdoughy- but edible, especially when toasted.

I'm prepared to go forever (well, ok, as long as I can) with this no-shopping challenge at this point. It's actually quite important to me: I've really needed a push to start using up all my stuff (it's just so decadent...) and while one could consider it cheating that I have a farm share for veggies, it's what I've got, hey....

I now must also confess that I get a box of organically raised meat every few weeks from a client (I build websites, and often work in trade) who has a ranch in upstate NY, and another box is due this week or next. And I'm a member of a food coop where, again in trade for web-work, I get a huge percentage discount on everything I buy, and once a month I get an extra 10% on top of that: so I get catfood and coffee and stuff like that. This particular monthly discount day is coming up on Wednesday, and I will replenish my supply of flour (I've just got enough for one more loaf of bread), milk, and butter. Which is way way less than I usually get - hence my insanely inflated stor of food.

Who know though - I really would like to make it through the new year like this! Soon I'll be out of anchovies! Syrian Pepper! Pickled Banana Blossoms!

[Milt]

Yesterday's meal preparation really showed some progress toward reducing quantities on hand. I emptied containers of bread crumbs and dried basil, reduced the surplus of tomato paste, finished off our russets and our sour cream, used over half of our sweet potatoes, used over half of our skinless boneless chicken breasts, used over half of our Rome apples, nearly finished the buttermilk and honey, and possibly more that I have forgotten.

We have enough leftovers from last night to have tonight's dinner with no additional cooking required. We had chicken strips, minestrone soup, green beans, sweetened sweet potatoes, and a relish plate - along with sweet tea - and sour cream apple pie for dessert.

Tomorrow, I will cook again. Our daughter joins us for dinner on Wednesday evenings and is a very picky eater. If any of the above leftovers are still available - there isn't much she would care to eat. I think I will do more baked chicken strips and another relish plate - plus I will toast slices of the walnut raisin whole wheat bread lurking in the refrigerator. We will still have pie on hand, as well.

Wednesday is also the day for 5% Seniors Discount at Publix and Kroger - so I will do some modest shopping. I will only buy what I plan to use on the next week's meals - which will be centered on what is still on hand.

[Shamanjoe]

Dinner tomorrow night is going to be a nice asian inspired soup. I'm finally breaking out the dashi and bonito flakes that have been in my pantry for what seems like months now, to make a nice broth, then adding some of the onions, chinese broccoli and scallions that have been hanging around my kitchen and garden. And some of the noodles that I have all around the house.

edited to fix my horrible typing.

Edited December 9, 2009 by Shamanjoe (log)

[Shamanjoe]

I just realised that I have Kombu, which is used to make dashi.. So, yeah.

[Milt]

The reduction of surplus foods is continuing. On Wednesday, I prepared chicken stroganoff - which finished off our skinless boneless chicken breasts from a Weight Watchers recipe. Also prepared was banana bread from the preceding Weight Watchers page. That used the frozen very ripe banana in the freezer.

Last night I prepared enchilada lasagna casserole, which used the balance of our flour tortillas, the last package of ground chicken, the red bell pepper, and the oldest green peppers. Our pecan pie used the last of the dark corn syrup and the last frozen pie crust.

Spaces are beginning to appear in the pantry and in the freezer. My meal planning continues to be around what is on hand, while still trying to prepare healthy food and a balanced menu. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don't. The pecan pie was an example of "don't", but it sure was good.

Tonight is another leftover night. The balance of the enchilada lasagna will be served tonight, along with the rest of whatever is prepared and still in the refrigerator. Tomorrow will be time to resume cooking.

[ambra]

How do you make Chicken Stroganoff? Sounds like something I might like to make....

[Shamanjoe]

I've been clearing out the pantry with a one-track mind lately. I've been having my instant Pancit Canton (think Filipino Top Ramen) as a snack every night. Now that the section is empty, I have to fight the urge to go buy another case, and instead work on the cans of soup, chili, etc..

[Fat Guy]

I had a friend over today who's in sales and, not on the subject of food, he was explaining how much of consumer purchasing behavior is dictated by habit and many other factors that have nothing to do with anything related to need. And it made me think of this experiment.

[Elisabeth]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one left standing! (or sitting....)

I just had a bowl of improvised pappa al pomodoro for my lunch, made with homegrown tomatoes, frozen for a day just like this, and a chunk of Iggy's Francese bread that was so hard it could have been used as a bookend. Yum Yum though! - and then I wondered if anyone else is still hanging in.

Made a variant on red curry beef last night: even with my farm-share veggies, there was nothing very bright or green in it: kohlrabi, hard green tomatoes, a yellow carrot, red onion, mushrooms - and thin-sliced beef, of course: definitely drab, but very good.

I *did* cheat this week and bought some stuff at my co-op's member day, (where I get 30% off my purchases, for updating the website) - and I bought some stuff I really didn't need and therefore shouldn't have:

squid (absolutely unecessary, what with all sorts of protein and fishy-type stuff still in the freezer)

'drinking chocolate' (the cocoa of the new milennium)

a cucumber (out-of-season guilt)

a green pepper (ditto)

- but I hope I caught myself in time, before I went way overboard.

It's a real addiction, this buying of food. And so much harder to break than I'd ever imagined.

Well, two days left in week four, and then on to week five!

[Milt]

How do you make Chicken Stroganoff? Sounds like something I might like to make....

A quick Google search for Chicken Stroganoff provided a number of recipes including "Weight Watchers Chicken Stroganoff".

[Elisabeth]

Good morning all!

I'm still hangin' in there, and - holy moly! - am beginning to see some results in my overcrowded fridge/freezer etc. YESSS!!!

Made some no-knead bread (a la Jim Lahey) yesterday, but I think I overproofed it: great flavor, but somewhat gummy texture. Actually, it might be better today, it was maybe too fresh to eat last night: I'll try some for lunch!

I still have an insurmountable pile of kohlrabi to use up. A surfeit, a plethora, a glut of Kohlrabi. I had received a bushel (count 'em) from my CSA back in October and made a batch of kraut from it (worked quite nicely - but there are still 8 or so of the hefty little guys waiting to be used.

So far I've used it in mashed potatoes, soups, veggie-hash type fryups, sliced superthin to give crunch to sandwiches: but is there anyone out there who can help me out? I need some more ideas for my Kohlrabi Abundance.....Thanks in advance!

[judiu]

Elisabeth, I suggest you Google kohlrabi recipes; I tried it and got over 2 MILLION responses! There are recipes with honey butter; with a dill cream sauce, and for all I know, a recipe for kohlrabi ice-cream! HTH!

[Milt]

We are making headway in our goal of reducing what is being stored, rather than consumed, in our home. We are leaving Tuesday for a week with family in Shreveport - so using up the perishables has been a focus. The crisper drawer in the refrigerator is just about empty. Our freezer is nearly empty now. The last week has seen most of the meat consumed. We have used the package of filet mignon, the ground pork, ground beef, and skinless boneless chicken breasts recently. My wife finished the bacon and tomatoes a few minutes ago with her lunch. I finished the deli sandwich meat with my lunch today. Last night used our last five sweet potatoes (they were very small) and we finished off the open jar of pickled peaches.

Tonight I am taking an apple cobbler and a rutabaga and carrot recipe to a pot luck Christmas party. That will finish off the open evaporated milk and the leftover rice, as well as the rutabaga.

Defrosting our freezer will possibly wait until a warm day occurs - but we will be ready when that warm weather reappears. Virtually everything left will then be in the freezer portion of our refrigerator - and much easier to see what is left, so that I can plan the menu around those items. I've also discovered a couple of those mystery packages - similar to what others of you have been finding in your freezers.

With only two evening meals left (at home) before we leave - we will be consuming leftovers for those meals. There won't be much freshly prepared - unless we eat more than I am expecting to have consumed at mealtime.

Last night's dinner used our last two pounds of ground beef, but also made a serious dent in our overstock of canned goods. I used two cans of diced green chiles, the last cans of mushroom and tomato soup, a can of tomato paste, two bags of tortilla chips and a few other ingredients in our Mexicali casserole.

After we return from Louisiana - the "no shopping" will continue. As we have been doing, a few items will be purchased to keep us eating well balanced meals. We will need milk, lettuce, and a few other items - but the focus will be upon what is still in the pantry (and the few items still in the freezer).

Edited December 19, 2009 by Milt (log)

[Katie Meadow]

So far I've used it in mashed potatoes, soups, veggie-hash type fryups, sliced superthin to give crunch to sandwiches: but is there anyone out there who can help me out? I need some more ideas for my Kohlrabi Abundance.....Thanks in advance!

I like it julienned and mixed in with cabbage to make a slaw. My favorite way to eat kohlrabi is just sliced very thin and sprinkled with good salt. I can eat a couple of good size kohlrabis like this while I'm cooking or having a cocktail.

In the last few years I've noticed a lot of kohlrabi in Oakland's Chinatown, although I don't think I've ever identified it in restaurant meals I've had. I can imagine it would be good with garlicky spicy stir-fry of various kinds.

[Fat Guy]

Like Milt, over the past couple of weeks I've shifted from no shopping to supplemental shopping only: buying small quantities of tactically needed ingredients that, for the most part, allow me to use up inventory. This was all in furtherance of the goal of getting the fridge empty by today, prior to heading off to Arizona for a week.

The good news: the fridge is the closest to empty it has been in the 19 years we've lived in this apartment. The bad news: today's flight was canceled due to weather and we really had to scramble to create dinner. (I managed to produce a pasta dish of dubious merit.) Other bad news: the freezer is still jam packed, as are the cabinets.

[Miriam Kresh]

I wish I could have participated this time. Chanukah week, with all the visitors and our annual family party, sort of did that in.

There is an issue which overshadows my shopping habits: the threat of imminent war, which is always at the back of my mind. I feel obliged to maintain a stocked pantry for emergencies, which the government has advised all Israelis to do (although many don't. The food and water has to be consumed and re-stocked in order to have a viable supply at hand always. Most of them are foods that can be eaten with minimal or no cooking: canned veg, packaged soups, instant couscous, which requires less water than pasta. Some are staples: sugar, salt, flour, dried beans and grains.

If a real emergency happens and the electricity goes, the first things we'd eat would be the perishables in the freezer (assuming there's still gas). So I don't keep a great amount of frozen meat or fish around - just what I think we'll eat over the next week. I do buy fresh produce, milk and dairy in small amounts, as needed - it's the way people usually shop here, where at least in the towns, markets are easily accessible even on foot.

I'm sure that many readers here keep the same sort of emergency supplies. I remember well my mother's pantry in our Michigan basement, which we had recourse to every winter when we got snowed in. I would love to hear how folks who expect natural emergencies shop.

I'm not saying that the week without shopping doesn't apply to Israelis or to me, or to people who stock for emergencies. I took the challenge last time and blogged about it. What I learned from it was that there's a difference between maintaining the emergency supplies and shopping out of habit. I started shopping more consciously: "If I buy those bean sprouts, I'd better cook them *today* because they spoil so soon. Hadn't I better sprout some myself? In which case, buy some fresh lentils and mung beans, forget the packaged sprouts." Of course I'm thinking these things as I'm pushing my shopping cart around, not saying them out loud. I hope.

Half of the bottom line was that I spent something under $60 for the week. Not exactly a week without shopping - it was a week of shopping much less. The second half is the habit of conscious shopping, which is still with me, and which came from sticking to the challenge the best I could, given the reality of life here.

[Milt]

The appropriate minimums do vary depending on where we live. Severe winters, impassable roads, and other circumstances dictate a different level of minimum food stock in our homes. The rancher who lives miles from the nearest store stocks differently than the person who lives in Manhattan within walking distance of a market. My problem has always been that I stock food as though I were not likely to see a grocer for several months - when, in fact, I make a regular weekly shopping trip to Kroger or Publix and supplement that with occasional stops at Trader Joe's and other markets.