Grocery Shopping

[gulfporter]

Getting ready for some holiday baking.  Here is the "carton" of Mexican eggs I bought at the local tienda.  They sell by the kilo here, not dozen.  This bag is just a tad over 1K.

 

[MetsFan5]

@Thanks for the Crepes this is one article about the Instacart/ Trader Joe’s disagreement:

 

https://www.geekwire.com/2013/amazon-fresh-rival-instacart-stops-trader-joes-delivery/

 

google brings up lots others. I wish it wasn’t true too. 

[TicTac]

@Anna N - Great price on those duck breasts.  King Cole?

 

I really like our local Pat's supermarket (Korean chain) - they often have some very interesting finds.

[liuzhou]

10 hours ago, gulfporter said:

They sell by the kilo here, not dozen.

 

Same here in China. Eggs are always weighed. And bagged the same way.

 

Here a couple of duck eggs I bought this morning. Sea duck eggs, to be precise. Very fresh. But I was interested in the differing sizes. These are the smallest and largest of the batch. More were at the smaller end of the scale. Those black lines on the mat are 2cm apart.

 

They weigh 64g and 88g respectively.

 

 

Edited December 12, 2018 by liuzhou (log)

[IowaDee]

The bag 'o eggs reminded me of shopping for beer in Mazatlan, Mexico.  Instead of a 6 pack , you got six bottles in a net.  What a lot of clanking that made as you carried  one in each hand up the steps to board the bus.  Every passenger knew exactly what you had......We were very happy when a small market opened across from the condo and we could scurry across the street with our nets of Dos XX's.

[Anna N]

17 hours ago, TicTac said:

@Anna N - Great price on those duck breasts.  King Cole?

 

I really like our local Pat's supermarket (Korean chain) - they often have some very interesting finds.

Yes that was a very good price. I usually pay around nine dollars.  These are Brome Lake brand.  

[liuzhou]

14 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Yes that was a very good price. I usually pay around nine dollars.  These are Brome Lake brand.  

 

I'm confused. How much was each breast? I am seeing $15.99. But hey, I never did understand numbers.

[Anna N]

27 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

I'm confused. How much was each breast? I am seeing $15.99. But hey, I never did understand numbers.

 Same duck breasts retrieved from my freezer just for you 

 

😘

 

 

[liuzhou]

11 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 Same duck breasts retrieved from my freezer just for you 😘

 

 

 

Ah! ha! My gratefulness is eternal. I told you I was numerically illiterate. I misread the '$' sign as a '1' and added on another dollar for good luck.

Still seems ridiculously expensive to me, but duck is the cheapest animal protein here. I'm not even going to tell you how much I pay for a lovely duck breast. You would just hate me even more! But your $4.99 per breast could buy me a whole duck, a dozen of its eggs and the taxi fare home!

Edited December 12, 2018 by liuzhou (log)

[Anna N]

47 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

You would just hate me even more! But your $4.99 per breast could buy me a whole duck, a dozen of its eggs and the taxi fare home!

Ah but it still wouldn’t buy you a chunk of cave-aged gruyere.   🙂

[gulfporter]

Fresh huitlacoche....will use in filling of chicken quesadillas and as a sauce on chipotle/cream cheese raviolis.   It was 20 pesos which is 1 USD right now.  I don't often see it here in our area, it is far more popular in other parts of Mexico.  

 

 

[gulfporter]

If you have ever had bunuelos you will understand my swoon.  I went to our weekly open air street market and on the walk home scored these in the drug store parking lot.  Light as gossamer despite the heavy load of cinnamon sugar.  30 pesos a bag.  Only seen here at Christmas time, then pffffft they're gone.  

 

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

On 12/17/2018 at 10:42 AM, gulfporter said:

Fresh huitlacoche....will use in filling of chicken quesadillas and as a sauce on chipotle/cream cheese raviolis.   It was 20 pesos which is 1 USD right now.  I don't often see it here in our area, it is far more popular in other parts of Mexico.  

In our mercado the old ladies who sit on the ground to sell the produce they've grown in their own gardens call this "el viejo" (old man) due to the color resembling grey hair. I love the taste but it does not love me, unfortunately. Interesting that something that US farmers try to avoid is a delicacy south of the border.

 

Nancy in Pátzcuaro

 

[IowaDee]

My neighbors are horrified at the idea that people would eat this stuff.  When I said that it tasted like mushrooms, they looked at me as if I were from outer space.  Now that Iowa has an ever increasing Latino population it may become something that is welcome at the table not swept under it.  But it will be a very long time before my neighbors are excited rather than appalled  to see it in their gardens.  

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, IowaDee said:

My neighbors are horrified at the idea that people would eat this stuff.  When I said that it tasted like mushrooms, they looked at me as if I were from outer space.  Now that Iowa has an ever increasing Latino population it may become something that is welcome at the table not swept under it.  But it will be a very long time before my neighbors are excited rather than appalled  to see it in their gardens.  

I cannot get the girl I buy corn from at the farmer's market to bring me any. She won't touch it.

[Katie Meadow]

I would be so excited to see that in a market! Once in a while corn from the farmers' markets has a little on it, but it never seems very fresh and there's never enough of it to do anything with. Great with cheese and corn and chile in a quesadilla. Swoon worthy.

[liuzhou]

On 11/24/2018 at 2:13 PM, liuzhou said:

I picked up a can of Guinness this morning, intending to make beef and Guinness pie later. I was amused to see flag on the price ticket sign.

 

 

It's enough to restart a war. Ireland hasn't been a part of the UK since 1922 and gained full independence as the Republic of Ireland in 1949, the same year Mao formed the People's Republic of China.

Maybe the Guinness is well aged?

 

 

I am delighted to report that they have seen the error of their way and have relabelled it. Now it's Belgian!

[gulfporter]

On 11/24/2018 at 12:13 AM, liuzhou said:

I picked up a can of Guinness this morning, intending to make beef and Guinness pie later. I was amused to see flag on the price ticket sign.

 

 

 

 

Is my math correct....about 90 cents US a can?  Great price!   

[gulfporter]

12 hours ago, IowaDee said:

My neighbors are horrified at the idea that people would eat this stuff.  When I said that it tasted like mushrooms, they looked at me as if I were from outer space.  Now that Iowa has an ever increasing Latino population it may become something that is welcome at the table not swept under it.  But it will be a very long time before my neighbors are excited rather than appalled  to see it in their gardens.  

 

Long called "corn fungus" or "corn smut" in the US.  High profile chefs are now calling it "corn truffle."  What's in a name....everything when it comes to marketing 🤑

[liuzhou]

40 minutes ago, gulfporter said:

 

Is my math correct....about 90 cents US a can?  Great price!   

 

Yes, about that, but expensive for China. And that was a special clearance offer.

Edited December 20, 2018 by liuzhou (log)

[ChocoMom]

So, I had a popup shop in a mall over the weekend--about three hours away from my home.  It was adjacent to an Aldi store, which I was ecstatic about.  I was so happy to find sourdough bread for hubby, Atlantic salmon- just a massive, gorgeous piece!, and a wide assortment of cheeses. What was absolutely amazing were the bright, stunning strawberries! I just bought a new phone, and have not yet figured out how to work the camera - otherwise you could all enjoy the bright colors with me!  But goodness! I don't know that I've ever seen such consistently beautiful (and tasty) strawberries in a supermarket before! None of them were blemished or bruised- just all perfect and delicious. 

 

I made off with the usuals as well- cereals, lunch meat, iced tea, butter ($1.99/pound), snack bars, Cliff bars, crackers, coffee pods for my son's new coffee maker, and some frozen snacks for the kids.   I was staying the night with my oldest son, daughterinlaw, and 3 grandkids for the night, so I took them some goodies too- including strawberries!  The berries convinced my DIL that Aldi might be a neat place to shop...so she is going on her next grocery run. 

 

Continuing to lobby for an Aldi in our area.  

Edited December 20, 2018 by ChocoMom
sp (log)

[Shelby]

On 12/17/2018 at 10:42 AM, gulfporter said:

Fresh huitlacoche....will use in filling of chicken quesadillas and as a sauce on chipotle/cream cheese raviolis.   It was 20 pesos which is 1 USD right now.  I don't often see it here in our area, it is far more popular in other parts of Mexico.  

 

 

Wow!  I've never seen it for sale before.  

 

A few years ago I had this happen to some of my garden corn.  Like @IowaDee said, farmers here are horrified if it happens in the field corn.  I really liked it--tasted like a corny mushroom.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Friday last, I got a few minutes in the El Toro Supermarket in Raleigh! This place is fabulous. It has a great produce and butcher section, which were the main areas I had time to check out. The carniceria has all kinds of meat and fish, but I did not buy any as when I finally figured out, with my Sis's help, the prices and descriptions were all posted toward the ceiling away from the displays of actual meat. They have more of a selection of meats than the Food Lion off Reedy Creek!

I was hoping that Sis and eldest niece would be as excited as I was about this rare treat of a bodega and all the treasures it offered. Sadly, they just wanted to get the heck out of there and get over indulging me. When will I EVER find someone who loves these experiences as much as I do? 

 

They had "fajita meat" which was the closest thing I found to what I wanted badly, which was skirt steak, but wasn't labeled
as such. The "fajita meat"was $7.99 a pound and looked to be striated like the skirt steak I can only eat at "Toreros's" here.  The lines for actually talking to the butcher (who knows if he speaks English) were long and my companions were anxious to get the hell out of there.

 

I still managed to buy some stuff. Sis recommended the Purple Crow (Cuervito Morado) brand of queso fresco when she saw me selecting some. It is excellent. I bought a large bunch of fresh cilanto for 49 cents. I had crossed off the cilantro acquisition from my Food Lion Instacart order knowing that I would be coming to this bodega. $1.29 at Food Lion last time with half of it waste vs. .49 with virtually no waste here at El Toro, so win! A big bag of jalapenos at very similar price to Food Lion, but larger (freakishly, and perfect for stuffing) .

 

Also got a white onion, and have cut into it, because even though I had older (to me) white onions, this one was the softest upon squeezing. I do not like this onion much. It is however edible, and I ate some tonight. It's what I get for buying the best-looking onion out of a bin of bad-looking ones. They have cut cactus and whole and thorny cactus paddles from the prickly pear. The latter actually looked really good, but they provided no tongs to pick them up, so I left them in the store. They also had a couple of vegetables I did not recognize at all. That is always interesting and piques my curiosity. If I'd had more time to observe, I would try to describe and ask for help, but alas, as soon I realized my companions had no interest in this place it was a race to grab a few items and get to the checkout.

 

Lastly, I bought a big whack of house-made tortillas. They are stored in big, marina-sized coolers in front of the meat case in the back of the store. They are HOT! when you buy them and they are SO good! $1.29 a pound. They are hard to find. I read about them online, but Sis actually had to direct me back to the coolers in front of the meat cases after I had walked past them without noticing and expressed my concern to get these things. If you're ever in there, these handcrafted tortillas caliente come out of their coolers not quite hot enough to burn your hand, but still impressively very warm. They are lightly charred on one side, and they are worth seeking out.

 

Just be careful what you order at the Taqueria El Toro restaurant next door. Fajitas great, cabeza (beef cheek) tacos, wonderful, tortas very good, quesadilla fail. Take out Total Fail! Still, the experience of the bodega and the restaurant together is something anyone who enjoys food in this area is bound to enjoy.

 

 

I loved my little time in this bodega. I just wish my Sis and niece had been more into it so I could have enjoyed it with them, but at least I got out of my little shell for a while and was able to pursue something I love so much.

 

Shoot! I totally missed the bakery racks I saw in the Yelp reviews because of the "let's get out of here and get it over with" attitude I was feeling. I could have gone crazy there in the bakery aisle!

[gulfporter]

@Thanks for the Crepes  Are you certain the cactus pads had thorns and not just the nubs that remain after the thorns are removed?  Here and in southeast AZ they were always sold denuded.  I like nopales but often they are overcooked here and they get the same slime texture as overcooked okra.  My go-to place for chicken al carbon (over real wood charcoal) is the chain Pollo Feliz and they make a very nice nopales salad which is never slimey.  I think Pollo Feliz has expanded into the US but not sure which states.   

 

That market sounds great!

Edited December 24, 2018 by gulfporter (log)

[heidih]

Yes I am lucky to have Latin markets like that. It is like a "kid in the candy store" thing for me. I have also only seen the nubs left on nopales. There are many locally growing  and I see workers when trail walking who harvest the bounty. Not commercially just guys doing gardening or construction.  They harvest the tuna as well.