Grocery Shopping

[Thanks for the Crepes]

On 12/24/2018 at 5:28 PM, gulfporter said:

@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!

 

 

gulfporter,

 

You are correct, the large thorns had been removed. One could have picked them up and placed them carefully in a bag, if the inch-long thorns were present, by the sides of the thorns. They definitely had those nubs, complete with the little furlike thorns that will imbed into your skin and hurt, hurt, hurt if you get anywhere near them. My grandparents had beautiful prickly pear plants in the front yard in Springhill, LA on their old homestead and I got painfully acquainted with them as a small child. I remain fearful of those furry nubs to this day. Other places I've encountered whole paddles supply tongs to handle them, but there were none in sight at El Toro. The paddles were very desireable otherwise, though.

 

And yes, nopales can be very good to eat or also slimy and gross. Same with okra, which I also love!

 

Never heard of Pollo Feliz, but wish they would come here.

[gulfporter]

Oh those furry pickers.....ouch!  But in AZ and here in MX they are removed, at least at stores we shopped at.  My Bisbee AZ house had a row of pink prickly pears along a patio wall where I hung party lights and those furry pickers got me every time I changed a bulb.  In dry months, the javelinas would come down from the hills and feast on the cacti but the plants always grew back.  Out of a dozen plants, we only lost 1 when temps plunged to 2 degrees F one wicked winter.   They are hardy....and a food source for both 2 and 4 legged creatures 🌵

Edited December 27, 2018 by gulfporter (log)

[lindag]

I checked again today at Walmart.com.  My saved list contains 21 items; only 6 are in stock.

This has been the case since August.  What's wrong here?

[lemniscate]

5 hours ago, gulfporter said:

Oh those furry pickers.....ouch!  But in AZ and here in MX they are removed, at least at stores we shopped at. 

 

Yep, whole paddles with the evil already cut off around here in the markets.   No tongs offered in any of the markets I can recall.  I just use the plastic veg bag like a glove and grab a few and turn the bag inside out over them.   I am overly cautious.  I grill them, or cook them with tomatillo husks to avoid the slime (baba) texture most people don't seem to like.   I tried it sous vide one time, no bueno.   I think the prickly pear is the only plant that gives a veg and a fruit.  I find them amazing.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Tonight we're supposed to get another inch or so of rain.  Mindful of the Flood Watch, I decided today was about as good a time to go grocery shopping as any.  It was a grueling trip:  full backpack, four shopping bags, up hill both ways in the dark.  OK, I exaggerate, only coming back was in the dark.  The wetlands were covered in inches of water and muck.  (Maybe why they call them wetlands?)  Which was more of a pain because I had to hold the bags up higher to keep them dry.

 

The journey was even more adventuresome because I had taken one of my new Darto steel pans over to the hardware store for suggestions on how to prepare the surface.  Thankfully steel pans are not as heavy as cast iron.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Almost forgot:  there is progress!  The big orange sign in the wetlands that says Construction, Plan Alternate Route...is now covered in black plastic.

 

[kayb]

Bumping up an old thread to ask if anyone else has this issue. Went to the grocery (two different ones, in fact; Sam's Wholesale and Kroger). Spent better than $200. Bought a take-home-and-bake-it pizza we later decided we didn't want, so it's in the fridge for early next week. But after bringing all that in and putting it away, what did I eat for an early supper (because I skipped lunch)?

 

A Twinkie. Five of those el-cheapo chocolate-covered cherry cordials. And a single serving bag of generic Ritz Bitz cheese-and-cracker sandwiches.

 

I'm somewhat ashamed, both that I bought that much junk food (didn't realize I was hungry when I went to the grocery, but I must have been), and that I ate that much junk food. Oh, well, I'm cooking a good dinner for the fam tomorrow.

 

 

[Anna N]

2 minutes ago, kayb said:

I'm somewhat ashamed, both that I bought that much junk food (didn't realize I was hungry when I went to the grocery, but I must have been), and that I ate that much junk food. 

Don’t beat yourself up. A truly balanced diet includes the occasional pig out on junk food.  Remember: “moderation in all things including moderation”!

[kayb]

2 hours ago, Anna N said:

Don’t beat yourself up. A truly balanced diet includes the occasional pig out on junk food.  Remember: “moderation in all things including moderation”!

 

Well, I comfort myself with the notion that dinner tomorrow is country fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, lima beans and a salad. 

 

 

[ChocoMom]

I've been pleasantly surprised by my favorite grocery store's pricing lately.  Usually, the pricing, esp. produce,  is quite high this time of year, but, blueberries and strawberries have been insanely inexpensive as of late, with exceptional quality and flavor.  The blueberries, 2  (pints) for $5 , were plump, juicy and not one squished little bub in the whole bunch!  Strawberries- 2 (quarts) for $5 - same deal. Ripe, none were moldy or squishy, and they actually tasted like a strawberry.  Most of the winter berries we get up here look more orange than red, and the flavor has no resemblance to a strawberry.  Asparagus was only $2.99/bunch- about a pound or so.  Melons, pineapples, lettuces, cukes, spring onions, ....the list goes on and on. 

 

Chicken breasts were on sale as well, and the dairy dept. blew me away.  Almost everything I needed was buy one, get one free.   Special K -  all the varieties were 2/$4.  My favorite coffee- Cameron's, was 2/$10.  Normally, it's $6.99/lb.   

 

This blew me away yesterday.  My hubby and kids love the store-made fried chicken from the deli.  Normally, it's $8.99/8 pc bucket.  Yesterday, I was gobsmacked. I was in a hurry to get lunch on the table, but I was stuck in town for longer than expected.  So, I ran into my favorite store,  for the chicken. Not only did I get the 8 piece bucket of chicken, but also a TUB of mashies, a TUB of gravy, 2lb of coleslaw, AND 4 dinner rolls.....for $8.99.  Felt like I won the lotto!  I don't buy that food very often, but wit h my daughter, her boyfriend, hubby and the moose to feed...that whole spread was greatly appreciated. 

 

When hubby heads out of town again, and he does the Aldi- trip for me, I'll have him stock up on the favorites -  butter, salmon, turkey bacon, and the take-n-bake breads.    I'm going to be saving up dough for a more lengthy Aldi trip when I do another show in May down in Escanaba.   I'd love nothing more than to stock the freezer with salmon, and turkey bacon!  

[kayb]

I've been pigging out on blueberries, myself. With yogurt and granola in the mornings, in blueberry muffins, in pancakes, and just to eat like candy out of the package. Love 'em. I need to get some strawberries and dip them in chocolate for Valentine's Day.

[liuzhou]

This morning's mushroom medley from the market.

 

[rotuts]

@liuzhou

 

how expensive are the morels ?

 

sorry.  pls ignore.  found your answer in another thread.

Edited February 13, 2019 by rotuts (log)

[liuzhou]

and today's

 

[suzilightning]

John left yesterday for a long weekend of ice climbing....if they can through the snow.....

Bought  turkey breast , Udi's white bread, Utz's pickle chips and Cape Cod potato chips - 40% less fat.

Normally it would be "What can I cook while he is gone?"  I'm older, Gandalf and it now is "What can I buy to eat - especially since it is tax time?'

At Burrini's got half an apple pie(I already have the cheddar cheese). a small quiche Lorraine and a small piece of some blue cheese.

At the Acme around the corner a small container of Mr. Ron's coleslaw, Kretchmer's tartar sauce and a true impulse buy - a small box of Stouffer's chipped beef.

 

[tonyrocks922]

On 2/16/2016 at 10:38 AM, Anna N said:

So many, many possibilities for kimchee!  Kiimchi pancakes, roasted cauliflower with kimchi cream,  kimchi soup and I have not even got serious yet!  

 

Do you happen to have a recipe for kimchi cream?

[Anna N]

2 minutes ago, tonyrocks922 said:

 

Do you happen to have a recipe for kimchi cream?

 It is nothing more than two parts mayonnaise to one part undrained kimchi. Put them into a food processor and run until combined and creamy.  Your choice as to how much texture you like.   It is adapted from the book “Vedge” which uses vegan mayonnaise and a vegan kimchi. 

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

On 2/18/2019 at 12:07 AM, liuzhou said:

and today's

 

I recognize the morels but what are the others in this post and the previous one?

 

Nancy in Pátzcurao

[liuzhou]

2 hours ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

I recognize the morels but what are the others in this post and the previous one?

 

That is something I've been trying to find out for a long time. The vendor told me the Chinese name which doesn't help. I've been using Google and his Chinese counterparts but can't come up with any Latin or English name. I need a mycologist!

[Katie Meadow]

The bluish ones in the second photo look to me like blewits. When they are young and fresh the caps are nice and convex. As they get older the caps flatten out. I know they are found in Europe as well as the States;  I don't know about Asia, but that's what they look like. Not as good as a morel, at least in my opinion. I assume yours are gilled--if not, ignore everything I just said. 

 

The ones pictured in the first photo might be matsutake, although the ones that grow in CA have a more white cap, at least when first picked. Do they have a whiff of cinnamon?  

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, Katie Meadow said:

The bluish ones in the second photo look to me like blewits.

 

I'm familiar with blewits from England  and I'm fairly sure that those aren't such. They are much darker in colour - maybe it's my photo, but they aren't at all blue. They are black. Whether blewits grow here or not, I just don't know.

I can't even remember what the vendor called them in Chinese, but she was speaking the local dialect - there may well be a more standard name. I'll ask again.

 

1 hour ago, Katie Meadow said:

The ones pictured in the first photo might be matsutake, although the ones that grow in CA have a more white cap, at least when first picked. Do they have a whiff of cinnamon?  

 

They definitely aren't matsutake. Or I've stumbled on the cheapest matsutake ever! But they were more expensive than most mushrooms - but not matsutake levels. The morels were more expensive. And no, they don't have that cinnamon whiff.

 

We do get matsutake here, but usually dried and I'd have to re-mortgage my house and myself to afford them regularly. Most are shipped to Japan where the inhabitants are happy to pay silly money. I am guessing they are some kind of Boletes. The mushrooms; not the Japanese!

 

[Katie Meadow]

@liuzhou Yes, I thought about a bolete. Anyway, you are a brave soul to eat a mushroom you can't identify. You are one of the most adventurous eaters I know! 

[liuzhou]

33 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

@liuzhou Yes, I thought about a bolete. Anyway, you are a brave soul to eat a mushroom you can't identify. You are one of the most adventurous eaters I know! 

 

Thank you! I've been buying my mushrooms from the same woman or 20 years  and she hasn't killed me yet! Nor have I given her reason to to so, I think!

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

If those are boletes in the first photo, they will have tubes rather than gills. They do have the chubby stem of boletus edulis but the caps are very small.

 

N in P

[liuzhou]

15 hours ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

If those are boletes in the first photo, they will have tubes rather than gills. They do have the chubby stem of boletus edulis but the caps are very small.

 

N in P

 

Well, I went back to the market this morning and bought some more of these

 

 

to check them. As you can see

 

 

I have been forced to change my diagnosis. Obviously not boletes, but I'm stumped as to what they may be. I have a friend visiting from Shanghai next week (it's a 5 day national holiday here) . She may know more about these. I'll let you know if I have any info. If you or anyway cares to hazard an identification I'd be delighted.

 

In the meantime, I'll clean them and have them for dinner.

Edited March 27, 2019 by liuzhou (log)