Grocery Shopping

[rotuts]

well , about Butter

 

a Chamber-Vac and freezer are helpful here 

 

for some time , not in the last few months

 

Generic butter would come from time to time for $ 1.49 locally

 

I stocked up and Vac'd

 

I decided to splurge  once

 

 and get Challenge butter

 

https://challengedairy.com

 

it was on sale for $1.99

 

so ive moved in that direction

 

it did taste better than the generic $ 1.49

 

this is one on many quirks I have.  its not economic as such

 

just odd.

[chromedome]

https://www.fastcompany.com/90347782/the-humble-receipt-gets-a-brilliant-redesign

[Smithy]

That is an excellent idea. I know that my darling and I often do exactly as described: go in for a few things - or even a whole list - but still stagger out wondering what happened. At our stores things are itemized in groups (meats together, dairy together, and so on) so we can kindof see where all the money went. The bar graphs and bubble diagrams in this receipt make a great visualization tool.

 

Would it change the way we shop? Well...probably not...but it would be enlightening. It might also help to confirm our suspicions that meat is more expensive at one of the places we shop but produce is more so at another.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

The weather this afternoon was as dry as it's been this spring (though that's not saying much) so I decided to hazard a trip to the store.  The wetlands are usually mud and standing water.  Today the trail was babbling brook.  Some civic minded soul had put down rocks for stepping stones.

 

I made it to Shoprite without falling in.  I didn't need much but I learned Shoprite no longer carries Jif Natural peanut butter.  Why, Shoprite?  I also stopped for rum.

 

Going home I planned a different, much longer route that I could cross dry shod.  In the fifteen years or so since the corn fields have become a park there are trails I've only been on a couple times.  I had to pause to appreciate the views.  I am fortunate to live in an area of natural beauty.  Even if it is short on grocery stores.

 

[gulfporter]

We've been gone from our MX home for a month (FL and Portugal) and we're still tired, time-zone impaired and generally discombobulated.  

 

Went to the small produce market looking for some zucchini.  I buy them now and then, but thought these a bit smaller than usual.  

 

Get them home and start to peel.   Not zucchini.  

 

They are Persian cucumbers (googled ) and I think the best cucumber I have ever had!  Glad I made that mistake 😋

Edited May 24, 2019 by gulfporter (log)

[liuzhou]

10 hours ago, VerleneRosen said:

I was at the grocery today and buy rice, meat, carrot, onion and species for the rice with meat. And did it today. Tastyyyy

 

Species?

 

Do you mean "spices"? If so, which ones?

[chefmd]

Went to H mart in Merrifield to replenish our kimchi supply.  Saw these mushrooms.  Does anyone know what meat flavor means?  And lobsters were on sale 7.99 a pound.  There is some glare from the glass but these crustaceans were huge!

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Last night a friend took me to Shoprite after we got off from work.  For once I finished shopping before she did.  She explained the local Shoprite has much better selection than the Shoprite where she lives.  I felt less guilty.  What was most gratifying and brought me almost to tears, while in the store I was offered two rides home:  one by an acquaintance from the library and one by the clerk who bagged my order, if I could wait till she finished her shift.

 

And now I have dishwasher detergent and peanuts.

 

[BeeZee]

Something that I find mildly annoying is that Shop Rite (big supermarket chain in NJ) has stores owned by different "families" or groups. I have 4 stores within 20 minutes of my house, and one within walking distance of my office. There is a pretty big variation in the variety and quality of produce in each store. At lunchtime today I bought a pack of cherry tomatoes on the vine (99 cents) that was incredible, but never saw them at the 2 stores closest to my house. Not that the store by my office is any great shakes, but they must have a better produce buyer.

[Anna N]

Just this morning I got new glasses and you have convinced me that they are no better than my old ones. I read your sentence as, “At lunchtime today I bought a pack of cherry tomatoes on the vine(99 cents) that was inedible...”.  I had to re-read it three times before I could make sense of it.😂

[liuzhou]

12 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Just this morning I got new glasses and you have convinced me that they are no better than my old ones. I read your sentence as, “At lunchtime today I bought a pack of cherry tomatoes on the vine(99 cents) that was inedible...”.  I had to re-read it three times before I could make sense of it.😂

 

You're meant to look through those glasses not drink from them. Easy mistake  to make.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, BeeZee said:

Something that I find mildly annoying is that Shop Rite (big supermarket chain in NJ) has stores owned by different "families" or groups. I have 4 stores within 20 minutes of my house, and one within walking distance of my office. There is a pretty big variation in the variety and quality of produce in each store. At lunchtime today I bought a pack of cherry tomatoes on the vine (99 cents) that was incredible, but never saw them at the 2 stores closest to my house. Not that the store by my office is any great shakes, but they must have a better produce buyer.

 

I was in the Shoprite near me this afternoon.  I wanted tomatoes but they did not have the Sunset tomatoes that are essentially the only tomatoes that I buy.  Then the PA system promoted tomatoes on the vine.  They looked good, they always do.  I fear I have set myself up for profound disappointment.

 

[BeeZee]

The large tomatoes on the vine are always mediocre. These cherry tomatoes were very fresh, the vine still had that unique tomato vine smell, the fruit itself was very sweet. I may have to go back tomorrow on my way to the office to buy some more to bring home.

[rotuts]

on-the-vine are the best tomatoes I can get ' off-season'

 

I mature them in a brown paper bag w a few apples in them.

 

sometimes this helps , sometimes not.

 

cherry tomatoes are nice , I used to grow super-swett 100

 

but they taste like cherry tomatoes , not regular tomatoes.

 

and no tomato in the store taste like one you pic at home.

 

even farmers market tomatoes , sometimes quite nice , are picked too early

 

I don't blame the farmers , cash in the hand is better than cash on the bush.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I have to say the (organic) tomatoes on the vine I bought the other day were not half bad.  My only complaint is that two spoiled before I ate them.  And it's difficult to blame the tomatoes for that.  Based on that success I picked up a package of the cherry tomatoes on the vine, as recommended by @BeeZee above.  They were good but I wouldn't say better than the bigger ones.  In any event I picked up another package of the cherry tomatoes this afternoon.

 

I'm still annoyed with Shoprite for not having the Sunset tomatoes that I like.  Worse, the last two times I've been there they have not had frozen peas.  FROZEN PEAS.

 

What's noteworthy is the Township this week has paved my route to the store.  Twenty years earlier might have been more useful but better late than never.  I will not be surprised if the path still floods.

 

[BeeZee]

Strangely...the cherry tomatoes on the vine at one of the ShopRites near my house do not appear to be the same “brand” as the ones I got near my office. I bought a pack of tiny tomatoes (the size of currants) which were from Canada, it was a tri-color pack and they were very disappointing in flavor, too soft, likely sat around too long. Oh well, they look cute in the salad.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

4 hours ago, BeeZee said:

Strangely...the cherry tomatoes on the vine at one of the ShopRites near my house do not appear to be the same “brand” as the ones I got near my office. I bought a pack of tiny tomatoes (the size of currants) which were from Canada, it was a tri-color pack and they were very disappointing in flavor, too soft, likely sat around too long. Oh well, they look cute in the salad.

 

But did they have frozen peas?

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I am unsurprised to report that Shoprite did not have frozen peas.  Still a blank location for them on the shelf.  There may be a great pea famine but more likely Shoprite is changing their packaging.

 

Meanwhile I have ordered frozen peas from amazon.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Jeff may have many faults but he can make good on frozen peas.

 

[lindag]

Funny, I can't say that I'm particularly fond of peas by themselves but I always keep a couple packages in the freezer since I've several recipes that call for them and I'd never think of leaving them out.  They do add a lot, especially color.

[suzilightning]

first thing for next week's list … cottage cheese.

Why?

the first of the local peaches showed up this week.  They are yellow...whites and donuts in 1-3 weeks according to the owner of the orchard.

peach cake … peach crumble … pickled peaches … peach bbq sauce

[MetsFan5]

I live in Northern NJ and I detest Shoprite. There’s one new “major” one by me that sells wine and beer and liquor without a separate check out but it’s constantly crowded and feels like an uncomfortable Costco. 

  I generally shop at Stop and Shop, Kings, and Wegmans. With some Amazon pantry and TJs thrown in. 

  My major orders are via PeaPod which delivers Stop and Shop as they have good prices. My “pick up a few things” store is Kings as it’s about 2 miles from my home and I pass by it often. There’s a Whole Foods in town but it’s small and Kings IMO offers the same things, better quality. 

  TJs I go to once a month. Wegmans I use via Instacart as it is in an extremely inconvenient location. They’ve changed their system and have an in store shopped buy the items and supposedly refrigerate them but I had a package of chicken go bad on me twice so now I don’t trust that. So I get speciality cheeses and chauceutiere, nuts, bread, olives etc from them. 

 

  While down the shore we picked up a bunch of cheeses, olives, eggplant pie , rice balls, cheese spreads and salads at Joe Leone’s in Point Pleasant Beach. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I can't say I love Shoprite either but Shoprite is what's here.  And as I've seen, Shoprite stores vary all over in quality depending on who owns them.*  They are a franchise operation.  The Shoprite where I live has gotten better over the years but they still lack things like frozen peas.

 

We used to have a Grand Union and a Food Town.**  Grand Union went bankrupt a quarter century ago and I'm not sure what happened to Food Town but they went the way of the dodo when Shoprite moved in.  After Grand Union closed, many of the Grand Union employees went to Shoprite and many went to a higher end store in Princeton called McCaffrey’s.  I still see the kind people I knew from Grand Union when I shop at Shoprite or McCaffrey’s (which I dearly wish was in walking distance).  For a while Shoprite employees told me working conditions were so bad at the local Shoprite that they shopped at the Shoprite next further north (different owner).  But now people tell me they prefer to shop at this Shoprite because there is much greater selection than at other Shoprite stores.  As long as you don't want frozen peas, of course.

 

Jeff has promised us a new Whole Foods, in walking distance for me.  All the Township approvals are in place.  I only hope I live so long.  Shoprite could use some competition.

 

 

*over forty years ago but the manager of one local Shoprite store I informed I would never shop there again, ever.  And I have not.

 

**and then there were an A&P and an Acme but less said the better.  Anyone else remember "WEO"?

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

As an aside I just went to the McCaffrey’s website and read that they are in the process of rolling out online shopping.  If they can make it work it will be an interesting alternative for me.

 

[MetsFan5]

 

 

@JoNorvelleWalker Acme is still present in Northern NJ— specifically Morris Plains. “Acme” was my first actual word as a child outside of yes, no and forms of mom and dad. 

  I haven’t been in their store on probablt 15 years but it changed a bit since my childhood. I have had them delivered via Instacart. 

 

  A&P I remember fondly as the one that was in Morristown (and is now a Whole Foods) sold alcohol so I could shop there for food while in college and buy beer and have my friends give me money back for it when my parents thought I was just getting food. 🙈

 

 Jeff who? Corzine? 

 

I also foundly rememner Grand Union in Basking Ridge. 

Edited July 17, 2019 by MetsFan5 (log)