Food in the time of a pandemic

[gfweb]

10 minutes ago, chromedome said:

https://www.theverge.com/21267669/instacart-shoppers-sick-extended-pay-quarantine-leave-coronavirus

 

Desperate times for so many.

[dtremit]

On 5/30/2020 at 4:47 PM, heidih said:

 

I kinda think the word Mitch used is more Yiddish which is my sorta dialect. 

 

Yeah -- I only speak (a bit of) German but obviously there's a lot of similarities, particularly in "everyday" vocabulary. I was just curious if the parallel could shed some light on the original use of the knife -- it seems like it might have been something very useful for making minced meat in the days before grinders.

[JeanneCake]

On 5/31/2020 at 8:35 AM, chromedome said:

https://www.theverge.com/21267669/instacart-shoppers-sick-extended-pay-quarantine-leave-coronavirus

 

wow.  If I was on the fence about using Instacart before, this would have put me over the top.  I've been stressing about the reality that I will have to go to a grocery store and/or a warehouse club in the next two months; when I was tossing some junk mail yesterday, the supermarket flyer for Stop and Shop fell and I saw they are now offering curbside contact free pick up.  So I'm working on my first order for picking up tomorrow.....

 

Based on what I've been hearing, I'm not willing to support Instacart treating their "employees" "contractors" whatever they want to call them, in such a terrible way.  I feel the same way about DoorDash - they keep emailing me asking me to add our "restaurant" to their portfolio.  Not. A. Chance.

[lindag]

I made what, to  me, was an important discovery yesterday.  It seems that Instacart will actually deliver Cst5co items to folk who don't have a Costco account!  I gave up my Costco membership a couple of years ago; it's just too much quantity for s single like me.  And I couldn't handle all the walking that's required as well as the loading and unloading of all the stuff.

Unfortunately for me there's just one little hitch' they don't deliver to my small town.  The deliver to the towns to the North and to the South of me but not here yet.  But the good new is that when I move to the town South of me in August, I will be able to order.  That's exciting for me since there are a few of their items I really miss, such as their butter and their rotisserie chicken for example.  

[dtremit]

4 hours ago, lindag said:

I made what, to  me, was an important discovery yesterday.  It seems that Instacart will actually deliver Cst5co items to folk who don't have a Costco account!  I gave up my Costco membership a couple of years ago; it's just too much quantity for s single like me.  And I couldn't handle all the walking that's required as well as the loading and unloading of all the stuff.

Unfortunately for me there's just one little hitch' they don't deliver to my small town.  The deliver to the towns to the North and to the South of me but not here yet.  But the good new is that when I move to the town South of me in August, I will be able to order.  That's exciting for me since there are a few of their items I really miss, such as their butter and their rotisserie chicken for example.  

 

I had the same discovery recently -- but with Restaurant Depot. They will sell to non-members via Instacart -- but they don't deliver quite far enough. 

[chefmd]

Prime fillet mignon in a not very upscale Harris Teeter.  Maryland local strawberries with incredible aroma.  Local store in Prince Frederick MD with plenty of paper products.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

The New York Times:

 

"I have, like, seven pints of ice cream in my freezer, so do I actually need a banana loaf here right now?"

 

 

[haresfur]

Grocery stores usually have an odd number of aisles to try and get you to walk down one twice and maybe pick up something extra. I wonder how they then manage one way traffic. Put the junk food on the third aisle from each end?

[weinoo]

17 hours ago, chefmd said:

Prime fillet mignon in a not very upscale Harris Teeter.  Maryland local strawberries with incredible aroma.  Local store in Prince Frederick MD with plenty of paper products.

 

I kinda miss the Harris Teeter from when we had our apartment in the district. It was a fun grocery store to shop, and huge compared to what I was used to here in NYC.

[weinoo]

 

Weekends, and the insane amount of produce and protein I'm getting delivered (not Instacart, not Doordash, but small companies trying to stay in biz) to last a week or more at a time, lead to stock making - yes, on the stovetop, as I'm constantly cutting, trimming and adding to the pots, before letting them settle in for a nice simmer.

 

In front, chicken stock in its first stages of major skimming, before adding any of the aromatics - I usually wait an hour or two to add the veg and herbs.

In back, vegetable stock with lots of mushroom stems.

Edited June 4, 2020 by weinoo (log)

[BeeZee]

Going in to my office tomorrow (haven't been there for 2 weeks) and co-worker has promised me lettuce from his garden. Score!

One of the local Farmers Markets happens on Saturday and frankly after reading all of the restrictions (starting with parking) I'm not sure I want to deal with it.

[heidih]

First time since shortages started --- NO YEAST. I think I can play with what I have  (using longer room temp before fridge snooze)  for 2 loaves so not a major drama. Just that my own baked is one of my current culinary joys. Well and also empowering when control is not something we have much of now.

[dtremit]

On 6/4/2020 at 3:19 PM, heidih said:

First time since shortages started --- NO YEAST. I think I can play with what I have  (using longer room temp before fridge snooze)  for 2 loaves so not a major drama. Just that my own baked is one of my current culinary joys. Well and also empowering when control is not something we have much of now.

 

Might be worth seeing if any restaurants near you have "pantry" takeout menus -- I know of at least a half dozen near here who do, and they *all* have yeast, repackaged from commercial containers. (Most have flour, too.)

[heidih]

1 hour ago, dtremit said:

 

Might be worth seeing if any restaurants near you have "pantry" takeout menus -- I know of at least a half dozen near here who do, and they *all* have yeast, repackaged from commercial containers. (Most have flour, too.)

 

Thanks. I still have hope and an offer from a member.  No restos nearby doing that. Isolated community.

[chord]

There's a scarcity of pork around here. I was looking at these pork "carnitas." Do you think it's pork butt? There's no indication on the packaging. I'd like a cut that I can use for braising or for grinding.

Edited June 6, 2020 by chord (log)

[chord]

17 hours ago, heidih said:

 

Thanks. I still have hope and an offer from a member.  No restos nearby doing that. Isolated community.

 

There's a lot of yeast available on Etsy. Some of it is in the original packaging from the major providers like SAF and Red Star. Others seem to be from small bakeries and individuals who have repackaged bigger allotments. Most of the sellers are listing expiration dates as well and there are a lot of recent 5* reviews. Prices are ok. About $7 per pound, but then you have to tack on another $6-7 for shipping.

[Dave the Cook]

2 hours ago, chord said:

There's a scarcity of pork around here. I was looking at these pork "carnitas." Do you think it's pork butt? There's no indication on the packaging. I'd like a cut that I can use for braising or for grinding.

 

 

It's hard to tell from a photograph (and it would be hard even in person when you can't see the underside where meat markets/departments like to hide what they think is unsightly fat). But based on the color I perceive, and the mostly uniform, parallel grain, I'd say that's loin. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Exercise is good.  Just now as I had my hands in bread dough my pants fell on the kitchen floor.  But remind me I might mop the kitchen floor a mite more often.  That or not wear white pants while fixing dinner.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Only goes to show pants get in the way while cooking.

 

[weinoo]

My delivery from a couple of farms via the farmer's market came yesterday...

 

 

Greens, asparagus, spring onions, strawberries (sadly affected by the recent rains)

 

 

Broccoli raab and spigarello; not shown - broccoli di cicco. I love these spring broccolis.

 

 

Some alliums, flowering chives, radishes, green garlic, spring red and white onions, leeks, thyme.

[lemniscate]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

strawberries (sadly affected by the recent rains)

 

I had some very disappointing berries a while back and decided to try roasting them.   That method made them very tasty as a topping or a dessert just by themselves with some creme fraiche.

[Shelby]

17 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Only goes to show pants get in the way while cooking.

 

Between my mouth surgery, being so sick in January and this pandemic I've lost weight.  While cooking the other night my shorts fell down.  I left them where they landed and carried on.   Luckily I was wearing a long t-shirt.

[weinoo]

50 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Between my mouth surgery, being so sick in January and this pandemic I've lost weight.  While cooking the other night my shorts fell down.  I left them where they landed and carried on.   Luckily I was wearing a long t-shirt.

Luckily for who?

[Shelby]

7 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Luckily for who?

Lecter, Newman, Chum and Scout.  

 

A parent shouldn't traumatize their kids like that.

[chefmd]

We ate dinner at Seven Reasons in Washington DC.  It’s our first time eating out in months.  Things are awkward.  Gloves, masks, sanitizers.  A completely empty beautifully set tables inside the restaurant.  Food was delicious.  Ingredients were less luxurious. Their previous version of steak tartar was served with truffles.  Now it is served with plantain bread.   I want to make plantain bread, it’s so good.  Can’t help but wonder how many restaurants are going to make it...  Boarded windows and coast guard blocking the streets in DC made me very sad.  

https://www.sevenreasonsdc.com

 

crispy octopus and cauliflower were incredible