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Food in the time of a pandemic


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42 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

 

Khorasan, apparently (I thought that was a planet in Star Wars 🙂 )

 

https://iggysdelivery.com/products/ancient-grain

 


Had to choose between the “thanks” and the “lol” button ... and as much as I appreciate the clarification on the grain, your geeky word play really made my day 🤗

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This week's box.  Another massive amount of sweet potatoes.  I roasted them and portioned them out into 2 cup servings for the freezer.  I now have 16 cups of sweet potatoes in there.  Luckily my niece comes home from college in a few weeks and sweet potato is one of her favorite foods, so they won't last long.  Other contents: some regular potatoes, a loaf of bread, some spinach, some fiddleheads (I am not a fan, but my husband likes them), carrots, onions, ramps, and green garlic, plus a bag of dried cranberries and a big bag of farro hiding in the back.

 

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This post is entirely @JoNorvelleWalker's fault.  She posted about Supermarket Italy a few days ago and I spent far too much time looking around.  I've been wanting to get some Anelli pasta for long time.  I don't know quite what I'm going to do with it, but I love the shape.  Maybe an adult version of Spaghetti O's.......

 

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21 minutes ago, Shelby said:

This post is entirely @JoNorvelleWalker's fault.  She posted about Supermarket Italy a few days ago and I spent far too much time looking around.  I've been wanting to get some Anelli pasta for long time.  I don't know quite what I'm going to do with it, but I love the shape.  Maybe an adult version of Spaghetti O's.......

 

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That's a BIG jar of capers!

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Tonight I came home from shopping with fresh green beans, a potato, tofu, and a bag of limes of course.  Also three liters of wine and a bottle of Wray & Nephew Overproof.

 

Now I am tired and I don't think I can still blame last week's covid shot.  Dinner may yet be leftover tuna salad, if there is any.  But if so, I promise I will add capers to it.

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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23 hours ago, Shelby said:

This post is entirely @JoNorvelleWalker's fault.  She posted about Supermarket Italy a few days ago and I spent far too much time looking around.  I've been wanting to get some Anelli pasta for long time.  I don't know quite what I'm going to do with it, but I love the shape.  Maybe an adult version of Spaghetti O's.......

 

 

 

I bought two bags of anelli pasta from Amazon recently with the intention of doing the same thing--adult spaghettios.  ATK has a version with mini meatballs, and Half Baked Harvest has a vegetarian version with rosemary in the sauce.  I have not been brave enough to spring my brilliant idea on my fellow diners as of yet 😀

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  • 4 weeks later...

So I placed my first online grocery order since January 2020 and it was delivered today. I was astounded to discover a tray of uncooked meatballs. And therein lies the problem of online ordering. It would never have happened if I had been personally in the store. What I thought I had ordered were fully cooked, frozen meatballs. No one to blame but myself and the pandemic. Soon they will be fully cooked, frozen meatballs.

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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I had my first delivery disappointment this weekend.     The first order I had placed with this boutique market had been "shopped" by store personnel and everything was pristine.    This second one was shopped by a shopper/driver from the delivery service.   I ordered three bunches of organic carrots at 4.99 a bunch.    Two were acceptable, the third had two split carrots and a broken one, a bunch I would have turned down in the store.   I also ordered a head of Romanesco  which arrived with quite a few blackened tips, again one I'd have rejected in person.   I delayed cooking it until last night when I was going to use it in pasta.   The interior was badly deteriorated.    Annoying at $5 a head.    On the shopper/driver's feedback, I checked "needs better quality control".    The shopper has the option of texting you quality information and asking if you'd prefer a substitute. 

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eGullet member #80.

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Where have all the spray oils like Pam gone?  I can't find any, anywhere.  I'd even take a canola based one if I could find it.  And while I'm complaining, I'd like to know where the Press 'N Seal is hiding.

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7 minutes ago, heidih said:

Kroger here has a company brand. Has a decent mist spray I think I bought it less than a year ago.  https://www.kroger.com/p/kroger-non-stick-canola-oil-cooking-spray/0001111078974

 

That's just it.  I can't find any spray oils.  The shelves in the grocery stores where they normally sit are empty.  No Pam, no other brands, no house brands, no nothing.  No canola, no olive oil, no coconut, no sprays period.  The only thing I could find was a baking spray which contains flour.

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That is quite odd as we have come to rely on them. I've never used the ones w/ flour. Oh and do nt fall for thse misters you fill yourself. A mess!

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15 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

That's just it.  I can't find any spray oils.  The shelves in the grocery stores where they normally sit are empty.  No Pam, no other brands, no house brands, no nothing.  No canola, no olive oil, no coconut, no sprays period.  The only thing I could find was a baking spray which contains flour.

 

There's no problem getting spray oils here, but weird other stuff does seem to randomly go out of stock.  Last week it was butter, cereal, and frozen vegetables--all the frozen vegetables.  I only wanted peas but my shopper texted me a photo of the vegetable case, and it was completely empty except for three bags of pearl onions.  

 

The butter thing happens often enough that I have taken to keeping a decent stash in my garage freezer.  Produce availability is spotty too, though luckily some of the local stuff is finally starting to appear.  I got seven heads of lettuce in my CSA on Friday.  

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19 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

That's just it.  I can't find any spray oils.  The shelves in the grocery stores where they normally sit are empty.  No Pam, no other brands, no house brands, no nothing.  No canola, no olive oil, no coconut, no sprays period.  The only thing I could find was a baking spray which contains flour.

That's so odd.  In the US there were LOTS of shortages in the baking aisle in the early months of the Pandemic, but I haven't noticed anything really missing now.  

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1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

Where have all the spray oils like Pam gone?  I can't find any, anywhere.  I'd even take a canola based one if I could find it.  And while I'm complaining, I'd like to know where the Press 'N Seal is hiding.

Very strange on the oils. I just did a search on the online stores available to me and Pam is readily available. 
 

edited to add: maybe it’s a regional thing because both of these are available to me from multiple sources. 

Edited by Anna N (log)
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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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2 hours ago, ElsieD said:

 

That's just it.  I can't find any spray oils.  The shelves in the grocery stores where they normally sit are empty.  No Pam, no other brands, no house brands, no nothing.  No canola, no olive oil, no coconut, no sprays period.  The only thing I could find was a baking spray which contains flour.

 

Spray roux!

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It's almost never bad to feed someone.

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Weird, huh?  One store we went to, Loblaws Superstore, is a big store.  Empty shelves.  When John asked someone about it, the guy didn't even look.  He just said that the one on the shelf was the only one they had.  Another store, Metro, is another well established chain.  Just bare shelves.  It seems like such an odd thing for a grocery store to not have ANY of them.  Maybe the recent stroke at the Port of Montreal has something to do with it.

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  • 1 month later...

for what it's worth, I haven't been able to get the (baking) pan spray from our usual distributor for two months.  Every time I've ordered, it's out of stock. And I never remember to check Restaurant Depot when I am there for a substitute; so it could be that there are other brands available, but I thought of the comments here about sprays when our order today was OOS again!

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2 hours ago, JeanneCake said:

for what it's worth, I haven't been able to get the (baking) pan spray from our usual distributor for two months.  Every time I've ordered, it's out of stock. And I never remember to check Restaurant Depot when I am there for a substitute; so it could be that there are other brands available, but I thought of the comments here about sprays when our order today was OOS again!

But are you still wedding etc cake crazy busy?

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@heidih yes. This weekend i have 21 wedding cakes, and 4 events with just petite pastries or a plated dessert.  It's always busy the week after July 4th due to vacations that people plan around resort wedding destinations. 

 

Yes, I am more tired than I can  remember being and I haven't forgotten those %$#& hot cocoa bombs last December to give you an indication of just how busy this week is.  And people still call to see if there is a chance they can get something for the next day.....nit to mention the bride who called Friday afternoon to say she wanted to check in about her cake. 

Of course, can you remind me of the date again? 

Sunday.

The 18th? I ask

No. This Sunday. The 11th. 

 

WTF?!

 

Because doesn't everyone think a cake will magically appear when it hasnt been ordered or paid for? 

(Yes, we are making it happen and yes she paid.  A lot.)

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