Food in the time of a pandemic

[Shelby]

Had to go to the pharmacy this morning so I also sped through the store to pick up a few items.  Most people were wearing masks.  Why is it that the people who refuse to wear them are also the ones that get all up in my personal space??! 😡

 

I don't know if I hit the store on the wrong day or what but the store looked like it did back in March when everything was sold out.  4 packs of paper towels and probably 6 packs of 4 of TP and all off brand.  Very few ramen noodles.  Two boxes of Stovetop stuffing.  I usually buy two at at time, but today I just bought one so that someone else could have some.  I wanted a few avocados.  They were sad piles of black mush so none came home with me.  I went down the soda pop isle just to see.  Looked like plenty of everything on that front.  It's weird how different parts of the country sell out of certain items.

[robirdstx]

Yeah, I did an early morning run to my Neighborhood Walmart and for some reason there were no Libby’s canned Green Beans, but there were still some of the Del Monte and Great Value brand. The produce section was well stocked but when I looked closer, many of the offerings were old. And the same in the bread isle - some product out of stock and some had a best use by date of July 4. Not sure what’s going on there.

[heidih]

@Shelby @robirdstx  I imagine the panic driven hoarding and empty shelves are a response to the intense up-tick  in cases.

[dtremit]

2 hours ago, heidih said:

@Shelby @robirdstx  I imagine the panic driven hoarding and empty shelves are a response to the intense up-tick  in cases.

 

I imagine dealing with a holiday weekend in the midst of all of this is a headache for stores, too -- shipments focused on BBQ stuff at the end of last week, delays getting in new stuff this week due to the long weekend, and probably lower staffing levels across the board.

We did a small-ish pickup order on Saturday and it seemed there was a lot out of stock, even up here where the COVID situation is improving.

[heidih]

Another thing I have noticed in myself is anticipatory decision making, Do I pay more for a lesser amount from the place I get food delivery or do I wait until I can get to a place with decent Asian markets. Screwed myself not getting Huy Fong chili garlic sauce thinking I had some in pantry.- nope! At least I did not do it with fish sauce. Caved to the Thai Kitchen stuff - oh well - one adapts. We are in lockdown again so who knows.

[weinoo]

Wow - I did this stuff months ago!

[heidih]

? the decision making, the option selection,  or the freakin lockdown in Los Angeles (needed)  we have again?   Don't know how to do the Spanish inverted question mark to open a question. Always loved that. 

[Franci]

Today I took the kids to the dentist and decided to stop at Delicias de España. Great because at this location there were very few customers in the store section. I got lomo, coppa serrana, sobrasada, chorizo, olives, some tomatoes in jars, legumes and some frozen items (croquettes made on the house, frozen fish) and 5 liters Spanish extra virgin olive oil. Then my husband received a

couple things for morning congee 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2020 by Franci (log)

[gfweb]

On 7/7/2020 at 12:43 PM, heidih said:

@Shelby @robirdstx  I imagine the panic driven hoarding and empty shelves are a response to the intense up-tick  in cases.

 The public are morons.  Flat learning curve.

[haresfur]

I suppose you could look at it as a silver lining, but different things are showing up in the farmers' markets here as the people supplying the restaurant trade are trying to diversify. I felt compelled to take one for the team in supporting them with the bonus justification of "hey, I can post it on eGullet:

 

 

Picked two days ago. It actually was very sad because they had just booked out a bunch of truffle tours when Melbourne was put back under lockdown.

 

I know nothing about truffles, and frankly have a very poor sense of smell so it  will be interesting to see if I can taste what all the fuss is about. Our younger Dalmatian, Jazzy, has an excellent sense of smell and she thought it was pretty interesting.

[haresfur]

Nice enough but the appeal is mostly lost on me.ly

[liuzhou]

23 minutes ago, haresfur said:

Nice enough but the appeal is mostly lost on me.

 

I wouldn't have expected much from Perigord truffles from thousands of miles from Perigord. Chinese truffles are a waste of time, too. They do not relocate well.

[liuzhou]

This is so annoying. I hate people!

 

Manchester restaurant group loses £6k on reopening day as 270 diners fail to show up.

 

 

 

[Franci]

Yesterday I was checking on Amazon, it was weeks without Mutti tomatoes available. Yes, they are back! Although it’s not the best of the best it’s the equivalent to tomatoes to what De Cecco is for pasta in my mind. Good basic stuff and perfect for pizza 😁

Edited July 9, 2020 by Franci (log)

[TicTac]

8 hours ago, haresfur said:

Nice enough but the appeal is mostly lost on me.ly

Gorgeous truffle!  Great find.  Curious as to what that costs 'down under'?

 

Only comment is that you did not use enough!  I would say perhaps thinner if you can manage, and about 4-5x as much

 

Then we are talking! 

 

 

[weinoo]

Here's a little bit about the "summer" truffle from Austrailia...

 

https://www.vogue.com/article/why-you-should-be-going-to-australia-for-fresh-black-truffles

 

@haresfur Until you shave a bunch of tuber magnatum (as opposed to the tuber melanosporum pictured) on your pasta, you probably won't get the appeal. Those might actually be better cooked a little. Like under the skin of a chicken before roasting it.

Edited July 9, 2020 by weinoo (log)

[haresfur]

4 hours ago, TicTac said:

Gorgeous truffle!  Great find.  Curious as to what that costs 'down under'?

 

Only comment is that you did not use enough!  I would say perhaps thinner if you can manage, and about 4-5x as much

 

Then we are talking! 

 

 

 

I put about 2/3 in the sauce, although the recipe didn't call for that. It was a good plan. I spent $70 AU on 31 g and saved a bit, which is in a container with some eggs for weekend breakfast. Probably could have sliced a bit thinner but my mandoline is finicky.

 

@liuzhou, According to the ever-knowing internet (even discounting the partisan Aussie articles) the Australian truffles are good quality.

 

You should have seen the monster that the vendor had dug up yesterday.

[TicTac]

1 hour ago, haresfur said:

 

I put about 2/3 in the sauce, although the recipe didn't call for that. It was a good plan. I spent $70 AU on 31 g and saved a bit, which is in a container with some eggs for weekend breakfast. Probably could have sliced a bit thinner but my mandoline is finicky.

 

@liuzhou, According to the ever-knowing internet (even discounting the partisan Aussie articles) the Australian truffles are good quality.

 

You should have seen the monster that the vendor had dug up yesterday.

Now that I look closer I see that indeed there are bits in the sauce!  Furthermore after I re-read my post and see how it could read like I was being a bit of a dick.  Apologies if so... no harm intended! 

 

That's a pretty good deal I would say.  I do not have one of those fancy truffle shavers, one trick I learned was to use a microplaner.  Works nicely. 

 

[lemniscate]

7 hours ago, Franci said:

Yesterday I was checking on Amazon, it was weeks without Mutti tomatoes available. Yes, they are back! Although it’s not the best of the best it’s the equivalent to tomatoes to what De Cecco is for pasta in my mind. Good basic stuff and perfect for pizza 😁

 

 

World Market carries Mutti brand tomatoes in store and online almost constantly.

[Franci]

42 minutes ago, lemniscate said:

 

World Market carries Mutti brand tomatoes in store and online almost constantly.

 

@lemniscate thanks! Good to know for when Amazon doesn’t have. I always get the finely chopped polpa, it looks cheaper on Amazon but still good to have an alternative! 

[weinoo]

8 hours ago, Franci said:

 

@lemniscate thanks! Good to know for when Amazon doesn’t have. I always get the finely chopped polpa, it looks cheaper on Amazon but still good to have an alternative! 

 

I've had some good luck with World Market, and they have a decent free shipping policy too.

 

@Franci - have you ever been to Marky's?  It's a fun store, with lots of high end stuff.

 

https://www.markys.com/showroom.html

[Shelby]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

I've had some good luck with World Market, and they have a decent free shipping policy too.

 

@Franci - have you ever been to Marky's?  It's a fun store, with lots of high end stuff.

 

https://www.markys.com/showroom.html

I've ordered things in the past from Marky's.  Not for a few years.  However, it was always shipped promptly and the products were of good quality.

[heidih]

Dan Barber of Blue Hill talks about small famers nd the Pandemic. Worth a listen.  

r

[kayb]

Today I decided to make a small batch of tomato sauce, as the Romas were outgrowing their allocated space on the counter. Couldn't find any lids, so I set out to Walmart Neighborhood Market to pick up some. They don't carry them. Went to Kroger; no jars, no lids. Gritted my teeth, took my life in my hands, and headed to WalMart, where there were also...no lids. There were, however, jars, so I bought a dozen I didn't really need and used the lids and rings of six of them.

 

Came home and ordered eight dozen rings and flats in both regular and wide mouth, which should do me through the summer. Supposed to ship July 17. Let us hope. I have kraut that will need to be taken up by then.

 

Got home and jarred up the tomato sauce, but could not find my jar lifter nor my magnet-on-a-stick for plucking lids out of hot water. I'm blaming that one on Child B, who unpacked the kitchen when we moved last year.

 

Anyway, some right pretty tomato sauce:

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

Nice looking tomato sauce, @kayb!  

Hope your lids turn up in time.  There was a while there when they were out of stock in lots of places and were selling for outrageous prices.  That seems to have passed.

I am not much of a canner put am determined to put up some of the stewed tomatoes from Deep Run Roots this year when the local farmstand does their pick your own Roma special for 25 cents/lb.  

That's not til Labor Day weekend so I've got time to get my jars & lids in order!