|
|
| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 158 responses total. |
cmcgee
|
|
response 75 of 158:
| 
Jul 7 21:40 UTC 2007 |
At HH last night, samiam mentioned a Save-A-Lot grocery on Washtenaw,
that I didn't know about. I'll do some comparisons, and see what
changes. I've found in the past that they are usually better on many
things, but that you can often beat their prices if you stock up at
sales.
For routine, week in, week out, shopping without building your menu
around sale items, they are usually cheaper than the same shopping list
at any other store, if they stock the item.
Save A Lot is an "extreme value" grocery store, which means they carry a
very limited selection of the most in demand items. I've never been
able to get my whole shopping list (even for Cheap Eats) at Save A Lot,
but they usually are *very* good with what they have.
|
cmcgee
|
|
response 76 of 158:
|
Jul 7 21:41 UTC 2007 |
Ok, we'll taste test maple/walnut/cinnamon next! :-)
|
slynne
|
|
response 77 of 158:
|
Jul 8 05:45 UTC 2007 |
Yay. PC is a success. :)
|
cmcgee
|
|
response 78 of 158:
|
Jul 8 21:18 UTC 2007 |
Made a trip to Save-A-Lot. Will report cost data later. But I couldn't
wait to share the AMAZING selection of Mexican food they have. It's
better and cheaper than going to La Colmena, on Bagley in Mexicantown.
First, they have 7 kinds of dried chilis, and 5 kinds of hot sauce.
That doesn't include any of the salsas.
The exotic (and cheap) items include tamarind concentrate, dried
hibiscus flowers, menudo spice mixes, achiote, mole sauce, sofrito and
recaito bases, nopalitos, pacay palm, seven blossom spice mix, mote
pelado, and azafran (saffron).
They also have Goya and La Preferida brands of yellow, Mexican, and
Spanish rice; green, red, casera, and ranchera salsa; pigeon peas and
hominy; and two soups, pork and hominy and chicken and hominy.
Things you can get elsewhere, but cheapest here: enchilada sauce;
chipotle in adobo sauce; refried pintos and refried black beans; pickled
jalepenos; mango, tamarind, malt extract syrup, and guava drinks;
cumin, coriander, whole black pepper, anise seed.
An absolute treasure trove for these items, and low price as well!
|
edina
|
|
response 79 of 158:
|
Jul 8 22:09 UTC 2007 |
heh....all of these things found at my local Fry's. Amazing how
geography dictates...
|
denise
|
|
response 80 of 158:
|
Jul 9 02:34 UTC 2007 |
Hmm, though I do like mexican food, a lot of what's mentioned in resp 78
I haven't a clue as to what they are! You can correctly deduce that I
don't make a whole lot of mexican stuff at home, huh? Though I do
occasionally make quesadilas, tacos, burritos, basic stuff like that...
|
slynne
|
|
response 81 of 158:
|
Jul 9 13:38 UTC 2007 |
There is a new Mexican grocery in downtown Ypsilanti on MIchigan Ave
near Abe's Coney Island. It is called Dos Hermanos. I havent been there
but I have heard it is a pretty decent place.
|
cmcgee
|
|
response 82 of 158:
|
Jul 9 23:48 UTC 2007 |
Thanks, slynne. Sounds like time for an adventure in Ypsi!
Denise, much of what was in that list truly is exotic. The Mexican
dishes you're cooking are a great way to change up the flavors of
basics. If you need recipes to help you get started making them
yourself rather than buying them at the store, let me know.
Somewhere I wrote up a little cheat sheet for the common spicing in
various cuisines. I'll see if I can find it and post it.
|
denise
|
|
response 83 of 158:
|
Jul 10 00:50 UTC 2007 |
Cool. I'll have to check out that new mexican grocery place sometime too
[field trip anyone?]. And Colleen, please do share some recipes! In
NC, the hispanic population grew big-time over the years I lived there.
And thus, the influx of mexican and other latino grocery stores and
restaurants also went up quite a bit. Many of the places had their
signs in spanish instead of english, too.
|
cmcgee
|
|
response 84 of 158:
|
Jul 10 01:57 UTC 2007 |
From Science News
July 9, 2007
Thousand-Year-Old Chilies Spiced Up Ancient Mexican Cuisine
"Dried out remains of chili peppers from two Oaxacan caves reveal that
people of the region used at least 10 different varieties of fresh and
dried chilies between 5,00 and 1,500 years ago.
"If you've got seven different kinds of peppers, if you're using them
fresh and you're using them dried, you've got some interesting food,"
says archaeobotanist Linda Perry of the Smithsonian National Museum of
Natural History in Washington, D.C.
|
cmcgee
|
|
response 85 of 158:
|
Jul 10 16:24 UTC 2007 |
This Week's Shopping Deals
Eggs 1.00/doz Kroger
Milk 2.39/gal Meijer
[Fresh milk is still slightly more expensive than dried, if you buy the
dry in 4 lb boxes. Otherwise, fresh milk on sale is less expensive than
any other form]
Pantry Stock-Up deals
Peanut Butter 1.67/28 oz Kroger
Walnuts 4.59/lb Meijer
Vanilla Extract 30% off Meijer
All lists below are from lowest to highest cost per serving
Meat (SaveALot everyday prices are for reference)
Just for comparison, the price/gram of protein (in order, all less than
$.02/gram):
Peanut butter, leg quarters, eggs, tahini, split breast, split chicken
Meats are all less than 15 cents a 1 oz serving
Chicken Leg Quarters 5.99/10 lb SaveALot
Chicken Split Breast 1.29/lb Meijer
Ground Chuck 1.59/lb Meijer
Chicken, Split .99/lb SaveALot
Ground Round 1.79/lb Meijer
Fruits are all less than 10 cents a 1/2 C serving.
BTW, mangos are on sale at Meijer, $1.00 each, if you want to try the
salsa recipe.
Raisins and canned pineapple are less expensive than these fresh fruits,
but I can eat them all winter.
Plums .88/lb Meijer/Save
Apricots .99/lb Meijer
Grapes .99/lb Busch/Save
Nectarines .88/lb Meijer/Save
Fresh vegetables are all less than 10 cents a 1/2 C serving
Cabbage is about 20% less at SaveALot
Cabbage .39/lb SaveALot
Cucumbers .34 @ Meijer/Busch
Green Pepper .69/lb SaveALot
Summer Squash 1.00/lb Busch
Green Beans .77/lb Meijer
Collard Greens 1.00/bunch Meijer
Broccoli, frozen 1.50/32 oz Meijer
|
denise
|
|
response 86 of 158:
|
Jul 10 19:43 UTC 2007 |
As usual, thanks for sharing all of this info ever week. It's making me
think about where to shop!! And it looks like this week Kroger isn't
up to speed on their sales!
|
cmcgee
|
|
response 87 of 158:
|
Jul 10 20:46 UTC 2007 |
Its always fun when some squirrelly interest of mine turns out to have a
practical use in someone else's life.
BTW, let's set up the Ypsi Mexican market trip at HH this week.
|
denise
|
|
response 88 of 158:
|
Jul 11 01:09 UTC 2007 |
Ok, sounds good to me! I think it'd be cool to go with others that can
fill me in on some things that I should know... On my way home from
an errand today, I went past the above mentioned market. I would've
stopped in then but I was feeling a bit under the weather. So now I'm
glad I waited!
|
cmcgee
|
|
response 89 of 158:
|
Jul 14 13:09 UTC 2007 |
"slynne: There is a new Mexican grocery in downtown Ypsilanti on
Michigan Ave near Abe's Coney Island. It is called Dos Hermanos. I
haven't been there but I have heard it is a pretty decent place."
Grexpedition!!!
Next Friday, July 20, denise and I are meeting at Dos Hermanos at 5 pm.
We'll cruise the aisles, brainstorm menus, and laugh out loud at how
ignorant we are.
Feel free to join us. At 6 pm we'll proceed to HH, which will be in
Ypsilanti, probably the Tap Room.
|
slynne
|
|
response 90 of 158:
|
Jul 14 16:12 UTC 2007 |
Unfortunately, I dont get off of work until 7:30p
|
cmcgee
|
|
response 91 of 158:
|
Jul 14 17:35 UTC 2007 |
slynne, we're going to have to do something about this. Perhaps kidnap
you from your workplace?
|
slynne
|
|
response 92 of 158:
|
Jul 14 18:29 UTC 2007 |
Well, I submitted my resume to about a half dozen companies last night.
One of them is Quicken loans which has a good reputation. I am thinking
that I dont want to be in the computer support business anymore. They
seem like a company that would have lots of room for growth in other
areas. I've always been interested in finance.
Oh and my boss wouldnt approve me to apply for another job within
Borders which I would really love. I am going to have to talk to his
boss about *that* on Monday. The job title is "wage analyst". It is
just the sort of job that would be perfect for someone with a B.S. in
Economics and lots of technical skills (you know, like ME!). It sounds
fabulous. I would get to spend my days researching salaries of people
in other companies to make sure that the salaries Borders offers are
competitive. I think it would also involve analizing the salaries of
people currently employed to make sure there isnt any obvious
discrimination.
Oh and of course that server install isnt going well. Something came
loose during shipping and now it wont boot up. So I get to talk some
book store clerk through opening up the panel and looking for loose
cables. Yay!
|
cmcgee
|
|
response 93 of 158:
|
Jul 15 01:00 UTC 2007 |
Go for it! Wage analyst seems like the perfect job for you. And I hope
you get a couple good offers that can be alternatives that might make
Borders look a bit more carefully.
|
denise
|
|
response 94 of 158:
|
Jul 15 01:59 UTC 2007 |
Lynne, you definitely do need a different job. One that'll not only
cover expenses and a bit extra to put aside, but one that you'll enjoy
doing AND will allow you to time off to get out and play, too! :-)
I'm looking forward to the field trip; any other grex/m-netters are
welcome to join us. And if there are any other cool places to take a
field trip to, please let us know where!
|
cmcgee
|
|
response 95 of 158:
|
Jul 20 00:39 UTC 2007 |
Mexican grocery field trip is kinda going to happen. I'm going on a
small scouting expedition, but will meet Denise there some other time.
Meanwhile, looks like my posting of this weeks bargains didn't show up.
Let's try again.
Best Deals July 15 - 21, 2007
Meijer = good through Saturday
Kroger, Busch = good through Sunday
Fruit < .10/serving
(Raisins SaveALot)
Plums .88/lb Meijer
Grapes .99/lb Meijer/Kroger
Vegetables < .10/serving
Potatoes 1.99/10 lb Meijer
Cabbage .25/lb Meijer
Summer Squash .77/lb Meijer
Zuchinni .77/lb Meijer
Green beans .88/lb Kroger
Protein < .15/serving
Peanut Butter 1.67/28 oz Kroger
Pork Shoulder 1.19/lb Busch
Ground chuck 1.79/lb Meijer
Just for fun:
Busch has Ben and Jerry's on sale for 1.99/pint. Time to grab a pint
of black walnut, and pour on the maple syrup.
|
keesan
|
|
response 96 of 158:
|
Jul 20 01:53 UTC 2007 |
Have you tried the farmer's market for locally grown food? We just picked
our first summer squash and the green beans are coming in, along with early
cherry tomatoes. Lots of kale.
|
cmcgee
|
|
response 97 of 158:
|
Jul 20 12:38 UTC 2007 |
If you compare the farmer's market prices to what I'm posting above, you
will see that it is more expensive.
|
denise
|
|
response 98 of 158:
|
Jul 20 13:50 UTC 2007 |
I've seen that case recently when I went to Ypsi's farmers market they have
on Tuesdays [shortly after having been at the grocery store]; the market's
prices were higher]. Though it IS cool to support the locals but it isn't
always the cheapest way to go. I dunno what Ypsi's Saturday markets are like
[and haven't been to AA's in years] since I have a committment in Dearborn
each Saturday so I can't varify what those prices are like.
|
keesan
|
|
response 99 of 158:
|
Jul 20 16:58 UTC 2007 |
Have you compared prices for what is in season right now?
I don't go to market any more, since we have a garden.
|