If you had an unlimited food budget, which minimally processed foods (nothing
containing more than one ingredient except for salt or vinegar or some other
preservative) would you buy more of or more often?

26 responses total.

Fresh berries all winter long.

Lobster.

I don't think the money would be the deciding factor for me, probably
more the time to prepare more fresh things.

But if it was just the money, I would just probably change over to a
different store like Whole Foods, or something where I can get anything
I want.

I can't get 'anything I want' all year long because the supermarkets do not
sell ripe fruits such as apricots, peaches, and other things that don't ship
well if ripe.  I can't even buy pawpaws, we have to grow our own.  Same for
northern persimmons.  Juneberries are available only off the tree.  Things
I would probably buy more of if cheap include almonds, walnuts (easier than
cracking our own black walnuts), pistachios (if I could find them unsalted).

re #0
Definitely catfish or salmon
I loves me some fish.

I'm not really sure if there is one specific thing I'd buy...I tend to 
get what I want, as I tend to be pretty thrifty when buying other 
groceries (I'm a crazy coupon fanatic).

If you were given a $1000 gift certificate to Zingerman's to buy anything that
was a single ingredient (plus salt), what would you get?

Balsamic vinegar.  They have some very expensive ones in stock that 
I'd love to try.

I'm not sure, either, what one thing I would get, there are a number of
options!  Maybe a good steak [and since in this scenerio, I'd be rich, I'd
get a good grill to cook it one].  A friend of mine from NC and I used to eat
out occasionally and the 2 types of places we ate at most often was a place
that specialized in great breakfast and lunch foods, and various steak places
[though we had a favorite steak place that had a restaurant in Raleigh and
in Durham].  I can only think of one time since moving here in the spring that
I've had some kind of steak and that was when an older brother grilled some
on my birthday back in June.  

re 8

My sister brought me one back from italy.  I'm afraid to use it, it's so
expensive. :)

so I'd like to do something special with it.

If money were no object, I would have a chef make all my meals. As far
as ingredients go, I dont know. I like dried cherries a lot and they can
be kind of expensive. 

Wouldn't make much of a difference.  I already buy what I want, when I want
it and most of the foods I normally buy are one ingredient.  I prefer to cook
everything from raw ingredients, myself.  Our normal grocery habits don't
include a lot of pre-prepared foods, never has, especially with Damon being
food additive sensitive.  About the only change I would make if money was no
object would be to buy more certified organic meats.

We dried our own cherries this summer.  It is very time consuming to pick them
(on a high ladder) and the birds had already made off with most of them.  The
worms got a lot of the remainder.  And then you had to pit them.  Drying was
easy, just use a dehydrator.  You could buy perfect ones at market and then
dry them.  I am currently pigging out on Chinese 'prepared broad bean', which
is a package of roasted (or maybe fried) beans with salt that I am rubbing
off.  I should learn to make them.  Soak and boil first?  Fava beans are
cheap.  I should also try to grown them.  Some need a cool damp climate but
they also grow in Egypt and I think China.  

What percentage of the world do you think can afford to buy any foods it
wants?

.01956%

Re 10  The great thing about balsamic is that it doesn't take a 
lot...but ways I love it are drizzled over roasted asparagus with a 
bit of fresh parmesan, and over strawberries (no joke).  

wow, I'll have to try that.

I've had strawberries sauted with onions before and liked it, so I'm I
can handle it.  I'm not too picky. :D

Strawberries with balsamic vinegar are amazing.  In fact, good balsamic
vinegar is amazing all by itself.  

I happened on a tasting at Zings one time when they had 4 or 5 balsamics
available.  I ended up taking home a "cheap" $25  8 ounce bottle.

I've never really gotten to know much about balsamic vinegar [as mentioned
in earlier responses] except I know that it can be an ingredient fro salad
dressings and I know there's a good price range. I don't think I've had any
of the higher quality, only having had some on salad once or twice a long time
ago.  What kinds of things can a good balsamic be used for? Mainly 'just'
vegetables?

I dont know a lot about balsamic vinegar except that I like it. My 
palatte hasnt been trained enough with it to really tell the difference 
between brands but I know some people who really get into it -- even 
going to balsamic vinegar tastings! I know it can be used in all kinds 
of things. It makes excellent salad dressing. You can marinate meat in 
it. It is pretty good on cooked veggies. I even have a friend who 
reduces it on the stovetop and then uses it to put ribbons of balsamic 
vinegar in homemade ice cream (he swears it is really good but I havent 
tasted it myself). 

I love balsamic on strawberries.

Funnily, my mouth starts salivating when I start talking about 
balsamic.

I've only had it with vinegar. What's it taste like by itself?

I think she means the vinegar

[If you're referring to re22, I meant what does the balsamic taste by itself?]

I dont think there is balsamic all by itsself

Balsamic vinegar is a wine vinegar.  Fermented grape juice (with some fancy
aging techniques).

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