48 new of 158 responses total.
That sounds good!
Wow, I would've ever have thought to combine grapes with onion; how interesting!
This week we're beginning to see the effect of food price increases: there is only one meat choice that still falls below .15/oz. Milk 2.50/gal K/M Fruit < .10/serving Plums .88/lb M Grapes .99/lb M Nectarine .88/lb M Vegetables Green pepper .77/lb M Zuchinni .77/lb M Green beans .77/lb M Tomato, Roma .77/lb M Meat <.15/oz Pick of the Chick .99/lb M Other Good Buys: Sugar 1.97/5 lb M Spaghetti, macaroni 1.00/2 lb Busch
SaveALot has a good buy on bottom round, that comes in at .154/ounce. They've got it on sale for 1.69 a pound until August 11.
Zucchini - free from garden. Pattipan, butternut, buttercup, acorn ditto. Green beans - Cherokee Trail of Tears, Tigre, Fagiolino, Great Lakes Special, Tucomares runner. Red cherry, yellow cherry, roma, Principe Borghese, large bumpy red. Kale, beet greens, lettuce, melokhiya, amaranth. Cucumber. Small pumpkin. Japanese beetles. No more groundhogs. First pears. Grapes almost. Add rice.
Is it me or is milk just going through the roof? I've especially noticed it in cheese prices.
Milk is going through the roof. Anything that involves corn in the production cycle is going through the roof: meat, dairy, corn sweeteners. Part of the blame is the move to bio-fuels. A lot of corn production is being diverted to fuels.
Not to mention that people are drinking more milk. Demand with lessening supply means going up prices.
Everyday price of skim milk is $2.75 at Washtenaw Dairy; used to be $2.40. My impression is that lots of non-corn foods prices are skyrocketing, because "plant corn instead" is far more profitable for the farmer. Aren't those *billions* of American taxpayer's dollars being spent to push up corn prices just so well invested? Save American - lynch the politicians before it's too late (tm).
I hadn't been grocery shopping in ages and ages [though I love to eat, I rarely get fired up to do the shopping for it part, so I only go maybe every 3-4 weeks for a regular/big shopping and then if needed, I'll run in someplace for specific/limited needs]. I'm trying to incorporate a lot of Colleen's stuff that she's been sharing with us: Starting a basic pantry list of inexpensive stuff to have on hand most/all the time and then supplement the basics with the seasonal things that are more readily available, thus, often less expensive during that season. And just taking advantage to stuff as they become on sale and stocking up as I'm able. [I, too, have somewhat limited space do to living in a shared housing situation.] So today, though still feeling somewhat under the weather, I did head out and did some shopping at Save-A-Lot. Since my cupboards, fridge and freezer were pretty lean, I did have to buy quite a bit of stuff. However, by saving on their lower prices on a lot of things compared to other grocery stores and with taking in some of the sale items, I think I was able to get more stuff than I usually get in a monthly trip at a somewhat lesser cost AND a bigger variety of stuff as well [including getting a few more seasoning/herb type stuff]. Again, I'm trying to not only shop the inexpensive basics learned here, I'm also trying to incorporate a lot more healthy foods. So some of the stuff I did purchase today includes chicken [on sale], macaroni for pasta salad, rice, canned vegetables [including tomato sauce, spaghetti style sauce, etc], canned fruits [many of these things ARE less expensive than fresh, though I did by a cucumber and some raw carrots], cottage cheese as well as a bit of regular cheese [gotta have that cheese!], whole wheat bread, beans, flour tortillas, frozen dinners as well as a couple frozen pizzas for under a buck each, a couple packets of pizza crust mix [just add water, mix, let rise, prep and bake] for less than 30 cents IIRC, at least 3-4 spices, sweet relish to go in my egg salad, olive oil for cooking with, and I'm sure a bunch of stuff I'm not remembering right now. Sometime in the near future, though, I do need to get some more eggs and, for a bit more variety at breakfast--to get into something simple to fix in the morning, some oatmeal. So... the next steps include finding new ways to fix what I have, and MAYBE I'll even take a stab at doing some menu planning, too, to keep my nutritional needs better covered. Though one step at a time. I'm *great* in having all kinds of wonderful ideas and even starting a lot of them but then, not sticking with them because I try too many new changes at once and/or I just get too overwhelmed... OK, between my most recent postings in tea this evening as well as here, I've rambled enough for one day. :-)
Sounds like you are becoming a much more adventurous cook. At some point you can try making pizza crust by adding water AND YEAST to flour. Is there anything else in the mix? Maybe salt? We have oatmeal for breakfast nearly every day, with a different fruit if there is any around. This week dried Chinese jujubes. Nuts are good too. Jim put dried haws in - they are VERY sour and are meant for sweetened tea.
I don't remember off the top of my head what else is in the pizza-crust mix. It probably does have salt in it [but I do like salt to add flavor]. Though I don't use very much salt on a day to day basis [and only add salt to stuff maybe once a week, if that. And I've reduced the amount of stuff that already has added salt, so my salt intake at this point doesn't concern me. :-) ] Growing up [and periodically on my own since then], we had a lot of oatmeal. And it IS something that's easy and quick to fix and it tastes good; especially with some of the added fruits, nuts, cinnamon, etc. Anyway, I guess you can say that I am becoming a more adventurous cook. :-) I hope it sticks!
I could have sworn I posted this yesterday, but when I went online last night at someone else's computer, I couldn't find it. This Week's Shopping List Item is one of 50 listed on Cheap Eats shopping list. Meat is less than 15 cents an ounce. Vegetables and fruit are less than 10 cents a serving. Lists are ordered lowest to highest. Meat Peanut Butter .99/18 oz Kroger Eggs 1.00/doz Meijer Chicken Thighs, bone in .96/lb Kroger Chicken, Whole .79/lb Meijer Chicken Breast 1.20/lb Busch Vegetables Cabbage .25/lb Meijer Celery .77 Meijer Zucchini .99 Kroger Green Beans .99 Kroger Fruit Peaches .88/lb Meijer
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I got bored being such a nerd, so I made a simpler rule to follow: don't pay more than 15 cents a serving for your main protein source. I posted those maximums in the other item. As long as the meat is on sale for that price per pound (or can, or whatever) or less, you won't be paying more than 15 cents a serving. This obscures the really cheap, good buys, but at least makes perusing the weekly ads a bit easier.
Looks like someone is going to be eating a lot of peanut butter ;)
Actually, now that I think about it, that someone is *me* because I am kind of short on money because of changing jobs and stuff and I happen to LOVE peanut butter :)
Peanut butter, eggs on sale, and I'll try to get back to posting the best buys for the week. Notice that tahini is the same price as peanut butter. Tahini and garbanzos and garlic = hummus.
Yeah. I like Tahini a lot too but I am more likely to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich than I am to make hummus. Although I really like hummus and garbanzo beans are pretty cheap.
What IS tahini?
ground up sesame seeds
Ah, ok; cool, I like sesame seeds [and hummus, as well].
I never buy hummus anymore. It's too expensive, considering that it costs maybe $1.50 to make a good pint of the stuff.
Recipe! Recipe! (said to the tune of Author! Author!) ;-)
For hummus? Lord...I think I can remember it - I make it enough. Drain one can of chickpeas. Toss into food processor. Add 1/4 cup of water Juice of 1 lemon 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup of tahini Cumin and Salt to taste My secret ingredient is that I take 1 head of garlic, cut off the top, wrap foil up around it after pouring about 1-2 TB of olive oil into the cut top. Roast it for about 45 minutes and then let it set. I squeeze the softened garlic into the rest of the ingredients, flip that puppy on and let Cuisinart do the work for me. I get raves every time. I've made it with raw garlic (as the recipe calls for) but it gives it the bite at the back end that I just don't like - almost horseradishy. Roasting the garlic really gives the recipe some depth. But see now why I won't buy it?
I use 1/2 cup of tahini and leave out the olive oil.
Yeah, it's definitely to taste/preference. I just know that I can't stand raw garlic.
A potato masher can be used instead of a food processor. The kind with a flat end that has holes in it, not a loopy end. We add spearmint.
You're right - it could be. But to be honest, the food processor makes such quick work of it and it's at a uniform consistency, that I wouldn't do it by hand.
That's my experience too, edina. Using the potato masher has resulted in a gritty texture that I find unpleasant.
The potato masher is much easier to clean and takes up less kitchen space. You can also use a manual gadget with a chrome plated cone (with various sizes of slicing perforations) and a handle - feed things in the top, turn the crank, they come out sliced or chopped to different finenesses. The finest setting works on the chickpeas. Or a 'meat grinder'.
resp:135 I'd buy that. ;) Hmm, or maybe take the recipe and figure out how to make my pseudo-food processor thing work.... That could be fun too. resp:141 but they don't make the neat noise.
Re 141 I think you mean a foodmill. I'd love to have one. Sindi, please remember that I am not the luddite that you are when it comes to my kitchen stuff. While I don't have tons of gadgets, the ones I have are ones I truly love and use (Kitchen Aid, Cuisinart, crock pot). They really do make my life easier. All I need is a blender....
I am glad to know that one can make it with a potato masher though because I dont have a food processor.
Actually, I lied. I just remembered that happyboy left one when he moved out. But I would have to get out my step ladder to reach it as it is on top of the cupboards. Plus it is probably crazy dusty.
We have an assortment of food processors and blenders. Jim modified one to grind styrofoam into little bits to pour into his walls. We played with them and prefer the hand tools - quieter, simpler, easier to clean. We don't process large amounts. The food mills (we have several models) make potato pancakes faster than a hand grater (and don't grate my hands). You can also grate carrots and rutabagas into the pancakes. What is this item about?
You don't look at the top of your screen or can't scroll back to see? If you're inferring that the item is drifting by talking about these various gadgets [which CAN be discussed in the gadgets and gizmos item], perhaps we can get back on track and use the current discussion and discuss ways we can use such items to create the things we want with our gadgets in order to save some $$ on our food bill. [There ARE creative ways to get items back on track. :-) Or just mention that you want to get back to discussing whatever the item topic actually is [and then start an item for whatever the topic is drifting to]. Easy enough to do. [Granted, I do realize that we all drift in various items from time to time, as we do in real-life/real-time conversations and sometimes it needs to get back on track...]
Tonight I made a homemade stovetop lasagna. I had seen them make it on America's Test Kitchen (what can I say? I'm a Chris Kimball junkie.) and it looked easy and interesting. It's basically homemade hamburger helper. It's pretty easy - sautee onions, add your meat to brown, add in two cans of 14 oz. diced tomatoes, making sure you have 4 cups of the tomatoes with juice (add water if not). Break up a box of lasagna noodles stir it up, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add some grated parmesan when it's done and nestle some dollops of ricotta on top, put the lid back on and let the ricotta heat through (you should have turned the heat off). Finish off with some fresh basil. I made mine with turkey, sauteed some mushrooms and zuchini with the onions, forewent the ricotta. Dave loved it. It makes plenty for leftovers too.
that does sound pretty tasty...
I am using backtalk from a linux console and cannot scroll back because mdacon is defective in that respect. If I were using a VGA monitor (vgacon?) I could type Shift-PgUp (on my older monitor which does not have PageUp - I edited some file to reassign key values). Is there some way to use backtalk itself to scroll back?
Ok Sindi - it's one thing for me to wax on poetically about my love for my cuisinart in this item. It's another completely for you to talk linux speak, which has absolutely no culinary bearing.
[I have no idea, Sindi-re response 150; I think one of the other conferences would be more appropriate to discuss the hows and whys of various computer languages. In my earlier comment, I assumed that, as people read through items with responses, they actually looked at each new item with a response in it as it is displayed at the time-as, at least in some programs, you can/do see. Apparently some don't allow to scroll back, which I didn't know about.] So lets get back to this, the cheap eats item.
You probably see different things using the web interface than if you ssh to grex and access the conferences with backtalk/fronttalk. I see only the response I am reading or writing and however much of the material above it fits into 25 rows. Someone asked why I did not scroll up - I cannot. I explained why.
I have been reading the conferences by web for so long that I think I have forgotten most of the commands but I *think* that if you type 'h' at the Respond or Pass? prompt, it will display the item header
[I'm going to go ahead and enter a separate item for computer and other unrelated stuff that people want to discuss here in the food conference, ok?]
skip it denise, there are plenty of other conferences where that is much more appropriate.
h worked, thanks. I might experiment with the rest of the alphabet.
Back to ad-scanning: This week's best bargains at Meijer Meat is less than 15 cents an ounce. Vegetables and fruit are less than 10 cents a serving. Lists are ordered lowest to highest. Apples .88* Grapes .99 Cabbage .33 Winter Squash .33 Chicken thighs .79 Ground round 1.79
You have several choices: