Grocery shopping tips during Coronavirus quarantine #2

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  • #401
Juls gluten free flour is the best I’ve found, available on line. The bread mixes are good too. I just ordered a 6 pack to restock.

I never heard of them so I looked them up. It seems quite pricey compared to what we are finding. Good to have another source tho. Thanks for the tip!

I ordered a bunch of King Arthur GF flours and mixes online: Gluten-Free Flours & Baking Mixes | King Arthur Flour

They are one of the few brands that have not increased too much in price compared to what I used to pay in store. I've noticed many of my regular GF items have either been sold out in stores or higher in price by a dollar or two in store when I did find them. And some items that are sold out had outrageous prices online.

My favorite brown rice pasta was going for $25 per bag on Amazon at one point and I couldn't find any of it in stores. I finally found 2 bags in a store a couple weeks ago and bought them both even though they were a dollar more than what I used to pay. My Bob's Red Mill GF Oatmeal in stores changed to smaller bags for the same price the bigger bags used to be. But I managed to order some GF Oatmeal in the old size on Amazon for around the same price as before.

I hope the prices eventually go back down. GF specialty food items were already way too expensive before the pandemic.

MOO.
 
  • #402
Ok, replying again to the same post with an update. My kid went to the bulk store in Ellenton, FL tonight. A few months ago a new owner bought the place and has made some changes. They’ve tweaked the product offerings and installed a hand washing station. They have curbside pickup an online ordering.

You can bring your own clean containers, which is where the rest of my canning jars went, but I digress. LOL! I did give her my empty Tupperware container that I used to use for regular flour. I bleached it out then let it dry for 24 hours. We had washed and bleached out a few pickle jars too. She had a few clean spice containers too.

They weighed her containers, then she was allowed to fill them. The GF flour was about 10-15 cents more per pound. But she said it was nice to get a container of it, instead of a small bag.

They are on Facebook and have a website for online ordering. They will deliver too if you’re in their delivery area.

Bulk Food Superstore Ellenton
For orders of $30 and above, make sure to use code BULKFOOD34 at checkout for a discount! You can now order online products from our shelves and bins and request delivery if you live in the following zip codes: 34222, 34219, 34212, 34208, 34221, 34205, 34207, 34203, 34209. Don't see your zip code listed? No worries! You can still place an order but make sure to select "in-person pickup" at checkout.

I am so very jealous of you! My sister went last week to Hunsader Farms in Bradenton (12 miles from Ellenton) and she got a huge amount of tomatoes (5 gallon bucket for $5.00) and she said they were fabulous tasting. Years ago, she went and picked and then went to another place that was set up to do salsa from those picked. She made over 70 jars for gifts.

ETA: Just on phone with sissie...The cannery is in Brooksville, one of two in Florida. She canned 150 pounds into salsa!
 
  • #403
Supporting our local farm which closes for the summer tomorrow. I bought 1 case of Roma tomatoes and 1 case of regular tomatoes. My plan is to make marinara sauce and freeze it. Then we can dress it up depending on what we use it for, pizza, pasta, etc. Now, to go pick thru them and set out the ones that need to ripen a bit more. My friends will be stopping by for some.

$5/case!
Hunsader Farms

lol, I just scrolled down from the post you did above that I replied to... lol... you did another post about Hunsader farms! YEAH... I covet your maters!!!
 
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  • #404
lol, I just scrolled down from the post you did above that I replied to... lol... you did another post about Hunsader farms! YEAH... I covet your maters!!!
LOL! I might have a tomato problem.... My friends have assured me they can help tho. I sorted thru them this morning. In the box of regular tomatoes, I only had 1 I just tossed out. There’s maybe 8 that I cut the bad chunks out of. None of the Roma tomatoes are bad and actually need a bit of ripening. I’ve got them drying out in the garage.
 

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  • #405
LOL! I might have a tomato problem.... My friends have assured me they can help tho. I sorted thru them this morning. In the box of regular tomatoes, I only had 1 I just tossed out. There’s maybe 8 that I cut the bad chunks out of. None of the Roma tomatoes are bad and actually need a bit of ripening. I’ve got them drying out in the garage.

What a great deal! Romas make wonderful sauce. Are going to try to can them?

Here's a simple recipe for sauce: Homemade Tomato Sauce | Fresh Preserving

Or even easier, here's how to can them whole: Tomatoes Whole, Halved or Quartered - Packed in Water | Fresh Preserving
 
  • #406
LOL! I might have a tomato problem.... My friends have assured me they can help tho. I sorted thru them this morning. In the box of regular tomatoes, I only had 1 I just tossed out. There’s maybe 8 that I cut the bad chunks out of. None of the Roma tomatoes are bad and actually need a bit of ripening. I’ve got them drying out in the garage.

Durn durn durn. This is similar to what I have... waiting waiting waiting.

Jealous.JPG
 
  • #407
What a great deal! Romas make wonderful sauce. Are going to try to can them?

Here's a simple recipe for sauce: Homemade Tomato Sauce | Fresh Preserving

Or even easier, here's how to can them whole: Tomatoes Whole, Halved or Quartered - Packed in Water | Fresh Preserving
I don’t have canning equipment. I am going to freeze it. We found this recipe so that we can use fresh tomatoes versus canned. Plus none of us are allergic to any of these spices. We try to make our basic foods to accommodate the entire families‘ allergies. The kids can add whatever extras they want to it when they’re making pizza or spaghetti.

Homemade Tomato Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
 
  • #408
This week's quick trip to Nino Salvaggio's: Still can't find I Can't Believe It's Not Butter (lite). Haas avocados on special this week for 99 cents each; they've been as high as $2.49 each in recent weeks. Plenty of fresh produce at mostly reasonable prices; we're several weeks away from an abundance of Michigan produce. No chicken livers. Yes, you read that right: There were no chicken livers :( I've been craving liver and hoped to make chicken liver pate. I suspect that my B12 level is low, so I will increase my dosage of sublingual tablet every other day to daily for a couple of weeks. In the meantime, we will be on the lookout for chicken livers; Nino's butcher said to check back early next week.
 
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  • #409
I don’t have canning equipment. I am going to freeze it. We found this recipe so that we can use fresh tomatoes versus canned. Plus none of us are allergic to any of these spices. We try to make our basic foods to accommodate the entire families‘ allergies. The kids can add whatever extras they want to it when they’re making pizza or spaghetti.

Homemade Tomato Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes

I make a sauce that is similar to this, but I call it Tomato Basil Sauce. Very simple: tomatoes (fresh, canned, or combination), several cloves of fresh garlic, olive oil, lots of chopped fresh basil, salt, pepper, and hot red pepper flakes to taste. I portion sauce in Ziploc bags and keep it in the freezer. If I use fresh tomatoes, I blanch them and remove skin.
 
  • #410
  • #411
  • #412
Grocery shopping is going well for us here in Southern Oregon. We’ve been using Instacart since late April. Fred Meier doesn’t raise their prices for Instacart but Safeway does, so we use Freddie’s about 10 miles away. We get it delivered but if we wanted to save on the tip and delivery charge we could drive over and pick it up curbside. Too lazy. :p We get most of what we ordered or adequate substitutes, so no complaints. Paper products have variable availability but there’s always something and I try not to get low. The shopper leaves the bags outside our door and we never see her or him. We may never go to a grocery store again! :D

We ended up not planting anything on our deck. I wanted to but since my dh would be the one stuck with planting and watering he got to decide he didn’t feel like it. We have friends with a huge farm/garden who will sell to us (it’s a business). They got the cutest little heirloom piggies that I’m licking my chops over. It will be much better quality than the small amount we buy at the store. We will regret not getting the freezer I wanted for the deck, unless we still get around to it later. Procrastination sets in easily. ;)
 
  • #413
I don’t have canning equipment. I am going to freeze it. We found this recipe so that we can use fresh tomatoes versus canned. Plus none of us are allergic to any of these spices. We try to make our basic foods to accommodate the entire families‘ allergies. The kids can add whatever extras they want to it when they’re making pizza or spaghetti.

Homemade Tomato Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes

Recipe looks fabulous. And honey or maple syrup instead of some sugar is interesting.

The really nice thing about canning is that if the power goes out for whatever reason, your hard work and wonderful food survives the catastrophe. Canning tomatoes might get expensive the first time bc of the need for a pressure canner set up, but other foods can be canned, lol, pun intended, and easily become your pantry staples. It’s such a great feeling to open the door and see row after row of home made canned goods. No preservatives. No chemicals. And there is NO WAY that store bought compares to home made jams or jellies. We used old mayonnaise jars when they were glass, restaurants and bars had huge glass containers we’d beg off of them. If you need equipment, jars, rings, check out estate sales, garage sales or resale shops. Pennies on the dollar. I’ve seen brand new dehydrators, boxes of unused canning lids. Rings and jars can be reused multiple times. I bought one of those insta pot things thinking one of the kids would like it, at a local resale store. Brand new. Still in the box with plastic and styrofoam. They already have them so I use it!
What could be better than your entire family taking part in a family canning/freezing session. Like baking/cooking during the extended holidays. Memories are made of these group efforts.
 
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  • #414
...What could be better than your entire family taking part in a family canning/freezing session. Like baking/cooking during the extended holidays. Memories are made of these group efforts.

<respectfully snipped>

While not always practical in traditional educational settings, baking/cooking/meal preparation offers a unique opportunity to incorporate all of the senses in the learning process. As a teacher, I always believed that the more the senses are involved, the greater the retention in the educational experience. See, hear, say, smell, taste, touch, do: Family/group cooking projects engage all of the senses :) Making memories while making something delicious!
 
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  • #415
I don’t have canning equipment. I am going to freeze it. We found this recipe so that we can use fresh tomatoes versus canned. Plus none of us are allergic to any of these spices. We try to make our basic foods to accommodate the entire families‘ allergies. The kids can add whatever extras they want to it when they’re making pizza or spaghetti.

Homemade Tomato Marinara Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
Water bath canning is fairly easy and doesn’t require a lot of equipment. Mainly a deep stock pot with a rack in the bottom. Tomatoes work well. I made some arrabbiata sauce that was really good. Just heated it with a can of clams and put it over pasta with a little Parmesan. Also when I make my salsa it’s half Roma half on the vine tomatoes to make it thicken slightly with cooking. Some jalapeños, serranos, habaneros, onions, cilantro, garlic and Mexican oregano, oh and salt. yum.
 
  • #416
Water bath canning is fairly easy and doesn’t require a lot of equipment. Mainly a deep stock pot with a rack in the bottom. Tomatoes work well. I made some arrabbiata sauce that was really good. Just heated it with a can of clams and put it over pasta with a little Parmesan. Also when I make my salsa it’s half Roma half on the vine tomatoes to make it thicken slightly with cooking. Some jalapeños, serranos, habaneros, onions, cilantro, garlic and Mexican oregano, oh and salt. yum.

HOT stuff. Hope you have sour cream handy.
 
  • #417
Water bath canning is fairly easy and doesn’t require a lot of equipment. Mainly a deep stock pot with a rack in the bottom. Tomatoes work well. I made some arrabbiata sauce that was really good. Just heated it with a can of clams and put it over pasta with a little Parmesan. Also when I make my salsa it’s half Roma half on the vine tomatoes to make it thicken slightly with cooking. Some jalapeños, serranos, habaneros, onions, cilantro, garlic and Mexican oregano, oh and salt. yum.

I know a guy named T-Bone. From around these parts of Texas. I just didn’t know he cooked.
 
  • #418
I make a sauce that is similar to this, but I call it Tomato Basil Sauce. Very simple: tomatoes (fresh, canned, or combination), several cloves of fresh garlic, olive oil, lots of chopped fresh basil, salt, pepper, and hot red pepper flakes to taste. I portion sauce in Ziploc bags and keep it in the freezer. If I use fresh tomatoes, I blanch them and remove skin.
sounds like my Tomato basil soup recipe - just add chicken stock and half/half or heavy cream - it's yummy and I don't like tomato soup either. First tried it at Nature's Table many years ago then the copycat was published and I've embellished it over the years.
NATURE'S TABLE'S TOMATO SOUP WARMS SOUL
now I'm lazy so I just use the large can of crushed tomatoes from Aldi, a can of their diced tomatoes with garlic basil, etc., spike, a box of chicken broth/stock, a bit of corn starch and lots of fresh basil, then simmer for 20 minutes and add the cream and parm cheese (grated) about 1/2 cup or half the jar if I'm really lazy.
 
  • #419
I couldn’t make the normal produce pick up yesterday. I went today.

A box of mixed produce from the farm to family program. That’s where the 4 white plastic bins are from in the photo. Sweet potatoes, a few little red potatoes, green bell peppers, Roma tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, carrots, apples, oranges, pears, etc.

A grocery bag of Jalapeños peppers with 3 big tomatoes. I will be handing out peppers for certain!

2 ripe papayas. I will need to freeze these.

1 coconut. Not sure if we even have a hatchet to crack it open!

3 big white onions.

2 gallons of 2% milk!
 

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  • #420
No chicken livers at Meijer when DH was there on Sunday. Someone even checked to see if they had some in the stockroom :) I haven't been to Meijer at all during the shut down and did not realize that over-the-counter meat department has not been open during the pandemic. We don't ever get meat or fish at Meijer, but we do get Jennie-O turkey products. Meijer usually has a good selection of Tyson chicken products, too, but supply is currently low. Still no Lysol spray, and DH checked at a hardware store where he went for a sprinkler head replacement. They have an entire aisle of household cleaning products and supplies, but DH said selection was sparse. DH got a twin pack of Febreeze air freshener that will be fine for now. It's nearly time for a monthly trip to Costco, so maybe we'll find Lysol spray there.
 
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