|
Post by bixaorellana on Apr 8, 2020 18:00:36 GMT
They aren't the cheapest place but make 1$ baskets of slightly rumpled fruit and veg rather than discarding it. It is so wonderful when places do that. Throwing away stuff raises the prices for everyone! Piticó, a local convenience grocery chain, routinely does that, even to the point of offering cut up produce. So much better to cut off & discard the bad portion of a vegetable than to throw the whole thing out & raise prices to cover the loss.
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Apr 8, 2020 20:10:06 GMT
Our growers give produce that’s seen better days to the food banks and the shelter for the homeless. (Restaurants- remember them? - used to do that also.)
Way better than tossing it in the dumpster and - horrors! - dumping bleach or lye all over it to prevent hungry people climbing in for a free meal.
|
|
|
Post by lagatta on Apr 8, 2020 21:51:14 GMT
Our growers do that too, and some even grow an "extra row" of their products, but it is also important to remember people on tight budgets but who aren't actually homeless or qualify for food banks.
Other initiatives are important too. I've volunteered for a food bank here, and the immigrant mums were experts in using every last edible bit, but a group that suffers from food deprivation is men of a certain age who are unemployed or living on small pensions who simply never learned to cook (fortunately younger men here are not at all like that, overall). In my neighbourhood we also have a collective kitchen that does encourage member participation but also provides a nutritious and tasty lunch to everyone who meets their income and (local)residency criteria.
I don't want to suggest that all men of a certain age are like that! But this was a finding among local community groups in our neighbourhood. And the lunchroom breaks down social isolation.
|
|
|
Post by rikita on Apr 8, 2020 22:02:28 GMT
tortillas. a. ate hers plain (i gave her some fruit to eat afterwards, so she has some fibre, too), i had some cheese and cream and some vegetables in mine.
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Apr 9, 2020 15:26:26 GMT
I'm having Vietnamese nems (fried spring rolls) tonight because their date is approaching. I must savour them even more than usual because my Chinese supermarket has decided to close for at least two weeks. And the Turkish grocery store next door to my flat (Istanbul Oriental) has done the same, which is increasing the entry queues to the 'normal' supermarkets.
I don't know why these decisions have been made but I would venture to say 1. insufficient staff 2. insufficient customers 3. insufficient deliveries.
|
|
|
Post by rikita on Apr 9, 2020 22:54:13 GMT
got home late and hungry, so just quickly threw together random ingredients - the last two tortillas, put some curry paste on them, some cranberries and cashes, and cheese, and warmed it in the microwave, and then put some sour cream on it. actually tasted not bad.
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Apr 11, 2020 11:56:38 GMT
Kerouac could it not be some unknown religious thing to do with Easter?
Yesterday I rang the butcher trading inside a supermarket close to us - actually the man told me I was 750m away according to his GPS. He delivered my meat order right to the gate. I particularly wanted his meat as he does air-dried aged beef and I was longing for a nice juicy rib-eye steak. So that's on the menu today!
We also went and picked up groceries from our regular Spar shop and had to go through the spray everything stage before packing away. My husband was astonished at the crowds shopping - lots of old fogies and not a mask between them. Why jeopardise catching the virus and either dying from it or passing it on to others that stay with you?!
|
|
|
Post by rikita on Apr 12, 2020 13:04:24 GMT
as i am done with fasting now, i want some meat tonight. if the shop downstairs is open, i might get some steak with fries (as that is my neighbour's place, so he is the one i most want to support right now, also his steaks are nice and it is better to get one when a. isn't here, else she eats most of it and they are kind of too expensive to get two), else i might get something from a nearby indian place ...
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Apr 12, 2020 16:17:31 GMT
Tonight I will be slicing up two boneless pork chops that I defrosted. I'll cook them with chopped onions and sliced ginger and whatever else strikes my fancy.
|
|
|
Post by rikita on Apr 12, 2020 17:03:39 GMT
a steak and fries and salald and chimichurri sauce and also port wine sauce from the shop downstairs. and a glas of wine.
|
|
|
Post by htmb on Apr 12, 2020 17:19:56 GMT
Baked ziti and salad, with strawberry shortcake for dessert.
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Apr 12, 2020 18:19:04 GMT
Ham, of course. It’s Easter!
(Though neither Kimby is a practicing anything.)
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Apr 12, 2020 18:20:07 GMT
If there is one thing I have never stopped missing since I moved here, it is ham at Easter.
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Apr 12, 2020 18:24:27 GMT
In France, the Easter dish is leg of lamb, but many lambs are still alive this year because it is not something that most people make if there are not at least a few guests coming.
|
|
|
Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 12, 2020 18:25:58 GMT
We had a turkey crown, with potato normande made with cream and lashings of butter, cauliflower & broccoli cheese, peas and carrots...pigs in blankets, sage and onion stuffing and gravy. I spent ages making it then realised that I'd made too much. Again. We all enjoyed it tho...the potato normande was lush and creamy with a buttery, crispy top...shame I couldnt eat it all...podged.
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Apr 12, 2020 18:46:27 GMT
Sounds excellent. Put the leftovers in the freezer for the meetup.
|
|
|
Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 12, 2020 18:53:30 GMT
It's in the dog
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Apr 12, 2020 19:15:43 GMT
It wasn't dinner but lunch here. Just two of us so duck aiguillettes (thin slices of breast meat), fried potatoes and a green salad. Starter, which we usually don't have, was gravlax.
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Apr 13, 2020 9:18:48 GMT
Ham, of course. It’s Easter! (Though neither Kimby is a practicing anything.) I had no ida ham/pork was an Easter thing. Besides steak and pork sausages, I asked the butcer to deliver a small Boston Butt. I boiled it and we now slice it cold to have with pickles etc. I can tell it is the pork neck as has fatty marbling here and there. It is very tasty.
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Apr 13, 2020 13:04:03 GMT
I think ham is a regional or familial tradition. Not as fixed as turkey at Thanksgiving.
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Apr 13, 2020 14:03:51 GMT
Having a French mother, my family was always aghast (maybe not my father) at all of those images of huge hams and even more the ones that you could see cross-hatched in commercials with honey and pineapple slices and even maraschino cherries. My mother would buy big picnic hams to boil and we would eat them as they were. And they were good but never used as a special occasion -- this was only for ordinary consumption.
|
|
|
Post by lagatta on Apr 13, 2020 15:26:46 GMT
There are also "picnic" pork roasts that aren't smoked. Usually a good value, but once again, a staple.
More for families than singles or couples. Aren't they shoulders rather than bums?
Oddly, Livia, unlike my previous cats, is not attracted to "human" poultry or other meat. I think the little family was fed mostly dry food by cat rescuers, other than the odd mouse mamma caught.
My arroz al pollo was fine, but the rice, while delicious, with the vegetables used in ratatouille and similar dishes, was a bit porridgy or risotto-like. Of course the pollo was fine (just large legs, sliced by the butcher - I prefer dark meat and for some reason it is cheaper.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Apr 13, 2020 15:59:11 GMT
My mother too once made the mistake of buying ham with sweet stuff on top. Just a few slices but they ended up in the garbage.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Apr 13, 2020 16:14:01 GMT
I think ham is a regional or familial tradition. Not as fixed as turkey at Thanksgiving. I come from the opposite end of the country from Kimby & it's a firm tradition in my family, so maybe more familial than regional. Those pictures of glistening hams with pineapple on top were advertisements & not really like home hams. The bone-in ham first gets boiled, then baked. It gets a coating of brown sugar along with pineapple & sometimes cloves. The brown sugar caramelizes along with the slight tang of the pineapple juices during the baking process, meaning there is a touch of bitter with the sweet. This also protects the skin from drying out too much. The resulting ham is moist and very hammy and not sweet at all. It's a far cry from "honey-baked hams" and other commercially produced ham, which are indeed disconcertingly sweet to the point of covering up the ham flavor. My Easter dinner was capellini dressed with crushed garlic, olive oil, & parsely. It was accompanied by Neapolitan style fried zucchini, and was perfectly delightful. If any of you have ever wondered, dogs are enthusiastic about fried zucchini.
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Apr 13, 2020 16:20:47 GMT
This evening I made chili con carne using pork sausage meat. I chopped an onion as usual and also incorporated two small tomatoes which would have rebelled to being comestible in another day or two. And I also chopped up two small carrots, which is something that I would normally never add, but I don't like to waste things and there is nothing wrong with eating carrots. I also used a tin of tomato pulp and then a tin of Portuguese beans (bought at Auchan in Luxembourg but sold there to the Portuguese community). Beans are beans. For the seasoning, I used an ancient package of chili mix (at least 10 or 15 years old). My test for items like that is that if you shake the package and it is still moving powder, it is perfectly fine, but if it has congealed into a flat lump, it must be tossed.
One interesting detail is that the package said "HOT chili mix" and I chose to believe them for once. Normally I would also chop up little Thai chillies or sprinkle in quite a bit of Cayenne pepper (or both), but today I didn't. I also did not add any additional salt. And it turned out to be perfectly spicy (HOT!) and did not need any more salt, so I am a happy diner tonight.
(I just fished the package out of the trash and the brand is Astor, and the expiration date was 2004.)
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Apr 13, 2020 16:29:39 GMT
K2, you forgot the key ingredient in chili, which is BACON! Nothing else matters...
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Apr 13, 2020 16:32:01 GMT
I have not ever put bacon in chili, but I'm willing to give it a try.
|
|
|
Post by mickthecactus on Apr 13, 2020 16:46:50 GMT
Chicken salad incorporating leftover pasta.
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Apr 13, 2020 16:47:45 GMT
Oh, man, once you’ve tried chili with bacon you’ll never go back!
I chop up and brown the bacon (3 or 4 strips) first, then brown the ground meat (usually 1# burger, half # pork sausage, but sometimes buffalo or elk or venison if I have it), then toss in a lot of chopped onion. If using less lean meats, when all is cooked, drain excess fat. Stir in at least 3T of salt-free chili powder, a good dash of cayenne, then the cans: diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste (all reduced salt, if possible) and chopped chili peppers. Then the beans: a can each of low-sodium kidney beans and black beans, drained, and a can of “chili beans” which are canned in a flavored sauce.
The bacon and pork sausage add enough salt that I use as many salt-free products as I can, both to avoid being very thirsty, and to protect Mr. Kimby’s blood pressure! Simmer as long as you like.
To serve, garnish at the table with chopped raw onion, sour cream and shredded cheese.
I make a big pot and freeze two containers, eating off the first 1/3 for a couple days.
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Apr 13, 2020 16:53:41 GMT
BTW, my chili took first runner-up in a chili cook off a couple years ago (she said modestly. 😄)
|
|