Grocery shopping tips during Coronavirus quarantine #2

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Midwestmom2019 said:
Do you have a freezer? Not just a little one in the fridge. Put up some veggies while they are plentiful. Or can them. Tomatoes, green beans, corn, broccoli, carrots, so many veggies lend themselves to easy long term storage.
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No freezer. Bottom drawer freezer with French door refrigerator. It's fine for the two of us. We get power outages during Michigan winters and don't have a generator. After losing a freezer-full of food several summers ago during a multi-day power outage, we wouldn't want to risk losing food in a chest freezer.
 
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anneg said:
From your link:
"The victim ... who walks with a cane and recently had liver surgery, was using the fax machine when another woman started to use the machine next to her ... [The victim] asked the woman to put her mask on after she saw it was below her mouth, NBC reported.

The suspect became angry and yelled at the victim who picked up her walking cane and pointed it directly at the suspect, coming within inches of the suspect's chest," said Hackensack Police Department's Capt. Darrin DeWitt...."

I have to say that this action (bolded by me above), if accurately reported, was a bad idea and the victim probably bears some blame for the suspect's violent reaction. The victim ended up with a broken leg.
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It’s a little unclear to me how this all started, as the suspect walked into view of the camera from what appeared to be behind her and a distance away, not right beside the victim.
I also noticed after the victim was on the floor no one went over to help her, at least not right away. They were right there but appeared to just ignore her. I don’t get it.
 
from a combination of a couple different threads - I've been alerted that our traditional holiday meals/foods may be harder to find this year. Surprisingly, when I searched for pumpkin, individual cans at an affordable price appear to be slim choices. In full swing of a pandemic, who wants to be caught this fall without pumpkin, that would just be insult added to injury. I have added pumpkin, pumpkin spiced coffee, sweet potatoes and fried onions that top casseroles to my next shopping list.
 
SA55 said:
from a combination of a couple different threads - I've been alerted that our traditional holiday meals/foods may be harder to find this year. Surprisingly, when I searched for pumpkin, individual cans at an affordable price appear to be slim choices. In full swing of a pandemic, who wants to be caught this fall without pumpkin, that would just be insult added to injury. I have added pumpkin, pumpkin spiced coffee, sweet potatoes and fried onions that top casseroles to my next shopping list.
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Oh NO! I didn't think of that at all. I've added flour and sugar since I'm seeing less of that available, and I got some extra yeast. I just added pumpkin and canned sweet potatoes to my list, and evaporated milk (which I couldn't get at one point, and I use in my pumpkin pie). I'm going to check my baking spices and extracts before I go on Wednesday.

I ran out of pepper at one point . . . pepper, of all things, and my other half uses tons of that because he can't salt like he used to. I ended up finding some on the ethnic foods aisle.
 
I wouldn't worry too much if stores don't have canned pumpkin right now. Mine usually don't carry canned pumpkin until the Fall. This year's pumpkins probably haven't even been harvested yet. And if there is a shortage of canned pumpkin, then this is a good year to learn how to roast fresh pumpkin to make your own puree. It's really easy and so delicious: How to Roast Pumpkin (& Make Purée) | Minimalist Baker Recipes

I'm growing my own sweet potatoes and pumpkins, so I'm not too concerned about shortages of those items. I always make a bunch of puree in the fall and freeze it until Thanksgiving. The thing I worry about finding this year is an organic/free range turkey. But if I can't find one then I'll do something different like duck or goose or little cornish game hens or ham or beef brisket. Maybe we will make a new tradition. :)

MOO
 
SA55 said:
from a combination of a couple different threads - I've been alerted that our traditional holiday meals/foods may be harder to find this year. Surprisingly, when I searched for pumpkin, individual cans at an affordable price appear to be slim choices. In full swing of a pandemic, who wants to be caught this fall without pumpkin, that would just be insult added to injury. I have added pumpkin, pumpkin spiced coffee, sweet potatoes and fried onions that top casseroles to my next shopping list.
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... and must have canned jellied cranberry sauce!
 
Gardener1850 said:
I wouldn't worry too much if stores don't have canned pumpkin right now. Mine usually don't carry canned pumpkin until the Fall. This year's pumpkins probably haven't even been harvested yet. And if there is a shortage of canned pumpkin, then this is a good year to learn how to roast fresh pumpkin to make your own puree. It's really easy and so delicious: How to Roast Pumpkin (& Make Purée) | Minimalist Baker Recipes

I'm growing my own sweet potatoes and pumpkins, so I'm not too concerned about shortages of those items. I always make a bunch of puree in the fall and freeze it until Thanksgiving. The thing I worry about finding this year is an organic/free range turkey. But if I can't find one then I'll do something different like duck or goose or little cornish game hens or ham or beef brisket. Maybe we will make a new tradition. :)
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Have you ever cooked stew inside a pumpkin? You prepare the stewing beef (or chicken) as usual with potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, etc. and put it inside a cleaned, seasoned pumpkin. The stew finishes cooking inside the pumpkin. When it's done, you gently stir the softened pumpkin flesh into the stew. It's a show-stopper and delicious! Pumpkin Stew
 
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BetteDavisEyes said:
Have you ever cooked stew inside a pumpkin? You prepare the stewing beef (or chicken) as usual with potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, etc. and put it inside a cleaned, seasoned pumpkin. The stew finishes cooking inside the pumpkin. When it's done, you gently stir the softened pumpkin flesh into the stew. It's a show-stopper and delicious! Pumpkin Stew
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I've never tried that, but it looks delicious. Thanks for the recipe Bette! :)
 
Gardener1850 said:
I've never tried that, but it looks delicious. Thanks for the recipe Bette! :)
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You seem to have a lot of experience roasting pumpkins, so you will likely be more successful in your initial attempt to get this right. The key to getting the pumpkin stew to turn out perfectly is to not overbake it. On my first attempt, the pumpkin got too soft and collapsed :oops: I did much better when I tried it a few more times :)
 
That article wants me to install an app to view it.nope.

I will say that if we just buy our normal groceries there would be few shortages. Hoarders are the problem for most shortages and make it hard on the rest of us.
 
dixiegirl1035 said:
... and must have canned jellied cranberry sauce!
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LOL. Oh man, I have a feeling that a can of cranberry sauce is going to be the bane of my existence this holiday season. I have tried many fresh cranberry sauce recipes over the years but my DH insists on the canned jellied stuff (it must have a "canned shape" to be authentic, LOL). But we avoid high fructose syrup, so I will only buy the organic canned cranberry jelly which can be hard to find sometimes. Last year I drove to 3 or 4 stores looking for canned organic cranberry sauce. I'm not going to do that this year. DH is going to have to learn to like the homemade stuff if I don't find any. :p
 
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BetteDavisEyes said:
You seem to have a lot of experience roasting pumpkins, so you will likely be more successful in your initial attempt to get this right. The key to getting the pumpkin stew to turn out perfectly is to not overbake it. On my first attempt, the pumpkin got too soft and collapsed :oops: I did much better when I tried it a few more times :)
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I was wondering how well the pumpkin stayed intact after roasting it for that long. In my experience, most pumpkins would collapse or the skin would get very soft after 2 hours, but I mostly cook with the smaller pie pumpkins. The skin normally gets soft about the same time as the flesh. Perhaps there is a certain type of pumpkin that is better for this stew recipe than others? I do know that larger pumpkins grown and sold for carving jack'o lanterns have tougher outer skin. I have roasted those once or twice when I didn't have any pie pumpkins. Large carving pumpkins work OK for puree but have a thicker skin and are not as sweet.
 
Gardener1850 said:
I was wondering how well the pumpkin stayed intact after roasting it for that long. In my experience, most pumpkins would collapse or the skin would get very soft after 2 hours, but I mostly cook with the smaller pie pumpkins. The skin normally gets soft about the same time as the flesh. Perhaps there is a certain type of pumpkin that is better for this stew recipe than others? I do know that larger pumpkins grown and sold for carving jack'o lanterns have tougher outer skin. I have roasted those once or twice when I didn't have any pie pumpkins. Large carving pumpkins work OK for puree but have a thicker skin and are not as sweet.
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As I noted in my previous post, the key is to not overbake the pumpkin. I got it right through trial and error. The stew really needs to be completely cooked before you put it inside the pumpkin. I used pumpkins that were intended for carving as you don't need the sweetness of pie pumpkins for a savory dish. An hour to 75 minutes was just about right for the flesh to soften enough to incorporate it into the stew. There are dozens of recipes, including many that use smaller pie pumpkins for individual servings of the stew.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jack-olantern-stew-recipe-1946347

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Beef Stew (served inside roasted sugar pumpkins!)

Pumpkin Stew
 
My sister told me last week that her local supermarket has already stocked Halloween candy and that they usually begin stocking Thanksgiving items after Labor Day. I mostly go to Salvaggio's and generally start to see Thanksgiving products and holiday baking needs around the first of October; Christmas items after Halloween. The aisles tend to get very crowded with holiday displays. I can't imagine what it will be like to navigate the store this year during the pandemic :eek:
 
I saw Halloween candy yesterday in my grocery store, I wonder if the kids will even be allowed to trick or treat this year..

I have not heard from any of my suppliers that turkey's will be short this year. I have already received some corporate orders and placed them but will update if that changes. They are definitely more expensive than last year.
 
Gardener1850 said:
LOL. Oh man, I have a feeling that a can of cranberry sauce is going to be the bane of my existence this holiday season. I have tried many fresh cranberry sauce recipes over the years but my DH insists on the canned jellied stuff (it must have a "canned shape" to be authentic, LOL). But we avoid high fructose syrup, so I will only buy the organic canned cranberry jelly which can be hard to find sometimes. Last year I drove to 3 or 4 stores looking for canned organic cranberry sauce. I'm not going to do that this year. DH is going to have to learn to like the homemade stuff if I don't find any. :p
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My husband had never had whole berry cranberry sauce in his life and didn't know what it was . . . but preferred it. The first time I hosted his family for Thanksgiving, his father threw an absolute toddler fit because I hadn't thought to have the sliced stuff. I knew after that, though!
 
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