Due to our vacation, we didn't buy groceries until Wednesday morning, and we bought enough to last until next weekend. We also picked up some hard-to-find staples and dry foods while visiting my oldest.
We spent $14.09 at an Asian grocery, $3.40 for couscous and mushrooms, and $69.58 at our alternate grocery store for a total of $87.07. Dairy was $7.25, meat was $31.43, produce at $15.47, canned meals were $5.65, bread and pastas for $16.10, and the remaining $11.17 was for sugar, spices, and a couple of odds and ends.
These groceries will cover us for the next week and a half, including Memorial Day food and quite a bit of stocking up. We bought about 8 pounds of Japanese-style and pho-style noodles to try out, most of it for less than $.80 a pound. We also picked up few harder to find items for Asian dishes. We also stocked up on chicken, my fat free hot dogs, sugar, and some canned goods that were on sale. Lots of produce---the summer prices are starting to kick in for some things.
The visit to the Asian grocery had two purposes. One, we just enjoy seeing the incredible variety of ingredients from at least a dozen diverse cultures. And second, we get ideas for new things to try ourselves. We have at least 3 different types of noodles to test out for different dishes in our new wok. My daughters, who both love all sorts of Asian food, traded ideas as they saw things in the store. The Japanese style noodles look a lot like very thin spaghetti noodles. Pho, for those who haven't had it, is Vietnamese for soup, usually made with noodles in some sort of meat broth (other ingredients vary).
This is also part of thinking creatively about vacations. This was both fun and practical, and instead of spending money on an amusement park, we have new foods to try and new ideas. Years ago, we paid a young Indian friend to teach my oldest daughter and another friend a little Indian cooking, with the result that we enjoyed curry and riatas frequently. Unfortunately, coconut milk, used in the chicken curry, is a bit pricey for us at the moment, so if anyone knows a substitute, I'd love to hear about it
2 comments:
Depending on the color of the thin Japanese noodles they are either Ramen style or Soba style. Soba noodles are served cold with a dipping sauce, Ramen is nothing like American Ramen.
You can google the noodles and based on what color they are, that should tell you what they are. There are some great recipes for both styles..
I enjoy reading your blog. Bulk cooking is a must here!
Sabrina, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
One package of the noodles is the ramen type. I think all of the others are Soba noodles---thin, very white, and very straight.
Thanks for the suggestions! And please feel free to make other suggestions, I'm always looking for ideas...
Post a Comment