prairiewindmomma Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 What are you guys thinking as we transition away from covid being the major concern to inflation? Normally I am gearing up to put 60# of blueberries and 40# of raspberries in my freezer (nearby commercial orchards) but I am pausing on that idea for a bit to consider whether I would be better served putting meat in that space instead.....watching sales and building up a stash. Where are your thoughts on this? What are you doing, if anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 I am watching sales for chicken which is rising in price, and will also take advantage of some summer seafood sales, plus put away a little beef. I am going to freeze 20 lbs of blueberries and raspberries, but my bigger goal is dehydrating some of our soup and stew vegetables. They do not take up so much space. I use canning jars and caps. Between my mini garden and the local farmer's market, I hope to dry all the carrots, scallions, celery, red and orange peppers, grape tomatoes, and peas. Oh, and I might cube about 20 lbs of potatoes to freeze. Then as long as I have broth and a protein on hand, I can dump and go. My husband would like me to make some homemade salsa. We will see if I have time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 Not due to inflation fears, but I'm starting to re-stock my larder and freezer after no in-person shopping for 14 months. I've always loved shopping for food ingredients and my area of Los Angeles indulges my cross-cultural tastes with lots of "ethnic" markets. Today was my first real in-person shopping trip. Life in our home (where everyone now has both shots) feels like it is returning to normal. Bill 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 Ours is so full of venison I can’t fit much else right now. I have run the pantry back to normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 7 minutes ago, Spy Car said: Not due to inflation fears, but I'm starting to re-stock my larder and freezer after no in-person shopping for 14 months. I've always loved shopping for food ingredients and my area of Los Angeles indulges my cross-cultural tastes with lots of "ethnic" markets. Today was my first real in-person shopping trip. Life in our home (where everyone now has both shots) feels like it is returning to normal. Bill Congrats, Bill! I am three weeks out myself and have been updating my shopping lists!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 I found out that a butcher nearby delivers if you order as little as $30, so I think I'm going to get a butcher's family pack thing and stock up with meat. I bought my first freezer during the pandemic and I'm trying to use what's in it now so I can put in my meat order. I'm down to very little of last year's frozen produce and some odds and ends. My garden is just beginning to produce so I plan to grow as much as I can to keep us in salads and sides. I've got about 13 different varieties of tomato plants ready to go into the ground and I'm excited about them all. I've raised them from seed and they are my tasty tasty babies. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 I'm still in Camp Blueberry--I want 30-40 quart bags in the freezer, because there is no equivalent to our local blueberries. If I run out in February, I can't get the same taste until late June. Personally I am ok if I have to eat less meat due to price (but I think we're in a position to just pay the higher price), but I want my blueberries! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 4 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said: Congrats, Bill! I am three weeks out myself and have been updating my shopping lists!! Thanks. Congratulations to you as well. I'm almost 4 weeks out, but I've been very conservative having a teen who still needed shot #2 (now done). One item I wanted (that will help fuel the cooking and pantry building) was a fresh bag of yerba maté. So I hit a local Argentine restaurant/market and picked up some Rosamonte Seleccion Especial. The best maté I've ever tried (and I've tried a lot). Now I'm roasting, and drying, and fermenting, and vacuum sealing a bunch of good stuff. Shopping via Instacart (which was a blessing, to be sure) just isn't the same thing as shopping in person. I've missed it. Bill 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted May 11, 2021 Author Share Posted May 11, 2021 You like the smoked stuff? I am not wholly convinced. I am a pretty basic Cruz de Malta girl myself. Dh drank Guayaki or CBSE when he lived in Argentina. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 2 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said: You like the smoked stuff? I am not wholly convinced. I am a pretty basic Cruz de Malta girl myself. Dh drank Guayaki or CBSE when he lived in Argentina. For my taste the Rosamonte Seleccion Especial blows away the Cruz de Malta. In the olden days, Cruz de Malta was all I could get, so it is my "standard" of measure. Drank it for a long time. It's not bad, but... The Rosamonte Seleccion Especial has a nice deep taste, but at the same time it is much "cleaner" tasting than the Cruz de Malta. No "dust." Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clemsondana Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 I have bought rice, flour, and beans in bulk for years - I finally found a good brand of storage containers so now my storage area is tidy. We grow a lot of our veggies to freeze and buy pork and beef in bulk from local farmers. We have been stocking up on chicken when we find it on sale, but we have always done that. Our local pork producer said that pork was going from $1/pound (live weight) to $1. 25 due to increased feed costs. We are doing a horticulture class next year as science so we're growing things that we normally buy - lettuce, potatoes, etc - as an experiment. Some of it is doing really well. There's a lot of expense in starting some of these things - potato bags, soil and compost - and we did it as a learning experience, but if food prices stay high it may end up being cost-effective even over the short term. I haven't figured out the patterns of what is more expensive. I have gone to the same 3-4 grocery stores for years, mostly buying the same things, and sometimes I look at my bag and am boggled at how much it costs, and other times I leave with several full bags and haven't spent a ton. I'm sure there is a pattern - sometimes I'm stocking up on canned soup and boxed mac and cheese for quick lunches and other times I'm mostly buying fresh veggies (I'm always getting milk, OJ, bread, and eggs) - but it's not as obvious as I'd expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 At this time of year, I'm focusing more on the pantry than the freezer, because we're heading into hurricane season and an extended power outage would wipe out the freezer contents. I will toss a bag or two of ice in there, though, before then, to help with that/buy us a little more time during an outage. I need to do a pantry clean-out/rearrange here soon and then figure out my list. For sure I need to have more coffee in there, flour, yeast, sugar, brown sugar....not sure what else. One of my kids has decided to stop eating beans so I need to kind of rethink some items too. Oh, rice, but we have a fair amount right now. Powdered creamer, b/c during/after the winter storm and all the stores lost power, no one could sell anything refrigerated, and DH couldn't find creamer for over a week after power came back. He was a little miserable. Things like jelly and peanut butter and such, for sure. I'm too tired this morning to think about it in depth, but will scan this thread later to get ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 (edited) Speaking of peanut butter. While shopping yesterday, I saw big bags of salted/roasted skinless peanut halves on sale for 99 cents a pound that looked really good. So I bought some and made my own peanut butter. So easy. Wife and son both gave two thumbs up. Better than commercial IMO. All one needs to do is put peanuts in food processor w/ steel blade and process till nice and smooth. Be sure not to under do it. I reserved a small amount of peanuts to do as a second batch that I processed more roughly and then folded into the main batch of "smooth," as my bunch prefers "crunchy." I did nothing to dissuade impressed family from thinking this was culinary genius (lol), but nothing could be easier than making peanut butter if one has the right peanuts. Bill ETA: Did the math. A 26 oz jar of Laura Scudder's Old Fashioned runs about $5.50 around here. The homemade (better tasting IMO) ran $1.60 for the same amount. Frugal, delicious, and easy. Wins all around. Edited May 11, 2021 by Spy Car 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 15 hours ago, KungFuPanda said: I found out that a butcher nearby delivers if you order as little as $30, so I think I'm going to get a butcher's family pack thing and stock up with meat. I bought my first freezer during the pandemic and I'm trying to use what's in it now so I can put in my meat order. I'm down to very little of last year's frozen produce and some odds and ends. My garden is just beginning to produce so I plan to grow as much as I can to keep us in salads and sides. I've got about 13 different varieties of tomato plants ready to go into the ground and I'm excited about them all. I've raised them from seed and they are my tasty tasty babies. Man if I had a butcher that did that, so would buy a lot, tip a lot, and generally spoil that business owner!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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