Yesterday, we placed an order for groceries and today, I picked them up, curbside. I bought:
2 avocados. @ $.99 = $1.98
1 pineapple = $2.00
1 lb. bunch kale = $1.49
2 trays (10.82 lbs. total) chicken thighs @ $1.17/lb = $12.68
2 lb. frozen pollock fillets = $9.99
1 doz. eggs = $2.49
1 container (52 fl.oz.) oatmilk = $2.49
Total = $33.12 $23.12*
* Jennifer, my favorite store clerk, gave me a totally unexpected discount of $10! Such a blessing! That discount meant the frozen fish I got was free!
In addition, I purchased a bottle of antihistamines, for $22.99 plus $2. 18 sales tax, which is not included in my grocery budget.
My grocery budget for January will be $200, which is $50 less than what I had been budgeting, last year. Partly because I've come under budget so often in recent months and partly because there are items in the pantry that are starting to approach their "best by" dates and I need to start using them up. I will make further adjustments to the grocery budget once my daughter goes back to Berkeley.
Later in the afternoon and early evening, my daughter cooked a meal to take to friends of ours, tomorrow. Friend A is on a special diet for medical reasons and her younger daughter had mentioned to my daughter that she and her sister were missing "authentic Sri Lankan food", Apparently, they are not too pleased with the food they've tried from the Sri Lankan restaurants in the area. My daughter wanted to prepare a meal for them and made a menu. Some of the groceries I bought today are for that meal.
Today, daughter cooked dhal, potato curry, egg curry, shredded kale (kale mallung), fish curry, chicken curry, and garbanzo beans, cooking two versions of each curry: without any curry powder or spices (only turmeric) and using oatmilk for friend A's portion and regular curry with curry powder and spices (but, not too much chili) and coconut milk for the rest of the family. She didn't want me to get tired by cooking; my job was to tell her how to adapt some of the curry recipes to make them without spices, making what we call "kiri hodhi" (milk gravy) or "white curries", which are made with milk and turmeric, and do the taste testing! I also washed all the pots and pans that were used and cleaned up the kitchen after she finished cooking. Tomorrow, we will cook the rice and make a cucumber salad. The plan is to drop the food and their gifts off at their door step for a contactless delivery.
Just before Christmas, I had felt overrun with plastic food storage containers that I had washed and saved for reuse. I had too many to fit into the basket I keep them in! Well, today, those containers came in handy, as I needed at least 14 containers to pack up the food my daughter cooked! Almost half the month's decluttering, right there! LOL! The remaining containers fit very nicely in the basket!
Later in the evening, I spoke on the phone with friend R and cousin P and texted cousin N.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Being able to pick up groceries curbside
- Receiving yet another discount when I picked up the groceries!
- Daughter preparing a meal to share with friends
- My overflowing basket of food storage containers!
- A safe drive to the grocery store and back
Today's joyful activity was showing daughter how to cook a different type of curry.
How was your Saturday? Have you gone grocery shopping yet, in January?
How generous you are to make these Sri Lankan meals for your friends. And how wise to pass on the skills to your daughter. I spent Saturday wrestling with one of my sewing machines which is not stitching correctly. And also planting a rose bush in the pouring rain
ReplyDeleteIt's a blessing to be able to prepare a meal for my friend and her family, Angela, and a blessing to have my daughter help and do the bulk of the work! I hope you are able to get your machine to work properly and I hope the newly planted rose bush will grow well and grace your garden with lots of beautiful flowers. :)
DeleteYou and your daughter work well together her cooking and you clearing away the dishes. Sounds like a superb feast filling all those containers to gift to your friends. I had a grocery delivery during last week and although we didn't need much as we still have food in the freezer bought for Christmas and New Year, I still managed an order and feel like we are back to normal again.
ReplyDeleteYes, we do, don't we? We both like to cook, but, I often get tired when cooking, these days. She doesn't like to do the dishes and I like doing the dishes! :) I'm glad you were able to get a grocery delivery, last week and feel like you are back to normal again. That feeling of being back to normal is very important, isn't it? :)
DeleteBeautiful blog
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rajani.
DeleteI'm glad that you're staying safe with the kerbside pickup. Those curries sound amazing and I shall be investigating the milk curries. I hadn't heard of those. They would be ideal here. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lyssa; our new Covid numbers are rather crazy over here! Yesterday, it came down to 34,500 after being 40,000+ a couple of days ago! I have been doing curbside pickup for groceries since the pandemic started!
DeleteI had posted how to make a white curry several years ago on this post:
https://bless2cents.blogspot.com/2015/07/kohlrabi-and-potato-curry.html
Basically, any vegetable can be cooked in milk with turmeric, curry powder to taste (or can be omitted), curry leaves, green chillies (or not). :)
That's interesting. Would rice milk work? I imagine that sweet potato and squash, cooked in milk, turmeric and spices would be incredibly flavoursome.
DeleteI'm sure rice milk would work, too. :)
DeleteYou do so well with your budgeting and spending. That is really a high accomplishment. We went on a budget for this year, too. How nice of your daughter to fix the meal for friends.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a blessed, wonderful Sunday-xo Diana
Thank you, Diana. I think of a budget as a spending plan. :)
DeleteIt was very kind of my daughter to want to cook a meal for our friends. She said she remembered how one of my cousins brought me food when I was having cancer treatments and wanted to pay it forward. :)
I wish you the same, Diana; have a blessed, wonderful Sunday. :)
Sounds like it all worked out perfectly Bless. No shopping for me yet this year but I will have to go grab some of the basics today, otherwise still have plenty in the freezer to use up. Have a beautiful Sunday!
ReplyDeleteIt did work out well, Martha. Hope your grocery shopping goes well. I am looking forward to seeing your meal plan posts, again. :)
DeleteHow lovely that your daughter wanted to prepare a meal for your friends. You must be very proud of her.
ReplyDeleteThat was a generous discount on the groceries. I doubt I'll need to do any food shopping for this month's meals but as I start to make space in the freezer I'd like to start trying some new recipes for next month so will need new ingredients for that, but that'll be from February's budget. Everything is getting so expensive!
I was very touched that my daughter wanted to prepare a meal for our friends, Eileen. She said she thought of how my cousin N used to always bring food to tempt me to eat when I was undergoing cancer treatments and had lost my appetite and wanted to pay it forward to A and family.
DeleteWasn't it a very generous discount on the groceries? My total bill, including the antihistamines, came to almost $50 and she gave me a little more than a 20% discount! I was amazed! And very happy! :D Yes, everything is getting very expensive. I am, for the most part, buying only what is on sale (or, on offer, as you might say) each time and basing my meals on what I buy/have on hand.
I also have a basket I keep plastic containers in. Sometimes it is overflowing and other times, I run short. It all has to do with what I've put in the freezer and what I've given away. But when the basket gets too full, I recycle some of them. If you are giving away 14 containers, you must have a big basket. Your friends will be so happy to receive their Sri Lankan meal in them.
ReplyDeleteThe basket is not that big and some of the containers were small. But, too often, when the basket overflows, I stack the containers on the shelves, which is a big "no-no" when it comes to organizing and keeping clutter to a minimum! Still, it all came in useful, this time! :)
DeleteHow sweet of your daughter to want to provide an authentic Sri Lankan meal that would also have portions suitable for friend A. I'm sure you both had joy in creating the meal and delivering it.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we do miss the food we grew up with. My memory-impaired friend and I, both originally from England, often have discussions about our favourite goodies from the English bakeries that we grew up with. She remembers them well.
I was very touched that she wanted to do it, Bushlady. But, she remembered all the times people brought me food when I was undergoing treatments and said she wanted to pay it forward. We will deliver the food this afternoon and I am glad that we can do so. :)
DeleteThose sort of fond memories of childhood days and treats tend to stay with us, don't they? I've read that the oldest memories are the last the fade in memory-impaired people. One of my lingering regrets is that I didn't make enough time to sing some of the old songs to my mother when her memory was fading; I think she would have enjoyed listening to them, even if she had forgotten the words.
The last visit I had with my mother in England, the care home staff had put on a CD of old songs. I began to sing along to "It's a long way to Tipperary". My mother suddenly piped up beside me, "Goodbye Piccadilly..." It was a special moment.
DeleteI love it, Bushlady; what a very special moment it must have been! :)
DeleteOh I had to laugh about the proliferation of food containers! Over the past couple of weeks Mum has given me so many leftovers and I was sure I must have all of her containers, but they just kept on coming and I suppose sister must have had the same number too! When I finally returned them they filled a large carrier bag! I have no idea where she keeps them all!
ReplyDeleteI think food containers have a secret hidden life when they are in the cabinets or drawers, because, every time you look at them, they've multiplied! :D
DeleteYou and your daughter did a lovely thing with all of the delicious food you made and gifted.
ReplyDeleteI am certain it was very appreciated.
You did well at the grocery store - Your chicken was close to $1 a pound and that's really good. And your fish turned out free! Jennifer is the best.
I have not been to the grocery store yet this year and would like to make it through next week but don't think that will happen - I will need to get half & half for my husband's coffee so while I'm there I will pick up milk & a few fresh vegetables. I am pretty well stocked on other things.
Thank you for including the link to the white curry in your comments. I went to that post and then went back to the previous post and your chicken curry instructions were there. I bookmarked both :)
So I could use the white curry method to make a simple potato curry? Is that how you do yours? Or do you use chili powder?
I really like garam masala. I don't recall you using that spice. I know it's a combination of many spices and you probably just use the individual ones.
Thank you, Debra. We took the food (and gifts) this afternoon and left them on the doorstep and texted them that they've had a delivery! They've been such good friends to us, over the years, that this was one small way to show our appreciation and caring.
DeleteThe chicken was a buy 1 get 1 free offer and that's the price/lb. they had listed on the receipt. The fish being free was a bonus! Sounds like you are doing well with the grocery shopping, yourself.
Yes, you can use the white curry method to make a potato curry. Cut up the potato and add a little turmeric to the boiling water, along with some salt; add onions and a green chili pepper if you like (I like to use green chilies for white curries; chili powder turns the curries red), and, once the potatoes are almost boiled, add milk and a little lemon juice. It makes a very simple curry. Sometimes, we make only the gravy - milk, turmeric, salt, onions, and lemon juice (I'd add curry leaves, but, that's because I have them growing in my backyard!) and add peeled hard boiled eggs to it for an egg curry. Good to have with stringhoppers (those noodle like things I sometimes mention having). Or, use the same curry recipe for a white fish curry. :)
Garam masala is an Indian blend of spices; I don't use it in my cooking. I use a Sri Lankan blend of curry powder, instead. Curry powder and garam masala are very similar in the sense that they are both a blend of spices. The differences lie in the types of spices in each blend. :)
How nice of your daughter to want to make a meal for your friends! You have obviously passed on your generous nature to her. I once threw away lots of my containers and regretted it a week or two later as I needed them, lol. That was a very generous discount indeed. White curry sounds interesting, I will look up that link you gave in another comment.
ReplyDeleteI was very happy when my daughter said she wanted to cook a meal for our friends; she said it was for all the times A had cooked and invited us over to have a meal with them. :)
DeleteThose food containers do come in handy, don't they? I try to store leftovers in glass containers in the fridge, but, the plastic containers are useful when giving food to others as there is no need to return them, etc. Hope you'll like the white curry recipe. :)
Had the white curry for lunch today made with aubergine along with cold lamb roast and mango chutney. So nice I will be making it again, is it for just vegetables or can you add meat. I imagine the meat would have to be cooked as it is so quick to make. Will be making it again. Oh can you tell me what pandan leaf is? The Ottolenghi cookbook has a recipe for aubergine pahi, I get curry leaves from the local indian store but dont think I have ever seen pandan leaf.
DeleteGlad to hear you tried the white curry with eggplant/aubergine and liked it. You could cook meat in a white curry, too, although we usually don't; no reason why you shouldn't experiment. I would cook the curry longer, until the meat is cooked; adding precooked/leftover meat would work well, too.
Delete"Pahi" is one of my favorite ways to eat eggplant! To be quite honest, it is about the only way I'll eat eggplant!
Pandan leaves are a type of long fragrant leaves used in Asian cooking. Often, they are available frozen in most Asian grocery stores or, occasionally, they are sold dried. In Sri Lanka, we add them to our curries (and even to a pot of rice) all the time - curry leaves, pandan leaves, and lemon grass are staples. Over here, I jealously guard my packet of frozen pandan leaves and add them only occasionally to a curry!
How nice of your daughter to cook the meal. It's been lovely having her there, I imagine.
ReplyDeleteI did some shop today. I spent a little less than I expected but I didn't get all the items I need. The shelves were rather empty again! The prices have gone up by terrible amounts - not just a few cents but dollars. I did make a meal plan using items in pantry as well as the items I picked up. Tackling the cupboards is a job for a non-Jane's house day.
I thought it was very kind of her to prepare the meal to take to our friends. Both my friend and her husband are having health issues and their daughters (my daughter's age and younger) are trying their best to do their jobs and take care of the parents, too. It's a blessing to have my daughter home and I am going to miss her so much when she goes back!
DeleteIt isn't a good sign when the store shelves get empty and prices shoot up, is it? I anticipate higher prices to continue, what with supply chain issues and weather-related farming difficulties. Well done on the meal planning based on what's in the pantry and what you bought, today.
You are doing so much on Jane's house that you are excused from having to work on your house, too! :)