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| SPSH: Alternate A: Recent Purchase |
These are the groceries I picked up from the Sri Lankan store on Saturday afternoon. After I took this picture, I thought it might do quite well for one of the alternates prompts for the Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt!
The store called me on Saturday morning to let me know that my order was ready for pick up. I told them I will be there in the early afternoon. I left the house around 12:15 p.m. and got to the store just before 1:00 p.m. I went into the store, masked up, of course, to pick up my order. The store was empty when I went in and the person working there was in the back stock room, so I called out, "Hello" a couple of times and waited. A few minutes later, another person walked in and she went to the back of the store and must have alerted the store clerk that someone was waiting at the front. The store clerk came out with several boxes of tea to restock one of the shelves. Once he had put the tea on the shelf, I told him I had come to pick up my order. I didn't notice if the other lady who came in after me had on a mask or not, but, I was pleased to see that the store clerk was wearing one. He handed me the two bags with my items and I drove home. I was happy to see that I had received all the items I had ordered. The only change was they substituted two 250 gram packets of chili powder instead of the one 500 gram packet I had ordered. I didn't mind it, at all.
I bought two boxes of my favorite extra strength tea (100 tea bags each), three 500 gram jars of roasted curry powder, two 250 grams each packets of chili powder, three cans of coconut milk, one jar of seeni sambol, two jars of pumpkin preserves (making sure I will have this key ingredient for my love cake, later this year!), one jar of ginger preserves, a packet of cream crackers, a packet of Nice biscuits, and two packets of a spicy snack mixture. The crackers, biscuits, and snack mixtures are treats!
The total came to $68.23. Grocery budget? What grocery budget? I have now used up practically all of my August grocery budget! I've $8.27 remaining in my August grocery budget! I will have to carry a negative balance into September, but, I'm not too concerned. I'm just grateful that I have the opportunity to be able to buy these Sri Lankan groceries. It is a blessing to be able to do so. I'll worry about balancing the books, later.
It was a warm afternoon, with the temperature reaching a high of 100F. After I came home, I ate a slice of the pizza I had baked and frozen, earlier, and relaxed. Later in the evening, I did the dishes (did some by hand and the rest in the dishwasher), scrubbed the stove top, cleaned the litter box, chatted wit friend R, video chatted with my daughter (she did her grocery shopping, too, and did her weekly meal prep), and watched some videos online.
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| Daughter's Meal Prep |
She made kufta in tomato sauce (kufta given by neighbor S, which I froze and sent with my daughter), stir-fried gailan (Chinese broccoli) with oyster sauce, boiled Brussels sprouts, cucumber pickle (with Persian cucumbers), spinach spaghetti mixed with leftover tomato sauce from cooking the kufta (some of the kufta broke up when she cooked them, so she added the broken bits to the tomato sauce and used that as a pasta sauce), and the rest of the spinach spaghetti in a sauce made up of some leftovers (she blended the leftover shira ae with some leftover teriyaki sauce from last week's teriyaki chicken, leftover mushroom and carrots, and some half and half to make the sauce! How's that for being creative with leftovers?!)
Today, I am grateful for:
- I am able to get Sri Lankan groceries here
- I received all the items I ordered
- A safe drive to the store and back
- I am able to go over budget to stock up
- Electricity to run the fans and other appliances
Today's joyful activity was going to the Sri Lankan store to pick up the groceries!
Plans for tomorrow include relaxing and doing a craft project. How was your Saturday? What are your plans for Sunday?
I'm glad the store was able to supply everything you ordered. That must be a relief. I've been borrowing from various budgets to finance the new units for the dining room so will be doing the same as you and resetting my budgets in a month or so. Life happens, doesn't it!
ReplyDeleteYour daughter's meals look especially tasty this week. Does she want a lodger? ☺️
I sold the table and chairs this morning and am now waiting for the IKEA lorry to arrive. Apart from that I 'm not planning to do too much today. It's getting hot, currently 25°, but there is a really pleasant breeze so it's not too bad. I'll probably have a quiet afternoon and read or watch TV.
Thank you, Eileen; yes, it is a relief to have my stock of curry powder and tea in! I am fine with exceeding my self-imposed grocery budget and I know you'll be able to settle your accounts, too, before long. :)
DeleteHa, ha, I'll ask my daughter if she'd like a lodger! She'll probably say there's no room for a second person in her studio apartment, though! :D
I'm glad you were able to sell your table and chairs! I'm sure, you've received your new units by now! "Lorry" - now that's a term I haven't heard since I came to this country! I grew up calling those big vehicles lorries. But, over here, they are called trucks! :)
I'm glad you are managing to keep cool. It's 2:00 p.m., here, and 102F with 20% humidity. I just turned the stand fan on! :)
That's good that you had everything you ordered. You do need treats now and again otherwise we would be miserable living on the bare essentials. I like that phrase what grocery budget?I'm always impressed with your daughter's meal prep.
ReplyDeleteMy Saturday was abandoning my plans to shop at the street market and hurrying home because it was so hot. Today I have my grocery delivery so will have enough for the next few days as temperatures soar.
Thank you, Eileen; yes, treats are always good to have, aren't they? I'm blessed that I am able to get these treats, :)
DeleteI, too, am impressed by my daughter's meal prep! :D
I'm glad you decided not to shop at the street market in the heat and hurried home, instead! I'm also glad that you will have your groceries delivered today, so you will not need to venture out to shop during the heat wave. Stay cool! We are at 102F, this afternoon; I turned the fan on!
I think you were smart to stock up on your Sri Lankan groceries with all of the uncertainty in that part of the world.
ReplyDeleteThank you, June. I was happy to get all the things I needed. I've been spoiled having easy access to these things these past several years. When I first came to this country, there were no Sri Lankan stores that I knew of. Once I finished all the curry powder I had brought with me, I made my own with ingredients purchased from an Indian store located in Madison, WI, which was quite a few miles away from Green Bay, WI. I learned to cook curries without half the recommended ingredients and I stopped drinking tea because I couldn't find a tea I liked and started drinking coffee, instead! One adapts. :)
DeleteThat's good that everything you wanted was in stock. As you say, it's highly likely that supplies will be disrupted in due course, not to mention prices rising, probably, in light of the current situation in Sri Lanka. Would an Indian food store be a reasonable substitute, if worst came to worst? I'm sure the brands would be different but would you be able to get similar items - or at least components - and muddle through if necessary? (OK, I know pumpkin preserves are particular to Sri Lanka, but that's not am issue now!)
ReplyDeleteElla
Yes, I was glad to get all the items I wanted! I feel better prepared! Yes, I could probably get most of the ingredients for my basic curry powder at an Indian store (corriander, cumin, fennel, etc.) or even use an Indian curry powder blend (they do taste different, though, as the ratio of ingredients differ). As for pumpkin preserves, if I can buy an ash pumpkin (Benincasa hispida) or grow one, then, I can make my own pumpkin preserves. It's what my grandmother used to do - she made her own preserves, candied peel, etc.
DeleteI was looking at the cocktail snack bag and wondering if it is the same as what we call chuda. They sell various mixes here, often under the name Bombay mix, but I've seen others too. Some of them are really salty, but some are delicious!
DeleteElla
Yes, it's probably the same as Bombay mix. I think it originated in southern India and became popular in Sri Lanka as well as Malaysia, Singapore, etc. We used to call it "murukku mix" when I was a child because the main ingredient is murukku (made with chick pea flour), broken into small pieces.
DeleteSo is there a particular reason for getting it at the specialist shop? Because here practically any supermarket stocks it, if not several varieties...
DeleteDo you mean the snack mix? None of the regular grocery stores here have anything similar to the snack mix! The Indian stores will have the Indian versions; the Sri Lankan store carries the Sri Lankan version. The closest possible snack mix the regular grocery stores will have is something called Chex mix, which is made from Chex cereal. A completely different taste. I think Indian food is more commonly available in the UK. :)
DeleteI think stocking up on speciality items is brilliant. Though I have a grocery budget, I tend to think of it as yearly rather than monthly. I take advantage of good buys or bulk stock ups when available, then adjust my spending on the off weeks or months with no great deals.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anne. I like that idea of an annual grocery budget, rather than a monthly one. It's easier to spread out the costs of some pantry staples that way, isn't it? Or, maybe, I'll start setting aside a monthly amount for stocking up purposes.
DeleteOh I've just noticed the caption on your photo. When you said it might do for the SPSH, I thought initially of "Culture, yours or another". It's sort-of both, in your case!
ReplyDeleteElla
Ha, ha, yes, it could be a multi-purpose photo! :D I didn't think of the cultural aspects of it! :D
DeleteI'm so glad you were able to get the Sri Lankan foods that you enjoy - especially your favorite tea (and the treats;)
ReplyDeleteI wonder what your next trip will be like. On the packaging, are all of these things made in Sri Lanka?
Your daughter's food prep looks delicious. Such bold colors too which I enjoy seeing in foods.
I pickled some red onion yesterday to go with our dinner. I have a cucumber and should've thought to do that as well.
Never to late, right?
Thank you, Debra. Yes, I wonder how the next trip will be like! Yes, all the packaging, other than the cans of coconut milk (product of Thailand) is done in Sri Lanka. The curry powder is manufactured and packaged especially for the Sri Lankan store and says so on the label.
DeleteI thought you'd like to see my daughter's food prep! :D
No, never too late! Add some sliced red onion to sliced cucumber, a few slices of green chili peppers if you have some (optional; I usually don't add the green chilies), salt, pepper, and a splash of vinegar and you'll have our cucumber salad! You can substitute lemon juice for the vinegar, if you prefer. :)
Thank you for explaining how you makes yours.
DeleteYou are welcome! :)
DeleteSO grateful for fans!
ReplyDeleteYes, I have my fan on, right now (we went up to 102F this afternoon,)
DeleteThat was handy that you got two separate packages of chili as you can keep one unopened.
ReplyDeleteYour daughter's veggies look nice and fresh. I think she is "a chip off the old block" when it comes to using food wisely!
We are having glorious weather, and we ate lunch outside in the gazebo which is cooler than the deck.
Having two smaller packages of the chili powder will work very well; I was trying to be more mindful of one-time use plastic usage, less packaging, reducing waste, etc. :) I usually empty the contents of the package into an old coffee jar for daily use.
DeleteYes, my daughter bought the veggies at the dollar store, earlier in the day, and cooked them right away. I'm glad that she not only eats leftovers, she will remake leftovers into other dishes when needed. :)
I'm so glad you are enjoying some nice weather. Lunch out in the gazebo sounds lovely! Bottle up some of the nice summer weather to enjoy in the winter! :) It's on the warm side, here, but, there is a nice breeze plus I have the fan on! :D
I would love to try that spicy cocktail snack! I'm sure I'd like it. Your daughter makes some amazing dishes. You are both great cooks! Covid cases are on the rise nationally. Glad the store clerk was masked. Everyone needs to mask but almost no one does here.
ReplyDeleteCelie, I think you would like it! It has fried cashews, peanuts, chick peas, raisins, and broken pieces of a type of fried pastry made with chick pea flour.
DeleteMy daughter has become a very good cook! She likes to try out new dishes and isn't afraid to experiment. I tend to prefer to stick to my tried and true dishes! :D
There is talk of bringing back the indoor mask mandate in Los Angeles county by the end of the month, if the cases continue to increase. I think it will be the right thing to do.
There are so many different curries. I prefer the Thai red curry paste and the Japanese golden curry....medium heat. I haven't tried a lot of them but so far those are my favorites.
ReplyDeleteHello Patty, yes, there are many different curries. Thai red curry is delicious; the Japanese curries tend to be a little too sweet for me, but, my daughter loves them. :)
DeleteYour daughter is awesome. I have a weakness for Nice biscuits as well, but now that I can't have gluten I just have to stare at them from a distance! They are really common here, so I wonder if it's a Commonwealth thing.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/254922228
Thank you, Lyssa; I think so, too, myself! :D
DeleteYes, Nice biscuits, cream crackers, etc. are probably a Commonwealth thing! I don't find them in the regular grocery stores, here. I paid $1.99 for my 200g packet - Tesco's price is equal to just $0.54 and that's with rounding it up!