Supermarket Rant
 

I went to the market today to do as much do-ahead grocery shopping as
I could in preparation for Christmas Day dinner. I'll do a Friday
swoop-and-grab for perishables on Friday on the way home from work and
if Friday's expedition is as unsuccessful as today's, I'd better plan
a route home that includes multiple markets.

I had a fairly extensive list, so not finding a few items wasn't
utterly surprising, but *what* I couldn't find was: dried cherries,
chocolate wafer cookies, instant coffee (not the kind with crystals),
Kalamata olives and asiago cheese. Now, I'll give you the asiago
cheese, although Von's had 7 different labels of brie alone, 4 kinds
of Havarti, multiple Feta, romano and parmesan cheeses and a few
examples of what you really shouldn't attempt with cheese. But
Kalamata olives? There must have been a dozen and a half labels of
olives, most redundant to their neighbor, and a few were use-specific,
such as martini olives. And the wafer cookies? They had by my count 6
types of Oreo cookies and perhaps twice that many chocolate chip
cookies, yet no chocolate wafer cookies, which are pretty basic, IMHO.
And doesn't anyone make instant coffee anymore? The stuff that has the
consistency of dust? I have a mocha torte that requires a small
quantity of instant coffee and I know from prior experience that the
coffee *crystals* don't dissolve at all well in the batter*. And the
dried cherries? They had maybe 6 kinds of "Craisins," several
different varieties and labels of raisins, they had dried prunes,
pineapple, apple, apricot, something called "Berries and Cherries,"
another something called "Goldens and Cherries," which are white
raisins and cherries, but no dried cherries.

Popped by Albertson's and they didn't have any of the missing
ingredients and the deli clerk, when asked, thought he'd "heard" that
parmesan was a good substitute for asiago. I am devoutly praying that
the Market Fairy hits Gelson's before Friday.

* I bought a small tin of one of those instant fake espresso "coffee
drink" whatsits hoping that that will do if I can't find "real"
instant coffee.

Terry Pulliam Burd

--
"Most vigitaryans I iver see looked enough like their food to be
classed as cannybals."

Finley Peter Dunne (1900)

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

Supermarket Rant
 

On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 17:37:09 -0800, Terry Pulliam Burd
> wrote:

>I went to the market today to do as much do-ahead grocery shopping as
>I could in preparation for Christmas Day dinner. I'll do a Friday
>swoop-and-grab for perishables on Friday on the way home from work and
>if Friday's expedition is as unsuccessful as today's, I'd better plan
>a route home that includes multiple markets.
>
snip tale of woe
>
>Popped by Albertson's and they didn't have any of the missing
>ingredients and the deli clerk, when asked, thought he'd "heard" that
>parmesan was a good substitute for asiago. I am devoutly praying that
>the Market Fairy hits Gelson's before Friday.

You can substitute parmesan or in a pinch, Romano. You'll get a bit
more tang than with asiago.
>
>* I bought a small tin of one of those instant fake espresso "coffee
>drink" whatsits hoping that that will do if I can't find "real"
>instant coffee.

I keep Medaglia D'oro instant espresso in the freezer for just such
uses. If you have crystals that are too large, crush them with a
mortar and pestle. You'll be fine. Or brew yourself some wickedly
thick espresso and put in a tbsp or two, being careful with your
liquid in the recipe.

Try a health food store for the dried cherries or a Trader Joe's.

The chocolate wafer cookies are hard to come by, especially at this
time of year. I don't think they are the big seller they used to be
and the little the stores carry gets swooped up at holiday time.

Hey, I'm lucky...I found a nice goose.

Boron

Supermarket Rant
 

On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 20:59:13 -0500, Boron Elgar
> wrote:

>Try a health food store for the dried cherries or a Trader Joe's.

I haven't been able to find the tart dried cherries at the Trader Joes
here in Albuquerque...and barely the Rainier or Bing Cherries. Must
have been a very bad year for cherries.

Christine

Supermarket Rant
 

On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 19:15:53 -0700, Christine Dabney
> wrote:

>On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 20:59:13 -0500, Boron Elgar
> wrote:
>
>>Try a health food store for the dried cherries or a Trader Joe's.
>
>I haven't been able to find the tart dried cherries at the Trader Joes
>here in Albuquerque...and barely the Rainier or Bing Cherries. Must
>have been a very bad year for cherries.
>
>Christine


Stock changes quite rapidly at my TJ's. I always assume it is because
they take advantage of a deal form some supplier or other. They do
have some "staples" that are almost always available (I am quite
addicted to the unsweetened Gravenstein applesauce when I am not in a
home made mood), but shopping there is always an adventure, because I
always see new things and sometimes cannot find the old.

They are quite accommodating about trying to find something if it is a
victim of "let's change-all-the-shelves-around-and scare-the-
customers" again, but things do vanish forever. They used to carry the
yummiest salmon caviar and it is gone, gone, gone.

Boron

Supermarket Rant
 

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
> * I bought a small tin of one of those instant fake espresso "coffee
> drink" whatsits hoping that that will do if I can't find "real"
> instant coffee.
>
> Terry Pulliam Burd

Look for instant coffee called Kava; it's real instant coffee powder and as
instant coffee goes it sure tastes good! Works perfectly in recipes which
call for coffee powder.

Jill

Supermarket Rant
 

In article >,Ste
Steve Wertz > wrote:

> On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 17:37:09 -0800, Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
> ]
> > I had a fairly extensive list, so not finding a few items wasn't
> > utterly surprising, but *what* I couldn't find was: dried cherries,
> > chocolate wafer cookies, instant coffee (not the kind with crystals),
> > Kalamata olives and asiago cheese.
>
> Wow. Shopping in your town must really suck. My mainline grocer
> would have all those. And I live in Texas (flame bait).
>
> -sw

Steve can shop at Central Market.

They carry Beluga Caviar over the holiday season. ;-)

That store is indeed a privilege to have access to, and be able to
afford!

The meat (including fresh fish) is about 1/2 the price at My Thanh and
Fiesta.
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

Supermarket Rant
 

On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 03:12:07 GMT, Steve Wertz
> wrote:

>On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 17:37:09 -0800, Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
>]
>> I had a fairly extensive list, so not finding a few items wasn't
>> utterly surprising, but *what* I couldn't find was: dried cherries,
>> chocolate wafer cookies, instant coffee (not the kind with crystals),
>> Kalamata olives and asiago cheese.
>
>Wow. Shopping in your town must really suck. My mainline grocer
>would have all those. And I live in Texas (flame bait).
>
She thought getting those items would be a slam dunk too. Tell you
what, Steve... go to that mainline grocery and see if you can find
dried cherries and asiago there tomorrow, get back to us tomorrow
night with the results.

--
See return address to reply by email

Supermarket Rant
 

Steve wrote:

> Those Austinites, especially, are the worst. They're like
> Californians with pickup trucks instead of SUV's

Seen any of these?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_CXT

Bob

Supermarket Rant
 

In article >,
Terry Pulliam Burd > wrote:

> And doesn't anyone make instant coffee anymore? The stuff that has the
> consistency of dust? I have a mocha torte that requires a small
> quantity of instant coffee and I know from prior experience that the
> coffee *crystals* don't dissolve at all well in the batter*
> Terry Pulliam Burd

So dissolve the crystals in a minuscule amount of water/other and use it
that way?
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ, always trying to be helpful
"Maligning an individual says more about you than the one you malign."

http://web.mac.com/barbschaller - blahblahblog -
12/11, Christmas Gift Assortments

http://jamlady.eboard.com

Supermarket Rant
 

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> In article >,
> Terry Pulliam Burd > wrote:
>
>> And doesn't anyone make instant coffee anymore? The stuff that has the
>> consistency of dust? I have a mocha torte that requires a small
>> quantity of instant coffee and I know from prior experience that the
>> coffee *crystals* don't dissolve at all well in the batter*
>> Terry Pulliam Burd
>
> So dissolve the crystals in a minuscule amount of water/other and use it
> that way?



Or grind them to a powder in a blender, spice grinder, or mortar and pestle.

Bob

Supermarket Rant
 

Hello, jay!
You wrote on Mon, 18 Dec 2006 13:33:34 GMT:

It would be interesting to know where is "Locally we have access
to the best supply of groceries on EARTH!. I cannot tell from
your message :-)

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

Supermarket Rant
 

James Silverton wrote:
> Hello, jay!
> You wrote on Mon, 18 Dec 2006 13:33:34 GMT:
>
> It would be interesting to know where is "Locally we have access
> to the best supply of groceries on EARTH!. I cannot tell from
> your message :-)

Toronto or Vancouver ? Sydney? Maybe London? About as varied a set of
cuisines anywhere in the world I believe.

John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

Supermarket Rant
 

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
> I went to the market today to do as much do-ahead grocery shopping as


> chocolate wafer cookies, instant coffee (not the kind with crystals),

Did you ask about the wafer cookies? Some stores put those in really
odd places....like in the baking aisle, or with the corn flake and
graham crumbs....

N.

Supermarket Rant
 

In article >,
Terry Pulliam Burd > wrote:

> I went to the market today to do as much do-ahead grocery shopping as
> I could in preparation for Christmas Day dinner. I'll do a Friday
> swoop-and-grab for perishables on Friday on the way home from work and
> if Friday's expedition is as unsuccessful as today's, I'd better plan
> a route home that includes multiple markets.

Some of your items I wouldn't have expected to find at my local chain
grocery store. Most I would find at Trader Joe's and for me that's the
store that would have the largest number of items from your problem list.

They wouldn't have had the wafer cookies though. For those, I'd have to
go to my local Safeway. They wouldn't be with the cookies though. At
my local store they are tucked on a shelf between the stockroom door and
the packaged deli meat (as in Oscar Mayer and company) section. It's a
shelf unit that is perpendicular to those deli refrigerator units. Hard
to spot unless you know what you are looking for. I find that stores
like to tuck those cookies in the oddest places. Did you ask?

marcella

Supermarket Rant
 

On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 05:48:31 GMT, Steve Wertz
> wrote:

>How much would you like to wager? The latter option requires at
>least a $50 bet. Think I'm bluffing?

I saw Om's reply to you. You can buy fresh caviar on a regular basis
at your store, so it should carry those items. Like Terry, I didn't
find plain old asiago cheese the last time I looked for it. I think
it's due to the demographics around here. If dried cherries are just
a TJ's item, then it's not something I'd say was easy to find anyway.

--
See return address to reply by email

Supermarket Rant
 

On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 08:25:34 -0800, Marcella Peek
> wrote:

>They wouldn't have had the wafer cookies though. For those, I'd have to
>go to my local Safeway. They wouldn't be with the cookies though. At
>my local store they are tucked on a shelf between the stockroom door and
>the packaged deli meat (as in Oscar Mayer and company) section. It's a
>shelf unit that is perpendicular to those deli refrigerator units. Hard
>to spot unless you know what you are looking for. I find that stores

Aha... so that's where I have to look now! For a long time they were
way overhead on the top shelf of the cookie isle, but I didn't see
them the last time I looked. Guess Safeway is trying to figure out
how to *not* stock them, due to declining purchases (of course).

--
See return address to reply by email

Supermarket Rant
 

On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 18:26:44 GMT, Steve Wertz
> wrote:

>All the items on her list can be found at one of the more
>"prominent" HEB's (not the ones in the Mexican neighborhoods,
>though). The mainline HEB's stock varies according to the
>differing ethnic and economic demographics of the city, unlike
><cough> Walmart and most other chains.
>
>We even have an HEB that specializes in Kashrut. And another in
>British foods. And several in Mexican foods, of course.

Cool. We have Safeway and Albertson's. I don't shop at Albertson's.
TJs and Whole Foods are not places I frequent with any regularity, but
that asiago trek did include a local Trader Joe's which had perfectly
a dismal assortment of cheeses.... not at all like the TJs of old.

--
See return address to reply by email

Supermarket Rant
 

In article >,
Steve Wertz > wrote:

> On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 03:24:57 GMT, jay wrote:
>
> > On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 03:12:07 GMT, Steve Wertz wrote:
> >
> >>And I live in Texas (flame bait).
> >>
> >> -sw
> >
> > only the ignorantz live *t*here*...Lol
>
> Those Austinites, especially, are the worst. They're like
> Californians with pickup trucks instead of SUV's


Are you posting about me?

:-)

Dan with the monster truck Abel

Supermarket Rant
 

On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 11:52:49 -0800, Dan Abel > wrote:

>In article >,
> Steve Wertz > wrote:
>>
>> Those Austinites, especially, are the worst. They're like
>> Californians with pickup trucks instead of SUV's
>
>
>Are you posting about me?
>
>:-)
>
>Dan with the monster truck Abel

Now you're going to have to prove it. First of all, prove you're from
Austin, then send us a picture of you and your pet truck. LOL

--
See return address to reply by email

Supermarket Rant
 

On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 17:37:09 -0800, Terry Pulliam Burd
> wrote:

>chocolate wafer cookies

My grocery store carries these at the end of the ice cream aisle,
along with sprinkles, chocolate syrup, ice cream cones, and such.

Tara

Supermarket Rant
 

I was checking out a recipe for plum pudding, and had to laugh. I'd
probably be able to find 20% of the ingredient list in my town.

Supermarket Rant
 

God bless Gelson's!!! I was able to fill in *all* the gaps. After my
post, I fired myself up, jumped in the car and ran down the hill to
the Gelson's which is <pointing> in the opposite direction from Von's
and Albertson's. They had the asiago cheese, the Kalamata olives,
chocolate wafer cookies and the dried cherries <sob!> Dinner Is Saved.

They also had a dozen or more things that just caught my eye...
$129.75 later :-(

Terry Pulliam Burd...and payday is sooooo far away!

--
"Most vigitaryans I iver see looked enough like their food to be
classed as cannybals."

Finley Peter Dunne (1900)

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

Supermarket Rant
 

On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 00:17:46 -0600, zxcvbob >
rummaged among random neurons and opined:

>Melba's Jammin' wrote:

>> So dissolve the crystals in a minuscule amount of water/other and use it
>> that way?

>Or grind them to a powder in a blender, spice grinder, or mortar and pestle.

Should've thought of either of the above myself. Bad case of Christmas
Crazies - too many things to splinter the attention and no focus on
problem solving. Thanks.

Terry Pulliam Burd

--
"Most vigitaryans I iver see looked enough like their food to be
classed as cannybals."

Finley Peter Dunne (1900)

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

Supermarket Rant
 

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
> God bless Gelson's!!! I was able to fill in *all* the gaps. After my
> post, I fired myself up, jumped in the car and ran down the hill to
> the Gelson's which is <pointing> in the opposite direction from Von's
> and Albertson's. They had the asiago cheese, the Kalamata olives,
> chocolate wafer cookies and the dried cherries <sob!> Dinner Is Saved.
>
> They also had a dozen or more things that just caught my eye...
> $129.75 later :-(
>
> Terry Pulliam Burd...and payday is sooooo far away!
>

I went to Aldi on Saturday to get some powdered sugar, whatever fresh
vegetables looked good, and just a couple of other things. Of course I got
a whole basket full of stuff. As I was checking out, I remembered that
they only take cash... Uh, oh... I left a few $2 items in the cart and
asked the clerk for a subtotal. $58.05. I counted my bills; $57. Pulled
out my change; another $1.30. Twenty-five cents to spare! As I was
bagging the stuff, the lady who checked out behind me asked if I'd seen the
one-pound bags of "baby carrots" for 49¢. I hadn't. I took all the stuff
out to the car, returned my cart and got my quarter back, then went back
inside and bought one bag of carrots with my last remaining 50¢ -- and left
with an empty wallet and just a penny in my pocket.

BTW, one of the interesting items I bought that was not on my list was a
big chunk of Parmesan cheese for $2.49. I can't find a country of origin
on the label, but the label is mostly in Spanish and it was next to some
Mexican cheeses in almost identical wrappers. I may open it tomorrow to
see what I got.

Bob

Supermarket Rant
 

"Steve Wertz" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 13:33:34 GMT, jay wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 05:39:18 GMT, Steve Wertz wrote:
>>
>>> On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 03:24:57 GMT, jay wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 03:12:07 GMT, Steve Wertz wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>And I live in Texas (flame bait).
>>>>>
>>>>> -sw
>>>>
>>>> only the ignorantz live *t*here*...Lol
>>>
>>> Those Austinites, especially, are the worst.
>>
>> *One* reason the OP did not find the ingredients..
>>
>> 1. ALBERTSONS ..don't even bother.
>>
>> Asiago cheese and dried cherries are not too hard to find. Whole Foods
>> has
>> both. Their website has recipes that include both ingredients. The
>> recipes would not be there if they did NOT have the ingredients. None of
>> the items on the OPs hard to find list are hard to find here. Central
>> Market and HEB also has all of those things and multiple brands of most
>> of
>> them. Locally we have access to the best supply of groceries on EARTH!
>
> Yeah - Randall's and Albertsons are completely useless. They're
> like Safeway (which is Randall's here) in California. They both
> remind me of the scene in Natural Born Killers where he's looking
> for snake bite antidote: big shelves full of one brand selections.
>
> HEB has 90% of the things I need/use, and Hole Foods and CM fill
> in the gaps, and also provide higher-end stuffs of the same items
> I can get at HEB.
>
> I've lived and shopped in more than a few states and Austin here
> does have the best selection (and prices at HEB).

Dammit, Steve, just when I thought I was finally adjusting to life here in
Baltimore, you have to go and remind me of the great stuff I left behind in
Houston (much of which I can't find in the tiny supermarkets around here).
Meanie...

I can easily find asiago cheese and kalamata olives at any supermarket in
this area, though. (Can't say much about the rest of Terry's list, as I've
never looked for any of those items.)

Mary--long live HEB!

Supermarket Rant
 

On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 17:37:09 -0800, Terry Pulliam Burd
> wrote:

>I went to the market today to do as much do-ahead grocery shopping as
>I could in preparation for Christmas Day dinner. I'll do a Friday
>swoop-and-grab for perishables on Friday on the way home from work and
>if Friday's expedition is as unsuccessful as today's, I'd better plan

(snip)

>such as martini olives. And the wafer cookies? They had by my count 6
>types of Oreo cookies and perhaps twice that many chocolate chip
>cookies, yet no chocolate wafer cookies, which are pretty basic, IMHO.
>And doesn't anyone make instant coffee anymore? The stuff that has the
>consistency of dust? I have a mocha torte that requires a small
>quantity of instant coffee and I know from prior experience that the
>coffee *crystals* don't dissolve at all well in the batter*. And the

Just dissolve the coffee crystals in a little hot water, and then put
that into the recipe...

Supermarket Rant
 

In article >, sf wrote:

> On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 11:52:49 -0800, Dan Abel > wrote:
>
> >In article >,
> > Steve Wertz > wrote:
> >>
> >> Those Austinites, especially, are the worst. They're like
> >> Californians with pickup trucks instead of SUV's
> >
> >
> >Are you posting about me?
> >
> >:-)
> >
> >Dan with the monster truck Abel
>
> Now you're going to have to prove it. First of all, prove you're from
> Austin, then send us a picture of you and your pet truck. LOL

Sorry for the confusion. The first sentence was about Austin. I've
never been there. The second sentence was about Californians. I've
live in California for over 30 years. Here's my truck:

http://i16.tinypic.com/43hq3wn.jpg

Supermarket Rant
 

In article
>,
Dan Abel > wrote:

> Here's my truck:
>
> http://i16.tinypic.com/43hq3wn.jpg

You belong in Texas. <G>
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

Supermarket Rant
 

On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 21:04:09 -0600, "jmcquown"
> rummaged among random neurons and opined:

>Look for instant coffee called Kava; it's real instant coffee powder and as
>instant coffee goes it sure tastes good! Works perfectly in recipes which
>call for coffee powder.

Thanks, Jill. Found some at Gelson's yesterday and will give it a try.

Terry Pulliam Burd

--
"Most vigitaryans I iver see looked enough like their food to be
classed as cannybals."

Finley Peter Dunne (1900)

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"