662184 Sun Oct 25 17:11:35 -0700 2009 58 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 5130138 Yes, times is tough and everyone's tightening their belts. But even if you're using less of certain foods, what will you NOT give up? Mine is GOOD coffee (discovered Groundworks recently), real maple syrup (Trader Joe's), artisan sourdough loaves, Indian Tellicherry black peppercorns (Penzey's), and Doves Promises. Oh, and applewood-smoked bacon. Anyone else? Sun Oct 25 17:11:35 -0700 2009 322300 Michelly 1 5130170 I won't give up those big beautiful scallops i see sometimes, good olive oils, quality spices and herbs.... yeah those are my big splurges because i generally spend most of my money on produce. Oh wait.... i should amend that..... i won't give up good cheese! or good beer, but that's a separate topic Sun Oct 25 17:24:43 -0700 2009 5130138 264146 kubasd 1 5130184 chocolate & specialty cheese Sun Oct 25 17:30:53 -0700 2009 5130138 1108638 Cherylptw 2 5138509 specialty cheeses, I'm right with ya. Also fresh seafood Wed Oct 28 15:36:38 -0700 2009 5130184 89493 scubadoo97 1 5130290 i honestly haven't given up anything - i'd rather cut corners in other areas. buying the highest-quality food & ingredients to prepare and enjoy at home is much more important to me than dining out, going to the movies, shopping for new clothes... having said that, if i *did* change my grocery buying habits, i wouldn't give up organic produce, fresh herbs, or grass-fed meats. Sun Oct 25 18:00:21 -0700 2009 5130138 103920 goodhealthgourmet 2 5130574 I won't skimp on grass fed meat and dairy or organic produce either, for our health and enjoyment and due to a sense of responsibility. I've tried more economical coffees than the ones we've been spoiled by for years, but breaking up has proven too hard to do. Sun Oct 25 19:47:40 -0700 2009 5130290 133381 mcf 1 5130465 Local eggs, cheese, bread, fish & produce - although I now buy the cheapest, not the prettiest or the fanciest. So local squid & porgies are in, and local monkfish & flounder are out. A dollar bag of field tomatoes rather than $4/lb heirlooms. A head of butter lettuce for $2, not the triple washed mesclun. I don't mind cutting back a bit (and even if I did, I don't really have a choice). But I still want to support my local farmers, and my finely honed sense of food entitlement. Sun Oct 25 18:55:52 -0700 2009 5130138 13722 small h 2 5142601 dang, i'm so jealous. a dollar bag of field tomatoes? best i could get in florida recently was $2.50. i ate tomato sandwiches almost every day! Fri Oct 30 07:33:09 -0700 2009 5130465 105717 alkapal 3 5142651 They were a little banged up. But still a bargain! Fri Oct 30 07:50:24 -0700 2009 5142601 13722 small h 1 5130475 Ok - real butter. That's it. I can make do w/ anything else. But, yeah, butter Sun Oct 25 18:59:17 -0700 2009 5130138 247986 JerryMe 1 5130548 I won't skimp on my apple. No matter the price fluctuation, and even on days I have to scrounge the change for it, for eating I've just gotta have a tart or sweet, firm juicy apple :D And I am sticking with butter. Because a big apple is almost a meal (with peanut butter it indeed is), and butter makes most things taste better, and makes simple bread seem like a nice treat. Sun Oct 25 19:30:37 -0700 2009 5130138 285186 Popkin 2 5134306 I recently skimped on my apple purchase for the week. Such a BAD choice. I will regret it with every bite. I am thinking about just making an apple sauce or something with them. They are so...not good! The skin is super tough and the flesh is not really that tasty either. I WILL NOT skimp on my apples anymore! Tue Oct 27 08:32:57 -0700 2009 5130548 729068 cookieluvntasha 2 5151056 I"m with you on both the apples and the butter. One of my favorite snacks is butter smeared on plain 'ol saltine crackers. It just feels so luxurious! Mon Nov 02 20:33:48 -0800 2009 5130548 290845 KristieB 3 5152376 Butter and saltines used to be the official "tide you over until dinner" snack in my house. Still love it. Although butter on plain matzos... pretty dang amazing too. Tue Nov 03 10:45:11 -0800 2009 5151056 256229 LauraGrace 3 5164504 Love butter on Saltiness!! My Dad always had them on a plate when he made tuna macaroni salad when I was a kid!! Sat Nov 07 22:37:30 -0800 2009 5151056 212582 schrutefarms 2 5155011 I refer to my apple seller as my crack dealer. They are not cheap ($4 for a generous quart) but they are so good. We're in Russet, Baldwins and Norther Spies right now. Arkansas Blacks will be coming up and they round out the season. But summer isn't right without fixes of Summer Rambeaux, Tompkins County Kings and Orange Pippins. The funniest thing is that when I bring them into work people laugh and tell me how ugly they are... until I give them a taste. He's 65 if he's a day, and I have the hugest crush on him. Wed Nov 04 08:49:15 -0800 2009 5130548 59951 thinks too much 3 5155036 I am jealous. Where are you located? I love Spies and they are a bit thin on the ground in NY - and often not in prime condition when you find them. Another Labor Day time apple that no one seems to grow around here is the Lobo - big, flattish, crisp but not dense flesh, and perfect sweet-tart apple flavor. Wed Nov 04 08:54:27 -0800 2009 5155011 13709 buttertart 4 5160608 The apple guys orchards are in Moosup CT. I get them from him in Stonington. He can talk your ear off about various varieties, and labels what year various varieties come out. The spies are tough because they are a biennial crop. So a tree only produces every other year. Last year he only had one or two trees that were up for production. It only made me salivate more for this year. This year the wet conditions made for prime apple production, so I have been gorging myself as much as possible. Fri Nov 06 07:22:25 -0800 2009 5155036 59951 thinks too much 5 5160948 You know, I never knew that about Spies. Wish I were closer to your source! Fri Nov 06 09:04:38 -0800 2009 5160608 13709 buttertart 6 5169833 What part of NY are you in? The Hudson river valley has some great orchards with pretty amazing varieties. WHen you go west, you start running into more standard varieties: cortlands, macs, winesaps. Tue Nov 10 07:56:37 -0800 2009 5160948 59951 thinks too much 7 5170184 Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, carless, therefore dependent on the Greenmarkets, which do have a nice selection so am not totally without access to heirloom varieties. Tue Nov 10 09:52:30 -0800 2009 5169833 13709 buttertart 8 5170621 Look on the bright side: you have access to way better dim sum than I get out in the hinterlands of New England. Enjoy your apple season. Tue Nov 10 12:10:13 -0800 2009 5170184 59951 thinks too much 9 5170641 There are compensations, indeed! Tue Nov 10 12:16:28 -0800 2009 5170621 13709 buttertart 1 5130584 Fresh seafood. We made the trip up to Uwajimaya in Beaverton last week and picked up a medium-sized lobster and a couple of pounds of clams. Yeah, I'm unemployed, but I'm willing to spend a few bucks to spoil ourselves. Oh, and good cheese. I can justify it a bit with having to eat a high-protein diet, though. Sun Oct 25 19:51:20 -0700 2009 5130138 237929 tracylee 1 5130674 My larder and bar remain unchanged. I've not been on a significant vacation in several years but have enjoyed a few minor ones and remain satisfied to remain at home eating and drinking as always....except for lobsters, king crab, fresh capon, Scottish salmon, Lagavulin, fresh OJ, ...yeah,....... there's stuff not around for now.. Maybe Patagonia or Botswana when..... oh, let's not count chickens before they.... CP Sun Oct 25 20:35:41 -0700 2009 5130138 138009 Chefpaulo 1 5130857 Fresh local fruit, butter, and good bread. It doesn't necessarily have to be the best of everything or the most expensive, but it does need to be real food, i.e. not Wonderbread. Sun Oct 25 23:09:44 -0700 2009 5130138 26708 sidwich 1 5131728 Groceries are twice as much in Bermuda anyway, but like goodhealthgourmet said I would rather cut back in other areas. We have cut way back in going out to eat, I would much rather spend the money on good ingredients and prepare a super great meal at home instead. Mon Oct 26 09:52:26 -0700 2009 5130138 237148 bermudagourmetgoddess 1 5131750 Fine cheese is something I'll never stop buying. Also good quality olive oil and prosciutto.. Mon Oct 26 09:57:29 -0700 2009 5130138 1114540 cheesemaestro 2 5132357 I agree, fine cheese is a must. Mon Oct 26 12:58:17 -0700 2009 5131750 14445 swamp 1 5132391 I'm with everyone on butter. And agree that staying home and cooking together has always been as much fun as going out for the two of us. And now, we can justify it as part of our belt tightening. A lot of our friends aren't working, and it feels better to have them over for group cooking instead of picking up their tab in a restaurantl Mon Oct 26 13:12:29 -0700 2009 5130138 14917 mtngirlnv 2 5142607 butter has been cheaper in the last year or two than it's been prior. Fri Oct 30 07:34:35 -0700 2009 5132391 105717 alkapal 3 5152994 True, and don't you find butter pricing is completely weird? Some weeks (in NY at least) $1.99/lb, some weeks $4.59 or more. Very little relation to the season as far as I can see. Is it the chilly finger of the commodities market reaching into the supermarket? Tue Nov 03 13:47:12 -0800 2009 5142607 13709 buttertart 4 5154355 I've noticed that with butter too- but there's always one supermarket that has it on sale every week. Wegman's is always $1.97/lb for butter. How can they do it but no other market can? Wed Nov 04 04:43:02 -0800 2009 5152994 217807 cheesecake17 5 5154485 Because they make it up on other items perhaps? Wed Nov 04 06:02:35 -0800 2009 5154355 13709 buttertart 6 5154696 I don't think so... Wegman's is really cheap on their own brand as well as name brand items. Wegman's frozen veggies are 89 cents/bag- and they're made by Birdseye. Recently they had a 5lb bag of flour for $1 and sugar for $2 Wed Nov 04 07:24:45 -0800 2009 5154485 217807 cheesecake17 7 5154947 Hmm, don't know then. I had gotten the impression they were a bit on the dear side (we don't have them in NY and have only been in one of their stores ever). Wed Nov 04 08:36:09 -0800 2009 5154696 13709 buttertart 8 5155604 I live in NYC so there's no Wegman's near by- but when we go visit my husband's grandparents in NJ I stock up. I love a lot of their store brand items- especially their baking stuff... Wed Nov 04 11:27:48 -0800 2009 5154947 217807 cheesecake17 9 5155676 I know my sister-in-law in State College, PA swears by them. Would be nice to have a store in the city. Wed Nov 04 11:48:30 -0800 2009 5155604 13709 buttertart 10 5155707 Definitely- but I would suspect that the prices would rise. I like Fairway too- prices are good Wed Nov 04 11:56:34 -0800 2009 5155676 217807 cheesecake17 11 5155753 Yes, we can't complain too much about what's available here because everything essentially is if you look for it. Wed Nov 04 12:07:34 -0800 2009 5155707 13709 buttertart 12 5156072 That's definitely true. My only wish- a better Trader Joe's. The one in Brooklyn is always SO crowded and it's hard to find a parking spot. And the one in Manhattan is very inconvinient.. Wed Nov 04 13:43:18 -0800 2009 5155753 217807 cheesecake17 13 5156081 I think that's part of the point of Trader Joe's. Went to the one in Oakland, CA when visiting friends there, same deal. I'll go to the one in Bklyn but the Manhattan one drives me insane. Wed Nov 04 13:45:27 -0800 2009 5156072 13709 buttertart 14 5156100 I used to go to the Manhattan one during lunchtime- the lines were so long to pay that they twisted into the aisles and the dairy section. The one in Hewlett is excellent though. I'll spend a Sunday shopping in TJ's and Loehmann's. But it's a 30 min drive.. Wed Nov 04 13:51:31 -0800 2009 5156081 217807 cheesecake17 1 5133528 Artisan cheese and local dairy. Mon Oct 26 20:44:37 -0700 2009 5130138 64882 Vetter 1 5134141 Having been in some REALLY tight situations in the past, I know I can live without pretty much anything. However, now I can and do splurge a little. Areas where I could save, but prefer not to include artisanal cheese, olives, sparkling water, sea salt, and tea. I also have a serious problem with buying magazines (like, a stack) at the grocery store, but I guess that doesn't count. Tue Oct 27 07:33:49 -0700 2009 5130138 172437 foodpoisoned 1 5134316 Good cheese, organic/natural peanut butter, good cuts of beef, spring water, good wine, olive oil, fresh and organic fruits and veggies. I can and have cut back in many ways already, my wardrobe and travel have suffered...my stomach doesn't need to as well. Tue Oct 27 08:36:36 -0700 2009 5130138 729068 cookieluvntasha 1 5134430 Some things I still buy- sometimes in smaller quantities- - good sorbet - butter - cheese - interesting fruits and veggies - it would drive me crazy to eat the same few things over and over just b/c they're cheap I do love coffee.. but I don't make it at home.. so another splurge would be my morning cup of coffee.. Tue Oct 27 09:13:33 -0700 2009 5130138 217807 cheesecake17 2 5137232 Good lists, everyone! I forgot to include the weekly trip to the Farmer's Market, but I tend to not buy items there that the local Trader Joe's or the megamart, such as brown onions. But I still get fruits, tomatoes, peppers and herbs there. And I have the same weakness for food magazines as you, Foodpoisoned! I used to subscribe to 5 of them; but I've cut down to one (temporarily, I hope). I did stop making ice cream. Granted, the cooler weather and the bathroom scale also factor along with finances in this. Besides, now I need to spend the time baking :). Wed Oct 28 08:51:12 -0700 2009 5134430 322300 Michelly 1 5138017 Big tubs of Greek yogurt Wine Fresh fish Whole nutmeg Fresh herbs Big bars of dark chocolate, usually mail order Weekly trips to the health food store for staples Wed Oct 28 13:00:24 -0700 2009 5130138 36312 HillJ 1 5139053 Well, when it really comes down to it, you do what you have to do. If you've already cut out restaurants and everything "extra," sometimes you have to do without things you didn't want to. We've already been making even more from scratch (bread, pizza, soup, daily meals). After 7 months jobless, it's now cut back on favorites to make the mortgage longer. But with coupons and shopping what's on sale, we make do. We can make creative meals, but we're not buying our favorites for a while (or at least far less) -- like really good cheeses, seafood, and better wines. It's a matter of survival for a while and we're stretching everything as far as we can. Wed Oct 28 18:56:54 -0700 2009 5130138 63260 eamcd 2 5150783 My heart goes out to you, eamcd. May things get better for you soon. Mon Nov 02 18:08:00 -0800 2009 5139053 322300 Michelly 2 5150932 eamcd, here's wishing you a job, and then plenty of good cheese, seafood, and wine - in that order. Hang in there. Mon Nov 02 19:19:05 -0800 2009 5139053 21169 DC in DC 1 5152842 Is Courvoisier considered food, 'cause I still buy that. CocoDan Tue Nov 03 13:02:32 -0800 2009 5130138 12643 CocoDan 1 5154528 Penzey's spices; full pound bags of coffee beans (from CoffeeAM.com), always real maple syrup (that has nothing to do with the recession - it has to do with the flavor of the product); Niman Ranch applewood-smoked bacon from TJs, good bread; Parm-Reg cheese (or any cheese, for that matter) from Whole Foods or Formaggio Kitchen; good butter (Presidente if I can find it; otherwise Kate's); and I'm sure other things. It's only me in the house, so I get what I want if I can afford it and it's not too astronomically expensive. The cats are perfectly happy with their Fancy Feast (24/carton bought with $5.00 off coupons at a new pet store near me) and their Science Diet crunchies. :-) Wed Nov 04 06:25:03 -0800 2009 5130138 10532 LindaWhit 1 5174468 Good olive oil, good chocolate and good coffee. Wed Nov 11 18:59:53 -0800 2009 5130138 61071 blackpointyboots 1 5184125 I continue to buy meat from either one of my small, local butchers or from New Seasons (a chain local to Portland, OR which is similar to Whole Foods but waaaaayyy better). Not only does the meat taste better, it is sourced locally from smaller, non-megameat farms which don't use nasty stuff in their feed. I like putting money in the pockets of my "little guy" neighbors.It is also worth the extra price for the services of a real butcher: they will cheerfully prep your meat for specific uses which cuts down on time and waste. I will NEVER give up my fresh ground coffee from local roasters. Sun Nov 15 17:40:41 -0800 2009 5130138 1121504 capicksnw 1 5190746 boursin cheese smoked salmon good coffee dove's promises good bacon in fact, i've just given up buying as many steaks and sea scallops as i used to, and pretty much everything else has stayed the same. Wed Nov 18 04:05:33 -0800 2009 5130138 105717 alkapal 1 5190767 Cheese, in my opinion life is to short to eat bad cheese. Wed Nov 18 04:36:30 -0800 2009 5130138 322213 YAYME 1 5190770 1. Switched to chocolate from Aldi's (and it's very good) rather than high-end super market or boutique choc. 2. Switched to bulk artisanal butter from the 'covered market' here (Findlay Mkt)~~ butter is only $1.39/lb. 3. Completely cut out buying bakery products and we learned to make our own (and they are much much better, if I do say so myself!) 4. Buy our spices and herbs in small quantities from the spice dealer (at Findlay Mkt) ~~way way cheaper than buying from Pensey's or from the grocery (fresher and a lot better). 5. Cut out random eating out and now cook at home much more~~so much better, too! 6. Smoke our own salmon. It took the recession for us to discover some new sources and new skills/talent. In a strange way, it's been fun. p.s. and this year we are doing Thanksgiving for 15 on $100 budget. It's kind of like doing a scavenger hunt this past week gathering the ingredients. Hint: Aldi is a good source. Also the local turkey farmer. Wed Nov 18 04:39:48 -0800 2009 5130138 249199 dumas