Stockouts, panic buying, and how you cook...

[DoctorShavegood]

Paper goods were in short supply last weekend, but it should be better now. I haven't checked the small corner store about 2 miles from here or the one about 11 miles away at the intersection of the county road and the state highway.

Food shortage? What food shortage?

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There's some pork chops, brisket, pork belly, roasts, venison, and some crab legs buried in there somewhere, along with what's in the fridge and its freezer.


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Now we know who's been hoarding all the food.

...pork and beans....really???

 

[ruckin]

If you are going to hoard lobster it would be sensible to lay in a supply of butter and garlic.

The weekly trip to the grocery store in our neighborhood was a bit of hit/miss. The bread was empty except for a few hostess sugar bombs but there was pretty much full stock of tortillas. Instead of grabbing two yellow onions my hoarder nature kicked in and I now have three. Fruit and veggies were at normal levels, I didn't need any cheese so I didn't check that area. The meat/seafood cases were mostly empty with only the super expensive (and super cheap) ground beef remaining. I noted in the can good aisle I see there was a run on sardines (I was wondering if the recent B&B thread is to blame here...) on but there was plenty of tuna. The chips were there but stock was lower than normal (I don't eat chips so I don't really care about this). The deli and packaged meat section was mostly empty with a few packs of bacon remaining. The dairy case was a bit picked over but I was able to ask an employee about the twin brook milk I like and he went to the back and got me a half gallon. I use the TB milk for steaming with espresso drinks. I also tossed in a gallon of whole milk to turn into yogurt.

The one fail I had was I forgot to take meat out of the freezer early enough so I wasn't able to get fish, pork chops, steak or something else for dinner. Wife suggested pizza and I reluctantly agreed as I knew it would blow my low carb diet. I have not had pizza (or bread) in quite some time and it was pretty good. However, my digestive system is not happy - it is making all sorts of protest noises.

Hopefully next week the stores will be restocked or I will need to be a bit more diligent with my meal planning and just count on picking up produce.

 

[DoctorShavegood]

The garden in the back yard is producing well. Beets, 3 kinds of lettuce and 2 kinds of kale. Tomatoes will be planted soon and will provide lots of sauce or cut up in salads. Thinking about getting some chickens (for next years Andromeda strain), we can have them in Austin, Texas...no roosters though. The feral cats bring up stuff to the back porch like lizards, snakes and rats...if push comes to shove, just sayin'.

 

[Doc4]

The garden in the back yard is producing well.

Once I dig through the three feet of snow, I'm sure my backyard garden could do well too ...

 

[DoctorShavegood]

Once I dig through the three feet of snow, I'm sure my backyard garden could do well too ...

In the winter just build an igloo. Build a small fire inside, run down to the nearest frozen lake, drill a hole, run fishing line down through the hole, catch big fish, clean big fish, return to the igloo which now has nice hot coals, place big fish on grate of nice hot coals, eat big fish. What's so hard about that?

 

[Doc4]

In the winter just build an igloo. Build a small fire inside, run down to the nearest frozen lake, drill a hole, run fishing line down through the hole, catch big fish, clean big fish, return to the igloo which now has nice hot coals, place big fish on grate of nice hot coals, eat big fish. What's so hard about that?

We were talking about gardening, not fishing.

But now that you mention it, I do prefer a nice bbq'd trout to salad.

 

[DoctorShavegood]

We were talking about gardening, not fishing.

But now that you mention it, I do prefer a nice bbq'd trout to salad.

You can't garden right now so go fish. Why don't you come live here in the winter and I'll come live with you in the summer. That wouldn't work....ya banned.

 

[simon1]

Now we know who's been hoarding all the food.

...pork and beans....really???

Naww...not hording. That stash has been built up over time. I don't think we've bought any meat in the last month or so, except for a couple of slabs if ribs for the smoker.

You don't like pork and beans...really??? We open a can, put some mustard, ketchup, Worchestershire sauce, brown sugar, and chopped onion in the pan and heat it up. Improvised baked beans...it goes well with Tater Salad for BBQ.

 

[DoctorShavegood]

Naww...not hording. That stash has been built up over time. I don't think we've bought any meat in the last month or so, except for a couple of slabs if ribs for the smoker.

You don't like pork and beans...really??? We open a can, put some mustard, ketchup, Worchestershire sauce, brown sugar, and chopped onion in the pan and heat it up. Improvised baked beans...it goes well with Tater Salad for BBQ.

Pork n beans mixed with wolf brand chili. That's the only thing left on the shelves.

 

[simon1]

Pork n beans mixed with wolf brand chili. That's the only thing left on the shelves.

Ewww...that's a low blow...comparing pork and beans to wolf brand chili.

 

[FarmerTan]

Went to the market yesterday, late in the day. Not surprisingly the paper aisle was bare. Literally every paper product. More surprising were the other bare spots. In the meat aisle all chicken was gone including 3X price organics. Nearly all the beef was gone and what remained did not look good. Pork however was completely full. Bone-in chops, thin no-bone chops, loins, etc. all there in quantity. Weird looking down the cooler seeing blanks on either side of a fully stocked one. Bread & cream also stripped. Same in the canned food aisle, most gone. However, walk several aisles over to the international one and the Goya area was full. Full with many of the same products picked clean in canned goods too. Same thing at the Indian market I shop. Food to the ceiling as always and no stockouts. If I had to put money on it, I'd bet on Facebook walls spooking the herd of suburban wine moms.

In general I don't see our cuisine changing a whole lot. We've always kept a good quantity of staples (pasta, rice, flours, & root veg around) then add fresh produce & meat on a weekly basis. I'd gone into the market for chicken but pork chops are getting a quicker than usual repeat. It's easy to change up the menu quickly based on what we have and what we can buy. I wanted bread for sandwiches & soups so it looks like I am making that tonight as well. Curious how everyone else is managing their cooking parameters? Has it made you adapt or are you still the same?

We are blessed with a well stocked pantry and freezer, so no changes yet.

This too shall pass.

I had to go out today to pick up my Rx's, so honestly, we are going to be able to stay put awhile.

My son is in the grocery business, so I could possibly be made ill from any ickyness he might bring home with him...but Universal Precautions should be followed all the time anyway.

 

[novitiate]

Heading out later to hit the stores and see if chicken is back in. Upside with all the restaurants cut back to takeout only some of their normal produce & meat orders will get channeled back into supermarket supply. (We're going to do some takeout from our local favorites too. Definitely want them to be around when things get back to normal.) Plenty of "chicken in a can" lunchmeat at the Indian market. Have not quite hit that point yet. Maybe next week...

 

[FarmerTan]

Heading out later to hit the stores and see if chicken is back in. Upside with all the restaurants cut back to takeout only some of their normal produce & meat orders will get channeled back into supermarket supply. (We're going to do some takeout from our local favorites too. Definitely want them to be around when things get back to normal.) Plenty of "chicken in a can" lunchmeat at the Indian market. Have not quite hit that point yet. Maybe next week...

That's a good point: we do need to start something we have NEVER done before: go a pick up meals from the restaurants we normally dine INSIDE at. We need to help these folks stay in business, AND their staff to stay employed.

 

[Doc4]

Tins: For me, it's mostly chopped tomatoes, which are used in batch cooking, so two tins, or one tin and a squirt of puree, goes toward a meal in my belly and 8-10 in the freezer.

"Back in the day" when I was a young bachelor cooking for myself, I'd make a spaghetti sauce base out of

• one large (28oz) tin of diced tomatoes
• one tin sliced mushrooms
• one tin sliced olives

I'd include the liquid from the mushrooms and olives. Since there was so much salt in the olives, I'd get unsalted mushrooms and tomatoes.

Frozen sausages sliced up really nicely, so I could get a nice browning on the ends of the slices. Brown up a sliced sausage or two, add some chopped garlic and onion, and when it's all fried up add a scoop of the tomato mix and a few herbs. Mix with the cooked noodles, and ... done!

I could actually get the whole meal done in the time it took to heat the water and cook the noodles.

 

[novitiate]

Back from the market. No chicken, plenty of beef, no ground pork. I have a grinder but resisted buying more chops to make my own. A boatload of Italian sweet and hot & spicy sausage showed up though. Will make some more pasta fagioli over the weekend and use it for that. At 130PM EST today the market looked like an anthill kicked over. Geez!

 

[novitiate]

"Back in the day" when I was a young bachelor cooking for myself, I'd make a spaghetti sauce base out of

• one large (28oz) tin of diced tomatoes
• one tin sliced mushrooms
• one tin sliced olives

I'd include the liquid from the mushrooms and olives. Since there was so much salt in the olives, I'd get unsalted mushrooms and tomatoes.

Frozen sausages sliced up really nicely, so I could get a nice browning on the ends of the slices. Brown up a sliced sausage or two, add some chopped garlic and onion, and when it's all fried up add a scoop of the tomato mix and a few herbs. Mix with the cooked noodles, and ... done!

I could actually get the whole meal done in the time it took to heat the water and cook the noodles.

My son does his own sauce. Going to show him this.

 

[FarmerTan]

It has been SO LONG since we have made bread from scratch.

I may mention this to the War Department, but she played dumb when I mentioned making some dry Navy beans in the instant pot, AND I HAD TO SLAVE OVER THEM......

Well.....let's just say my mom may have raised some homely children, but she didn't raise any dummies!

 

[Timeclo]

It seems like most of the fresh produce are empty by afternoon or so. I got plenty of non-perishable foods in stock but veggies and meat are going to be hard to get for the next few weeks. I can deal with modified meals, as long as I don't have to touch my MREs reserves, haha.

 

[FarmerTan]

In the winter just build an igloo. Build a small fire inside, run down to the nearest frozen lake, drill a hole, run fishing line down through the hole, catch big fish, clean big fish, return to the igloo which now has nice hot coals, place big fish on grate of nice hot coals, eat big fish. What's so hard about that?

Genius!

 

[Doc4]

My son does his own sauce. Going to show him this.

If he wants to take it to the next level, add a spoonful of sour cream. And maybe a dash of balsamic vinegar or a splash of red wine.