News & Notes

One of the things I have done with my spare time is study grocery shopping options and pricing.  Recognizing that some grocery stores offer big time loss leaders on Friday – Sunday to get folks to buy all the other stuff that is priced higher than their competitors, I put a number of items Margie and I purchase regularly into a spreadsheet and began comparing prices.  That led me to purchasing larger quantities when items are on sale and then repackaging them to two and four person portions with our vacuum seal device.  Those items include chicken leg quarters, sweet Italian sausage, chicken thighs, beef short ribs, standing rib roasts (halved) and frozen shrimp in various counts and levels of preparation.  I was surprised to see the meaningful reduction in our food costs.  A couple of months ago I noticed that some of the items I had repackaged and vacuum wrapped were showing signs of air!  Seems the vacuum seal unit I had had for years but seldom used before was not fully sealing.  So I purchased a new and different unit and the storing continues.  One of the tell tale leakers was a halved six pound standing rib roast.  I thawed that puppy out, rubbed it down with a paste of salt, pepper, herbs de provence and olive oil and let it sit in the refrigerator all night.  Fifteen minutes in a five hundred degree oven, then twelve minutes per pound at three twenty five, testing for 120 degrees (rare) in the last ten minutes, finishing with a fifteen minute rest.  Margie did a salad, I had some broccoli in cheese sauce and some mashed potatoes, paired with a 2018 Cakebread Cellars Napa Cab.  Wowzer!