October chit-chat

[Prot]

What's a Greek spaghetti?

[agate]

Virginia, I'd like to know more about the Greek spaghetti too. And please let us know you haven't died from fatigue.

Today I was in a supermarket with a little time to look around after getting the COVID shot in its pharmacy department. I hadn't looked around in a supermarket for quite a number of years.

Maybe it was just this supermarket but there was far more "fast food" occupying the store than a few years ago. Lots and lots of ready-made salads, sandwiches, etc. Most of it was towards the front of the store. Are people getting too pressed for time to do any meal preparation any more? They dash into the supermarket and grab some of these ready-to-eat things in their plastic containers?

I can understand doing that if a person is disabled and no longer finds cooking to be easy but isn't this costly on a regular basis?

[Prot]

Maybe it was just this supermarket but there was far more "fast food" occupying the store than a few years ago. Lots and lots of ready-made salads, sandwiches, etc. Most of it was towards the front of the store. Are people getting too pressed for time to do any meal preparation any more? They dash into the supermarket and grab some of these ready-to-eat things in their plastic containers?

I can understand doing that if a person is disabled and no longer finds cooking to be easy but isn't this costly on a regular basis?

Same as British supermarkets.Very few of the ready meals include veg. I sometimes get meals from Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register... as they include veg . Also trying out some meals from Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register... They do meals you can store in your cupboard for up to 6 months. They have less veg than WFF.

My daughter sometimes makes meals for me too. Do you have companies like I've mentioned in the USA?

[agate]

There are such places but I've never used them. Schwan's was the one I heard mentioned often but I understand it went out of business, a COVID casualty. I found this list--the only one I know anything about is HelloFresh, which my son was using for a while. It was sending the ingredients all ready to go but the customer had to put them together and cook them.

Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register...

[jingle]

In this small town I think I'm the food deliver service- lol. If someone needs something - like prepared food - I'm expected to deliver it. This afternoon I'm making my grand broccoli salad which I'll deliver tomorrow to a cousin who needs assistance. I'll deliver some of the leftover salad to my sister and some to a nephew. They don't need help but they love broccoli salad.

[agate]

You sound like a good person to know, jingle! Is that broccoli salad made with uncooked broccoli or maybe steamed?

[jingle]

Broccoli Salad
Lots of raw chopped broccoli
Some chopped raw cauliflower if you want
Lots of chopped fried bacon
Lots of fresh grapes ( red are best but green is fine)
Some finely chopped onion or chopped green onions
Some slivered almonds

Dressing
1 cup mayo
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. vinegar
dash salt

This is the best salad you ever tasted!

[Virginia]

Greek spaghetti is without meat. It has fresh tomato, green onions, fresh parsley, garlic, dried basil and lemon juice. I enjoy using angel hair pasta. I think that is all the ingredients. I don't have the recipe in front of me. I love it. I enjoyed it more tonight than last night. I have enough left that I will have it tomorrow night.

I don't know why I got away from making that, but all of a sudden I remembered it. I did use minced garlic that comes in a jar which I don't like as well, but I have a really hard time using a garlic press, so this was easy.

Joan, there are a number of groceries that have ready made foods. Sometime I buy some of them, but not often. If I buy something I don't like I don't buy it again. I like my own food because I know where it comes from and how it is made. There are a few things I like from restaurants, but I don't get to restaurants anymore. I sometimes get something from the grocery store because I simply don't feel up to fixing anything.

It has been so warm here today I might have trouble sleeping.

[Virginia]

I forgot to add Feta cheese to ingredients.

[agate]

Feta cheese by all means! Back when I was more energetic, I often made a Greek salad with feta cheese and black olives and other ingredients. I really liked it.

If we can possibly fix our own food, we're probably better off doing that. I keep hearing news stories about unsafe food even in well-established fast-food places, for one thing. And if you look at the prices on some of that ready-to-eat food you can get from places on that Forbes list, you're spending quite a lot just for a meal.

[Prot]

I know what I should be doing to have a healthier and less costly diet, but putting it into practice is a different kettle of fish. For starters menu planning is hard given my organising and planning difficulties, coupled with doing a weekly grocery shop. Secondly I can only tolerate taste wise a small amount of the pulses etc recommended for a more healthy & ,cheaper diet. I don't want x amount more years alive doing the culinary equivalent of wearing a hair shirt. I like salads, but digesting wise salads don't like me.
Then there's my culinary skills, which leave a lot to be desired.

[jingle]

Prot, I agree, I agree.

[agate]

Tim, you mentioned a kettle of fish. Do you like shrimp? A bunch of shrimp can be easily cooked and would be very nutritious, in a salad or just by themselves. If you like shrimp, of course....

[Virginia]

You can also get frozen shrimp and just thaw them with cold water running over them. You don't have to cook them. Try to figure out a vegetable you want to eat with them and you have a meal. The vegetable can be easy one, also frozen.

I finished my Greek spaghetti tonight. I really enjoyed it and will try to make it again in a few weeks. I have the spaghetti and everything I need except the fresh stuff.

I read a recipe today and I am going to try it. It was simple and I have everything I need. It calls for chicken breast but says you can use chicken ribs. I bought some chicken ribs about six weeks ago and didn't know what to do with them so I froze them. The recipe calls for mixing barbeque sauce with 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar, you can use white house vinegar instead. It calls for a little chili powder. and an onion sliced. I think I will have to skip the chili powder and onion. I don't have any. I will just put about 1/8 tsp of red pepper. I am going to stick the washed, unfrozen ribs in the crock pot and pour the sauce over them. It calls for taking them out and shredding the chicken, then placing them back in the crockpot just long enough to let them warm and serve them with creamed potatoes. I haven't had cream potatoes in a long, long time, probably years, but I bought the potatoes and will try to fix them.

[Prot]

I love seafood,- shrimps,cockles, winkles,prawns, mussels,whelks,lobster, crab etc etc . A Frozen Cooked Seafood Selection 300g costs the equivalent of $ 6.87. Seafood Selection 200g (Ready to Eat)

= $ 4.86. It's very hard to get things like cockles,winkles, and whelks as I don't live near the seaside.