"30 items or more - February 2009" written by Tinypliny on estrip.org

02/07/09 08:38 - 42ºF - ID#47665

30 items or more - February 2009

All the reasonably priced orange-bags at Wegmans had greenish fungus on them so I didn't get them. I got these instead:

1. Milk - Fat-free 2 Gallons - $3.98 (1 Gallon @ $1.99)

(This is almost the first time in two years I have seen a gallon milk below $2.00).

2. Milk - 2% - 1/2 Gallon - $1.49

Coffee becomes so much more tastier with 2% milk!

3. Vanilla low-fat yoghurt - $1.99

4. Wegmans Wheat Pita Bread - $1.79

(The pitas are so much more tastier and cheaper at Guercio's. Why Oh Why do they close at 6.00 PM!?! :/)

5. Wegmans Lite Wheat Bread - $2.49 It is lite, it feels rite.

6. Wegmans Firm Organic Tofu - $1.99

(Used to be $1.29 when I first moved to Rochester)

7. Wegmans 1 Pound Sweet Cream Butter - $1.50

(Okay! I caved in. I am going to try baking some cookies with this evil addictive and gorgeously delicious substance. But mainly, I am going to have it on crisp toast.)

8. Dole Mixed Frozen Fruit - $8.59

Interestingly, they changed the fruit mix to strawberries, peaches, mangoes (yes! mangoes) and pineapple. I was not a big fan of the melons so I am pretty excited. :)

9. Edys's real fruit bars - 12 bars - $2.99

(Small pieces of heaven if you can pretend that its summer.)

10. Cheez its! - $$1.50

11. Natural Gruyere Swiss Cheese. - $4.95

I felt like I needed an indulgence. This is it! :)

12. Grapefruit 5lb - $2.99

13. Macintosh Apples 5lb - $4.75.

I am stuck with these for yet another week. Depression. I miss my Granny Smiths. But I refuse to pay $0.79 per smallish Granny Smith! That is atrocious.

14. Red Potatoes - $1.12 (1.13lb @ $0.99/lb)

15. Green Seedless Grapes - $4.95 (@ $1.29/lb)

16. Bananas - $1.88 (3.84lb @ 0.49/lb)

Total: $48.95

I also went to the Super Bazaar because I desperately needed a fix of Indian Snackies!

17. Gujarati Fulvadi - $1.99

18. Bhavnagri Gathiya - $1.99

19. Bikaneri Bhujia - 2 X $1.99 = $3.98

20. Gujarati Tam Tam - $1.99

21. Rice Khichia - $1.99

Like papads, but 1000x cooler and tastier.

22. Semolina - $1.49

I am intrigued by the one's I bought. They are from Greece. I can't wait to make the traditional upma with the Greek version...

23. Tata Tetley Elaichi Chai - $0.49

24. Mother's South Indian Style Pickle - $1.99

25. Roma Tomatoes - $4.15 (4.19lb @0.99/lb)

26. Indian Green Chillies - $0.99

27. Thai Green Chillies - $0.99

28. Karuvepelai ("Curry" leaves) - $0.99

29. Coriander - 2 Bunches - $1.00

30. Tender Okra - $1.46 (0.77lb @1.89/lb)

31. Bottle Gourd - $4.40 (2.95lb @ 1.49/lb)

32. Fresh Ginger Root - $0.98 (0.66lb @ $1.49/lb)

33. Super Long Indian String Beans - $3.70 (1.86lb @ $1.99/lb)

I LOVE these! They are very costly outside of ethnic stores. I think they come from the Caribbean.

Total: $34.57

Grand Total - $83.52

tinypliny writes at 09:14:22 02/08/09 - Comment #45346: I know! Those melons kind of stuck out like a sore... melon!

heidi writes at 04:41:55 02/07/09 - Comment #45313: I would love to see your meals! Please, more posts!

james writes at 02:02:52 02/07/09 - Comment #45311: OMG! I am so excited they took the melon out. I used to get the mixed frozen fruit and the tropical frozen fruit to mix them, picking out the melon (I would eat the melon and just be very unexcited with it).

tinypliny writes at 12:12:44 02/07/09 - Comment #45304: You know, if they were in downtown, I would probably shop there all the time. I run into many Indians in the one class I take on South Campus and they ALL shop at that store everyday. Its like shops back home. You never stock up, you shop daily and know the shopkeepers on a personal basis.

I miss such shops. I hate that the groceries are so far away and so impersonal. :(

tinypliny writes at 12:07:24 02/07/09 - Comment #45303: I forgot one more thing that went into that stuffing - chopped red onions!! They make all the difference.

And yes! They drop me back. Its pretty generous of them but I guess that's how they compete with the other stores around. With newer ethnic stores coming up in that area, I think they have people without cars as a kind of "captive customers". I could easily take a bus from the metro station and back (as I used to earlier) but that takes a lot of time. I don't really want to be captive but its convenient. If you go there regularly, you can actually have them pick you up and drop you as well.

I don't go there often though. Maybe once a month or once in two months. Apart from their fresh produce and Indian-cooking-specific stuff, things are on the expensive end. I guess they have to make up some way for all that expensive driving around.

libertad writes at 11:49:42 02/07/09 - Comment #45301: Sounds yummy! I can't believe they pick you up! Do they drop you back off at the metro?

tinypliny writes at 09:41:35 02/07/09 - Comment #45297: Hahaha.. Yes, I love drinking milk. I add it to the numerous cups of tea I drink. They help keep me cramp-free with the calcium and I get my VitD! Super Bazaar is on the corner of Sheridan and Bailey (3218 Sheridan Dr Amherst, NY 14226 (716) 835-4770) Here's a map -> :::link:::

It's great for groceries. They have very high turnover and things are mostly fresh. They are probably the only shop to have fresh tender okra around. I usually take the metro to the south campus and call them to pick me up from the metro station. They don't mind because I usually buy a ton of stuff. :)

There are so many ways to stuff pitas! I think I will do a post on that. Yesterday, I had a mixed greens-garbanzo-hummus pita dinner. For this you take mixed greens, cooked garbanzo beans, a generous dollop of garlic/roasted pepper hummus, 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar and a generous scoop of Bhujia (a lentil based noodle-like snack), toss them all together till everything is evenly coated. Toast the pita and stuff it all in! :)

libertad writes at 09:25:52 02/07/09 - Comment #45296: I love peaking at your groceries! Two and a half gallons of milk?! Where is the Super Bazaar? Do they actually sell fresh okra? What do you stuff your pitas with?

Permalink: 30_items_or_more_February_2009.html
Words: 474
Location: Buffalo, NY

02/04/09 08:37 - 11ºF - ID#47643

9/11

I learned today that someone I know really well lost a sibling in the 9/11 tragedy. It ripped their family apart and brought them together at the same time. It's extraordinary how something that was rather remote suddenly has taken on a very personal hue.

It's like being shaken back to the remote shock you once knew you felt but only more intense. It's a very weird feeling of helplessness and sadness. Lives lost remain lost forever regardless of what political agenda is or has been for the past years. None of it matters even an iota to the ones who were really affected.

tinypliny writes at 08:01:45 02/06/09 - Comment #45249: (e:imk2): I agree. Have you driven past a massive car collision, witnessed a street shooting, read a tragic de-identified rape story, felt disturbed and hoped that no one you knew was involved, got home and then heard that one of your friends lost their family in one of those incidents? In this particular case, it took me more than 8 years to get home to hear this news.

I had read about numerous gang shootings before I came to the States. I got home when I heard you telling me about your story last winter.

Rapes in the news were never personal to me until my friend got raped when I was in med school. It was terrible that I didn't hear it from her, I read it in on front-page news first and then realized in massive shock that it was her.

Time dilutes your first impression of violence you read about. But recounted personal experiences always bring them back and somehow make it worse because you know that you did not even begin to feel what it must have been like had it been your own family.

Would I have posted had no one here known about 9/11 - unlikely. I would have written a long email home or talked to my family. But the fact that this car-wreck was so public made me post.

imk2 writes at 03:28:49 02/06/09 - Comment #45238: oh and tiny, this was by no means a judgment call on who you do and who you dont feel for. i just read your post and started thinking about these things. so don't take it as an attack or anything, k?

imk2 writes at 02:24:12 02/06/09 - Comment #45237: ok, I am probably going to offend a lot of people with this but here goes. personally (and please understand that this is only my opinion, nothing more), I think it's easy to sympathize with people when they've suffered a loss that was so public and which included so many other victims. it not only brings the families of the victims together but also offers the support (however intangible or abstract) of the public . there is a whole collective mentality that developes during such events that acts as a support system, obviously ... of varying degrees, for the victims, the families and the public themselves.

what we forget to recognize are the millions of everyday people who TOO suffer tragic losses in their personal lives and live among us with no one but their family and friends (if that) to acknowledge, ease and recognize their pain.

yes, i'm certain that losing a loved one in the twin towers was a truly horrible experience but there are so many of us walking around each day who (as subjective as it may be) have experienced things they believe to be just AS horrible and painful, if not moreso, but have to learn to function in the real world with the truly debilitating weight of their pain, among people who do not realize, recognize or care about the problems of strangers. these people receive nothing more than a few, reluctant, and half assed efforts at sympathy, empathy and little understanding when their pain begins to affect their lives at work and home. who is willing to cut them some slack?

although the 9/11 experience was shocking, I cannot believe that its more painful and more traumatic than the pain, shock, terror and grief suffered by the mothers, fathers, children, wives and husbands of drunk driving, shooting, rape or stabbing victims.

i really am trying, hopefully without sounding too callous and without marginalizing the 911 victims' experience, to say that i just cannot feel or sympathize MORE for their loss than that of the average person who haS experienced a tragedy but didn't experience it alongside an entire nation.

ps. this was written on my phone so please excuse the shitty grammar abd formatting. its really hard proof reading on a phone

trisha writes at 09:16:22 02/05/09 - Comment #45204: it sounds so callous, but i was numb to 9/11 until i read this book: "extremely loud and incredibly close" by jonathan safran foer. it is told from the perspective of a precocious 9-year-old who loses his dad. an amazing book.

james writes at 10:43:19 02/04/09 - Comment #45199: I grew up just outside NYC and knew a ton of people who worked there. For a year after I would think of someone and that I hadn't seen them in a while. Work was just busy or they moved or a rumor circulated that they had died but were in fact fine. I was convinced two people I knew had died, but they resurfaced later. I lost touch with a wide network of people in NYC because it was just too stressful with everyone being uncertain.

libertad writes at 10:23:05 02/04/09 - Comment #45194: Every once in a while someone I speak to on the phone will mention it and how it affected them personally. We speak to a lot of people who live and work in NYC.

Permalink: 9_11.html
Words: 103
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: music

02/03/09 07:42 - ID#47624

Love 'em or Leave 'em

Another music post, but nothing else seems worthwhile nowadays. This time, its the Scorpions.

I think this post should end here. They are the Scorpions and hence, they rule. But I will go ahead and add an example.

Permalink: Love_em_or_Leave_em.html
Words: 48
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: music

01/31/09 05:54 - 16ºF - ID#47585

Opera: D. Hvorostovsky and C. Orbelian

Dimitri Hvorostovsky, Constantine Orbelian And The Moscow Chamber Orchestra - I can only say, what a magnificent team!

Performing a whole bunch of Russian operas/folksongs/wartime songs with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra (Philharmonia of Russia). I am in operatic heaven. :)

Now doesn't he have the most awesome voice ever?

Thank you, mrbusy.

Permalink: Opera_D_Hvorostovsky_and_C_Orbelian.html
Words: 134
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: eating in

01/24/09 11:56 - 10ºF - ID#47509

Speculoos

Some of my worst and best flying experiences have been on Delta.

They ALWAYS strand me at a dodgy hotel in Atlanta, where there is always some weird embarrassing party going on. The first time it was an uncomfortable vain-socialites-of-the-world-unite party.

The second time, it was some religious zealot supergroup from Pakistan and India, combined.

The less said about these parties, the better.

The happier side of flying delta are these Biscoff speculoos.

These are unimaginably crisp cinnamony pieces of spice heavens. I used to hoard them while flying and on occasion have lied to the flight attendants to get extra ones. YES, they are that good. Then I moved to Buffalo and found that the Walgreens on North and Delaware carried these biscuits! I was pretty thrilled. I try to forget that they sell them because usually, I have this tendency to gorge myself on whatever I am addicted to till I am sick of them and can let go of them forever. But I like these biscuits so much that I don't want to get deaddicted! See?

{PS: I am happy to report that my unhealthy love-affair with Twizzlers and Andy Capps hot fries is finally over because of intentional overindulgence.}

Permalink: Speculoos.html
Words: 211
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: e:strip

01/23/09 06:16 - 41ºF - ID#47502

Do you follow the "e:strip rules"??!

I just found out that apparently, I totally cross and break some of them...

From:

Additionally, all users of (e:strip) (e:services) including guests, visitors of the site, and (e:peeps) agree not to:
1. "stalk" or otherwise harass anyone;

I am the official (and self-declared) (e:mike)'s #1 Stalker. If that is not a blatant violation, I don't know what is! Additionally, I also specialize in annoying and harassing the hell out of everyone.

2. collect personal data about other users for commercial or unlawful purposes;

Oh man. I do collect personal data on all of you for future and present use. I use this personal data to great effect often when I meet you on the streets and in gatherings. Hee Hee.

I am a rule-breaker!

Permalink: Do_you_follow_the_quot_e_strip_rules_quot_.html
Words: 139
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: eating in

01/11/09 12:20 - 19ºF - ID#47361

Penang Stir Fry

I made a multi-vegetable penang sauce based stir-fry for dinner today.

It did take quite a long time by my normal dinner standards but the result was beyond what I expected so I am going to document the recipe here before I forget.

Tofu - Prep
- Freeze Firm tofu (NOT extra firm)
- Thaw and cut into thin cubes

The Penang Sauce
Dry toast coriander seeds, a large number of hot dried red chillies and peanuts.

Blend to a fine paste:
- Freshly Toasted Coriander Seeds, Red Chillies and Peanuts (from above)
- Fresh Coriander (DO NOT discard stems. They are the most intense essence of the coriander).
- Several garlic cloves.
- One small red onion
- One green lime - pulp, rind and juice.
- Galangal
- Ginger
- Regular Soy Sauce

The Stir Fry
- In a wide bottomed pan, take around 1-1.5 tablespoon of peanut oil. Swivel the pan to coat the entire pan. Heat on stove.
- Wait till the oil is thinning out but NOT smoking.
- Lay the the tofu cubes down in one layer over the heated oil in the pan.
- Wait till one side is browned, carefully flip over to the other side without breaking the cubes. Brown this side as well.
- Add some cumin seeds. Saute for a while
- Add chopped green bell peppers. Saute for a while
- Add salt and carrots. Saute for a while
- Add shredded savoy cabbage. Saute for a while
- Add chopped snow peas. Saute for a while
- Add chopped broccoli.
- Add penang sauce (to taste - you probably made a lot more than you need for this dish, if you followed the method above)
- Saute till broccoli is a bright bright green

Take off heat. Serve with basmati rice. :)

tinypliny writes at 07:01:13 11/30/10 - Comment #59479: Honestly, I have no idea why people are coming to view this particular recipe. Its not even standard or "Penang-Street" authentic. Maybe the fact that none of the ingredients are exotic and tough to get is the driving factor? Maybe people just search for Penang stir fry, see the word "awesome" and click on this post?! Its a psychological puzzle.

paul writes at 11:52:39 11/26/10 - Comment #59448: This is still so popular. It still gets anywhere from between 40-80 hits per day.

tinypliny writes at 02:52:55 09/04/10 - Comment #58250: It is really funny what googs picks up. All the other penang sauces in the top hits have fish sauce in them. This is probably the only purely vegetarian version.

vincent writes at 01:46:50 09/04/10 - Comment #58249: Yea #2 for the search "Penang Stir Fry" !

paul writes at 11:50:46 09/04/10 - Comment #58247: What is it like to be a google superstar?

tinypliny writes at 11:24:03 01/23/09 - Comment #44837: Yep, the texture becomes more chewy and the tofu bits soak up 10X more flavour. Also, they become less brittle on thawing. They don't break into bits while you are browning and flipping them over. But this is not true for extra-firm variety. While the firm tofu becomes less brittle on freexe-thawing, extra-firm tofu becomes more brittle.

james writes at 09:28:14 01/23/09 - Comment #44835: Taddykins,

It gives it a different texture. I am not sure how to describe it. But it is extra yummy.

libertad writes at 09:20:28 01/23/09 - Comment #44834: Why would you freeze the tofu and then thaw it? What purpose does this serve? Is this something you should do for other stir fry type recipes as well?

ladycroft writes at 08:10:46 01/12/09 - Comment #44349: YUM-EEEEE!

I also want to say it was lovely meeting you, FINALLY! Your pep is contagious :) Looking forward to seeing you again next time I'm back.

leetee writes at 02:07:08 01/11/09 - Comment #44327: Looks super yum... thanks for posting the recipe so i don't have to ask for it! :O)

metalpeter writes at 11:13:27 01/11/09 - Comment #44316: I'm sorry but that rice looks like it needs some meat on it, it really does. I don't know as I would like tofu but the food does look like it would be pretty good. Yes It does look very tasty.

tinypliny writes at 09:21:08 01/11/09 - Comment #44297: You can get the authentic ones from Super Bazaar or any Indian store. I think I got this batch from a store in California. I remember I had this bag in my suitcase and my clothes started smelling like red chillies by the time I got back. I got stranded in Atlanta and went for a change of clothes and got red rashes all over because the chillies had percolated the entire suitcase!

Indian chillies are so pungent, some people start tearing up as soon as they open the bag. If you want all that awesome heat to transfer to your stir-fry, make sure that ALL of the chillie seeds end up in the penang paste. :)

joshua writes at 01:09:18 01/11/09 - Comment #44285: Where do you get your chilies? I've been wondering where I can get some proper red chilies like you can find in India and Asia in general.

Permalink: Penang_Stir_Fry.html
Words: 306
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: grocery

01/10/09 09:12 - 18ºF - ID#47358

The illustrated grocery List - Jan 2009

I am quite shocked at how I managed to buy $100+ worth of groceries this week. This post was going to be a contender for the dullest journal of 2009 but I thought about it and really, getting groceries are never a dull experience for me. Its only fair that a post about them is just as graphic and colourful! :)

Super Bazaar

- Red Onions - 4lb - $3.98

Really, there is no onion like the red onion. Yellow cooking onions bite the dust when you try and make them rise above the oniocasion.

- Cilantro 2 HUGE eye-poppingly fresh bunches - $1.00

This is the best and the cheapest cilantro (coriander) in Buffalo.

- Tomatoes ~3lbs - $0.99/pound - $2.96

Life in winter is depressing without Tomatoes. Its also rather harsh and uncreative if you don't have the reds from this beautiful fruit to balance out the foods representing other areas of the colour wheel.

- Fresh Ginger - Quite a lot - $1.35

Ginger is always best at Super Bazaar. Sometimes, its also the cheapest. Like today.

- Fresh Karuvepalai ("Curry Leaves") 1 measly but oh-so-satisfying-till-it-lasts bunch - $0.99

- Thai Green Chillies - 0.99 (around 30)

- Indian Super Hot Green Chillies - 0.99 (around 10)

- Green Bottle Gourd (aka Ghiya) - $2.88

- Moong Dal (A "core" lentil in South Indian cooking) - 6lb - $7.98

- Tata Tetley Elaichi Tea (Cardamom tea) - $4.99 (72 Tea bags)

- Tata Tetley Variety Taster Teas - $2.45 (Cardamom, Masala and Ginger)

- Maggie "Healthy" Veggie Atta Noodles - 1 single-serve bag - $0.79

(The "vegetables" in the whole pack of noodles were 10 dried green peas, 10 dried 2mm flakes of carrots and 2-3 dried flakes of tomatoes and a huge fist of Monosodium Glutamate. Healthy indeed. Good to know that these "newer" "healthier" noodles taste just as uninspired as the originals. Yeah. Somethings in life never need change. )

- Gujarati Bikaneri Bhujia - $1.99

- Gujarati Jamnagri Ghathiya - $1.99

- 1 Kg Haldiram Bhujiya - $7.99

- 1 pack frozen Pillsbury Aloo Parantha - $2.99

I see some eyebrows go up and you know who you are. YOU are driving me homesick writing about paranthas every weekend!

- South Indian Lime Pickle - Mother's - $1.99

- 1 pack Asafoetida - $1.99

(I can't believe I finally ran out! Unbelievable!) The author of a really famous south Indian recipe book suggests that families get 2Kg (~4.5lb) of this crazy spice every month! I am not quite sure why she recommended such insane amounts. It's not as if you use a fistful in each dish! Just a dusting is so powerful! She must have been totally high when she wrote her book! And man, I am scared to even think about how her home must have smelled like...

- 1 pack Tamarind concentrate paste - $1.99

- 1 Fresh Samosa with two chutneys - $1.00

Subtotal: $53.28

Guercios:

- 8 Granny Smith Apples - $5.50 @1.29/lb

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil 250ml - $2.49

- BIG (3lb?) bag of spinach - $3.99

- Kalamata dried figs - $3.99

- Carrots 2lb - $1.00

- Roasted Red Pepper Hummus 396g - $3.59

- Zucchini 2 medium sized - $1.35

- Small white potatoes (3)

- Canary Beans 1lb - $0.79

(I don't know what these taste like, yet! Here's hoping they don't flunk my lentil test!)

- Fresh Basil 1 teeny bunch - $1.25

- Some other produce that I can't remember - $1.15

(I hate it that they don't put put names on the receipts! I have no idea what this is! Damn.)

Subtotal: $25.49

Wegmans
- Wegmans Fat Free Milk 2 Gallons - $4.78

- Wegmans Low Fat Vanilla Yoghurt - $1.99

- Wegmans tomato-basil sauce - $1.98

This is a standby for tomato deficient days - of which I have had my miserably nasty share these past few days.

- Wegmans Peanut Oil 32oz - $4.99

AHH! FINALLY.

- Macintosh Apples 3lb - $2.97

(I don't have hopes of these outshining Granny Smiths - but trying them out just in case...)

- Broccoli Crowns - 3.26lb @ $1.29/lb - $4.21

- Bananas 3.55lb @ 0.49/lb - $1.74

- Green Cabbage 2.89lb @ 0.69/lb - $1.99

- Savoy Cabbage 1.37 @ 0.69/lb - $0.95
(These are awesome for stir-frying with other veggies)

Subtotal: $25.60

Tops
Mustard Greens $1.72lb @ 0.99/lb: $1.70

(These are my MOST favourite cooking greens!)

Subtotal: $1.70

Grand Total: $106.07
(Whoosh. That's quite a lot. I need to tone down this crazy homesickness tackling grocery spending next time!)

PS: (e:pmrk), what did you get? :)

Permalink: The_illustrated_grocery_List_Jan_2009.html
Words: 786
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: music

01/10/09 12:50 - 18ºF - ID#47342

Grave Digger - YES! THE BAND. DEAL.

I did some serious - no make that dead serious grocery shopping today and started posting my grocery list in keeping with the recently established (e:strip) grocery costs and lists tradition. I even ran into my grocery-inspiration (e:pmrk) at Wegmans and my grocery trip was (e:topped) with the perfect (e:inspiration)! :)

BUT while typing up my grocery list - one of my very old favourites somehow sneaked into my playlist and WOW. I am blown away for the millionth time.

Grave Digger

have always been heads and shoulders, my hands down run away favourites, but I forgot just how much this particular self-titled album rocks even after 8 full years!

Every song has so many catchy, detailed and rich layered riffs by the incredibly talented Manni Schmidt, it's impossible not to be sucked right in.

I can't comprehend that 8 whole years have gone by so swiftly! I was just as wildly excited hearing it in 2001, completely out of breath and dizzy from too much wild headbanging as I am right now (I do miss that out-of-control-amazon-forest hair that I don't have anymore!). Some bands just have it in them to magically transport me to happier times in a time machine. :)

I know all that dead serious grocery shopping does need some loving grave digging, but it won't be tonight. I am too stoked headbanging to nostalgia to concentrate. :)

Special greets go out to (e:pmrk)! Loved running into you! :^D

Permalink: Grave_Digger_YES_THE_BAND_DEAL_.html
Words: 255
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 11/09/11 08:04