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? :)
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.
This is still so popular. It still gets anywhere from between 40-80 hits per day.
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.
Yea #2 for the search "Penang Stir Fry" !
What is it like to be a google superstar?
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.
Taddykins,
It gives it a different texture. I am not sure how to describe it. But it is extra yummy.
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?
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.
Looks super yum... thanks for posting the recipe so i don't have to ask for it! :O)
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.
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. :)
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.