July 2009 Grocery Challenge

absolutebounder

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

skiTTish - your post 18 was so right :rolleyes:

AB why is it that all you do is spout pompous rubbish without ever giving us the benefit of what (if you are to be believed :rolleyes:) must be huge wisdom

Well I have travelled around a fair bit and as my job is effectively that of observation that is what I do when Im abroad. Stand in tescos and watch a housewife go for whatever is cheapest She will just pick up a packet of apples say granny smiths and not really know anything about where they are from. french housewife picks up packet of say coxes and thinks or sees UK on the label and puts them back.
Me I think up a menu and I go and buy the ingredients fresh. I will be honest I have a freezer with a few things in it it for emergencies. I learnt that if you like good food from both the UK and around the world the best thing to do was chat up the chef and find how to do it yourself. Recently in Africa we had some very nice sauted veggies so I noted wnd watched how the sauteeing bit was done ( they were a little different from what you would get in the UK) and now people want to know what I ave done to the veggies when I cook for them and ask for the recipe.

sistercas

coxy (((hugs))) believe me i know how you feel , i am sick and tired of doing everything for everybody and getting absolutely no thanks whatsoever. enjoy your chocolate you deserve it

russetred

Hi all, back from my holidays which was great but now doing the blue @rse fly thing to catch up with everything.Fraid it was spend spend when we were away so trying to be uber careful with GC till the end of July.Loving the aldi 6 and courgettes are producing well.I think I'll make a king prawn(reduced) and courgette balti for tea.Bought some bargain austins,pimms o clock anyone?

thriftlady_2

absolutebounder wrote: »

Stand in tescos and watch a housewife go for whatever is cheapest She will just pick up a packet of apples say granny smiths and not really know anything about where they are from. french housewife picks up packet of say coxes and thinks or sees UK on the label and puts them back.
.

I'd put UK coxes back too at this time of the year. They will have been harvested last Autumn, sure they store well but not for 10 months. New Zealand Braeburns will be fresher.

Please stop making these sweeping generalisations about housewives. It makes you sound like an idiot.

poohbear59

I hope you little one is better soon elf. You sound as though you have some good friends nearby.
We have all had flu here but it wasn't diagnosed so we don't know if we have had it or not!

I went to Mr T with DD yesterday and spent £70.60. I bought loads of baking things, flour, sugar etc and the makings of rhubarb chutney. We are still picking rhubarb but it is starting to slow down now. I also went to our local butcher and spent £37 on meat which will see us through the end of this month and into the next. lmost forgot that we bought some courgettes and cucumber from a local seller, cost £2.50

cazzasmazza

Yes, yes, your lauding of the French shopping and cooking culture and it being better than the UK is all very well, we can all see that is your strong opinion, so thank you very much, but puuurrleeaase, there's no need to keep going on about it.

On this site, I have found that the majority of us who live in the UK really do save money by meal planning, planning shopping lists, using freezing and preserving methods frequently and not popping to the local shops every 5 minutes for whatever bits and bobs they fancy for tea that evening. That does NOT mean that we all stick a ready meal in the microwave!!!

I fail to see how your challenging attitude is at all helpful to Randomer or any of us for that matter.

SunnyGirl

Coxy & Sistercas (((big hugs))) to you both I also know exactly how you feel :eek: A bit of thanks would be lovely now & again :rolleyes:

Updating my spends today £19.30 between Aldi, a local freezer shop & Home Bargains. I got 2 lots of nectarines, 2 lots of peppers, a bag of new potatoes, a big bunch of bananas and 2 packs of Bratwurst sausages in Aldi so pretty pleased. Home Bargains was for 18 rolls of Nouvelle loo roll for £2.99 and the freezer shop for Iams cat food at £1.99 per kg bag and Fairy dishwasher tablets for 99p per box of 15 :T It's worth the trawling about with the savings, especially as the holidays proper begin for us today when DS2 finishes in an hour.

absolutebounder

cazzasmazza wrote: »

Yes, yes, your lauding of the French shopping and cooking culture and it being better than the UK is all very well, we can all see that is your strong opinion, so thank you very much, but puuurrleeaase, there's no need to keep going on about it.

On this site, I have found that the majority of us who live in the UK really do save money by meal planning, planning shopping lists, using freezing and preserving methods frequently and not popping to the local shops every 5 minutes for whatever bits and bobs they fancy for tea that evening. That does NOT mean that we all stick a ready meal in the microwave!!!

I fail to see how your challenging attitude is at all helpful to Randomer or any of us for that matter.

If you want the best the simplest thing to do is copy the best. they have made all the mistakes for you.
Now of course if you like fine food you still have to do some work as all good food needs preparation.
If you like a top quality curry copy an Indian woman dont go to sainsbury believing their taste the difference range is anywhere near authentic. You can certainly taste the difference but not in a way that you would want to.

lesley1960

absolutebounder wrote: »

Well I have travelled around a fair bit and as my job is effectively that of observation that is what I do when Im abroad. Stand in tescos and watch a housewife go for whatever is cheapest She will just pick up a packet of apples say granny smiths and not really know anything about where they are from. french housewife picks up packet of say coxes and thinks or sees UK on the label and puts them back.
Me I think up a menu and I go and buy the ingredients fresh. I will be honest I have a freezer with a few things in it it for emergencies. I learnt that if you like good food from both the UK and around the world the best thing to do was chat up the chef and find how to do it yourself. Recently in Africa we had some very nice sauted veggies so I noted wnd watched how the sauteeing bit was done ( they were a little different from what you would get in the UK) and now people want to know what I ave done to the veggies when I cook for them and ask for the recipe.

what? every French housewife ? ...................what do the French working women do.

As for the sauteed veg , maybe YOU hadnt come across that method before ., it doesnt make you an expert .......

besides the OP's thread is about waste and your posts are about .............?

( note to self , walk away )

NoahsPennilessMummy

Having lived in France and in Spain I have to say that you are living in the past AB.
Nowadays just as many women work full time over there, they do weekly shops at huge supermarkets etc.
I think in both cultures you will find people who cook from scratch and buy in season etc and some who live on ready meals and take aways.
I dont really find your post at all relevent to what the OP was talking about.