No need for a voting thread this quarter, as we’re all in the same boat. I look forward to hearing how you HOs are handling cooking during this stressful time and all of your creative solutions to the various shortages, infrequent shopping trips and financial constraints we are all facing.
Great idea and spot on.
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I went out for a grocery run today and discovered that Restaurant Depot is an EXCELLENT place to shop at the moment. I was actually wondering how they would be doing given that so many of their customers are out of business, and although it was fairly busy today my checkout clerk told me it is nothing close to normal. They were fully stocked, though, so anyone who has a membership (or can get one) should absolutely shop there. Costcos are a nightmare around here with lines out the door, so Restaurant Depot is a much better option (if you mostly shop Costco for bulk grocery items and paper products, as I do). I stocked fridge and pantry and bought supplies for kitchen projects (will make a big batch of pesto, merguez sausage, etc.).
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Good rec, bionda. It is indeed time to think outside our customary boxes. I was playing whack-a-mole trying to find a delivery market that could stock my entire or even much of my shopping list. I looked at the options and chose one I had never shopped in person, one that was not a major player. And was able to order 95% of my list including 10 lbs King Arthur bread flour. So, message = look for sleeper markets.
So I guessed that game is not that popular so I thought I’d still be able to get a delivery.Ordered some a couple of weeks ago from the Wild Meat Company. The order has just turned up. Not all game. There was venison burgers, venison mince, wild boar sausages, pheasant breasts, 1kg free range pork shoulder and some free range chicken drumsticks. Now just have to decide what to make. A cooked breakfast with the sausages is looking favourite for starters.
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I’m just back from a trip during which lots of regulations were imposed. Accordingly we’re in a quarantine inside a quarantine. We’re both staying home and my wife is in one bedroom and I’m in another. Our disparate exposure (my work, her shopping) made that seem best. One of us will have to take care of the other if we get sick.
We’re good for food. Produce is the biggest issue. Lettuce will run out first, then cabbage and bok choy and Brussel sprouts. Fortunately I have lots of seeds for growing sprouts. I use sprouts in salads and sandwiches but haven’t even considered cooking with them. Research project. Lot’s of frozen veg.
After a couple of weeks we’ll be getting quite creative with salads. Perhaps drained canned tomato, homemade mozzarella, and sprouts as a take on Caprese salad.
We have dried mushrooms so chicken marsala is still on the metaphorical table.
Real creativity is probably three or four weeks out for us.
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Eating off the land, volunteer mache and flowers from the yard.
Baked potato with creamed (leftover) tuna; chard also from the yard.
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Too beautiful to eat.
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Naw, really just weeds! You have to be a casual gardener, leaving a lot of wild or natural stuff.
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Gorgeous salad! I’m a casual gardener with plenty of weeds, and I don’t have anything growing in my garden that looks that good! 
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Wonderful! Could you explain what plants you’ve used in the salad dish, I see Nasturtiums but don’t really know the rest. And they were so perfect in shape. My leaves would show insect holes!
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Green base = mache (hard to establish but once it takes hold it reseeds itself abundantly, yellow = oxalis (a real pest, white and pink = some form of daisy that also reseeds and takes over, the blue “stars” = borage, also a re-seeder, lilac = geranium and, well, lilac. I had never “eaten” lilac before and was delighted with its flavor which is close to its fragrance. The only difficult plant is nasturtium which dh digs out as soon as one gets a good start. I try to save one or two at any given time.
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That salad is a work of art.
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Thanks, didn’t know geranium and lilac are edible!
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Love to see nasturtiums in your salad, they add a nice peppery flavor 
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I’m still working my way through all these goodies brought back from (recent) holidays.
Alajar, Spain. All Iberico products (save for the 2 salt-cured tuna blocks).
The belly fat was rendered to make Schmalz. Fantastic smeared (sparingly) on bread, no need to add meat or anything at all.
From Sicily:
Have been eating lots of pasta with cheese. The (double) smoked ricotta is a Sicilian speciality and not easy to come by even on mainland Italy let alone in my food hell.
Real Sicilian pistachios are expensive because it’s labour intensive (one of the reasons).
From Baja California Sur, Mexico.
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I used to buy Morena chipotle paste but now I make my own. My pastes are very chipotle heavy of course. Went to the supermarket today for the first time in 2 weeks. I did look at Morena chipotle paste on the shelve and said to myself “I make my own now. Haw haw.”
And I still have half of the dried mushrooms from Lyon. They always come in handy.
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The sleeper here was lilac blossoms. Who knew they were as delicious as they smell!
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@Presunto, how do you like the Mexican vanilla, as compared with Madagascar or Tahitian beans? Envious to say the least regarding the Sicilian Pistachios, and dried morels.
Unfortunately I have not tried Madagascan or Tahitian.
I don’t make sweets but I love vanilla flavour in creme caramel and custard. Don’t even know what else to use it in as I don’t like cakes and such.
