Bargain guide, week beginning May 15th:

Wow!  Strong piece at AlterNet about “7 Dangerous Food Practices Banned in Europe But Just Fine in America”, including arsenic, chlorine washes, and feeding cows “poultry litter” which is exactly and regrettably what you think it is. 

In this handout I usually emphasize what's to be found at “the edges of the store” – the part of the supermarket where the least-processed foodstuffs are to be found.  But Fooducate has a handy set of pointers on what to shop for in the middle of the store:  oils, canned goods, frozen foods, bulk stuff.  (And whatd'ya know, I've been mentioning those things all along!)  Darya at Summer Tomato has her own take on the ChooseMyPlate.gov meal-planning system:  hers involves filling half your plate with veggies “cooked in natural oils”, putting fruit off to the side, and treating dairy products as optional, not requisite.  Oh, and a ten-inch plate:  “Dinner plates have become enormous, and since a clean plate is a powerful psychological indicator that a meal is over, it can be helpful to use smaller plates if you’re looking for a painless way to cut down on your daily calories without noticing.”

Taco Bell has invented a breakfast taco made out of waffles.  Scrambled egg on top of a sausage patty on top of a waffle, fold the whole thing in half like a taco.  Fast food just gets weirder and weirder.

Recipes!  A couple at Fooducate, which isn't usual for them, but this week they've got a swiftish vegetarian tamale pie (with step-by-step instructions for making the cornbread topping, and then the utterly sensible notation “Feel free to use cornbread mix”) and a “Super Simple Summer Squash Sauté” that I'm making soon.  Chow.com has what they claim is the easiest way to make Eggs Benedict (a base canard:  if it doesn't involve poaching the eggs in Saran Wrap, it's not the easiest), road-trip food, fifty-two recipes for a “Memorial Day Grilling Feast” (it will be one hell of a feast if you make fifty-two different dishes), and how to peel a kiwifruit.

Sprouted Kitchen has baked-herb-and-pistachio falafels.  Smitten Kitchen has Japanese veggie pancakes and a heart-rending chronicle of a failed rhubarb meringue tart.  And Snack Girl has rhubarb, how to make your own convenience foods, all-fruit icepops, and the absolutely essential and necessary information that a Bloody Mary has lycopene and Vitamin C.

The 20th, this Monday, is Pick Strawberries Day.  If the only feasible way for you to pick strawberries is to pick three boxes for a dollar at Superstition Ranch Market by all means do so, as the day after is National Strawberries and Cream Day. 

May 15th:  National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day
May 16th:  National Coquilles St. Jacques Day
May 17th:  National Cherry Cobbler Day
May 18th:  National Cheese Soufflé Day
May 19th:  National Devil's Food Cake Day, World Baking Day
May 20th:  Pick Strawberries Day
May 21st:  National Strawberries and Cream Day
May 22nd:  National Vanilla Pudding Day;  1931, Mr. George K. End of Arcadia, Florida, begins marketing canned rattlesnake.  It is not precisely a rip-roaring success.


Albertson's:

    Beef top sirloin steaks, boneless, family pack, $3.99/lb
    Beef tri tip roast, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef chuck roast, boneless, $6.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef ribeye/t-bone/New York steaks, bone in, family pack, $7.99/lb
    Beef crossrib roast OR London broil, boneless, $5.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    85/15 ground beef, $2.89/lb
    Pork loin, boneless, whole in bag, $1.98/lb
    Pork loin chops, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.98/lb
    Sanderson Farms chicken drums/thighs/leg quarters, jumbo pack, $1.49/lb
    Tilapia fillets, 1 lb IQF bag, $9.99, buy 1 get 3 free and that is a hell of a lot of fish
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Albertson's eggs, AA large, dozens, $1
    Albertson's sour cream incl. Light, 16 oz tubs, $1
    Albertson's cottage cheese incl. Light, 24 oz tubs, $2.49
    Deli:    Dietz & Watson maple or Virginia ham OR classic or Santa Fe turkey breast, $7.99/lb
        Dietz & Watson lacy or baby-Swiss cheese, $7.99/lb
        Jennie-O “Blue Ribbon” turkey breast, $4.99/lb
        Signature Virginia ham, $4.99/lb
        Stella Muenster or Provolone cheeses, $4.99/lb
    Barilla pasta, 12-16 oz boxes, $1
    Hunt's pasta sauces, 24 oz cans, $1
    Ro*tel tomatoes, $1
    Hunt's tomato sauce, 15 oz cans, $1
    Chicken of the Sea chunk white tuna, $1
    Healthy choice frozen entrées, 5/$10
    Whole seedless watermelons, $1.99
    Red cherries, from California, $4.99
    Whole jumbo cantaloupes, 2/$5
    Apricots, from California, $2.99/lb
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, 2/$5
    Blackberries/raspberries/blueberries, 6 oz boxes, $2.99
    Roma tomatoes, $1/lb
    Earthbound Farms box salads, $2.99
    English cucumbers, $1 ea
    Vidalia onions, $1/lb
    Eggplant, $1 ea
    Zucchini squash, $1/lb


Bashas':

    Beef petite sirloin steaks, value pack, $2.97/lb
    Beef breakfast steaks, $3.99/lb
    Beef crossrib roast, $4.49/lb
    Beef sirloin tip roast, $3.49/lb
    Ground beef sirloin, fat content not listed, value pack, $2.87/lb
    Assorted pork chops, value pack, $1.57/lb
    Center cut pork chops, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Chicken drums/thighs/leg quarters, 99¢/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Mahi mahi OR cod fillets, wild caught, $5.99/lb
    Kraft cheeses, 7-8 oz chunk or shreds, 2/$5
    Food Club canned veggies or tomatoes, 14-15 oz cans, 69¢
    Hunt's canned tomatoes, 14 oz cans, 69¢
    Ro*tel tomatoes, 69¢
    Red seedless grapes, 99¢/lb
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, 2/$5
    Whole pineapples, 2/$5
    Vine tomatoes, AZ grown, 99¢/lb (organic, $1/lb higher)
    Leaf lettuce, green or red, 99¢
    Broccoli OR cauliflower, 99¢/lb
    Zucchini squash, 99¢/lb


Fry's:

    Beef top sirloin steaks, boneless, family pack, $3.77/lb
    Beef NY strip steaks, bone in, $6.99/lb
    80/20 ground beef, $2.49/lb (3 lb chub)
    Assorted pork loin chops, bone in, family pack, $1.99/lb
    Foster Farms boneless skinless chicken breast or tenders, $2.99/lb
    Corvina OR Alaskan cod fillets, wild caught, $5.99/lb
    Fry's milk, gallons, $1.79
    Kroger cottage cheese OR sour cream incl. Light, 24 oz tubs, $1.79
    Kroger butter, 2/$5
    Kroger cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk/shreds/shingle, $1.79
    Smart Ones frozen entrées, 5/$10
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, 97¢
    Apples:  Gala, Fuji, Red/Golden Delicious, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Red cherries, $4.99/lb
    Whole seedless watermelons, $4.99 ea
    Blackberries OR blueberries, 6 oz boxes, 2/$5
    Vine tomatoes, AZ grown, 99¢/lb
    Organic “Mini peeled” carrots, 1 lb bag, $1.29


Safeway:

    Beef top sirloin steak, boneless, value pack, $4.99/lb
    Beef London broil, boneless, value pack, $2.59/lb
    Beef chuck steak, thin cut boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Beef chuck short ribs, $3.99/lb
    80/20 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Center cut pork loin chops, bone in, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Pork sirloin country style ribs or chops, boneless, value pack, $2.49/lb
    Pork shoulder blade roast, bone in, whole in bag, $2.29/lb
    Eating Right boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon whole fillets, farm raised, $5.99/lb (cut fillets, $1/lb higher)
    Tilapia or Swai fillets, farm raised, $2.99/lb
    Pantry Essentials milk, gallons, $1.79/lb
    Lucerne cheeses, 8 oz shingle pack, 2/$5
    Lucerne cheeses, 1 lb chunk or shreds, $3.99
    Deli:    Primo Taglio ham, $7.99/lb
        French Swiss cheese, $7.99/lb
        Deli Counter Virginia ham, $5.99/lb
    Bush's baked or “Grillin'” beans, 21-28 oz cans, 3/$5
    Lean Cuisine frozen entrées, $1.85
    Red seedless grapes, $1.28/lb
    Navel oranges, 88¢/lb
    Red cherries, $4.99/lb
    Seedless watermelons, $5.99/lb
    Yellow nectarines, $2.99/lb
    Organic strawberries, 1 lb box, $2.99/lb
    Roma tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Sweet corn, 3/$1


Sprouts:

    Beef rump roast OR London broil, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef New York steak, bone in, $7.99/lb (boneless, $2/lb higher)
    93/7 ground sirloin, $4.99/lb
    Pork sirloin chops or roast OR ground pork, $2.99/lb
    All boneless chicken, 50% off
    Tilapia fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Steelhead fillets, farm raised, $7.99/lb
    Albacore tuna steaks, bone in, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Northern Chef frozen seafood, 20% off
    Seedless watermelon, 5 lbs/$1
    Yellow mangos, 49¢ ea
    Whole pineapples, 2/$3
    Organic cantaloupe OR honeydew melons, 99¢/lb
    Yellow peaches OR nectarines, 2 lbs/$5
    Vine tomatoes, 2 lbs/$3 (organic, $1.99/lb, AZ grown)
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, 99¢