Sales Watch: Whole Chickens

Date              $$/lb
23-Jun-10       0.49

Sales Watch: Clorox Bleach

To me, bleach is bleach.  But my fiance prefers to use "splashless" Clorox bleach (thicker than normal bleach).  He tends to rush around, and to be fair, uses bleach WAAAY more often than I do to keep his white work shirts white.

Although I haven't been able to fine a splashless generic brand, Clorox often goes on sale, and coupons pop up often enough as well...

Date                   $$
16-Jun-10       1.69
09-Jun-10       1.69

Sales Watch: Men's Deodorant

I don't know if it's just a guy thing, but my fiance goes through deodorant ridiculously fast.  One stick will last me for months...him, a week.

I try to keep a steady supply of men's deodorant sticks on hand.  Thankfully, many brands are often on sale for $1.00/stick, and coupons are frequently issued for all brands (which often means free deodorant!).

(A&H = Arm & Hammer)

Date                       Brand                                      $$          oz.      $/oz
23-Jun-10          A&H-Ultra Max           1.00      4.0         0.25
23-Jun-10          Speed Stick                            2.00    3.7         0.54
16-Jun-10          A&H-Ultra Max           1.00      4.0         0.25
16-Jun-10          Speed Stick                            2.00    3.7         0.54
16-Jun-10          Arrid                                       1.00       2.8     0.35
02-Jun-10          Degree                                   2.00       3.0        0.66
26-May-10        Right Guard Sport                1.00        3.0        0.33

How to Start a Vegetable or Herb Garden in Arizona

I've always wanted a vegetable / herb garden, but I am horrible with plants...mostly because I'm inexperienced.  I've tried the trial-and-error route a few times, but before I even think about going large scale, I want to be armed with a little knowledge.

We've lived in our house for almost three full years, and since we bought in a new neihborhood, our backyard is a completely blank slate (think:  pile of dirt).  My fiance is really itching to get the backyard landscaped, so I figured I should do my part and start my research (rather than continuing to tell him:  "maybe we should wait for....[insert random excuse here]."

I've always assumed I'm a slight disadvantage, living in one of the hottest / sunniest parts of Arizona, so I guess I'm about to find out!

I realize many things I'm just going to have to learn by doing, but some things...such as installing built-in planters, may not be so easy to re-do.

Some things to consider (Note:  this is not from an AZ-specific site, so may not apply to my situation...I'll modify as I find new info.)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/homegarden/2008699114_zhom02growvegetables.html

http://gardening.about.com/od/vegetablepatch/a/Veg_Gardens.htm

• Find full sun. A vegetable garden must have eight hours of sun every day. Remember that shadows may fall later in the season as the sun moves through the sky.
• Leafy greens can handle less sun and crops that prefer cool weather, like lettuce, will continue to grow throughout the summer is shaded by taller plants.
• Start small. Gain experience from growing a few plants, and you'll be able to build on the knowledge next year.  (Kind of a "duh" statement, but I constantly have to remind myself to take it slow...)
• Among the easiest plants to grow:  peas, green beans, herbs, and lettuce. Make sure you know when your crops will be ready for harvest, and don't plan your vacation then. Look for varieties that are labeled "disease-resistant."
• Consider transplants. Starting from seeds ($2.50 to $4 a packet) is cheap. But beginners are often better off paying $2 or $3 each for commercially grown seedlings, especially for vegetables such as tomatoes that need to be started indoors under lights long before planting.
• Amend the soil. Enriching the soil with organic matter is essential. It feeds soil organisms, creates spaces for water and air to flow and roots to grow and holds moisture. The cheapest amendment is shredded leaves, if you remembered to stash them away last fall, or homemade compost from your own bin. Garden centers sell compost in bags; it will be more expensive, but don't skimp. Dig it in thoroughly.  Note to Self:  Need to research composting!
• Annual vegetables spend their entire season producing flowers and fruits. They are very heavy feeders and a rich soil will not just keep them growing strong, it will also help ward of disease and pest problems. So for starters, the soil in your vegetable garden will need to be rich in organic matter. Well go into more depth on preparing the soil in a later lesson, but know that you’ll be replenishing with organic matter every year. Compost and composted manure can be added in spring and/or fall.
• Probably the easiest way to ensure great soil for your vegetable garden is to create raised beds. Raised beds simply mean the soil you are growing in is higher than the ground level by 6 or more inches. You can pile it between paths or create elaborate structures, but raised beds allow you to control the soil in the planting area, it never gets stepped on and compacted, it drains well and it warms up faster in the spring, so you can plant earlier.
• One final consideration when looking at your soil is to be aware of drainage and run-off. Vegetables don’t like to sit in wet soil, so if your soil is heavy the texture will need to be improved. Hopefully the organic matter will make a dent. You also don’t want all the nutrients you add to simply run off elsewhere. If your site isn’t level, you’ll need to create run-off barriers. Similarly, you don’t want water from less favorable sources, like the driveway, running into your vegetable garden.
• Plan for water. If possible, place your garden near the tap, because you will be watering a lot. It will be very hard to keep vegetable plants evenly moist by carrying cans of water or even hand-watering with a hose. Get a sprinkler or, better yet, a soaker hose to keep the water off leaves, and a timer so you can let water run for plenty of time until it turns off automatically.
• If they get watered erratically they will exhibit all sorts of problems like cracking open, not setting any fruit at all or becoming prone to cultural problems like blossom end rot.
• Try containers. If you choose "compact" or "patio" varieties of vegetables, you can grow them in containers.  Note to Self:  Start here with green onions and herbs.
• Add supports and protection. Place tomato cages, trellises for peas, beans, squash, cucumbers and other climbers, and chicken-wire fencing to foil critters at the very beginning.
• Don't plant too early. Some vegetables, such as lettuce and peas, can be sown directly in the soil as soon as the soil is prepared in spring. But many vegetables, including tomatoes and squash, should not be planted until the danger of frost is past and the ground is warm — usually late May. Too-early planting means weaker plants.
• Vegetable gardening can be broken down into 2 stages: preparing the garden and caring for the plants. To create the garden, you’ll be turning a lot of soil. The basic tools include a: shovel, fork, trowel and maybe a tiller. (I’ll talk more about actually creating the garden in Lesson 2.) Once your plants are growing you’ll need a different set of tools which will include a: hoe, hose and nozzle or some type of irrigation system, stakes, twine and pruners.
  
  
  
   
• Most vegetables are annuals, so you’ll be starting from scratch every year. You’ll probably be re-planting throughout the season, too.
• Designing a vegetable garden is more about which vegetables grow well near each other, than about how things look. Some vegetables will excrete substances that can inhibit other plants growth. Tall vegetables can shade out shorter vegetables. Vegetables in the same family will attract the same pests and need to be moved around each year.
• Organic gardening is actually less time consuming, because the whole point is to prevent problems before they happen.
• Choosing plants that are suited to your growing conditions and that have been bred to be disease resistant will keep them healthy.

Sales Watch: Crab Legs

Crab legs are one of life's greatest treats!!!

There are many different foods that make me happy (ranch dressing, anyone?), but nothing --NOTHING -- compares to the indescribable feeling I get when I eat a big mouthful of crabmeat!  (I'd take crab over lobster any day.)  Dungeness, is my favorite, but really, any kind has the power to make me smile from the inside out...

Most of us inlanders have to buy crab from the butcher, so they're pre-cooked.  All you need to do is toss them over a pot of boiling water for a bit, and you go yourself some restaraunt-quality food.  It's truly one of the easiest meals in the world.  (Even making clarified butter is a breeze...)  (Not quite the same ambiance as a seafood restaurant, though...)

(KC = king crab; SC = snow crab; DW = deep water)

Sale Date           Type                          $$/lb
07-Jul-10          Opilio DW SC            5.99  
23-Jun-10      Opilio DW SC       4.99
16-Jun-10         Lg-Red-KC                9.99
09-Jun-10         Jumbo-Red-KC       9.99
02-Jun-10         Opilio DW SC           5.99
19-May-10       Premium-Red-KC    14.99
05-May-10    Jumbo-Red-KC     7.88

What's Yer Beef...?

I'm the type who likes to know things.  I'm not a big fan of saying "I don't know."

 

While doing my Sales Watch on roasts, I had so many questions.  There seems to be so much to know about beef!!  So I embarked on a little Journey of Knowledge, if you will.  For each question I had, I found tons of  information that I just can't help but regurgitate here.  (Mmmmmm...regurgitated beef...)

 

Most of my information is from Wikipedia  and this body-building site.

 

Some Quick Bits o' Info

• The leanest cuts of beef are typically also the toughest (they contain less fat to make them tender).
• The animal's legs and neck do most of the work, and are therefore, more muscle-y and less fatty (i.e., produce the toughest, leanest cuts).
• Meat becomes more tender as the distance from hoof and horn increases.
• Different countries have different cuts and names (so the info here is only applicable to beef bought and prepared in the USA).

If you're like me and interested in finding the healthiest and tastiest cuts of meat for your buck, it's a little overwhelming to try and keep all the cut-of-meat lingo straight (especially when you're standing in front of the butcher counter, faced with a bunch of similar-named options).

 

Confession Time:  I'm a super nerd and actually have a three-ring binder that I carry with me to the grocery store.  (Don't worry...you can point and laugh and/or silently question my sanity...I take my hobbies seriously, and to me, grocery shopping is a very practical hobby.  Go big or go home, bitches!)  My binder contains my shopping list, coupons, a list of prices of frequently-bought items at the various stores I shop (helps me know if I should take advantage of a sale), and now, a printout of this page regarding beef!

 

Following is the fat, calorie, and protein information for each cut (organized from lowest to highest fat).

 

Type                     Fat (g)          Calories          Protein (g)
Round                       8.1               183.6                25.6
Flank                       10.6               192.1                22.4
Sirloin                        13                219.3                23.6
Corned Beef Brisket  16.1              213.3                15.4
Short Loin                 19.8              262.6                19.7
Chuck                       20.2              282.2                23.2
Brisket                      24.2              309.4                21.3
Ribs                          25.1              306.1                18.6
Plate                         N/A              N/A                 N/A

 

 

The above-listed cuts either go by more than one name, or are further subdivided.  The following list attempts to make sense of all (some) of this madness.  (Don't even get me started on the "brand names" for beef!! i.e., Angus, Kobe, etc...)

 

• Round (a.k.a. Top Round and Rump Roast) -- Lean cut, so it's lower in fat, but is on the tougher side as a result.
• Flank (a.k.a. Flank Steak and London Broil) -- Tougher than loin and rib, but lean, and usually more affordable.
• Loin, subdivided into:
• Sirloin (a.k.a. Sirloin Steak and Sirloin Tip Roast) -- Less tender, but more flavorful than short loin.
• Short Loin (a.k.a. Porterhouse Steak, T-Bone Steak [which contains the Tenderloin...a.k.a. Filet Mignon], New York Strip)
• Chuck (a.k.a. Blade Roast) -- One of the most common sources for ground (hamburger) and roasts.
• Ribs (a.k.a. Short Ribs, Rib-Eye Steak, and Prime Rib)
• Plate (a.k.a. Skirt Steak) -- Cheap and fatty...but tough.  (Which is interesting because up until now, I've assumed "fattier" cuts are more tender / less tough.  For now, I am going to assume it has to do with distribution of fat...good marbling = tender...a bunch of fat in one area = tough.  I'll look into this more in the future.)

In addition to the "aka's" and the subdivions (and the brand names...which we're not talking about...and yet I keep bringing it up...), the USDA, bless their hearts, have added another layer of information:  grades of beef (of which there are eight).  Thankfully, for the purposes of grocery shopping, you really only need to remember two of the grades:  Choice and Select.  Choice being the superior (i.e., more expensive, better marbling) of the two.  (By the way, the term "marbling" refers to the distribution of fat; even distribution is preferred.)  Select, formerly known as Good, is leaner than Choice.

 

For S's and G's, here is a list of the remaining six grades.

•  Prime (sold to hotels and upscale restaurants and typically has a higher fat content with desirable marbling).
• Standard - Lower quality yet economical, lacking marbling.
• Commercial - Low quality, lacking tenderness, produced from older animals.
• Utility
• Cutter
• Canner

 

Utility, Cutter, and Canner grades are rarely used in foodservice operations and primarily used by processors and canners.

 

Note: USDA grades are based on degree of marbling and the maturity of the animal.  Note also that age of the animal (a.k.a. maturity) is not the same as aged beef...beef that has been aged is desirable, while an old-aged animal is not (older animal = tougher meat; younger animal = more tender cut).  (I'll research this more and provide further information another day...)

Sales Watch: Roasts

There's really nothing better than a good old fashioned pot roast every now and again.  Or how about shredded beef tacos or Italian beef sandwiches?

This Sales Watch is dedicated to the key ingredient that makes each of these culinary delights possible:  the roast.  I've learned that by using my crockpot, it doesn't really matter which cut I go with...they all come out fall-apart tender.

For this Sales Watch, I'm tracking sales at my local Bashas' and Fry's.  Price generally appear to be cheaper on pork, but they don't go on sale as often; therefore, I'll be highlighting the "rock bottom prices" for both beef (B) and pork (P) below.

(LB = London Broil; CR = Cross Rib; BI = Bone-in)

Sale Date    Store    Meat    $$/lb    Cut
07-Jul-10      F           P          2.99       Choice Round / Top Round
07-Jul-10      F           P          2.99       Chuck
16-Jun-10     F           P          2.99       Half-Loin
16-Jun-10     F           P          3.99       Tenderloin
09-Jun-10     F           B          2.99       Choice-Bottom Round
02-Jun-10     F           B          2.99       Choice-Chuck
02-Jun-10     F           B          3.99       Choice-LB
19-May-10   F           B          2.69       Choice-CR
19-May-10   B           B          2.99       Choice-Aged-Top Round
12-May-10   F           B          2.99       Choice-Chuck
28-Apr-10    B           B          3.99       Choice-Aged-CR
28-Apr-10    B           P          1.28       BI-Shoulder/Country
28-Apr-10    F           B          2.99       Choice-Chuck
28-Apr-10    F          P          1.27        BI-Shoulder
21-Apr-10    B           B           2.99      Choice-CR
14-Apr-10    B           B           1.87       LB
14-Apr-10    F           B           2.50*    Chuck
14-Apr-10    F           B           2.99      Sirloin Tip
14-Apr-10    B           B          2.77       Aged LB

*Indicates a Buy One, Get One Free sale.  I've taken the sale price and divided it by two (which isn't exact math, of course, because it's nearly impossible to find identical-sized roasts...but whatev).  Note that Bashas' often runs Buy One, Get One Free sales, but I haven't found out a good way to track them yet because they don't list the actual buy-one-get-one prices online (and I don't often make my way into Bashas' unless it's for a specific purpose).