Which came first, the chicken or the recipe?

December 8, 2023 by
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There are two types of people in this world: those who go grocery shopping armed with a meticulously developed list because they have all their meals for the next week perfectly planned, and those who shop based on sales, whims, and random thoughts, who have no idea what they are making for their next meal, let alone the rest of the week. I am among the latter group. I rarely have a list and when I do have the forethought to write down items I need, I will inevitably leave the list on the kitchen counter.

Fried chicken and waffles from Martha Stewart Living

Instead of planning meals based on the seasons and/or my extensive cookbook collection, I scan the store’s aisles for sales, marked down short-dated items, or whatever catches my eye. This sometimes leads to fortuitous results, as in last week when I snagged frozen stuffed shells at a 75% discount because the product was being discontinued. Baked with a hearty marinara, they became an easy weeknight meal after a busy day in the office.

On the other hand, not making a list also leads to having too much of one thing and not enough of another. I now have enough old-fashioned oats to last for years because I did not take inventory before I rushed off to the store. (I will donate the extra to a food bank.) Sometimes I will purchase an ingredient and look up a recipe later, only to find that what I would really like to make requires another ingredient I don’t have, leading to disappointment or an extra trip to the store.

Try as I might, I cannot seem to morph into a meal-planning, list-making person. I will occasionally flag a recipe before I got shopping and remember to buy all of the items I need to make it. These successes lead me to believe I should make this a strong habit…but I don’t. My brain just isn’t wired that way and at this age, creating new habits requires a dedication I reserve for important things, like remembering to play Wordle and Connections every day. I also enjoy the serendipity I encounter by being laissez-faire in my grocery shopping. Having the resources of EYB makes finding a recipe to fit my haphazard purchases easy to do, so I really have little incentive to change. In my case, the chicken always comes before the recipe.

Category: Antipasto

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9 Comments

  • rosajane8  on  December 9, 2023

    There is another type of person – those that make a list and also get the “on a whim” things and end up changing some of the planned menu ???? My husband always jokes with me that “flexibility” is the word ???

  • KatieK1  on  December 9, 2023

    I believe in lists, but not long term planning as much. Whole Foods is our local supermarket. Every Wednesday, when the new sales begin, I go online and see if anything speaks to me before I go shopping. The EYB recipe index comes in very handy for planning for what to do with the sale items. Produce purchases are based on what looks good. I’m glad that here in Manhattan nearly everything is a close walk in the neighborhood, so it’s easy to go shopping every other day. People who have to drive to stores have to plan differently.

  • averythingcooks  on  December 9, 2023

    I’m a still holdover from the pandemic days of “one big shop” hopefully every 2 or even 3 weeks to fill the fridge with produce & dairy, fill in gaps in pantry/freezer items and take advantage of sale or new items as I see them. I then put alot of time in storing the produce properly (especially greens) and finally I search my books for recipes for at least 2, even 3 weeks worth of possible meals to use up produce. If produce starts to age, then it’s time to stock the freezer with blanched vegetables, soups, sauces etc to prevent waste.

    What I don’t have is T’s magic power. “Can you stop on your way home and grab…1 lemon / a carton of skim milk / a 14 oz can of creamed corn?” or what ever the immediate need for 1 item is…and magically he appears bearing ONLY that 1 item. If it’s me, that 1 item turns into at least $100.00 (or, let’s be honest, more) worth of groceries because “while I’m here I might as well get…”

  • averythingcooks  on  December 9, 2023

    I should add that we have a very large garden, I am an enthusiastic water bath canner, we have LOTS of freezer space that I take full advantage of AND we stock up on meats with 2 or 3 very big “out of town” shops each year. No matter how late in the grocery shopping cycle, I can always make something good from what’s on hand (and I also know how lucky we are in this respect).

  • lean1  on  December 9, 2023

    I am a little of both. I try to plan a few meals ahead and I always find something else that I need that isn’t on the list.

  • FJT  on  December 9, 2023

    I usually see what’s in my weekly veg box and then plan meals around that, but it’s all up in the air right now as my husband is seriously ill and is finding food challenging. It’s almost impossible to plan and cooking has become much less enjoyable.

  • Rinshin  on  December 10, 2023

    Seasonality first as I don’t usually consider making chilled noodles in the colder months or start looking forward to again using daikon in various dishes as weather turns cold because they are no longer dry tasteless vegetable due to more water content.

  • matag  on  December 10, 2023

    Random whims here. I have a lot of whims. As it turns out I have two full freezers. I just throw my ingredients into my eyb recipes and whatever show up I cook!

  • bittrette  on  December 15, 2023

    I’m with rosajane8.

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