I bought pastry flour for the first time when AP wasn't available & my tart crusts are flakier than usual. Lily White (I think that was the brand) will be an addition to my pantry from now on.

After waiting 5 months for a new d/w, it arrived in Nov & I've discovered that I love the 3rd rack! I didn't think I would & figured it would be a useless gimmick but it works so well, I've removed the silverware basket. I know 3rd racks have been around quite a while but my last d/w had an 18 year life span so this is completely new to me!

I've been into upgrading my cookware. My DH and I have been together since we were teens and have accumulated a lot of stuff. Things that are perfectly usable, but aren't what I would buy today. Having something new and high quality motivates me to cook more. Some recent purchases are these mini round cocottes - https://www.lecreuset.com/mini-round-cocotte/PG1160.html and this bread/potato pot https://www.emilehenryusa.com/collections/specialty-cookware/products/bread-pot?variant=7686525714479 which bakes bread perfectly.

@antiquesilver We got a dishwasher with a third row a couple years ago. I wasn't sold on it at the time, but boy is it useful.

@pillog I would love some ideas on how to use chard. It grows year round here and in the winter is one of a handful of things we have in abundance.

Hm.. Lynda, I don't know how creative my ideas are. It's just that chard doesn't take special attention for me, the way more bitter greens do. Besides popsicles, which really are good with something a little sweet like pear or beet, you can make ersatz cabbage rolls, make ribbons to put in soup or stew, roast whole with a chicken, add to whatever's in the slow cooker, oven/air fry, use whole as layering divides in strata, chop up for a casserole or lasagna. I like the rainbow just for the colors. ;) Most weeks I get a bunch of chard without aa plan, so when the week is ending and it's still there, I just throw it in whatever, and it's usually very good. One time, maybe 4-5 months ago, a flaw in the UI had me ordering 10 bunches of high season gigantic, instead of the two I thought I'd set. That was a panic. If you search the forum, you may fInd the thread where people gave ideas of how to use it. Luckily, I was also able to rehome a good amount...

Following a tip from LindaC ... I have started adding a couple of teaspoons of diastatic malt per lb of flour when making my overnight rise bread.

Nice difference to say the least ...

The threads about fondue got me thinking about Malakoff's, which I've never made but still remember having. They are very decadent and on the plan to recreate: recipe andLebovitz story

DD brought her Shun chef’s knife home and I got another Shun for my birthday, so I’ve been using knives that are very different from the Sabatiers and Henkels and Victorinoxes that I have. I like it! I have to be more careful with the Shuns, but they are and stay sharper, a lot sharper.

Gooster, I'd never heard of Malakoff’s. Decadent to say the least. I think my hips grew five inches just looking at the picture!

It is cornstarch. This is the recipe i use, with a friend's fabulous sweet chilli jam.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/crispy-chilli-beef

Thanks for the link...but...what's minute steak? What's a "red chili"? There are about 50 varieties of them. Is a red pepper a bell pepper/pimento type of pepper? It's so interesting that the sweet chili sauce is clearer... :)

But you don't have to answer. I can look them up. It's just funny and very Churchill (supposedly).

@pillog --- Malakoffs are wonderful, but very rich, and it is more of an appetizer (though nice with a salad with a strong vinaigrette). My old office was about 2.5 miles down the road from the restaurant referenced in both articles I linked -- it had forgotten about them but still remember the tasty cheesy goodness. They are usually more domed than the Saveur version.

Pillog, Thanks for the chard suggestions. Some we already do, but I am going to try cooking it whole with roast chicken as that is a meal we eat frequently. I also loved the idea to make spanakopita with it. I like growing rainbow chard, which is so pretty, but right now we have am abundance of white swiss chard.

John, I had just purchased DH a Shun knife set for Christmas, when I saw your post. He had been complaining that he could not get our Henkel knives sharp enough. Hopefully it will be a hit.

A red chilli is, well, a red chilli! It's whatever kind of heat you like. We're much less sophisticated with chillis than you lot lol.

A minute steak is a cheap frying steak. Not a beautiful entrecôte.

A red pepper is sweet, not spicy so i suppose a bell pepper.

I had another difference with lindac's suet 😂

My time asn't been too productive except I have lost a bit of weight since the lockdown while a lot of my friends have gained. I'm actually eating better and more.

My bread lame and bottle corker both came in last week and I'm looking forward to using them. I have half a gallon each of strawberry, black cherry and blueberry liquors that I started in July to decant and bottle up. The blueberry done a couple of years ago is so delicious. It hits your tongue and goes down like velvet.

Will be making Annie's ginger cookies soon. Finally found crystallized ginger, but it's in big chunks and will have to grind it. By the way, Annie, I added on so there now 17 hens, two roosters, two mature Pekin drakes, four mature Pekin hens and one little Pekin, not sure of sex, that was dumped, freezing and terrified, in a friend's front yard and she brought to me nearly a month ago. It was only about two or three weeks old. It is being raised in my back hallway. Funny little creature that throws a temper tantrum if it wants my attention.

Madonna

LOL at the Freudian typo! :D

Thanks, IC! The common language we're separated by definitely cracks around food! So I looked further because I was still baffled by the steak, and found out it’s usually tenderized sirloin, which is generally called ‘cube steak’ here. I've never noticed either if I've ever seen them, but I can get hunks of sirloin, and I have a tenderizing mallet somewhere. :) I also found a discussion of “red chilis” on Reddit. One person said Jaime Oliver was using cayennes, but they're not the best for cooking fresh. Someone else posted a Tesco ad for anonymous peppers called "red chili peppers” and someone else yet, who seemed to know more about chilis, said ” It's probably one of the nameless medium heat red chillies you get in the UK which are whatever med-heat variety is in season more often than not they're Fresnos.” The ones in the Tesco ad certainly look like Fresnos. That (or a close cousin in anonymity) makes sense. They have some heat, but not a lot, and some fruitiness, but not too much distinction. Moist and fleshy and good for cooking. I feel able to approach this recipe now! It looks really good! Thank-you!

minute steaks are very good dredged in flour, salted and peppered, and then fried in butter/oil [electric skillet optional]. If, when you go to flip, no oil/butter remains, add a bit more. I like them with button mushrooms and gravy, with a healthy side of mashed potatoes; midwest comfort food.

Plllog, I've done it with pork fillet which was also very good. Tonight I'm trying chicken.

Not exactly a gadget, but it is new! I loved my old grey speckled Home Comfort, but we wanted something airtight enough to hold a fire all night.

I had a new to me side dish at an Indian restaurant. It was offered as a Nepalese flattened crispy rice. It was so yummy and so different that I ordered a large bag of thin flattened rice and shared it with my SIL. I still have not figured out how to heat it to give me that pure white crispy side that I had at the restaurant but I finish every attempt. My SIL likes it sautéed and used as a crunchy topper for a salad. I am guessing it might just be flash fried at the restaurant? It kept it’s shape nicely baked on a sheet tray. If anyone has advise to cook flattened rice, I am all ears. It is yummy if you are a rice fan.

KatieC, is that a new style stove for you or an update?...I love mine. Thick steel top with cooking zones. Slide pots and pans into the heat zones. Never been happier cooking on my wood fired oven. (beach home) Such a pleasure. I've had mine for 15 years now. On the cooler front right simmer I have the fans directing heat to the living room....if yours is wood fired...

Received this pie recipe yesterday. I am fairly certain that many, many years ago I had Marlborough Pie somewhere, but cannot pinpoint where. I had forgotten all about it until yesterday. I think I will make this fairly soon - just have to get some sweet sherry.

Marlborough Pie

https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/what-killed-the-marlborough-pie/

1 pie crust

6 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup apples peeled and cored (about 3 large or 4 small)

Juice from 1 lemon

3/4 cup sherry (the sweeter the better)

1/2 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup white sugar

4 eggs

Grated nutmeg to taste

Melt butter and set aside to cool. Cook the apples in a small amount of water until tender, then puree. Add lemon juice, sherry, cream and sugar to the apples. Add the butter. Beat the eggs and add to the mixture. Add nutmeg. Fold into a piecrust and bake about 1 hour in a 350 degree oven.

Sleevendog, I've been cooking on a wood stove since I was 20. It's my preferred way to cook (except when it's hot!). This is my first new stove, though. When we decided to sell my old one and go with something more airtight, I figured I'd wind up with an industrial looking Amish stove, so I was thrilled when this one turned out to have the best recommendations s for efficiency. And it's EPA rated. Now we have to replace the chimney lol (it's very old so not a bad thing). It performs best with 6" pipe and we have a chimney that's too big so the oven doesn't want to heat. The thing is a fine-tuned machine.

I've been thinking we need one of those fans.

I tried a new to me Christmas cookie recipe because I liked the name so much. Santa's Whiskers. DH and I sampled them and then I mailed the rest of them off to my youngest in NYC. He liked them, but we still prefer the Spritz cookies I bake him with the wreath shape and half a candied cherry in the center.

I sort of made Islay's BBC Crispy Chili Beef today. I had a couple pounds of cut fajita beef and a slew of spring onions which needed using. About 2.6 times what the recipe called for, so I was scaling on the fly. :) It was really good, though I had to guess and sub on the chili stuff. At least I did have a bottle of good Chinese vinegar. :)

At first, I was stymied by the missing 5 spice. It's usually on the AB shelf since numbers come first. Nope. Not on the C for Chinese shelf either. As I was pulling spices to make some up, I found it on the EF shelf. For Five. I never would have thought of that! Silly me. :) I was glad to use the premixed stuff. I wasn't in the mood for grinding the star anise!

What I don't have is sweet chili sauce, and I don't even know what it tastes like. So I used a combo of harissa and sriracha, both of which are sweet. Not having any birdseye chilis (which are often pictured in British cooking) or Fresnos, which in our discussion was found to be a common thing used for nameless red chilis in the UK, so I used a dry chili de arbol and a roasted fresh serrano, both of which are hotter than Fresnos, but still in the "medium" range.

I was in no mood to mess with noodles, so I made chicken water (i.e., drippings plus the water) basmati to go with it. That was good.

You understand now what I mean by sort of made it?

In the end, the strength of the good aged rice vinegar and the harissa was too much, so I added a couple heaping spoons of crystalized honey. That balanced it perfectly without making it a lot sweeter. Melting it in, however, added another minute or two on the heat, which dulled the colors a little. (The spring onion greens are raw garnish, but only the red pepper of the stuff in the pan stayed bright).

Everybody liked it, and there are some nice leftovers. Someday, I may try again with the proper ingredients. :)

I bought a couple of silicon microwave popcorn poppers, and the second one was for Kevin's birthday, which was yesterday. He bought himself a couple of movies on bluray, and so I thought a popcorn popper would be a good gift for him. The first one we took to Cathedral City and discovered that it works extremely well, although it is a bit small and therefore does not make a whole lot at one time. Therefore I make two batches, but this is also very easy to do, and the second batch will be hot after we eat the first batch.

I've also decided that I want to make my own tonic water, and so I ordered some of the ingredients. I received juniper berries yesterday but have not opened them. I will be receiving chinchona bark for making quinine extract (will need to buy everclear for that) and angelica root, which will arrive a bit later. The rest of the ingredients I already have. I will be careful to use a minimal amount of quinine extract, but this will be easy to control, once I have made it. Tonic water is rather expensive, and I want to make tonic water with Splenda instead of sugar and avoid the HFCS that is used in most non-diet tonic water. The diet tonic water is made with saccharine, which I hate, and so I won't buy that either.

Lars - and as a bonus you won't get sick if you get Malaria!

I only drink gin and tonic a few times in the heat of the summer so don't buy much tonic.

Impressive project Lars.

I made a beef/broccoli stir fry last week for the first time in years. Very similar recipe to the 'crispy'.

I'm going to miss the wholesale restaurant supplier if things ever get bake to normal. They use their own refrigerated trucks and very professional. They keep my cart open and deliver next day. So fresh. I've been ordering every 7-8 weeks.

Last order I took a chance on artichoke hearts. Excellent for shelf stable. TJ's, when they have them frozen, are also really good. SuperMarket Italy on-line has the same giant can but cost is 30% more. I froze the rest in smaller packages.

I was getting Walden Local meat share pre-covid and the veg boxes. Slight annoyance at first but love the challenges now getting different cuts. Braising short ribs tomorrow.

Do not miss shopping at all in person. Never thought I would say that. Ever.

Minimal snacks, all organic veg from Misfits. Good rotation they have in their MarketPlace. Pastas, snacks. Even tofu I was just delivered this morning in my box.

Riced cauliflower? I never jumped on the hype. Well, we like it. Spiced up it is really good. 5 pounds at Costco for under 9$.

sleevendog - Is the wholesale restaurant supplier waving the membership fees/requirements right now during covid and letting anybody order? There is one called Restaurant Depot near my office that requires some type of proof of owning a restaurant or food service to be a member. I went there once in 2019 with the lady that caters lunches at my office and the place was amazing! I bought a 20 lb. box of King Crab legs for just under $200 which is about half retail price around here. I wish I could get back in there again.

S, I love Rao's! My ragu (handed down recipe originally from Italy) is unto itself, but for a quick drip of tomato goodness in a sandwich or quicky pasta, Rao's is the best. If the restaurant lives up to the sauces, it's no wonder they have their arcane seating arrangements. :) I saw one of the Rao's in filmed interview a long time ago who said the secret is that his mamma said if the sauce doesn't need it, take it out. Therefore what's left is very clean and everything left has a specific role.

As a new.. I tried suspending my Misfits boxes to try out Imperfect... and was kind of disappointed with Imperfect. The quality of the produce just wasn't as good as Misfits. I'm not sure if it's because Imperfect is more fledgeling seller of this sort or what.

I've suspended Imperfect to kick Misfits on for a week or to so I can compare again.. might just be that time of year for me that produce boxes are just a bit lackluster.

sleevendog - Is the wholesale restaurant supplier waving the membership fees/requirements right now during covid and letting anybody order?

We are not sure. But no fees. NYC is pretty speedy over-riding regulations when need comes to shove. For years I saw the Baldor owned trucks when driving through the city to work. They opened up to home delivery right away after lock-down and posted in the NYTimes. We jumped. It was a godsend at the time, then they added well known restaurant meal kits and fully prepared meals for 6-10 people...I have an open order cart at the moment to stock some favorite pantry staples. We ordered about every 6-8 weeks. Delivered next day with their own trucks. (add product until midnight the day before)...free delivery.

This kept the food supply flowing and the wholesale businesses and workers working...

That first order was a bit bulk, lol. A case of this and a case of that. A half gallon of mustard, lol. (did not go there). They quickly started to break up cases for home quantity. That first crate of kale was hilarious. A case of good quality egg noodles no problem. 12 in the case. Shelf stable. Some pantry staples I would be so sad to be without so I'll jump just incase they go back to whole sale.

They support local farming....another high note. NYC high end restaurants are very picky. They have established relationships with farms, fish mongers, cheese mongers, fish mongers. I've learned a lot about food supply and quality.

S, I love Rao's!

I've only been once to Rao's with well known fancy friends. I did have the marinara a couple times when friends made pasta for their kids when we had another meal plan....I did take a mental note how good it was and so basic.

I now am the proud owner of 6 jars in my pantry....and glass. I like pantry staples to be in glass.

beesneeds, I have an article about the various 'misfit' services. Comparing. Misfits comes out on top in comparison. Just the basic structure in place. Most bulk up with big farma offering non-organic for those that don't care. Misfits is simplified that suits me at the moment. If they change their business plan I will delete and move on. Fine and satisfied for now.

Here is the article. Pre-covid. All the services had growing pains when lock-down happened...I was getting Misfits pre-covid. (a testing). OK at first but improved due to employee training. Linky, HERE

Thanks sleevendog for the info on Misfits. Guess I just lucked out and picked the best service the first time. It might have been you that announced the expansion into the midwest a while back, that's what prompted me to try it in the first place- it was great over the winter!

Since I turned Misfits back on, today I decided to try shopping this time for my produce and see if I like that or not. I really liked getting the mystery box, and often it had stuff in it that ran out of stock early for ordering.

My mother died a couple of years ago, and I moved into a house that she had been building for many years. At first, it was completely unusual, I got used to living in an apartment. I didn’t understand what to do, but then I get my “new comfort”. Realized how cool it is to plant something yourself, grow exotic greens, take care of the garden and other joys

Spam?

Spam. A first timer poster with an obscure link that I will not open...possibly fishing for clicks monetized....dude.

Even if totally innocent, rare to see a posting without intentions. Most join, look-see the surroundings and jump in after lurking a bit....then adding a bit to discussions...

@ Michelle Landly... I tried out the dinner boxes for a while last year, mostly to help break me out of a cooking rut by forcing me to make someone else's recipes, and then also not wanting to go out shopping much because plague and all.

I tried Every Plate first. Basic, and decent. But since your stuff comes in individual portions for the recipes, it's a lot of packaging for all those packets of various stuff. But they do provide almost everything outside oil, sugar, salt, pepper, and eggs. Uses more sugar more regularly than we usually do. And more oil cooking, like sheet pan roasted or oil sautéed veggies instead of steaming or baking.

Tried Dinnerly second- much nicer for me as a regular cook. Shrimp as an option without an upcharge, some nicer variety and quality of ingredients. A bit less packaging than Every Plate because they assume you have some basics like rice vinegar or corn starch. Still a lot of packaging.

Both were nice to break me out of a cooking rut, and as a reminder as to what portion sizes are supposed to be. But both had a lot of packaging of products and the shipping packaging which can add up. Both got fairly repetitive pretty quick for us. Both became pretty pricey for what I ended up doing with straying off recipes and using the ingredients for other.

There's other boxes out there that cost more, and get better with options, ingredients, and even level of prepped from you do it all to it comes packed and ready to heat/serve. I didn't try those, petered out after a few months of trying the first two services. Canceled both.

Then when it got announced that Misfits was expanding to my area, tried it. Love it. Also tried Imperfect Foods, not as much love. But that's already mentioned earlier in this thread.

Shipping can be a bit of a problem on occasion across the board with all of them. This isn't their fault, it's usually the shippers fault. But still, a day delay with the shipping company when you got perishable foods on ice packs when it's hot out becomes a time/temp abuse problem, or extra delay when it's cold and produce is too long can give you some not good tomatoes and tender greens.

beesneeds, I'm also thinking that any delay in the heat of summer would be a very bad thing. I'm going to suspend my orders during the summer when my own garden is producing more than I can possibly use, then start again in the autumn. I've really liked having all those vegetables and it makes me really work to find new ways to cook or eat everything from the box before it spoils or the next box arrives.

I also tried a new recipe today, Chili Crisp. It came from "Pepper Thai's" new cookbook and basically it's garlic and shallots, cooked in oil until crisp, then it's mixed with sesame seeds, salt, pepper, a little sugar and some coarse chili flakes/pieces. I had Carolina Reaper and Sugar Rush Peach peppers dehydrated on the shelf, so I used those. Way too hot for me but my husband was a very happy man and had some tonight on baked cod.

Annie

Heat isn't necessarily a huge problem for a produce box, but I too will be pausing my Misfits as my garden starts producing this summer. But then, I don't add on perishables like dairy or meat to my Misfits where it could be a problem

It's the dinner boxes that's more of a problem- I temp check all my boxes, and when one comes in well over 50 degrees and the ice packs are melted and you gotta toss the dairy and meat because you don't know how long it's been outside refrigeration... that's a problem. Had that happen a couple times last summer. I was refunded, but still, it's something to keep an eye out for.

bees, I don't add meat or dairy either, but some greens have already come wilted and green beans were slimey. Tomatoes were soft and mushy. Sturdy items like cabbage and apples are always fine, but more fragile things like tomatoes are sometimes not. I don't know if it's freezing temperatures or just being tossed around in the box, and it hasn't been hot here yet, just cold. If that box sits in Michigan's 90+ temperatures and even higher humidity, I could see that becoming a problem. I can't always stay home all day because a box is being delivered, and I already have determined that I won't order tomatoes, green beans or soft fruits like plums or peaches, it never comes out well.

I love Misfits, but it does have limitations, so I use it knowing those limitations and avoid most problems.

Annie

Misfits has been a godsend. I kept it all last summer....just twice a month for the melons and mangoes and avocados. And some greens I can't grow or what did not do well in the garden. I'll probably skip August and September.

We have not been offered fresh meat or dairy. The nut milks and the tofu I ordered is all shelf stable. Purchased as add-ons for popsicle experiments.

They just started putting a cardboard divider down the middle halfway up to prevent crushing so that is good.

@sleevendog I saw this hit the financial news a few days ago and thought of you - https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/misfits-market-announces-200m-series-c-achieves-unicorn-status-as-it-creates-new-food-supply-chain-for-online-groceries-delivering-value--accessibility-301273923.html

What I love about the local farm service is that they deliver their own over night to one's front door. I'm usually up late so pull it in while the gel packs are still hard. Their stated objective is to deliver without making a disturbance, so I check every so often. I'd hate to miss out on their summer fruit! They're usually small compared to what's in the store (which is better potion sizing!). I don't know if it's because the small ones aren't marketable, or if they're older, better, smaller varieties, but the flavor is so so so good! So much better than the watery rocks they sell in the stores nowadays.

Thanks for the link Lynda. I lost my post last night probably due to DH coming home very chatty with story telling demanding attention 😂...probably forgot to hit 'submit'.

The flavor is unmatched compared to grocery stores. @plllog

Our local grass fed farm share uses dry ice and their own vans for deliveries.

Misfits ice packs are often frozen solid or just partially thawed even in the summer months...but my delivery door is the north side of our home in the shade.

No way would I order meat and fish from Misfits as mentioned in the article....🤢

I do buy meat from the farm service, since they deliver directly. The growers are named in the offerings. The proteins are vacuum sealed and commercially frozen, and usually still solid when I get them, so I can choose to keep them in the freezer or thaw in the fridge right away. Many of the growers are high end suppliers to restaurants, so I don't know if their items will continue to be available, but it's just convenience. I can get the same quality from local butchers, though some items cost a lot less without the extra hands. The farm has enough of what you'd find at a farmer‘s market that I don't often need to order in other groceries. That is, a little meat, eggs and dairy, a lot of produce, a bunch of (non-certified organic) flowers sometimes since they’re delivering anyway, and bakery items every so often when I don't have the oomph to bake my own. And a lot of other merchandise which I'm less into but is sometimes interesting.

Sleevendog, it's your discussion of Misfits last year that led me to find the farm service. I think it wasn't available here back when I was researching CSA's, or else I didn't find it because they don't have the traditional CSA format. Misfits weren't here, but Farm Fresh appeared as I was looking. Thank-you!

CSA's were frustrating years past. Upfront dollars. Pick-ups with minimal hours. (Friday 5-7pm, Saturday's 8-10 am) etc, yada. You snooze, you loose...A good businessman jumps in and makes it more accessible. Farmers are often horrible at interaction and business....take that communication out of the farmers hand...let them farm that they are comfortable doing...and put the business/delivery in the hands of those expert....win-win. Even Coops 15-20 years ago became nasty know-it-alls. Open spice bulk bags, Un-refridgerated vegetables. Pale pasty skin hippies so angry....

I'm not a Facebook person. Just family and a few friends...baby pics😍...

A couple groups, thousands in the Misfits groups...(I joined but no time to participate) ...not one person thinks or mentions a greater good for supporting small farmers. No one pats themselves on their back at all. This is not the solution for food desserts or food waste...just a baby step to be more aware of our local food supply. Use the off cuts and waste for stocks, etc...

Try new things not available in the area you live...

My local CSA is five miles away and brilliant. They opened up for the locals 2020 without membership. Like I've said...it is what I grow so I have no need. Just follow their commitment to the community.

This comes up every few years...a pasta maker. Costco on-line. I'm not a gadget person. Not an instant pot or an air fryer, or oven toaster oven. Bread machine. Not even a bread toaster...I use my oven broiler....No electric Coffee pot...I use pour over and roast my beans.

Darn if I seem to want this with good reviews. Thankfully the Costco sale end tonight so I'll pass me thinks....

Recently got married. I have a fairly busy schedule since I work as a manager. Most often, I come home late. And you know, I realized that I wasn't ready to cook almost every day! I'm glad my husband is into cooking. That's why at least I don't need to cook every day. But we have faced another issue - none of us has time to buy groceries. On the rare days when he picks me up from work, we still make it to the shops. We found such a thing as subscription box offers and seriously thought that it could save us time. We haven't tried it yet, but we are considering this option. Maybe someone tried to use such services? Please share your experience if you got any

Glad to see some esteemed cooks joining me in “cheating” with Rao’s! I’ve always got it on hand and use it a lot. Even my breakfast slop (mixed veggies incl spinach, and egg whites) often gets a spoonful or two thrown in.

I do wish they offered organic as tomatoes are always in the dirty dozen, but I tell myself Europe has stricter regulations and Italy’s are even better. Hope it’s true.

CT - You mentioned that you are recently married; does that mean you’re living in a new area, too? Reason I ask is because I find it makes a huge difference becoming very familiar with the store layout. Even the same chain, I’ll take twice as long shopping at a different store. And the freezer is your friend, for busy schedules.

Rao's is excellent. Yes organic would be better but it is a very clean sauce. No added sugars or preservatives and they use whole 'peeled' tomatoes where most of the pesticides might be. I'm good with it despite the dirty dozen. We use a ton of celery and insist on organic being grown in ground and has found to be full of pesticides even after washing.

I made an excellent vodka sauce using Rao's and a young creamy gorgonzola from Baldor...instead of the usual cream. Costco had Rao's on sale last month. It is a big jar but any I don't have plans for go into 1/4 pints, then into the freezer.

Made an excellent tomato soup after roasting vegetables...red pepper, celery, garlic, onion, carrot...blender blizzard, bit of parmesan...into pot with Rao's.

Like I mentioned, packaged in a quart ball jar would be dope, but I'm using my clean Rao's jars for pantry dry bean storage.