The Price of Rice

What's with the price of rice? Even these little grains of goodness have not been immune to the rate of inflation. I've seen rice priced as high as $4 per pound for some organic varieties and don't get me started on the price of arborrio rice for risotto.

So here's the tip, I prefer jasmine rice as my long grain rice of choice. If you seek out an international market in your area, which typically also sell wholesale, you can find large bags of jasmine rice for less then $1 per pound. In these economic times creativity and resourcefulness reign supreme.

Hurray Four Cheese

I really wish more cheese makers and shops would do this sampler idea.

There are so many cheeses being made that to ask people to buy just one is crazy talk. This small sampler of Spanish cheeses allows you to try 4 different textured and flavored cheeses for under $5. These Spanish cheese are all great table cheeses, allow them to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes and serve with bread, a good olive oil, and a cured meat and you have an appetizer of champions.

So as a public service to get more people to try new and different cheeses, I asked for all and any cheese shops and makers to offer these sampler packages.

Attention $1.99 Bread Shoppers

Foodie or not we're all looking for great deals on food and I believe the above is a bargain.

Unfortunately many things at Whole Foods are very expensive and that's a topic and debate for another time but the above Italian loaf does not fall into that group. For A $1.99 this loaf is a great piece of bread at the right price.

For what ever reason there was a trend/excuse that bread had gone up significantly because of the fuel cost increase in the last two years. I will not play transported goods economist here but I never really bought into these over priced bread costs. In my area one bakery was charging as high as $9 for a cranberry pecan loaf. I've taught many a artisan bread class and have respect and understanding of the time that goes into a loaf of good bread but $9 is outrageous unless flour has gone up to $6 per pound and I'm unaware of that happening.

So, if you're in a local Whole Foods in your part of the world keep your eyes open for this loaf priced at $1.99. It is not behind the glass bread case at my Whole Foods it is located below the case in a basket. The bread is a little darker in finish then a typical Italian loaf but we can argue characteristics of different breads another time but for now we can all agree it's a great loaf of bread at $1.99.

Say Cheap Cheese

Cheese has become a lot like wine. You can buy a great wine and spend hundreds of hundreds of dollars but you can get wines that are just as good for less then $50.

Now the same can be said for cheese, there are very expensive $30 a pound cheeses but there are also great under $8 a pound cheeses. This is recent development because only a few short years ago it seemed that the only affordable cheeses were horrible.

Finding these great low cost cheeses does take some shopping and sampling but many grocery chains and even local cheese makers are having more affordable options. For the last month I've been going with a strict "I won't pay more then $6 per pound for cheese" principal.

The above two cheeses are both from Trader Joe's and cost less then $5 per pound. The two offer a great sharp cheddar flavor and are priced nearly the same as the horrible starts with K ends in RAFT and offer a great value. So, load up the car and seek out great affordable cheeses in your local.

Fast Food

Last week someone said to me "do you ever get tired of cooking?"

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I wouldn't say I get tired of cooking, I do get tired from cutting down dozens of trees but not cooking. So when I've been busy or tired I reach for fast food. No, I am not one of those chefs who talks about great food all day and then you'll see me in the drive-thru lane at the golden arches.

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The above is my fast food. We are fortunate in the Nashville area to have a great local artisan pasta shop, Lazzaroli Pasta. How fast is fast? You can have the pasta and sauce in your freezer waiting for that day when you're to tired or to busy but still want a fantastic meal. Boil water and heat the sauce and in less then 15 minutes you'll have the above photoed meal on the table. This tortellini and marinara sauce cost less then $10.

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Not all cities may have a Lazzaroli Pasta but you might have another local place making great affordable local food that you can take home and still have a meal at the dinner table. Local artisan food makers craft their foods from scratch and all they create is hand-made. The greatest thing you'll discover is what pride and excitement they have about the food they make. I encourage you to go out and find these local artisan food makers and try what great local food might be in your area.