What's on sale this week?

I'm hungry, so maybe I will see things that interest me in the grocery circulars.

Key Food

Orange juice is $2. I could get hopped up on screwdrivers. That sounds good. Nothing else appeals.

Associated

Frozen cauliflower is $1.69. I can eat that. 8 oz of mushrooms for $1.50 is good. Mushrooms feel luxurious when I add them to anything. Butternut squash is $0.79/lb! I can make soup! Sweet potatoes are the same price. Fall is here.

Bravo

I never buy pork chops, but for $1.69 maybe I'll consider it. Everything Cento is on sale, so I want anchovies, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, caponata (I've never even bought that), tomato paste (which I already have and seldom use). I guess my hunger has kicked in.

Green Corner

Limes are 22 for $1.98. I did the math, and that's 9 cents per lime, which is the cheapest I've ever seen. 16 oz of mozzarella is $2.50, which is also the cheapest I've ever seen. But I don't know of any foods you can make combining the two.

C-Town

Colavita pure olive oil! 3 liters for $20! I'll be there later today in that case. Frozen ravioli are $1.50, which would be good with the olive oil. I make them in a skillet like pierogies. Mushrooms are $1.79 here. More expensive than Key Food, but maybe I'll spend 29 cents to avoid the extra trip. Or buy them twice so I have an average cost that is still good. Limes are 25 cents here.

Gala Foods

Gala Foods is still dead to me.

How to Select a Can of Crushed Tomatoes

I love crushed tomatoes. I eat them on toast with shaved pecorino romano. I eat them from the can. With a little doctoring they make a good pasta sauce and I never have to buy jarred sauce again.  (And believe you me, I have a long and public history with pasta sauce.)

There are two things to consider when buying a can of crushed tomatoes: price and number of ingredients. You want to pay the fewest cents and you want to eat the fewest different ingredients. Cook's Illustrated tested a lot of crushed tomatoes and decided they liked the can with the most chemicals and basil and every other thing. They also love the flavor of cottage cheese in lasagna, so Cook's Illustrated is no longer a publication I respect. Anyway.

The best crushed tomatoes I've found are Colavita. $1.50 at Key Food. I keep a can of this in the refrigerator so it's always cold and tasty.

For a survey of the junk they try to stick in the other brands, continue reading.