A Parmesan sale post tariff? Whole Foods surprised me

I just got this in my Whole Foods email. The October 18 date stuck out to me, because I was planning to go buy parmesan before then because that's when Trump's tariffs on everything good kick in. Of course, I didn't know how long those prices would take to filter their way to the consumer. But now I am going to buy parmesan tomorrow after I get a flu shot. It's actually a bit more than 30% off for Prime members.

2 Months Later: Still Olive Oil

Nowhere has put a big can of olive oil on sale in the last two months! I did buy a can of pure, but I need extra virgin too. So I've been buying it at Trader Joe's. I just got back from there.

There was a line to get in the door. That used to happen when Trader Joe's first opened and had only one store, but I haven't seen it since. But I biked 4.5 miles to get there so I just waited in it. I sure bike far for that.

I manage to spend more at that store than any other grocery store. I got extra virgin olive oil ($7), coconut oil ($5.5), 2 cans of cannellini beans ($.9 each), farro, bulgur wheat, gorgonzola, asiago, and parmesan. And frozen broccoli and frozen kale. And capers. I already had capers, but I forgot. I wanted frozen peppers but they didn't have any. Oh, and soy sauce because I noticed we were out of soy sauce this morning.

I guess I'll make polenta for dinner so I can use up some cheese and get to fry an egg in my cast iron skillet. I should make another post soon about my cast iron skillets. I love them.

Pumpkin Pasta using Trader Joe's Ingredients

I just invented a new pasta dish. I'm not even done eating it yet. As I was making it, I realized almost all my ingredients were from Trader Joe's. It's pretty good. Here's the recipe.

1 lb (1 bag) whole wheat penne $1.39
1/2 can pumpkin (1 can is $1.99)
1/2 stick of butter
a bunch of diced onion
a bunch of capers (a jar is $3.69 at Trader Joe's)
oregano ($1.99 for a jar at trader joe's)
grated parmesan (parmesan is $6.49/lb)
15 oz (1 can) cannelini beans (optional. $0.89)

Melt the butter and cook the onions until you can smells them. You can add salt and pepper and oregano at this point. Then add the pumpkin and capers. Beans if you want them. I like adding beans to pasta because the same things that make pasta taste good make beans taste good and beans are healthy. Add some of the pasta water to thin the sauce out a little. (Dip a coffee mug in that pot, pour it in the sauce pan.) Once you mix it all together, grate some cheese into it and stir it, then grate some more on top of your plate when you serve it.

I like whole wheat for this because it's nuttier than regular. I don't ever really want to eat whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce, but it's great for this pumpkin sauce. Likewise, I like parmesan over pecorino romano for this because it's nuttier. Romano is my go to cheese, but parmesan's better here.

Ok, time for another bowl.