YumSugar

MediaCarts Make Shopping Easier, but Is It Worth It?

YumSugar — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 08:23:11 -0800

Do you ever wander the aisles of a grocery store hunting for a particular item and wish there was an easy way to find it? Well the folks at Microsoft have partnered with the Wakefern Food Corporation and will provide their customers with grocery cart-mounted consoles that will help them navigate the store. It also allows them to scan and pay for their items without waiting in line. Like a self-checkout line without the line.

The companies plan to test the MediaCart in Wakefern's east coast ShopRite supermarkets. The cool part is you'll be able to upload your shopping list at home, and download it on your shopping cart console by swiping your loyalty card. You'll also be able to scan as you go so that you can see how much you're spending.

So why are they doing this? Do they just want to create a good experience for their customers? The answer is yes and no. Yes they do, but they also have ulterior motives, you see the carts are also equipped with RFID devices so that ShopRite can understand shopping patterns. You'll also be subjected to ads in certain parts of the grocery store. For example, if ice cream is on sale, as you walk past the ice cream aisle, your console will receive those ads.

So what do you think? Do you think easy checkout and shopping lists are worth the ads and the shopping pattern tracking?

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How Do You Get Your Groceries Home?

YumSugar — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 00:01:11 -0800

Believe it or not, February is Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month. Why on earth we need an amnesty month where people can return their shopping carts is beyond me - although, why people would take shopping carts home is also beyond me. I personally try to use tote bags and reusable bags to carry my groceries home. How about you?
How do you get your groceries home?

What's Cooking at Slashfood

partysugar — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 03:00:52 -0700

An Ohio congressman thought a bag of bacon was a bomb.
As the economy spirals downward, cookbook sales increase.
A giant cranberry bog has taken over Rockefeller Center.
Would you pay $200 for a cookbook?
Eight scrumptious sweet potato pie recipes.
Don't let them freeze: bring herbs indoors to survive Winter.
Wheeled grocery store baskets lighten your load and your wallet.

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Stuffed Chard Lamb is Delicious for Dinner

YumSugar — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:15:18 -0700

Whenever I take a trip to the store, a couple of items that aren't on my grocery list make their way into my cart. When I spotted a California-raised lamb shoulder at the meat counter, I couldn't stop myself from sliding it into the shopping cart.

I was eager to experiment with lamb because of a recent disappointing experience with imported Australian lamb. Ironically, I found an Australian recipe that I decided to try. If I made it with a local piece of meat, the dish might taste better.

And taste better it did! The lamb is filled with a rich stuffing of eggplant, onions, bell pepper, wine-soaked dried currants, and toasted pine nuts. The bold flavor of the lamb balances out the sweetness of the stuffing and the bitterness of the chard resulting in a dish that is succulent and scrumptious. To try this rewarding lamb dish, read more.

Roasted Stuffed Lamb With Swiss Chard
Gourmet Traveller

Ingredients

Currant and pine nut stuffing
1/3 cup dried currants
1/3 cup Merlot
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
4 anchovies, finely chopped
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1 small eggplant, peeled and chopped
1 red bell pepper
2 tsp brown sugar, or to taste
1 tsp fresh or 2 tsp dried Greek oregano
1 lemon, finely grated rind only
For the lamb:
1 1/2 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, butterflied
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 bunch Swiss Chard
1/2 tsp nutmeg, or to taste
1 tsp fresh Greek Oregano
1/2 cup Merlot wine

Directions

For stuffing, combine currants and wine in a bowl.
Chop eggplant, garlic, onions and red bell pepper.
Heat oil in a large frying pan, add onion, garlic, anchovy, and nuts and sauté for 5 minutes over medium heat or until soft and nuts start to brown. Add eggplant and bell pepper, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until soft.
Season to taste with sugar, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Add, wine-soaked currants, oregano and lemon rind and cook for another 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Cool.
Preheat oven to 390°F. Place lamb skin-side down on a bench, spread over stuffing, roll up tightly, rather than use twine to secure the lamb, I used these stretch hot cooking bands! Combine 2 teaspoons of olive oil, salt, nutmeg, Greek oregano season to taste and rub over lamb. Place lamb in the baking dish and pour 1/2 cup merlot in the bottom of the pan.
Roast for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 375°F and roast for 1 hour for medium. Cover with foil and rest for 10 minutes.
Heat remaining oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, add garlic and cook for 1 minute or until golden. Add chard and cook for 5 minutes or until tender, then add leaves and cook for another 5 minutes or until wilted. Slice lamb thinly and serve on a bed of chard topped with any extra stuffing.

Serves 6.

Print recipe with images | without images

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Thanksgiving Tip: Don't Shop on Wednesday

partysugar — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:14:11 -0800

Try to get all of your Thanksgiving grocery shopping done before next Wednesday. Heading to the grocery store the day before Thanksgiving is like getting on the freeway in the middle of rush-hour traffic - not a good idea. Shoppers are inevitably grumpy, store clerks are stressed, shelves are empty, shopping carts are nowhere to be found, and the checkout lines are gigantic.

If you've made your lists you should be able to shop for nonperishables like vegetables, canned goods, alcohol, and dried foods today or tomorrow. Shop for last-minute items like fresh herbs and flowers on Tuesday afternoon. Pick up bags of ice the night before from your local convenience store and store in coolers outside in the garage or your back patio.

Most stores and bakeries are open on Thanksgiving morning, so make a quick pit stop to pick up bread and any forgotten ingredients as early as possible. Treat yourself to a coffee while you're at it, it's going to be a long day!

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Summer Reading: Milk Eggs Vodka

YumSugar — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 08:01:31 -0700

I don't know about you guys, but I love making lists - mostly so I can cross things off of them. One of my favorite lists to whip up is a grocery list. Milk. Eggs. Butter. Candy. More Candy.

When I'm done with the list, I usually just toss it out in the recycling. However one or two may have accidentally been left in the shopping cart. Luckily for author Bill Keaggy, I'm not the only one who ever left a shopping list behind. In his new book Milk Eggs Vodka: Grocery Lists Lost and Found Keaggy has compiled hundreds of found shopping lists for your viewing enjoyment. The book, which is divided into 20 different types of lists (just plain funny, "badd spellrs", organized lists, etc.) is a fun look into other people's lives and will make for a great coffee table book or gift.

And if an entire book full of other people's shopping lists wasn't enough for you, then be sure to check out his website, grocerylists.org. There's over 1500 lists to choose from. I chose the one on the right because of the line "Bubble Gum if Alexis is good."