Tag: shopping

Shopping in February, love on the table – Italian Cuisine

Fruits, vegetables, fish, snacks to munch in front of the TV and aphrodisiac foods: the smart shopping cart of February

New tv series, Saint Valentine, Carnival, Sanremo and again twenty-eight days on the calendar. Welcome back February, a month of great "commitments" that have an excellent relationship with food. So what shouldn't be missing in the shopping cart for the next few weeks?

Fruit to buy in February

A Apple a day, you know, never hurts. Contains potassium, phosphorus, calcium and can be used with imagination in the kitchen. Cakes, tarts, strudel but also salads. Pears are no exception, but under the fruit item, for this month, there are also grapefruit, tangerine and i persimmon, essential for preparing a gluttonous jam, ideal accompaniment to aged cheeses. But you can also simply spread it on rusks for breakfast.

Seasonal vegetables

Cabbages, Brussels sprouts, Romanesco cabbage, cauliflower. And the broccoli, which is not to be missed on the shopping list. As well as its "cousins", very useful for a soup that for lunch, at least one day a week, also fits perfectly in February. The other vegetables and vegetables of the season not to be forgotten? Fennel, radicchio, spinach, artichoke, leek, turnips and pumpkin. Yeah, the pumpkin, a winning ingredient for delicious tortelli with orange filling. The recipe is typical of the area between Emilia and lower Lombardy; their flavor bitter-sweetinstead, it is perfect at any latitude. And for one dinner romantic, on Valentine's Day, can be a great idea.

Food, TV and love

Given the schedule for February, it is better to find a good compromise: in front of the TV, yes, but without the usual guilt-inducing diet. Dried fruit, crackers, strawberries, yogurt and even dark chocolate. Which then, returning again to the February 14, it can also become useful for a dessert to share. A Dark Chocolate Cake also requires butter, sugar and eggs: marked?

Not just fish

Sole, sea bass and sea bass, fish lovers are warned: here are the ones that should not be missing on the shopping list. To add to the shopping list also artichokes, rocket, lettuce and chicory. As well as the chili, ginger and oysters, aphrodisiac foods that for the feast of lovers are a must at the table. This completes an ideal shopping cart to face the second month of the year in the best possible way.

Christmas shopping: how to save without giving up anything – Italian Cuisine

Goal of the upcoming holidays: spend less, eat better, don't waste anything, make everyone happy, pamper yourself at the table

During the Christmas holidays inevitably a lot of money is spent, often uselessly and often on the kitchen.
You buy too much and badly, you don't consume everything and a lot of things go to waste.
Our advice? Take your measurements for this Christmas.

The essentials on the Christmas table

Let's start with what we believe should not be missing at Christmas at the table.
For the Vigil fish of excellent quality, no doubt, but don't overdo the quantities.
Better to cook less, but better. So a good appetizer, perhaps with several appetizers, a first and a second. Stop!
For the Christmas lunch follow the tradition because in general the dishes of the classic Italian cuisine of Christmas are not always super expensive.
Also in this case we recommend rich appetizers, a first course, a second course and a side dish.
Obviously, the dessert cannot be missing and in addition to the traditional sweets that from north to south make the end of every holiday meal special, it cannot be missed. panettone, or the pandoro if you love the genre more.
In this case, you can spend a little more for a quality handmade product because it is always worth it.
Same thing goes for wines. Few but good.

It is not necessary but it does party

There dried fruit and the dried one have a fairly high cost, but often during the holidays it is possible to take advantage of the offers. Are these ingredients necessary for our table? No, but if not at Christmas when?
In this case, then make a good supply to put at the center of the table together with coffee and bitters after the party lunches and dinners and also during the bingo because munching on almonds, walnuts, dried figs and dates puts you in a good mood.
And then some delicious sweets also for breakfast or for a snack with friends, a special tea or herbal tea, some cuddles that can make the holidays even more special for us and for our guests.
Ponder these expenses well, but treat yourself to one comfort food that warms the heart this Christmas.

The one you can save on

Do you want your table to be unique, beautiful and elegant?
Well, this is how the Christmas table should be, but it is not necessary to buy something new for the table every year, a new set of plates, glasses and tablecloths.
If you have any household items to which you are emotionally very attached, use them and everything will be more intimate and beautiful.
Then you play a lot with the decorations that don't necessarily have to be bought, but you can make them yourself with pine cones, dried leaves and flowers, candles and fruit, Christmas balls and garlands to eat.

Some advice for a careful expense

Go at the supermarket a few days earlier of the holidays, at least for everything that is not fresh.
For fruit and vegetables, however, it is always better to buy them at the market.
Buy locally when possible, and we're not just talking about fruit and vegetables, but also products such as meat, bread, pasta, cheeses and cold cuts. Choose the quality closest to you.

At the supermarket, on the other hand, take advantage of the offers if there are any and go shopping following one exact list that you have prepared with great care at home, trying not to let yourself be tempted by everything you don't need.
Establish menus of the holidays and go on your way, without second thoughts otherwise you will spend days shopping without ever having at home everything you really need to cook what you have in mind.
What you absolutely must get, if you don't already have them, are box for storing leftovers or to prepare small gifts for your guests when there is too much food at the table, even if after all that we have just said it shouldn't happen. Obviously, freeze and do not throw away, when possible!

Greedy gifts

If you love to cook, do it for Christmas gifts too.
Instead of spending money on useless gifts that may not even be appreciated, why not prepare some delicious packages? Here are some ideas:

Pistachio cookie
Christmas liqueurs
Christmas cookies
Homemade panettone
Homemade Pandoro

Scroll through the gallery above to get some other savings ideas

Christmas and stress-free shopping – Italian Cuisine

Don't panic! Christmas is around the corner, but there is still time to do everything. Here are the tips for those who have to cook during the holidays, but also to stock up for the following days

You are already going crazy with the endless shopping list for the next few days? Don't worry, take a break, think and then act!

Shopping list for those who will cook during the holidays

Making a shopping list for those who cook Christmas menus is a bit more complicated than usual because you have to get exactly everything you need without forgetting anything.
We suggest you or to make one recipe list that you will prepare e next to it a list of ingredients necessary.
Always take something extra in case of possible failure in the kitchen. A pack of eggs 12 is better than a six also because if the eggs are left over you can use them later as they have a fairly long storage.
Don't overdo it with easily perishable products.
In addition to this, don't forget what you need for the family breakfast, any snacks even if you must not underestimate the amount of things you will have to dispose of between sweets and other delicacies of all kinds.
Don't forget the bread which is always needed and maybe buy a little more to freeze.
And don't forget either tea and herbal teas that will accompany the slow afternoons at home and help to better digest the holidays.

Shopping list for those who won't cook during the holidays

Those who do not cook, on the other hand, are certainly more fortunate because they will be able to enjoy the holidays pampered and in total relaxation, but watch out because, if you are among them, you could find without stocks at home for days if you don't get organized in time.
Grocery stores and supermarkets will be closed for the holidays, so make sure you have everything you need for the next few days. Those who cook will always have something to put in their teeth because leftovers they never end. Those who are guests, on the other hand, usually have nothing at home.
Take a good one stock up on vegetables and fruit for the stage detox after party and buy the necessary to prepare meals with minimum effort and maximum yield.
Salads of legumes and cereals for example, or baking pans and flans of baked vegetables, always pasta for a quick first and meat and fish to be frozen already portioned.
A nice amount of eggs also should never fail to prepare omelettes, Pancake for breakfast and cakes and biscuits for a snack or to give to your hosts during the holidays.
You make a nice one too stock up on bread or flour and yeast if you have time and desire to prepare pizzas and homemade focaccia.

Supermarket, but also small shops

Don't crowd supermarkets these days, remember there are also shops that never as in this period need a little support.
For meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, and also for bread, stock up on food small trusted shops and for everything else go to supermarket, trying to choose, if you can, a suitable time.
Very early in the morning there is less confusion, there is less queue and there is more choice.
Buy online what you can choose without looking, smelling and touching, i.e. packaged products, but not fresh products, and make sure you do it in time because deliveries will also be delayed in the coming days.

Stress-free holidays

Enjoy your holidays as much as you can, in this difficult year we all deserve it!
Cook with a little advance what you just need to heat or defrost. Mostly, cook less.
Do not prepare lucullian lunches and dinners because you will be few at the table and it is never worth it waste on food.
If you really can't regulate yourself with quantities, get yourself some trays for freezingand or give away what is left over.
The Christmas it is not only dinner and lunch, but also an important moment of sharing, not only of the table.
Greetings to you all!