Even though we’ve only been here a short time, it feels like we’ve been here forever. The house, the surrounding area, the people, the shops, the quirks, it feels like home. Comfortable, is maybe the right word. I truly believe we are going to love the seasons here. All five of them {you can’t leave out mud season!}. And all the little Mom and Pop {and independent} stores… I love it, I love it, I love it! It seems like every time we leave the house there is something new to explore.
The Girl and I stopped by Lil’s for cruellers one day, and then Anjou Noodle Bar next door for lunch. The Girl had some sort of duck ramen and I had the spicy hot miso soup with lamb meatballs. Both dishes were amazing and when I asked if I could take home the extra broth that was left in my bowl, the waitress assured me that people do it all the time. I told her I was thinking about pouring it over rice, and she said most people bring home the extra broth for that very reason. The seaweed though, I didn’t eat that.
ALDI $78.41
I love ALDI. I have yet to walk in the store with a grocery list and yet somehow, I always find plenty of stuff to bring home. It kinda like Trader Joe’s, but totally not. I picked up a yellow cake mix and pineapple rings so I could try making a pineapple upside down cake on the wood stove but I forgot the maraschino cherries. Oh well, maybe I will have to start a grocery list on the fridge after all.
Some of the products at ALDO, like the black bean salsa and pesto, look familiar {like Trader Joe’s}. But what I think I love most is ALDI’s {ever changing} cheese selection. The fact that I can spend $2-3 for a reasonable sized block of cheese or getting an 8 ounce pack of salami makes picking out supplies for appetizer night fun. I don’t have to break the bank and spend $40- $50 on cheese and salami like I would if I bought the same stuff at Costco. Plus, I like the portion sizes much better at ALDI as well. 
Have you noticed milk and egg prices increasing in your area? Just a few weeks ago eggs were less than a dollar a dozen, but now, $2.69! And milk has seemed to have gone up about a dollar as well.
The prepackaged make at home pasta salad from ALDI’s? You’ll want to pass on it.
Big salad night.
Meatless tacos.
Leftover ham and spinach quiche.
Picky dinner!
The key lime tart from La Maison Navarre. I highly recommend it!
And let’s not forget… Saturday night beans. It’s a New England tradition! Although this time around we added some fresh vegetables. Because you know, sometimes you’ve just got to spice up the beans and weenies.
It was a good week with lot’s of yummy food.
How about YOU? Anything super exciting happen this past week in the food department at your house? Inquiring minds want to know.
~Mavis
- Total Spent This Week on Groceries $78.41
- Total Spent in April on Groceries $87.09
- Total Spent in March on Groceries $306.75 <– Apartment life, moving across the country and settling into a new house
- Total Spent in February on Groceries $259.81 < Living in an apartment and buying a lot of ready-made meals
- Total Spent in January on Groceries $240.15 <– Packing mode and not cooking from scratch as much
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Becky says
So happy for you Mavis!!!
Em says
I like the “picky dinner” idea.
Marianne Lewis says
Egg prices are probably a result of “supply and demand” after the 200 million eggs possibly containing salmonella have been recalled!
Amanda S says
Do you really get filled up from apple slices, cucumbers, pretzels/crackers, cheese, salami, and Thin Mints? That would not be a substantial dinner for me. I may get filled up but then would be hungry again a couple hours later.
I’m also really curious why you think Saturday night beans is a New England tradition. Saturday is the night I am least likely to cook dinner (I don’t cook that much anyway), and I never make beans (except green beans and baked beans once in a great while). I’ve been meaning to start thinking about cooking with beans, but I’m overwhelmed by the choices and don’t know how to start.
Marcia says
That type of dinner fills me up quite a bit. A lot of volume on that plate (fruits and veg), plus plenty of fat to stick with you.
Jamie says
the week after Easter I paid 4.29 for 18 eggs. I didn’t notice til I got home and about died because I didn’t bother to look at the price in the store – before Easter I paid .99 for a dozen! Last week I didn’t buy eggs because the price was still over $3 for 18. Yikes!
Paula Holloway says
I pay a local farmer $4 a dozen for her eggs all year around here in eastern Washington. Worth every penny. Mavis-put Tasha Tudor’s home and garden tour on your list of places to visit…a walk through her forest and the corgies at the gate are priceless. If you haven’t been to the Canterbury Shaker Village, it’s a must. Unlike all the others. You are close to Eliot Coleman in Maine, the four season gardener. Next door is Helen and Scott Nearings property that has a caretaker on it and you can visit. And a bakery. I love New England too. So happy for you.
Mim says
In a few months, your hens will be laying and you won’t have to buy eggs! Just hold onto that thought.
Re. bakeries, I know you said you were going to head into NH and VT at some point to go to Dorr Mills and King Arthur. You will love the King Arthur store, but the bakery part is mostly delicious breads and not the fabulous array of delicious pastries you generally show. So after you go there, head across the river back into Hanover, NH and visit two places: The Market Table, which has beautiful pastries and wonderful food; and Lou’s, which is a Hanover tradition and should not be missed. (Or plan to go to Lou’s for breakfast, King A for lunch — great sandwiches — and Market Table for dessert! You won’t be sorry. But you will be full…)
Mavis Butterfield says
Thanks for the tips!
Jessica says
I love me some ALDI’s but like you pointed out with the boxed pasta salad.. somethings are not worth it… That being said.. the maraschino cherries are HORRID! I love that they removed food dyes/colorings from their foods.. but that made a major shift in their cherries and they are just nasty! lol But they have a double your money back guarantee so do not hesitate to use it!
Carrie says
ALDI and Trader Joe’s are sister stores. That’s why some products are similar.
Jenny says
Milk prices in our area ran 1.98 a gallon when I bought last week. I bought 5.5 dozen eggs last week for 7 dollars.
Rita says
So glad you are happy! Can you post more about the weather — is it sunny there more often than Gig Harbor? How does the girl and your hh like it there?
Gail C. says
Did The Girl Who Thinks She’s A Bird run the Boston Marathon?
Lissa says
Found your block a couple of weeks ago and am having so much fun reading. I do have a question for you about bagged/boxed lettuce. So much plastic waste with them. Is there a reason that you prefer them to buying the loose lettuce and washing and spinning it dry? Just convenience?
Leanna says
Seaweed is yummy.
Torry says
Seaweed is also good for you.
Lissa says
That would be “blog”, not “block” :).
Jan says
We went to Winco today. They have milk 1.69 gallon and eggs .99 dozen. It is new to us. We had dr visit in the city. It is a hour and half drive . We are die hard Aldi people. We have to go to a different city next week for new glasses. We will run by Aldi.
Marcia says
Ah, Portsmouth/ Kittery!
Long ago and far away, when I was just a young pup (um…23? And now I’m almost 48?) – I guess 25 years ago I spent a few weeks in the area at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for training when I was in the Navy. Fun times. It was probably the first long “business” trip that I took as a young Naval Officer. I stayed in a hotel in Portsmouth and drove into Kittery each day for work.
I also got sunburned like crazy at the beach in York (it was August). Ouch. What a lovely area.
So long ago. I remember good pizza.
I will have to try out ALDI the next time that I am home in PA. I know they have one in the nearest “big town” 20 miles away. Most of the stores that I shopped at back in my teens and 20s are long gone – once Walmart came to town, they were pushed out. I tend to shop there when I go home because they have high turnover in produce, and everyone I know shops there. But I hear good things about ALDI.
My step father always wants to grocery shop before we get home. But I’m so picky about my produce, and he doesn’t eat many vegetables. Is it bad that I insist on shopping myself? Since we are taking the red eye out there, maybe I’ll give him a very short list and wait to shop until day 2.
Ellie says
We’ve been diehard Aldi fans for years. After a shopping trip we STILL ramble on about how little we spent. No coupon clipping, no sales to contend with. So simple and I love it!
I don’t understand what a prepackaged, cook at home pasta salad is? I cook up pasta, toss it with veggies and Italian dressing. Is it the same thing?There are definitely items that are not good at Aldi. I hate the taste of their eggs. I’m so happy they started carrying cage free browns. Last time we went, they lowered the price by a dollar! I think they were 2.59 for a dozen. Their yogurts are dreadful, all with that chalky-ness. The produce can be hit or miss. Great deals when it’s fresh, tho. The coffee is just about the worst tasting I’ve ever had. The cream cheese is bizarre. Vegetable oil (like Crisco) always taste slightly rancid.
They have some of the best chocolate around! Anyone with a love for coffee will enjoy the coffee and cream bar. And the (semisweet) chocolate chips are far superior to Nestle. Do a side by side taste test. The Nestle taste like coconut in comparison.
Haha, I could go on all day!
Jessica says
Kraft sells a boxed pasta salad kit where you boil the small amount of pasta and add the flavor packets and possible fresh additions…. I tried those 1 time as a teen.. never again… So I would assume that any other brand would be just as worthless! I think a lot of the items come down to personal preference. We have had no issue with eggs, milk or cream cheese. Oils have always been fine here.. My local stores have great produce but another a bit farther always seems less than stellar.. I do not like their flour tortillas.. just too thick… and I will not use the ALDI *pam* spray… just chemically
Bobbie says
Milk and eggs are something I wouldn’t recommend buying from Aldi. Something’s where are an amazing price, but others are actually quite higher than a conventional grocery store. Here eggs and milk are always highest at Aldi. Their boxed couscous and quinoa mixes are yummy though!!
Mel says
This is a crazy time of year for us with garden chores and our jobs, and it coincides with dwindling freezer meals. We still have lots of meals, but it’s harder to use them every night due to what’s left. So, I’ve been freezing a few extra things here and there (breakfast croissantwiches, scone dough, and red beans and rice), using up some of the freezer meals we had, and buying far more prepared food than we normally buy to make up the difference.
Gee says
Unlike your opinion, Mavis, and the rest of the commenters around here about Aldi’s, I have to say I hate that store. Yes, HATE. My first trip when they moved into our rural area about twenty years ago:
First, before I even entered, I couldn’t find a quarter to release a shopping cart. Who knew you needed a quarter to go shopping? There is no other store in our area that does that, even now.
Then, when a kind person coming out gave me their cart so I could shop, I enter and start down the first aisle, which was very narrow; i.e., one cart wide, all going the same direction. So I’m trying to look and see what’s in each of the boxes on both sides, but a very determined, stout woman (I won’t say lady) is suddenly behind me. I’m not moving along fast enough to suit her – so she bashes me in the butt with her cart! I turn and look at her and she looks the other way. Getting the clue, I move off at a faster pace and get a little ahead of her. But then I see something in one of those boxes that I want to get, so I stop and grab a few. She rams me again, harder. I hollered, “Ouch!” She again looked in a different direction, pretending she didn’t hear me. Blind and deaf, I guess. By this time, I’ve had enough, so I basically ran on down the aisle until I got to the end where there was at least enough room for her to pass me in front of the milk case. I did eventually calm down and found a few things to buy, mostly canned items.
So I go to check out. I put my items on the counter. A BIG SIGN tells me NOT to put things in bags after they were rung up, but to just put them back in the cart, and then go to another counter to do bags. So I tried. I really did. But the CHECKOUT GIRL is literally throwing cans at my hands when I was reaching for something else to put back in the cart. It really hurt. Alot. Apparently, I wasn’t getting things off the counter fast enough.
So when I finally made it home, I had bruises all over my knuckles. I checked, and, yup, I even had bruises on my butt, too. From a grocery shopping trip.
I’ve not shopped at Aldi’s since and can’t imagine why I would ever try.
Lea says
I’m not a huge fan of Aldi – in our area their prices are higher on most than I can get at the regular store and the quality is far less for many of the things we regularly buy. We only bave around $40-$50 per week to spend for our family of two adults with two teenagers so I was eager to give Aldi a try as a way to get more for our tight budget. I sometimes buy crackers, pretzels, dry cereal and occasionally something else there but that’s about it. I’ve had the produce go bad extremely quickly (in less than 12 hours) and in many cases I found the prices to be several dollars (yes, really) more than the same item on sale at our regular grocer.
Our store is quite spacious – space in every isle for two carts to move past each other with room to spare – and the staff has always been polite and helpful. I’ve found this to be the same in all 3 Aldi stores I’ve shopped in (one high end neighborhood Aldi, one moderate, one low-end neighborhood). They are quick – putting things in the previous person’s cart (you take that one out when you’re done rather than “yours”) but I’ve never seen anyone throw anything and I certainly have never had bruises! Yes, they do charge a quarter for the cart/trolley but it is returned to you when you return it to the store, which eliminates the need of having to pay someone to collect them in the lot.
They may have changed quite a bit since you were last in or your store may be anomaly. I’m hoping it’s the latter. I rarely shop there but I’m sorry you had such a bad experience.
Lea
Lea says
have not bave
sheesh
Trish says
This might be a source of the rising egg prices.
https://modernfarmer.com/2018/04/more-than-200-million-eggs-recalled-after-22-illnesses/
Helena Michener says
Wow, is this a permanent move across country? Will miss the thought of having a personal-type blogger practically in the neighborhood. I’m sure your methods will probably need to change due to the difference in the weather, etc in the Northeast. Wishing you well, of course, but already things are different. As you know, there are no Aldi’s here in Pierce County!
Emily says
Your post is breaking my heart! I moved from RI to Utah where we don’t have ALDI. I loved shopping there and rarely went anywhere else, unless I needed a more exotic item for a specific recipe. I bet the egg price increase is because of the massive recall. It will be interesting to see if that drops in the next few weeks. Prices are much closer to $1/dozen here. Gas prices are hitting a 3 year high though so I will expect to see some increases at the grocery store as well. If you venture to Rhode Island I have a list of things you would love to see…gardens and bakeries!
Debbie says
Well, not exactly “sister” stores. They’re actually “brother” stores. The brothers could not agree on the products to supply in their mom and pop’s store (literally) when they went worldwide. So they each formed their own company. Just found this out recently. HTH