Food Prices

Wow....food prices are going through the roof! Makes shopping wisely more important than ever. Bread, vegetables, milk, fruit, everything seems to be 30% more than it was last year. I went to Sam's Club yesterday and 20 lb bags of flour are now $8.19. Last year they were in the $5.00 range. Last week I made some Chibatta bread and some bagels. I always wondered how bakers got those big bubbles in their breads. The secret is a very wet, sticky dough that is allowed to rise many times and that isn't over kneeded (which destroys all the bubbles). The loaves also should be baked on a baking stone of some sort, that way you get a nice crisp bottom. I was also shocked by the price of walnuts....almost $15 a bag! Have you noticed that when a product is labeled as heart healthy or rich in anti-oxidents the price suddenly rises. A few years ago the same thing happened with grape juice. It's more important than ever to buy seasonal foods. Citrus fruits, avacados and apples seem to be a good value now. If you plan to have a vegetable garden now is the time to start planning. I figured out last year that one tomato plants can produce well over 30 pounds of fruit!