The butcher

A pork butchers shop by Edouard Jean Dambourgez
If I want a really good cut of meat, I send my husband off to our local suburban butcher and he always come back with an excellent cut of meat.  DH has built up a repoire with the butcher and now gets special treatment. The other night we had a beautiful piece of pork (cooked on the Weber barbecue over coals) prepared by the butcher and it would have to be the best pork I have had in a long time.  And the crackling . . . well . . . that was perfect!!! Our butcher only uses local farmers and hand-selects the animals for slaughter.  We know we are getting quality and surprisingly, it isn't over priced. 

Sadly with the growth of the supermarket chain, the local butcher, baker or the fruit and veg shop are being squeezed out and with that we are loosing the personalised service and quality of food. 

I often find the local supermarket are pricey and certainly not great when it comes to the quality of their meat or fruit and veg.  I really don't like all pre-packaging and have no idea of the age and distances the food has travelled, in particular meat. 

I know it is a bit romantic and "chocolate box" but I do really like these sorts of little stores, they are so much nicer than the large supermarkets and have far more charater.  There is something very innocent and sweet about them that no supermarket will ever replace and you can talk to someone who knows what they are talking about.


Whilst I do the bulk of the grocery shopping, my DH does like to come home with little tit-bits. Along with the pork, he brought home 3 bundles of asparagus which I am trying out these Jamie Oliver recipes with (see the Jamie Oliver link).   Sometimes it can different cheeses, bread, chutneys - I love seeing men discovering different foods - buying food, cooking and kitchens are not exclusive for women. Men should be encouraged to also get involved in the kitchen.  My son loves to buy food and read cookbooks to find new and interesting recipes - do encourage your sons to love their kitchens, their wives will love you forever.

What does your husband like to bring home from the shops to surprise you with?

Comments

  1. BetsyJanuary 23, 2013 at 8:23 AM

    A car! truly! But it wasn't really a surprise - more like the culmination of a year's research. After all, they don't make cars for giraffes =)

    love,

    Bets

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    1. Finding JoyJanuary 23, 2013 at 5:45 PM

      A years research - it would appear we are very rushed in our decision making!! What a lovely surprise.

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  2. StephenJanuary 23, 2013 at 8:49 AM

    I have a great butcher!! Not sure I surprise anyone, but Lorraine rarely says no to what I create in the kitchen!!

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    1. Finding JoyJanuary 23, 2013 at 5:46 PM

      I will agree that you have a lovely butcher and I have never had a bad meal at your place.

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  3. ClaraJanuary 23, 2013 at 9:38 AM

    Dan likes to bring grocery items home to surprise me with, although that doesn't happen very often (because of our budget, not because he doesn't know what surprises to buy!!)... And he LOVES getting into the kitchen and perusing recipe books. He doesn't feel confident cooking or baking anything and everything, but when he does try a recipe it usually turns out great! :)

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    1. Finding JoyJanuary 23, 2013 at 5:46 PM

      Its lovely to see men in the kitchen cooking away - not only does it give us women a break its nice to eat something that is cooked by someone else.

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    2. Mary E. StephensJanuary 25, 2013 at 1:49 PM

      Jo, that's so true! My husband tried to make breakfast on Sundays. :-) Some weeks we have a joined family breakfast, so he just makes part of it, but he's gotten quite skilled at breakfast foods. :-)

      Clara, I'm glad Dan enjoys cooking. I wonder if he cooks like Peter - precisely following the recipe - or does he make tweaks and changes like Mom and Ruth and I do?

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    3. ClaraJanuary 25, 2013 at 3:45 PM

      Dan does a bit of both. Sometimes he follows recipes precisely, sometimes he shakes them up a bit with his own version... Which can result in some questionable foods... But they're often good. ;)

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  4. ClaraJanuary 23, 2013 at 9:39 AM

    And, I should say that he seems to become more and more confident about trying recipes as time passes. ;)

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  5. Mary E. StephensJanuary 25, 2013 at 1:53 PM

    My husband does our shopping at Costco which is, of course, the more bulk food purchases. He likes to buy little extras sometimes and they usually fall in certain categories - breads, cheeses, jams/jellies, fresh mushrooms, and occasionally snacks of some sort. :-)

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