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I live in Canmore AB Canada - now Canadian food prices tend to be higher - for a number of reasons centered around climate, distance to market, marketing boards, etc. Canmore itself is an expensive little town...

Celery- $2.00
Carrots- 2.99 a pound bagged.
Mushrooms- I paid a buck for 10 loose mushrooms yesterday.
Tomatoes- 4.99 for a pint of cherry or grape tomatoes. 3.99 a pound for regular tomatoes, on sale this week at Safeway for 2.99 (and they are terrible looking).
BellPeppers- 2.00 a pound for green, 4-5 dollars a pound for red/orange or yellow.
Avocados- 2 bucks a piece minimum
Broccoli- Ah something reasonable - 2.00 a pound - Cauliflower about the same.

And for the asparagus crowd - after christmas it went to (wait for it) 7 bucks a pound. Before Christmas, 3.99 a pound.

I have become a big spinach, slaw, root, and frozen veggie eater in my first winter here!

As a Canadian I want Chuck Hughes to win but I have no idea if he is still in the running because I don't watch the show!

I would think it would be great broth for steaming potstickers or dumplings in.....I often use pork broth when I make a bean soup, but that sounds kinda winter-y to me....

Toss for sure. They've done their work.

I am in the process of packing for a crosscountry move, so man am I discovering just how much my "bunker mentality" has been kicked in the last five years that I lived here. I have managed to use up all the tomatoes and pumpkin in the freezer and I'm working through the meat in there now. I discovered four (!) packages of panko breadcrumbs in my pantry. I think I'll just move those. Menus have been fairly interesting around here the last couple of months as I use stuff up!

If you are looking to use up some of the leftovers, I made a fantastic lamb byrani (sp?) this weekend with left overs - http://recipesbymissy.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/leftover-lamb-biryani/

It is great!

Greek food - lamb chops, chicken souvlaki, pearl couscous with roasted garlic and asparagus, fried okra (ok that's not greek!), hummus, tzaziki, babaganoush, pita three ways, greek salad. And strawberry short cake for dessert!

Baked potato bar! Bake up some potatoes and offer toppings galore, meat included and not - bacon, green onions, cheese, chili (veggies and not), sour cream, butter, the like. Served with a green salad or asian slaw, this makes a fine meal and easily managed sitting down on the floor or the sofa.

we always make pineapple souffle with ham - a simple, kinda hokey dish made with white bread and canned pineapple. I was completely averse when I first heard of it, but hey, I like the stuff! And it is made in a large casserole so folks can take appropriate portions too.

Always did turkey and most years I follow suit. One year I balked and did Beef Wellington - medium rare. My mother nuked hers until it was well done. I freaked.

Do you think there is a really decent way to do these (or grasshopper pie for that matter) subbing for the alcohol? I am recently off the stuff and want to make a grasshopper style pie for a dinner party I am hosting next week (which features a pregnant woman, another reason to refrain). Anyone got any good recipes sans the good stuff (grin)? Or am I dreaming and should be thinking of another option for dessert?

@ebell - I believe my pastry cutter came from Zellers approximately 25 years ago and cost about a buck and a half. Very inexpensive. If you want to see the grated butter action, check out the Canadian food network website (foodtv.ca) and look up Michael Smith - Chef at Home - that's where I saw it.