SusanneC's Profile

2.50 is the most I'll pay, though I usually make my own--drip filter, french press, and my new favorite toy the Aeropress are all more economically sensible.
There's a fancy coffee shop near me in Philly (Elixir Coffee) that charges close to $5 for a cup of fancy drip coffee, which I find to be insane. The taste difference between their coffee and the $2-with-fifty-cent-refills coffee at some smaller coffee shops near me is negligible. Definitely not worth it.
Fancy lattes are a different story, but I still come down on the side of never paying more than $4 for a coffee beverage (unless it's got liquor in it, of course)

I love making eggplant fries. I've always found great success in using cornmeal in the breading--it crisps up VERY well and lets the inside get nice and soft while the coating remains crispy--it works well for zucchini fries as well. This using za'atar sounds incredible though, I'll have to try it!

If something's bad, I'll return in. However, I'm vegan and occasionally I'll buy an item I think is vegan (or was the last time I bought it) and upon returning home I'll realize that it's not (sometimes companies change the recipes). Since I live alone, there's no reason for me to have the product anymore, so I return it if I haven't opened the container yet. Most places are really nice about my returning unopened food--they can just put it back on the shelves.

One word of caution is you're using collapsible things like measuring cups and colanders--make sure you put them in the dish rack in their expanded form, otherwise the water pools in the crevices!

I'm gonna go ahead and second both the Italian Market and Reading Terminal Market comments (both in Philadelphia). I may be biased, but you can get incredible produce from both, and for incredibly low prices. Of course, there are all types of shops in each. Amazing.

I like checking out the site "Finding Vegan." It's basically a collection of all of the most popular vegan blogs, and while not everything is without vegan meat substitutes, it's updated so often that you're bound to find something.