Anonymous wrote:I cook a lot so I run out of things.

Yeah, I am confused how running out of things is a sign you don't cook. I run out of things because I do cook.

My sister wouldn’t have those ingredients in her house— she doesn’t cook at all. My mom cooks, but buys everything in small quantities to save money. So she runs out of ingredients all the time.
More generally, in my world very few people actually cook. Not sure why, but I was just thinking today that I am the only person I know who is cooking for Thanksgiving. Friends, relatives, coworkers— none of them. Honestly, it makes me wonder if grocery stores are a dying breed.

5 trips to the store for us, hosting 14 people. 3 of those trips were today!

1 - dry goods last week
2 - vegetables yesterday
3 - drinks, totally forgot, but picked them up this morning
4 - mid morning, college kids woke up and finished the milk. I thought I had bought an extra gallon, but apparently they went through that already
5 - early afternoon, spouse realized he needed an ingredient for the turkey

I cook a lot but not a lot with onions. So I need to buy those specifically if they're in my recipe.

We cook a ton and have several homemade seasoning mixes that already have pepper. So I could totally see running out. We rarely use sugar so I didn't realize we were out until yesterday when my mom asked for some with her tea.

I ran out of dried thyme but was lucky that my potted thyme on my deck is still alive.

Ha. I just seasoned the turkey and ran out of pepper. I cook all the time. Just mindlessly.

Oops

I cook a lot so I run out of things.

I just ran out of garlic powder. When there are a bunch of people in one home, as much as you may say "if you use something up put it on the grocery list" inevitably someone uses something up and does NOT do that. Shit happens. You buy more. Why you would extrapolate this to mean people don't cook is ridiculous.

Anonymous wrote:It’s a time honored tradition in my family to make a last-minute grocery run during Thanksgiving, no matter how well we plan.

+1. I just sent DH out for buttermilk. After I got home I had a small panic when I realized that I didn’t know how many eggs we have. I always have some eggs, but the question is whether I have enough for pie and dressing? (I did, happily, but it will be tight if someone wants scrambled eggs in the am).

I don't think it's a big deal - I bought extra brown sugar while I was at the store yesterday. I always keep brown sugar on hand but I am expecting to use more than usual cooking for 16 for Tgiving. I assume that is what happened with pepper, salt, and onions.

It’s a time honored tradition in my family to make a last-minute grocery run during Thanksgiving, no matter how well we plan.

A coworker complained about running out of pepper and the other one said she made a last minute trip this morning to buy salt and onions. Both of them are having their parents for dinner which is only 2 more people in addition to their regular family count.
Is Thanksgiving the only time of the year people cook and eat? Is it common to not cook other times of the year? I understand questions around pies or specialties that aren't made frequently round the year. But aren't the other things such as using pepper, salt and onions really common?
I have had this question for a long time.