I had breakfast at Famous Toastery in Southern Pines this past Saturday morning.  Afterwards I rode around Pinehurst and then decided to do some grocery shopping before heading back home to Fayetteville.

I stopped in to the Fresh Market and bought some Carolina Shrimp, Andouille Sausage, some olives and pickled cauliflower, Peppadews, a bag of potatoes, some Ale Nuts, Wasabi Peas, a loaf of whole seed, Rye bread, and some seeded crackers.

As I was coming up on Lowe’s Foods, I decided to stop in (I had not been to this location before.) and get some corn on the cob.  I did not wander about the store, but almost immediately found a Tomato Bar and saw some little yellow grape tomatoes.  If you were at a farmers market, it would be standard practice to try one before buying it.  I looked down and saw a sign that said just that… try it, get a container and fill the container.

I also started to take a few pictures of the tomato bar and a nearby Produce Manager asked if there was something wrong.  I said, “Oh, no.  On the contrary, there is something right.  These little yellow tomatoes are delicious.”  We had an extended conversation.  He suggesting that I try the larger red (local – greenhouse) tomatoes.  I bought one and had it in a tomato and bacon, with mayo, on whole seed Rye bread sandwich for lunch once I returned home.  *It was a good flavored tomato.

I walked over and bought a couple of ears of corn on the cob, in the husk, and later realized it was a white, sweet corn.  The husks looked withered, but the corn was fine for my Frogmore Stew for dinner.

I didn’t roam about the store, but went to the checkout and stood briefly behind a man and his young daughter (a baby, but sitting up in the cart).  He started to move the cart around to the side of the checkout and caught the cart a couple of times on the edge of the checkout.  I almost said something like, “Well, he hasn’t even started drinking and he’s running into things.”  Not sure why I started to say that, unless I had subconsciously  picked up on the gist of his purchases.  *I stopped myself, and looked down at his purchases.  Not all, but most of the items were various beers.

I had purchased a mix-n-match six-pack of assorted beers at the Fresh Market.  *I don’t like the flavor of beer, but every once in a while, I think about giving it another try.  Here was my chance to try several beverages without having to waste my money on a six-pack of each.  I bought an Angry Orchard “Rose” that I had seen recently advertised.  One of the Stella Artois, another cider and a dark lager.

I tried the lager for lunch and yep, hated it, but I decided to use the rest in the Frogmore Stew.  I had the Angry Orchard Rose for dinner, and with a little “sweetner,” that became palatable, pleasant.  The Carolina Shrimp were large (21-25).  The Andouille Sausage was a little chewy.  The potatoes were good, and I added a chopped onion and the two ears of corn cut so that there were six smaller sections.  Added the Old Bay Seasoning, some chicken broth (beef would have been okay, if I had it).

Forgot that I left the corn on the cob in the husk and microwaved them for a little less time than I normally do, and then cut them up and added them to the stew for that last little bit of cooking and flavoring.

I used one of my mid-sized, glass bowls and put all the Frogmore Stew in it with just a little liquid.  I remembered from the previous time that I shouldn’t have a large bowl of liquid to slosh around, while I’m watching TV from, my easy chair;-)