I had bought a can of mixed beans (Black, Kidney, Pinto Beans) from Whole Foods (about $1.27 for a 15 oz. can) and then, when back in town (Fayetteville) I had bought a Rotisserie Chicken from Harris Teeter. I currently think that the HT roasted whole chicken has better flavor than the Publix version, and HT is about a dollar cheaper at around $6.88 plus tax. I had bought several ears of corn on the cob, but I don’t recall from where.

I went to Farm Fresh and got some red, pickled Peruvian peppers (small bright red tear drop shaped peppers), and some of the multi-colored Peppadew peppers. I added these along with a half can of wax (yellow) & half a can of green beans, to a half of the 365 Bean Trio from Whole Foods and some chopped sweet onion. I poured in a little white distilled vinegar, some red wine vinegar and some Apple Cider vinegar and some Splenda sweetener. Even with using the half cans of beans, I still ended up with enough bean salad for three helpings.

I think I first enjoyed a bean salad at Ryan’s in Fayetteville some years ago. They had a good buffet and were over near where the current Cracker Barrell is located, next to WalMart. Ryan’s was a chain and eventually went out of business in Fayetteville, leaving suddenly, with little warning to their employees. Not sure I would have come up with combining various beans in a pickled vinegar base, but I liked it. Through the years I’ve made it, but always have made too much (using a can each of the various beans) and ended up throwing away more than I’ve enjoyed eating. *Not sure if I would like adding garbanzo beans to this mix, but might try it some day.

For my meal, I pulled off a drumstick with some white meat attached. I microwaved one ear of corn which takes about six minutes total. *I’ve found that I can put the corn, in husk, in for two minutes and then cut off the stalk end and cook for four more minutes and it’s done. This corn was sweet and tender. And, I had a helping of the bean salad.

The vinegar in the salad cut some of the fattiness of the rotisserie chicken and the corn was just a delicious “comfort food” addition to the meal.

And, this was so good that I had it again the next day… and I think I still have at least one more ear of corn to make it a delicious three meals.

So what’s the approximate cost of this meal? Let’s say 50 cents for the ear of corn. $1.45 for the roasted chicken.

Divide the bean salad by 3 (for three helpings) .75 for half of the Bean Trio, .65 for half the green beans, .85 for half of the wax beans and approximately $2.25 for the Peppadews, Peruvian peppers and the chopped sweet onion. .25 for the Splenda and .60 for the three types of vinegar used. So, $1.45 for the bean salad.

Approximate total would be $3.40. That’s a damned good price for a delicious meal.

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[NOTE 08/28/24]: I made chicken salad from some of the rotisserie chicken I had bought at Harris Teeter earlier in the week, and I still have enough for another, or another helping of white meat chicken. After I made the chicken salad, I read some of the ingredients that I had added in a previous concoction and I had left out garden peas & pasta shells. I think either of these would have enhanced the salad, but it was still good.

Yesterday was the day I scheduled to have my blood work done. The young black woman was surprisingly gentle, even though she couldn’t locate the vein in my right arm and had to go to the left to be successful. She was also very quick. It seemed like she had hardly put the needle in when she was removing it. I said something to the effect, “You’re quick too. You used to have to take two vials of blood.” To which she said, “I did.” She had taken two vials and was labelling each. *I didn’t sense any loss of time from when she put the needle in my left arm, but now that I think about it, it went too quickly for it to have actually been done that quickly.

So on my blood work days, I don’t eat anything after midnight and only drink water until the test is performed. I went to JKs after for breakfast. There were not many customers when I sat down. I ordered an egg over medium, link sausage, home fries, whole wheat toast and hot tea. *I forgot to bring a tea bag so I used theirs. I did bring some seasoning from home that had a little curry powder in it. **The food was really good. [end NOTE]