WNC State Farmer’s Market Visit

I parked outside of the Coates section and went inside. I walked up to the nearest end of the building to what I now know is “Cara’s Corner”. About the time that I saw on the far wall, a bunch of spices, I also noted Cara sweeping the floor. And, the dust did make me start to cough, but eventually she made it far enough from me so that I didn’t respond negatively.

As I walked toward the cash register, I noted some dried beans in boxes near the floor. I bought some Speckled butter(beans), Yellow eye ( a play on black eye peas I guess) and October beans. **I have since gone online to figure out how to cook these beans.

Above, I am cooking the Yellow Eye beans as I would Black Eyed Peas. The more they cook, the closer to the “look” of Black Eyed peas they become. But, they do appear to be plumping up larger than Black Eyed peas would. The peas were plumper, but I’m not sure of the flavor. But, with Black Eyed peas, they are usually better if you let them “sit” in the fridge for a day. The flavors meld and can become quite good. I am hoping these peas will do similarly… but I don’t think they will. *** The October beans, and the Yellow Eye peas seem to not have the distinctive flavors of more established beans & peas. I am guessing that white Butter beans, and Black Eyed peas have thrived because they were the most distinctive of their counter parts.

Cooking October Beans

I cooked a pot of October beans this afternoon, adding ham hock and chopped onion as they cooked. It took a little over an hour and a half, on stove-top for the beans to become completely tender.

I took some beans out and used the blender on them, returning the crushed beans back to the pot.

Their cooked texture and flavor reminds me of a Pinto or maybe a Kidney bean. And, look at the dried beans above. Some are red like a Kidney bean, and the rest become a solid brownish, with a slightly white interior when cooked. The cooked flavor is somewhat reminiscent of the refried beans that you can get at Taco Bell in their bean burrito. So, I would suggest flavoring the beans not with ham hock, and maybe adding jalapenos and maybe some Southwest Seasonings. Cilantro, cumin, paprika, sour cream, jalapenos, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese and sweet onion, hot sauce… ***I did blend the cooked beans and they are very good “refried beans”. But, since you can buy a can of refried beans fairly cheaply, I see no need to cook them from scratch.

NOTE [05/14/25]: I was just looking through my various “beans, beans, beans” articles and happened to notice for the first time that the October Beans I had bought at the State Farmers Market in Asheville several years ago, looked much like the Borlotti/Cranberry/Roman Beans I had tried some time later. It was an episode of one of the Jamie Oliver cooking shows where he cooked the Borlotti Beans and I decided to try them. I had been oblivious to theses beans until that point.

I enjoyed the flavor of these beans in a recipe which paired them with Red Chard. I think I bought a bag of the dry Cranberry Beans at IGA (or at least I recall seeing a bag of them there). I later saw cans of Roman Beans at Walmart.

Yes. When I just googled, October Beans are synonymous with the same bean, named otherwise. A bean by any other name would smell as sweet… Borlotti, Cranberry, October or Roman Bean. [end NOTE]

Cooking Speckled Butterbeans

I did not add salt to the beans, and the seasoning meat was the same as used in the other two beans, but these appeared much saltier. It may be that the bean itself has an almost “acrid” flavor which seems to have heighted the salty flavor. They are distinctive in flavor, but perhaps with a slight butterbean aftertaste… that flavor you get from the inside, mealy part of the butterbean. During cooking the beans go from speckled to a solid, deep brown color. The “pot liquor” is delicious when hot. *I think there might be some other seasoning(s) or additions (e.g. dandelion greens) or serving these beans with rice or pastry. I fixed some chicken gizzards & rice at the same time, and ended up eating both together, and the bean/rice combo worked fine.

In retrospect, I looked at the photos that I took, of the dried beans, the beans during cooking, and the finished dishes and I think all three beans look delicious. But, all three beans were a disappointment to me in that they just didn’t measure up to the more established and widely used beans: Black Eyed Peas and Butterbeans.

— The Yellow Eye Beans hinted at the flavor of Black Eyed Peas, but Black Eyed won out because they were just “more flavorable.”

— The October Beans when cooked took on the flavor of a Pinto or Kidney Bean. I suggested using Southwestern seasonings and maybe adding Jalapenos.

NOTE [10/21/22]: I made some good flavored Cranberry Beans (Borlotti) with Chard today (first time). I didn’t use any seasoning meat, and the beans still had a distinctive flavor. Not sure if it was the beans or the Chard. But, since the Cranberry beans look a lot like the October beans, I might give the October beans another try, cooking with the Chard as I did today. [end note]

— Speckled Butterbeans had an acrid flavor which may have added to their seeming more salty.

SEABOARD STATION:

Did I actually label the meal, “The Best Fried Chicken I’ve Ever Had!”? Yes, I did. And, it was the best I’ve ever had. This fried chicken was tender, moist and flavorful. I like their (Seaboard Station Restaurant, Hamlet, NC) steamed cabbage also, which is sweet. I don’t think they use any seasoning meat for this. The carrot cake is delicious, but that is Sara Lee. I can take fixins from their salad bar and make a good potato salad.

AVOCADO, MANGO, CHIPOTLE SALSA:

The photo of this salsa was taken while I was on a road trip. I recall driving down from Hickory to Lincolnton and stopping at various locations along the way looking for the few ingredients for this salsa. Definitely couldn’t find fresh mangos, but think I got Del Monte in a glass jar. I think I bought a couple of plastic bowls and cut up the ingredients with the knife in my utility tool. Stopped at a boat ramp for Lake Norman (some photos) and made and ate the salasa.

There are just a few ingredients in this. But, you need to give it time for the avocado to “break down” and become a cooling sauce for the other items. *I made this at home a short time ago, and refrigerated it. It was delicious cold.

After lunch I headed on to Salisbury, where I stopped by Danny & Jaime’s house. I seem to recall that Mary Ann had said she would be there, but no one was, and I found out that she had changed her plans.

SHEREFE:

Not sure when I first tried the lamb at Sherefe, but I definitely liked the flavor. They did not serve it as a “lunch special” very often, but when I saw it, I would head there for lunch. One time, I had forgotten that the lamb was grilled and when it arrived at the table, I sat back… but not for long, and it was delicious.

One humorous note, was that they served their Mediterranean Salad with just one Kalamta olive. I think I actually brought a couple with me once, in anticipation of ordering the salad.

Sherefe closed a couple of years ago. I think this was because of a City “street” project which severely limited customers from parking near, or getting to the restaurant. I think the owners still have another restaurant in town.

OLIVE BAR @ WHOLE FOODS:

The photo of the olive bar at Whole Foods in Raleigh is Pre-COVID. I should take a current photo to show you how different the two displays are. Now you have nowhere near the selection or quantities shown in the old photo.

ADDENDUM [07/05/22]: I was just in Whole Foods this afternoon, and I forgot to take a picture of the Olive Bar, but I did pull up the picture I have above on my phone, while I was standing beside the Bar. They don’t even have the Castelvetrano Olives, and the various other bins, shown above as overflowing, are sadly undersupplied. But, I did buy a “round” of one of my favorite cheeses, Capricho de Cabra which was in the long Cheese Counter nearby. I also bought some red lentils, and a couple of cans of Green Olives. These olives are from California, and although green, have the flavor of a Black Olive.

Looks like they may have discontinued the Dolce K Olive Mix.

Ingredients:

Pitted Green Olives, Water, Sugar, White Wine Vinegar, Sunflower Oil, ALMONDS (Nuts), Cranberries, Black Raisins, Honey, Orange Rind, Lemon Rind, Mustard Seeds, Turmeric, Hot Pepper Flakes (Chilli), Thyme, Ground Black Pepper, Citric Acid.

Ken Chappell’s Peaches & Apples stand is located on the other side of Pinehurst, almost up to Candor. During the peach season, the stand gets a couple of new varieties of peaches every couple of weeks (some sooner).

[NOTE 07/11/24]: Day before yesterday, I drove up to Ken Chappell’s fruit/veggie stand, a couple of miles this side of Candor, NC. It was Tuesday morning and they were busy. They had two varieties of peaches for sale and I bought some of each: “Contender Yellow” and “Bright Star White.” The Bright Star White peaches were delicious. Already took some of these peaches over to the Hendricks (Elton & Jeri sp?) yesterday afternoon after 5. Plan to keep a few and take the rest down to Mary Ann today.

Yesterday I made a quick trip up to Benson, NC and bought three packages of their Pepper Bacon and a small pack of shaved steak. The steak cost about $3.75 and there was/is enough for two stir-fry meals. I have already made one stir-fry with the steak and added broccoli, carrots & onions and the stir-fry veggies from Polar. *I love this pepper bacon! It goes well with my fried apples. If I haven’t mentioned it elsewhere, I don’t just put cinnamon & sweetener on the apples, but also add most of the other “warm” spices: cinnamon, cloves, coriander, ginger, mace and nutmeg,

I’m planning on taking two of the bacon packages down to Hubert today as gifts for Mary Ann and Ray. I’ve also bought a packet of the “wasabi-soy” powder and a container of salted pumpkin seeds for Jacquelin. We were talking about the wasabi-soy flavor when the group of us were eating at Bamboo House a few weeks ago.

Oh, and I have two Nicholas Sparks novels to give to Mary Ann. Not sure if she has them already, or has read them, or even if I have given her one or both of these. I recall seeing a TV movie (“Safe Harbor” ?) that was made from one of them, a few years ago, with the dancer/actress, Julianne Hough (Rooms to Go spokeswoman) as a main character. *She was fleeing an abusive relationship and ends up in Southport, NC and “finds love & safety (eventually) there.”[end NOTE]

PEACH VARIETIES

• China Pearl White (mid July)
• Contender Yellow (07/11/24)
  • This peach was good flavored also
  • I see a “Contender” in their long list with a July 1 ripen date.
• Blushing Star White (07/11/24)
  • This was a delicious peach.
  • I was told this was “Bright Star White” but I am changing the name to “Blushing Star White” with a ripen date of July 1 to match their long list of varieties.
• Montgomery Gold (07/22/25)
  • This is a good flavored peach.
  • I bought these a few days ago and they still haven’t ripened yet.
  • I had my first of these on July 30.
• Tyler (07/22/25)
  • This was a delicious peach. I’ve had sweeter flavored ones.
  • I bought these on 07/22/25 and I had my first on today, 07/28/25.
  • I’m going to check with them. I don’t see a “Tiana” on their long list, but I do see a “Tyler” that is in the same ripen range.
• Carolina Gold (07/22/25)
  • I bought these a few days ago and they still haven’t ripened yet.
• Flame Prince Yellow (Early August)
• Fairtime
  • Suggested ripen date of August 25th.
  • I would pass on this late season peach and just wait for the good flavored ones next year.

One of the newest forms of watercraft, an efoil, passes by one of the oldest forms of watercraft, a sailboat. It was late, on a rainy afternoon:

A little over a month ago, I had this webcam view, waterfront at Hotel Beaufort (NC), playing on my TV. I was more interested in my laptop, than watching the webcam, but that view is “relaxing”. Something new was added to the other watercraft chugging along eastward. I didn’t know what it was, but single individual, apparently not in or not on a small watercraft like a canoe, kayak or ski. Little or no wake, not a jet ski. Moving incredibly fast, passing everything going eastward. And the person came back in the opposite direction in about 10 minutes. *I googled and found “efoil”.

An efoil looks like a boogie board, with a fin beneath, and an electric motor & propeller, and has a Bluetooth hand controller for the rider to control their speed. It can also slice through the water at 25+ mph, which is incredibly fast. They are currently expensive, about $12K, and probably will always be inherently dangerous.

This is the nearest thing I’ve seen to being able to walk on water, and much closer to flying. Still, there is a submerged portion (electric motor, propeller & stabilizer fins) that will remain beneath the surface of the water. Dangerous? Well, you could always lose your balance while riding and fall where the efoil hits you with one of it’s sharp edges. Or, going 25+ mph on water, just falling off and skimming like a stone across the water, could be problematic. Or, the submerged portion might snag on something.

Still, I would like to see efoil races that run from the Beaufort waterfront over to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse and back. Maybe not much of a race since the lighthouse is about 8.5 miles from the Beaufort Hotel, as the seagull flies.

• fliteboard
• liftfoil
• takuma

I saw the Biden flag for sale on Amazon.com. How is that not considered “hate speech”? If you put any questionable group or individual in the location where “BIDEN” is placed, I think you would have a problem. HARVEY MILK…?

I have a Broccoli Casserole that is made with Minute Rice and Cream of Mushroom Soup that I like. I like the result warm, but I also like the squares cold. The recipe is online at the Minute Rice web site. I am not sure how long ago I first came across this recipe, but maybe more than 20 years, and I went quite a few years between making it, but have started again. Just finished my last of this last week.

I’m not sure why I came up with the idea to replace the broccoli with chopped spinach, but I did. I mentally went thorough the list of ingredients for the broccoli casserole and realized that chopped spinach should work just as well… spinach & rice, spinach and cheese, sauteed onion and spinach and rice, yeah, that all seemed plausible. *I just heard my Timer beeper going off saying that the Spinach Casserole has been in the oven 35 minutes.

I think the Broccoli is still going to be my “go to” favorite, but I just thought about using Asparagus also as an alternative. *I’m also thinking that I should either chop up some celery, or add a can of Cream of Celery Soup also. But, if I use canned soup, then I probably would have to get serious about adding the bread cubes to this, which I have only tried once recently.

Yes, this turned out well. I would still prefer broccoli to spinach, but there was nothing negative about the substitution. *This was almost as good cold as the broccoli casserole. The spinach takes on a more prominent flavor cold.

ADDENDUM [06/20/22]: I tried using asparagus today, instead of broccoli or spinach. I think I like asparagus least, and it wasn’t any better when the casserole was cold. It was still a good casserole, but the broccoli casserole is the best. *I did add chopped celery with Cream of Mushroom soup for the asparagus version. I used Cream of Chicken with the spinach.

Some time back, I read about the latest James Bond film, “No Time to Die”. I thought I had read that the plot had Bond becoming infected by nanobots and that meant he would never be able to be with his wife/lover and his child. But, that’s not how it turned out.

I saw this morning that I could watch “No Time to Die” for free. Well, the movie was now included in one of the streaming services to which I am currently subscribed. So, I turned it on. I didn’t manage to watch the whole movie but briefly fell asleep. I woke up before it was over. Bond was first told, the young girl wasn’t his, but by the end, it was obvious to all that the girl was Bond’s daughter. He got his “family” off the island that was about to be destroyed by missiles. The missiles sent to destroy ALL the dangerous nanobots. And, I missed exactly why the current Bond bad guy infected Bond with the nanobots, but with Bond infected, he knows that the nanobots in his body, must be included along with all the other nanobots, and there is no way to separate the nanobots from the man. So he gallantly orders the missile attack, and tells his lover/wife that he loves her, and stands there heroically as the missiles arrive and do their work.

Now we listen to Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong (long dead) sing “We Have All the Time in the World”. And if you recall Bond from long ago, with his new wife (Diana Rigg), just moments before she is killed by gunfire meant for her husband. How melancholy!

I wasn’t prepared for James Bond to die today. I was caught up in the emotion of losing a dear loved one. I had the feeling of that looming loneliness that I had when I watched the last episode of “Star Trek the Next Generation”. Or how about the feeling of “the Remorseful Day” when Morse dies alone, on his hospital bed, with nothing and no one. I can’t recall the other television series that affected me in the same way, but I know there was another. The characters, though not real, have become a part of you. You care for them as you do other loved ones, and now you realize that they won’t be there ever again… re-runs excluded.

Morse’s death was bleak. Godless Morse. The Opera and crossword puzzles and solving murders all gone from his grasp. Lewis and Morse have changed relationships. Lewis is the more knowledgeable “birder,” who knows that Morse is looking at a common swallow out his window, and not some more exotic bird.

I had forgotten about John Barry and his scores of musical movie scores. I really like his music. And now I recall one of the closing lines in the movie, “High Road to China”. This movie isn’t put together well, but there are enough components that when the character played by Tom Selleck tells the character played by Bess Armstrong to come toward him… and then “closer” and “put your arms around my neck.” And Tom Selleck says the most romantic thing, “I only made one mistake.” Armstrong, “And what was that?” To which he replies, “I should have sold you when I had the chance.” — Now that is as romantic as it gets.

I remember an instance of “WKRP in Cincinnati” when Les Nessman (sp?) is announcing a promotional event in which live turkeys are thrown from a helicopter, high in the sky. At first, Les can’t make out what is being thrown from the helicopter… and then “It’s turkeys. They’re hitting the ground like wet bags of cement.” And, later the station’s owner tries to defend himself with the statement, “Honest, I thought turkeys could fly.” — Now, the idea of that situation is as funny as it gets.

Bess Armstrong played a judge in one of the “Bosch” series. She is eventually murdered by a hitman who is trying to kill Harry’s daughter Maddie.

I re-watched a good deal of the movie, “Mullholland Falls” last night (after earlier in the day watching “No Time To Die”). I remembered that this was one of the earlier times that I had seen the actor Titus Welliver.

I like the movie “Mullholland Falls.” I guess another instance of something being thrown from a perfectly good aircraft. Turkeys not the only thing hitting the ground like “wet sacks of cement.” And, Treat Williams’s character wouldn’t try to justify his actions by saying, “I thought women could fly.”

I will look for my baby picture that I call, “Happy Baby”. It shows me as a baby, and I’ve got chocolate, from chocolate candy, all over my mouth. *I have not seriously looked for this photo, yet.

My dad holding my hand. I’m not happy. Looking for my mom, at the same park, holding my hand. I’m not happy.

d

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My game plan was to order a “Combo Dark Platter” at Smithfield’s Chicken -n- Barbecue and save the BBQ to add to my Brunswick Stew. Interestingly, the nearest SCNB restaurant is across town, and is 18 miles away. Fortunately, Interstate 295 “Fayetteville Outer Loop” has been completed over to that point and it takes about 20 minutes, one way now. *I think the SCNB in Dunn, NC is only 20 miles away.

Normally, I have a problem with the unsweet tea served at Smithfield’s. There have been many times that I have said, and that is because that is what it tastes like to me… “this tastes like they put cigarette ashes in water.” Now, anyone who has made iced tea at home, using Liptons, Luzianne or Tetleys, has probably tasted the tea before they added sugar or some other sweetener. Unsweet tea (is that Orange Pekoe usually) has a distinctive flavor, but it doesn’t taste like cigarette ashes. **It’s obvious that SCNB doesn’t take pride in their unsweet tea. Sweet tea has a delicious flavor, although it has been a long time since I ordered it at Smithfield’s (Type 2 Diabetes).

But yesterday, the unsweet tea had a decent flavor and adding sweetener made it palatable.

I did have a problem with their hushpuppies. I don’t think I have had that problem in the past. I recall eating two or three hushpuppies at other meals. But, this time, the hushpuppies were grainy, reminiscent of sand. I think this is called “short bread” when referencing biscuits or cookies that have this texture. Maybe too much Crisco and no flour to the corn meal. I threw out the remaining hushpuppies as I left Smithfield’s.

The BBQ looked good, and had a good flavor. But, I ate only a few pieces of the BBQ and focused on the fried chicken, potato salad and coleslaw.

Later, when I added the BBQ to the Brunswick Stew I was making, the BBQ became dark and seemed like it had been ground too finely. The chicken I shredded, from the baked chicken at Publix, was fine. *I wouldn’t use the BBQ from Smithfield’s again, but I would like pulled pork (maybe from the Redneck BBQ Lab – haven’t tried theirs yet).

The online recipe I used for the Brunswick Stew, included barbecue sauce. I didn’t have any barbecue sauce so I added Ketchup. The final product was a little vinegary but sweet. I definitely like tomatoes, corn, green lima beans and onion and chunks of potato.

I may not try to make this again, any time soon, because I don’t want to end up with a pot of Brunswick Stew that I’m not going to eat. But, if I could get the correct combo, I do like Brunswick Stew. **I bought a small bottle of “Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce” and added some to the helping of Brunswick Stew I had, and I think this may be a necessary ingredient. The Stew was closer to the good stews I have eaten.

My dad had a good recipe for Brunswick Stew, but I don’t think I still have it. Donna (my half sister) probably does still have it.

I bought a cabbage with the idea that I was going to make some coleslaw to go with the stew, but that didn’t happen, yet.

NOTE [06/15/22]: I finished off the Brunswick Stew yesterday, and added some BBQ Sauce before finishing it. Not right away, but I would try this again, with just the shredded chicken & not forgetting the BBQ Sauce.

I was rereading about the first time I had Tiger Sauce, which was at the East Village Grille in Asheville, NC in 2011. I had a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich and potato salad and apparently used the Tiger Sauce on the steak sandwich.

So, I was wondering what to have for supper tonight. I had cooked a T-bone steak earlier in the day, at the same time I was cooking the chicken thighs. I thought, I should make a steak sandwich slicing up some of the steak, and use a ciabatta roll for the sandwich bread. I toasted the inside of the bread, and then melted a couple of slices of baby swiss (the last from the Pastrami Rachels I had made a couple of weeks ago). I then put the steak between the two slices of bread and then cut the sandwich in half.

I also boiled some Yukon Gold potatoes in the same pot that I was boiling three eggs. I wanted to use one hard boiled egg in my potato salad. I chopped up some Vidalia onion, added some sweet pickle slices (sweetened with Splenda by Mt. Olive Co.), Splenda, S&P, celery seeds, and some Dukes Mayo.

The potato salad turned out excellently. It was a little sweet, with small chunks of potato and sweet onion. I opened a bottle of the Habanero-Lime Tiger Sauce and added it to the steak sandwich as I ate it.

After I had finished the sandwich, I looked at the opened bottle of Tiger Sauce. I saw that of the 5 oz. bottle, I had probably used about 1/5. I noted that this would approximate the black plastic cup that EVG provided with the Tiger Sauce. I think they might have charged me 35 cents for the cup of TS, which I thought was expensive. I even thought it rude that they had charged me to try this, even though I didn’t know if I was going to like it. I did like it! So, 1/5 of a bottle of Tiger Sauce would cost about 55 cents today. I guess they charged me just the right amount for trying the TS.

NOTE: Boiling eggs in the same pot when you are boiling potatoes. If the egg shells are clean, there is no reason not to do “double-duty” by combining the two while cooking. After the potatoes were done, there was still a few minutes left for the eggs, so I used a colander and drained the hot water into a larger pot. I then separated the potatoes from the eggs. I put the hot water back in the original pot and added the eggs back to finish boiling. I then went on to put the potatoes in a large glass bowl.

I didn’t buy my Pyrex glass bowls as a set, but I did buy them all at the same time: two very large, two next size down, and two the smallest. There was a store, across town, that was selling assorted items. I saw these bowls and must have thought them a good purchase. *In the years since, I’ve used the very largest bowls rarely, but usually when I was fixing a large dish to take to a work event/party. The next size down were perfect for a bowl of microwaved popcorn. Sometimes you just need a bowl that’s much larger, for mixing ingredients, and then after you’ve got them mixed, you can store them in a smaller plastic container.