I am a retired Web Developer, Blackboard & Canvas Administrator at Fayetteville State University, which is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina.
I think I tried to fix fried rice at home a few years ago, and it wasn’t successful. Little did I know that Sesame Oil was probably the main ingredient that I didn’t have that first time. The first time, I added soy sauce, but that didn’t give my attempt the flavor I was familiar with at Chinese restaurants.
But, this time, I managed to get all the basic ingredients necessary and came up with a very pleasing outcome.
I already had an electric wok. I haven’t used it recently, but have been pleased with the stir-fry meals I have prepared previously.
I started with some Avocado Oil, and some Sesame Oil. To this I added some (frozen) thawed veggies, including corn, garden peas, carrots and green beans. I picked out almost all of the green beans, but might leave them in next time.
I chopped up some green onions including the green and white parts.
After the veggies were fairly well cooked, I moved them aside and added a couple of eggs to be scrambled. I began to incorporate the eggs with the veggies, adding some more Sesame Oil and Soy Sauce. I then added the white rice. [ *I now cook my rice a new way that produces perfectly cooked rice with individual grains. I currently measure a cup of white rice, and add it to a large amount of boiling water, and set the microwave timer for 9 minutes. At the end of 9 minutes, I drain the water off and put the rice in a storage container. The rice is perfectly done, and the individual grains do not stick together. ] I had cooked the rice yesterday, and put it in the refrigerator, and a short time before cooking it, I moved the rice to the freezer. As I mixed the rice, veggies and scrambled eggs, I added some more Soy Sauce, and Sesame Oil, and also added a little Oyster Sauce.
I had put a bag of shrimp in the microwave to thaw. That takes about 15 minutes. This is something I also do for my Kielbasa, Shrimp & Zucchini dish. At the end of the thawing time, the shrimp are already pink and cooked, so I added them to the fried rice.
Here is what it looked like before I added the shrimp, and this turned out to be delicious. Definitely something that I will try to repeat on a regular basis.
China King Restaurant (Lowes Strip Mall)
I may need to check to see if I can get a couple of egg rolls from my currently favorite Chinese Restaurant. This restaurant closed their small seating area and had a sign on the door several months ago that you needed to call to place your order, and come to pick it up where they will bring your order to the door. Needless to say, I haven’t been back there in a long while, but I did like the flavor of their egg rolls, and I can make Hot Mustard Sauce at home. I take some of the hot mustard with me when I go to Maguros, which also has a good egg roll that they include with their lunch special (Thai Basil Chicken).
The hot mustard frightens me some because if I get a good “snoot full,” I lose my breath for a second, and the hotness splits my brain halves. I have to sit there recovering from the effects. Not sure if I think I am about to go into a coughing spell, or just pass out… but I do love the heat. This is something that doesn’t hang around like eating Jalapenos, Chipotles or other types of hot peppers that you might include in a Mexican meal.
ADDENDUM [09/26/21]: I had a late-nite snack of fried rice and heated it up in the microwave with some country ham bits. Added a little more soy sauce. The country ham worked very well.
NOTE: I have cooked my rice, most of my life by measuring out a certain amount of water over the amount of rice to be cooked. The idea was to let the water cook off and when the water was gone, the rice should be cooked too. This didn’t always work, and sometimes I had to add more water to finish the cooking process, and sometimes the rice came out clumpy (stuck together). **See above for the new way to cook rice that works perfectly. You have way more water than rice and you cook for a set time of 9 minutes. But, when you drain off the water, the rice is perfectly cooked and the grains are individual. For fried rice, put the cooked rice in a storage container, for the refrigerator, or the freezer. Online says to use cold rice for preparing fried rice.
I had a piece of lamb shoulder left from a previous meal. I heated it up. I also re-heated some garden peas, and some green beans, potatoes & seasoning meat. I found some Roma tomatoes that I had cooked on the stove top with Balsamic vinegar and sweetener. I left this cold. I sliced off a small amount of Vidalia onion.
Tomatoes, Onion, Balsamic & Red Wine Vinegar & Sweetner
All these flavors came together really well.
08/11/21
Lamb shoulder, green beans, potatoes & seasoning meat, corn on the cob (late in the season, but still a comfort food). *I do love the lamb flavor.
Oh, I bought my first bread assortment at Publix this morning. Beforehand, I had been to the Cumberland County Courthouse. This was the scheduled date (Court Room 002C – AM) for the Vehicular Manslaughter case against Shirley Mae Barath.
I asked for Cyndi at Publix. She was in the middle of putting several trays of bread in the large oven. So, all I had to do was to select several types of bread on the public shelves and Cyndi took it behind the counter and packaged each into smaller units. A bag with two Pretzel Rolls. A bag with four dinner rolls. A bag with a couple of knots. The package with four dinner rolls was only $1. Apparently, they have no trouble selling the odd packages of bread that are left.
I think I met the whole family at the courthouse and a friend.
I was watching old episodes of America’s Test Kitchen, or maybe Cook’s Country and they did a taste test comparison on spaghetti sauce starters. I have used the Hunts or Delmonte starters that cost around $1 for years. But, on the show their winning sauce was a Rao’s sauce, which was very expensive, about $7 per jar, compared to what I normally start with. *But, that did place a question in my mind.
So, I happened to see Rao’s on the shelf in Walmart the other day. The price was a little over $7 for the jar. I didn’t notice that this was “Tomato Basil Sauce” or know that there were other versions. I hesitated at first, but then decided to at least try Rao’s once and put the jar in my shopping cart (der Einkauftswagen).
Tonight I decided to make my spaghetti sauce. I saw the jar of Rao’s on my counter.
So I started with some chopped onion in olive oil in a tall pot on the stove-top. I then added ground beef and after that browned, I added a can of diced roasted tomatoes and then looking at the jar of Rao’s I hesitated and thought, for $7 I am just going to put half of it in this sauce.
As I go, I chop up some orange & yellow bell pepper, open and add a small can of mushroom pieces, some roasted garlic, and a couple of cloves of raw garlic. Now, I have added some salt, some freshly ground pepper, some thyme, marjoram, dry basil, dried oregano, fennel seeds, several anchovies with their oil, and some red pepper flakes. I think that is all that I added to the starter.
But, here is the thing. When I finally tasted this sauce, somewhere during the above process, I was immediately wowed by the different, and most assuredly better taste. As far as I know the only difference in this sauce and the others I have made over the last several years is starting with Rao’s. And, I think I may pay the extra cost and use Rao’s as my starter sauce… or at least until the difference is no longer worth it.
I made a Greek salad, and had angel hair pasta, with an Italian blend of cheeses (just two types) with the finished spaghetti sauce. It was a very pleasing meal.
NOTE: When I say “anchovies with their oil” this is what I mean. After I open a can of anchovies, what I don’t use, I put in a small tupperware container along with the oil they are packed in, and put that in the freezer. The oil hardens and turns whitish. When I want to use this frozen anchovies, I just use a fork to chop out a couple of anchovies and chip off some of the frozen oil. This melts quickly into whatever I am cooking on the stove.
I have used the canned Hunts or Delmonte spaghetti sauce starters for many years. I even recall when those companies started selling their starter sauces in slightly smaller cans. I kept one of their larger cans, and may have even taken a picture of the difference in sizes. That is the way a company can continue to sell an item for about the same price, when in actuality they are selling less of their product for a higher per unit price.
Now, if I had only kept some old yogurt containers because that was a really drastic change in size for the price. The current containers almost seem like thimbles (der Fingerhut) compared to what used to be.
GreenWise Sprouted Multigrain Bread, per slice (43-46g), contains approximately 100 calories, 1g total fat, 140mg sodium, 20g total carbohydrates (including 3g fiber), and 5g protein. It is USDA Certified Organic and made with sprouted wheat berries and millet, but does contain honey and wheat ingredients, so it is not gluten-free.
Here are the typical nutrition facts for one slice (43-46g):
No Artificial Ingredients: The bread is free from artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives.
I had a really good visit and experience at Publix this morning. Normally, I walk over to the fresh bread section, walking past the cakes and cookies. There was a baker working at the counter, but I didn’t strike up a conversation although I wanted to ask someone if they ever would sell an “assortment” of breads where I could maybe get a couple of pretzel rolls, four dinner rolls, and a half loaf of Rye bread. I am single and I don’t need a whole loaf of Rye, or four pretzel rolls, or six dinner rolls. Some will go bad before I eat them all, and in fact, I probably wouldn’t eat the dinner rolls, except that I am currently in my “lamb” stage, cooking lamb at home and trying to replicate a good meal that I had when Sherefe would offer a lunch special on the lamb, with a Greek salad and yeasty dinner rolls.
As I was walking over to the bread section, I noticed an employee walking past me leaving that section. I looked at the bread and then walked away from the area. I walked toward the back of the store. I don’t recall why I stopped by a display of “real” bunches of sunflowers, but I recall looking down at them to see if they were real. They were real, but seemed wilted.
I then walked around the corner and as I did the female employee that had walked away from the bread section came around face to face, and we had to step aside. She even said something to the effect that, “Oh we meet again.” She took a few steps, but I turned around and called out to her, “do you work in the bakery section”. She turned and acknowledged that she did work in the bakery. I said, “Can I ask you a question”. I then said that I was single, and that often I did not need to buy a bunch of bread, but could I buy an assortment. The employees’ name was “Cyndi” (sp) and she was very energetic and mentioned that there was another customer that already was purchasing an assortment of breads, and that it was no problem for them to create an assortment for me. I said, “That’s fantastic (or great)”. She said to come see her in the bakery when I want to buy an assortment. I thanked her and walked away.
Now I walk down, past the frozen seafood freezer, past the seafood section, past the meat counter, and then along the packaged meats section. Part way down the area is a small section of lamb. There was one package of lamb shoulder and I picked it up looking at the per pound price, which was about $7.49 per lb. and that was about 20 cents less that the lamb I had purchased there about a week before.
I then walked back to the meat counter. There was a young butcher working at a table. He was in the process of trimming meat, or maybe just cutting it into smaller pieces. He did not look up as I arrived at the counter, and I waited to see if he would look up from his current task. After about 30 seconds, I asked if I could ask a question. He looked up. I asked how often they had lamb. He said they tried to keep lamb in stock, and that they had to cut the lamb up. *I had in another article mentioned that their lamb looked “locally” packaged, which was different from the packaged lamb at Harris Teeter. Now, Harris Teeter had a large selection of lamb. **Almost no one has much lamb in the local grocery stores. It is not something that I have seen on display in “southern” groceries.
I walked away from the meat counter and started up an isle toward the front of the store. There was a young man, store employee, stocking the shelves. I navigated past him, and I think he said something positive toward me, which made me stop, as I was beside the Hispanic section. The area where the Herdez Salsa Ranchera should be was at about eye level with me. Since I had already had two positive encounters with store employees I decided to initiate another dialogue. I asked, “Can I make a suggestion”. He turned his attention toward me.
I went through my “spiel” regarding the Herdez Salsa Ranchera, having been stocked when the store first opened, but was soon discontinued and had not reappeared since. He looked on his phone at an app and suggested that if I could supply the bar code from the can of Salsa Ranchera, that he might be able to see if they could stock this item. I thanked him and headed to the front of the store to pay for my package of lamb.
The cashier was very attentive and asked if I was ready to check out. As I was paying for my lamb, I struck up a conversation with the cashier. I suggested that if she could try the lamb, with some “char” on it it might be very good, since I had a good experience with it. I mentioned Sherefe and that it was closed, and she seemed to be aware of the restaurant and she was surprised that it was closed. Sherefe has been closed at least a couple of years, so she must live in a different direction.
I had a bake at home whole wheat dinner roll (not what they called it). You see how beautiful the lamb shoulder chop was getting on the stove top. The salad had Spring Mix greens, Vidalia onion, Kalamata olives, Campari tomatoes and feta cheese. I used avocado oil, red wine vinegar, yellow mustard, Agave nectar, sweetner, and salt & pepper for the salad dressing. This was a very comforting meal!
][ADDENDUM 01/04/25]: I haven’t completely reread the above posting, so if I am redundant, sorry.
I’ve continued to shop at Publix and have a good relationship with one of the bakers. I don’t know her name, but we recognize each other readily, and I do know she is from Jacksonville, FL originally. But, I can ask, as I did yesterday, if I can have “half a loaf and sliced, please,” and they will do it for me. They will slice the load, separate it into two, at half price each, and then let me choose which one I want. I bought a multi-seeded dark loaf (half) and I saw some sourdough English muffins and bought a bag of those. I had one of the English muffins this morning, with white American cheese, a slice of fresh ham (I bought at a HT across town yesterday, after eating at Pharaoh’s Legacy for lunch) and an egg I prepared in the microwave onion cooker. *I do need to toast the bread first.
I had never been to that Harris Teeter, although I had eaten at Pharaoh’s Legacy quite a few times. It was a very nice HT, and I think it may be the “flagship” HT in our area. Much like the WalMart on the other side of town is probably the best one in Fayetteville. I was looking for eggnog, but I guess that season is gone. I think they (all stores, all brands) either sell out before Christmas, or send it back to the company directly after Christmas. *I just thought, Fresh Market might still have some.
I buy most of my bread at Publix, but also some of the LaFarm Bread at Whole Foods in Raleigh. The two other things I buy at Publix are the frozen Heads/Shells/Tails off medium shrimp, and their Round Bone Lamb Chops imported from New Zealand.
I’ve not had a round bone lamb chop in quite a while, nor have I fixed my Shrimp/Kielbasa/Zucchini dish in some time. I’m almost surprised that I really only have two meals a day to prepare, and if, as yesterday, I bring home half of my lunch (lamb gyro pita & Greek salad) I’ve got to insert that into one of two meals in the next couple of days. [end]
Looks like the ingredients for a Greek Salad, but also includes the dressing ingredients, and then they are listed separately. I realized that Romaine Lettuce was missing from the list so I’ve added it below.
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Red Wine vinegar
Mustard
Oregano
Basil
Majorham
Ground Pepper
Salt
Agave Nectar
Sweetner
Spring Greens
Vidalia Onion
Yellow Bell Pepper
Romaine Lettuce
Kalamata Olives
Cherry Tomatoes
Feta Cheese
Greek Salad Dressing
6 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic (1 large clove)
1 1/2 Tbsp finely minced fresh parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp honey
Salt, to taste
Sherefe is no more…
A few years ago the road in front of Sherefe, is that Green Street, was torn up and being repaired. This hindered the number of customers and the owner closed this location and I think I heard he was focused at his other restaurant across town. They had a lunch special on the lamb and I tried it. I’m not sure I had ever had lamb, or cooked in this way, and when I tasted it, I was wowed. It tasted great! The Publix lamb shoulder, right below, looked good. I just cooked it in a pan on the stove top and it turned out great. I had cooked one about a week ago, and browned it on the stove top and then put it in the oven for a short time. Didn’t think I needed that the next time.
Harris Teeter $9.99 per lb. Publix $7.69 per lb.
The Publix lamb was packaged more like it was local, and it was about $1.30 per pound less.
[01/04/25]: I have no clue why I entitled the above posting “My Funny Valentine.” The posting date isn’t February 14th, and there seems to be nothing about those song lyrics in the post. The soup shown was from Sherefe. I think it was sweet potato soup and it was seasoned wonderfully. But, after quite a while they offered it again, and this time it wasn’t flavored as it had been that one time. Oh, well…
VinChef Wok Electric Wok
I’ve bought a new wok recently. Actually, I bought a new electric wok, and a new stove-top VinChef wok (not electric, but oven safe). I’ve used the oven-safe wok a couple of times to broil a couple of pork chops, and maybe a steak. It worked well. *I love the patina that’s formed on the Vinchef pan. [end]
[08/11/25]: I’ve mentioned previously how I eat in cycles. I might eat the same breakfast at the Rainbow for 200 days, and then for an unexplained reason (at least to me) I want something different. The Rainbow breakfast was probably pretty close to this each morning: “Two eggs over medium, with bacon (later patty sausage) and potatoes (later grits) and whole wheat toast (sometimes buttered, sometimes not). And, coffee with creamer and sweetener (the sweetener was after years of sugar, and then being diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic).
*Unfortunately, over the years the Rainbow “dumbed down” their ingredients and the eggs weren’t “as good,” and the bacon “sucked” and the coffee might or might not be good. And the coffee they use is the same, day after day, and also the same as that used over at JK’s Restaurant. I don’t know if it is the person that makes the coffee that morning or not, but it can be good and it can suck. Even a metallic taste on some mornings. I think the dumbing was mainly due to being able to maintain their low prices, but even those prices crept up over the years and I seem to recall one morning coming to the realization that a cup of coffee cost about $2.65 plus tax. And then I made some sort of joke about “That and $2.65 will buy you a cup of coffee at the Rainbow.” The phrase some reference to a funny line in a movie or TV show. Probably a 1930s or 40s Black & White movie, Film Noir… but the character would have said, “That and a dime will buy you a cup of coffee.”
Well, I rarely eat at the Rainbow for breakfast any more. When I worked, and the Rainbow was just about half way between where I lived for many years, and my work at Fayetteville State University, it was a perfect “stop off” for breakfast instead of me cooking at home. Quick in, quick out.
COVID was a major game changer, and I started eating almost entirely at home, but since COVID, I have begun to eat out more. But Taco Bell, which was a once or twice a week meal has become a rarely over a year visit. *I’ve stopped Taco Bell (they had a crew at their Ramsey Street location that were excellent at their efficiency – take the order, prepare it correctly and quickly, take your money, give you the bag of food and you’re gone) because of the calories [920 total] in my favorite meal (a Beef Burrito Supreme [390], a Bean Burrito [360] and a Crunchy Taco [170]). Shortly before I stopped, I would only choose two of the items, instead of three, but then even that became a stretch when I became more committed to eating better. I couldn’t afford the calorie count in a day and still eat all the nutrition that I needed. **And that is why I’ve sworn off Smithfield’s Chicken -n- BBQ.” I just checked online, “1960” calories for a “Combo Dark” Meal. Heck, my whole daily calorie goal is only 1880 calories. I rarely hit the 1880 goal, but I’m closer than I would be if I had one meal at SCNB. And their “unsweet tea” sucks! Sweet tea delicious but I’m a Type 2 and don’t need the sugar.
Oh, and during my 24 years of work life in Fayetteville, I would go to Golden Corral for maybe one or two lunches a week, and across town to the GC across from the Mall for a Saturday or Sunday morning breakfast buffet. No telling how many calories I got from eating there. But I didn’t stop going their because of the calorie count. No, they both built and then closed the location nearest me on Ramsey Street, and finally it is now a 7-11 Convenience Store. They tore down the old Mall location and rebuilt it, but the layout was different (a negative) and the acoustics were horrible (sound bouncing off the bare walls) and the seating a little too close together. Originally they had an undulating pattern to their various food type locations. There was a little alcove for the salad bar, an alcove for the veggies and I think one for the drinks & dessert section. The new layout was one long, straight bar, and this meant that when you went to get an item, you were being confronted either from the left or right by other customers.
COVID killed Golden Corral for me and another favorite buffet, the Hibachi Grill.” When the Hibachi Grill came to town it killed a favorite small Chinese restaurant, “China II.” China II had a “Jalapeno Pork” dish on their buffet that was soooo good. But, you suffered at about 2 am after having that lunch. But the night pain always seemed to be worth the deliciousness at lunch time.
I loved a bunch of items on the Hibachi Grill, but COVID meant I stopped going there as I also stopped going to the Cracker Barrell for Sunday breakfast. For several years, I ate almost every Sunday, at the Cracker Barrell Restaurant over off of I95. Even with the “metallic or chemical” flavor of some of their breakfast items, I enjoyed that breakfast each morning. But, I did hate their coffee and got into the habit of ordering their hot tea which I enjoyed. *Ironically, and I’ve written about it elsewhere, during COVID I ran out of my favorite bagged coffee beans at home and had to scrounge, and found a bag of ground Cracker Barrell coffee in the back of one of my shelves. I’m thinking it was a present from maybe Deborah Savage, because I wouldn’t have bought coffee from CB and if I had I would have wanted the whole bean so I could grind it at home periodically.
But I made a cup of coffee from the Cracker Barrell bag. It was delicious. I didn’t think about my hatred of the CB coffee in their restaurant. The next morning I made some more and it was good again. And I didn’t think about my hatred of their coffee when ordered in the restaurant. Finally on the third day I made and drank another good cup of coffee and I then realized, “I hate Cracker Barrell coffee!” But this was good coffee. It was also during COVID and I wasn’t going out to eat anywhere. So I drank myself through the bag and just about the time that COVID restrictions were beginning to be dropped, and I had my second follow-up vaccination, I went out for a haircut and a first visit after a long time to CB.
I had breakfast at CB and then looked for a bag of their coffee. They only sell their coffee as regular or as decaffeinated ground coffee. No whole bean. The bag color had also changed from a shiny bronze theme to a light shiny blue. But, and I didn’t find this out until I got home and made my first cup from the new bag… the coffee from the new bag, sucked. They had changed the recipe and it wasn’t the coffee I had enjoyed repeatedly from that old bronzy bag. Damn.
And now to end this pain because it is almost 7 am and time for me to check my blood glucose level and weigh before fixing breakfast. I haven’t had a stir-fry meal in quite a while. I enjoy fixing stir-fry. It is quick to prepare the various ingredients, quick to cook in the electric wok, and clean-up is a breeze. But as with other food cycles this is one for the present time. I also haven’t broiled a round bone lamb chop in a long while although I do have at least one package in my freezer. They cook really well on HI in the oven Broiler (20 minutes on one side and then about 5-7 minutes on the other side. The Vinchef wok goes in the oven, and I just have to be careful when checking it and taking it out because the handle becomes quite hot.
Seems like I am forgetting one other item I haven’t fixed in a while, but it will come to me later. I hope.
I came up with this soup, “on the fly” because I had purchased some rapini (broccoli rabe) at Sprouts. I think it was under $3 for a good sized bunch of buds, leaves & stems which I recognized as a good deal! The main grocer (I take him to be so.) at Sprouts, keeps a well stocked vegetable & fruit section. Often there are very good prices, but you would think that Sprouts might be “high end” and they are on some things.
Broccoli Rabe (Rapini) at Sprouts in Fayetteville, NC.
The first time I made this, I used a odd sized can of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup and the finished product had such a distinctive flavor (due to the rapini, which I had steamed first separately) that I wanted to make it again. The second time, I realized that I would have to supply the canned soup ingredients. I used chicken stock, chunked chicken breast, margarine, and pasta shells. I cooked this all in one pot, and did not pre-steam (cook) the rapini. Not sure on how to get the pasta shells to be done, without overcooking the rapini. The rapini did not bleach out though.
Chicken Breast (chunks – canned)
Rapini (Broccoli Rabe)
Onion
Pasta Shells (Medium)
Mushroom Pieces
Hot Pepper Flakes
Marjoram
Garlic Powder
Chicken Stock
Olive oil
Margarine (butter)
Salt & Pepper
One pot process:
I chopped the onion and put it in the pot first, with some margarine and olive oil and began to brown the onion slightly. I then added the dry pasta shells which became shiney with the oil & melted margarine coating. I poured in some chicken stock to cover the dry pasta, and later added some water. I let the pasta cook for a while to get it near being done, but then added the rapini, mushrooms and chunk chicken. The red pepper flakes, marjoram, salt & pepper are added throughout. I only added three garlic cloves slightly crushed, and some garlic powder.
NOTE [ 09/16/23 ]: I had some mild peppers (bought at State Farmer’s Market – Raleigh) left and a few chicken strips. I also had just bought (yesterday at Pate’s) some good looking okra. This soup has chicken, lentils, carrots, peppers, okra, onions and a few small tomatoes cut up. Although I read online that you shouldn’t (or its not done) include okra and Gumbo File powder to your soups. Supposed to choose one or the other. I think Gumbo File powder is supposed to be used as a thickener. *This is made from Sassafras. I remember a long time ago that my mom and I were walking on the old farm, way in the back along a sandy road. I think there was a Sassafras plant growing in the middle of this path. We managed to cut out a little of the Sassafras root and took it back home and made hot tea out of it. With sugar, and some creamer, the Sassafras tea was good.
***As I recall, I didn’t like the flavor of the Chicken Rappini soup. It looked good, but I wouldn’t make it again. But, the latest soup above had good flavor, with just minor heat. The okra added to it’s earthy flavor.
Arnold’s makes good, moist bread. I like their 12 Grain, Whole Wheat and Rye breads. I just made a simple sandwich of Kielbasa (sliced in two and heated in the microwave), some sweet mustard (Frenches with Agave Nectar added), a little sweet onion, and a little taste of relish with some of it, and a slice of 12 Grain bread. This is such a simple “comfort food” but one that I remember, every so often. The warmth of the sausage, the moist bread and the sweet mustard… mmm.
And how I would handle this now. I would use “Knock Your Sprouts Off” or “Ezekiel 4:9” sprouted grain bread. I also make my own sweet, horseradish mustard, adding some Agave Nectar and/or Equal, and mix it in an Inglehoffer container. I’ve found that the Hillshire Farms Beef Polska Kielbasa is available for about the same price at Walmart and LIDL. I might also throw in a “Ranch Dill Pickle” with some extra dill seeds for flavor.
I ran the below image through the Pixlr Background Editor and within a second or two it had removed almost the entire background. I think it left a wisp of the image of the sauerkraut & thousand island dressing near the fork. I used the lasso select tool and that portion was removed instantly. Original photo was taken with my Samsung Galaxy S10+ phone.
I took this photo outside of my hotel room in Lynchburg, VA.
I think it’s fantastic how quickly the software removes the background. This might have taken almost an hour previously and it is done in seconds now. The automatic background removal did remove the front parking light, so I had to use the lasso tool and Keep option to add this back and then remove the extra portions.
My visit to Hamlet today was on the “spur of the moment.” I had just finished breakfast at J.K.’s in Fayetteville and asked myself how long it would take to drive to Hamlet. It was a little over an hour, one way. It made no sense to drive to Hamlet today. Also, it made no sense to be in Hamlet at lunch time, and not visit Seaboard Station Restaurant, having just shortly finished a “late breakfast.”
But, I arrived at the Seaboard Station Restaurant about a quarter till noon. There were few spaces left around the old house, but I found a spot on the far side of the house. I walked around the front, walked up the steps, and entered the front door. A couple of guys were sitting on the front porch talking.
A waitress asked me how many, which was “Just one.” She directed me into a backroom, which had several tables, and one table, just for two. I unwrapped my cutlery and headed back over to the buffet.
I chose a white melamine plate and waited for an elderly black man to continue loading a take-out box, and move down the line. Before the black gentleman had finished, and at one point, he actually began to “tamp down” some of the food around the edge of his take out box with a fork.
I got a small scoop of scalloped potatoes (cheese), I got a couple of scoops of black eyed peas. I got a drum stick of fried chicken, and reached over and took the tongs that the black gentleman had moved from the lightly breaded thin sliced porkchops over to the cornbread, and got a pork chop and left the tongs in that tray. I got a couple of scoops of steamed cabbage. I didn’t get a biscuit or cornbread, nor any desert. I walked around the corner where the salad bar was located, and got a few sweet pickles (I hoped they were sweet, and they were), a pickled okra, and a small scoop of potato salad, and some chopped sweet onion.
I went through one dining area and through a door into the back dining area and sat down. The waitress may have already brought my water. She brought it either as I was getting up to go to the buffet bar, or as I was just returning.
The scalloped potatoes needed a little salt as did the black eyed peas and the steamed cabbage. I added some of the sweet pickles to the potato salad, which is exactly what it needed, and this would be a winner that everyone wanted. The black eyed peas seemed to be unseasoned and probably were cooked this morning. I say this because I do know how to cook black eyed peas. You get some kind of seasoning meat, but the real secret to excellent black eyed peas is to let them cool, refrigerate them overnight, and re-heat and serve the next day. This gives the beans time to incorporated their flavors and they become something magical the next day, even for a mediocre cook.
I got a drum stick of fried chicken, and yes, the chicken parts were smaller, which someone mentioned is intentional, and maybe smaller (younger) chickens make for better fried chicken. The coating was flavorful, and not heavy, and the fried chicken was really delicious. But, I also got a pork chop, and this too was very delicious. It was a lightly breaded, thinly sliced, bone-in porkchop. I’m not sure of the seasonings in the breading, but this pork chop was very good.
After lunch, I drove over to the Hamlet Public Library. I saw a couple of people coming out of the Library, so I parked, put on my mask, and went in. I did notice a sign on the door that said masks were encouraged for those who had not been vaccinated yet. I looked to the left and the small alcove that had magazines the last (only) time I had been in the Library, only had green, barren shelves. No magazines. *I went up to the counter and asked if this was a temporary outage due to COVID, but the librarian said, that they were no longer going to have magazines as these could be accessed online. She did say the newspapers were over in another area. I thanked her and went to the bathroom.
As I walked out, I noticed some Federal Tax Forms & Instructions, and I got a couple of these.
ADDENDUM [01/27/22]: The Seaboard Station Restaurant photos are from my Monday trip, but most of the food descriptions are the same. The fried chicken on this day was exceptionally juicy, maybe the best fried chicken I have ever eaten. Not just at this restaurant, but ever eaten in my whole life! However, the pork chop was dried out. Not a bad pork chop, but not the best I have had here. If I just glance at the food photo, I might think I am looking at a banana pudding in the wooden bowl, but it isn’t. I used the wooden bowl this time to make my modified potato salad… with sweet pickles, sweet onion, hard boiled egg and some sweetener. They sweeten the steamed cabbage just a little, but perfectly. I don’t think there is any seasoning meat used in either the cabbage nor the black eyed peas. The black eyed peas do need seasoning meat, and as I stated earlier, really good black eyed peas require you to let them sit for a day for the flavors to meld. I try the scalloped potatoes almost every time, but they have not yet reached perfection. Not sure what they need. More cheese? More salt? Don’t know. They have pickled okra on the salad bar, and I get a couple of them usually. Their carrot cake is my favorite dessert.
NOTE [10/10/22]: On the way to Hamlet, NC I came past a new facility, the James A. Leach Aquatic & Recreation Center. Previously I had thought this was going to be a new school, perhaps high school, but now I saw the writing on the wall, literally. I googled for more info. A full sized swimmng pool & two basketball courts, with an indoor track, and I think I read, a price tag of $20 millions. *The negative part of me, which I’ll admit is very prominent, immediately started to question how many people you could get it the pool (around the clock) and how much basketball you could play on two courts (around the clock) and how much it would cost in the day to day operations for staff & heating/air, water and trash, to keep the place running. “Leach’s Folly” if a bust.
Had lunch at Seaboard Station again. As I picked up a small drumstick and brought it to my lips, I immediately was made aware of how tender their chicken was. My lips told me it was tender, and once chewing the chicken I also realized how moist it was. Immediately I was thinking or asking myself if they marinated their chicken with something… like buttermilk? The pork chops they had were also incredibly moist & tender. Sometimes the pork chops are a little dry, but usually flavorful.
They didn’t have any Sara Lee “Carrot Cake” on the counter, and I didn’t ask for any since they did have a wide variety of desserts. I also did not “feel like” making my souped up potato salad from their “starter”. I normally add some of their chopped sweet onion, some crumbled hard boiled egg, some sweet pickles and even a little sweetener over the whole mess. I just put some of their macaroni salad on my plate and added a few diced tomatoes. The tomatoes looked good, but as most tomatoes do “now a days” had little flavor. The canned Diet Coke cost $1 and I think the buffet was $11 tax included.
I drove back from Hamlet, the “back way” taking various secondary roads (38, 381), making it into and out of South Carolina, and eventually coming out on Hwy. 74 in Laurel Hill, directly across from where I got onto Hwy. 74 earlier in the day.
I drove into Laurinburg, by the high school, and into the Scotland County Memorial Library parking lot, parking in the shade. Clean bathroom. I went over and got a magazine that caught my attention, Consumer Reports. The cover had something to do with choosing TV channels & streaming services cheaply. I read a little, and slept a little, and read some more. Most of the streaming services I was already aware of, or had used at some point already: HULU, Netflix, Paramount+, Acorn TV, HBO Max, etc.
Scotland County Memorial Library
I finished the magazine, saw nothing else I was interested in, and walked up & down the Non-Fiction aisles looking for a book that I might have donated. I did not recognize any of my donations, but did see they have quite a few cookbooks.
I drove back to Fayetteville, needing gas, but having checked my Gas Buddy app, thinking that Fayetteville might have gas cheaper. There was a Circle K which proved NOT to have cheap gas ($3.48 / gal.). I did a circuitous route back to another Circle K at the corner of Glensford Dr. & Raeford Rd. This location had gas for $3.30 /gallon. I filled up.
I was planning to stop at Taco Bell for dinner but made a trip down Bragg Boulevard and then something caught my eye. Just off Filter Plant Rd. there was construction blinds along a fence, but it was obvious that many trees had been cleared and heavy equipment was clearing a large portion of this corner. I turned around and came back to take pictures. I don’t know what the plans are, or if the city has sold this area, or is planning to develop it, but this is a major change (after 24 years of working at FSU). I took pictures.
I headed on to Taco Bell. I complimented the two workers there (probably the manager & a regular employee) for their efficiency and good work.
Bill Gibson, II 