Category: Food

Comfort Food

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I drove down to Hubert, NC on Tuesday to visit with Mary Ann. I had breakfast at Helen’s Kitchen, as I normally like to do.

Mary Ann fixed me a couple of hamburgers, and she also had some stir fry cabbage & onions, and some sliced tomatoes. The cabbage were reminiscent of the slightly sweet flavor of the boiled cabbage on the buffet at Seaboard Station restaurant in Hamlet, NC. The tomatoes had some flavor and the combination of hamburger, cabbage and tomatoes was extremely satisfying.

Those flavors were so satisfying that I made me a similar stir fry cabbage and onion side. I used some bacon fat and margarine to flavor the cabbage & onions and added just a hint of Splenda and some Agave Nectar for sweetness. I sliced some cauliflower and seasoned it with Toasted Sesame Oil and some smoked paprika and baked it in the oven at 450 degrees.

I also microwaved an ear of corn and added some salt and margarine to it. I broiled 3 steaks, and had one of them with the cabbage and cauliflower.

Still had some of the steak from the previous day, and some of the stir fried cabbage/onion, so I sliced some more cauliflower and mixed some toasted sesame oil, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and salt & pepper in a small Tupperware container, added the cauliflower, put the top on, and gave it a good shake. This coated the cauliflower with the fragrant oil. I put the cauliflower on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven on HI Broil. Several minutes and the cauliflower was ready. Re-heated the steak in the microwave. Put one ear of corn in the microwave for 5 minutes and it was ready for a little salt and margarine.

The steak had looked good in the grocery store, and at about $8.50 for the package, and there were 5 small steaks, then this seemed like a good deal to me… I was thinking this would be about $1.35 per steak, but just used a calculator and it comes to about $1.70 per. But, the steak was tender, and cooked well under HI Broil. *I have started cooking my steak & lamb under HI Broil. I like the char that gets put on the meat. But, the meat is cooked to medium, with no pink.

Oh, my gosh, the flavors were just as good together as the previous day’s meal. The cauliflower seasoned with toasted sesame oil & smoked paprika is savory, and the stir-fry cabbage/onion is slightly sweet. Slice a piece of steak, and then the next bite of the salty corn on the cob. The only thing that might make this better would be some sliced tomato (that actually has flavor).

*I recently realized that none of the grocery stores I visit, and I visit a bunch, have good flavored tomatoes for sale. The exception for flavor is the Campari brand (which is a smallish tomato, but consistently good flavor) and Wegmans has various Cherry tomatoes that have good flavor. So sad that the Sunset Farms “Sweet Bites” stopped being sold. I’ve asked the company at least twice, with no reply for the reason that these really good tomatoes were discontinued. Why? Legal action? Blight? Not a clue that makes sense. They were consistently flavorful, had been sold for maybe 5 years, and were showing up in various grocery chains: WalMart, Harris Teeter, Food Lion, etc.

In Harris Teeter, yesterday, I saw some bright red tomatoes (mid-sized) on the vine (4 connected), but when I went to pick them up, I realized that they were very cold (possibly had been frozen). That’s just stupid on the part of the green grocer. Refrigeration changes the flavor of tomatoes, and NOT FOR THE BETTER! — I bought an heirloom variety of a red tomato (with gnarly shape) at Pate’s Farm Grocery. They had marked the price the same as the other regular tomatoes (I think it was $1.99 /lb.) but at the register the per pound price was about $3.59. I asked about this and was charged the lower price. That was good because when I got the tomato home and sliced it, it had little flavor. Damn, that’s why you grow heirloom tomatoes, for the old time flavor.

NOTE: A few days ago I came across a new drink combo that I like a lot. The twist is that I like it hot, but once it cools it is also good. The origin of this drink started with the flavor packets I buy at WalMart (when they have them, which is rarer). One flavor packet is Pomegranate Lemonade, and the other is Sweet Tea. I add water to these packets, and then also some Cranberry juice (diet) and some orange juice. I like this flavor combination and have drank it often, cold. But, because I ran out of the Sweet Tea packets, I have started boiling water and making tea from tea bags. After I make the hot tea, I add Splenda and maybe Agave Nectar. I had let the hot tea cool when I made it previously and had not thought to try it hot… but when I did try it hot, it was wonderfully tart & sweet.

[NOTE 12/04/24]: More than a year and a half, and I am still drinking this flavor combo, almost every day, and enjoying it. I haven’t grown tired of these mixed flavors, but they all have to be there. Any missing flavor and the combo just isn’t the same. I haven’t had it hot in a long while, but should try it again. I have a few carafes that I use to blend this mixture and have been using the empty ICE drink containers to freeze ice for this mix. [end NOTE]

NOTE [05/22/23]: I recall looking at some quinoa at Sprouts a few days ago, thought I had bought it, but had not. Went back for it yesterday and bought some tri-color quinoa. Had it in my mind to try and fix a quinoa salad like I had bought at either Publix, or some other grocer’s deli in the past, but not recently. I actually went back to Sprouts to buy some quinoa, and then when I got back home realized I didn’t have any dehydrated cranberries. I will mark this up to “old age” but so frustrating.

So, I still went ahead to try and make the quinoa salad, even without the cranberries. I threw in some raisins. The quinoa cooked really quickly, about 15 minutes (bring to boil, reduce heat, cover) and then another 10 minutes off the heat and fluff up with a fork. Cooked perfectly.

I then added some baby spinach that I had done a chiffonade, some almonds (buy sliced almonds for this), and edamame (soy beans). *I recall that the “Fat Farmer” had grown some soy beans on our farm at times. **I don’t recall his name (Frank Howell), but he had a big belly and he rode around in his truck to the various farms he was working (had leased out). We had a $3K a year tobacco allotment, and I think it was about this that he paid us each year. ***I gave the farm away to the New River Baptist Association some years ago, and they sold it to provide for a good portion of the purchase price of the old Onslow Academy, making it into the associational offices (E.J. Hines).

12/04/24: As I re-read the above paragraph about Frank Howell, I recall that just a few months ago I met his daughter who had gone down to South Carolina and was a “Home Economist” (my term) for many years in the Clemson, SC area. She then retired and has moved back up to the Swansboro area. I met her at a luncheon with Mary Ann at El Catrin (a glitzy new Mexican restaurant in Swansboro). I sat beside her not knowing who she was related to, and at some point when she mentioned her brother I asked her who she was. It was then that I told her about “the fat farmer” and she laughed.

The dressing for the salad consisted of some lime juice (lemon), honey, Agave Nectar, Splenda, dijon mustard and olive oil. I also added some orange oil. Mixed the dressing into the quinoa & other items and it turned out very well. Would have been even better if I had remembered the dried cranberries. *I like the dehydrated cranberries with the oat cereal that I buy at Food Lion.

I bought four ears of corn, that had already been shucked, at Pate’s. I prefer unshucked corn, that I cut the ends off and cook in the microwave for about 5 minutes, but I see that I can wrap a paper towel around the shucked ear, wet it, and microwave this for 5 minutes, and it steams the corn just like in the husk.

I had fixed some borlotti (cranberry / roman) beans and red chard some time ago. Had seen this on a Jamie Oliver cooking episode, and it had an interesting, earthy flavor. This was only my second time fixing this, but it turned out well, once again. Cooking the dried beans down takes about an hour and a half. You then cook the red chard down with some onion, and mix it all together until the juices evaporate.

I cooked a hamburger, on the stove top (messy, a lot of grease spatter). Had the hamburger, cranberry beans & red chard, stir fried cabbage & onion (a little seasoning meat), and an ear of corn. The beans & chard would be good with a round bone lamb chop, or a pork chop. *But nothing can beat the steak, stir fried cabbage & onion, ear of corn, and toasted cauliflower (with toasted sesame oil & smoked paprika) that I had the other day. All those flavors just enhanced each other.

**I am also going to try to fix the Wakame (seaweed) Salad like the one I bought at Publix a few years ago… and a jar of which I bought at Golden Hex a few weeks ago. I’ve tried this sometime, probably in the last year, but failed. However, the salad from Golden Hex was not “perfect” from the jar, and the ingredients I added to it did make it “PERFECT”. I think the additions included toasted sesame oil & seeds, soy sauce, vinegar, and some sweetener. *I think there was also some hot pepper flakes.

Andouille, Shrimp & Lentil Chowder

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I bought a long link of Spicy Andouille Sausage at Sprouts today. For some reason, I started thinking of making a seafood chowder using lentils and not potatoes. I didn’t use tomatoes or half-n-half.

  • Andouille Sausage
  • Onion
  • Olive Oil
  • Bacon Fat
  • Carrots
  • Poblano Pepper
  • Jalapeno Pepper
  • Chipotle Pepper
  • Lentils (red, black, brown)
  • Shrimp
  • Thyme (Mediterranean)
  • Celery
  • Celery Seed
  • Garlic Powder
  • Onion Flake
  • S&P
  • Chicken Stock
  • Margarine
  • Cumin Seed

I’ve made Andouille & Lentil soup before. Kielbasa doesn’t work as well because it isn’t spicy. And adding hot peppers accents the Andouille. I thawed the shrimp in the microwave and added the juice and the shrimp once they were thawed. I would imagine that you could leave out the shrimp and this would still be a good soup… and yes, I have made this type of soup before.

Made a Really Good Helping of Green Beans, Potatoes & Bacon.

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This was so simple, but ended up being really flavorful.

The can of green beans that I opened were whole, not cut or French Cut, green beans. Seemed thinner and not cut. I peeled one medium potato and then cut it up roughly. I used about three, half slices of bacon and then cut them into about six smaller sections. I used some Chicken Broth, S&P, and a little margarine. I may have used a small amount of bacon grease (from what I save after breakfast).

I stood over the stove, having heated up some of the green beans, potatoes & bacon, and I kept saying how good this tasted. *I am reminded of many years ago, probably the 1970s when I was working for Region “P” and was down in Queens Creek at a Senior’s meeting. They were having a pot luck lunch, and Essie Davis (not the Australian actress), who was a friend of my mother… they may have car pooled to/from work on board Camp Lejeune. Ms. Davis lived almost at the curve near a church, deep in Bear Creek. … Ms. Davis fixed a “mess” of green beans, potatoes & seasoned them with bacon. I remember enjoying the flavor of this dish so much that instead of having a desert, I had a second helping of the green beans. Delicious! And now what, about 50 years ago, I recall how good these beans were.

Ingredients

  • 1 can green beans (do not drain)
  • 8–12 small red potatoes (whole or halved)
  • 3–6 oz seasoning meat (salt pork / bacon ends / ham hock pieces)
  • ½ onion, chopped (you like onion anyway 🙂)
  • Black pepper
  • Optional: pinch garlic powder

Instant Pot Mini Version

Add in this order:

  1. seasoning meat
  2. onion
  3. potatoes
  4. 1 cup water
  5. can of green beans (with liquid) on top

Cook

High Pressure — 6 minutes

Natural release 10 minutes
Then quick release

I fixed this again yesterday. I didn’t have much Chicken Broth left, so used more water. I think I kept all other ingredients the same, and I paid attention to the doneness of the potatoes. They aren’t overdone… not too tender. I used cut green beans instead of the whole beans. But, the final product was not as delicious as the previous one. I added more salt… more margarine… more bacon grease… nope, just a little less flavorful than previously, but still very good flavors together.

Green beans are still one of the cheapest veggies you can buy at the grocers. And adding white potato, which will begin to soak up any other flavors… so adding bacon (not pre-cooked) to the broth just hits the spot.

Several weeks ago I tried chopping up fresh asparagus, steaming it, and then adding the asparagus to mashed potatoes. It was absolutely delicious! I made it several times, but surprising to me, it did not take long for me to not want this often. Or maybe I couldn’t figure out what other “sides” I wanted to have with this. *I did combine carrots & garden peas and cooked them in some Cary’s Sugar Free Maple Flavored Syrup, with some margarine. The sugar free syrup does not thicken up & burn like sugar or maybe honey would in a pan. It remains thin and watery, and the margarine provides a sheen to the carrots.

Haven’t made my Tomato Chutney in a while. But, did make my Cibatta Roll Pizzas at home. The home made pizza sauce is so easy to make. Only seven ingredients and I mix them up in a small glass jar. Tomato paste, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, white vinegar, olive oil and salt. I buy cheap, but good, sliced pepperoni at IGA… shredded mozzarella cheese, and the other two ingredients that I like are a little sweet bell pepper & some finely diced onion. I would like more bell pepper & onion, but the size of the Ciabatta rolls limits these. Bake in the oven first, and then a short time under HI Broil to crisp up the pepperoni. For me, this consistently satisfies my craving for pizza. The sauce is spot on for any good pizza sauce that I’ve had at a restaurant. And, the four small slices of bread fill me up, just enough.

Made some good spaghetti sauce the other day, but haven’t actually tried it on pasta yet. And, I decided to make only enough for two good helpings. I had a small amount of ground beef that might have gone bad in a few days, so that was my impetus for making spaghetti sauce. I had a half jar of Rao’s starter sauce in the fridge. I had a half can of diced tomatoes that were frozen. I cut up some sweet red bell pepper, and some onion. Think I added dried oregano, garlic powder, S&P and a little Equal sweetener. Turned out very well, although much more ground beef than usual.

Over the last six months there have been many changes to the foods that I have a desire to eat. I no longer like a hamburger with cheese. I put a slice of American Cheese on a burger recently and before I was through, I was asking myself if I could remove the melted cheese from the bread. I still love cheese. I like Swiss cheese toasted on bread and used to top French Onion Soup. *I use the cheap Beef Broth to make the onion soup, and I am thinking a better quality of broth would add to the finished flavor of the onion soup. *I also toast Swiss cheese on Rye bread when I am making my Pastrami Reubens (Rachels) at home.

Capricho de Cabra is one of my favorite soft cheeses, and it has remained relatively inexpensive. This goes well with Raspberry Jam and crackers. It is white, soft, crumbly and a little tart. I get this at Whole Foods in Raleigh.

I had some good Pepper Jack (maybe using jalapenos) that I bought at Wegman’s recently. I had also bought some smoked deli ham, and some Miami Onion rolls. Also bought a small jar of horseradish, and combined the horseradish with some sweetened yellow mustard. I use Equal and Agave Nectar to sweeten the yellow mustard. Currently love this horseradish/mustard combo, on deli sandwiches, hamburgers & hot dogs.

I like smoked Gouda and recently tried some “flowers” flavored cheese (don’t recall the name) that had a distinctively “earthy” flavor. I don’t think it was labelled as “Alp Blossom” cheese, but I had seen the name previously, and bought a small block at Sprouts.

Oh, forgot about the HT White American Cheese that I have gotten at Harris Teeter for sandwiches.

Baked Beans @ Home

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I have made baked beans at home at least once, on the stove top, and they turned out pretty well. But, that has been a while ago.

I got in the mood to make another “mess of beans” at home, and have just put them on. I found the following recipe online, which I modified, and will note the changes below.

Instead of using the already prepared Bush’s Grillin’ Beans, I substituted one 15 oz. can of Cannellini beans and one 15 oz. can of Great Northern Beans. I used garlic powder instead of raw garlic. I didn’t have any Dijon mustard, so I used regular yellow mustard. No brown sugar, so I used some Splenda and some Agave Nectar. I did add some molasses for flavor. I think my previous beans had included molasses.

If I had some jalapenos, I probably would have sliced them up and added them as well. Which reminds me of Floyd Lewis and his “Beans of Death”. I think I had his recipe once, but maybe not. The only things I remember distinctly were the beans, strips of bacon and the jalapenos. They were sweet, and hot… and delicious!

Floyd was a “good guy” whom I met at Enon Chapel Baptist Church. He worked at Marine Federal Credit Union as an administrator or manager. Floyd’s life ended horribly. He and a few others from MFCU had flown in a small plane to Charlotte for some type of training. On the return flight from Charlotte, their plane experienced difficulties and crashed and burned. He was burned so badly that there was no viewing of the body. I think I was living in Fayetteville, NC at the time of his death, and drove all the way to Jacksonville where there was a “viewing” (not) at Jones Funeral Home.

Two employees and one member of the supervisory committee of the $288 million Marine FCU here died on June 6 in a plane crash. Supervisory Committee member Gregory Russell, 51, was piloting the plane when it crashed. On board were Floyd Lewis, 49, CFO, and Devonnya Greenfield-Burks, 35, accounting supervisor. The three were on their way home from a Federal Reserve meeting in Charlotte. The plane went down near the Monroe, N.C. airport. “It’s just such a loss. We lost three members of our credit union family,” said Wendy McGill, vice president of marketing for the CU. Russell was a pilot in the Marine Corps. for 20 years.

FAA Accident Report (basically crash caused by pilot error, but I think it was probably equipment failure that couldn’t be determined after the crash):

The connection that Floyd and I had, or one of them, was that we both had said, “No” to God at some point in our lives. For Floyd, God had wanted him to be a minister, and Floyd hadn’t followed that direction. Floyd was active in church, was a leader, I believe a deacon.

I’ve noted when visiting the MFCU headquarters on Bell Fork Road (maybe that is Gum Branch Rd.) that there is a short hallway, back where the bathrooms are located and on a wall are the photos of various staff members that have died. Floyd is noted on this wall, as are several others (Ben Marsh, ) that I knew from either MFCU or Enon Chapel.

These baked beans turned out well also. Playing with the spices and the BBQ sauce could make them more distinctive.

Christmas 2022

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  • Hinnant Vineyards Muscadine Grape Juice
  • Camelia Lady Cream Peas (16 oz)
  • Camelia Green Split Peas (16 oz)
  • Suncrest Farms Country Ham Chunks (8 oz)
  • Claxton Fruit Cake (16 oz)
  • Season Anchovies
  • Walnut Oil
  • Coconut Sugar
  • Murray River Salt
  • Long Pepper
  • Everlasting Pencil

Hinnant Vineyards Muscadine Grape Juice

The Hinnant Vineyards website. Hinnant Vineyards is located a short distance from Selma/Smithfield, North Carolina. I’ve tried their Muscadine/Scuppernong wines, but this time I tried their non-alcoholic Muscadine grape juice. Chilled, this juice is delicious.

Camelia Lady Cream Peas

I don’t recall from where I bought these dried peas originally. I probably had the pound package (Camelia Brand) in my cupboard for a year. But, the mood hit me and I probably googled to see how to cook them. They are flavored and shaped like a black eyed pea, but don’t have the black eye and they are much smaller in size. And, they hold their shape after being cooked, but are “melt in your mouth tender”.

I used some country ham to flavor these beans and they turned out well, but their tenderness became an annoyance. Odd! The next time, I decided to cook two types of beans together, choosing some Green Split Peas along with the Lady Cream Peas, and some seasoning meat and a little onion. I had forgotten that the green split peas would break down on their own, and both beans took a short time to cook, about 40 minutes. The split peas formed a bright green broth, and the Lady Cream peas were little white islands floating in the sea of green.

I have also added carrots to this soup, and I guess those colors: green, white and orange could represent the Irish flag. What I haven’t tried yet, but think would also go well, would be adding leeks and seasoning with tarragon. *I have a garden pea & leek soup that is flavored with tarragon that I know is distinctive and delicious.

As I said, I don’t recall where I first purchased the Lady Cream Peas and then found that I couldn’t find any more locally. The Camelia Company sells various types of dried peas, but even in stores selling the Camelia brand, there were no Lady Cream peas. I finally had to go online and found that I could buy Lady Cream Peas at Amazon.com. Perhaps their availability is seasonal, even though they are a dried bean. Camelia Lady Cream Peas at Amazon.com

Camelia Green Split Peas

Nothing special about this pea other than its “earthy flavor” and bright green color. Seasons well with ham bits. Camelia Dried Green Split Peas at Amazon.com

Suncrest Farms Country Ham Chunks

I’ve found this brand at Food Lion and the company offers what I might call a pork knuckle, and country ham with bone and without. I do use other seasoning meats, but this is good in black eyed peas, lima beans and the lady cream peas. Suncrest Farms Country Ham Chunks at Food Lion

Claxton Fruit Cake

Claxton Fruit Cake was a standard Christmas icon when I was growing up in eastern North Carolina. I’m not sure I even had another brand of fruit cake until I was much older, and then I was spoiled by my “first love”. *I am aware that these heavy, fruit & nut filled logs are the brunt of jokes and that some people definitely don’t like a Claxton Fruit Cake.

I have been in Claxton, Georgia twice and visited the Claxton Fruit Cake Company both times. Vidalia, Georgia isn’t that far away but famous for those sweet Vidalia Onions. But I found that there was no reason to go to their place of origin for either Claxton Fruit Cakes or Vidalia Onions. You can get either at WalMart for a good or even better price.

The price of a Claxton Fruit Cake has gone up severely due to Covid, but I recently found Claxton Fruit Cakes for a really good price at Harris Teeter.

Season Anchovies

I originally bought the Season Brand of Anchovy at WalMart, and then they discontinued Season Anchovies. These were so good that I ordered the Season Brand online. I hope these are as good as what I tried several years ago.

Many people would never try an anchovy, but I like them on pizza and I have added them in cooking various things. They do “break down” and don’t have a fishy flavor. I think the term is that they add an Umami flavor. Umami is one of the five basic tastes, along with sweet, sour, salty and bitter taste sensations.

I think I was watching an episode of Emril Legasse Basil Pesto or Basil Anchovy Pesto. This Legasse recipe doesn’t include anchovies, but the one I saw did include anchovies, pine nuts, garlic and basil. When this is blended the pesto is a bright green. This goes really well with a steak. Not something I would expect with a steak, but deliciously different! Season Anchovies at Amazon.com

Walnut Oil

I’ve not tried this oil, but saw it as a “close out” at Lowe’s Foods in Southern Pines. I find this grocery chain to be expensive. I would guess that this would be a good oil for “finishing” a salad, or some other uncooked dish. I googled and it said that this has a mild walnut flavor. *I know that Avocado oil might be used for a similar purpose, or one that imparts almost no flavor to a dish.

Coconut Sugar

One of the grocery stores I shop at regularly is Sprouts. A few weeks ago I noticed an Organic Coconut Sugar in one of their bins. I tried some.

Even though this sugar is made from coconuts, the flavor in coffee, reminds me of cocoa. But, this is sugar and not cocoa.

I have also added a little of this sugar, along with some extra cinnamon to Egg Nog. It definitely heightened the flavors.

[01/01/25]: Sprouts no longer sells the Coconut Sugar, but I did find it sold in packages at the local WalMart. That works for me.

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Murray River Salt

I don’t have much use for this salt, but it is unusual because it is in “flakes”. That way you get more salt because instead of grains you have small salt flakes. I’ve read this salt is best used in “finishing” different dishes, at the table. Murray River Pink Salt Flakes at Amazon.com

Long Pepper

As with many food items, I probably purchased this (at the Savory Spice Shop in Raleigh) because I had never seen this before and wanted to try it. My last couple of visits haven’t turned up anything new that I want to try, or try for their price. I came across a small packet of these Indian Long Pepper and decide to google for what to do with them. They are long and hard and need to be ground before using. I have a small mortar-n-pestle that I purchased several years ago. I rarely use it, but for grinding these Long Peppers, it was a good tool. Still had to cover the top with my hand so that the pepper bits wouldn’t jump out onto the counter.

*A small coffee grinder would be great for this because this is a good, intense pepper flavor, that you wouldn’t want to grind too much in advance. Indian Long Pepper at Amazon.com

[01/01/25]: After writing the above comment, I found the Microplane grinder on Amazon, which works fine for grinding the Indian Long Pepper. I’ve written about this grinder elsewhere in detail.

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Everlasting Pencil

I think I’ve seen this item advertised as both a pen and a pencil, but since it doesn’t include any ink, and works on the same principle as a pencil, I will call it a pencil. I’ve also read that each writing nib (comes with a nib and a replacement nib) is the equivalent of 22 No. 2 pencils. So that is 44 No. 2 pencils worth of writing. You don’t need to sharpen this pencil, so it never becomes shorter to hold. It does come with an eraser, but you have to unscrew the pencil to get the eraser out. Everlasting Pencil on Amazon.com

NOTE:

I was watching a cooking episode of Jamie Oliver in which he suggested trying these Borlotti/Cranberry Beans. I found a Borlotti Bean and Chard recipe online which I tried. This turned out to be a delicious, savory dish worthy of being tried repeatedly. *Surprisingly now that I am aware of these beans, I see that they are also called Roman Beans and can be purchased in a can at WalMart, or as dried Cranberry Beans at IGA.

I had bought a bunch of Swiss Chard at Fresh Market, which was an unusual purchase for me, but the red color in the spines of the green leaves was attractive.

[NOTE 05/07/24}: Early May at the Farmers’ Market in Raleigh at Moore’s, I bought a bunch of Red Velvet Sorrel and a single stimmed live Basil plant. The plant was $5 which I thought was a little expensive since I had seen a multi-stimmed plant at Publix the previous day. The Sorrel looked as if paper had been painted with the red and green design.

[end NOTE]

Hummus -n- Salsa

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[01/01/25]: WalMart has been selling these four-footed salsa bowls individually @ $.97. I have bought about four of them and am now using them as “monkey dishes.” For years I have used those ramekins, navy blue on the outside and white on the inside, for recipe ingredients, or mixing cornstarch & water. But because of their extra size, I am also now using the salsa bowls for my yogurt & fruit. I’ll buy raspberries or blackberries and puree them in my Braun chopper, and then spoon out some fruit puree with a little Splenda on the plain Greek Gods Yogurt. *But now I’ve found that I like the store brand Greek Yogurt at LIDL and it comes in the single serving size so I buy 3 or 4 of the little containers.

HUMMUS

(1) Garbanzo Beans – Chickpeas 15.5 oz. can [$.78]

(4) table spoons of Water

(1) table spoon of Olive Oil

(1) teaspoon Cumin – whole seed

(1) teaspoon Lemon/Lime juice

(1) 1/4 teaspoon Salt

Served with:

Carrot sticks

Celery sticks (I like celery, but not my favorite with hummus.)

Sweet Bell Pepper slices

Sweet Onion

Olives

Smoked Oysters

NOTE [09/15/23]: I haven’t made hummus in a while, but was thinking today that adding Toasted Sesame Oil might be an interesting addition. After all, Tahini is made from sesame seeds.

NOTE [01/06/25]: Yes, I have used Toasted Sesame Oil in my hummus. Works well. I like smoked oysters with my hummus, and will add some of the oil from the oysters into my hummus. For Christmas, I made some regular hummus, and some black bean hummus and put them both in a single container. One of the reusable Hillshire Farms Deli Meat containers. I thought it looked good with the black bean hummus being a dark brown and the regular being a yellow corn color. [end NOTE]

YES
YES
NO

[NOTE 06/24/25]: It’s been a long while since I fixed hummus, but made some this afternoon, and ate some with smoked oysters, olives, sweet onion, pickled peppers (peppadews). I put some of the smoked oyster oil in the hummus, some toasted sesame oil, some olive oil, water, and some avocado oil. I also put some fenugreek & turmeric in, with both cumin seeds and ground cumin. *Now that I think about it, some avocado would go well with hummus.

I used about 2/3 of a can of the Garbanzo Beans to make the hummus. I used the other third of the beans in “the Murk” soup I had made previously. The beans were already cooked thoroughly, so I didn’t have to stew them down first. I also put some Beef Polska Kielbasa in the soup. It was good, but then I thought that some spicy Andouille sausage might have been a better choice. [end NOTE]

Vegetable Soup Using Dried Veggies…

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A few weeks ago I mentioned that I enjoyed some vegetable soup broth (with dried veggies) at CiCi’s in Smithfield, NC. As I said then, that I normally would not use dried vegetable flakes to make vegetable soup, but the intense flavor of this broth was addictive.

I looked online and saw several sources (at Amazon) of dried veggies. Many of these were expensive, for “giving it a try” some from $45 – $62 for a container of dried veggies. I did see a few offers at about $20, so I ordered one of these a few days ago. My order arrived today.

The container was small, even fitting in my mail box.

My first attempt, I just used water for the broth, adding a little salt, and putting in way too much of the dried veggies. The outcome wasn’t quite what I had wanted. But later, I tried again, this time using some of the Chicken Broth from WalMart. This had been on special for only a dollar a container. I guess this is a special price for the upcoming holidays.

I added just a little water to the chicken broth, and then only a few of the dried veggies, trying to make the consistency as I had tasted it at CiCi’s. This time, it was spot on. Good, intense vegetable flavor, salty and hot.

Made some soup again and this time I had some white meat from the Roasted Chicken that I had bought from Publix. Ingredients: chicken broth, about a tea spoon of dried veggies, about a 1/4 cup of white chicken breast shredded, S&P and a little water. Once again, this was just as satisfying as the CiCi’s broth, and an alternative to the Soy Sauce Ramen Noodles. Perhaps even a little quicker because it is heated in the microwave for about 2 minutes.

Bought some of the dark wheat Mountain Bread from Publix today. It is a little moister than the white wheat bread, but both are good. I think I might like a deli meat sandwich with the darker bread. Didn’t have any of the bread with the soup.

French Onion Soup

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I wasn’t serious about making French Onion Soup this time. I’m not absolutely sure, but I may have only made this once before. The soup turned out delicious that time, but as with many other things, I fail to repeat the process on a regular basis. I think the Internet did not exist the first time I made this, so I am not sure how I got a working recipe, but I did.

I may have made my beef broth from scratch the first time. This time, I’m just using a cheap beef broth from Walmart. I noted that when I deglazed the pan above, the fond on the bottom came off in flakes, and those not that flavorful.

I bought some Baby Swiss cheese slices for this, and then just a while ago read that Gruyere and Parmesan are the preferred cheeses of choice for this soup. It was Gary Golden that made this soup, years ago, when we were both attending Seminary in Louisville, KY.

I plan to toast the bread I have, multigrain mountain white wheat bread, with some of the Swiss in my oven and just put it on top of the heated soup. There are several elements that are working against this soup being as good as I remembered. *In writing this, I just recalled that I probably made this for the second time several years ago after having some at Marquis’ Bistro Restaurant & Lounge which is part of the Double Tree by Hilton hotel next to I95 & a Cracker Barrel Restaurant in Fayetteville, NC. I don’t recall why I was at this hotel. I didn’t stay there. There may have been a work conference there, and then I decided to eat at the Bistro. The French Onion Soup was on their menu, I tried it, and was reminded of how much I had liked this the first time I tried it. More than likely, I tried making this at home again, but I recall no details.

I put Swiss cheese on the mountain bread, and also grated a small amount of Parmesan cheese and toasted a couple of slices. I ladelled out some soup in a regular soup bowl and then placed the toasted bread on top. Surprisingly this soup turned out well. But, the beef broth could have been much better, and that is what I would focus on, if and when I make French Onion Soup again… at home.

The melted cheese on the toasted bread worked very well. Eating the bread with the soup was a highlight.

Yeah, beans again…

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I bought a small bag of mixed, dried beans at Sprouts. Actually, I bagged a scoop of these dried beans, that were in a large barrel (post-COVID). I think the label said there were 10 different varieties of beans in this mix. But, when I got them home, and was about to start soaking them, I added a few more varieties. I found that I had saved the “Speckled Beans” in a jar, so I added some of them. I added a few types of lentils, red, brown & green. I added a few Cranberry beans. I found a little “wild rice” and added that. Rarely do I soak any dried beans that I am going to cook, but this time, I started soaking the mixed beans, and even added salt & baking soda (saw an article online).

The next day I realized that I had soaked too many beans, and had to google to see if I could freeze the extra “soaked” beans. An online article said it was possible, but one article said they would last 4-5 days, and the other article said they would last 3 months. I ended up freezing about half the beans I had soaked. *I may try a different type of sausage (Andouille or Kielbasa) and maybe spicier herbs or maybe several types of hot peppers with the remaining beans.

I started cooking the beans in the morning. As colorful and distinct as the beans are when they are dry, as they cook they lose their distinctive markings & colors and become a drab, although flavorful cooked bean. I added a little vinegar as had been suggested when cooking any type of bean. I added the diced fresh ham from its package and a little later, I added some chopped carrot, some chopped chard, and also some of the white potatoes, quartered.

Even though I was trying to be careful with the done-ness of the potatoes, they eventually became mushy, and later, after everything was done, I fished out all the potato chunks and threw them away. I had rolled up the chard leaves and chopped them, forming what is called a chiffonade (I think.). I would chop differently next time because the cooked chard came out stringy hanging down from my spoon.

I think it is the chard that adds a distinctive “earthy” flavor, but the ham chunks did not detract from the flavor. And, the next day (today) I had some of the bean soup along with a lamb chop, rotkohl, and some German Potato Salad for lunch. Once again, the rotkohl is sweet & cold, the potato salad, sweet & warm, and the soup was warm and savory.

I have found that Sprouts has a good “Multigrain Baguette” for only $1.99. I have bought this several times from Sprouts, and at least once they didn’t have any when I was looking. *Later note: I bought a French Baguette at Whole Foods in Raleigh last week. It was so long that I cut it in half and took half to Jeff & Robins. Wasn’t sure they would want it, but Jeff took it and put it on his kitchen counter. But I really enjoyed the flavor of this baguette. I had some with an egg salad for breakfast, but I also microwaved a slice and ate it with some Wegman’s White American Cheese. Just those two ingredients were so delicious together.

This morning, I boiled four eggs and then used two of them to make an egg salad. I add a little margarine, some Dukes mayo, celery seeds, garlic powder, and S&P and mash/mix it altogether. I also cooked 4 strips of bacon in the microwave. I sliced a little of the Multigrain Baguette into 4 small slices. This was a real “comfort food” breakfast. A fork-ful of egg salad, with a little bacon & a bite of bread… heavenly. In the end, sopping up the last egg salad from the bottom of my bowl and the last bite of bacon. I had coffee. Finally found a coffee that I really like… Starbucks brand. I don’t think I have ever been to a Starbucks. Bought this ground coffee at Walmart.

As my mind works, I still have two hard boiled eggs in my refrigerator and recently had reminded myself about a curry remoulade that I had on a Shrimp Po-Boy sandwich, when I was at the Waterside Restaurant in Charleston, SC. But, what I was also reminded of was that I had a “wilted spinach salad” at the Waterside on another occasion that was really good. Spinach leaves wilted with hot olive oil and crumbled hard boiled egg are the two ingredients that come to mind.

I actually think Mary Ann was with me when I had the spinach salad. *This was probably the time when I met Mary Ann in Charleston, and then we went down to St. Simons Island to visit with Yvonne. As I recall, both Charleston & St. Simons Island were in a very oppressive heat wave. I think Mary Ann was in Charleston for an education conference tied to her being a School Board member from Onslow County.

Having just googled, and all the things I had forgotten about wilted spinach salad… vinegar & sweetener, onion, bacon, almonds, cannellini beans.

A trick for keeping celery crisp, longer, in the fridge.

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There are 4 key elements to keeping celery crisp longer, in the fridge. First cut a little off the top of all the celery stalks, and then cut the root end off, exposing all celery stalks on that end also. Run the whole bunch under cold water, especially on both ends. Now wrap all the stalks in a wet paper napkin. Then wrap the celery & paper towel in aluminum foil, enclosing all. Put this foil package in your vegetable crisper, and the celery will stay crisper much longer than if you just put it, as you bought it at the grocery.

This does work! Not sure if aluminum foil is a necessary part of this process, but maybe putting the celery wrapped in a wet paper towel in a sealable plastic bag might work just as well. I think it is important to keep the celery moist as the cut ends probably suck up moisture to keep the celery crisp.

NOTE: I just thought to google regarding how to store carrots longer. I found an Internet article that basically said you can make them last longer, just as you do celery above, wrap in a wet paper towel. I might also try this, and cut both ends of the carrot off, but I don’t see them “sucking in the water” like celery seems to do.