Borlotti – Cranberry Beans

October 21, 2022January 5, 2025 bgibson135

I was watching Jamie Oliver a few days ago and he made a bean dish, using Borlotti beans, which he said were popular in Italy. I googled and found that another name for Borlotti beans was Cranberry beans. I looked on Amazon to see if they sold these, and finally found a “small quantity” offered.

I added this to my shopping cart. I had also been looking for dried veggies that could be used to make soup.

I visited several of the grocery stores, that I normally go to as I shop for groceries, looking for dried vegetables. I was in Smithfield a couple of days ago and after buying RamRod Cigars at JRs, and then a case (12 bottles) of Muscadine grape juice (not wine) at Hinnant Vineyards I was looking for a place to have lunch. The clerk at Hinnant’s mentioned the Old North State Food Hall (which is right next to JRs) which I had seen has “10 restaurants under 1 roof” so I decided to go back where I had come from and went into the Food Hall.

There is a bar with a large seating area at the back of the food hall. A coffee shop was in the middle, and there were several small vendors on each side including those that offered fried chicken, curried dishes, tacos, pizza, burgers and some of it all. Some signage had small print but all prices seemed to be a little high with all meals probably coming in around $14 or higher. The burger offering started off with the cheapest burger starting at about $9, and then it was either $4 for fries and several dollars for a drink. I looked and then decided to go elsewhere.

I had been to a CiCis restaurant several years ago, and also to Golden Corral a couple of times, and even Outback (with Deborah) once. The Outback was expensive, but Deb and I were enjoying the company and so “went with the flow”. Aware, but not aware enough to say, hey let’s go elsewhere. I decided to go to CiCis because they usually offer a buffet deal for a low price.

I think it was around $12 for drink and buffet. I only had three pieces of pizza, and their pizza is all thin crust (I think.), but I fell in love with a vegetable broth they had. I had three small bowls of the broth, which had little bits of various dried veggies floating in it. I especially liked the intense flavor. Interesting that the dried veggies had not re-hydrated more.

On my second trip to the soups area, I realized that the “game plan” was to add cooked pasta (on one end) to your bowl, and the 3 choices were vegetable broth, chili, and an Alfredo type white sauce. I didn’t like the looks of the pasta, and did like the broth (as is) which may have also had a chicken flavoring.

So, I normally wouldn’t used dried veggies for my vegetable soup, but I now had a “hankering” to try this at home. I found several dried veggie combinations on Amazon, but most meant buying a restaurant size at a price from $35 to $62. But not wanting to commit to a large quantity of product, I left my Cranberry beans in my Amazon Cart and went out into the “real world” to shop for groceries.

Late in the afternoon, I stopped by Fresh Market and saw a bunch of Chard at what I thought was a reasonable price. I thought this might be good in soup, but couldn’t find any Dandelion Greens (which I have used several times. The Chard was leafy green with bright red stems. As I reached for a bunch, I seemed to remember that you might need to cut the stems out.

NOTE [10/30/22]: Here are canned Roman Beans (Cranberry/Borlotti) at Walmart. I also went back to IGA and found that they had a 2 lbs. bag of dried Cranberry beans, and I bought one of those. The 32 oz. size was cheaper “per pound” than the 16 oz. [end note]

I headed on to IGA and bought some basics, including milk, creamer, orange juice (with pulp) and a few other items. But, before I made it to the cash register, I found a packet of vegetable soup mix (for either soup or a chip dip), and then I looked over in the “Hispanic” section and found dried beans, and there was a package of dried Cranberry beans at about $2 for 16 oz. Wow, wasn’t expecting that. Bought those too.

At home, I googled and found a recipe for “Borlotti Beans with Chard“. Now, I wasn’t looking to add Chard to my Cranberry beans, but when I found the recipe, I thought “this must have been… ‘meant to be'”. *Next day, I am cooking the beans and planning to make the above dish.

Last night I opened the dried veggie package and saw that there were two packets inside. I used one packet of the dried veggies (not alot, but enough to flavor), and added some chicken broth, and I also added a small can of mixed vegetables (not dried). I don’t think the mixed veggies added to the soup, nor the pasta shells that I had added. Pearl barley, maybe? This soup was close enough and it also satisfied my desire for soup made with dried veggies.

The Cranberry beans are cooking down. It’s been about 75 minutes, and they may have another 30 minutes before the beans are soft. The small half of onion that I added whole, has broken apart, the peppercorns & Bay Leaf are floating.

I left the following comment on the recipe site, because this turned out really well. A distinctively different flavored bean dish which I would make again.

I saw, on TV, Jamie Oliver fixing some dish with Borlotti Beans, which I found later were also called Cranberry Beans. I was going to order a small amount of the beans through Amazon, but went out shopping first. I hadn’t seen this recipe yet, and was looking for Dandelion Greens, but since they didn’t have any, I settled for Chard (which I’m not sure I have ever cooked with). But the Chard looked wonderful (all green and red stems). I went to a different grocer, not thinking at all about Borlotti/Cranberry Beans, but happened to spy a bag of Cranberry Beans on the shelf. Glad I didn’t purchase from Amazon because they were about half the cost in the local grocer. *I have never tried Cranberry Beans before.

Once home, I found your recipe online for Borlotti & Chard. I thought it was “meant to be” because I normally would not have bought Chard, and I didn’t expect to find the beans locally. I normally use some kind of ‘seasoning’ meat with my beans, but didn’t here, and followed your recipe pretty closely. Had dried, ground Sage though. They turned out fantastic, although maybe a little ‘wetter’ than yours. I’m not sure if the distinct flavor was due to the beans or the Chard, or maybe both in combo.

I like a round bone lamb chop with some char, and I also make a tomato chutney (with vinegar & sweetener), which I think would go well with this bean dish. I haven’t made polenta cakes in a while, but I think that would also add to this meal.

Thanks!

Bill

NOTE [10/22/22]: I was putting up the clean dishes and utensils from running my dish washer last night and happened to look at the bottom of my favorite fry pan (10″ Revere Ware – 1978). Almost impossible to see with the naked eye, but a little cleaning & a photo got a readable result. *I’ve cleaned the bottoms of these copper pots & pans before using catchup, and that does work.

Well, I guess I’ve gotten “good use” out of my Revere Ware pots & pans, especially this 10″ skillet from 1978. Forty-four years of use, with a lot of different things cooked in it during the last 20 years. I probably used this skillet to make my first “German Potato Salad” which I visually have a memory of, standing at the stove, in the kitchen at 204 Johnson Blvd. in Jacksonville, NC. The stove was on the right side of a door than opened into a small bedroom, that had another door opening into a little alcove to other bedrooms, the bathroom & the living room. To the right of the stove was the back door.

I’ve cooked my Hispanic version of chicken with tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, carrots and assorted hot peppers with the Herdez “Salsa Ranchera”. Or take the same ingredients, except for the Salsa Ranchera, and replace that flavoring with Patak’s “Hot Curry Paste” for an India Indian bent. Or, take those two meals and use ground beef instead of chicken. How about my zucchini, kielbasa, shrimp, onion, tomato & pasta shells dish? Many a time for that also. Round bone lamb chops in the last couple of years. Fried apples & bacon for breakfast in the last six months, although I do now cook the bacon in the microwave. Surely a bunch of fried okra in this pan.

As I’ve noted elsewhere, the Guy Fieri pot lids fit the Revere Ware perfectly. I also have a steamer insert for the 3Qt sized pot which I have used many times, steaming broccoli, asparagus, carrots, etc. The insert works in the Fieri & Revere Ware pots. I like the Fieri glass lid for the steamer insert.

But as I read the above note, I am reminded to be in praise of the Braun Multi-Quick “multi-tool” that has a stick blender, a whisk attachment, a 2 cup food processor. For years I limped along using the smallest of these which could not satisfactorily blend a single can of Garbanzo beans for hummus. I had bought the original for the stick blender attachment, using it when making my Curried Apple Soup (blending the ingredients in the still, very hot pot). But, very quickly saw that the food processor attachment was great for making salsa, hummus and a simple pesto for steaks. And the whisk? I’ve made whipped cream a few times, and even blended my “curry remoulade” directly in the small mayo jar, instead of taking the ingredients out and then putting them back into the jar. Scoop out a generous portion of mayo to make room for the curry paste and the capers and blend in the jar. *The curry remoulade was my version of the curry remoulade that I first had at the Waterside Restaurant in Charleston, SC. It came on a Shrimp Po-Boy sandwich… fried shrimp crammed between a good sized roll, maybe had slaw on it also and fries. It was years before I could google and find the definition of “remoulade”. I used this on my deli sandwiches.

I have an old style vegetable peeler, that can be used to peel cucumbers, then slice the cucumber in half and use the rounded end of the peeler to scoop out the seeds. *I’ve not seen any other chef in recent history praise this tool for that purpose, but someone displayed it, I saw it, and I still do it for my cucumbers.

[ Images 09/24/23 ]:

I do not keep my knives in good condition, but most of them are expensive, Wusthof Classic versions. My mother wasn’t a good cook, except for fried chicken. We only had small kitchen knives which were used for cutting a sausage on a plate, or a full sized ham. When I started to become a “foodie” I realized that I should get some larger knives. “What a difference it makes having the right tool.” That phrase is true in the kitchen, at the office, in the yard, and even in the computer world where the right tool might be an app that saves you hundreds of key strokes, or hundreds of hours. *Still, I know of one very good cook that still uses small knives for all she does, but I still note that when I see her tackling a “large” anything with those small knives, I know better than her.

Chopping all sorts of things with a knife that is the right size makes the process so much quicker, safer and more efficient. Carrots, zucchini, celery, tomatoes, potatoes, etc. A 7″ Chef’s knife, but I like the Santoku style for the wide flat blade for scooping up what you’ve just chopped. And I bought a serrated tomato knife that has a forked tip. As I recall, I absent mindedly almost chopped my finger off when I first started using it. *I did become afraid of this knife after I had sliced my finger severely, but I “hunkered down” and came to concentrate more when using this knife, respecting the tool, and now use it quite often for many things. In fact, I use the tomato knife even when picking up the larger Santoku would be more proper for the job. Say, slicing the ends off of an onion & chopping it. More control with the Santoku, but an adequate job with the tomato knife.

German Potato Salad

October 15, 2022January 5, 2025 bgibson135

Many years ago, probably before1985, was the first time that I made a version of German Potato Salad. This was before the Internet, so I am not sure where I got the recipe. Perhaps the Onslow County Library. I can even visualize where I was standing in my kitchen at 204 Johnson Blvd. in Jacksonville, NC. *I think I have a Revere Ware skillet from 1978 (they stamped the creation date on the bottom), but even if that was used the first time I made German Potato Salad, I did not use it this time.

I haven’t made it too many times since then, but I definitely loved the flavors, and I just made it again and it is still a delicious side dish for me.

I chopped up a few white potatoes (large dice) and started boiling them. I chopped up a small onion and started frying it on the stove top. I put four half slices of bacon on a plate in the microwave and cooked it about four minutes (4 – 1 minute segments) and poured off the excess grease into the frying onions. I did add some celery seeds to this, although it was not in the recent recipe I found online. I think this was an ingredient from long ago.

I checked the potatoes and they were still firm, and not mealy. I drained the potatoes and added them to the frying onions. I then added the bacon which I had crumbled up, added some Splenda, some Agave Nectar and some Red Wine Vinegar. I mixed this up in the skillet, and then poured it into a plastic container.

I do like it sweet.

NOTE: As I said, I like this potato salad. It is a comfort food. Then why haven’t I made it more times? I do not know. I know I like Polenta Cakes, but I rarely make them, and yet when I do and “sop up the gravy with them,” I relish the joy of eating them. Haven’t made tomato chutney in a while, but like those flavors. *I have made some good Black Eyed Peas a few weeks ago. The seasoning meat I used had been in the refrigerator for probably a couple of months. There was a lot of fat to this meat, and it was sliced like bacon, which I sliced into 1 inch squares. The meat wasn’t spoiled, and was in fact very flavorful, and the peas cooked down well. This was a batch of peas that I knew would be even better the next day. I think I still have about one helping left in the refrigerator. I think I had added chopped white potatoes to these, from the beginning. Usually, if I added potatoes at all, they would be added after a couple of days to extend the amount of this side.

This reminds me of making Red Cabbage. Without looking for a recipe, yet, I think you basically boil the red cabbage, and then add vinegar and sweetener to it. I would think you could also add some chopped onion, and some celery seeds to it, and I think this may be one where something like Fennel or Anise seeds would make the vinegar more distinctive.

And how about the Tarragon, Leak and Green Pea soup. Simple, but so delicious, both hot and cold.

Tennis With Love & Janice McDonald

September 8, 2022April 24, 2025 bgibson135

The above picture was taken for and appeared in a local Myrtle Beach business promotional booklet. It came out weekly. The publication’s name was “Coast”. *Not sure if it was for this publication, or whether we were running ads in the local newspaper, but I recall wrestling with creating small ads for TWL. When you have limited space, every word and image counts, and that provided creative fun. How do you catch someone’s attention with the fewest items? Which words or images need to be bigger, smaller or left out completely?

I see that the above COAST Magazine from 1985 had a $2 price on it. I thought the magazine was a free publication, sent out as advertising for the various Myrtle Beach businesses.

I had graduated from UNC-Wilmington the previous year (1976) and was playing a bunch of tennis, living with my mother in Jacksonville, North Carolina. I don’t recall how I met Doug Echols, but he was the Wilmington businessman who purchased the name, “Tennis With Love” from some ladies who had a small tennis specialty shop, with that name, in Wilmington, NC. I interviewed with Doug and he selected me to be the manager of “Tennis With Love” located in the Rainbow Harbor shopping center in Myrtle Beach, SC. *I thought TWL had closed in Wilmington until I was googling this morning and found they had moved down Oleander Drive into a small house. I drove by this location just yesterday & didn’t see the sign. Might try to stop by sometime now that I know they are still active. I thought it was just a women’s tennis shop, but I see by visiting their current web site that it is not.

I often had questions as to whether Doug really wanted “Tennis With Love” to “work” or whether he was intending to use it for a tax write-off. I wish you could have seen the above picture in color. Behind the two girls in the picture, on the wall, was painted a large frog with a great big tennis ball for a stomach. *The picture of the frog had been drawn directly on the painted divider wall. And, because Tennis With Love did not last very long, when it came time to clear out, the ornate frog had to be left behind. I’m guessing that it was probably destroyed when the divider wall came down.

I say “two girls”. The girl in the white pants was a secretary for the “Rainbow Harbor” shopping center. I don’t recall her name, and the first of two Myrtle Beach “malls” hadn’t been completed yet. *I seem to recall that Doug had been negotiating with someone for a spot in the first mall in Myrtle Beach, but something had happened and I think it was “Foot Locker” got the advantage and went in the mall. Doug had to settle for second best. And that probably was the death knell for TWL. You see, the shop looked great. I was an avid tennis player (would later teach tennis to adults & youth on a “city” level), and I knew the language and game in 1977, so I was a good match for TWL.

“Death knell?” Well, the thing about being in a mall, or not, was that if it was a rainy day at the beach, what do people do? They go to the mall to eat or shop, and that provides “foot” traffic, which at Rainbow Harbor there might be several hours where no customers (or potential customers) came into the store.

The other “girl” in the white tennis dress, and I recall that even for her ultra thin frame, it was a tight fit to get into this dress (just for the picture), was Janice McDonald. I’m guessing that she was probably a Sophomore in college, and this was her summer job. A couple of years later (1979) Janice would win the Miss South Carolina USA contest, and go on to be a world traveler, and television producer (CNN), and even a writer (The Varsity).

There was a deli next door to the tennis shop and I had many good sandwiches there, including Blutwurst. I had even worked out a deal for a discount on the meals I had at this deli. *I do recall that as TWL was “folding” it came time to pay my current tab, and they didn’t give me the discount;-) Still, I think I came to love blood sausage and those other specialty meats from this time.

During my short time in Myrtle Beach, I joined the Myrtle Beach Tennis Club, and got to “call lines” for an exhibition tennis match that included Roscoe Tanner. I don’t recall who the other player was (Stan Smith?), but he was as probably well known. *My memory, not their notability. I do recall that during the exhibition match, I called a ball “out” and I think it was Stan Smith that came over, looked at the spot, and marked it by circling with the edge of his tennis racket. **Now, I might guess that I called it wrong, but he said nothing, and went ahead and finished the match, and I called it as I saw it. ***Not fun calling lines, because if you do it properly, you can’t spend time enjoying the match.

I do recall that the Inter-Coastal Waterway butted up right next to the courts, and at least once, I saw a large boat passing close by, just behind the court fencing.

I think this is the Doug Echols that was a little older than myself (b.1948), and who died in 2006.

I don’t recall what car I was driving in 1977. Could have been the 1971 Pontiac LeMans that mom had bought me for my high school Senior year present. We did have a butterscotch colored AMC Pacer around this time. I did live in Socastee in a shared mobile home.

I think I bought, at wholesale, a pair of Fila tennis shorts & a shirt. I do recall that even at wholesale prices, they were very expensive. It would be amazing to see how small the shorts were, since I have been a “fat” man most of my life, but then I was probably in my prime.

I had one of these that I called a “Red Head”. This was my favorite racket because it combined power with control. Not too long afterward, the larger headed rackets came out and made this an inferior racket because it had such a small “sweet spot”.

I loved opening a new can of tennis balls, listening to the whoosh sound as the compressed air escaped. The “fresh” smell. I preferred playing with Wilson tennis balls because they had less knap than did the Penn balls.

One time, I wore out a brand new pair of tennis shoes in one month. They weren’t poorly made, but I was playing a bunch of tennis. I might play so much tennis that when I went home to rest, my big toes would hurt, and they might still be sore the next day as I was going back out to the courts. I did use Shoe Goo to temporarily repair my worn out shoes, but found that the price of Shoe Goo and the length of wear it provided meant I could buy a new pair of shoes about as cheaply as continuing to apply the Shoe Goo.

My favorite courts were located across town at the Jacksonville High School. At some point, I began to bicycle across town to the courts, even though I had a car. Surprisingly it took only a short time to go across town. Maybe 15 minutes or less, so this was a disappointment as far as getting any real exercise.

During my tennis days, I did go to Richmond, VA (I think.) to a Tennis Vendor’s convention. I also saw Roscoe Tanner, a left-hander, and recall that although his left arm was extremely developed, his right arm looked weak, as though he had suffered some disease in it like polio.

And, I bought a professional quality tennis racquet stringer. I think it cost between $200 – $400, which was a good chunk of change, back then. This was a large, floor model. I don’t recall the name of the company that made it, but probably will. *Googled, and the company was “Wingfield”. Stringing machines are now small, table top models.

John Merritt gave me a couple of white Prince tennis racquets (for free because he felt sorry for me) and I think it was one of those I was using when I blew out the ligaments in my right knee.

*John was sort of a Neanderthal, stocky, muscular man who drove a vintage Corvette convertible. He was a few years older than me, and had “student taught” at Swansboro High School, but not taught me, and I think he was J.V. Football coach at least one year at Swansboro. But, that would have been about 1970-1, and several years later we would meet again and become tennis buddies. For a long time, when we shook hands he would squeeze my hand incredibly hard making me cringe. And finally, one day I decided that I wasn’t going to cringe. I decided that if he broke my hand, I was going to make him pay for the medical bills. When I didn’t cringe, I said something to the effect, “You break it, you pay for it,” and from that time onward he never put the mega-squeeze on my hand;-)

Of the racquets shown above, my favorite was the Red Head. The Head racquet with the brown plastic throat piece is hauntingly familiar, so I must have had one of those. I know I had a Pancho Gonzalzes signed wooden racquet, that I eventually painted solid blue. I strung it with fishing line once, and it only took one swing of the racquet for the ball to slice through the fine string. But, I also strung it properly, but unaware, I began to have incredible shoulder pain. It finally dawned on me to stop using this wood racquet because it was injuring me. I hit a few times with a T-2000 racquet, but don’t recall if I actually owned one, but remember stringing one and hated the extra effort it required on the Wingfield stringer. I hit with the green Yonex that someone else owned, but didn’t like it. I think the aluminum frame was too light and didn’t give me power on the ball.

Hauntingly now, I have an image of an oversized headed racquet that I must have owned and enjoyed using, but I can’t seem to find an image of it online, and I’m not sure who made it. Could have been a Head racquet, maybe even an early Prince, but it had a light greyish plastic throat and I “have the feeling” that I enjoyed hitting with it. May have been what I was using when John Merritt gave me the two white Prince composite racquets. It wasn’t an Arthur Ashe racquet. *I eventually gave the two Prince racquets to Jeff Mitchell.

Finally found it! It was a racquet made by PDP (Professional Design Product). I think I had the grey throated version with the orange decal in the throat. Note the similarity between the Red Head and these PDP racquets. *Yes, for me, before going to the oversized headed racquets, this PDP racquet was my favorite. I was always looking for power & control because I had small wrists and hands and had to play a lot of tennis to have enough strength.

I think I read somewhere that you had to hit 350,000 tennis balls before you could become “good”. And, between the playing, and hitting against “the wall,” I easily surpassed that 350K benchmark. I was never that good at the net, because I had small wrists and didn’t have a lot of strength to block shots at the net. I had a decent backhand and forehand, and I enjoyed putting English on my serves. I liked changing up speed and slice or top spin, on my opponents, and trying to move them around, forehand and backhand.

NOTE: I’ll mention this other, slightly tennis related, note here. My second year in college, at Chapel Hill, I had a Freshman roommate that replaced the previous roommate (who came from Liberty, North Carolina, and had a girlfriend in Sevierville, Tennessee) who dropped out of college during the school year. The replacement guy was from Raleigh and he knew how to “cuss up a storm.” In fact, he was the first person I heard that used more than one cuss word in a single sentence. Not verbatim, but he might have said something like, “You motherfxxxing asshxx cocksuxxer.” A string of profanity. Unfortunately, I thought that was something to be emulated. I don’t recall his name, but he was an experienced tennis player and had a couple of gray Arthur Ashe composite rackets. I recall picking one up from off his bed in the dorm room. I wasn’t interested at all in tennis at that time, and he could have provided me with an excellent introduction to the sport, but I never asked. It would be the next year, when I was attending Campbell College, that I would start to teach myself how to play on their tennis courts that were located behind the Campus Post Office. *That building is no longer the current Post Office, and the tennis courts are no longer located there.

Our dorm room (318?) was located in Aycock Dorm (that dorm name dropped many years later because of that Governor’s racist tendencies). Most of the year, our room window would be open because we had really good heat from the radiator, and the room would just get too hot if the window was closed, even on most cold days. Well my cussing roommate had a game he played with the people that lived across the quad in Lewis Dorm. He would go to our open window and yell out across the way (not even sure you could actually see across because of the trees), “Lewis, Lewis, Lewis…” waiting between each time he said the name “Lewis.” And finally a reply would come from someone in Lewis dorm, “What.” And he would always say, “Eat Shit!” He did that over and over again, and I don’t know why anyone in Lewis Dorm would have ever answered him after the first half dozen times. “Lewis?”

Many years after my stay in Aycock Dorm, the open area between Aycock and it’s neighboring dorm were joined adding extra internal dorm space. Where we had parked bicycles was now part of the inside of this conjoined double dorm. *I did try to visit Aycock once, and got up the stairs at the one end of the 3rd floor when the warning bell, closing the dorm to outsiders, rang. It was then that I realized that Aycock was no longer a men’s dorm, but had been changed to a woman’s dorm. I turned around quickly and headed down stairs.

I recall that one time I flew high above Aycock Dorm in a Marine helicopter. The Marines were doing a recruiting stunt at Carolina, and were offering helicopter flights to students. To my chagrin, the immediately previous flight to mine, they had flown the helicopter all the way back down to the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) at Jacksonville, North Carolina. That would have been a really fun trip. Not sure how quickly you could have made that trip, since you might be able to go 150 miles an hour, and fly mostly in a straight line. But on our flight, we flew high above Aycock Dorm, so much so that the utility trucks, that were painted Carolina Blue, were smaller than my little finger nail. *I’m sort of surprised that I actually took that helicopter ride. Apparently, I’m not deathly afraid of flying, or I would not have taken that trip.

I recently drove down to Washington, North Carolina and between Wilson and Greenville, on Highway 264, there is a sign for the birth place of “Charles B. Aycock,” the North Carolina Governor. He was a contemporary of Governor Lindsay Russell (a distant relative of mine) who immediately preceded Aycock in the Governor’s Office. Aycock & Russell were both lawyers, but different Parties, but both respected one another. When Russell left office, he left the Governor’s Mansion well stocked with food, and in a nicer condition than his (Russell’s) predecessor had, with empty alcohol bottles strewn about the place.

NOTE: I took the AMC Pacer with me to Seminary, in Lousiville, KY in 1981 (the year after my mother’s death). The Pacer eventually had problems with it’s “rack and pinion” front steering mechanism. I think it was explained that one or more ‘teeth’ had broken off, which would mean steering the front wheels, when turning, would “skip a beat”. I think I spent $600 to get this fixed on the Pacer, and then drove it down to Georgia and gave it to my dad. Not sure when I came back to visit my dad, but by that time, the Pacer was acting as storage for some of his junk, and sitting lifelessly in his yard. *At one time, I think I counted about 14 derelict vehicles in this yard… and a partially constructed garage. Both the garage and his sprawling house were both deteriorating as my visits spanned several years.

When dad died I told Donna (my half-sister) that all I wanted was his last driver’s license. He had collected an enormous amount of “junk” throughout the years (tools, knickknacks, etc.) and all this stuff cluttered his domain. But, I also gave Donna and Sara (his last wife that he had divorced before his death, but they were still living in the same house together at the time of his death) a bit of advice, that they chose to ignore… I said, “If you arrange for someone to come in and clear off the lot, make sure that the arrangement is for them to take everything. Don’t let them ‘pick -n- choose’ over the best stuff and leave you with the junk to get rid of.” Sometime later, I think it was Donna that mentioned that ‘they’ had come in and took all the good stuff, and now she & Sara were having to pay to get the junk removed. **I tried.

Apex, Publix & the State Farmer’s Market

September 2, 2022December 13, 2023 bgibson135

I had lunch at “Tacos Mexico” in Apex, NC. Their Lunch #3 included chips & salsa, a Chile Relleno, a Beef Enchilada, Spanish rice and refried beans. I drank water, but think that might be the 16 cents Surcharge on the bill. The basic salsa was bland, but had bits of onion and cilantro. I asked for hot sauce and some packets of sweetener. The waitress brought back the sweetener and two squeeze bottles, one with a green mild sauce, and one that she said was really hot. It was really hot so I just used a little and some sweetener to make my sweet hot salsa.

The Chili Relleno had a lightly breaded crust. They included a whole Poblano pepper that had been deep fried. There was a tomato sauce poured on top of the Poblano pepper. There was a slight “after taste” that I realized I would not like. Once was enough. The meal wasn’t unpleasant, but just a one time event.

I noted the customers, and most seemed to be Hispanic, in work clothing.

I turned on to Hunter Street and rode west. At some point, Hunter Street becomes Olive Chapel Road and after crossing the Toll Road, Publix is on the right.

There were several locations within the store that were in a familiar spot, but it wasn’t exactly like the Publix in Fayetteville. I found the Bread section, and they had some Ciabatta Rolls. The rolls were mislabeled as Ciabatta Loaf and was priced over $4. I asked the clerk about this and she re-labelled the bag as Ciabatta Rolls at a lower price. I checked for lamb and they didn’t have any Round Bone Chops.

Coming back through the Apex Historical Downtown District I noted several groups of both boys and girls that looked to be Middle or High School age, walking down the sidewalks.

I drove up US 1 and made it to the NC State Farmer’s Market. There were still a lot of colorful peppers for sale, and I bought some at two different vendors (one Lee’s Produce for sweet peppers).

The four types of peppers shown below were supposed to be sweet/not hot and they were. The far right were red Poblanos. On the left, the more orange pepper had the sweetest flavor. The long red peppers in the middle had little flavor.

I bought gas in Fuquay Varina.

There is a turn-off just above Bunn Level and there was one car ahead of me that knew all the short cuts until we got back on Ramsey Street.

NOTE [09/03/22]: Awoke after 2 am on Saturday and went to the bathroom. I looked over at the counter where my “empty” pill box should have been. There was none. No pill box, hmmm… I had gone to bed early (don’t remember exactly when) so, it wasn’t likely that I had taken the evening pills. Mild panic. I head to my living room and search under my “recently received” car title, and there is an empty space for one of the blue plastic daily containers… but the empty space is for THUR, and this is early Saturday morning. There nearby is the empty container for THURS. I haven’t taken any of my pills for Friday, and it is Saturday. I rush back to the bathroom and take the morning pills, with no idea at how to fit the FRI evening pills in before the SAT morning pills come due.

I don’t think I’ve ever forgotten a whole day before. I’ve been fairly religious about taking my pills, except I did forget my evening pills once. That is when I determined that you should go ahead and take the pills that you forgot.

I had felt “off” and when I got home, went to bed early. Some of the “offness” might have been because I hadn’t taken any daily medication. Now, early Saturday morning, I don’t think I ate anything for dinner either.

Car into Hendricks & then Goldsboro & Smithfield

September 1, 2022September 3, 2022 bgibson135

I finally got around to scheduling maintenance on my 2018 Toyota Camry last night. I went online and surprisingly, there were early times listed for this morning (it may have been after 9 am, last night when I went online). I selected the 8:15 am slot and set the clock on my phone to wake me at 7 am.

I went to the Hardees near Cross Creek Mall this morning for breakfast. I ordered a Ham Biscuit Combo, which includes a drink and tater tots. I wasn’t paying close attention when the girl handed me my change but saw two $5 bills and some change. It took a brief time to register, but then I asked her how much the meal had been. *I’m thinking that two 5’s and some change would mean it was a little over $9 for the combo, and it should have been more around $7. I think she was confused also because she said the biscuit by itself was $5+ (which was the price listed for the combo). I later asked the manager and she looked at the ticket and said I had been charged correctly.

It was then that I realized the girl had given me a “bunch of change” and that there were quite a few more quarters, so I surmised that she had given me quarters instead of dollar bills. I had taken a penny and one or two quarters with me as I left my apartment, and now there were maybe a dollar or two worth of quarters.

I enjoyed the flavor of the ham biscuit, but later started to get indigestion, which lasted through the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, even after lunch.

I made it to Hendrick’s before 8am and was processed. I slept some in the waiting room, and looked at various stuff on my phone. My car was done in about 2.5 hours, which was relatively quick, but it did cost a little over $600 for everything. I mentioned to the processor that I had just finished paying for my Camry with my last monthly payment, and that I had received my car title just a couple of days ago.

I left the dealership and was just a short distance up the road when I noticed that the air conditioning was putting out hot air. I thought I was going to have to go back to the dealership, but cold air started pouring out and I continued on my trip. *I decided to go to the Longhorn restaurant in Goldsboro, NC for lunch. It was around 11 am.

It was shortly after 12 noon when I arrived at Longhorn.

I eat the bread with butter, and leave the hamburger bun that comes with the hamburger. Cheeseburger, with American cheese. I get the Shrimp & Lobster Chowder. This time I requested no pickles (they are dill) and extra onion. I like their onions (sweet, no bite).

After lunch, I walked outside. I could hear what sounded like a large jet engine revving up. **I looked at Google Maps and it doesn’t look like the air field is close enough to Longhorn for a jet engine to sound that loud. Not sure. I got in my car and drove to the other side of the SJAB airfield. There is a dead end road with soy beans (maybe) growing on either side, so they are low to the ground. I can watch any aircraft taking off or landing from here. There were a couple of small aircraft taking off as I arrived at the Dead End. They didn’t return and I saw no others take off or land.

Google StreetView image capture (no crops growing at the time)

I then headed on to Smithfield, NC and stopped at JR’s to get a couple of packs of RamRod Cigars. Comes to around $13 and there are 5 cigars per package.

Came back home. Watched a little TV and went to bed. Wasn’t feeling well, but am better now.

Conti’s Market – Raleigh, NC

August 28, 2022August 28, 2022 bgibson135

I’ve enjoyed Del Monte “Zucchini with Italian Style Tomato Sauce” for several years. I wonder if it might not have been more than 30 years since I first tried it. *If they have been making it for that long.

I made some of this from home with zucchini, tomato, & onion (chicken broth, vinegar, Agave nectar, Splenda, marjoram, thyme, garlic powder, margarine, S&P). This turned out well. Not exactly the same flavors, but good in their own merit.

Not sure how I found Conti’s Market in Raleigh, but probably on the Internet. I don’t recall what Rick Conti looked like, but if shown a picture, I probably could identify him. I recall we talked, and at some point he was having “woman” problems, which were affecting his business.

Below is a Google StreetView of N. Person Street, near where Conti’s Market was located. I would park in the little parking area, shown here, and walk the short distance down to the Market. *The Krispy Kreme Doughnut Shop was located across the street on the opposite end of the block from Conti’s. There was also the Raleigh City Farm, a community garden, down a few blocks and to the left… and in the area Escazu, a specialty chocolate shop.

One of the things I first bought at Conti’s was the Coluccio EVOO. I recall that it had a “peppery” flavor. After Conti’s closed, I eventually bought the Frantoia EVOO, probably at Fresh Market, but have seen it sold elsewhere. Both oils were expensive. Used them for salads and non-cooking uses. *I see I have a small bottle of the Frantoia, which I rarely use.

Bringing It Home.

August 12, 2022August 15, 2022 bgibson135

Thai Basil Chicken from Maguro’s in Southern Pines…

I have taken a few things with me when I am going to Maguro’s to have lunch, and I have since after my first visit only eaten “Thai Basil Chicken”.

Russ and Deborah took me there to celebrate my birthday and Russ had the Thai Basil Chicken. I had something else, which was “okay” but looking at Russ’ meal from across the table, I thought it looked especially tasty. At some point, Russ asked if there were hot peppers in the dish. I recall that both Deborah and I looked and I think we found what appeared to be a sliced Jalapeno. Now, I would guess that hot is not what Russ wanted.

I’m sure that Russ and Deborah had “cut out a swath of time” for me for my birthday celebration, but after lunch as we are standing in the Maguro’s parking lot talking, I realized that I had an upset stomach. My way of saying that I felt I needed to go to the bathroom. I told them I was going home and left my celebration early.

But, the next day I drove up to Southern Pines again to have lunch at Maguro’s, and to order the “Thai Basil Chicken” for myself. Making back to back trips to Southern Pines from Fayetteville would be highly unusual for me, but at this time, our gas prices had not started to rise drastically.

The Thai Basil Chicken was delicious! During the Pandemic, I would normally drive to Southern Pines on Thursdays and order the lunch special, which for sometime was still only $7 with water to drink.

The few things I took included:

— Hot Mustard which I would dip my egg roll (more like an egg roll instead of a spring roll) in and their sweet sauce. This mustard will take your breath away if you eat too much, and too much might just be a very little.

— Toasted Sesame Oil which I add to the fried rice. I had found that the flavor of the Toasted Sesame Oil was what “meant” fried rice to me. This does make the rice flavor better.

Many times I have eaten the entire meal at the restaurant, but a few times, I have brought a “doggy” box home with me. And, what I found is that adding extra peppers and onion to the left overs works well. I had some hot peppers including Habaneros, a poblano and some onion which I cooked up on the stove top. I added the peppers & onion to the left overs and microwaved for a couple of minutes. This worked excellently!

Andouille Lentil Soup

I knew that I wanted to make some lentil soup before I left for lunch in Southern Pines. I was going to look for some Andouille sausage at Fresh Market in Southern Pines. Not all sausages are the same, and I have had bland Andouille. But, I have also used Polska Kielbasa which was a failure. Not spicy.

I went into the Fresh Market and sauntered through apples, carrots, nuts and olives before making it to the meat counter in the back. You can only get to the meat counter from two directions, and I realized after walking along the counter that there was a “proper” direction, and there was a large sign for “the next customer”. I had not asked a butcher for assistance, and after finding the head of the line took my place behind an elderly couple that had just been called up to the counter by a butcher. I saw sausages and one of those was labelled ‘Andouille’. Another butcher, a black man, came to the counter and asked if I needed assistance. I asked him if the Andouille was spicy. He said he had not tried it personally and did not know. I asked if a pound of the Andouille was about two links. I ended up getting 3 links for a pound. The white butcher didn’t know if the Andouille was spicy, but knew that Andouille should be.

I had a 3 quart pot, and put a couple of links of the Andouille in the bottom and cut the casings from end to end. I tried to scrape the meat from the casings. I then added some red & brown lentils, some chopped onion and some chicken broth, S&P, and garlic powder. At some point I added some Poblano, and hot peppers, including a Habanero.

I was finishing off my Maguro’s Thai Basil Chicken as I was cooking the Andouille Lentil soup. But, I was tasting the soup broth, and it was obvious that it was spicy hot. The Andouille was ground chunkily (which is how it should be) and had good flavor, although I honestly cannot say if this Andouille was spicy because of the overpowering heat from the hot peppers I had added. But, this was really good soup, especially because it was spicy hot, and had good meat flavor!

So, I am sitting on the toilet the next morning, and it comes to me that my stomach feels like someone had punched it. It is slightly sore, and I smile thinking that the cause of it was all the spicy, hot peppers I had eaten the day before.

After lunch, I drove over to Ken Chappell’s fruit stand near Candor. This is a regular practice during peach season. Peaches & apples are the main produce, but they also have okra, tomatoes, cantaloupe & watermelons in season.

I bought a watermelon ($7 maybe $5), three small tomatoes, some Gala apples (small & hard) and a small bag of peaches (Flame Prince). I drove back to the Fresh Market.

I drove over to the Mitchell’s after I had bought the Andouille. No one was home, no cars in front, and no one answered the door bell. I left a few apples & peaches on the table under the patio.

I drove back to Fayetteville. I left the watermelon in the car, but brought the rest of my purchases & the left-over Thai Basil Chicken inside.

Not sure how soon afterwards that I went to bed, but I awoke about 8:45 pm. I started wandering through the apartment. I see that I left the left over Thai Basil Chicken in the little white plastic box, on the table, not the refrigerator. And also on the table was the package of Andouille Sausage, unrefrigerated. I got the bag of peppers out of the refrigerator, grabbed an onion, and started chopping dividing it out by eye, some in the Andouille Lentil soup pot, and some in a small fry pan (for the left overs).

Just before I got home, I stopped at the Food Lion. I bought a bag of carrots (for the lentil soup), a few Gala apples (for fried apples), a sweet bell pepper, roasted cashews, and supposedly “Sweet Bites” tomatoes. I was surprised to see the Sweet Bites, because they haven’t been available for over a year (maybe longer). But see my concern, because although the “Sweet Bites” package has returned, the small tomatoes inside are not the same variety (or flavor) as previously sold under this name by Sunset Company.

ADDENDUM [ 08/12/22 ]: Boy! I just had another helping of the Andouille Lentil soup I made last night, and there is just one more helping left in the fridge. This soup turned out to be really good, and addictive. It is so spicy hot, and the Andouille sausage has enough distinctive flavor (although I still can’t judge whether it is spicy, hot, or not), and the Poblano peppers offer their distinctive, earthy flavor and the carrots provide a cooling effect. I like lentil soup and have made several versions of it in the past. But, they are not always winners. I remember adding Texas Pete hot sauce to it in the past. I think that I had forgotten which type of sausage to use, and Polska Kielbasa doesn’t work here. *So, I would add this version of Andouille Lentil soup to my three other favorites, Curried Apple, Tarragon Leek, or Avocado Chipotle soup.

I currently think that they would be ordered in this order, as to my favorite:

Curried Apple (hot or cold)
Andouille Lentil (hot liquid, and spicy hot)
Tarragon Leek (hot or cold)
Avocado Chipotle (hot)

Time Passes…

August 2, 2022October 5, 2022 bgibson135

I don’t recall how many years after I came to Fayetteville to work, in August 1995 at Fayetteville State University, that the second Golden Corral location in Fayetteville was built on Ramsey Street. This Golden Corral location was a favorite of mine, often visiting at least twice a week. The staff were friendly and DeWayne was a good waiter for many years. After they closed this location, DeWayne and others were moved over to the newly built Golden Corral, located at the same location near the Mall.

A slide presentation and brief notes on a GC Ramsey Street visit in 2014.

The new Golden Corral was not necessarily better, or even as good as the old. The serpentine, undulating serving areas of the old locations provided a more friendly, less frenzied approach for customers to fill their plates. The new serving line was long, very long, almost spanning the entire length of the building and straight. The problem with this long straight line was that other customers were always “coming at you” from both sides and sometimes even behind you. Another negative aspect of the new Golden Corral was that the environment was incredibly “LOUD”. Sound bounced off the walls easily and became almost deafening. Oh, and there were certain sections of the restaurant where there was not enough room between the tables, on each side. Few want to have people and waiters/waitresses brushing against you to “get by” while you are eating.

Another negative was that DeWayne was never quite the same “happy” self in the new GC as he had been for years at the GC on Ramsey. I think the new was a more harried pace.

After Golden Corral moved out of this location, it was taken over by a Chinese restaurant. I don’t recall the name of the restaurant. Might have been “Supreme Buffet Hibachi”. I do recall before they actually opened, I was thinking that they didn’t need another Oriental restaurant in this area. I was a regular customer of the “Little China” restaurant which was just a few steps away, next to Ollies. But, the new buffet was good and I almost stopped going to Little China. Finally, when I did return to Little China, they had discontinued their buffet and I didn’t go back afterward.

After the Oriental restaurant left, “Fred Chaisson’s Grandsons Buffet” opened. I became a regular here also.

I include the two pictures below, because they look like the Ramsey Street location of Chaissons. The corrugated tin siding, and the neon pig on the red wall were familiar.

“Fred Chaisson’s Grandsons Buffet” on 3901 Ramsey Street fell prey to COVID. They closed when other restaurants were closing their buffets, and never opened again. And after a couple of years, I was riding by the other day and looked over to see that they had torn down most of the building. And by later that day, they finished the building demolish. Today as I rode past, it looks like they have cleaned up the rest of the parking area.

Not too long before I saw that they were demolishing the Ramsey Street location of Chaissons, I had heard/seen a report on WRAL about a shooting that had occurred at the Chaisson’s location in Hope Mills. The positive of this was that I didn’t know they had a Chaissons there, and I will probably visit at some point.

In writing the last paragraph, I was reminded of the Chaissons location which was down in Lumberton, NC. I’m not sure if there was a fire, but at some point the location stopped being a restaurant and fell into disrepair. The problem might have been the flooding in 2016 and not fire. *And, I correct myself. I just did a Google StreetView of the location down in Lumberton and see that it was a Fuller’s Restaurant and not a Chaissons.

The Agri Supply store is just about a mile, up the road, to the right of this picture, but on the left side of the road.

Fuller’s has the same “country cooking” type buffet as Chaissons. I know I visited the above location in Lumberton at least once before the fire. It has been a long time since I ate at Fullers in Fayetteville, on Eastern Blvd. Most times when I go past it, it appears to be closed.

Peppers @ the State Farmers’ Market in Raleigh.

July 22, 2022July 25, 2022 bgibson135

The Big List of Hot Peppers

I can’t tell which pepper this is, but I did buy it at this vendor’s site. I looked at the large green stem, and the knobby shape of the red fruit and nothing seems to show in the variety photos.

I only bought one Peter Pepper. It was a light green color. I did not think that it had too much heat.

A Chicken Salad

July 15, 2022July 22, 2024 bgibson135

I was trying to finish off the Oven Roasted Chicken that I had bought at Publix. Currently, buying a whole roasted chicken at around $7+ is a good deal. There is a lot of chicken. Two drumsticks, two wings, and plenty of white meat.

Chicken (shredded)
Green Olives (medium, ripe)
Green Onions
Capers
Vidalia Onion (diced)
Sweet Bell Pepper
Cubanelle Pepper
Mayonnaise
Yellow Mustard
Celery Seed
Garlic Powder
Equal Sweetener
S&P

NOTE [ 01/22/24 ]: Publix may also call this a Rotisserie Chicken. There are two meals with a drumstick & some white meat. I can use some of the white meat for my Chicken-Chipotle-Avocado Soup. That is instead of opening a can of white meat chicken. *I’ve started using a whole, medium avocado when I make this soup because using just half, I’m left with a half that I need to use later that day and it isn’t always convenient to plan for that other half of avocado into another meal. **And, buying avocados is just a pain. If I am trying to plan ahead, I don’t need an avocado that is overly ripe today, even if I’m going to use it tomorrow. And if I forget to buy an avocado a couple of days before, then all the avocados in the stores are hard as rocks on the day I need them.

And then there is always the chicken salad, which I haven’t fixed in a while. But, I haven’t been using much, if any, sweet bell pepper in my meals either. For a long while I would include some colorful (red, yellow or orange) sweet bell pepper in my salads. But, for a month or so now, I have been fixing (and enjoying) a Greek Salad with my meals. And, I don’t normally include bell pepper in my Greek Salad.

Greek Salad: Romaine lettuce, sweet onion, tomatoes, pepperoncini, assorted olives. And homemade salad dressing: Red Wine Vinegar, Olive Oil, Dijon Mustard, Italian Seasoning, some garlic powder & some sweetener. Shake the dressing up in a little Ball/Mason jar (with a yellow Dukes Mayo lid) before using.

I love the sourness of the Pepperoncini peppers. I’ve started using Romain Lettuce/Hearts Of for my Greek Salad and have been buying the “Hearts of Romaine” at Walmart for under $3 for a small bag, but even the small bag has about a third of the lettuce go bad (turning brown around the cut edges) before I can use it in even three days. So, the last time, I bought a whole head of Romaine, and I have been very pleased. It’s been about a week (maybe more) and I am still pulling leaves off and they are all still good. I think I’ve had at least 3 salads, and looks like it will last for at least a couple more.

I like the Campari tomatoes, but also may have some red and/or yellow grape tomatoes, which have even more good tomato flavor.

NOTE [07/22/24]: I want to keep reminding myself that I’ve changed from the Publix rotisserie chicken to the roasted chicken at Harris Teeter. I think the Harris Teeter chicken is about a dollar cheaper, and I like the texture/flavor of their chicken better. I seem to recall that I had begun to think of the Publix chicken as being mealy and a little bit fatter. I haven’t bought one of these in a while, but it is well worth the number of meals that I can get from it. There are at least 4 good meals, if not five. Two drum sticks, and wings. More than enough chicken breast, on each side for a meal, and the remainder of chicken goes toward making a good chicken salad.

I made my Avocado-Chipotle Chicken Soup today. I couldn’t find any chipotle peppers already opened, so I used some Salsa Ranchera sauce and chopped up a raw Jalapeno pepper. I didn’t like the jalapeno in this. It’s worth using at least one chipotle pepper, diced up. [end NOTE]