I think the Spicy Chili Crisp gave it better flavor. The original recipe, with slight mods, was pleasant, but not distinctive enough. I’m not sure what it could have used. It wasn’t unpleasant, but just didn’t “pop.”
I halved the finished product, and added some Spicy Chili Crisp to the second half. This reddens everything, so the scallops come out a darker brown color. I just went back to taste this version before storing it in the fridge, and you know what? I like it. This was just enough of a change to make it pop. Maybe this version, on some polenta, and with a simple salad with the Cilantro-Honey-Lime dressing. *Agave Nectar instead of honey.
If you’re paying attention to my current seasoning favorites, you know that I’ve used a lot of Toasted Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce, ginger powder, bell pepper, carrot, and Red Wine Vinegar. So, this was just a very minor side step.
Ingredients
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup long-grain white rice
¼ cup rice vinegar (red wine vinegar)
¼ cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, such as safflower (Avocado)
1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), thinly sliced
2 bunches scallions, white and green parts separated, cut into 2-inch lengths (onion)
2 carrots, halved lengthwise, or quartered if large, and cut into 1 ½-inch lengths
In some ways, this meal reminds me of the Seared Scallops with Minted Smushed Peas. It looked great, but just didn’t deliver. If you recall I found this recipe from a page that was highlighting entrees that would go well with polenta, and my comment was that the photo on their page didn’t show any polenta.
But, what I produced, had polenta, and I also added a colorful red cabbage & yellow corn salad, which made the image pop even more… red, yellow, mint green, and the seared scallops. The colorful red & yellow grape tomatoes didn’t hurt the color palate either.
I wonder if going a slightly different direction and adding shrimp with the scallops, and then instead of Toasted Sesame Oil, forget the ginger, and using Oyster & Fish Sauces, and maybe serve over Polenta. And, maybe use tomato, instead of carrot. Not a lot of tomato, sort of like I use in my Kielbasa, Shrimp & Zucchini dish. Just a little tomato forms a slightly reddish sauce, without overpowering like a tomato sauce.
Then it came to me, “You know, some fried chicken livers would really set off the seared bay scallops.” Let’s try, bay scallops, chicken livers, and bacon, with maybe some stir-fried green beans. That’s probably what the scallops need to pop. Sort of like when you add sausage to shrimp in a Frogmore Stew.
I was looking for the Sempio Brown Rice ( 현미 ) Vinegar ( 식초 ) and went to three Korean Asian grocers in Fayetteville, and none had the Sempio Vinegar. But, while I was looking in the Sun Asian Super Market, I happened to see the “Spicy Chili Crisp” and the “Fried Chili in Oil” that I like (very much) and they have a good price on it, although Walmart has it listed online at $3.88 a jar.
I just noticed from the above photo the cardboard inserts separating some of the jars. The packaging adds to the confusion, and I’ve found little difference between the flavors of “Fried Chili in Oil,” “Hot Chili Sauce,” and “Spicy Chili Crisp.” I do see some jar size and label color variations that I hadn’t noted before. *I see both “Spicy Chili Crisp” and “Fried Chili in Oil” in Walmart. One of them has fried peanuts in it.
In one of my early stir-fries, using the Spicy Chili Crisp, I ended up with a finished product that had a few peanuts in it. I asked myself where those had come from and eventually I found that they were “hidden” in the Spicy Chili Crisp.” Welcome by me, but I’m sure someone with a peanut allergy might fall out dead from a little taste.
While in Pan’s Thai Market I bought two different things, “to try.” I bought a bottle of spicy pepper vinegar that had some whole veggies (looked like peppers and white garlic cloves) floating in it, and a small jar of “black pepper sauce.”
The pepper vinegar turned out to be nothing more than “pepper vinegar,” which I knew those flavors from my childhood. Like those small shaker bottles of “hot pepper vinegar” that we would have put on raw oysters. Nothing new, and nothing really special. I’ve made similar at home by putting the various colorful peppers I’ve bought “in season” at the Farmers’ Market in Raleigh.
A brief aside here. Specifically a comment on my age, and it’s effects. I’ve noticed that my typing, specifically, my spelling of words as I type has become more sporadic. I rarely had this trouble for most of my adult life. *Perhaps some of this “misspelling” can be attributed to the automatic “corrective word spell” software that tries to take over and correct me, on the fly, and many times missing entirely on my message, and choosing incorrect words, and spellings that I have to correct as I go back and reread what was written, not necessarily what I wrote, or intended to write. But I think at least some of my misspelling is due to my age, and my mind just not working as well as it did. This was a message from our sponsor, and now back to the show.
The other item, “black pepper sauce,” was more interesting. It had what I would call a “gelatinous” look, but the deep black pepper flavor was captivating. I liked the flavor, but my mind wasn’t quite sure, how I would use this sauce, or what I would put it on. I couldn’t quite imagine spreading it on bread for a ham sandwich… although I might at least give that a try. It’s consistency being odd, I couldn’t imagine mixing it with Dukes mayo, or French’s yellow mustard. No. But, I am looking for a place to put this, and if I find it, I think it will be a happy addition to all those “earthy” flavors that I enjoy. (Earthy flavors e.g. fried chicken livers, pig’s feet, Nueski’s smoked liver pate). And none of those items listed here, would be something that would benefit from this Black Pepper Sauce.
Ah, I just read a note on someone’s web site, that this sauce is “thickened with starch.” Yes, that might give it that gelatinous quality. And now AI puts in it’s two cents, “It is perfect for pairing with barbequed or grilled meat like steak, chicken, or shrimp.“
I think my age, and my nearing the end of my life on Earth, has started to give me a strong desire to “pass along” whatever wisdom I have gleaned from years of experience.
I realize I am no fount of blessing when it comes to wisdom, and the wisdom I am talking about does not begin with “Fear God.” That’s Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
No, the wisdom I am talking about are all the “little things” that make life easier, and help things flow better. Things like, “spread the shower curtain out after your shower, so it doesn’t mildew.” Or, “the gas gauge on your car’s dashboard has a little symbol letting you know on which side of your car the gas cap is located.”
Now that I think about that, where does it put that symbol if your gas cap is in the middle, above your license plate.” Why would you even need to know? Well, if you are driving up to a convenience store to buy gas, it would be handy to know which way to pull into the pump so that the pump is on the same side as your gas cap. Yes, you can always get out of your car, find your gas cap, and then get back in your car and drive on the appropriate side. But knowing this little trick will save you these simple “time wasting” steps.
So why did I mention Cheyenne Bodie and Roger Moore, “The Saint?” And, you might even ask, “Who is Cheyenne Bodie.” “Cheyenne” was a long running TV Western show that appeared in the 1950s. The actor who played Cheyenne Bodie was the handsome, tall, muscularly built man, Clint Walker. Now Roger Moore, was also a tall, handsome actor. I think one hook for “the Saint,” was that the character, at points, would turn to the camera to explain “just to me” about something he was about to do, or how he personally felt. This personal comment by the actor, drew me into the story. I was his good buddy, “along for the ride.”
But, here was something that I noticed about both of these characters (not necessarily the actors). The characters seemed to know how to do almost everything, and they knew a bunch of people, no matter where they were, or even if this was the first time in town. And, they were welcomed by these people as if they were old, best friends. But the characters weren’t actually old enough to have learned all the stuff they knew, or met and earned the trust and friendship, over time, of all the people that welcomed them warmly. No, their knowledge of how to do a bunch of stuff, and all the “long time” friends they had accrued required a “suspension of belief” on our parts. These characters were “MacGyvers,” long before there was actually a MacGyver on TV. And MacGyver was a stretch because he was creative/inventive in how he accomplished things, not so much as knowing the standard way of doing things.
So Cheyenne could take an unruly horse, a Stallion, a Bronc and calm the animal, put a blanket and saddle on him, cinch it up, and then gently get on the horse and ride around the corral. And this taming of the animal was something that all the others had failed at. Neither of these characters were old enough to have been able to learn “the tricks” they somehow knew, or become close friends with all the people they seemed to know, by the age they currently were.
Recently I started to read a biography of Colin Powell, the late General and Public servant. The bio is entitled, “It Worked for Me,” and as far as I’ve read Gen. Powell offers examples of “things” and “ways of doing things” that worked for him.
Now, I’m not going to try to teach you how to become close friends with everyone you meet, or even suggest that I know the best ways to do a lot of things, but I do want to “throw out” some suggested items and things that have worked well for me. Take what you want, and ignore or leave the rest, and enjoy!
A “John Wayne.”
I have a “John Wayne” that I have carried with me, on my key chain, for over 50 years, and I’ve probably used it two or three times each of those years.
A “John Wayne” is a small metal can opener that was a military issue for troops in the field, called a P-38 Field Can Opener to be used on the metal C-Rations cans. Supposedly named for “John Wayne” because the actor made the training video for the troops on how to use this can opener successfully. *That’s my first bit of wisdom: Get one of these can openers, and put it on your key chain. It will serve you well, when a regular can opener fails.
Box Cutters
I’ve bought these colorful box cutters from Amazon a few times. Once for myself and then for intended Christmas presents. I have come to give small Christmas presents with items that have made my life easier or more enjoyable in the past year. Why a “handy” box cutter?
How many times do you have an Amazon package to get into, and having one of these would make the process simple, quick? Or you’ve bought batteries that are encased in a clear plastic bubble? Or, you have a piece of thread, or a string that is tying something together, and you can’t break it with your firm grip?
These box cutters have an excellent design, that only requires one hand to unlock the blade, slide it into position, and then easily relock the blade… use it, unlock it, slide it back down into it’s completely sheaved protected position and relock it.
So, get more than one, and put one beside your easy chair, in a kitchen drawer, and in your car, and be careful, don’t cut yourself.
Buy a set of good quality kitchen knives, and keep them sharp. Make sure you like the way they feel in your hand. “The right tool for the job makes things so much easier.” This statement is never truer than when you need the right knife for a kitchen task. You don’t have to buy all the knives at once, but here are a few that I think you will need over time:
(1) A Chef’s Knife, either a classic pointed tip design, or one of the flat, wide bladed Japanese designs. The Japanese design is useful when you are chopping, and scooping what you have just chopped to put into a pot or bowl. What happens when you need to slice a good sized watermelon in half? You want a knife that has a long enough blade to at least go through half of the melon, and then slice all the way around until the halves split apart.
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(2) A Tomato Knife. This usually has a serrated blade for slicing through tomatoes, and a simple forked end for skewering a slice of tomato. But I have found that I can use this knife for many other purposes, not just slicing tomatoes.
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(3) A Paring Knife. This has a short blade usually with a pointy tip. It is useful for getting in close to veggies and cleaning them up. Remove the pithy part of a Jalapeno or Bell Pepper. Cut out the stem end of a tomato.
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(4) A good set of Steak Knives. A style of knife that fits well in the hand and makes it easy to cut through a steak or pork chop easily.
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(5) A sharp Boning Knife is useful if you are cutting up meat be it beef, chicken or pork.
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Well, this is something I didn’t see coming but it has been such a pleasant experience recently that I’ve got to add it to this list. I bought an Instant Pot Mini (modern pressure cooker) about a month and a half ago, and it almost jumped out of the box. My first trial & success was a pot of black eyed peas with some seasoning meat. Turned out great. I’ve found I can cook hard boiled eggs, and a black & wild rice combo in it to perfection consistently. I have a Teriyaki Chicken dish that I’ve already made about four times and each time a little different, but just as tasty. Chicken tenders, bell pepper, onion, carrot. zucchini and frozen garden peas with Spicy Chili Crisp, and Teriyaki sauce. Oh, and I cooked a rutabaga and that too cooked quickly and was a delicious side dish for both some steamed mussels and a pork tenderloin. The mussels I did on the stovetop. Oh, and I’ve started thinning out the frozen foods in my freezer because I don’t have to thaw them first.
If you like stir-fry, get an electric wok.
My first electric wok was a gift from a cousin. I used it to make stir-fry meals, and then I would stop for a while. Not sure why I would stop because there are few meals that are so easy to prepare, quick & easy to cook, delicious to eat, and quick & easy to clean up.
Maybe I would stop making stir-fry meals because the basic ingredients didn’t vary enough. I have three meats that I like: chicken, pork and shrimp. I have three veggies I like in most meals: onions, carrots, and sweet bell peppers. I like to vary other veggies choosing some, but not all such as: broccoli, green beans, sugar snap or snow peas . And I add some “Stir Fry Vegetables,” that come in a can including: bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, baby corn and water chestnuts. I actually like pineapple chunks in almost all of my stir-fry meals. And for seasoning/spices: Spicy Chili Crisp, Toasted Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, sesame seeds & some ginger powder. Oh, you do need a heat resistant spatula to stir things about, without hurting your wok’s surface.
Multi-Purpose Kitchen Tool
This is a Braun MultiQuick multi-purpose kitchen tool. The power wand has three main attachments: chopper bowl, a whisk attachment, and a stick blender attachment.
I originally bought a Braun MultiQuick tool because I wanted the immersion blender, and then it made sense to me to get the other attachments. The unit I bought had a smaller chopper bowl, and it was less powerful. So several years later I finally bought a bigger bowled, more powerful power wand and things became so much simpler. I could grind a whole can of Garbanzo beans, and the motor didn’t bog down.
The immersion blender attachment allowed me to blend various soups while they were still in the pot, and the soup still hot. No need to pour the soup from the pot into a blender. There were two soups that I loved making using this attachment: Curried Apple Soup and Tarragon/Leek/Split Pea Soup. Both of these were good either hot or cold.
I found that I couldn’t blend a whole can of Garbanzo Beans in order to make hummus at home. And if I put too many beans in the bowl, the motor slowed down. I found that I could make homemade salsa starting with one 15 oz. can of Diced Roasted Tomatoes all year long, and add various spices, peppers & roasted veggies (onion, jalapeno/bell/Poblano peppers) as desired.
Lately I’ve been eating a lot of Plain Greek Yogurt, but I don’t leave it plain. I use my chopper to puree fresh blackberries, blueberries , raspberries, or even ripe persimmons. I store them in small canning jars is the fridge. They go great with the yogurt. And I don’t use the whisk attachment very often, but you can buy some Heavy Whipping Cream and make your own whipped cream, really fast, and you might even want to add some flavorings to the whipped cream as you make it.
I recently bought a Jar Sealer. It attaches to either a regular or wide mouth Ball/Mason jar and sucks the air out in order to preserve the contents, such as beans, nuts, dried fruit or various veggies. The one thing I haven’t tried yet is putting in half of an avocado and seeing if it really doesn’t turn brown by the next day in the fridge. *I found that I can’t suck the air out of my plastic storage containers. They look like the glass Ball jars with black metal lids, but they collapse if the air is sucked out.
If you cook at home, a lot, as I do, and like various steamed veggies: asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, or need to tenderize green beans before adding them to your stir-fry, then you should buy a steamer insert that fits your 3 Quart pan/pot, and it needs a tight fitting lid, and I like a glass pot lid so I can look at the steaming veggies.
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I’ll throw the following out to you, while on the subject of food.
Let’s dice up some chunks of chicken tenderloin, onion, carrot & sweet bell pepper. Now, from these four ingredients I can take my meal in three completely different directions as a Chinese Stir-Fry, a Mexican Meal, or an Indian “India” Meal, just based upon the following seasonings I choose.
Chinese Stir-Fry
The basic flavorings for turning this toward Asian/Chinese include: Toasted Sesame Oil, Spicy Chili Crisp, Soy Sauce, ginger & garlic powder, and white sesame seeds. Maybe even some Jalapenos. Serve the finished entre on white rice.
Mexican Meal
To direct this South of the Border, add some diced tomatoes along with “Salsa Ranchera” from Herdez. Maybe add some red pepper flakes, various hot peppers in season, and add a baked sweet potato, with butter, sour cream, cinnamon and a little sweetener. If you don’t want the sweet potato, this would also go well with white rice.
India “Indian” Meal
I like diced tomatoes in this also. But the Indian flavor comes from Patak’s Hot Curry Paste, with a little sweetener added. I love the hot curry flavor, but I will also add various hot peppers in season, and the more colorful the better (reds, oranges & yellows). This meal goes well with white rice or a baked sweet potato as prepared above for my Mexican meal.
*When I mention “sweetener” that is because I don’t cook anything with sugar any longer. I was diagnosed as a Type 2 Diabetic in January of 2012, and I stopped using sugar in my house “cold turkey.” In fact, I had about a third of a 5 pound bag of Dixie Crystals white sugar, and I didn’t throw it out, but I didn’t use it either. The result was after several years the white crystal sugar had hardened into a hard ball of sugar, which I eventually threw out. I think I’ve added one small packet of white sugar to my coffee, one morning at a restaurant and that was because I absentmindedly opened the packet and poured it into my hot coffee (maybe it was hot tea) before I thought about not using sugar. That’s one packet in 13 years. Now, I may have had sugar when I ate meals at restaurants or at friends’ or relatives’ homes, but when I have control of using white sugar or not, I don’t.
When you first stop using white sugar after years of eating copious amounts of it, your body responds like coming down off of hard drugs. You have a headache, and you feel horrible for several days, but eventually that bad feeling goes away.
Preparing ingredients in advance, and choosing last minute which direction you want to go. The chicken or pork are diced up into bite-sized chunks and I can freeze 3 or 4 oz. packages of these for future use. Freeze the chunks in a flattened bag. Freezing these flat makes them thaw out quicker. I also freeze my pineapple chunks flat and in the portion size for my stir-fry meals. Or, the previous day, I can cut up my basic veggies and store them in the fridge for later that day, or the next day, all in one container: onion, carrot, sweet bell pepper. A last minute dump, and the stir-fry goes even quicker.
I don’t have a rice cooker because rice is high in starch and converts quickly to sugar once consumed. It “throws my Blood Sugar level off” so as much as I love the flavor and texture of rice (white, brown, black, etc.) I’ve had to leave rice off my regular diet. But, if I could eat rice regularly I would probably have it with my stir-fries, my Mexican and my Indian meals, and I might buy a rice cooker to make the process more refined. Fix enough rice for several meals, and then store it in the fridge and heat up just enough for each meal in my microwave.
Years ago I bought my first Microwave Onion Cooker at an AGRI Supply Store. After years of use, the plastic began to disintegrate so I bought another one. And at least one Christmas, I gave these out as simple Christmas presents. *Make sure you buy the onion “cooker” and not the onion “saver.” The saver will melt in your microwave, the cooker won’t.
What’s so special about this tool? Well, you can put a whole onion in it and put it in the microwave for about five minutes. At the end, the onion will be sweet, soft and delicious. But an onion isn’t the only thing that you can cook with this. You can put a whole potato in it and in about five minutes you have a baked potato. Smush the soft potato, add butter, S&P and some sour cream and you’ve got a good side to go with a steak, or a pork chop. You could also bake a whole apple in this. Once baked add some butter, sour cream and cinnamon. Or bake a sweet potato and add a little sweetener to the other ingredients listed for the apple. *And just recently because ChatGPT told me it would be better to cook my broccoli in the microwave, I took out my onion cooker, added a little water (to form steam) and put a bunch of broccoli florets in it and in about 1 minute had steamed broccoli. Just the right amount for one serving.
Egg McBill
Now, for something that surprised me at first, but I have cooked many scrambled eggs in my onion cooker. Beat an egg, add some S&P, a little olive oil to keep the egg from sticking to the cooker, garlic powder, and maybe even some finely diced onion. Put the lid on the cooker and go for a minute. if the egg is still runny in the middle, cook for another 30 seconds. At the end, you have a beautifully round flat scrambled egg, and this shape fits perfectly on a toasted English Muffin with melted cheese. You melt the cheese on the muffin, in your toaster oven or stove. And add a slice of fresh pre-sliced ham. Viola, a “Me McMuffin.” *I’ve never thought of the following before, but I wonder if you could bake something like a holeless doughnut, or some type of biscuit? It wouldn’t brown, but I still might try that.
There are two other things I prefer to cook in my microwave and many other people would disagree with me on one, or the other, or both.
First, I prefer to cook bacon in my microwave. It turns out perfect the majority of times and only takes about 5 or 6 minutes total time. I put several slices of raw bacon on a dinner plate. Then I put the plate in the microwave, and use a plastic cover over the plate & bacon to prevent splatters. I don’t like limp bacon, nor do I like super crispy bacon. The microwave gives me almost perfect control. *I do drain off the bacon fat as I cook the bacon, stopping to check about every couple of minutes. I think it was Emeril Lagasse who said, “Pork fat rules,” and he was so right. Bacon grease can flavor many veggies and beans.
*If you like blackeyed peas, then if you can cook them one day, and then refrigerate them overnight… the next day the flavors will have had time to meld, and the beans will be so much more flavorful. If you don’t want to use bacon fat in your steamed cabbage, you might need to determine exactly how much sweetener to put on them. Too much sweet on a cabbage is sickening, but just the right amount and people will think you have seasoned them perfectly.
The other item I prefer to cook in the microwave is corn on the cob. I prefer to leave the husk on the corn, and cut the stalk end off, just so I can see the ends of the first rows of kernels. Leave the silks end just as it is. I learned the following trick about two years ago. Cook the corn for about 4 or 5 minutes, and then take it out. Have something to protect your hand while holding the steamy hot ear of corn. Then begin to squeeze the silks end and this will begin to force the corn out of the stalk end. And the trick that usually works. The corn on the cob will come out of the husk, AND the silks will remain in the husk without you having to pull each of them off the ear. *If you like to put your corn on the cob on the grill, that’s an entirely different animal and I suggest, “Go for it!” *And now I have to offer the possibility that I may start cooking corn on the cob in my Instant Pot Mini, or at least I’m going to try it and see. I don’t think I can beat the 5 minutes cooking time in the microwave, but it might be like hard boiled eggs. They come out perfect every time.
If you can’t get corn on the cob in the husk, here is another trick I use. I take a paper towel and wet it and then wrap the wet paper towel around the “huskless” corn on the cob. I then heat the corn in the microwave for 4 or 5 minutes. What I am doing is providing enough moisture to cook the corn with steam. The wet paper towel holds the steam inside just like the husk would.
What I am suggesting is that I prefer to steam most of my veggies, rather than put them in a pot of boiling water to cook. I think the nutrients stay in the veggies better, than leaching out into a pot of water.
An Emergency Multipurpose Tool
There are so many things that this item can perform. It is a high powered flashlight, and has a separate reading lamp. It has a weather radio, and AM & FM radio bands. It has multiple power sources: batteries, solar powered, hand crank charger and/or a USB connector to charge from the wall. It has a USB cable so that you can charge your smartphone from this device, via the hand crank. It doesn’t charge quickly with the hand crank, but it does charge enough so that you could make an emergency call, if you have the reception.
It has an emergency horn to draw attention.
Before Hurricane Helene passed through Western North Carolina, I would have never thought about this type of purchase, but afterwards, when I heard repeated stories of families being cut off from their neighbors, this type of device would be welcomed in the hours immediately after a devastating event. Even if the power is out, this little device would keep you informed regarding the outside world, would make life easier in the dark, or allow you to read to either inform yourself, or keep yourself entertained until morning. The emergency horn could draw others to your location, and being able to recharge by the sun or the hand crank, oh boy, yes!
Not too long ago my electricity went out at night and I then realized that it didn’t have a lighted digital display and none of the buttons were illuminated so you needed an external light source (maybe your phone or a candle) to turn it on and adjust the knobs. It does have a a bright lamp and a bright led display on top of the unit, but neither of these illuminate the radio display or control buttons. So, I bought a Mudder USB gooseneck light for Laptop and it works perfectly, drawing it’s power from the emergency tool and illuminating the radio display and all the control buttons.
I just realized that I would like to be able to put a recipe card somewhere in my kitchen to be able to easily reference it when I am cooking. I forget the ingredients or the order in which they need to be added so a simple note card would be helpful. It could be on the side of my refrigerator, or on the front of my microwave. These were perfect, although I’ve only added one to the side of my fridge, and I may rotate them sideways for certain cards. Slip one card out, slip another in with one of the items you’re preparing for the meal and have multiple cards next to each other, one for the entree, and any for the side dishes. *I don’t fix pizza sauce often, and there aren’t many ingredients, but still having a card to reference would be helpful.
Ball Quilted Crystal 8 oz Mason Jars
I’m adding this size of canning jar to this list because I am planning on buying a dozen at Walmart. They are currently listed at a little less than a dollar a piece. I’ve found there are several items, like fruit puree and other homemade sauces that I make or have and this size jar seems to be the right size. *I can buy a package of raspberries or blueberries and blend them in my food chopper and store them in one of these jars. I’ve been eating more Greek Yogurt lately and this fruit puree seems to be the perfect pairing.
THE LIST
Get a “John Wayne” can opener and keep it on your key chain.
Get several box cutters and put them in easily accessible places: by your easy chair, in a kitchen drawer, in your car.
Buy a few good quality kitchen knives, and keep them sharp.
If you like stir-fry, get an electric wok.
Purchase a “multi-purpose kitchen tool” that chops, whisks & has an immersion blender attachment.
Buy a steamer insert for your 3 Quart pan/pot.
Microwave Onion Cooker
Cook bacon & corn on the cob in your microwave.
Emergency Multi-Purpose Tool for radio, flashlight, and device recharging.
Index Card Pockets w/ Self-Adhesive
I saw this hack online and I wish I hadn’t thrown away all those file clips. Before retiring, I had come to the point at work to not need this type of clip or paperclips. We just didn’t save many paper copies of items any longer. Most things were either saved to disk or pushed to the Cloud.
Seems that there was a young couple and the wife came to her husband and said, “I want to get a pet, to keep me company.” The young man replied to his wife, “Well, we can’t afford a pet at this time. We just don’t have the money.”
She said, “But, I’m so lonely while you’re at work each day.” Knowing she was lonely, but that they didn’t have any extra money to spend, to buy a pet, any pet, or take care of a pet, any pet, he suggested that she visit the local Pet Shop and see if the owner could suggest a cheap pet. Free would be nice, but he really didn’t expect her to find any suitable pet that they could afford. He kissed her goodbye and headed off to work.
The young wife got ready and then went to town to do her daily shopping. On her way back home, she saw the Pet Shop and decided to stop in to see what kind of pets were available.
The shop owner first showed her a dog, a Great Dane. She asked how much food it would eat each day and then how much the very large dog would cost. The Great Dane had beautiful eyes, she thought, but she knew that she and her husband wouldn’t be able to feed the dog every day, and the cost of buying it was what her husband made in a week. She had to say no, and then she mentioned to the shop owner that she needed an inexpensive pet to keep her company.
The shop owner next brought out a beautiful long haired white cat with a fluffy tail, that was swishing the air as if it was swatting flies. “Oh, what a beautiful cat,” the young woman said. How much is she? When the shop owner quoted the price, which he thought was especially low for such a beautiful animal, the young woman’s face turned somber. “Oh my, still too high,” she moaned. Don’t you have anything that almost costs nothing, to buy, and to feed each day?
The shop owner thought another moment, and then the young woman saw what she thought was a light turning on in the shop owner’s face. His eyes brightened and he said, “I have just the thing, and it only costs 50 cents to buy and is very easy to feed.” Let me go back and get it.
In a short while the shop owner returned carrying a furry brown ball. There were no eyes, or mouth, a nose, or even anything “unmentionable” on the other end, because from what the woman could tell this animal didn’t have a beginning nor an end.
The shop owner proudly placed the furry brown ball on a nearby stool, stepped back and with his hands presented the potential pet to the young woman. The woman moved closer to the stool, even squinting as she tried to get a closer look at the animal. She then asked the shop owner, “What kind of animal is it?” The shop owner proudly stated, “Why mam, this is a Wooly Bugger, and it only costs 50 cents to buy it, and it will eat almost anything.” The young woman thought, “Only 50 cents, that’s a really good deal, especially if it will eat almost anything.”
But then the woman asked, “But, I can’t tell where it’s mouth is located, how do I feed it.” The shop owner then bent over and fished an empty drink can out of a nearby trash can. He placed the can on a table next to the stool and then said, “Wooly Bugger. Can.” And in the blink of an eye, the brown furry animal became almost all teeth, and they were extremely sharp and long glistening teeth, and it was spinning around like a small tornado, and then it jumped on the can, and in a matter of moments, the can was not only shredded to pieces, but you could hear the tin rustling as the Wooly Bugger finished the last bite. Viola, no more can.
The young woman was amazed, but she asked, “Does the Wooly Bugger eat only cans?” The shop owner, said, “Oh no mam, it will eat almost anything. All you have to do is tell the Wooly Bugger what you want it to eat.” The young woman asked, “May I give it a try?” “Sure,” replied the shop keeper.
The woman looked into the trash can and saw a small empty box. She took the box out and placed it on the table. And with the shop owner’s encouragement, she said, “Wooly Bugger, box!” And just like before the Wooly Bugger started to spin and there were all those glistening, shiny white teeth twirling as the Wooly Bugger pounced upon the box. It was gone is seconds also. You could hear the Wooly Bugger as it made it’s last gulp, and offered a burp as if it was extremely satisfied with this meal. This as there was a slight aura of saw dust swirling about the furry round ball.
The young woman said, “I’ll take it,” and then reaching into her purse pulled out two shiny quarters and handed them to the shop owner. She walked out the door carrying the Wooly Bugger in her purse, and with a satisfied smile on her face.
She got home, took the Wooly Bugger out of her purse and placed it on the dining room table and then went about putting up the other purchases she had made in town.
Not too much later, the young woman heard her husband’s car arrive and the car door slam. A few moments later she heard the front door open and close and she called to her husband. He walked in, looked over briefly at the furry brown ball sitting on the table, and then hugged his wife and planted a kiss on her cheek.
The young woman smiled, no she beamed, and proudly motioned toward the Wooly Bugger sitting on their dining room table. “I found the perfect pet at the Pet Store this afternoon, and it only cost 50 cents, and it will eat almost anything.” “What,” her husband replied quizzically? “This,” he said as he pointed to the brown furry ball? “You paid 50 cents for this?” The young wife said, “But it’s a Wooly Bugger, and it only cost 50 cents.”
Her husband frustrated said, “Wooly Bugger! My ass.”
And as we all know, it’s not smart to point a Wooly Bugger to a ready food source, even if we do it unintentionally. Maybe, especially if we do it unintentionally.
So, all that so that you might begin to understand the phrase, “Wooly Bugger my chicken!”
I bought a whole Rotisserie Chicken at Harris Teeter several days ago. Well enough days to have four meals over four days without having chicken two meals in a row, and also scavaging enough meat for a fifth meal of Avocado/Chipotle/Chicken Soup. And the coup de gras, I used the remaining chicken carcass and any skin, meat, gristle, bone and/or fat to make some homemade chicken stock. I added the frozen veggies I had been saving: onion tops & bottoms, carrot ends and skins, and the root end and tips of the celery I had purchased, added some seasoning S&P, garlic powder, thyme, and basil. In essence, once I was through with the Rotisserie Chicken from Harris Teeter, there was almost nothing left, and I didn’t even have to point my Wooly Bugger to the chicken.
By the way, as I googled for the name “Wooly Bugger” I first came across the name given to a specific fishing “fly,” the “Wooly Bugger.” I saw nothing about the joke I had heard long ago, and so I guess my retelling of the story here helps keep it alive, or not.
And today as I was going up to the Self Check-Out at the Walmart, I noticed the heat from a warming unit, and then saw several boxed rotisserie chickens. They looked & smelled delicious through the clear packaging, and I noted that the price for a whole chicken was under $7. I said, possibly out loud in a soft voice, “That’s a good deal.”
I was walking along one of the isles at Golden Hex in Cary yesterday and happened to see a jar of some type of jelly. You’ve got to understand that Golden Hex is a European Market specializing in various foods from Europe. They have a deli meat & cheese section where I bought some Head Cheese and some Kabanosy Podsuszane (dry sausage – links).
Head Cheese
I had originally found Golden Hex online, a couple of years ago, because I was looking for a store that sold Blutwurst or Head Cheese. I couldn’t find anyone who did sell these, and even got a weird look from a deli worker in a restaurant near UNC-G when I asked if they sold Blutwurst. I think I first tried Blutwurst and/or Head Cheese when I was living and working down in Myrtle Beach shortly after I had graduated from UNC-W in 1976. There was a deli located next to the tennis shop I was managing, “Tennis With Love,” and I tried several of their “exotic” meats sandwiches.
*I don’t recall whether I viewed a YouTube video, or if I found a web site regarding the following: There was a young, inexperienced, sausage maker (butcher?) who was going through a book about how to make various sausages. One of the types of sausage he made was “Kabanosy Podsuszane.” It must have been a video I was watching because I recall that his finished product looked “too fat” to be like the Kabanosy Podsuszane I had tried earlier from Golden Hex, and there must have been a comment section because some other viewer made the comment that the result wasn’t a true Kabanosy Podsuszane because it appeared to have too much moisture (not dry enough) as this commenter had experienced growing up (in Poland, I think). The commenter suggested that you can’t learn everything from a book, but you need to find an experienced sausage maker, who can teach you how to make the various sausages. I thought this was a very wise suggestion, although I read and interpret well, I know that words and their interpretation have limits, and just because someone explains in great detail “how to do something” doesn’t mean anyone can pick up a recipe, read it, follow the “step by step” instructions and come out with a successful finished product. It can happen, and sometimes, it can’t.
I like that Golden Hex has labeled their products along their shelves including a colorful national flag of where the item comes from. I would think that they might create a special monthly display where they congregate all of a country’s items, in one location. One month a special display of all items they sell from “Germany,” next, “Poland,” “the Ukraine,” “Israel,” etc., one each month.
The one item that I had on my list to buy at Golden Hex was an item they currently had out of stock. I talked with one of the owners and he said he knew the “Zip” (company name) product and would re-order it. I did buy a different brand of seaweed to see if that would work as well.
Dried Golden Berries
I saw from the label on the shelf that this was Sea Buckthorn Jelly (from the Ukraine), and I had never heard of Sea Buckthorn. My thought was that it might taste a little like Golden Berries which are slightly tart in flavor.
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At home later, I tried the Sea Buckthorn Jelly and liked the flavor. I tried it by itself from the jar, and then on a Black Sesame Rice Cracker, and a slice of Sourdough Bread, with a little grass fed butter. Oh yeah, and with a little peanut butter and with some Greek Gods “Plain” Yogurt.
Late in the afternoon, about 4 pm, I drove over to Publix to pick up the Seeded Rye Bread that I had ordered last Monday. I only wanted half a loaf, and it sliced. I made the initial order on Monday, but later that day I heard on TV that there was a winter storm coming and Thursday, the day after the storm, I probably wouldn’t be able to drive over to Publix, so the next day, I went back in to Publix, with my pink order form and asked that they change the pick-up day to Saturday, the 22nd. A woman took my pink sheet, went around the corner, out of sight, and after a short while came back to me, handed me the pick slip, and said that the pick-up date had been changed to Saturday.
— Sounds good, until I show up on Saturday about 4 pm and find that they have no bread for me. They look at my pink slip that shows the original pick-up date of 02/20/25. But I tell the man that I had come back in and the date was supposed to be changed. *I do see the number “22” but it’s in the price section, and the original date isn’t crossed out. But, I’m thinking that the woman entered the new date in “the computer.” The only logic I can think of is that the baker, instead of looking to the computer for the scheduled orders, may have looked at the original order form and thought that date had already passed for pickup.
It’s not my job, but my curiosity will try to make sense of why my order was dropped even after I physically came back to the store and supposedly had the date changes.
I’m glad that they didn’t have my Seeded Rye Bread because I bought some Head Cheese at Golden Hex and want to finish that off before I make my Pastrami Reuben. I haven’t opened my Hillshire Farms Pastrami yet, so hopefully it won’t go bad before I use it next week, or whosever Seeded Rye Bread I buy.
As I walked back to my car I was thinking about going over to the new Sheetz store that has just been opened in the last day or so. Coming into Publix, I had seen that gas was listed on the sign for $2.35 a gallon. $2.35 a gallon is a great price currently since I’ve been paying around $2.79 a gallon.
I did go over and get “cheap” gas. *But oddly, next day, this morning I passed two different convenience stores that were showing gas for $2.59 a gallon, so the price of gas must be starting on a downward trend.
[NOTE 03/19/25]: I finished off the Sea Buckthorn Preserves this afternoon. I added some of them to Plain Greek Yogurt. It has a citrusy flavor, that is unique. Probably you could say that peach preserves have a distinctive flavor, or orange marmalade.
Hopefully the Ukraine won’t be “sold out” and their democracy will flourish, instead of being incorporated back into Russia. Oh, yeah, in case you didn’t make note of it, these preserves were from the Ukraine. [end NOTE]
I started smoking these “Original” RamRod Cigars many years ago. I came upon them first at a smoke shop just across the river from New Bern, beside Hwy. 70 heading toward Havelock, North Carolina. Eventually this smoke shop stopped selling these cigars. The owners of this shop appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent. I did find the RamRod “Deputy” cigar, but this was a little cleaner looking and about half the length of the original. The original was long and sort of gnarly (not a straight roll of the cigar) that was Bourbon flavored. I have driven past this location within the last three months and the smoke shop is no longer there, but it was there for many years.
I like the aroma and flavor of these Avanti Cigars. It is Cafe Mocha. I think I first tried these at JR’s off of I 95 at Smithfield, North Carolina, because they had stopped selling the RamRod Cigar. I rarely smoke, but do it maybe one in a three to six months period. I’ve said, and this was the original reason, that I smoke a cigar to “get in character” when reading something like “1984” or a “seedy” detective novel.
JR’s is now just a large smoke shop, but for many years JR’s was a large, sprawling department type store, with a large book section. I’ve bought many cookbooks there, for myself and as presents for Mary Ann and others. JR’s sold clothing, dishes, cologne & perfumes, and assorted “stuff.” This was one JR’s location, but I think the other that I knew of, and visited at least once, was located at Statesville, North Carolina.
I bought a pack of cheap cigars, GAME Expresso Martini. They were a pleasant smoke. I may have bought Swisher Sweets BLK Cocoa flavored. If so it smoked fast, but had a pleasant flavor. The plastic tips begin to melt when the cigar burns near it.
I guess this posting will morph into a story about things that were, and are no more. “If you live long enough… and even if you don’t.”
I’ve mentioned elsewhere that there was a LIDL in Havelock that I shopped at when passing through the area. This was just off Hwy 70 that passes through Havelock as you are going between Morehead City and New Bern. I’ve also mentioned that I now see the blatant evidence that they are working on a bypass for Havelock. But one time, I bought a gallon of milk and a jar of dill pickles and was surprised that the pickles cost a little more than the gallon of milk. *Maybe that’s why LIDL didn’t last at this location. But, I took a picture, with the jar of pickles, the gallon of milk and even the register receipt (that’s readable, if you zoom in far enough).
I think there’s another LIDL location, in Rockingham, North Carolina that I shopped at a couple of times before they closed. I think that location has been repurposed, but I don’t recall to what purpose.
But recently, I’ve started shopping at LIDL in Fayetteville more than in the past. I’ve found that they sell the “Hatfield” Brand of hams. I first bought a pre-sliced Hatfield Ham at Harris Teeter, and then couldn’t get another. And then was recently surprised by seeing the LIDL sells the Hatfield Brand, and I bought one there. *But, they also had good looking carrots, so I bought some of these also. Pre-Covid, I could get a small bag of carrots at Food Lion, near me. After Covid, they and other groceries began to sell larger bags of carrots, and not the small sized bags. LIDL also sells the Hillshire Farms Brand of “Beef Polska Kielbasa.” Both LIDL and Walmart have good prices on the Hillshire Farms products.
One of the meals @ FATZ in Cheraw, SC
If you travel to Cheraw, South Carolina you could drive by the former location of FATZ Restaurant. I enjoyed eating at the restaurant chain several times. They were sort of a Yuppy environment, and I had some delicious “Honey Balsamic Brussels Sprouts” there. They were so good that when I came back home I tried to make these at home and was successful. There was/is a FATZ in Rockingham also, but I’m not sure if it is still open for business.
I’ve been to Rockingham quite a few times. I fell in love with the fried chicken (and other buffet items) at the Seaboard Station Restaurant in Hamlet, North Carolina. Hamlet is a short distance from Rockingham, and I will normally also visit the library in Hamlet and then go to the library in Rockingham. I’ve bought books at both locations several times. I’ve also bought books at the library in Laurenburg, North Carolina. They usually have a large selection. Most of the books I buy are not for me to read but as books to leave in various “Little Lending Libraries” at various locations, in assorted cities & towns, or to give as gifts to family & friends.
But in mentioning libraries, the main library in Asheboro, North Carolina is vibrant. They keep a large selection of book on counters for perusing. The library in Laurenburg has also done some remodeling inside and “looks good.”
Normally I do not drive on Hwy. 70 directly between New Bern to Havelock and then on to Morehead City. I have recently, but that is the exception.
The new New Bern bridge crossing the Neuse River.
I normally will drive across the bridges at New Bern and over to the Bridgeton side of the river.
Growing up, I would cross the old New Bern bridge, between New Bern and Bridgeton, riding on a Trailways Bus heading from Jacksonville, North Carolina to Portsmouth, Virginia. This was a low bridge, near the water that headed directly across the river. This bridge was torn down years ago.
Leo on one of his boats.
*A note, I had a good friend, Leo Taylor, who hired me to work in the IT department at Fayetteville State University. Leo’s parents (“Silver” was his mom.) ran the Trailways Bus Terminal in Washington, North Carolina. I call Washington, NC, “Little Washington” as most of us did. So, no telling if I ever saw a young Leo as I was passing through on the bus (either heading to or from Portsmouth).
My mom worked at the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth for several years and I continued to live with my Aunt Sis (mom’s sister) in Hubert, North Carolina until I graduated High School in 1972. I then went on to college, and when I returned to the area, lived with my mom at our house in Jacksonville, North Carolina (204 Johnson Blvd.).
The house at 204 Johnson Blvd. was torn down several years ago and the lot remains empty, but the property is owned by my cousin, Raymond Sharpe.
Then on to the Minnesott Beach Ferry and taking the 20 minutes ride across the river, and from the Cherry Branch side, I will normally head back to Havelock and then find the route to head back to Swansboro. But when I have much more time, I might “take a left” and head away from Havelock and find my way, the “back way,” to Beaufort, North Carolina. I then try to drive down the waterfront. For many years there was “Down East Gallery,” the art gallery of Allen Cheek, but that has been gone for quite a few years now.
LaVaughn’s on the Beaufort waterfront.
There was also a gift shop, “LaVaughn’s” from which I bought several Mangum ceramic mugs. That shop too has been gone quite a few years. *But, I have gone to the Mangum store in Weaverville, North Carolina. Weaverville is about 9 miles north of Asheville, North Carolina. I visited this gallery the last time I was in Asheville, which was about 5 weeks before Hurricane Helene came through the area. *I happened to find a picture of LaVaughn’s storefront on my old Flickr site, otherwise I would have never recalled what the name was. *I found the owner’s obituary online: LaVaughn J. Hendricks
These were the Mangum mugs I bought at LaVaughn’s over the years. I also bought a large serving platter in this pattern, and a creamer. Seems like I also had a sugar bowl too, but I think I’ve gotten rid of the platter, creamer & sugar bowl. I use the largest Mangum mug regularly, usually for coffee.
I poured out a small amount of my “Bill’s Drink” into one of my glass beer mugs. I’ve had these over 30 years They belonged to Russ & Deborah, and they had donated them to the “Hem of His Garment” when I was working there, and I bought all six of them. I was living, working and going to school (Coastal Carolina Community College) in Jacksonville, North Carolina at the time. When I moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1995, I brought these beer mugs with me. They were a nice size for drinks with ice.
So, just about an hour ago, I had used these beer mugs without breaking any of them in over 30 years. *I just checked and I still have five left.
I wanted to wash one of my drink carafes which had a small amount of “Bill’s Drink” in it. I poured the remaining drink into one of my beer mugs and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes. I like my drink hot or cold, and almost every day for more than six months.
So, I was doing something. I might have been pre-treating a few of my T-Shirts with the stains that haven’t come out after a good washing. I think some of the stains are from spilled Hot Chili Crisp, which is a reddish oily stain. I pre-treated with Dawn dishwashing liquid, and a little water, but I didn’t see much of those stains being loosened, or disappearing. But, all of a sudden I hear a loud crash. It sounded like something had fallen off a nearby shelf. I even walked out of the kitchen and into my living room looking for what might have fallen, but didn’t see anything.
I came back into the kitchen and heard my microwave talking to me, so I went to open the microwave door. It was then that I saw something that surprised me. The glass beer mug had exploded in the microwave and except for one large ring of glass, the rim of the glass mug, there were a bunch of large shards of glass and the small amount of Bill’s Drink.
The drink was room temperature. No ice. And, I’ve heated water for hot tea in these glass mugs for years. In fact, I will even use the glass mug to heat the water and then transfer the hot water into a fancier coffee/tea mug. Not sure why this happened, but it is an exceptionally rare occurrence, “never” rare. *I’ve re-thought this and I think it may have been that I had so little liquid in this mug that it allowed the existing liquid to get much hotter, thereby breaking the glass mug. I have heated many, many, many of these mugs, with either water, or Bill’s Drink in them from 3 minutes to a couple of minutes and none have ever broken until now. I even heated water in one of the remaining mugs for 3 minutes this morning to make my Raspberry Royale tea and it worked just fine. **I will just have to pay attention and fill these mugs higher.
*I seem to recall breaking two other glasses when I had put either ice, or extremely cold liquid in them and then the heat from the microwave cracked them, but this wasn’t the case. Maybe the small amount of liquid concentrated the heat on the glass.
This may be the perfect spot to show my current coffee/tea cups/mugs. I’ve been thinking about getting rid of all but about three of them, but don’t quite know which three to keep. I did have a favorite, large, blue glass mug that cracked, and I didn’t replace it because of how expensive a replacement would be.
AI says, “Yes, you can marinate meat, poultry, or seafood, then refrigerate it overnight or for a few days before cooking,” and “A good rule of thumb is to keep marinating time under 24 hours.“
For the above marinade I used water, salt and coconut sugar. I’m planning to stir fry some of the pork tonight, but let the rest marinate in the refrigerator overnight. I may freeze some tomorrow, and perhaps cook the remainder tomorrow.
I cut the meat into smaller portions earlier before marinating and am thinking I’ll leave it for at least an hour while I cut up the other ingredients.
Do not wash the marinade off of the pork, but you may want to pat it dry to aid in cooking.
Stupid me. I forgot the pineapple.
The orange bell pepper looks much like the orange carrots, but the veggies in this include: carrots, jalapenos, onion, and sweet “orange” Bell pepper. Also note how fresh the “Stir Fry Vegetables” from Polar look. They are consistently of good quality.
Well, it turned out well. The pork was tender and flavorful. I put in Toasted Sesame Oil and some Avocado oil, and then added the pork. I got a good brown on the pork before adding most of the other veggies (carrots, onion, jalapenos, sweet Bell pepper), and sprinkled on some powdered ginger, and garlic powder and Splenda. Towards the end I added some pineapple chunks and finally at the end, some white sesame seeds and cornstarch slurry. *I didn’t add any Spicy Chili Crisp to this, because I wanted something different. I used a whole jalapeno without the seeds, but it wasn’t hot. Makes me think I might be able to make “Jalapeno Pork” this way.
AND CAN CHICKEN BE FAR BEHIND?
I bought a package of Chicken Tenders at IGA (Eutaw Village Shopping Center) and cut the tenders into bite sized pieces and put them in three zip lock bags, labeled them and put them all in the freezer.
“IGA CKN 02/20/25” was the label I used. If something is good, I often don’t recall where I made the purchase, so IGA tells me where. Not so much with chicken, but sometimes, frozen steak and pork can be hard to distinguish. I don’t label the dates regularly, but I know I’ve come across frozen items that have a date that is at least a couple of years old.
I flattened the packages as I’ve been reminded that keeping them flat helps quicken the thawing process later. *I’ve also frozen pineapple (in chunks or slices) to be used later in stir fry cooking.
And sometimes I freeze the second helping of the “Stir Fry Veggies” that I get in a can from Walmart. I try to divvy up the assorted stir fry veggies so they are equally portioned from one fry to the next. The veggies include: sliced water chestnuts, baby corn, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, and (red sweet pepper, but not much of that). I am also reminded that sometimes, when I buy a bag of frozen shrimp at Publix, I divide them up into zip lock baggies with about 15 shrimp per bag. I then put these zipped bags back in the one original Publix bag, and take one out to thaw as needed. *And I normally thaw the shrimp in the microwave shortly before using. Recently I used shrimp (because I either didn’t have chicken or pork) in a stir fry, but normally the shrimp go into my “Kielbasa, Shrimp & Zucchini” dish (which I haven’t made in a long time, but it almost always is delicious… a little spicy and just a few ingredients).
I tried to “do the math” on the portion sizes. If the package was 1.11 lbs. total, and 16 ounces in a pound, then that should be about 17.76 ounces (almost 18), so almost 6 ounces per package. That’s a little more than I would normally like as a serving size. Actually 3.5 to 4 oz. would probably be ideal.
Now I am strongly thinking of using this chicken in a stir fry, but I could just as easily fix my Mexican or Indian Themed dishes from the exact same chicken. The veggies are the same: onion, carrots, and sweet Bell pepper. The difference is whether I use “Patak’s Hot Curry Paste,” or “Salsa Ranchera” by Herdez.
Patak’s Hot Curry Paste
Ooops. I just visualized another posting about using the exact same meat & veggies and making either a Chinese Stir Fry, a Mexican dish, or an India Indian meal, just based on the seasonings I choose. The Chinese version would include the “Hot Chili Crisp,” Toasted Sesame Oil & Soy Sauce, and powdered ginger, but all three would include powdered Garlic, S&P.
I haven’t had one in a while, but instead of rice, and that would be my preference with all three versions of the meal, I could microwave a sweet potato (adding some cinnamon, sweetener, butter & sour cream) and that would work with either the Mexican or Indian versions.
I think it was over at Publix that I was looking in their meat section, where I have in the past bought many packages of “Round Bone Lamb Chops.” I haven’t had a hankering for those chops in a while, and I think I may still have at least one package in my freezer. But, I saw a package of lamb that was cut to be used in lamb stew. I bought it and once home went looking for recipes. There was a Moroccan version which looked delicious with various spices, like Cumin and Paprika, but I decided to go with the English or Irish version: carrots, onion, & potatoes.
I have a small black crockpot that I haven’t used in quite a while, so I got it out, and brushed it off and started by roasting the lamb in my wok under Broil in my oven. It browned, and I probably should have left it longer for more char, but no. I put the browned lamb in the bottom of the crockpot, and added some chopped onion. Later I would add the carrots, and much later after 3 hours cooking time, on Hi, I added the potatoes and a couple small tomatoes, diced. I used S&P and garlic powder, dry Thyme and at the end I added some Cumin and Fenugreek.
The result was “okay” but not quite what I had hoped. I did finish eating the meat, and a few carrots.
There wasn’t a lot of meat on the stew bones, and I don’t think I will try lamb stew again, or at least not anytime soon. The result was sort of like making a lentil soup and it not being “anything to write home about.” Lentil soup, done well, perhaps with spicy Andouille, some carrots, onions & a few small tomatoes, and the right spices (???) can be very satisfying.
A good price on “store bought” broth at Walmart…
I just added a couple of onion tops to my frozen flavorings for my next “homemade broth.” The package is getting pretty full, and I easily have enough for making a good supply of broth. Probably more onion and celery, than carrots. I forgot that when I get a head of celery, I can cut both the tops off and the root end off. The root end supplying a lot of flavor for broth.
Rotisserie Chicken @ Harris Teeter
My Guy Fieri Stock Pot
I may buy a rotisserie chicken from Harris Teeter next week, and then about four or five days after that will make my next batch of homemade stock (God willing). I love the way how all of these things can begin to work together. Using the chicken carcass, gets the last little bit of flavor from the unused bones & some of the skin and remaining meat (after 4 or 5 meals from the one chicken).
“De Plain, De Plain”
But, because I eat Greek yogurt almost every day, I get a nice sized plastic container, with a snap lid, that I can use for storing the stock, and then freeze it. I think I might be able to get two containers, one on top of the other, in my freezer. But, I’ve also used an empty Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice container for my chicken stock, and that container fit perfectly in my refrigerator door.
Keep those Mealy Bugs out! – Plastic Dukes Mayo
I prefer Dukes Mayo, to Hellmans, for flavor, but also, the Dukes yellow plastic lids fit regular Ball/Mason jars perfectly, Hellmans does not. And the large plastic mayo bottle works well for storing dry beans with a tight fitting lid to keep out “mealy” bugs.
And as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I also keep my Hillshire Farms Deli Meat containers (clear plastic bowls with red see-through tight fitting lids, that are both microwave & top rack dishwasher safe) and reuse them for things like leftovers, and for storing my uncooked bacon. A pound of bacon fits perfectly in one of these, but I also have some black bean, and regular hummus in one.
*I realized that the company had intentionally made these containers to be reused, and if I got a good price on the deli meat in the store, it was worth the reusable container. If the deli meat (Pastrami, Honey Ham, Black Forest Ham) is under $5, you’re getting a reusable container for maybe two dollars. The Hillshire advertising on the top of the lid is printed on a cardboard sheet, which is attached to the lid with a little rubber glue. It comes off easily.
One note, is that I am not eating much of this deli meat any more, so I’m not getting a bunch of these reusable containers, but I still think I have about five of them… and their red plastic tops go with the color scheme of my Rubbermaid “Easy-Find Lids” storage containers. *Oh, I enjoy making “Pastrami Reubens” at home, but not very often because of the calories & salt, and what the bread does to my blood sugar, but for a splurge, I still do it. So, at some point, hopefully, another storage container from the Deli Pastrami.
I don’t shop at LIDL very often, but I was in today to buy Smoked Oysters. They have a good price on cans of these. But today as I was looking down several isles, I came across other items that I purchased: Hatfield Pre-Sliced Ham, NIXE Smoked Oysters, raw carrots, fresh raspberries and fresh blackberries. *Actually, I now shop at LIDL and Aldi’s quite often.
As I was standing at the register to check out, a manager was working on something at the register, the clerk that would wait on me was standing back watching what was going on.
There was a woman standing behind me and at some point she struck up a conversation, asking me if the smoked oysters were for my Valentine. I told her I didn’t have a Valentine and that they were for me.
I noted that she had a couple of large Avocados (not an innuendo about her breast, but the big green ones, not Haas), and a couple of other items. I asked her if she liked hummus, and she responded, “yes.” I told her that I like the smoked oysters with my hummus. She thought about going back to get some smoked oysters for herself, but then thought otherwise because of the line of other customers behind her.
Before I went shopping, I had been writing about wanting to buy the Hatfield Ham again to see if the flavor made a difference in my “Bill McMuffin.” But, I wasn’t even thinking about looking to see if LIDL sold this brand of ham. The only grocery chain that I knew did sell Hatfield, was Harris Teeter. And, I also still had some unfrozen ham in my fridge and the remainder of that ham in my freezer, so it wasn’t actually time to buy more ham. Still, I am at an age where if “it” doesn’t please me, I had better make a change quickly, to something that does.
[NOTE]: Well, I tried another “Bill McMuffin” with the Hatfield Ham I bought yesterday. I did like the ham better than what I’ve been using, but this time I think I should only microwave 1 egg, and not 2 and use only one slice of cheese, split between the two halves of muffin.[end NOTE]
I saw some fresh raspberries and nearby fresh blackberries, both at what seemed to be a good price. I’ve been pureeing these fruits to eat with my Greek Gods Plain Yogurt. I was also thinking that I would have to go somewhere else to buy carrots, but then I saw a bag of large carrots (2 lbs.). The carrots were large, not the bag.
Just before I went to the register, I picked up a couple of cans of the NIXE Smoked Oysters.
Soft Apricots – Alesto
These were the softest dried apricots I’ve ever eaten. I bought a second bag, but haven’t been eating them very often.
Camembert Cheese
Carrots (good price on 2 lbs. package & good looking carrots.
Fruit (fresh Blackberries/Raspberries)
Earlier in the season they had very good prices on blackberries & raspberries.
Green Beans
Hatfield Pre-Sliced Ham
I enjoyed this fresh ham. It made delicious Bill McMuffins, but I seem to recall looking at the calories/fat/sodium and haven’t bought any since. *I originally bought this on sale at HT, but then couldn’t get it again there and then saw it at LIDL.
Hillshire Farms Beef Polska Kielbasa (Walmart also)
Milk 2% (cheap)
They had fantastic milk prices earlier in the year, but have gone up, but still a good price.
Smoked Oysters
Both LIDL and Aldi’s have good prices on smoked oysters, but I’ve sort of not been wanting them lately.
This is now the LIDL in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
You know what still worries me? I looked pretty intently at the woman’s items she had placed on the conveyor belt behind me. I can visualize the two large green avocados, and there was something above those, and there was something below them, but I can’t visualize anything but those two avocados, which I think I almost touched, or at least reached out in pointing to them during our short conversation.
The above, “forgetting something” just reminded me of a time long ago, when I was attending college at UNC-Chapel Hill. One Saturday, during the fall, there was a football game at Kenan Stadium. I think we were playing Duke. In fact, it was my Freshman Year (1972), because I went to the game with a small group of people that included my roommate (Keith Smith) and his fiance, and I think her brother and seems like there may have been one more person, ah, maybe “Stick” Mann who was our next door dorm mate, and maybe even Stick’s date. Yes, if it wasn’t Stick Mann, then there was an incident later, after the game where I met Stick Mann’s father in the hall way, and was introduced. As I recall, from my drunken stupor, Mr. Mann had short (military style) white hair. Seems like I was so drunk that as Stick and his dad were down near his room door, and me & someone else were about mid hall, where there was a drinking fountain, I actually said something about his dad looking like an “onion head.” I didn’t mean anything derogatory, but I was extremely drunk and was just relating my first impression.
At the game, someone had brought a bottle of Tanqueray Gin, and it was being passed around. I was so drunk by the time it got to me that I poured a small Dixie cup full of straight gin, and then because we had no more mixer, I asked for a Peppermint Lifesaver and dropped it in the cup, suggesting that now I wasn’t going to have to drink it straight.
There were also some people seated behind us and there was a woman that reminded me of Marlo Thomas, which, as drunk as I was, I had to tell her this at some point.
Eventually, before the game was over, the “brother-in-law-to-be” had to walk me back to my dorm from the stadium. At some point, I woke up on my dorm bed, with a small bit of “puke” on my pillow and a “dog chewed” Frisbee in my hand. I was still very, very, very drunk and I had no idea from where I had gotten the wrecked Frisbee. And, even though this was only late afternoon, and I would drink nothing else the rest of the day, when I did finally go to bed, much later at night, I was still really, really drunk.
So the next morning, I have this severely chewed plastic Frisbee and I don’t know where it came from. Not a clue. There are dog teeth marks on every part of this toy. Now, I didn’t recall how I got back from the football game to my dorm room. Someone may have told me that the “brother in law to be” had walked me back, but I had no remembrance of the journey. That is until several years later, and suddenly I had an image of the courtyard in front of “Connor” dorm, which was about three dorms down the street from my dorm, “Aycock.” *I shared a dorm room with Keith Smith, Room 318, I think. Third floor, second from the end, toward the street. This dorm was later (many years later) renamed, since “Charles B. Aycock,” former Governor of the Great State of North Carolina was a racist. I guess if someone could convince President Trump, he could find another person with the last name of “Aycock” that the dorm name could be changed back to, like Fort Bragg – Fort Liberty – Fort Bragg, but not the same Bragg. How stupid!
I then recalled that there were bunches of people spread across the courtyard and that there were several dogs all chasing and playing with “the” Frisbee. That is where all of those teeth marks came from, and I must have wrestled the Frisbee from one of the dogs and brought it back to my dorm room. So, the incident was a complete blank for at least a couple of years, but eventually I did recall enough to know where the Frisbee came from, and how it had become so damaged.
Courtyard in front of Connor Dorm. During my time at Carolina, there were fewer trees along the street.
Bill Gibson, II 