pu’er tea

February 13, 2025February 16, 2026 bgibson135

It was at Dobra Teas in Asheville, North Carolina that I first experienced pu’er tea. I don’t think I actually tried the tea at Dobra, but bought some and tried it later when I was back in Fayetteville. In fact, I can almost visualize the setting in which I first drank some pu’er. I was sitting on my couch and had brewed some hot tea. It is a rude awakening when you first taste pu’er, especially if you have been used to drinking black tea (Luzianne, Lipton, Nestea or Tetley) most of your life. One thought is that the flavor is similar to that of drinking water that has been flavored with a dirty gym sock. It tastes nothing like black tea. But, I do like it sweet and with a little cream which may not be how most of the World enjoys their pu’er.

*That sort of reminds me of the Sassafrass tea I liked to drink as a child. Mom & I might find a Sassafrass bush or plant on the old family farm. You would cut off a woody root and take it back, brush off the dirt, and steep the root in hot water. You would end up with a rich pinkish colored drink that tasted good with cream & sugar.

But fairly quickly, I came to recognize the unique flavor of pu’er, and I could like it as I had black or orange pekoe teas.

And, I do love tea. I have drank Bigelow’s “Constant Comment” and “Earl Grey” tea since about 1985 when a friend & his wife introduced these to me, when I went over to their house after Church. This was Rick & Linda Bell. Rick had been a Marine Corps Air pilot and after retiring, a few years later, became a Baptist pastor.

I’ve written elsewhere about “falling in love with” “Raspberry Royale” tea, also by Bigelow. I came across this while on a brief vacation, and I had stayed at a Quality Inn in Lynchburg, Virginia and the next morning took a tea bag packet of “Raspberry Royale” and made my first cup in my motel room before checking out. Loved it hot. Loved it cold. Bought a box of it when back home, and even bought a 6 box case of it from Amazon and gave them out as Christmas presents one year. *Recently I’ve found that Wegman’s in Raleigh carries the Bigelow “Raspberry Royale” tea.

This was the Quality Inn in Lynchbugh, Virginia that I have stayed at, at least twice. I brought a Raspberry Royale tea bag with me on one visit to celebrate where I had first tried this tea. I didn’t drink the first in the breakfast area, but took the tea bag back to my room and brewed it there.

I’ve tried various flavored teas through the years. I think I first bought Rooibos (red bush) tea from Whole Foods in Raleigh. At the time, they sold this tea from a large copper colored container. You scooped out the tea you wanted and put it in a plastic zip bag. Sometime later, they stopped selling Rooibos, but I found what I currently drink, as a box of Rooibos tea bags at Harris Teeter in Fayetteville.

Sometime in the last couple of years, I tried Taylor’s Scottish Breakfast tea. I hated it when I tried the first cup at home. I would call it a “heavy” flavored tea. But, I gave it a second, and even a third try, and surprisingly by the third try, I actually liked the flavor and then started drinking it fairly regularly.

Early this morning, and when I say “early” I mean about 3 am, I thought about having some hot tea, and this time I wanted to try something that I hadn’t had in a long while. I saw a packet of “Assam” tea, which I had bought at a organic food store in Greensboro, North Carolina last year.

I first tried “Assam Brahmaputra” at Dobra Teas in Asheville several years ago. They brought a cup and small tea pot to my table. They didn’t bring any sugar or sweetener, or cream or creamer, so I tried the hot tea. It was good. I managed to drink the whole pot without either creamer or sweetener. At home, I googled about this tea and found that Assam was a region in northern India which butted up against the “tea region” of China, and Bramaputra was the River going through that region. Not sure, but you probably have to be a local in that region to know when you are in India or China. If you’re on the border, they might point to two mountains that both have tea growing on them, and one mountain is in China and one is in India. “Assam” was the type of tea.

I think I recall that pu’er tea is a fermented tea and that it actually changes with age, but doesn’t get stale or go bad. And because of this, this type of tea has been used as money. The disk of pu’er tea that you see at the top of this posting, might be collectable to use when money runs short. The tea is tightly compacted into the disk shape, but there is also a version of pu’er that is loose and is sort of rolled into little curly cue balls.

*The ritual of drinking this tea is to first pour hot water over the tea, and then drain that first pour off. Then you pour more hot water on the tea and this you let steep, and then drink. The ritual may partly be because the tea is so compacted, that the first water loosens the tea so that it can steep fully. But, at that I’m just guessing.

Even though I started talking about tea, I also like a few brands of coffee. Actually, I currently like the “Breakfast Blend” (ground) by Starbucks which is sold at Walmart.

But, during the Covid Epidemic, I could no longer buy my favorite coffee from Harris Teeter. It was a flavored coffee (whole bean), but I don’t recall what flavor. *I just came across an image of the Harris Teeter coffee that I liked, “Hazelnut Creme.” They stopped serving coffees from the pull down handled containers. It took me a while to find another coffee that I liked.

So during Covid, I ran out of my favorite, and I looked in my cubboard and found a bag of Cracker Barrel Coffee (ground). I tried some and it was pretty good coffee. The next day I tried some more of the Cracker Barrel Coffee and it was good again. It took me until the third day and when the Cracker Barrel Coffee was good again that I realized that, “I hate the coffee at the Cracker Barrel Restaurants.” I hated the restaurant coffee so badly that I came to always order their hot tea. But this was good coffee. I think it was a Christmas present from a friend. I finished this coffee just before Covid restrictions let up.

At the end of Covid restrictions, I went out for a hair cut, and to buy another bag of Cracker Barrel Coffee. The bag color had changed, and unfortunately, so had the flavor. The new coffee wasn’t anything to write home about. So, I had to go on a search for a new favorite coffee.

It was about $9 a bag, and I tried about four different brands before finding what I liked.

I’ve never had a really expensive coffee maker, usually just the low end makers with a glass pot but I would “foot the bill” for a reusable gold plated metal filter. But, the last cheap coffee maker I bought was a Black & Decker, and it didn’t last but a few months before it stopped heating. I ended up buying a larger glass pot after the smaller one also went “kaput.” And, I decided I didn’t need to buy another coffee maker. I would heat my water in a regular pot on the stove and then pour it through the filter by hand. Worked fine and I have done this process for a couple of years.

I just remembered, “I hate the unsweet tea at Smithfields Chicken -n- BBQ Restaurants. It reminds me of the taste that a drink might have, with cigarette ashes mixed with water. But, their sweet tea tastes great. It has lots of sugar. I have repeatedly told workers at different Smithfields that their unsweet tea “sucks.” This is something that has to be intentional by the owner(s). You can’t suck this badly without hearing about it, and then doing nothing about correcting the problem.

So, last night I ordered some more “Indian Long Pepper” from Amazon. The odd thing about this order is how long it is going to take for it to be delivered. Today is Thursday, February 13th, but the pepper isn’t supposed to be delivered before April 7th. Damn, that’s almost two months. *I don’t think I have enough of the Long Pepper to last two months, but I do have regular mixed (white, black & red) pepper which will suffice.

Sanderson Farms

February 10, 2025May 22, 2025 bgibson135

I’ve bought chicken gizzards at the IGA, in Eutah Village Shopping Center, several times, and just bought chicken livers there today. Both the gizzards & the livers were from Sanderson Farms. I guess with a processing plant & hatchery located in St. Pauls, North Carolina, the chicken is about as fresh as it gets, unless you have chickens in your back yard and kill them yourselves, as needed.

I had a hankering to have some stir fried chicken livers along with stir fried green beans. I had this combination at “No. 1 China Buffet” in Asheboro, North Carolina last week. Actually, their chicken livers were combined with sliced jalapenos.

The stir fry green beans came together pretty quickly. First I steamed the beans for several minutes to help them tenderize before I put them in the wok to finish them. I added some toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, a little powdered ginger, a little Splenda sweetener, and white sesame seeds. Tonight I also added some chopped onion. The high heat of the wok causes the green beans to crisp up. They are a little salty, but with a slight hint of sweetness.

I questioned myself whether I should cook the green beans or the chicken livers first as I wasn’t going to clean the wok between whichever one I cooked first and then the second one. So my logic was, cook the green beans first, even though I was going to use the toasted sesame oil & soy sauce which both have distinctive flavors. I then added some canola oil to the wok and added about three large chicken livers and the chopped onion. I used a fork to turn the livers over several times to make sure they cooked through and there was a little blood red gravy on the plate at the last although they were cooked through thoroughly. I did not use any flour to coat them.

The stir fried chicken livers went very well with the stir fried green beans & onion. I used less than half of the container, but may cook the rest, the next time. I wish I could eat rice with this meal, but no. The rice, which I love, severely affects my blood sugar. But rice would round out the flavors, and the rice could soak up some gravy.

I think another item that would go well with this is the Asian Cucumber Salad. It is more sweet and includes Spicy Chili Crisp, toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, red wine vinegar and some sweetener. And if I make it far enough in advance, I refrigerate it, and the coldness contrasts to the warmth of the freshly fried livers & green beans.

Sanderson Farms, Inc.
St. Pauls, North Carolina

Our St. Pauls, North Carolina, complex is comprised of a fresh processing plant and hatchery.

Opened: 2017
Business Unit: Fresh
Weekly Processing Capacity: 1,300,000 birds

Carlie C’s IGA
Eutah Shopping Center
Fayetteville, North Carolina

No. 1 China Buffet
Asheboro, North Carolina

STORAGE CONTAINERS

Not too long ago, I was moving some items on a pantry shelf, dry beans to be precise, and I realized that there were live “mealy bugs” in the beans. Upon closer inspection I saw that several of the plastic bags in which the beans had been purchased (like black eyed peas, lima beans, green split peas) also included these bugs. I ended up throwing out several of these, and making up my mind to store any fresh dry beans in air tight containers. I realized that my old Dukes Mayo jars (made of plastic) would be perfect for this purpose. I also often buy assorted types of nuts at Food Lion, cashews, roasted pumpkin seeds, and elsewhere, almonds, pistachios & walnuts. These come in small plastic containers whose lids provide a vacuum seal, or enough to keep out the bugs… I hope. I also, sometimes, buy items at The Fresh Market such as Okra Chips, and Vegetable Chips. They come in slightly larger plastic containers, but also with the tight fitting plastic lids. *Just bought some more of these today, Thursday, May 22, 2025.

For a time, I was buying various deli meats from Hillshire Farms. I especially liked their Pastrami, which I would buy when planning to make my “Pastrami Reubens.” Very soon, I realized that the Hillshire Farms Deli meat containers (clear plastic bowl, with a red see thru lid) were intended by the company to be reused. These containers are microwave & freezer safe, and seal tightly. I currently have one of these in my refrigerator with hummus & black bean hummus in it. I also use these for storing my current uncooked bacon. A pound of bacon fits perfectly in a container. I just have to recall to take a package of bacon out of the freezer in time to use it for the next batch of bacon. But, they also work for storing leftovers.

And, I haven’t tried this yet, but I am planning to use my old Greek Gods Yogurt containers for storing my homemade chicken broth. I’ve only recently made some chicken broth using the carcass of the rotisserie chicken I bought at Harris Teeter. Now that is using the bird to the Nth degree. The price may have gone up with the recent Bird Flu problem, but before the price was about $8 for a whole cooked rotisserie chicken. This would provide at least four meals, if not the fifth being the remaining white & dark meat pieces which could be used for making chicken salad, or perhaps my Avocado, Chipotle & Chicken Soup.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality (flavor) of the homemade broth because several recipes I used it in produced very pleasing results. I used an empty Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice bottle to store my first batch of homemade chicken broth and it fit very well in the refrigerator door.

*I want to mention again, that I have been saving, and freezing my onion, carrot & celery scraps because of what was said in a cooking video I was watching a short time ago. When the chef mentioned that she saved the onion tops & bottoms that she cut off when preparing an onion for a recipe, and saved them in the freezer for when she next made homemade broth, it fell not on deaf ears, but willing ears.

My main problem is that I don’t have a lot of space in my freezer, but have been trying to clear it out. The process of saving scraps and using homemade broth should be symbiotic: scraps increasing & broth decreasing, and since I don’t buy a rotisserie chicken every week or even every two weeks, I should have a generous amount of vegetable matter for my next batch of broth. **I also am eating a whole container of Greek Gods Yogurt (Plain) about every four days, so I should have plenty of these empty containers next time. I’m thinking maybe four of these containers might hold all the broth I make.

So, I am trying to clear out some space in my freezer in order to store maybe 3 or 4 of the repurposed Greek Gods Yogurt containers. Just last night I re-used some Canola oil that I had stored in one of these GGY containers, and the oil had been kept in this air tight container successfully.

One final thought, if that is possible before my death, is that I’ve also recycled a sturdy plastic medicine bottle to use as a SHARPS refuse container. Doctors & hospitals use Sharps containers to store medical waste before it is thrown away. I give myself a weekly injection of Ozempic and each time I am left with a hypodermic syringe tip that needs to be thrown away. So, the thick white plastic medicine bottle is perfect for these sharp tipped devices. I don’t think Sharps containers cost very much, but free is even better.

I’ve kept several of the empty Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice bottles and filled them with water, for emergency purposes. I did this a couple of months ago, when we had a winter storm warning, with the threat of power going off (and perhaps water also). I fill them with water, and add a little vinegar or lemon juice to thwart bacteria growth.

AI says: “Yes, adding a small amount of vinegar or lemon juice to stored water can help prevent bacteria growth because their acidity creates an environment unfavorable for most bacteria to thrive in; essentially acting as a natural preservative.“

Red Cabbage Slaw (variations)

February 8, 2025September 5, 2025 bgibson135

Seared Scallops with Green Peas, Mint and Shallots

I googled for recipes to serve with Polenta, and found the following Web posting: Wondering What to Serve with Polenta? Here Are 27 Ideas, from Hearty to Healthy(.) As I scrolled down through the list, each suggestion had an attractive image of that recipe. I then came to the following: Seared Scallops with Green Peas, Mint and Shallots (.) I was immediately entranced with the photo for this recipe. So much so, that I tracked down the cookbook in which it was included and ordered it from Amazon. But, I also found the recipe online and had actually prepared this dish before the book arrived. *I didn’t like the mint much and think it would be better with Tarragon.

But, and note that the recipe from the book did not include polenta as a side for this meal. I did, and included a polenta waffle with the meal. For some reason, I was attracted to a Red Cabbage & corn side dish that I also saw online, so I made that, and I cut up a few colored grape tomatoes.

I want to revisit this seared scallop, polenta & red cabbage/corn slaw meal. Oh, and the scallops & smushed garden peas also come with bacon bits, which from my photo, looks like I forgot to add.

Another thought I want to pursue is to use Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise, although I do like Dukes Mayo for slaw. I’ve also seen a version of the cabbage/corn slaw that uses vinegar instead of mayo. Sweetener with either is my game plan.

🌽 Red Cabbage & Corn Salad (Optimized, 3 servings)

Ingredients

2 ¾ cups shredded red cabbage (about 8 oz)
1 ¼ cups corn kernels, thawed (about 6 oz frozen)
½ jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
1 Tbsp diced red onion
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 Tbsp plain Greek yogurt (nonfat or low-fat)
1 ½ Tbsp lime juice (about ¾ of a lime)
1 ½ tsp water
½ tsp taco seasoning
Pinch of sugar substitute (optional, to taste)
Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine shredded cabbage, corn, jalapeño, onion, and cilantro.
In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, lime juice, water, taco seasoning, sugar substitute, salt, and pepper until smooth.
Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss until well coated.
Chill for 20–30 minutes before serving.

🔎 Nutrition (per serving, 3 servings total)

Calories: ~298
Carbs: ~36 g
Fiber: ~6 g
Net Carbs: ~30 g
Protein: ~6 g
Fat: ~16 g

2025 Friends of Brown Library Book Sale

January 25, 2025January 27, 2025 bgibson135

I drove down to Washington, North Carolina on Friday, January 24, 2025 for two reasons. I wanted to go to the Friends of Brown Library Book Sale which was held in the Washington Convention Center, and I wanted to have lunch at Down on Main Street Restaurant. I especially wanted to have their Shrimp Burger (fried shrimp & slaw on a Kaiser Roll) and some fried okra. I’ve had this lunch twice before and it was very good both times. This time I told them I wanted the sandwich on Sourdough. The Sourdough bread was delicious, but next time I will go back to the Kaiser Roll.

I’ll try and list all the books I bought yesterday at the book sale. $2 for hard backs, 50 cents for paperbacks.

Ultimate Spy (DK Books – Hardcover)
World War 2: History’s Greatest Conflict in Pictures (LIFE Hardcover – October 31, 2001)
Ramses the Great: The Pharaoh and His Time ( Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC – Hardcover – 1987)
The Russian Century (Brian Moynahan)
Kings & Queens (The Pitkin History of Britain)
The Circle of Life Wildlife on the African Savannah (Hardcover)
The Great Book of World War II Airplanes (Crescent Books – Hardcover – pp. 622)
I Can Draw (Longhurst – Hardcover)

Techniques of the Great Masters of Art ( Hardback)
Dali (Taschen – Hardback)
Son of Heaven Imperial Arts of China (Son of Heaven Press – Paperback)
Siena City of Art (Paperback)
All About Techniques in Pastel (Barron’s – Hardcover)
Cities of Art Florence (Nesti – Paperback)
Flowers in Watercolor (Jean Martin – Hardcover)
The Complete Book of Drawing Techinques A Professional Guide for the Artist (Stanyer – Hardcover)
Creating Textures in Pen & Ink with Watercolor( Claudia Nice)
Manga for the Beginner (Christopher Hart – Paperback)
How to Draw and Paint Dragons (Kidd – Paperback)
National Museum of American Art (Paperback)
How to Draw Steampunk (Rod Espinosa – Paperback)

Suggestions to make the Book Sale more user friendly:

.I’m not sure how sturdy this kind of wagon might be, even though I have one. But, something like this could be used to haul heavy bags of books out to the car. I have actually used mine (exactly like this one) once, to haul a bunch of books out to my car. I filled it up and rolled it out with no problem. But having bags to sit in the cart would be more efficient.

Could the Friends sell book monogrammed carriers at the Book Sale? Or, would a grocery chain offer to sell their reusable grocery bags (large & sturdy enough to carry books) at the Sale?

Maybe use high school students to carry purchased books out to the car for those that need assistance. If the students are needed on a school day, maybe suggest this as a community service project. I think something like this is required of all students now to complete their high school diploma. I just checked, and “Yes, it is a requirement for high school graduation” in North Carolina.

Zester

January 23, 2025January 31, 2025 bgibson135

KITCHENDAO Citrus Lemon Peeler Zester Tool with Specially Designed Channel Knife to Save Effort, Ultra Sharp Lemon Rind Twist Peeler Tool Bar Bartender Lime Lemon Stripper for Cocktails Kitchen (Amazon.com link) It costs about $10.

I bought this kitchen tool in order to cut orange rind in strips to add to my homemade Dolce “K” Sweet Olive Mix. This was my attempt to recreate the Whole Foods version. And, it worked! I actually think that my version has more flavor, although I don’t know the actual ratios of the various ingredients so I can’t absolutely recreate the same mix each time… yet. Note the Orange rind shown in the mix here.

The peeler portion of this tool does a great job of cutting long narrow strips of rind, but there is still a good amount of pith on each strip. *I just tried the zester part of this tool and it does a better job of cutting just the rind and very little pith. So, I have rethought the mix process and decided to use zest and not the wide rinds cut into half inch lengths. And, the zester worked quickly for the whole orange.

This morning I had decided to fix fried apples & bacon for breakfast, and to make some Bigelow “Constant Comment” tea. Constant Comment has citrus highlights and in the past I have added dried orange slices to it for more orange flavor. I added some of the orange zest to the hot tea. But, I also added some of the orange zest to the frying apples. I think the zest made the tea and the apples more distinctive.

As a precautionary tale, you will need to freeze (or at least put in the fridge) the rind because left out, they will start to mold.

The zested orange rind looks good in the Dolce “K” Sweet Olive Mix. I also think the liquid in this becomes less pungent over time. I made a new batch of liquid and put the olives in it.

A few months ago I was in the CVS on Law Road looking to pick up a prescription. I glanced over to my right and down and saw a box of single serving bags of the Well Market Popcorn (White Cheddar flavor). They were giving away free sample as they were changing their popcorn vendor. I took one of the bags and when I got back to my car I opened it and tried the popcorn. It was very good popcorn. It was so good that I determined to seek out this popcorn in CVS in the future.

I don’t recall how long after I had first tried the popcorn that I was standing in front of the CVS shelves on which they had the Well Market Popcorn for sale. I think they had a discount on the large “family” sized bags so I bought one. This too was delicious popcorn.

I had my annual eye exam and found that the clinic actually had two locations separated by a small parking area. I had always gone to the location further away from Cape Fear Valley Hospital. Not this time. It was an overcast morning, but it wasn’t raining when I went in. However, by the time that my exam was over it had started to rain fairly regularly. I think I asked a technician if there was a “loaner” umbrella I could use. I knew I had an umbrella in my car which was parked near the other location’s entrance. I figured I could walk to my car, exchange umbrellas and then leave the loaner with the front desk at the separate location. But the technician said she would walk with me. She got an umbrella for herself and handed me one too. We walked across the small parking lot to my car and I handed the loaner umbrella to her thanking her.

Her name was Stephanie, but I didn’t recall that from the first meeting. I decided to leave a present of Well Market Popcorn for her and stopped a few days later at the CVS next to Cape Fear Valley Hospital and bought a bag. I think I also had a small bag of Peppermint Bark that I also gave her.

I had my annual, in hospital visit, for my pacemaker a few days ago. They check my pacemaker four times a year, and do three of those checkups remotely. The checkup this time probably didn’t last more than 10 minutes.

The male nurse/technician told me that when they replace my pacemaker battery that they replace the whole unit because it is wrapped in titanium. Oh, Joy!

This photo is of the top parking level at Cape Fear Valley Hospital.

Another Trip to Washington, North Carolina? Hopefully.

January 22, 2025April 27, 2025 bgibson135

I’m hoping to travel to “Little” Washington on Friday, but am wondering if the restaurant, “Down on Main Street,” will be open for lunch then, and/if the Friends of the Brown Library will still be having their Book Sale. *I see from the Friend’s Facebook page that they are suggesting Wednesday (today) be a snow day, and for volunteers to show up on Thursday, so it looks like a go for now.

We had a “big” snow last night which has been reported worse east of I95 and on the North Carolina coast. It doesn’t look that bad out my front door. There is snow on the ground and on the cars, but my sidewalk is mostly clear, with a little salt from before the snow.

I enjoyed my trip to Washington, North Carolina last year (the 19th of January, 2024). I had determined that both the Wilmington, North Carolina and Washington, North Carolina libraries were both having a book sale on January 19th. This was the day after my birthday. Actually, the day after mine and Mary Ann’s birthday, which we normally celebrate together. I was born on her 16th birthday, January 18th, 1954.

I asked Mary Ann if I could stay overnight on our birthday so that I would already be down on the coast. Still, it was about an hour, each way. First I drove down to Wilmington and bought several Michael Connelly novels (Harry Bosch), and then drove back up Hwy. 17 back through Jacksonville, and on to Washington, North Carolina to the Friends of Brown Library Book Sale at the Washington Civic Center. I wrote about this visit here. After the Book Sale, I drove over to Down on Main Street Restaurant for lunch and enjoyed another Shrimp Po’Boy & fried okra.

I found a Washington, North Carolina waterfront web cam sponsored by WITN TV7. I can’t find an easy link or embed code for this web cam view so here is a link to the WITN web cam page. The Washington web cam view is a LIVE Stream, and usually there is some traffic crossing the old Hwy. 17 bridge, so that you can tell you are looking at a video and not just a still picture. I will be able to see how much snow has disappeared by Friday morning.

I really have no books this year that I want to buy at the book sale. I have read all of the Harry Bosch novels and now regret that a little, because I’ve ran the gamut of the Bosch character. I am thinking that I may try to find some books that either Ray & Jacqueline’s children might enjoy, or Ashlyn Mitchell might be able to get some artistic ideas from. *I did leave a few books with Mary Ann on Saturday that I hoped Ray’s children might enjoy: 2 pictorial books about the Titanic & 1 pictorial book about George Armstrong Custer, and a set of 3 books about either Ireland or Scotland in the 1,300s. I’m not sure if they were fiction or based on historical facts, but the covers of the books reminded me of knighthood.

Surprised I found these, on Amazon.
This seems to be historical fiction about Robert the Bruce, of Scottish fame & lore.
Author: N. Gemini Sasson

I plan on going down to Washington, North Carolina tomorrow, but drove up to Raleigh today to go to Wegman’s. I like their sliced White American Cheese. But, I also stopped in to Whole Foods first and bought a couple of links of Chroizo sausage. I talked to the butcher girl who said she and her husband wanted to open their own butcher shop. I told her about Golden Hex and suggested she go there for ideas on exotic sausages. She said their Andouille sausage didn’t sell well so they quit making it. I told her that I liked the spiciness in my lentil soup.

While in Wegman’s I saw the black woman at the Service Desk and went over and asked if she was the one who had the daughter that thought her “labor” was induced by drinking Raspberry tea (or maybe some other Raspberry item). She was, but had not tried the tea yet. That’s been weeks, so maybe not much hope in getting a convert to love Bigelow’s Raspberry Royale tea like I do.

So, I’m in my car and pull up the Washington, North Carolina waterfront web cam. It played perfectly in real time, and even when I went into the grocery store. Whatever web cam and Internet connection they are using is working great. “Angel” I think. I do see that the camera angle adjusts slightly from day to night. At night you see further away over the Hwy. 17 bridge and during the day the bridge seems to be closer, but you don’t see much above it.

I did stop at the Harnett County Library on the way up to Raleigh and bought two large books. They were priced @$2 but I left a $5 for a little extra donation. One book was on Salvadore Dali and the other was on historical Russia. Funny, the Harnett County Library is also having a book sale tomorrow, but I’m only planning to visit the Friends of Brown Library Book Sale. I’ve already got my large gray book bag, or shopping bag that I use when buying a lot of books.

Well, it was a pretty good trip today. Instead of ordering the shrimp sandwich on a Kaiser roll, I ordered it on toasted Sourdough. The sourdough bread was good, but I think next time I’ll go back to the Kaiser Roll. Too much bread for the sandwich. Too few shrimp. I had the coleslaw on the sandwich, and not on the side. The fried okra were delicious. Comes with a small container of Cocktail Sauce.

I got to Washington, North Carolina about noon on Friday, and went directly to the Book Sale for the Friends of Brown Library. I found an open parking spot directly in front of the Washington Civic Center Exit door. The sidewalk still had salt on it, and there was slush in the street gutters.

I actually went to the book sale twice. Once, before I went to lunch, and then once afterwards. I had my large grey tote bag that holds a heavy amount of books. On my second visit, the books were so heavy that I left the bag at the exit door and then brought my car back and found a parking spot almost at the exit. I hope to show you images of all of the books that I bought today. I think I paid a total of $35 and donated an additional $5. Sounds like a lot, but the hardbacks (no matter how large & heavy were only @$2 and the paperbacks were 50 cents each. I brought the largest & heaviest one ,in with me when I got back home, and it might just be the largest book I’ve ever owned. $2 for a book that easily could be resold for $30 or $40, and that person would think they were getting a bargain, and they would be getting a bargain.

I did not buy any books for my own personal reading. I looked at a few biographies, but didn’t see any that piqued my interest. I did buy a number of Art books, and a few history books. The art books are for Ashlyn and the other books are for Ray’s kids. Not sure if they will be interested, but when I was a child, I think I would have been interested in a few of them: General Custer, the Titanic, WWII & it’s airplanes, and Sienna, Italy. *A few years ago I went to the Titanic Exhibit at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia, South Carolina.

The Great Book of World War II Airplanes (1996, Crescent Books, pp. 632)

The cover of the above book is solid silver, on the front & back (no writing or pictures), but the spine has the book title & publisher. I paid $2 for this book. It is heavy, very heavy, and it has a great number of large fold-out pages, with colorfully illustrated drawings of various aircraft of World War II, and pages of detailed writings and illustrations.

Baron Von Richtoffen & His Bright Red Fokker.

*When I was a boy there were three things that piqued my interest: Ivanhoe & the Knights of the Round Table; WWI Bi-Planes, Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker/Baron von Richtofen, his bright red Fokker & the Blue Max; and hell if I can recall the third thing of interest, but when I do, I’ll write it down here. But, I can see a boy becoming engrossed in the above book and spending hours looking at the illustrations, reading the details, and probably buying and building several model airplane kits… and painting them.

***USS Nantucket (Monitor Class Civil War Battleship)***

I’m thinking that my third interest as a boy was the Monitor and the Merrimac. Civil War Era battleships. But I never really had a concept of how large the Monitor was as a boy. I thought of her as perhaps being a little bigger than a row boat, but in reality she was a large vessel capable of carrying about 85 crewmen.

As a boy, I built a version of the Monitor and the Merrimac out of balsa wood. My Monitor was shaped like a canoe with a flat deck and a round gun turret. Nothing like the real thing. Kinston has the Ironclad CSS Neuse, or her hull, on display.

The USS Nantucket, shown above, was a Monitor Class battleship. Built low to the water, and subject to sinking easily in rough seas, a dangerous vessel to be assigned to. George L. Morton, a distant relative living down in Wilmington, North Carolina for a while would command the above ship during the Spanish-American War but it would never make it to Cuba before the short war ended. The joke among the crewmen was that “they killed more Spaniards in front of the Orton Hotel (downtown Wilmington hotel) that they did from the decks of the Nantucket. In other words their verbal braggadocio of what they would do as they stood in front of the Orton Hotel far exceeded any actual combat victories. *As I recall they were afraid of firing their large cannon because the large oak beam that held it in place had been cracked at some point and they were afraid that if they fired the cannon, the recoil might push the gun turret off the ship.

The Spanish-American War ended abruptly and the officers & crew of the Nantucket returned to Wilmington on the train. They had been on maneuvers around Hilton Head and Beaufort, South Carolina but never headed further south. The vessel had a “rapid fire” machine gun (probably not called a machine gun at the time) and it’s my belief that one of these was procured from the Nantucket and used in the Wilmington Race Riot later that year, 1898. It was mounted on a horse drawn cart and hauled about town and used to kill “darkies.”

*I do recall that the actor/comedian Bob Cummings, had a TV show, and every so often he would play a relative of his (maybe his character’s grandfather) that had been a WWI pilot. I always perked up when this character came on, dressed in his old pilot’s headgear.

Oh, the web cam view of the Washington, North Carolina waterfront has about a 30 seconds lag time. This camera and/or it’s Internet connection is excellent. It streams fluidly showing automobiles both on the waterfront and crossing the old Hwy. 17 bridge without “skipping a beat.” In fact, this web cam view is the only one of about 10 different web cams that is LIVE. The rest are stills that update periodically. And the stream played fluidly both on my Chromebook at home and while I was in my car on my Android phone.

I took the short route to Washington, but took the scenic route back, and stopped once, in Snow Hill, to buy a pint of whole milk at the Piggly Wiggly. This was the same Piggly Wiggly that I had bought really good pork chops one time.

The scenic route from Little Washington comes near but not actually by “Voice of America.” I considered this the “Cold War Era” propaganda tool by the United States. There were large radio towers spread across a large field and American propaganda was streamed 24/7 across the Atlantic Ocean and across Europe to the Communist countries. I just recently came across YouTube videos of the Voice of America towers being demolished in 2016. I went over there before that time and did see them. There was a home in the area that I think had an underground component, but when I went looking for it via the Google Street View, I couldn’t find it.

Then stopped again in Newton Grove at the Pharmacy to eat a Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream on a regular cone. One scoop of ice cream on a regular cone is still just $2. Nothing for tax, or tax included. *Harris Teeter carries the “Roadrunner Raspberry” ice cream, which is the same name as the Hershey’s version. I have yet to buy any since the Newton Grove Pharmacy stopped selling it a couple of years ago.

Of note, both going and returning, when I neared Greenville & Washington, NC, there was a whole lot of untouched snow still left in the fields and the yards. There is something almost melancholy about snow going undisturbed by laughing & playing children with red noses. As I recall, the snow was still on the ground down near the coast, but as I returned to the Fayetteville area, it was mostly gone from the ground.

Candies I have loved:

January 19, 2025January 21, 2025 bgibson135

I liked “Mounds” because they didn’t have the almonds, like Almond Joy. But I would definitely eat an Almond Joy, but probably take the almond off until the last. MARS Bars had a good chocolate flavor.

If I could only have one of the above candies, I am torn between the Orange Slices and Peanut Brittle. I guess I would choose peanut brittle and have an orange slice every so often to reminisce.

Making Chicken Stock at Home

January 19, 2025December 2, 2025 bgibson135

In some ways, making my own chicken stock at home was like making my first Pastrami Reuben at home. Very messy the first time, but so many lessons learned that it will become much easier the next time. For instance, I will know to use a ladle to transfer the stock liquid from the stock pot into the collander, instead of trying to pour the liquid from the pot into the collander.

Making chicken stock at home is just a simple mind set of saving all the necessary ingredients and then letting them all cook down into the stock pot, and then pour off the rich broth into containers, to either refrigerate or freeze. Save your onion tops & bottoms, your carrot ends and each end of your celery to go with the left over rotisserie carcass. That’s about 5 chicken dinners & chicken broth all from an $8 Harris Teeter rotisserie chicken and veggie parts that you would normally throw away.

I already had all the necessary equipment for the process: a Guy Fieri stock pot, a Frugal Gourmet soup ladle, a shiny new collander, a glass mixing bowl, and a spoon.

*An additional thought is that the empty Greek Gods Yogurt containers are about the perfect size for my homemade chicken broth, and I am generating a new container about every four days. However, the truth is that I don’t have enough freezer space to store ANY containers of chicken broth.

*And another thought just came to me. Since I have limited space, why not use the empty yogurt containers to save the carrot, onion & celery pieces that will be used to make the broth? I can just recycle these containers. Empty one that has broth and start filling it up with veggie waste. And I’ve put a shiny cat sticker on my veggie waste container to make it distinguishable from the ones filled with good broths. No extra space needed and my last batch of broth filled about 5 of these Greek Gods containers.

I already see, and taste, that the homemade broth is so much richer in flavor, and how can that not affect the outcome of the next soup, stew or “mess of” beans?

I owe this jaunt into culinaria to Lynn Wells, who is a personal chef, a food writer, food stylist, culinary consultant, and the recipe developer/writer for Our State. I was watching her YouTube video where she was showing how to make her “Fireside Stew,” and she made a comment about saving & freezing the ends of your onions (and how many of those have I chopped off in my cooking life, and just thrown away) to use in making your homemade stock.

That “right word at the right time” reminds me of the time my mom told me why I should spread out the shower curtain after I was through taking my shower. Probably for years, I had “forgotten to” spread the curtain out, just leaving it’s wet self, folded upon itself, as I dried off with a towel and then left the bathroom. But this time, mom added the additional comment to “spread the shower curtain out… so it will dry out and not cause it to mildew.” When she added this extra comment, as to “why I should do this,” I came immediately “on board” with her command and I think for the rest of my life, with a few exceptions, I have spread the shower curtain out after each shower, and that has been thousands of showers.

So Lynn Wells provided me with that one “teachable moment,” for what I could do productively, with those chopped off ends of onions… carrots, & celery stalks. “Bag ’em, freeze ’em, and cook ’em down with the rotisserie chicken carcass from Harris Teeter.”

I used one of my empty plastic Cranberry Juice containers to save most of my fresh batch of chicken broth. I found that that container fits well on the bottom rack of my refrigerator door, when it may participate with “the other usual suspects” that include the Greek Gods Yogurt container, the orange juice carton, the Ocean Spray® Cranberry juice jug, the plastic 2% Milk jug, and the glass bottle of Half-n-Half.

The glass bottle of Half-n-Half was the rescued and repurposed bottle that originally contained the Fresh Market “Homestead Creamery” Christmas Egg Nog from two years ago. I just love the feel of the cold glass bottle in my hand as I pour some cream into my morning cup of coffee or tea, and it has the slightly smaller shape of a milkman’s daily milk delivery from a past, that I never actually knew.

NOTE: I’ve recycled an empty 52 oz. Orange Juice container for making my “Bill’s Drink Mix.” I marked off 2 one-cup marks to put in 1 cup of orange juice and 1 cup of cranberry juice. After that I add about 32 oz. of water and add two flavor packets of the Walmart flavor drinks: sweet tea w/ lemon and pomegranate lemonade. I haven’t grown tired of this mixture for probably a year, and almost every day, and about 52 oz. each day. *Recall that you can remove the label glue by adding olive oil to the surface and letting it sit for a while, then wiping off, and using Dawn dishwashing liquid and washing that off. [end]

*And I just checked and there is an actual “Homestead Creamery” located in Wirtz, Virginia. I thought it might just be a “made up name” that was just meant to provide a “feel good” opportunity. Wirtz is about 30 minutes south of Roanoke, Virginia.

I made some blackeyed peas a few days ago and then some more this morning. I used my homemade chicken stock both times, and they are really good. It may be something else, but I’m guessing the chicken stock is special.

BEEF STOCK

AI says, “For making beef stock, you can use a variety of beef bones including neck bones, beef shanks, rib bones, marrow bones, knuckle bones, oxtail bones, and even bones leftover from roasting a roast; the key is to choose bones with some meat still attached and connective tissue for maximum flavor and gelatin content; ask your butcher for “soup bones” or “stock bones” for the best selection.“

PORK STOCK

Although I’ve not seen Pork Stock at Walmart, is that possible?

And AI was even smart enough to know I might ask that question: “Yes, “pork stock” is definitely a thing; it’s a stock made by simmering pork bones, vegetables, and herbs in water, just like you would make chicken or beef stock, and can be used as a base for soups, stews, and sauces; while it might not be as readily available in grocery stores as chicken stock, you can easily make it at home.“

INSTANT POT MINI INSTRUCTIONS — CHICKEN CARCASS BASE STOCK

My thought was to incorporate some of the cooking time using my Instant Pot Mini. It’s not large enough to cook the whole batch of broth, but cooking the chicken carcass & left over meat and skin for about an hour should give a real good flavorful broth.

Break the chicken carcass into smaller pieces so it fits below the MAX line of the 3-qt Instant Pot Mini.
Add the carcass pieces to the pot. Optional: add a few onion pieces, a garlic clove, or a small celery piece. (Do not add carrots at this stage.)
Add water until the pot is just below the MAX fill line.
Close the lid and set the Instant Pot to Manual/Pressure Cook for 45–60 minutes. Use Natural Release when the cooking cycle ends.
Open the lid and carefully strain the liquid into a large stock pot. Discard the cooked bones and skin.

This liquid is now your concentrated base stock.

Add additional water to the stock pot to reach the quantity of broth you want.
Add your vegetables to the stock pot: carrots, celery, onion, parsley, bay leaf, garlic, peppercorns, and any additional chicken scraps. Simmer uncovered on the stove for 1–2 hours.
Strain again to finish your full batch of chicken stock.

ADDENDUM [02/25/25]: I made homemade chicken stock again yesterday. I had saved onions, celery and carrots in my freezer. In fact, I had saved too much, and I will try this next time, to save less, and try to save equal amounts of each of these veggies. That will be difficult, because I use way more onion in my cooking.

I actually blended the veggies before putting them in the water. I thought they might release more flavor that way, but I haven’t read whether it is just better to leave the veggies whole. I think they suggest leaving them whole because it is quicker that way.

Small sticker to label containers
with veggie waste.

I had enough empty Greek Gods Yogurt plastic containers, with lids, and filled four of them (leaving a little space for the liquid to freeze without overflowing) and partially filled a fifth container. I used some of the fifth container to make my Avocado/Chipotle/Chicken Soup, adding a little store bought chicken broth also. The plastic containers fit perfectly in my freezer with one on top of the other (a height of two). I should be able to freeze the veggies beside the frozen broth, or I might fill a container with the veggies after draining the broth from them. I have a couple of extra containers. [end]

ADDENDUM [09/28/2025]: I have more than enough Greek Gods yogurt containers. I only need about 4 or 5 of these when making a pot of stock. I haven’t bought a rotisserie chicken from HT in quite a while (maybe a couple of months at least. I’m in the process of cleaning out my freezer to make room for some stock, and probably pork chops, ground beef and some chicken tenders and cilantro. I think I will freeze both cilantro and assorted peppers to keep them from going bad, and take them out as needed. I tend to leave stuff in the freezer until it goes bad, and I need to label each item as I am adding it because once I have either pork or ground beef, I often can’t tell which one it is.

I’ve been more attentive to the amount of sodium in the various foods I’ve been eating lately. Now I have become aware that the Walmart GV brand of Chicken Stock I’ve been using has a very high amount of sodium 900 mg?! And you’ve got to read the labels even for “Reduced Sodium” options. Some of that may have as much as 570 mg of sodium, at that’s supposed to be low sodium. But, there is “Unsalted Broth” which has less than 100 mg of sodium for either beef or chicken broth. *So the key word is “unsalted” and not “reduced sodium.” And not too long ago the price of the GV brand 32 oz. of broth increased from about $1.35 up to $1.50. *I bought 3 – 32 oz. cartons of GV Unsalted Chicken Broth today (09/28/25) at the Walmart near Cracker Barrel. It was hidden behind other boxes of broth, and I had found none at the Walmart on Ramsey Street, nearest my apartment.

830 mg of Sodium is about 1/3 of a tsp of salt.
530 mg sodium ≈ 0.23 teaspoons of table salt (a little less than ¼ teaspoon).
45 mg sodium ≈ 0.02 teaspoons of table salt (about 1/50 of a teaspoon — just a tiny pinch).

There are 4 cups of broth in a carton (32 oz = 4 – 8 oz cups). A serving size of broth is one cup and I usually use at least 2 or 3 cups of broth, with about another 1 or 2 cups of water when making a soup or stew.

[end]

Sticks -n- Stones Pizza in Greensboro, North Carolina

January 18, 2025January 18, 2025 bgibson135

I’ve written about Sticks and Stones Pizza in Greensboro, North Carolina in several locations, but I wanted to add a set of images of one of the pizzas that might have been the best I ever had. I now consider my time passed, for having an excellent pizza at this restaurant/bar. I think the people that knew how to fix a really good wood fired pizza have left and the skill hasn’t been passed on. My last two visits have produced a poorly flavored pizza, but I have had quite a few really good pizzas since my first visit. Hopefully I’ve written elsewhere, where I first heard about this restaurant, on some morning news program that said something to the effect that this was one of three pizza joints in the whole United States that produced a really good wood fired pizza. When I heard that I made up my mind that I was going to visit this restaurant and see if their pizza was really that good… and it was!

The above pizza was called “To Be the One” which was a margherita style pizza and featured a bubbly crust, crushed San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt. The one extra ingredient I ordered was Jalapeno peppers. Done well, the end result of a really good pizza should be the empty pie tin, as shown above.

For quite a few years, we (Fayetteville State University) outsourced our instance of Blackboard (our Online Learning System for about 16 years) through the UNC-Greensboro IT department. During my last six years at FSU, before my retirement, we switched our OLS to Canvas, and were pleased with that. Blackboard was a more powerful system, but Canvas provided almost all the necessary functionality and was easier to learn (a lower learning curve). *All this to say that when we switched from Blackboard to Canvas, I went up to Greensboro and “treated” those involved at UNC-G to pizza at Sticks -n- Stones. It was a good send off.

David’s, Burge, Library & No. 1,,,

January 15, 2025May 25, 2025 bgibson135

I decided to make another trip to Asheboro, North Carolina today. I needed to return a gift to Jeff in Aberdeen, and decided that the extra distance to/from Asheboro would be dooable, especially since I really wanted to eat at No. 1 China Buffet again, and David’s, for breakfast, wasn’t a non-incentive either. I like the food at both places, and I like the Asheboro library. They are all comfortable.

I decided to go via Hwy. 87, Hwy. 421, and then Hwy. 64 and I detoured through Ramseur again. I had thought I might tour Ramseur on the way back and then I realized that I would be going back a different route because I needed to go back to Fayetteville via Aberdeen. The trip is about an hour and a half, one way.

About four miles west of Siler City on Hwy. 64, I passed a gigantic facility (to be the largest of it’s kind in the U.S.) that was still under construction. I finally saw a sign, “Wolfspeed” which I thought might be an Internet Provider, but I see just now online that it is a microchip manufacturer. “Why Wolfspeed Stock Plummeted 84.7% in 2024 and Is Sinking Even Further in 2025“

The John Palmour Manufacturing Center for Silicon Carbide in Siler City NC

And now I see that Wolfspeed has filed for bankruptcy. Sort of saw that one coming, but damn, that’s a billion dollar factility they’re building. Ain’t no tariffs gonna bring that one back to America.

David’s Restaurant

I still don’t know how they do it. A breakfast special for $5.69 plus tax, including coffee, and you get 2 eggs, 2 pancakes, a large sausage patty, and hash browns. But you could get bacon, or toast, or grits instead. Oh, and they have sugar free syrup also.

*They open at 8 am, and I asked why they open so late. I’ve never seen a breakfast restaurant that opened at 8 am. Most of them want to get the morning rush hour people that have to be at work by 8 am and for that you probably have to open by 6:30 am. The food is consistently good.

Burge Flower Shop

Burge Flower Shop is located next door to David’s Restaurant.

It was before Christmas, when I heard on WRAL TV5, that Burge Flower Shop was highlighted in the current issue of Our State Magazine. The Editor of the magazine, Elizabeth Hudson, had grown up in Asheboro, North Carolina, or near there. When I heard them mention Burge, I thought that I had seen this shop when I had eaten at David’s Restaurant. After breakfast, I was sitting in my car and watched a woman walk into Burge’s, and some time later, I watched her leave. I had never been in Burge’s until today (01/15/25). I can honestly say, they had nothing that I was interested in, or even thought I might have a place for it in my apartment… except for the “classic” candies, of which I bought a bag of the Peanut Butter Logs, and a bag of Orange Slices. I haven’t had either of these in years. I opened the Peanut Butter Logs bag (it was resealable), unwrapped one, and ate it.

And enjoy listening to and reading along with, “From Elizabeth Hudson: By Bread Alone” *I see that this posting was published on January 15, 2025, yesterday, and the day I visited Asheboro, North Carolina again.

Asheboro Public Library

I don’t recall if I ate the orange slice before I went into the library, or after, but here is the photo of me, after biting into the Orange Slice candy. I loved them as a child, and they are still good.

I looked through the current issue of “Our State” Magazine, January 2025 and then two cookbooks and an “Emerging Technologies” book that gave me some ideas for what things might be coming along the “Pike.” *As in “Turnpike,” not “pipe,” as in “down the pipe.” But I understand that either phrase is interchangeable.

There was a recipe in “Our State” for a vegetable/chicken soup. I have a bunch of rotisserie chicken (from Harris Teeter) that I need to use. I just need to get “poultry seasoning,” which I don’t know what spices are included in it. Actually, I just looked on one of the images for this product and see that some spices include: thyme, sage, marjoram, black pepper & nutmeg.

The next day, I went shopping for the few ingredients that I didn’t already have for this “Fireside Stew,” that included celery, frozen garden peas & the poultry seasoning. The one ingredient in the poultry seasoning that I didn’t mention above is rosemary. The stew was good, but not great. I even tried a variation by adding a little sweetener and some Spicy Chili Crisp. I had thought that maybe creamed corn might also be a good addition, but I didn’t try that.

I saw an interesting idea in one of the cookbooks. You thread string beans on a string and hang them up to air dry. After they have dehydrated they are called “leather britches.” I really do like green beans, but I overlook them quite often. I had some at No. 1 China Buffet today and went back for seconds, and I’ve made a really tasty side dish at home of green beans, white potato & bacon. And, I recall that Essie Davis about 45 years ago made a delicious dish of green beans, bacon & white potato for a Senior Citizens’ Pot Luck Lunch at Queens Creek. They were so good that I went back for seconds for them instead of having dessert.

No. 1 China Buffet

I knew I was going to have to try and come back to this Chinese buffet from my first visit, and funny they sat me in the exact same seat as I had sat in the first time.

I enjoyed their seasoned green beans, and the chicken on a stick. I mix the won ton soup and the egg drop soup, add some chopped green onions and eat it with some of the fried won tons. I peel the shell off the shrimp. I think you might call it Jalapeno Pork.

I am writing this to help me get a feel for Asheboro, North Carolina.

Distances & Populations