I was looking online for things to serve with polenta and found the following:
Wondering What to Serve with Polenta? Here Are 27 Ideas, from Hearty to Healthy on the Pure Wow web site. As I scrolled down the page, I came to Idea #9 Seared Scallops with Green Peas, Mint and Shallots. The photo for this dish immediately captured my eye. This recipe was originally in Amanda Frederickson‘s cookbook, “Simple Beautiful Food.” The scallops had that beautiful brown crust, the peas were vibrant green and what’s that, “bacon?” “Yes, bacon, although the shallots are a little hard to see. And, I see no polenta anywhere in sight, but I can imagine adding a little dollop (okay, a little more than a dollop) of polenta or a couple of polenta waffles to soak up all those other flavors.
I looked at several images of dishes that were made from her book, and I decided to order the book from Amazon. I’ll try to turn the pages gingerly so I do not damage them, and this will become a gift at some point. The book was 240 pp. at about $18. *I did see that one reviewer of her book found reading some of it difficult because of the choice of text color on the pages’ background color. I’ve found that problem on some packaging too, and I don’t like really small text either.
I’m getting to an age where “this old dog ain’t gonna be learning too many new tricks,” and those few people that I know, who love food and cooking, are now older also and another cookbook isn’t as special a gift as in years earlier. But, the images of the food were captivating. I could actually prepare this scallops & peas dish. *In fact, I made some delicious peas & pastry with country ham recently and it was very pleasing. Now I know a photo of my peas, ham & pastry would not appear as beautiful as Amanda Frederickson’s photos, but my food was good. And, my pastry wasn’t hand made at home either.
Why was I looking for things to serve with polenta? Simple. I cut a few rounds of already prepared polenta, sometimes for breakfast with an egg, and sometimes for adding to green beans, bacon and potatoes. The polenta reminds me of when my Aunt Sis would add some cornmeal dumplings to her green beans. I’m not sure if she was adding them as filler or just as an interesting aside.
I made some homemade Pizza Sauce (about six simple ingredients and it tastes like Pizza Inn’s) for my Ciabatta Roll Pizzas and had some left over in a small jar in the refrigerator. So as I’m fixing a breakfast of scrambled egg, pepper bacon and some halved yellow grape tomatoes, I think to add a couple of slices of polenta. And then the thought comes to me to add some of the pizza sauce as a topping for the polenta. It was good, but it still needed something else. I’m thinking of trying fresh basil, and/or shredded cheese, and/or even a few slices of pepperoni. But, adding the pepperoni would begin to overpower the pepper bacon. But that’s why I was looking for things to go with polenta. Some extra flavors for my polenta at breakfast. *The idea for adding the pizza sauce to my polenta rounds was my own. I came upon the above “pizza rounds” afterwards.
Those Creamy White Beans look pretty good too! Cannellini beans, spinach, rosemary and chilies… hmmm?
I had made some cabbage (with a little chopped onion) slaw, with mayo, half-n-half and sweetener and put it in the refrigerator before I went out shopping this morning. I still had one of those tiny Tupperware containers with the remaining guacamole from yesterday in the fridge also.
I started some lentil soup on the stove top. I first added andouille sausage to the pot after stripping the sausage casing from it. I added a small amount of olive oil. I had about a half of a small onion which I diced finely and added to the pot with some chicken & beef broth and some brown and red lentils. I then diced one carrot, and several types of mild peppers and one small jalapeno pepper minus the seeds. The spice which I think is cumin I added it with some other spices, and a little more water. After this I let it all cook for a while and then I added a little orzo. I noticed that I had some steamed cabbage that had cooled and I tried a little cabbage with the lentil soup. It tasted good. Eventually I added the left-over steamed cabbage to the bowl of lentil soup. These two combined very well. It probably would go well even if I just added the cabbage to the soup and let it cook together. *The cold cabbage slaw went well with the spicy andouille & lentil soup, and I added a few of the white corn chips (Mission) and this just brought it all together.
I can make really good andouille & lentil soup, and I can make the same thing that doesn’t work. It’s the spices I add, but I can’t always remember what I put in the last good batch of soup. I had planned to put in some frozen chopped spinach, but just didn’t want to wait to unfreeze it, and it definitely didn’t need it to taste really good.
[NOTE 09/15/24]: Well, I just finished eating my scallops with green peas, shallots, bacon, and mint. And, I also added a dollop of polenta, which was the cause of my original online search. I was searching for things that go with polenta. I think this meal was better with the polenta than it would not have been. The photo is more appealing than the flavors in the meal, but the flavors are pleasant. After all, I like scallops, and bacon, and shallots, and garden peas and polenta.
I bought a mint plant at Publix instead of buying already pulled mint leaves in a pouch. I don’t think I had 1/4 cup of mint leaves, but perhaps half that. I’m thinking that I would like to see if tarragon instead of mint would fit my palate better. *I have been making Tarragon & Split Pea Soup for several years, but haven’t made it recently mainly because that soup and my Curried Apple Soup both affect my blood sugar levels negatively. But, I really do love the flavor of the Curried Apple Soup and I like it either warm or cold.
**I just googled for it and tarragon may be the more traditional flavoring with garden peas and scallops.
I’ve already put the mint in the pureed garden peas so I can’t see what adding just tarragon would do, but I might try a little tarragon with the mint. I may fix this again either tomorrow or within a couple of days as I have the left over pureed garden peas and the bacon/garden pea/shallot mixture. [end NOTE]
[NOTE 09/17/24]:
Quick Cabbage Slaw
1/2 red cabbage (shredded or chopped)
2 cups defrosted corn
2 shallots (sliced thin)
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 tablspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 handful mint (chopped)
I was looking for something to go with the Sea Scallops & Garden Peas and found the above recipe for Cabbage Slaw (using red cabbage). I already had the shallots and mint that are both in the Scallops & Garden Peas recipe, so there will be an echo of flavors. Not sure, but I may add some sweetener to this. And, I may add some dried Tarragon to the Garden Pea mixture.
Recall that today is my first day for my Ozempic injection. Since I didn’t have to take my Rybelsus tablet after midnight, I was able to have a cup of hot tea (Earl Grey) with some half-n-half. *A late note: The Ozempic has worked wonderfully. It has brought my resting blood sugar level down and my weight has remained steady within about 4 lbs. up/down.
I finished my second helping of my lentils & andouille soup (to which I also added some orzo) yesterday and I had some cabbage slaw left over. Because the lentils were spicy, the soothing nature of the slaw was very welcome. I like spicy, but not too hot, and when I get the spicy and physically hot soup just right, there are few things more pleasing.
I just finished my second helping of seared scallops & garden peas, and with sides of polenta and a red cabbage slaw with corn & mint. The only sweetness of this meal was from the garden peas. This was the most “savory” meal I’ve eaten in a long time. I normally add some sort of sweetener to either my slaw or on the meat I am cooking. There was only S&P and apple cider vinegar on the red cabbage slaw with corn. I’m not sure I would make this repeatedly, but it was a pleasant change from my norm. *The cookbook I ordered, “Simple Beautiful Food” arrived this afternoon before I had my lunch. It doesn’t appear that there are recipe ingredients listed as in most cook books. The web page had the standard layout for a recipe with a list of ingredients . **Oh, I did cut up some small grape tomatoes to go with the red cabbage slaw.
[ADDENDUM 01/22/25]: Little did I nor anyone know that just five weeks after my visit to Asheville, that Hurricane Helene would come through Western North Carolina & Asheville and devastate the area. I had such a wonderful visit. The last place I visited in Asheville before starting back home was the New Morning Gallery in the Biltmore Village area. The flooding covered this area with a great deal of mud and destroyed many buildings. This was a high end shopping area, that was, and then wasn’t. I think the New Morning Gallery is still closed, and it has been about four months since the Hurricane.[end]
Gosh, what didn’t I do in the last day and a half?
I scheduled a one night stay at the Quality Inn at 180 Tunnel Road in Asheville for Monday night. At first I had looked at a different Quality Inn further down Tunnel Road, but then I saw a couple of negative reviews so I looked at the other Quality Inn. It seemed nicer, but for just a little more money, and still not $100 a night. *I had stayed at the other Quality Inn several years ago, and it had been a pleasant stay, but I’ll have to admit that the room was much better this time.
I guess I should mention my reason for my brief jaunt to Asheville, North Carolina on Monday & Tuesday of this week. I got a notice last week that they would be repaving and repairing various parking areas where I currently live, and that certain areas would need to be vacated, by 8 am, on selected mornings. I decided to make a quick trip, out of town, so I wouldn’t have to deal with parking in another area. I’ve done this at least once previously, several years ago. I also ran away once when a hurricane was coming through, back in 2018. I ran all the way to Milledgeville, Georgia that time, and ended up having to stay at a cheap hotel for a week because flooding had made it impossible to return to Fayetteville for that length of time.
The Milledgeville trip was fantastic. I didn’t have to worry about food, or the hassles of being homebound in Fayetteville, because Milledgeville was sunny and comfortable, and there were loads of places to eat. I did try to return to Fayetteville a day or two before I should have, and ended up having to stay at another cheap hotel in Siler City, NC for a couple of nights. Eventually, I found the one way back into Fayetteville but I had to drive from Siler City to Pinehurst/Southern Pines and then up toward Raeford, and then back into Fayetteville. This was the first route that the flooding had subsided to make it possible to return home.
So, that was my reason for my impromptu trip.
At the moment, I don’t recall what I had for breakfast on Monday… oh, I just remembered. I had a tin of Amour Potted Meat, which I had bought at WalMart. I had also bought a half gallon of regular milk for about $1.99 but only drank about a third of it, but that would still be worth the cost. *Because I didn’t refrigerate the milk, leaving it in my car overnight, I poured it out Tuesday morning in the toilet in my room (#125).
I didn’t want to eat a lot for breakfast because I was going to have lunch at the Seaboard Station in Hamlet, NC. But, on the way to Hamlet, I first drove by the Maxton Airport and was surprised to find that the retired NW Airlines jets that ran along the fence line from the airport terminal were all gone. ALL gone. I did see a few large sheets of slightly curved metal, one of which I think still had red paint on it. I’m guessing these might be the few remaining pieces of the old jets. Maybe broken down for scrap. *Recall that I think the Northwest Airlines logo, from a few years ago, was the “perfect logo” for English speakers.
U.S. Army Parachute Team Annex (Maxton, NC)
But, as I continued to drive around the end of the airport, nearest Maxton, I looked in the sky and saw a couple of sky divers rapidly descending. They were coming down fast and spiraling almost horizontally. I even questioned if they were actual sky divers *Not sure what they would have been if they weren’t real men with parachutes. Two came down and disappeared on the ground, and then I saw two or three more, one at a time coming down. They were all down as I came around the end of the field and I honked, but was away from them, so not sure if they were even aware of me. I never saw any airplane from which they must have jumped out of.
I headed back into Laurinburg via Hwy. 74. I stopped by the Scotland County Memorial Library and ended up buying about 10 hardback fiction novels to prime the Little Lending Library pump. They were only a dollar each, and I think I also left a $2 donation. The librarian helped me bag the books in a couple of plastic grocery bags and as I walked out the door I met a woman coming in. She let me go through the door first and made a comment that “Anyone that reads that much, deserves to go first.” I laughed to myself thinking that I wasn’t planning to read any of these books, but wanted them all just for the LLLs.
It’s Thursday afternoon and I’ve already dispersed all the $1 hard back fiction books that I bought on Monday. I also got rid of about 8 “Our State” Magazines leaving one magazine with each book (or one with a couple of books). *I did buy a couple of large cookbooks at the Northwood Temple Thrift Shop (Thursday 22nd) this morning. I had never been at this store before yesterday, when I was allowed inside, on a day when the store was actually closed, but the workers were friendly and let me look around. They were open today and I went in to shop. I paid $4 for one book (Americas’ Test Kitchen) and $1 for another large book. *Amazingly, having lived and worked in Fayetteville since 1995, and retired here about five years ago, and as many times as I passed this thrift store, I had never actually gone in. Through the years, I had seen people’s donations sitting beside the building. I guess it was the years of working & administering the efforts at the Hem of His Garment in Onslow County, I just have little or no interest in a thrift store. **I did buy some old Craftsmen screwdrivers for a couple of bucks each, several years ago, but that was in some other town I was visiting while on one of my vacations.
On the way to Hamlet, I made a detour to Gibson, NC. I’ve been to and through this little town many times over the years. It has a nice old train depot that has been painted yellow. There is also an old bank building that, when I first saw it, had a keystone that had a date written on it. I think it might have been in the 1920s, but that was removed by someone who bought the building several years ago and then painted the outside walls in a couple of bright, gaudy colors. I think maybe a burnt orange and an aqua. Don’t recall exactly, but they ruined this building and now the outside has been painted a light gray. *I say ruined because I had an idea that this little town would be perfect for filming a TV series or movie about a small town. There is also the G.V. Pate building which I think was probably a large hardware or agricultural supply store in the past. It’s was closed before I ever visited Gibson the first time. Oh, and the railroad tracks almost magically curve around back of the town after leaving the colorful depot.
After all of my meandering, I still arrived a little early, just before 11 am, at the Seaboard Station Restaurant. This was about 30 minutes earlier than most visits, but that was because I still was going to have to drive to Asheville after lunch.
For lunch, I had a couple of pieces of fried chicken, and a thin pork chop, some steamed cabbage and black eyed peas with some sweet onion. I sat at the same location that I had the last visit.
Seaboard Station in located in an old multi-story home, painted white. The dining area is located in several rooms on the first floor, and they have even added a room that must have been an “outdoor” porch at one time. This is all inside now, but there is a large opening, between rooms, that was once a window. Now it has no glass, and you might even be able to reach through this opening and take something off another diner’s table.
There was a man, Russell, sitting at the same table that he had sat the last time I was there. He is a retired cabinet maker, who’s wife died in 2016, and he has found that making knives is now fun. He is a Type 2 diabetic and wears one of those 14 day devices that records blood sugar levels without finger pin pricks. I think he said he was taking Wegovy, which was also a single shot a week, and needed to be refrigerated, like my Trulicity that I used to take.
After lunch I rode over to the library in Hamlet a few blocks away. Looked at the books for sale, but nothing there of interest for me.
A little after noon I left the library but stopped next in Rockingham at the Thomas Leach Memorial Library. No books there for me either. Later, I stopped at a Circle K, just past Monroe, before reaching Charlotte, to fill up on gas.
I chose to navigate through Charlotte instead of going around and paying a toll. Interesting about Charlotte, there was one sky scraper that had a large horizontal fixture at the top of the building. This reminded me of some of the fictional large buildings shown in the Westworld series, but this was real. *I looked this up on Google Maps when I returned home. I think it is just from certain angles that this cross bar appears.
The rest of this trip was long and boring, up the Interstates.
I made it to Asheville about 4:30 pm and went directly to the Folk Arts Center to see if they knew about the “space ship” mug and who might have made it. I had asked the last time I was in Asheville, and they still had no idea. After the Folk Art Center, I went directly to the East Village Grille,. It was late afternoon and the sun was brightly shining through the large westward facing window.
[NOTE 02/28/25]: Today, after about seven years of trying to recall or find out where I bought this mug, and who was the potter that made it, I finally caught an online thread, found an image similar to my mug, followed the artist’s name and even found a YouTube video by the artist, Claudia Dunaway, and even more surprising, the video showed several steps in how she made my mug (or one of thousands like it). Go here for more info on the mug, the potter & her husband, who drew the cartoon spaceship. [end NOTE]
They had updated their menu so that it is much smaller than the first couple of times I ate there. The original menus might have been twenty pages, dual sided and covered in heavy plastic. Now there are only about 5 pages, which each might be printed on a thin plastic.
I looked but saw nothing about a Pastrami Reuben. I asked the waitress if they still served a Pastrami Reuben and she said they had stopped serving pastrami some time ago. So, I ordered a Philly Cheesesteak with steak fries and a diet drink. The cheesesteak was delicious, but I only ate half and took the rest, along with some of the fries for a snack later. **So, they no longer serve a Pastrami Reuben. Yet another example of a past pleasant culinary experience disappearing over time. I am 70 years old, so I guess out with the old and in with the new. No “Sticks-n-Stones” pizza, too? Damn.
On the other hand, I do know how to make a delicious Pastrami Reuben at home, with homemade Thousand Island dressing, served with wavy potato chips & sauerkraut (on the sandwich, and as a special side). Mix some sauerkraut with the thousand island dressing and it makes a good side dish, maybe not just for Reubens. Would probably work for a fried pork chop, or even a hamburger.
I think I went to the Quality Inn directly after dinner and then went for a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway later. It was about 7:13 pm and the sun was going down, but some areas along the road were well shaded. I looked ahead and saw something in the shadows, large and black, meandering across the road. I said to myself, “That’s a black bear.” And then moments later, a smaller black bear followed the first across the road. I slowed my car down, because I didn’t want to crowd them. Moments later a couple of cars came up behind me. As I passed the two bears, they were walking slowly up the side of the mountain disappearing into the undergrowth.
I drove along the Parkway for several more miles, passing a few overlooks, and going through at least one tunnel (maybe two) before turning around and heading back down to town. I get off the Parkway at the entrance to the North Carolina Arboretum and then headed back into town passing the WNC Farmer’s Market.
I had decided to park my car at the front of the motel and not at the side nearest my room. I figured that with no one being around at the end, it would be a good place to try to break into a car. I did notice an outdoor camera this morning. *The room had been renovated with nice fixtures & a quiet flush toilet.
This morning as I drove around downtown Asheville, I drove through the downtown tunnel and then turned around and came back through it. As I exited the tunnel, I made a sharp left turn and headed up a road that took me up one side of this mountain and then over it and beneath a stone bridge (Which I did not drive around to find if I could cross it.). From Google Maps & Street view, I think this overhead bridge is just for foot traffic.
As I came back down the mountain, on the side nearest downtown Asheville. I approached two wild turkeys. As I passed the house, there was only one of the turkeys still visible and it had that beautiful bronze, almost metallic looking plumage. *So last night I saw two black bears in the wild, and this morning I saw a couple of wild turkeys in downtown Asheville.
I went to the WNC Farmers Market just as it was about to open at 8 am today. I took with me, my Cara’s Corner bright yellow shopping bag that I had been given a couple of years ago. Cara’s Corner is still in the upper corner of the Market. The man was most helpful. They had no Gumbo File, but I did buy some lentils @$2.29 lb. and another type of bean I had never tried, Anasazi @$4.89 lb.. Anasazi beans are also called “New Mexico Cave Beans,” a heirloom variety related to kidney beans. *The man said he liked these beans and apparently they form a tasty gravy. My thought, about which I did not ask him, was that he might just be a vegetarian & that is why he didn’t season these beans with some kind of meat. I also bought some Danish Blue Cheese. This cheese looked good in the display case. And somewhere in the past I’ve bought & ate Danish Blue. Later at home, this was a good flavored blue cheese.
I just came across this Anasazi bean recipe online: Anasazi Beans and Rice with Kielbasa Looks like I have everything that goes in this recipe at home already. Kielbasa, celery, onion and sweet bell pepper, yum! I see from the photo of the finished dish that the beans turn a solid light brownish color, losing their distinctive burgundy & white mottled raw color in the cooking process. *I think it was the October Beans that I tried from Cara’s which were shaped like limas, but also had the mottled burgundy & white uncooked coloring which was lost after cooking. And I think the October Beans took on a kidney bean flavor. I have said it elsewhere in this blog, why buy October beans when you can get a can of re-fried beans, that are mashed up kidney beans.
Well, I made a small batch of the Anasazi beans with the Kielbasa (but no rice as per the above recipe) this morning. It looks like the burgundy part of the bean sloughs off and you are left with a brownish, kidney bean looking and flavored bean. Nothing to write home about. If I wanted a bean with a kidney bean flavor, I would fix kidney beans. So, out of the four unusual dry beans I’ve bought at Cara’s Corner, none of them are worth fixing a second time. As I said elsewhere, the Yellow Eye has a mild Black Eyed Pea flavor and that is probably why the Black Eyed Peas became the more dominant bean.
I went to Earth Fare after the WNC Farmers Market and they had the dulse I have been looking for for quite some time. I bought their only two containers for about $7 each. *Funny, but as I was passing through Morganton, I looked over and saw a Food Matters Market. I did a double take because I knew of only one other market with this name, and that was in Brevard, NC. **I checked with an employee and sure enough there are only two of these. She didn’t know why this one was in Morganton. ***And, what? They didn’t have Gumbo File either, but they did have the dulse so I bought another container for around $7. Now after a long draught, I have three packages of Maine Coast Sea Vegetables Dulse. I think I also bought a couple of jars of Minced Ginger. Well, I either bought the ginger here or at Earth Fare. I think I bought the Andouille Sausages at Earth Fare because I had an extended, friendly conversation with the butcher, who was having a minor problem with a gentleman as I walked up to the counter.
I came back to the Quality Inn and got some ice to put in a small container (a plastic Bento Box container that once had a couple of smaller plastic side containers that fit in the bigger box) and put the cheese and a couple of Andouille Sausage links in it. The ice had completely melted by the time I got home and the water had turned a brownish color. Not sure if the sausage was ruined, but I put both links in the freezer. I think the cheese is okay and plan to try it shortly. *The cheese was still good. I had a little with a few of the black sesame rice crackers about midnight.
You’ve got to understand that I might never be on Hwy. 18 going through Morganton, NC again, but I just looked over and saw the name. I had a vague memory that I knew this grocery (health foods store) from having visited one near Brevard, NC several years ago. I think I had been to the Brevard location at least twice, but really don’t know why I was passing through this area. I still had time to kill so I turned around and pulled into the Food Matters Market parking lot and went in.
After Earth Fare I headed up to Weaverville and stopped in the Mangum Gallery in downtown. One nice thing is that there is a small parking lot across the street. No charge, free parking, and just walk across the street to several of the shops. There were several “artists” around this parking lot painting, but facing in different directions.
There was a young man, in the Mangum Gallery, working on some of the pottery and I ended up asking him if he had ever seen or knew who created my “space ship” mug. I showed him a picture from my phone. He didn’t know who, but directed me to to a guild gallery that also had a school for students. It began with an “O” but I don’t recall if it was Odyssey or not. I didn’t go there. *Checked online and it is the “Odyssey Clayworks.” Odyssey Center for Ceramic Art
After the gallery, I drove over to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I have a back route that leads me up the mountain and I come back down the Parkway, past the Folk Arts/Crafts Center, and then out onto US70. This time, I drove past the East Village Grille, on my left, and turned right at one corner of the VA Hospital. This road goes past the “staff/bus” entrance for the Folk Arts Center and under the Parkway. I then headed back to US70 which ends up below where the Parkway entrance/exit is located on US 70.
I then headed back to the New Morning Gallery and managed to get a parking space on the street at the very end (or head) so I didn’t even have to worry about leaving the parking space.
You enter the Gallery on street level and there are a bunch of stairs that lead up to the display area. But, I know where the elevator is located and I now take that up. They have blocked off one corner that was used for display, but now is used for storage. I looked at quite a few mugs and bowls and asked a female clerk about my “space ship” mug. She didn’t know it either. A gentleman also working there said there was a Guild location around the corner, and across the street, but I did not go there afterwards.
I did buy a cheap green Mangum soup bowl. It is a little deeper than the couple of bowls that I already have. The others might be shallow salad bowls. I say cheap because this bowl was only $34 plus tax. This is an old price because I see that most new items are now priced in the $60 – $80 range. Or at least they were at the Folk Art Center.
After the New Morning Gallery I headed out on I40, but pretty soon meandered back over to US 70. I did this because I needed to kill about an hour and a half. The actual driving time to Yadkinville from Asheville was about 2.5 hours.
I meandered through several towns on the way to lunch at 3:30 pm at the Yadkin Valley Seafood Restaurant in Yadkinville, NC.
I rode around Morganton for a short time, not finding their library although I saw the Library turn signs from several directions, but never saw a building labeled “Library.” Actually, I just checked with Google Maps and Street View and I drove completely around the Library but any signage was so small I did not see it. I do recall the parking lot across the street but didn’t know it was for the Library.
The cute blonde waitress with the nice behind wasn’t at the restaurant today. Probably long gone. I wasn’t even sure back then of how old she might have been. She might have still been in high school, or maybe in her early twenties.
I asked my waitress what diet drinks they had and I thought she said Diet Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper. I said, “Oh great! I’ll have Diet Dr. Pepper.” Later when she brought my drink, it looked light in color and when I tasted it I wasn’t Dr. Pepper. I asked her about this and she then said, “Oh, we don’t have Diet Dr. Pepper. I thought you said Diet Mountain Dew.” I told her it would be okay, and it was, but as I ate and thought about this, I wasn’t the only person who didn’t hear well, because I know I said “Diet Dr. Pepper” in my reply. If I had heard her as she stated, I would have chosen Diet Coke.
My waitress charged me correctly for my meal but it seemed to be about $3 higher than I thought it should have been so I only gave her a $2.50 tip on a $20 meal. I checked on my phone later and saw that she had charged me the extra price but then I realized I had ordered scallops, popcorn shrimp and flounder, and the scallops were one of several items they charged extra for in their combos.
So after my lunch, it was about 4:30 pm and my GPS was suggesting the quickest route back home was through Winston-Salem and then just south of Greensboro. I decided that going through those cities in rush hour traffic would not be best so I made my own navigation. First I drove from Yadkinville to Mocksville.
From Mocksville to Lexington, and then from Lexington to Asheboro.
I turned around in the Davidson Funeral Home parking lot to get my GPS directions to Asheboro. There were some Hispanic kids (boys & girls) walking across town and I passed them or they passed me a couple of times because I had gone in the opposite direction to see a little more of town and then turned around to get back on track.
Each of these three segments took a little less than 30 minutes. After Asheboro, I headed south, but turned off to come through Seagrove and Robbins, NC, and this segment I had driven before. *I thought I had been to Lexington before, but maybe not. I had been through Lincolnton, NC several years back.
Robbins, NC (I’ve bought gas at this store before, but not during this trip.)
I do want to return to my stay at this Quality Inn in Asheville. The motel was obviously older, but I asked and they had started renovations in 2021. Everything was superb! The toilet had a quiet flush. The shower and the sink had good fixtures and there was plenty of hot water (although I did shower close to 6 am). There were all the amenities: mini fridge, mini microwave, TV with at least 80 channels and a remote, an iron & ironing board (which I haven’t used in probably 25 years) and a blow dryer for your hair. I got ice in the ice bucket and had my “Bill’s Drink.” I had carried my empty carafe and several packages of the dry flavored drink mixes and even had a bottle of mixed orange juice and cranberry juice. So, I wasn’t lacking at all with my personal drink as I normally have at home. I also had a medium avocado which I cut open with a metal spoon I had brought with me, and then scooped all of it out a little at a time. The avocado was perfectly ripe, but I had no salt and that would have made eating it perfect.
The bed was comfortable and had maybe five pillows on it. I think I registered that the pillows were a little hot during the night. The room had been renovated perfectly. Perfectly modernized and for the nightly price worth it. I saw nothing in the room that was a negative. No negative smells or stains, etc. The air conditioning worked fine. Locks on the door. Water pressure in the shower fine.
This morning I decided to go out for breakfast and I got dressed and headed over to J.K.’s. On the way over, I remembered that this was Wednesday and that J.K.’s is closed on Wednesdays. Instead of going on to Zorba’s, I passed by there and went to the Harris Teeter to fix a breakfast from their breakfast bar. I had scrambled eggs, cheese grits, a biscuit and sausage gravy, a small dollop of corned beef hash, and a couple slices of bacon. The total for the breakfast was a little over $9. The items on this bar had good flavor and I would try this again. *Recall that I had enjoyed the Harris Teeter lunch bar many times before I got something “bad” from that bar and my throat started to close up. Since I had tried everything previously, I’m thinking that maybe someone used some chemical cleaning solution and that remained on an item causing the allergic reaction. I stopped eating the lunch buffet there for several months and later tried it once again, with no problems, but never went back to it on a regular basis.
This morning the air was cool in Fayetteville and it reminded me of how the air had been fresh and cool as I was driving around Asheville the morning before. Asheville was a pleasant change.
I fixed some Anasazi beans yesterday and now have a pot of Andouille & Lentils on the stove at 2:01 am Thursday morning. I can already tell that the lentils are going to provide a much better flavor. And, the Andouille seems to be better than the Kielbasa, although I like the Kielbasa for my Kielbasa/Shrimp/Zucchini dish. I’ve also added Savory to the lentils, which I didn’t put in the Anasazi beans.
And yes, I have just tried them and they are really good.
Currently at Amazon, two 44 oz. bottles of the Wholesome Agave Nectar costs $33.16. That would be $16.58 per bottle, so it is quite a savings at Wegman’s ($3.59 per bottle). Wegman’s White American Cheese runs less than $4 per package (pre-sliced). *But, I don’t think of Wegmans as being less expensive, except for these two examples, and the $.99 ICE drinks. *Wegman’s also has the “Raspberry Royale” tea from Bigelow.
Part of my jaunt up to Morrisville, via Apex, is to stop first in Cary at the Golden Hex (a European grocery). They have a fantastic variety of deli meats, salamis and sausages as well as various cheeses and a bunch of other grocery items from European countries. I’ve found a green seaweed there that I can “doctor up” to replicate the side dish that I had enjoyed several years ago at different restaurants. I think the additions included toasted sesame oil & seeds, soy sauce, vinegar, and some sweetener. *I think there was also some hot pepper flakes.
So I buy some sliced Estonskaya and maybe one other sliced salami. I take this to Wegmans, where I buy a ciabatta roll for $1.10. I either take a couple of slices (or buy them there) of the Wegman’s White American Cheese. It is both cheap and flavorful. *I take a sandwich bag with a couple of dill pickles & maybe some grape tomatoes and/or some olives (Castelvetrano). **I have been taking some sweet mustard flavored with horseradish cream, but after today I think I might simply prefer Dukes mayo. Oh, and I’m also thinking that a couple of slices of sweet (Vidalia) onion and/or some sliced Campari tomatoes. If I have some wavy potato chips (IGA has a small bag with about 3 good servings per bag at about $1.38), I take them too. Take a bottle of ice to use with my bottle of flavored ICE drink. This has to be a relatively cheap lunch, but with a lot of enjoyable flavors. ***Oh, I did actually buy a whole head of Iceberg Lettuce at Wegman’s today and included it in my ciabatta roll salami & cheese sandwich. My dill pickle spears were the “souped up” version with the Ranch flavoring.
I buy the cheap jar of dill pickle spears at WalMart, and the even cheaper packet of Ranch Dressing mix from either WalMart ($.60) or Food Lion ($.50) and add the packet’s contents to the dill pickle jar. After this first combining, I re-use the Ranch dill pickle juice in subsequent jars of dill pickles. The juice doesn’t appear to “go bad,” and I just pour off the plain pickle juice first. *I bought some whole dill seeds to try and sprout them, but the sprouting didn’t work. So, I ended up putting some of the dill seeds in the “Ranch Dill” jar. To my surprise, this kicked up the flavor of these pickles even more.
If I am fixing some Ranch Dressing chip dip, I do buy the more expensive Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning at a little less than $2 per package. I add cream cheese (the cheap brand is okay), some sour cream, diced sweet onion, diced red bell pepper and S&P. *The chip dip & wavy potato chips are a “splurge” that I seldom enjoy because of the fat & threat to my blood sugar level.
I find that including “cheats” or “splurges” to the foods I eat make life more palatable & enjoyable. And, if you don’t cheat often or regularly, any move in the wrong direction is quickly re-adjusted in a day or two. The blood sugar level may spike higher than you would want on a daily basis or you may gain a pound or two by eating a lot of ice cream or spaghetti at one sitting. But, going back to the rule and not making the exception(s) the rule, the body quickly readjusts and the bgl or weight return to acceptable norms. *I just realized that it has been a long time since I ate a half gallon of ice cream in a day, or ate a large plate of spaghetti noodles w/ homemade spaghetti sauce as a cheat. I no longer have those desires. **Having said this, today for the first time in a long time, I stopped by a Wendy’s (Exit 319) and got and consumed a small Triple Berry Frosty (normally I would prefer chocolate flavored). I had never tried this flavor (it is new) before today, and it was a familiar flavor and I enjoyed it, but don’t think I would prefer it over a small chocolate Frosty.
In the past, I might buy a cheap Rocky Road flavored half gallon of ice cream at Food Lion and at home, would take a soup spoon and add some chocolate flavored syrup before scooping out and devouring the ice cream. After I’ve indented the ice cream, I would like to either add some Half-n-Half or regular milk in the ice cream container. Yeah, I haven’t done that in a while, or even desired to do so.
In 2019 I think I had eaten some Pistachio ice cream before 10 am, on a holiday Monday, and had just returned the half gallon container to the freezer section of my fridge, when I sat back down in my easy chair, watching a new episode of the new, new Outer Limits (or was that the new Twilight Zone) and in moments realized that something was terribly wrong with me. I was having a seizure due to low blood pressure, but I didn’t pass out completely. No, I just sat in my chair watching the TV show through a reddish filter and pissing on myself. My body providing the tinted filter. *I quickly recovered, but sat for a while trying to regain my composure and to determine my next steps. I called Jeff Mitchell to let him know what had happened. While talking to him I decided to drive myself to the Cape Fear Valley Emergency Care facility that is about a quarter mile up the road from my apartment. I showered, dressed, and drove there. And, as I have rehearsed elsewhere on this site, I was providing a urine sample there, when I passed out completely. And within the hour, I was transported over to Cape Fear Valley Hospital (across town) and three days of intense testing begun. **They didn’t come up with a definitive cause of my seizure and passing out, but my cardiologist had an idea I think. About a month later, when I passed out while getting a new CPAP machine, I was taken again to the hospital and within a few days had a new device in my body, a pacemaker. I think it was six weeks for the heart surgery, and my fractured knee to heal. Once I could get my behind in the driver’s seat, AND my leg (in a brace) into the car and my foot on the gas I was self-sufficient once again. I still wasn’t supposed to raise my left arm above my head until the electrode connections had healed. The only time that I might have raised my arm was when I was sleeping and awoke with my arm above my head. But, this only occurred once or twice, and I guess I could have tied my left arm to my body to stop this.
Just tried some of my sweet mustard & horseradish cream sauce on some smoked oysters. Good flavors together!
[NOTE 08/15/24]: I bought a small tin of Riga Cod Liver at Golden Hex (I think.). I’ve never eaten Cod Liver before, and I am 70 years old. I had a strange reaction to even opening the tin container. I guess I was afraid that I would be repulsed by however this food tasted. It wasn’t the flavor, which was slightly fishy (maybe like a hint of tuna), but the texture which was probably like foie gras, and I’ve never had foie gras either. Duck fat. I could tell this was a extremely fatty food. Not sure how I would enjoy this. I think I read that you could spread it on bread, and that you might want to eat it with something that would “cut the fatty” flavor. Citric juice or maybe a vinegar. I’m thinking that you could add cod liver to tuna, or smoked oysters to deepen their flavor, but I’m not sure it would be worth the extra cost.
Actually, I just noted a picture of a package of Duck Pate that I had tried some time ago. I recall that this also had a slight flavor that wasn’t as pleasing as the Nueske’s Liver Pate that I buy sometimes. I think this liver pate is reminiscent, but not exactly the same as Potted Meat.
I tried some Sprat’s Pate that I also bought at Golden Hex some time ago. I did not like the flavor.
[end NOTE]
[NOTE 08/25/24]: One of my regular morning breakfasts consists of hot tea, egg salad, bacon, & polenta. Sometimes I add grape tomatoes, if I have them. I currently prefer the Scottish Tea by Taylors, which has a “heavier” flavor. In fact, the first time I tried this tea, I didn’t like it, but when I tried it a second time, I began to like it, and after a while, I prefer it. Now I still like Bigelow’s “Constant Comment” and “Earl Grey” (longtime favorites, maybe since the mid-1980s) and another favorite, “Raspberry Royale,” since I first tried it at a Quality Inn in Lynchburg, Virginia about 2017.
Today, I came up with two additions/modifications that worked well. I had a small amount of some homemade pizza sauce (only 6 ingredients) and I put that on two thin slices of polenta which I heated in the microwave. This had good flavor. I also cut a couple of slices of English cucumber and put a little salt on them. These two modifications worked well and I might do either again.
I had another Ciabatta roll pizza with the homemade pizza sauce yesterday, but I forgot to add jalapenos to it. It was good still. This is a consistently satisfying pizza, and just enough. So, I can make a satisfying pizza at home, and I can make a very good Pastrami Reuben on rye. Oh, and the Kielbasa/Shrimp/Zucchini dish I make, is consistently pleasing.
I do not make it often, but I enjoy a multi-bean salad. Its not something that I want to eat every day, or even once a week, or possibly even once a month, but I do like it and it is a nice addition to my food rotation. Sometimes I buy the beans in separate cans, but this time I found a can of 3 mixed beans: kidney, pinto & black beans from Whole Foods. To this I added some wax (yellow) and some green beans. I also added the little red pearl peppers, and the multi colored medium pickled peppers and some chopped sweet onion, and orange bell pepper. I used three types of vinegar: white distilled, red wine and some apple cider vinegars with some Splenda. You could add pickles, pickled beets, pearl onions, garbanzo/cannellini/navy beans to this too.
I made my bean salad yesterday and still have enough for two more meals. I had bought a whole rotisserie chicken at Harris Teeter so I had a drum stick and a little white meat, and I steamed a medium sized ear of corn in the microwave (it was sweet & tender). *Harris Teeter sells their whole cooked chickens for under $7 compared to Publix, which sells them for about a dollar more. I had bought the Publix chickens for a while and then realized I didn’t like their fatty/mealy textures. I tried HT and liked them better. Still either one would be a good deal because you can get about five good meals from a whole roasted chicken. The last meal being a chicken salad with a good portion of chicken.[end NOTE]
This is a consistently easy to prepare and has easy clean up. The finished product looks good, and is filling.
I bought one of these electric woks (Aroma) for myself at Amazon, and then after I saw the quality, I bought another one as a present for Chad and his bride to be (end of May 2025). I’ve also bought them a VinChef wok, which is not electric, but is oven safe and I’ve broiled a couple of things successfully. I think the VinChef wok is a beautifully crafted pan.
[NOTE 01/06/25]: I’ve moved stuff around in this posting. I moved the immediate ingredients list below to the top, because I’ve repeated this almost exactly twice and had it tonight again, and it is satisfying.
I see that WalMart has the Stir Fry Vegetables from Polar for $2.50. I can make two meals out of the one can.
[end NOTE]
AChicken Stir Fryrecipe from the American Diabetes Association that uses no cooking oil.
Let me mention what ingredients I put in tonight’s stir fry as it was “spot on”:
Chicken tenders
Onion
Carrots [X]
Sweet red bell pepper
Stir fry veggies
Pineapple chunks
Angel hair pasta [X]
Sesame seeds
Agave Nectar
Splenda
Lime juice
Spicy Chili Crisp
Toasted Sesame Oil
Avocado Oil
Cornstarch
Red Pepper Flakes
I think the above is all that I added, but if I think of something else, I will add it to the above list. I added a little garlic powder as I was cooking. I did dice a small amount of red jalapeno, which I think I can do without since I’ve already got the red pepper flakes for heat. I didn’t add any Angel Hair pasta noodles to this, but they work well also. I think I added some ginger powder, but if I have the sliced ginger, that would be a good “change up.”
The “Change Up – Line Up”:
Ginger (sliced)
Sugar Snap Peas
Angel Hair Pasta
Shrimp (instead of chicken)
Cauliflower
Mung bean sprouts
Oyster Sauce
[NOTE 06/13/24]: Not sure what made me go looking for “stir fry” vegetables in a can, but I found that Polar (also does Smoked Oysters) sells a “Stir Fry Vegetables” in a can. I think I paid a little over $2 for a can that I found in Wegman’s yesterday. I also bought some bean sprouts at Whole Foods in Raleigh.
The Polar Stir Fry Vegetables included some sliced water chestnuts, some bamboo shoots, some baby corn, sliced chili, and garlic. There is a lot of water in the can, but still a generous quantity of the veggies, and if you don’t want to buy a can of each vegetable and have to freeze some, this is definitely the way to add variety. Since I’m only fixing a stir fry for one, I can use half a can of the “Stir-Fry Vegetables,” for each meal. I drain most of the liquid in the canned veggies, and put them along with enough pineapple chunks for my next meal in a Rubbermaid storage container.
Walmart not WegmansWalmart not Wegmans
There are some things that I like in my stir fry, and I perpetually forget to add. I like crushed ginger & some ground ginger. I like sesame seeds. I like to add just a little pasta, Angel Hair. I also like pineapple chunks. And, I like sweetness, so some Splenda or Agave Nectar is the norm for me. *I’m a Type 2 Diabetic, so I never add sugar (white or brown) to the foods I am cooking at home. I might add some Coconut Sugar, but very little, and usually only to my coffee. If I wasn’t Type 2, I would probably be using more brown sugar than white and I like Agave Nectar.
**In January of 2012 I was diagnosed as a Type 2 Diabetic. That requires controlling my blood sugar levels with drugs such as Metformin and now Ozempic. At the time, I had about a third of a 5 lbs. bag of white Dixie Crystals sugar left in my kitchen. I totally stopped using white sugar, not even putting it in my coffee or tea and eventually the crystalized sugar formed a single hard white ball of sugar. After several years I threw out this ball of sugar.
I’ve added sliced jalapenos and at the end of summer when there are various hot peppers available that would be fun. Last year I added some Brazilian Starfish, Trinidad Perfume and Biquinho peppers to my seafood chowder. They were distinctive, not too hot, and delicious.
Ajicito Dulce @ Compare
Last night I used the second half of the can of Polar Stir Fry Vegetables. I had even frozen them, thinking I might not use them as soon after I had the first half, but thawed them during the day. I was well pleased with the quality of these veggies. The water chestnuts were crisp and the bamboo shoots were tender. And, I had bought a box of “cornstarch” and made a slurry and added it to my stir fry. Worked “like a charm,” as it should, to thicken the sauce and make it shiny. I used shrimp (previously frozen, head & tail off and peeled) instead of chicken and now am thinking about using cubed pork, but will have to figure out how to pre-cook the pork so that it is tender, but done. *I also bought some spicy Thai garlic sauce, but haven’t actually tried it yet.
I bought a couple of cans of the Polar Stir Fry Vegetables at Walmart for about $1.68 per can. They’ve now gone up to $2.50. I see they are also available at IGA. I bought some pork and sliced it into thin strips. I added some of the Thai Garlic Sauce, some Sugar Snap Peas, some pineapple chunks and some stir fry veggies (half of the can) and I also added some slurry of Corn Starch.
The pork was just a little tough, but thoroughly cooked, and it didn’t have a great deal of flavor. I’m thinking the chicken and shrimp would have more taste, unless I find some marinade for the pork. The addition of the corn starch slurry really does make a smooth, thick sauce. Once again, the Stir Fry Veggies from Polar are excellent. No staleness or toughness to these special veggies.
[end NOTE]
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I like the flavor of this “Spicy Chili Crisp.” It is cheap, about $4 per small jar at Walmart. I just noted that it has peanuts in it. I think they fry up chili peppers along with some peanuts and it ends up being a crunchy concoction. I also noted that the flavor between two jars was not exactly the same. Both jars had a good flavor, but distinctly not the same. This also has a reddish color to the sauce and imparts that reddish color to your stir fry.
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WalMart
Harris Teeter
I saw these GoodCook heat resistant, silicone spatulas at Harris Teeter. They look similar to the ones I use and surprisingly, I can cut the chicken in the wok with the edge of the spatula.
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One change I made tonight was that I had bought a package of 5 Pork Egg Rolls at Aldi’s this morning.
I don’t go to Aldi’s very often, but one thing that is a seasonal item is their “Stolen.” This is a dessert of German origin (I think.) and I basically think of it as a “coffee cake with fruit filling.” I’ve heard of it described as a “fruit cake,” but fruit cake to me will ever be like the “Claxton Fruit Cake.” The Stolen fruit filling might be “Marzipan” (a sugar and almonds mixture), or maybe a cherry filling.
So, I was at Aldi’s looking for Stolen, to give as a gift, but happened to see the package of Pork Egg Rolls and one of chicken egg rolls, but the chicken had a few more calories per serving, and I really wanted a pork filling anyway.
Aldi’s Pork Egg Rolls (5 pak)
Tonight, I used one pork egg roll from the package, and heated it for a minute (instead of the 30 seconds it had suggested) in the microwave. I put some Hot Chinese Mustard on my plate and some Oyster Sauce (I didn’t have any Duck Sauce.). It was flavorful. **The last few home stir fries, I’ve stopped by a local Chinese Restaurant and bought a couple of their egg rolls, and they provide a Duck Sauce in small clear plastic packets. Their egg rolls are better because they are warm & crispy, but two cost about $3.60 and the Aldi’s pork egg rolls are only about 50 cents per egg roll. I did buy a small jar of Duck Sauce, but am not happy with the flavor.
Once again, a Chinese Stir Fry at home, with an egg roll is one of the cheapest, healthiest, but still very delicious meals you can fix. I tried frying the Pork Egg Rolls at home and I don’t think it added much to the flavor. *I would prefer to buy the egg rolls at the Chinese restaurant and bring them home to eat.
Oh, and there was no Stolen left at Aldi’s and I went to at least two Aldi’s in Fayetteville and neither had the large white sugar coated dessert. I was told that “World Market” had Stolen so I went there on my way to Sprouts. I did find Stolen at World Market, but it was smaller than I remembered, and it was almost $10 per cake. I didn’t buy it.
The Duck Sauce packet shown above reminded me of another egg roll that I enjoyed regularly when I was attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1972/4. Usually on late nights when I was returning from a bar, or several, near Franklin Street, I would pass “Hectors, Famous Since 1969” and would stop in to buy a couple of their egg rolls. I think they included packets of Duck Sauce and Hot Mustard. I would take the warm bag of food back to my dorm, Aycock, and would pass “Silent Sam” on the way.
*As an aside, I recognized “Silent Sam” as being a Civil War Memorial to Confederate Soldiers but that was never his real purpose. “Silent Sam” was silent because he only shot his rifle when a virgin walked by, and was silent because there were never any virgins to walk by. **Not sure which is more offensive, to celebrate the Confederacy, or to insult virtuous women. Still, I doubt if anyone actually checked his weapon to see if the mechanism had rusted and no longer worked for that reason.
And on “egg rolls I have known,” the only other really, really good egg rolls I’ve ever had were at “Good Luck” near the corner of Ramsey Street and Tokay Drive. They only had a few booths inside, but they had gigantic rolled egg rolls that had a crispy fried shell. I think someone once told me they were double fried, whatever that meant.
And Google AI is so informational: “Double frying an egg roll is done to achieve maximum crispiness by allowing the initial fry to cook the filling while removing excess moisture from the wrapper, then the second fry at a higher temperature creates a crispier, more evenly browned exterior without overcooking the inside.” **I wonder if I could double fry those store bought egg rolls to get a crispier exterior?
The other thing I recall is that there was a giant Chinese take-out box on a post in front of the restaurant with the name “Good Luck” on it. I’m pretty sure it might have rotated at one time, but I never saw it in operation. *And after several years they went out of business. I think the old Chinese gentleman who was the cook may have either retired or died. **The location has been a combo Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins restaurant for many years now.
I made some more good “chicken stir fry” again tonight. I forgot to add the white sesame seeds, but surprisingly, the okra and asparagus incorporated very well. I’ve added asparagus previously without any okra, and the flavor was minorly distracting. But neither the okra nor the asparagus fought the finished product.
Chicken tenders (cubed)
Asparagus (large diced)
Bell Pepper (colored, cubed)
Broccoli (small florets – did not have)
Carrot (sliced)
Okra (sliced)
Onion (chunked)
Pineapple (chunked)
Pasta (Angel Hair)
Water Chestnuts (cubed but sliced preferred)
S&P
Toasted Sesame Oil
Sesame Seeds (forgot)
Soy Sauce
Teriyaki Sauce
Lime Juice
Agave Nectar
Splenda
Red Pepper Flakes
And this is the marinated pork stir fry. I added the Hot Chili Crisp, but I forgot the pineapple.
[NOTE 05/18/25]: It has been quite a few years since I had the egg rolls at “Good Luck” in Fayetteville, North Carolina and the location has been a combo Dunkin Donuts & Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Shop for many years. But, I’ve filed those large, crispy, flavorful on the outside and inside egg rolls as the best egg rolls I’ve ever had. It seems to me that two of those egg rolls made a meal.
For many years, while living and working in Fayetteville, I enjoyed many lunches at Hunan Garden on Raeford Road near the Harris Teeter. It even changed ownership and I still liked the food, but then it changed ownership again, and I sat in a booth and said to myself, “I thought I liked the…” and then I realized that I hadn’t changed but they just didn’t fix it in a way that was delicious to me. They also changed to policy where I could ask for steamed veggies instead of a mound of white rice (type 2 diabetic). That was a surprise, I asked my waitress if I could make that substitution and she said, “no.” I had to think a while and kept trying to convince myself that I had made that substitution many times before. I even asked at the register if it was possible to substitute veggies for rice and was told the policy was “no.” I then realized that the flavor of the food and the relaxed substitution policy were gone… and I’ve not been back since and that is probably 5 years or more. Before COVID. If they ever got new ownership I would try it again, and I do check periodically online to see if the reviews have changed. I just checked the reviews again, and they were either Oh well. 5 years old or a mix of excellent or horrible. I’m guessing that they are still horrible. And they were so good for many, many years.
My favorite Chinese restaurant is currently located in Asheboro, North Carolina and is called “No. 1 China Buffet.” They have several items that are reminiscent of other good Chinese buffet restaurants I’ve visited throughout my years. Hibachi Grill in Fayetteville has many items that are delicious, but I’ve stopped going there since COVID. I may have been once, or twice but I just don’t go there. [end NOTE]
Every once in a while, I start reviewing some old music videos on YouTube, and one of them is ELO (the Electric Light Orchestra) with Jeff Lynn. The video is of the band playing “Showdown” from 1973. The band is standing on the south side of the Thames, and their background is the Thames and St. Paul’s Cathedral across the river. This is a long time before the Millienum Bridge was built.
Below, approximately where the band would have been located in the above video (before Millineum Bridge).
Above, looking back at the Tate Museum from on the Millenium Bridge.
There is a “Meltdown Festival” celebrated at Southbank Centre, and apparently this is the 29th year of the celebration, and the singer, performer Chaka Kahn is “curating” this year’s festival (whatever that means). So, seeing Chaka Kahn reminds me that I saw her at a Louisville Redbirds (minor league baseball team for Louisville, KY) back in 1983. Apparently the Redbirds had just come to Louisville the previous year, and in 1983 they set an attendance record of over a million visitors. I’m not sure if Chaka Kahn sang the National Anthem at this game, or if it was another game, but I was there, with some friends (fellow students from Southern Seminary, where I was attending). We went in one gate at the stadium, but heard that the millionth customer had come in a different gate and they had received some attention & gifts for being the millionth customer at the game that year. *I just read that that league went out of business, and the Redbirds ended up at a different town, and representing a different ML team now. Louisville now has a minor league team called “The Bats” and they are now affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds. **I recall sitting in the stadium, and blowing a little, plastic, red “bird” promotional whistle.
I was walking down the isles of the IGA grocery store in Benson, NC several years ago, and “Showdown” began to play on the store audio. I love the beat and energy of this song… couldn’t have told you who did the song, at the time, or even who Jeff Lynn was, but since, went online, watched/listened to several of the groups videos, and now can at least remember Jeff Lynn. This was the same IGA, and might have been the same day that I ended up buying some Honeycrisp apples there, for the first time. These apples had a distinctive, and delicious flavor. I was on my way through town (Benson) and am not sure where I was heading, but made a point to come back through Benson on my way back to Fayetteville so that I could stop at the IGA and buy some more Honeycrisp apples.
So I went into the IGA and picked out four large Honeycrisp apples and took them up to the register. The clerk rang up the 4 apples. That’s all I was buying, and she said, “That will be $10.25.” The price for the four apples caught me by surprise. I realized, and I think I said, “That’s more than $2.50 per apple.” A quarter more than $2.50 each, but they were good, and “this time,” I went ahead and bought the four apples. This was a few years before paying that much for a grocery item would become the norm.
These apples were extremely large, and most apples that are offered today (at the groceries I regularly shop at) are much smaller. I fell out of love with the Honeycrisp because they continued to be “over priced” and the distinctive flavor wasn’t the same, or as pleasant as the first ones that I tried.
Well, “Small World, Long Time.” My thoughts, as expressed elsewhere, are that with all the stuff we do, or can do, in a lifetime, most of it is relatively meaningless. And, the American political climate has changed so drastically, from what I grew up with as a child and into much of my adult life. The Republican Party had the “high moral ground,” for many issues. But that has changed drastically. With the backing of Donald Trump, the Republican Party became similar to an alien race that comes to Earth, takes over, and says, “The Sun rises in the West. Oranges are blue,” and any number of items that are so “wrong” as to not be supportable, by me, in any form. It is as if labelling a person or belief as being “Republican” automatically makes it right and completely defensible, and even supportable… when they/it are NOT. I’ve still got friends that think Donald Trump is “the greatest thing since sliced bread.” And, it boggles my mind how they can still see him that way. I think Trump is a major threat to America and the American Way. *How can anyone justify in any way the attack by low-life pieces of shit Republicans on the US Capitol on January 6th? On that day, Trump is on camera telling people to go down to the Capitol in support of him. And when things get so out of hand and become so violent at the Capitol, Trump does nothing to step in to bring things in line, as they should be, and doesn’t even send someone down to protect His VP, Pence. It is obvious from his actions that day that he actually thought Pence should take action, and overturn the Election results, in Trump’s favor. What a piece of shit! The American Electoral System may not be perfect, but it has worked for hundreds of years,… before Donald Trump. And then he says, he was cheated out of the election… which is repeatedly never proven. But still he has supporters who would still, even enthusiastically vote him into the Whitehouse again. I DON’T GET IT! I only have one vote, and unless I go nuts, I would rather vote for an aged, or even dead, Joe Biden instead of a live Donald Trump. And that is even with the sorry assed way Joe Biden has handled (mishandled) the Southern Border crisis. I don’t understand that by Biden, and if the Republican Party offered any viable candidate for President, I would easily vote Republican instead of the decrepit Joe Biden. Biden shouldn’t be running for another term as US President. He is TOO OLD, and I AM OLD.
I came along after “sliced bread” so sliced bread was the norm for me. It was always white bread, perhaps Merita, Sunbeam or Wonder Bread. The cheese was usually sharp from Kraft or yellow American cheese for sandwiches. Dukes mayonnaise, Frenches yellow mustard, Heinz or Hunts ketchup and sometimes Miracle Whip dressing. Not sure, but it was probably Mount Olive Pickle Relish that would go into our potato salad. There were no Vidalia (sweet) onions.
Today was Homecoming at Red Branch Baptist Church, near Carthage, NC. Jeff Mitchell has been pastor there for several years. Formerly, he pastored a church down near Lumberton, North Carolina. I saw a sign hanging at the front of the church that said “102” so I am presuming that this was their 102nd Homecoming.
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit today. Ray Sharpe, my cousin, had been invited by Jeff to provide the music during church. Ray and his daughter, Elle, performed several songs and the congregation appreciated their music and gave applause after several ditties.
At one point I turned, looking back from my pew, and saw Ann “Gibson Hines” Graham coming toward me, with her husband, Billy Graham (a slightly less famous one) who I had not met before today. We hugged and they sat just behind me. I thoroughly enjoyed talking with both Ann and her husband. Ann was a Gibson, not related to me, and had married E. J. Hines and had a long marriage with him, I guess mostly down in the Holly Ridge, Jacksonville, NC, Onslow County region of eastern NC.
But, I’m not focusing on the people in this article, but on the food. The fried chicken smelled wonderful as I stood in line. *It wasn’t as good as “the best fried chicken I’ve ever had,” which I had a the Seaboard Station Restaurant in Hamlet, NC, but it was good flavored fried chicken. The “best” fried chicken I had was just a couple of years ago, and when you consider that I had it at about age 68, you’ve got to either figure I’ve gone nuts “in my old age,” or it must have been pretty good fried chicken. And, the truth, which is subjective, is that their fried chicken was flavorful, and tender, and moist, and having gone quite a few times to this restaurant, they consistently fix some really good fried chicken. They also fix some good, thin cut, pork chops.
Seaboard StationThis is a picture of the best fried chicken I’ve ever tasted, in my life.
The carrot cake shown above is from Sara Lee, but she makes a good carrot cake. The thin cut pork chop also had good flavor. The steamed cabbage has a sweetness to it. I don’t think they put any seasoning meat, or bacon grease in these.
The other one is a broccoli salad, with mayo, and probably bacon and maybe dried cranberries. But I sat down with my plate of food and my diet drink and at some point put a spoonful of this broccoli casserole in my mouth and what a wonderful surprise. I think what was most surprising was the texture of the casserole. It seemed like it might have been whipped because, and I don’t think I’ve ever described any other casserole as “fluffy.” Sort of a savory type of Heavenly Hash, which is a sweet dessert dish, but this was a savory casserole. *I even went back for the last remaining helping of the broccoli casserole, which I put in a plastic dessert bowl, and then added several other desserts.
I asked who had made this dish and no one seemed to know, or they weren’t “fessing up” if they did know. *I’ve now gone online looking for a recipe which might produce this casserole, and I haven’t found it yet. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the broccoli wasn’t in large, or even small florets, but I wondered if everything had been “blended” in some way. Could it be whipped cream added to the mixture? Would baked whipped cream even keep it’s fluffy texture? I don’t know who, but let me say, to whomever made this dish, YOU DID EXTREMELY GOOD!!! I like food, and I’ve had a bunch of good food in my life, and I’ve even fixed a lot of good food in my life, but this broccoli casserole would be right up there with “the best fried chicken I’ve ever had.” And, to “surprise” an old man. I’m 70 years old. Is rare. But this was a welcome surprise.
NOTE [05/21/24]: It was only at the end of my googling that I noted a comment that this casserole wasn’t “low cal.” I hadn’t thought of that at all. I was just focused on how delicious this was. So, this would be something that I shouldn’t fix a lot of, nor eat a lot of. But, it was sooooo good. [end NOTE]
NOTE [05/23/24]: I’m not sure I’ve ever thought to put a little water in the microwave onion cooker when I cook a potato, but I did this time and it turned out great. I cooked a small white potato and it ended up moist, and great for mashing. *I think I’ve always used either margarine or some kind of oil, and maybe chopped onion. I have put cinnamon & margarine on a sweet potato.
I’ve cooked a potato in the microwave and then rolled the outside in a saline solution, then finished it in the oven. This forms a thin, salty, crispy crust.[end NOTE]
Here are links to some broccoli casserole recipes that might be similar to “the best I ever had.”
I had googled for different restaurants in Goldsboro because I had come to the conclusion that I couldn’t justify going to my old standby, the Longhorn Steakhouse Restaurant and having my old standard, a hamburger with lobster/crab soup and eating a whole loaf of the bread they give you as an appetizer. Even if you don’t eat any of the hamburger bun and justify the whole loaf of bread in that way. Longhorn is in front of the Berkley Mall and I have the shortest route to it from Fayetteville tattooed on my psyche.
I have even taken some sweet pickles (because they only serve dill slices) and extra slices of sweet onion because they only put on a single ring of onion on the burger. The Goldsboro restaurant seems to consistently have the best tasting soup, although I have tried the soup in Fayetteville and Southern Pines.
But after I looked at the nutritional value and calorie totals, this meal would have easily been over 1K. The loaf of bread alone would have probably totaled 500 calories. And, I consider 700 calories for a meal to be very high.
So, the initial google listed several local diners that looked like they had the good country breakfasts like I had at the Rainbow for years. In the end, I pulled over shortly before entering the Goldsboro city limits and found the Laughing Owl. One of the photos looked extremely delicious. It looked like an oriental chicken dish, with hot peppers, and it was served with some rice. When I got there, my waitress was new (I don’t know how new.) and I showed her a picture of the dish I wanted. She wasn’t sure of what dish this was on the menu so she went back and asked the chef. I think the suggestion was that it was a Garlic Kang Pow Chicken dish that had peanuts. *I don’t like peanuts in my Asian dishes, but I do like peanuts in all their various forms, and I’m not allergic to them, except for one time several years ago, at Russ & Deborah’s when Jeff Mitchell have me some peanut butter candy. I think it had “turkey” in it’s name and it was like a brittle toffee. I ate a bite and was watching TV by myself in the living room. At some point, I realized that my throat was beginning to close up so I stopped eating the candy and sat there quietly hoping my throat would stop closing. It did stop closing and I didn’t eat any more and I haven’t had any problem with an allergic reaction to any peanut variations since.
I ordered a cucumber salad with the meal. The meal was disappointing. The peanuts were a distraction and the entree wasn’t spicy although there were a couple of red hot peppers (hard even after being cooked). The rice was good. The chicken was tender with a sweet sauce. I ate half and asked for a “to go” box. I ate the rest at home before dinner, when I had a pared down liver & onions, with steamed cabbage & cauliflower and one disk of polenta which I heated in the microwave.
After lunch I drove out to my favorite location to watch the jets take off and land at SJAFB. There is a road that “dead ends” at a fence that runs along one side of the runway. In the winter and as long as the summer crops aren’t tall enough to block the view, it is a good place to be self-entertaining.
There is a Little Lending Library in a nearby neighborhood, from Berkley Mall, that I have left a few books there before. I may have even taken one from there, but don’t actually recall, but today I just left one, “Two Kinds of Truth.”
I didn’t drive directly back to Fayetteville along Hwy. 13, but took a circuitous route that included Pikeville and Smithfield.
Here was the Pikeville Book Exchange.
I even turned into this “Gander Lake” housing development. The sign says these homes start at the high $200K range. This is funny because near Fuquay Varina there is one development I pass that says their homes start at the low $500K range, and they don’t look any different from these (to me). Don’t know what kind of jobs these people are going to have to be able to actually afford to live in these homes. May be like the mortgage loans fiasco several years ago where people were given loans that they really were never going to be able to afford. But who cares as long as the Developers and Bankers make their money up front. *I never actually saw a lake from the ground, but there may be one at the back of the development. Not sure if anyone living in the development actually has access to this small body of water.
I was trying to find a new business in Benson that I had seen advertised on TV. Seems like it was a man & woman, maybe married and it was either a produce or meat business. I couldn’t remember their business name (was their first names I think), or exactly what kind of business (probably a butcher with various types of meat). I ended up stopping at Lee’s Produce, and they had tomatoes, various onions and some potted flowers. I bought some cheap heirloom tomatoes and have had one at home, at its not the worst or the best tomato I have ever had. A Campari or some of those grape tomatoes from Wegman’s have better flavor, still I could make a palatable tomato & bacon sandwich, which I might do tomorrow.
This was Lee’s Produce, but this Street View as taken when they weren’t “in season.” The woman that waited on me told me they had a place at the Raleigh State Farmers’ Market. I recalled the Lee’s name, and also Tarts. I think I’ve bought peppers & other veggies at both.
I’m thinking the business might have been Lee’s Fresh Market which has all sorts of good looking meats.
I bought this peppered bacon at Lee’s and finally cooked some of it this morning (95/30/24). It was very flavorful. Delicious! *But I had also bought some pork chops there, and they had “boar taint,” and were just unpleasant to eat. They weren’t poisoned, but just smelled “off.”
I found “The DROP” at B.J.’s Bookstore in Fayetteville, NC last week. Unfortunately, it was a paperback edition, on medium greyish paper, and although I am about 70 pages into it, the smaller print & darker background makes the reading less pleasant. *I’ve been looking, this morning, to see if I can find an online copy that won’t cost an “arm and a leg” to read, but if not will muddle through the paperback. (Also bought hardback copies of “The Burning Room” and “The Black Box.”) All three were $3 each, and I had a good long talk with the male owner of the book store (I guess he owns it, and the woman, might be his wife.) “The Burning Room” is another Bosch story that I have already seen on TV, and like “The Wrong Side of Goodbye,” I don’t feel like reading this since the TV version is still strong in my mind, and also from a Bosch period that I don’t much want to revisit.
Having said that, I am now reading “The DROP,” and Harry’s partner is Chu.
Harry is called in at the special request of Councilman Irvin Irving, because Irving’s 40 something years old son has dropped from the 7th floor of the Chateau Marmont hotel. George Irving has made a big splash, but Harry isn’t sure if Irving has committed suicide, or if he had assistance by someone else in making his final leap. And there is a play on the word “drop.” Harry is going to be forced to retire, according to the DROP and George Irving lying dead at the northwest corner of the Marmont, has made the drop. Truly nothing yet has been revealed to make anyone think that George has done anything other than commit suicide, for what reason or reasons we do not know, but the bed in his room is untouched, his clothing neatly hung on hangers in the closet, a black button off his white dress shirt on the floor, a white robe on the back of his balcony chair, and a digital clock lying on the floor. Harry doesn’t think “accident” even though the balcony has a low lying railing.
The Chateau Marmont may have been mentioned in some other Bosch novel, or TV episode, because maybe a couple of years ago, I went online and viewed the area where this hotel is located. And, from another Bosch story, I recognized the commercial complex in which “The Crush,” an exercise business is located a short distance down Sunset Blvd.
Chateau Marmont
There are great pictures of the Chateau Marmont online and especially of the side of the hotel in which this story has started. Oh, John Belushi died in this hotel, and Led Zepplin were raucous in one of the bungalows.
LAPD Police Academy Elysian Park
LAPD Headquarters – Downtown LA
The Bradbury Building on 3rd St.
Charlie Chaplin Statue in Bradbury Building, Los Angeles, CA
Charlie Chaplin, “the Tramp” StatueRobert Culp, Outer Limits “Demon with a Glass Hand”
Harry and Kiz have a clandestine meeting at the Charlie Chaplin Statue in the Bradbury Building. *”The Night Strangler” film, from 1973, a precursor to the series, “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” (only 1 season) was filmed partially in the Bradbury Building, although the character’s situ was supposed to be Chicago.
The LA Times Building. Across the street, to the left, is LAPD Headquarters. Behind this view is The City Hall.
Chinatown Entrance on Broadway
Harry has just found out that his partner, Chu, may have shared private case info with “GoGo,” an LA Times reporter. Not something a detective should be doing for any reason. But, I can see where “lone wolf” Harry Bosch doesn’t inspire loyalty with his partner, especially this partner. Harry has treated Chu like a mushroom… keeping him in the dark and shoveling shit on top. *But, should Harry have shared private case info, regarding autopsy results, with a reporter friend of his, in “The Black Ice?”
I enjoyed watching the “Morse” episodes, and there are parallels between Endeavor Morse and Hieronymus Bosch. Morse kept his partners, like Lewis, “in the dark” but I guess that goes with being the more intuitive & experienced partner in a relationship. Neither Morse nor Bosch have any real success with women. I look forward to reading the early Bosch novels to see where Bosch marries Eleanor Wish (post FBI and prison for her). I know the marriage doesn’t take place in the first two novels because I’ve read those. I know Eleanor dies in “The Nine Dragons.” And I don’t recall the novel where Harry actually figures out that he has a four year old daughter, Mads, that Eleanor hasn’t even told him about. Not a great relationship or commitment by either Harry or Eleanor. Definitely not something to be copied to have success in a “good” marriage.
Maybe Morse and Bosch are “idiot savants” regarding their insights into solving cases. But, they are idiots at relationships, especially with women. And being that way, no wonder they spend inordinate amounts of time on cases, and not developing outside, intimate relationships.
The Standard on W. Sunset Blvd.
I guess the Standard is no more, because the signage is turned upside down (see below).
The setup and attack by Pell on Hardy in the Sheriff’s transport is reminiscent of someone else who manipulated their arrest and then stabbed (???) someone to death in a holding cell, although I don’t recall which other novel in which that scenario was included. Also, it was a little bit of a stretch to think that Pell would have been strategically placed directly behind Hardy on the transport.
[NOTE 04/08/24]: I was watching an episode of “the Rookie” yesterday and there was a prisoner bus accident where the bus went over an embankment. I immediately recognized the location as being very near the LAPD Police Academy at Elysian Park. They also have a drone fly-over at Echo Park that is iconic.
I am pleased regarding my geographic education of Los Angeles which has resulted from my reading of the Bosch novels, and my follow-up online of the area of Google Maps and Street View. As much of the layout that I now know, I still don’t think I would want to live in L.A… or New York, Chicago or even Atlanta… Dallas or D.C. [end NOTE]
Sesmark makes at least two different Sesame Rice Crackers, and I like the flavor of them both. But, a short time ago, I found some Black Sesame Rice Crackers at Whole Foods in Raleigh, and bought a bag of them. They had an even more distinct flavor that went really well with the Wegman’s Intense Brie. The Capricho de Cabra and the Bucheron Goat Cheeses are semi-soft and mildly tart and these would go well with either of these rice crackers. They also go well with raspberry jam.
Now I like liver, liver pudding/mush, liver pate, beef/calf liver, chicken livers, all types of liver. I especially like the flavor of Nueske’s Smoked Liver Pate. This will go good with the rice crackers also.
I forget how easy it is to fix a stir fry using my electric wok. The prep time is relatively short, just chopping up some veggies and a little chicken (maybe beef or shrimp sometime). I have added zucchini and grape tomatoes this time. I chop up some onion, carrots, and sweet bell pepper (yellow or red). I’ve added some avocado oil & toasted sesame oil to the wok first and then let it heat up, which occurs very quickly. Add the chicken chunks first and toss them. They probably cook in two minutes or less. Then add all the other veggies, some sesame seeds, soy sauce, ground ginger, ground pepper, red pepper flakes and S&P. And perhaps some agave nectar and even some pineapple chunks.
The above is an electric wok by Breville which costs about $180. I’ve seen some electric woks for as little as $29, and probably about $60 would probably get a nice one. You need a heat proof spatula that won’t scratch the wok’s surface when you are stirring the assorted veggies & meat.
Clean-up, a breeze.Chicken Stir-Fry 03/26/24
And after cooking, cleanup is a breeze. You just need to spray in some water and add a little Dawn Dishwashing Detergent and swish it about. Scrape with the spatula any burnt-on fragments on the wok’s surface, and then dry with a paper towel.
Something like this would be a great gift for a guy going off to college. That is if he was allowed to cook in his dorm room. The other gift might be a Braun Multiquik Tool, which includes a whisk, stick blender & food chopper. Make sure you buy a powerful enough motor so that it can blend a full can of garbanzo beans for making hummus. This blender setup is also good for making salsa. Throw in a can of diced Fire Roasted tomatoes, add a few chipotle peppers, some sweet colorful bell pepper, some sweet onion and maybe some cilantro leaves. Add ground cumin, some ground cayenne pepper, some sweetener and/or agave nectar, and some lime juice. Oh, I also like to add some Salsa Ranchera sauce by Herdez. Get a bag of tortilla chips and have at it.
Hummus is ground garbanzo beans, lemon/lime juice, some ground cumin and/or whole cumin seeds, S&P and some olive oil. Add water if necessary to thin the hummus. You can add tahini which is fermented sesame seeds. Once you have your homemade hummus, you can chop up some sweet bell pepper, some sweet onion, slice some carrots, and some grape tomatoes. I especially like smoked oysters with my hummus, and sometimes add the oil that the oysters come in, into the hummus.
Do we need a rice cooker? I don’t because of my Type 2 Diabetes, but rice with the stir fry would be great, and even more filling.
Now that I think about it, the Braun Multiquik blender requires no heating or cooking to make salsa or hummus.
Need a set of Tupperware w/ Easy Find Lids, a cutting board for on top of the small fridge. Prep the food on the cutting board, place in Tupperware containers, clean the cutting board and put the food chopper on the cutting board.
[NOTE 03/26/24]: This has nothing to do with the above article. I fried one of the pork chops I bought at the IGA in Snow Hill. When it was done, I cut it in half (one half had the bone in) and ate the half with the bone, saving the rest. I had some grits left over, so I put some on the plate, mashed them down flat, and put them in the microwave. I also added some cold cabbage slaw to the plate. Oh, almost forgot. I had fixed some giant lima beans previously, with some country ham bits. Heated the beans and they were delicious. This all worked really well.
The chicken stir-fry above had just a little hot pepper, cauliflower and pineapple. Of these three, I think the pineapple was the only good choice. This had toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, agave nectar, a little Splenda and some sesame seeds. I did have some asparagus, sweet red bell pepper, onion and carrots. I like broccoli, but didn’t add it here. I think either broccoli or asparagus, but not both. The agave nectar may have caused some of the veggies to stick to the bottom. I am soaking the wok with a little water and some Dawn Dishwashing Soap.
Bill Gibson, II 