I drop into the IGA in Lillington, North Carolina, every so often, when I am passing through. Actually, I have to make a slight detour because I am normally going between Fayetteville and Raleigh on Hwy. 401, and this IGA is on Hwy. 421. If I was going to/from Sanford, or to/from Raven Rock State Park, then I would be on Hwy. 421, but there are also lots of winding country roads along the way.
One of my early reasons for stopping into this IGA was that they carried the cheap cans of Polar Smoked Oysters. But, that was when those cans were either a dollar or $1.25 each. They no longer carry those.
My last visit, I bought some Bright Leaf Bacon, which is often the cheapest bacon sold at various stores, but I find it consistently good bacon. I think it was only $4.99 per package (1 lb.) and I bought a couple. *And remember, “a couple” means “two,” like in “two makes a couple.”
If I haven’t visited this grocery in a while, I might forget how impressed I can be with the look & feel of their “green grocer” section. The fresh vegetables section.
Beans, beans, beans.Ken’s Salad DressingsAssortment of veggies.
They have other food, including a BBQ chicken wing counter nearby, but the IGA in Erwin has a better selection of wings.
I saw they had a large selection of dried beans & peas. I took pictures and fed them through ChatGPT for the following table:
Type
Brand
Price ($)
Baby Lima Beans
Best Choice
2.28
Black Beans
Best Choice
1.48
Blackeye Peas
IGA
1.98
Cranberry Beans
Super Star
1.84
Field Peas
Super Star
1.28
Great Northern Beans
Best Choice
1.96
Great Northern Beans
IGA
3.25
Great Northern Beans
Super Star
3.18
Green Baby Lima Beans
Super Star
2.73
Large Lima Beans
Best Choice
2.48
Large Lima Beans
Dixie Lily
2.75
Lentils
Super Star / Best Choice
1.30
Mixed Beans
Best Choice
1.58
Navy Beans
Best Choice / IGA
1.39
Pearled Barley (Quick)
Quaker
2.85
Pinto Beans
HamBeens (Artificial Ham Flavor)
2.98
Pinto Beans
IGA
1.18
Pinto Beans
Super Star
2.18
Red Kidney Beans
Super Star
3.20
Yelloweye Peas
Super Star
3.20
15 Bean Soup Mix
HamBeens
3.19
Someone takes special care in displaying all the items in this section. The other thing I noted during this visit was that the actual quality of the produce seemed to be better. But this comment is from someone that noticed when, a few years ago, Food Lion started selling smaller colored sweet bell peppers at the same price they had been selling larger ones, $1.49. And WalMart sells them at that same price. I’m not sure how much the larger bell peppers would have cost. Maybe $2@.
I’ve written about this type of change-up at the grocers regarding the size of yogurt containers (many years ago) and Spaghetti Sauce Starters (e.g. Hunts, DelMonte, Rao). The small yogurt containers may have held 6 oz. of yogurt and then they were resized to about 4.5 oz. Hunts & DelMonte sold their starter sauces at $1 per can, but then one of them started selling a slightly smaller can at the same price.
Oh, and RAO was never part of that because they were selling their glass jar of starter sauce at $9. But, they do have a better starter sauce, and I justified buying that by only using a half jar of Rao’s for making my spaghetti sauce at home.
For years, I made spaghetti sauce at least once a month, but having gotten more serious about my Blood Glucose Levels & A1C, I have severely cut back on the number of times I have pasta, and much smaller portions also.
NOTE [10/08/25]: I’ve recently been fixing a small side dish of medium pasta shells (50 shells per serving) with a little RAO’s Marinara Sauce. Oh, and I cool the pasta before reheating, in order to produce some “resistant starch.” It may only be about 7% RS3, but every little bit helps. [end NOTE]
I liked starting with a starter sauce and adding a can of diced roasted garlic tomatoes. Dicing up some onion and yellow or red bell peppers and adding some ground beef and or maybe Italian sausage. And because Italian sausage has fennel seeds, I add more fennel seeds. Garlic powder, red pepper flakes, some sweetener, and S&P. For years I added a small can of mushroom pieces, but that has fallen out of flavor favor.
“A couple” means “two,” like in “two makes a couple.” A few years ago I was travelling down in Florida and stopped at a Hardees Restaurant. A young man asked me for my order and I said, “I would like a couple of hamburgers.” His reply confused me, “And will that be two or three,” as he quizzically looked back at me. I didn’t say anything and he brought me two hamburgers. How could someone not know that “a couple” meant “two?” But then a few years later I was ordering “a couple of eggs” for breakfast at Famous Toastery in Southern Pines, North Carolina. My young waitress then asked me, “Will that be two or three eggs.” If I had asked for “a few” eggs, I might understand the follow-up question, but once again “a couple means two.” But, she never got that message and others had the same misunderstanding. And when I was at Famous Toastery ordering breakfast, I would have to stop and instead of asking for “a couple of eggs,” I would change the way I ordered and say, “I would like two eggs.”
Through the years, when I was growing up, and mom and I would pass this place, she would usually mention that Governor Lindsay Russell, a distant relative, was buried up on the hill. I don’t ever recall us actually stopping to visit his grave. That would occur many years later, probably long after mom had died. Mom died in December of 1981.
I don’t recall when I first drove up on the hill and walked around Governor Russell’s gravesite. His wife is also buried there. There was an ornate wrought iron fence & gate surrounding their graves. But as I visited at later times, I would note that someone had removed much of the wrought iron. I remember, and have a picture somewhere, of a closeup of the wrought iron gate. I noted that there was a dog’s head as part of the gate.
Palo Alto Plantation – Swansboro-Belgrade Road, Onslow County, North Carolina
After Daniel Russell’s mother died, he came to live with his maternal grandfather at Palo Alto Plantation. I seem to recall reading that he had his own pony that he rode around the plantation. He had a black nanny and that was one reason for his attention to slaves. I think he also attended a military academy.
Years ago, probably at least 20 years, I became interested in my family’s genealogy. I then came across a posting online (early Web) that said there were images of David Ward Sanders & his wife, Alice Mitchell. They were the owners of Palo Alto Plantation, and Daniel Russell’s grandparents. I ended up spending $10 for each TIF image, which I sent to Tennessee to the Daughters of the American Revolution, and they mailed two CDs back to me. They had taken photos of two large oil paintings of the Sanders, and these were part of a publication of famous persons.
When he was running for Governor, the News and Observer Newspaper published several “racist” cartoons of Russell, one in which he had long claw like fingers.
Governor Russell was a Republican governor, who was sandwiched between two Democratic governors. He wrote that when he and his wife arrived at the Governor’s Mansion in Raleigh, it had been left in a mess with empty alcohol bottles thrown about. He made a resolution to leave the Mansion is a better condition for his successor, which he did. Charles B. Aycock was Russell’s successor, and they had a much better relationship than Republicans and Democrats do currently. I think they focused upon both being lawyers and the things they had in common. *I stayed in Aycock dorm when I attended UNC-Chapel Hill. Years later the name “Aycock” would be removed from this dorm due to Aycock’s racist activities.
After becoming Governor, he was returning to the Wilmington, North Carolina area in order to place his vote. It was revealed to him that some of the “Maxton Red Shirts,” planned to kidnap him from the train he was riding, and perhaps do even worse. But, Governor Russell outwitted these “hooligans,” and exited the train at one stop earlier than he had planned and the Red Shirts were left wondering where he was.
NOTE: I think it is a shame that this Governor’s resting place is so neglected. *The image of Daniel Lindsay Russell shown above is from family photos and is probably before he became the Governor, and while he was practicing law in Wilmington.
One of my earliest Christmas memories is of going up to a store at Palo Alto. Mom bought me a Tonka Cement Mixer toy from the store and I got it as a present for that Christmas. No, I don’t recall which Christmas it was, but that is the earliest toy I recall that I know was a Christmas present.
We would usually have Egg Nog, probably from Maola Milk Company, and a real Christmas tree. We would watch “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” on TV.
*I also recall the story that Burl Ives once stopped his boat in Swansboro while travelling the Intracoastal Waterway, maybe to gas it up, but he was impolite, and the people he was impolite to, did not appreciate his impoliteness.
The images below remind me of Christmases I celebrated as a child.
Reader’s Digest: Magic Foods for Better Blood Sugar
One of those books that I must have found at a library book sale for a buck or two. It’s re-enforcing that my choices, for the most part are good and in line with eating better. There is a test on pp. 60-61 regarding my current eating habits, and I think I did pretty well… Yeah, I did. I just checked and I scored a 27 which was pretty good.
But I just read that Agave Nectar is terrible because it causes blood sugar spikes, and a quick google has found nothing positive about using it. But, somewhere inside, I feel that there is something special about AN. If nothing more, that it causes chocolate syrup or honey to dissolve in cold milk. *If you’ve ever tried putting either of those in cold milk you know that they don’t mix well. They fall to the bottom of the glass, but if you add a little Agave Nectar, and stir, they completely dissolve.
I’ve been enjoying the Greek Gods Yogurt with various fruits or fruit purees that I have made. I pureed some raspberries and added a little Splenda, or I pureed a persimmon and had that with the yogurt. And the other night I added some walnuts to the mix. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries. Loved it all.
I’ve been eating more oranges. Found the Cara Cara orange at Pate’s to be really flavorful. I bought a zester on Amazon and have actually zested several oranges before eating them. I put some of the zest in a sandwich bag and put it in the freezer, and some in a baggie just for current use. The current use is to add it to my Constant Comment hot tea for added citrus flavor.
*But, my goal was to have plenty of orange zest to go into the Dolce “K” Sweet Olive & Fruit Mix (Whole Foods) that I’ve learned to make at home. I haven’t gone back to my test batch that has been in the fridge for several weeks now. I don’t expect it to go bad, but who knows.
Recently, I’ve made some good Chorizo & Lentil Soup, and a good Seafood Chowder. I added more smoked paprika and regular paprika to some Spanish Chorizo (without the skin). I’ve got a basic ingredients list for the Seafood Chowder. The four seafood items currently include: cod fish, chopped clams, bay scallops and shrimp. I also include okra (fresh when I can or frozen), onion, potato, tomato & zucchini.
Since seeing Lee’s Fresh Market ad on TV, and then tracking them down just a couple of miles outside of Benson, North Carolina, I have shopped there repeatedly. It only takes me about 37 minutes one way, back through Erwin to get there. The two things I’ve bought the most there have been their Pepper Bacon and their Thick Cut Pork Chops. As long as the pork chops are on sale, what a deal! I can make at least 3 meals out of each pork chop. If they are a pound each, and even with the bone, you are still going to get a 3.5 or 4 ounce chunk of meat, and they are delicious when broiled in the oven.
[02/08/25]: And, I just broiled one tonight. I found two packages like the one shown above in my freezer and took one out to thaw. I only cooked one for dinner, but yes they still make about 3 meals. Amazing to me how quickly it cooks, being as thick as it is. I think it took about 10 minutes on the first site and then I flipped it for maybe another 4 or 5 minutes and it was done. The meat is still tender & moist on the inside with just a few charred edges, and it’s not raw, but just slightly pink on the inside. I’m now in my Asian seasonings era, so the English cucumber had some Spicy Chili Crisp Oil, Toasted Sesame Oil, Red Wine Vinegar, Splenda Sweetener & Soy Sauce. The Stir Fried Green Beans had Toasted Sesame Oil, Ground Ginger, Red Pepper Flakes and some Soy Sauce.
I look at the image below of the chicken gizzards and yes, they were good. But, I was thinking of buying some chicken livers and Stir Frying them along with some of the green beans. I had a couple of helpings of the Stir Fry Green Beans at the “No. 1 China Buffet” in Asheboro, North Carolina last week.
I picked up a container of chicken livers at the IGA across town this afternoon, but the outside of the container had bloody smears and I couldn’t make out whether the livers were fresh. I put them back thinking I would stop at the IGA in Eutah Shopping Center. That is where I had taken the picture below, previously, of the gizzards. Eggs and chicken prices have gone up, although ALDI’s still has a dozen eggs for under $5, but livers & gizzards are still reasonably priced. [end]
I’ve also bought a bunch of the Sanderson Farms Chicken Gizzards at IGA. They looked good in the store and they translated well in the pot. An earthy flavored delight, that goes well with blackeyed peas and well seasoned collards.
I wanted some collards and blackeyed peas for New Years Day. A little bacon grease starts either, but then I added a white potato to the canned collards. I don’t need to buy a large bunch of collards and cook them down for just one person. The blackeyed peas just need time to morf into something delicious with some chopped sweet onion. The onion goes good on the collards also.
I do eat a bunch of nuts, and some dried fruit. I don’t eat a bunch of dried fruit because of the extra sugars, but I like a couple of pitted prunes (the really moist, shiny dark ones), a pitted date every so often, a few raisins with some roasted pumpkin and walnut pieces. I like the wasabi/soy powder on the pumpkins seeds. I like almonds and cashews, and I love raw peanuts in the shell from Pate’s. I ate them repeatedly for about 3 months until they were no longer available.
I’ve been drinking “Bill’s Drink Mix & Some Real Juice” for months now, and almost every day finishing off a 1 Litre carafe. There are four ingredients in this drink and it doesn’t work for me if any one of them is missing. They include: orange juice, cranberry juice, Pomegranate Lemonade Mix, and Sweet Tea Mix, with water. The majority of this drink is water in which to dissolve the two flavor packets from WalMart.
I bought a new electric wok (Aroma from Amazon) recently, one as a test, and the other as a wedding gift. When I saw the quality of this purchase, I ordered the second one. I go through stages of eating a lot of stir-fries, and then none for a long time, but once I’m into it, they are so easy to prepare the basic ingredients, quick to cook, delicious to eat, and finally cleanup is a breeze.
I like both chicken & shrimp as my protein, but then I want sweet bell pepper, onion, carrots, and a little pineapple. Add some soy sauce and toasted sesame oil, some spicy chili crisp & a little Splenda. If you have the Stir Fry Vegetables great, and Sugar Snap or Snow Peas are icing on the stir fry. And I try to finish off with a slurry of corn starch. Although I love rice, I rarely have rice with my stir fry. I might include a few Angel Hair noodles in the stir fry to soak up some of the juices. *I have stopped by the local Chinese restaurant and picked up a couple of egg rolls to go with my stir fry. These are one of the few fried items I still eat, although some good fried chicken from the Seaboard Station in Hamlet is always appreciated.
I so want tortilla chips to be healthier because I can just imagine that all the ingredients I put in my homemade salsa are healthy: roasted garlic tomatoes, onion, roasted jalapeno & poblanos, some chipotle peppers, some Salsa Ranchera (Herdez) and a little Splenda.
I like making hummus at home. The basic ingredients include: garbanzo beans, tahini, cumin seeds, lemon juice (lime), olive oil and maybe some water to thin it out, if necessary. I like to eat hummus with carrot sticks, some sweet onion & sweet colorful bell pepper. I especially like eating smoked oysters with hummus. The problem is that hummus is high in calories.
I was getting a half loaf of whole wheat, multi-grain bread sliced at Publix and happened to look down and see a bag of Sourdough English Muffins. They looked good, but I knew that regular English muffins were horrible for blood sugar spikes. So, I quickly googled to see if sourdough was diabetic friendly. The AI said, “Yes,” so I bought both items. It has a lower GL than other breads.
I had bought some fresh ham at the Harris Teeter near Pharaoh’s Legacy across town. This ham was pre-sliced and I checked the price online and it was 1.5 lbs. @ $3.99. That’s a great deal. *I have found this ham also at LIDL, but currently it is about $6 for the 1.5 lbs. I divided the ham up when I got home and froze half. I then made an Egg McBill (like an Egg McMuffin, but at my home) using the sourdough muffin. I toasted the bread first, then added a slice on each side of Wegman’s White American Cheese. I heated a slice of the fresh ham, but because it started to “pop,” I only microwaved it for about 25 seconds. I also took a large egg and beat it in a bowl adding, Dulse, ground Long Pepper, salt, and garlic powder. I microwaved the egg for about a minute and a half. **I’ve now tried the Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain English Muffin and it was good, but I prefer the “Knock Your Sprouts Off” – Reduced Sodium, sprouted grain bread from Aldi’s.
I had already put half of the ham on each toasted, melted cheese side of the muffin and I dumped the cooked egg on one of those slices. I put the two halves together and went and ate a delicious Egg McBill. Or is that Bill McMuffin?
Forgive the messy look of this sandwich. The muffin started off distorted and I had to make all the other items fit, but take my word, “This was a very satisfying breakfast.”
I mentioned that the fresh ham was an excellent buy, as was the thick cut pork chops on sale, but another “good buy” is the whole rotisserie chicken at Harris Teeter. I like the meat better at HT than Publix, which tastes a little mealy, and costs about a dollar more. The HT Rotisserie Chicken costs about $7.99, but I can make from four to five meals from the one chicken. The last meal is probably a chicken salad.
*I can also use the chicken carcass & skin to make homemade chicken broth. I freeze some onion tops & bottoms, carrot ends & celery ends (stalk and tips). When I buy a rotisserie chicken I pull off the different meals and then pull off the remaining meat to make a chicken salad, but then I am left with the chicken skeleton. I put that along with any skin I have saved in my stock pot and add the frozen veggie leftovers, along with any fresh carrots, onions and/or celery that I might think is needed. Add some S&P, some garlic or garlic powder and any other seasonings and let it simmer for at least a couple of hours. Strain the broth into containers. I use empty Greek Gods Yogurt containers that have a good snap on lid. I think I filled about 4 containers full with a little left over last time. What’s left in the bottom of the stock pot looks like the refuse that gets caught in a flood.
I have found this Hatfield Ham at LIDL, I think, but I haven’t bought any in a long while because I think the sodium & fat are prohibitive.
Nutrition Facts
SERVING SIZE 3 OZ (84G)
SERV. PER CONTAINER 8
AMOUNT PER SERVING
CALORIES 110
CALORIES FROM FAT 35
% DAILY VALUE†
TOTAL FAT
3.5G
5
FAT FREE
0
SATURATED FAT
1G
5
TRANS FAT
0G
CHOLESTEROL
30MG
10
SODIUM
700MG
29
TOTAL CARB
3G
1
DIETARY FIBER
0G
0
SUGARS
3G
PROTEIN
14G
VITAMIN A
0
VITAMIN C
0
CALCIUM
0
IRON
2
†PERCENT DAILY VALUES ARE BASED ON A 2,000 CALORIE DIET.
I find it difficult to imagine that I’ve not got a page dedicated solely to the Round Bone Lamb Chop. Well, I find it difficult to imagine that I could write a whole posting dedicated solely to anything, as my mind goes off on one tangent after another. I will write something and it will remind me of something else, and something else, and something else…
But, here goes.
I now have a brand new “non-electric” wok from VinChef. It is beautiful on the inside and on her bottom.
I mentioned the “oven safe” wok first because it is perfect for broiling a couple of round bone lamb chops in the oven.
I’m not sure of the first time I ate a round bone lamb chop, but I definitely had several pleasant experiences eating a lunch special at Sherefe in downtown Fayetteville, North Carolina. They are no longer located there but they seared the lamb chop very well.
I do remember going to Sherefe for their round bone lamb chop lunch special one time. It must have been a long time since they had last offered this special, because I order it and when it arrived at my table I saw the char it had on the lamb chop and realized that it was exactly what I wanted. I guess I was expecting it to be boiled.
Sprouts – Australia
I saw a good looking lamb chop at Sprouts recently and took this picture of it. It’s not a “round bone” chop, and it’s from Australia and not New Zealand (as is Publix).
I may have even bought a round bone lamb chop at Sprouts, but normally I buy from Publix because they seem to have the freshest presentation, even though their Greewise brand is imported from New Zealand.
I was in Publix and was about to buy some dark, whole grain bread, and while at the counter, I noticed a package of Sourdough English Muffins. I quickly checked online asking, “Is sourdough diabetic friendly.” The answer came back, “Yes.” So, I took half a loaf of the dark, whole grain bread, and a package of 4 (I think.) sourdough English Muffins and headed to the checkout.
I fixed a homemade Egg McMuffin yesterday using one of the sourdough muffins and it was okay, but I didn’t toast the bread. I may have put the muffins in the microwave and melted the cheese slightly, but the sandwich was “lacking.” But I made a mental note that I should toast the bread in the oven.
I made another Egg McMuffin, at home this morning, and this time I toasted the Sourdough English Muffin in the oven first. I used the copper colored wire rack that Mary Ann had given me some time ago. After I got a little char on the bread, I added a slice, on each half of the muffin, of Wegman’s White American Cheese and let it melt a little while I was cooking the egg in the microwave. It takes about a minute and a half to get the egg just right. One minute and there might still be a little runniness, and add another 30 seconds and the egg is cooked, but not dry.
Somewhere late in the process, I put a slice of the fresh ham, that I had bought at HT (across town), in the microwave but because it started popping, I stopped the heating at only about 30 seconds. I rarely buy “fresh” ham and I did check the package before I bought this to see how much sugar was included and it said only 1% which I thought was very good. I didn’t think to check the salt content. This ham was already cooked and sliced just a little thicker than sandwich thickness. *I thought of using two slices, but then decided not to, and one slice was enough for this breakfast sandwich.
So, the sandwich was: top of sourdough English muffin, slice of White American cheese, slice of fresh ham, microwaved egg, slice of White American cheese and the bottom of the sourdough English muffin. I think I had some garlic powder, Dulse, and S&P on the egg, and a little olive oil, in the egg, and on the bottom of the microwave onion cooker.
This toasted egg, ham & cheese sandwich was delicious. It “hit the spot,” and I would definitely want to have this again.
The fresh ham I bought was a pretty good sized chunk of meat so I divided it up and froze two chunks in the freezer and had a small amount in a sandwich bag in the fridge. I already know that the dark, wheat bread I bought, even though I only bought a half loaf, is too much for me to finish before it goes bad. I still had a little of the French Baguette (LaFarm Bakery, but purchased at Whole Foods) left in a plastic bag but noticed it had become moldy so I threw it out. The Sourdough English Muffins are in the fridge. *And, I’ve just decided to half the half loaf of wheat bread and put half in the fridge also.
Hatfield Ham @ LIDL
*I see that online this 1.5 lbs. (24 oz.) ham is only $3.99. This seems like an excellent price to me. You could get six 4 oz. servings from this ham. *When I couldn’t get the Hatfield ham at HT I went looking elsewhere. I think I paid about $11 for the same sized package of ham (not Hatfield), but then I realized that the $3.99 price I quoted was probably NOT for the whole ham, but was a per pound amount. **And, I just checked and now HT is showing the 1.5 lbs. ham for $7.99 and that appears to be the total cost. It doesn’t say “per pound.” ***I liked the flavor and texture of the Hatfield ham better that what I bought at Walmart.
[NOTE 02/14/25]: Surprise, surprise! I was shopping in LIDL today and while looking across the meat section I saw that they sold Hatfield Ham. I saw what I wanted, and bought it. I want to see if the ham makes the difference when I am making my “Bill McMuffin.” [end NOTE]
SproutsHarris Teeter
While in the new HT, I also checked the availability and price of the Plain Greek Gods Yogurt (see above – 01/04/25). *And because HT has been out of the Plain Greek Gods Yogurt a couple of times, I went looking for another vendor. Sprouts has the Plain for about 20 cents more, but they have it.
I just had some of the plain Greek Gods Yogurt with some blackberry puree that I made. I added a few walnuts to this and it was even better.
Something I started yesterday was taking a small “shot” of red wine vinegar, turmeric, fenugreek powder, Splenda sweetener and a little water if needed, to thin this drink out. I’ve read before and in the “Magic Foods” book I’m currently reading, that vinegar can help regulate blood sugar. Feungreek may also have this sugar regulating control, and I don’t recall why advantages turmeric has, but I think the term is “Golden Milk,” when you mix a little turmeric powder with milk. When I add a little sweetener to that it reminds me of egg nog. Not exactly, but “on the road to.”
It seems that the mixture of vinegar, turmeric and fenugreek causes the mixture to coagulate. Maybe the fenugreek does this because I haven’t noticed that result when adding just turmeric to milk.
*I was “talking” with an AI, ChatGpt the other day about this drink and “out of the blue” it asked me if I had to shake up the jar when I took it out of the fridge. I didn’t prod it for this observation. From it’s vast databank, it knew that Turmeric did not mix with vinegar or water, and would settle in the bottom of that kind of mix. Sort of like when Gemini realized that I was setting up my 2001: A Space Odyssey HAL 9000 scenario. The can be sharp, and they can be an “Idiot Savant.”
I was driving over in another part of town, Fayetteville, North Carolina, last evening and saw something that I liked, a lot. I’ve known that an old service station facility, at least the outside where the gas pumps used to be, was being used for food trucks to park and sell their goods. There were seats outside with awnings & umbrellas for those who wanted to eat nearby. That was all well and good during the spring and summer months, but what I saw last night “warmed my heart.”
Okay, it would take a lot more to warm MY heart, but I looked over at this old gas station and realized that the lights were on inside, and I saw people sitting inside eating. Oh, my gosh! What a brilliant idea to not only provide seating during the warm months, but also provide comfortable seating, inside, during the cold months, or rainy days. Excellent!
I’m not sure what policies and restrictions apply to offer this indoor seating, when the actual cooking is going on outside in the trucks. But, what a way to use, unused buildings.
Posted comment in a Greater Fayetteville Business Journal article:
I lived over in this area for about 15 years, and have lived almost 30 years in Fayetteville since arriving in 1995. I banked just down the block with First Citizens since coming to town, and until Covid had my haircut regularly around the corner. There was a burger chain on the corner across the street, that’s been a pharmacy for quite a while now. All that to say, “I’ve passed this corner many times through the years, and I’ve seen the various changes.” I saw the various food trucks parked out front during the summer months, and noted the shaded seating. But last evening, I drove by and saw the lights on inside and people sitting down eating. I thought this was an excellent use of this facility. Customers could have a choice from the various trucks, and then if it was cold, or rainy, I guess, could sit comfortably inside. And, it has turned cold!
I knew Guy Fieri had ties to North Carolina, and that he was a “good guy,” but I didn’t expect to feel this good about him until this morning. I happened to start watching his 2nd Family Reunion which occurred at Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, but I haven’t checked to see how long ago. And not too far into this show, he became “family.” Not related by blood, but related by the love and memories of a special place.
It didn’t take long before he was reminiscing about his trips to Morehead City and how excited it made him feel when he saw the name “Morehead City” on a sign. I might not get that excited about seeing the name “Morehead City,” but I know those warm, homey feelings that I get when I think of all the good times my mother & I had down that way.
We would visit the old Civil War fort, “Fort Macon,” and I would be allowed to roam those grounds by myself. This was before certain areas of the Fort were restricted to the public, because they were dangerous. Pitch black rooms and corners, and uneven broken & worn floor bricks. No electric lights in those dank, dark rooms. Looking through the small gun port holes across the muddy moat. This was long before several rooms were renovated with wooden plank floors, the windows encased in plastic, and air conditioning added. But still long after the Civil War ended.
The reunion group visited Guy’s grandparent’s old house. Someone else owns it now, but Guy had a picture from years ago, and I know where the house is located because you go near or past it, if you are either going over the bridge to Atlantic Beach from the Morehead City side, or heading on to the business district of Morehead City and on over the bridge, and the new bridge to Beaufort. “Bow”fort is North Carolina, and “Bew”fert is South Carolina.
I love ice cream. How about visiting “El’s” Drive-In for a banana split? So many years ago, it seems like it was a Sunday afternoon and mom and I might have just come from Fort Macon. We stopped at “El’s” and I ordered a Banana Split, but it seems by the time I started to eat the split, I must have had a hamburger or hotdog because I was already full.
I see that the first reunion was in 2012 so the second must have been in 2022, a couple of years ago now. Morgan is buried in California.
I went down to Jacksonville/Hubert on Saturday, January 18, 2025 to celebrate Mary Ann’s & my birthday. I was born on her 16th birthday, so she is now 87 years old and I am 71. Amazing!
After breakfast at Helen’s Kitchen and a quick stop by the Onslow County Library on Doris Avenue, I headed up to New Bern with the intention of going on to Minnesott Beach and taking the ferry across to Cherry Branch. I have done this numerous times and it is a short (maybe 20 minutes total, one way) trip. But this time, as I approached New Bern, I decided instead of making the ferry trip, I would head down to Morehead City and drive by Guy Fieri’s grandparent’s home, near the Atlantic Beach bridge.
As I drove through Havelock, I looked over at the abandoned Lidl Grocery building. It’s claim to fame is that I once bought a gallon of milk more cheaply than the jar of dill pickles I purchased at the same time. I think the pickles cost $1.37.
I think eventually they will complete a Havelock By-Pass for US Hwy. 70.That might cut from 15 to 20 minutes off the trip between New Bern and Morehead City. *I just checked Google Maps and sure enough the new by-pass is under construction. I am not sure how long ago the aerial view was made, but many of the overpass bridges were already built, just very little pavement laid.
As I neared the off ramp to the Atlantic Beach bridge, I knew the street I wanted to turn on was probably the last street before the ramp, and it was. The possibility was always that I might pass the right street and have to do a U-Turn, but I didn’t. There it was, just to my left as I turned and slowed down. There was a bunch of “stuff” around the house. Sure enough the street next to the Waterway was a dead end as it neared the bridge on ramp.
Last Thanksgiving I was visiting my favorite cousin, Mary Ann in Hubert. Her daughter was also visiting, with her husband, and she had brought several things to eat. One of those items was “Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies” from Aldi’s.
I’m a Type 2 Diabetic, so I shouldn’t be trying a sweet cookie, like this, but I did. And, “boy oh boy,” the cookie was delicious. I love a soft cookie, usually not chocolate or pecan, and this cookie was just about perfect. I like the flavor of cranberries and I knew I liked the flavor of an oatmeal cookie.
So, after Thanksgiving I am back in Fayetteville and I decide to go to the nearest Aldi’s to see about buying a “Stolen” Cake to give as a gift to a good friend for Christmas. The friend had introduced me to this German “fruit cake” several years ago, and she had bought hers at Aldi’s. The two flavors that are common are almond and cherry flavored fruit fillings. *Stollen is mostly a cake, in the shape of a baguette, and sprinkled profusely with powdered sugar, and down the center of this cake is a pureed fruit or nut filling. Only one flavor of either a fruit or a nut.
*When you mention a “fruit cake,” I always think of the Claxton Fruit Cakes that we always had at Christmas time when I was growing up. A Claxton (Claxton Bakery, Inc., Claxton, Georgia) fruit cake is a densely packed dried fruit & nut cake, with not much cake between the various fruits & nuts: California raisins, pineapple, papaya, pecans, cherries, walnuts, almonds, and lemon and orange peel.
Several years ago I made a pilgrimage through Georgia just below Interstate 16, on State Road 280. The two towns that I was interested in visiting were Claxton and Vidalia. Claxton for their fruitcake fame and Vidalia for their “sweet onion” fame. I did buy Claxton Fruit Cake in the Claxton Bakery, in Claxton, Georgia. And later, I also bought Vidalia onions in a grocery in Vidalia, Georgia. The heads up: I found when I returned to Fayetteville, that I could buy a bag of Vidalia Onions for the same price in my local WalMart as I had in downtown Vidalia. And a couple of years ago, Harris Teeter had a special on Claxton Fruit Cakes for about $2.99 each. I recognized that price as being noteworthy, and bought several and gave them away as Christmas presents. *I think the Claxton Fruitcake this past Christmas season was selling for $4.99 each.
[03/26/25]: On Monday I drove to Hamlet, North Carolina to have lunch at Seaboard Station Restaurant. They have consistently great fried chicken, and their thin cut pork chops are pretty good too. After lunch I drove past the regional airport and a short distance away was a small, IGA, local grocery.
A glass door freezer, without the Hershey’s advertising all over it.
I’ve visited there once before, and stopped in to see if they had the Hershey’s Roadrunner Raspberry ice cream I like. No, but I bought a small container of their Black Cherry, and the checkout clerk, wrote down the name of the ice cream so she could ask the Hershey’s delivery guy if they could get it. Her wedding buffet was supplied by Seaboard Station. *Beside the Hershey’s “Glass Door Ice Cream Freezer” were Claxton Fruit Cakes on special. They were listed as 2 for $4. So, I bought 4 of them and I’ve already given away two, before I made it back home. [end]
I haven’t done it in a while, but I like to freeze my Claxton Fruit Cakes and slice off a chunk and have it with either cold milk, or hot tea or coffee. **And, when talking about freezing cakes, I also liked to freeze the pound cakes that Bill Korver’s wife, Marcia, made quite a few years ago.
As I was driving along State Highway 280 in Georgia, it must have been harvest season for those Vidalia onions because I passed a large, long field that had been plowed and had several rows, side by side. But, the unusual thing for me was that there were large bags of Vidalia onions (possibly 50 lbs. each) stacked beside each other along each row, and as if each was propping up the next. A string of bags of onions like falling dominos.
… I always thought he was German.
As I mentioned the bags of onions lined up like falling dominoes, I realized that this was one of those rare events that a person can only experience “by being there.” And, I recalled the android character in “Blade Runner” (the original movie, and played by the Dutch actor, Rutger Hauer) as he is dying and waxing philosophical about the things he had seen in faraway galaxies. I too have seen things that only I or a select few have seen.
So, I was in Aldi’s looking for Stollen, but they didn’t have any. I went looking for the Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies and found them. I bought a package and when I got them home and tried one, the cookie was just as delicious as the one I had back at Thanksgiving. I would definitely recommend these Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies from Aldi’s! A soft, sweet, oatmeal cookie and I like cold milk with mine.
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A Heads Up: After a holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas, there are certain items at your local grocer that may be temporarily “out of stock.” I’ll mention only a few: milk, eggs, bread, and orange juice. I usually forget about these shortages until, just after the holiday when I am in the store and come to the milk section, and there is a gaping hole where the half gallon of regular milk should be. My first thoughts are, “Why can’t the store plan better? They know that there is going to be a ‘run’ on these items. It’s not like this doesn’t happen every year.” And then the other awareness comes, “Why can’t I plan better? You know there is going to be a ‘run’ on some of these items. It’s not like it doesn’t happen every year.” From me to me, “Just plan better Bill.“
And a further note for next year: “If you want to buy Stolen at Aldi’s next year, you should buy it early and not wait until it is completely out at two different Aldi’s locations in Fayetteville.” Does that sound like I am speaking from experience? Recent experience? “Yes I am!” *Now, I did get a ‘heads up’ from someone that “World Market,” which I had not visited in Fayetteville until a short time ago, also sold Stolen, and they might still have some. *I did go to World Market, and found the rack on which they had their Stolen for sale. But, I was disappointed on two levels: The size of their Stolen cake seemed much smaller than what I had purchased a couple of years ago at Aldi’s. And, the price for this extremely small looking cake seemed a little too expensive. They did have a much smaller Stolen cake, but it was priced at about what I thought the “full sized” Stolen cake should have been priced. But recall, that I don’t currently want to pay $7.49 for a single Country Ham Biscuit for breakfast, either.
[01/05/25]: I was talking with someone in Fresh Market yesterday and they gave me a “heads up” for next Christmas. Check in a day or so before Christmas and you should be able to get a good deal on those Christmas items, like Egg Nog.
I bought some of this Homestead Creamery egg nog at Fresh Market a year ago, and I kept the bottle & cap after I was through. Not too long ago, I poured my Half-n-Half into this container and put it in the fridge. I like the feel of the cold glass on my hand when I get it out of the refrigerator and pour it into my hot coffee or tea.
I didn’t have any egg nog this year, and then just yesterday (01/04/25) I got the urge to have some egg nog. It may be that I’ve been writing about the Christmas presents I received as a child & boy over the years. I knew that most grocery stores don’t have any egg nog as soon as Christmas is over, but I went searching anyway. That was one reason I stopped by the HT across town, but they had none. And, later last night I stopped in the Fresh Market hoping they might still have some of the Homestead Creamery egg nog I had seen in the store earlier in the season. But no, there was none there. The clerk said they usually put egg nog on special just before Christmas so that there will be none to return to the milk supplier. [end].
[ADDENDUM 03/01/25]: I just wanted to add a few photos from the LIDL (near the Mall) in Fayetteville, North Carolina. I have found several items worth buying. I’ve highlighted green beans, bagged carrots, Camembert cheese and half gallons of 2% Milk (@$1.29 a half gallon/limit 6), but recall that they have a good price on Hillshire Farms Beef Polska Kielbasa and Smoked Oysters.
I was just watching the morning news and they mentioned a extremely high priced woman’s hand bag, a Birkin bag. Apparently the real ones cost about $28,000 each. I immediately thought of Jane Birkin and went searching to see if Birkin Bags were named after Jane Birkin. And the Google AI answer was, “Yes.”
Jane Birkin died last year but not too long ago, I saw her in a 1969 movie, “The Swimming Pool,” with Alain Delon, a French actor who died earlier this year. An odd little film in which Delon’s character drowns his “drunk” friend in a swimming pool by repeatedly keeping the friend from getting out of the pool. And Birkin was the “drunk’s” supposed daughter. I didn’t watch until the end of the film, and I was never sure if she was the drunk’s mistress playing his daughter, or really his daughter. Anyway, she was a very young Jane Birkin.
My first memory of Jane Birkin was after I had watched two movies she acted in, “Evil Under the Sun (1982),” and “Death on the Nile (1978).” Both of these movies were made from stories written by Agatha Christie featuring her hero sleuth, Hercule Poirot and played by the actor, Peter Ustinov. Birkin’s name appeared just after Peter Ustinov’s name on the opening credits. Now maybe alphabetical credits, after the star’s name, would be one explanation, but of all the other ensemble actors & actresses, why was Birkin even in those films? Peter Ustinov, Diana Rigg, Maggie Smith, Roddy McDowell, etc.
Up to that point, I never recalled seeing Jane Birkin in any other movies. I wondered who she was screwing to get such name recognition in these two movies. And, in one of the movies she played one of the murderers, having killed the character played by Diana Rigg (the Avengers, Game of Thrones). “Evil Under the Sun” had an ensemble cast which also included Maggie Smith (the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Downton Abbey) & Roddy McDowell.
Within the past three days, I was watching a segment of a film, and I recognized Jane Birkin as she got on the back of a motorcycle. I said to myself, “That was Jane Birkin,” and googling it, yes, she was credited as “motorcycle girl.”
I just read online that Jane Birkin was briefly married to the movie composer, John Barry, until she became pregnant with their child, Kate. I love many of the musical scores Barry has created, “Out of Africa,” 11 of the James Bond movie themes, “Somewhere in Time,” and “Dances with Wolves,” etc.
In 2013, at age of 46, Kate Barry died from a four story fall from her apartment. Her father had died in January of 2011.
My mother about 1971 and no, that’s not a Birkin bag she has on her arm. That bag probably cost her no more than $5 and if we could see her shoes, they might have cost even less, and the dress, although not by a designer, was probably sewn by mom on her Singer “Zig-Zag” sewing machine. She learned how to “read” and layout fabric on dress patterns. She probably made the dress she is wearing in this picture. *Nothing fancy, but hey, not “store bought” either.
And it only took me 55 years to realize that the money she saved on cheap handbags & shoes and handmade dresses, probably went to providing for “little Billie. All the Christmas toys, the new clothes for each school year, and the blue & white, 1971 Pontiac LeMans. *Yes, my name on my birth certificate (created by some “dip shit” at the Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital) is spelled “Billie Gene Gibson, II.” On my dad’s last driver’s license he spells his name as “Billy Gibson.”
I saw this breakfast meal in a list of diabetic friendly alternatives. I liked the looks of it, and I had just bought some Romaine lettuce hearts a few days ago, and I knew I had an avocado that was very ripe already. As I read through the ingredient list there was nothing that I would need to substitute or leave out completely. Jalapeno, I had bought several bright red ones yesterday at Compare. The eggs came from Aldi’s because they had a very good price on them . Sweet onion and grape tomatoes (I like the Campari tomatoes.).
I put a little olive oil in my small Guy Fieri frying pan and turned the heat on low on a small top electric burner. Doing without meat is usually not pleasant, but I’ve got to say that this breakfast was delicious and I would definitely like to have it repeatedly. I still like bacon for breakfast, but this was delicious. I think the little bit of jalapeno, with a bite of sweet onion, and then some avocado, and a bit of lettuce and some scrambled egg all worked well together.
06/05/25 pic shown above: Without the Romaine Lettuce (because I didn’t have any), cilantro (because I forgot it) or the lime juice (forgot that too).
Spiffing Up Canned Collard Greens
I had bought a cheap can of Great Value Collard Greens from Walmart the other day in anticipation of fixing some for New Years’ Day. Since it is just myself that I am cooking for, there is no need for me to buy a large bunch of fresh collards, chop them up and cook them down.
I googled for ways to “spiff up” ( my words, not the search words I used ) canned collards. One suggestion was to add a little Toasted Sesame Oil. I like the flavor of TSO, but didn’t try that this time. I have put TSO on steamed cabbage and steamed cauliflower, and it does change their flavors positively.
I still had a shallot that I had bought at Whole Foods last week. I diced the shallot in a small dice. I had a small Russet Potato, that I peeled and diced in a small dice, and
I used two slices of bacon that I put in the bottom of a small pot on my stove top. I added a little bacon grease, some garlic powder, Splenda sweetener, and some S&P. I just wanted the bacon to begin to become tender and the shallot to sweeten with a little heat.
I added a little GV Chicken Broth to the bacon and potatoes and cooked the potatoes until they started to get tender. I then added about half the Collard Greens to the pot and continued to cook.
For the quickness that I used to prepare the ingredients and cook them, this side dish worked very well.
For New Years Day dinner, I heated up some chicken gizzards that I had prepared a few days ago. I had fixed some black eyed peas early this morning to make up for those I had ruined a few days ago by burning them on the stove. They were still edible, but a little scorch just sets everything to “wrong.” But this mornings’ peas were delicious. And with the gizzards and peas I had the spiffed up collard greens. It all worked well together.
For lunch today I had some pork chop, pickled beets, red cabbage slaw and butterbeans (that I had fixed early this morning at the same time I was cooking the black eyed peas). That meal was “okay,” but it didn’t quite float my boat. And breakfast this morning wasn’t quite as good as it was yesterday. Not sure if the avocado wasn’t quite ripe enough, or what. One note is that both mornings the scrambled eggs looked grayish. Not sure why.
CHICKEN GIZZARDS:
Bacon grease
Onion
Celery
Chicken broth
Chicken gizzards
Dulse
Marjoram
Savory
Thyme
S&P
Butter
I think the Savory might be the one ingredient that makes all the rest work. They are all necessary. Not sure if thyme or marjoram are essentials, but they don’t seem to hurt either.
I listed the ingredients in the order that I think they should be added to the pot. The bacon grease flavors the onion & celery and when they become translucent, then either the gizzards or the chicken broth should go it pretty close to each other.
Bill Gibson, II 