About two weeks ago I loaded my dishwasher like I normally do, added the powdered soap in the two compartments, shut the door and turned the knob, and nothing happened. Or at least, the dishwasher did not start. It didn’t make a sound. I rotated the knob completely around it’s cycle and still nothing. However, when you go through the cycle, the little door to the second soap compartment opens so I had all the soap on the bottom corner of the dishwasher. I didn’t think about the possibility of a circuit break switch being tripped, well not for several days. I did put in a maintenance request online. I also put a request in for someone to check my air conditioner which seemed to not be cooling quite as I recalled it should.

I think I went down to Hubert the next day, but when I returned home they had fixed the air conditioner. Now instead of having the problem of it being too warm, it was uncomfortably cool. But cool I can handle by getting a throw or blanket.

So not having heard about my dishwasher for almost two weeks, I checked yesterday with the rental office. They said I needed a new dishwasher and it was in the process of being ordered. *Having someone come this afternoon to bring me my new dishwasher makes me think they might have forgotten about my ticket on this.

This morning as I was leaving to go grocery shopping, one of the maintenance men was sitting in his car outside of my apartment. He got out and said he was coming to see about the leak I had reported. I walked back in with him. He got on his knees and looked under my kitchen sink. He then said the problem was with my garbage disposal and he would go get a new one for me.

As I was turning out of McCloskey I looked back and saw part of the Goodyear Blimp down in front of the Goodyear Plant. I had seen a small one sometime in the past few years down there. When I came out of Walmart, I looked up and saw the Goodyear Blimp. It headed toward downtown, but I headed elsewhere. But as I was coming back after lunch on Ramsey here the Goodyear Blimp passed me and was heading in a “bee line” for what I surmised was the Goodyear Plant. And it beat me there by about 30 seconds, so I didn’t get a good video of it arriving and tying up to it’s anchor in front of the Plant.

In Walmart as I was shopping, I looked at the bread section. A couple of weeks ago they had loaves of bread for $1. I made a note of this because I was researching how to live on $5 for a week and peanut butter and a dollar loaf of bread was necessary. But today all of the bread was $1.47 a loaf. They still had the dollar labels, but right next to them and on the individual loaves was the updated prices. That’s a 47% increase in two weeks. I think the Lao Gan Ma “Spicy Chili Crisp” was about 30 cents cheaper a few weeks ago too. One Walmart had no Dukes Mayo 30 oz. jars, or Splenda “Family Size Bag,” but the other Walmart had both.

I saw a bag of barley and asked Gemini if it was “diabetic friendly” and it said it was and that barley had a low Glycemic Index. I bought a bag. I think I’ve added barley to vegetable soup in the past. It’s not quite the feel or taste of rice, but it is a little chewy.

While in Lidl to buy orange juice and milk (the milk surprisingly was up 6 cents from $1.77) and then I saw some Scott’s Bathroom Tissue. That’s the brand I like, but have only bought at Walmart. If Lidl has a good price I’ll buy it there. And I saw Golden Mangos for 55 cents, which is a deal. I think I bought one at Compare a day or so ago for 99 cents, and thought it a good price.

By the time I returned, several hours later, and after having another salad bar lunch from Harris Teeter in my car, the new garbage disposal was installed. But, I did not notice at first that they had also installed a new sink fixture for me. A shiny silver one, with a long crooked neck. *I did like the old one that had the extending nozzle that I could pull out to better rinse off plates and pots.

It must have been as I was getting out of my car to come in to my apartment that the maintenance man drove up and stopped. He told be that the garbage disposal had been replaced, but he also told me that my dishwasher was working. That a fuse had been tripped and he had reset it and ran one successful cycle of the washer. I came in and loaded up a bunch of my Rubbermaid containers & lids, and the Hillshire Farms deli containers & lids and the few plates and the two fryer pans and glass carafe that I use mostly for Bill’s Drink (the concoction that I make almost every day for over six months and consume it each day). The entire dishwasher cycle completed successfully. The dishwasher is loud though. Sounds like some parts are either grinding or jostling around maybe due to it not being used for a couple of weeks.

Bill’s Drink consists of these four items: Pomegranate Lemonade Mix from Walmart, Ice Tea (with lemon) Mix from Walmart, some cranberry juice and some orange juice (usually with lots of pulp). The drink isn’t satisfying unless all four elements are included, although I have made the mix with real iced tea. But don’t used any flavored teas. I don’t get tired of this drink mix, or I haven’t so far, and I like it both cold and hot. In fact, I broke one of my classic glass beer mugs by putting only a small amount of the drink mix in it to heat in the microwave. Apparently, the small amount of liquid got much hotter than what I normally put in it, and the mug shattered into many pieces.

I have since bought a new “classic beer mug” and have heated both water and Bill’s Drink in these mugs without incident.

I just checked and the new kitchen sink faucet does not have the extender anywhere.

I was sleeping and heard someone come into my apartment. It was the younger maintenance man and he told me he had brought my new dishwasher. I stopped him and told him the other man had determined that it was a fuse switch problem and my old dishwasher was working, so I “sent him packing” without installing a new dishwasher. As long as the one I have works, that’s good enough for me.

I limped along washing all my porcelain dishes, silverware, and the cooking pots & pans, but I refused to wash most of my Rubbermaid storage containers. I kept them in a large pink plastic container on my patio porch. I am now washing my plastic containers and am on my second load.

I’m trying to remember where all my plates & storage containers go in the cabinets. I did have a system that has been discombobulated by the lack of a dishwasher.

And next, I need to seriously clean out and reorder the stuff in my fridge.

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I was looking at a recent issue of “Our State” Magazine (June 2025) and saw an advertisement for Campbell University. There was a pretty student smiling at me. I thought, “That girl has a really pretty smile,” and then I went on to browse the rest of the magazine. But I picked up this magazine again, and thumbed through the pages passing her image again. Still had that pretty smile.

I think it was about the third time of seeing this ad that the thought came to me. “She does have a really pretty smile,” I wonder if she really is a student at Campbell University or not. So I took a picture of her and then did a Google Image Search. Sure enough this exact same image came up for several other businesses on the Internet, and I even found a different photo, from the same photo shoot for this commercial actress. One other warning flag happened when I ran the image past my AI (Gemini) and it described the image as of “an attractive young woman with a pretty smile and her hand in her hair.” I then realized you don’t get the perfect picture without planning, and this “come hither” look had to be planned.

I’m not sure there is anything wrong with using a commercial actress in an advertisement understanding that your audience is going to imagine that the person they see is somehow directly connected to your business or institution in a positive way, but maybe.

I just want to rehash my Mexican Themed meal here.

I halved the Quinoa & Black Beans recipe and it turned out delicious again. This is just a great base for the salsa and guacamole. I also added some chopped sweet onion, sour cream and crumbled some blue corn dippin chips on top. I smushed half of a ripe avocado, and added a little sour cream to it with some salt and garlic powder. That’s another solid flavor.

And, I browned some ground beef, added some poblano & a smidge of red jalapeno. I didn’t think to add any Aji Dulce pepper, but I bought some of them today and have already put them in my freezer. They are hollow so even frozen, they dice easily. I used a can of the diced tomatoes with diced green chilies (regular sodium) and a yellow sweet bell pepper. I did add some onion to this also.

I put this all in one bowl and it was delicious. Take a little guacamole and salsa. Next some Black Beans & Quinoa with some guac. Then some guac and salsa. Then repeat in any combination that pleases you, and add some of the chopped sweet onion, the sour cream and the crumbled blue corn chips. Oh, and the salsa and quinoa are warm still.

And If I want to substitute refried black beans or pintos, then so be it. A nice change up. Or a cold salsa without any ground beef.

How about some tomatillos in the guac? Or some lime juice in the cold salsa? And, the whole thing seemed not quite hot enough. It was spicy, but not with any real heat. I did put a little jalapeno and poblano in the salsa. I’ve read not to add carrots, but I might turn a blind eye and put some in the cooked salsa. Good filler.

I don’t do rice, but someone could. But, I might be able to slide in a little baked sweet potato, with some sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt) and some sweetener and cinnamon.

I make a good egg salad using two hard boiled eggs. I smush them and add some Dukes Mayo and some grass fed butter. S&P. Ground cayenne pepper, some cumin (ground &/or whole seed), celery seeds, fenugreek.

Today I added a couple of other ingredients and they seemed to work well with the egg salad. Nutritional yeast which may offer a cheesy flavor, and hemp seeds. *I changed my mind later and decided that my basic egg salad was just about right with no further additions.

I’ve also boiled a couple of eggs and carried them with me to Harris Teeter to add to my lunch salad. Once less thing to pay for in weight and I have my egg slicer, since HT is slack about doing the slicing. I told them they would probably waste fewer eggs if they were already chopped up on the bar.

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I made some Chia Seed Pudding with some milk, chia seeds, sweetener, and some cinnamon. I had too much milk so it remained too watery. I plan to make these in the new 4 oz. Ball jars, if the 1/2 C of milk fits. *I just made two of the 4 oz. jars with 1/2 C of milk and 2 TBS chia seeds, and some cinnamon and a little Stevia. It only filled the jar about 2/3rds so enough room to add fruit and then shake up. **No need to shake it up the next day. If you use 1/2 C of milk and add 2 TBS of chia seeds they make a complete gelled desert. Just add some sweetener (stevia) and some pureed fruit (raspberries, blackberries or whole blueberries).

I have tried this with ripe Kiwi fruit & raspberry puree, and I also added some hulled hemp seeds and plain Greek yogurt. The Kiwi is citrusy. The Chia Seeds Pudding is a good little desert.

The purpose of this page is at least two fold. First I am recording the recipe for one of my favorite soups. Curried Apple Soup. And a second purpose is to show how an AI can help you convert a recipe, from either an old cookbook or even a handwritten recipe card into a digitized text version of that recipe, easily and quickly, without you having to manually retype the whole thing.

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Based on the images provided, here is the “Curried Apple Soup” recipe generated by the AI:

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp canola oil*
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup diced carrots
• 2 tart apples – peeled, cored, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup unbleached white flour
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 tsp sugar*
• 1/2 tsp mace*
• S&P*
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup canned tomatoes, cut into pieces
• 1 tsp minced parsley*

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a pan over high heat.
2. Add onion, celery, carrots, and apples. Sauté for 5 minutes.
3. Mix the flour and curry powder. Sprinkle this mixture over the sautéed vegetables.
4. Add broth and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes, parsley, cloves, and sugar.
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
7. The recipe note says to discard the cloves before serving.

The final part of the process which was left out on the recipe card was to puree the soup in the pot with a stick blender. *And finding and buying a stick blender started a whole ‘nother process. See at bottom.

Originally, I had a version of this soup at “Trillium, A Bistro” in Asheville, North Carolina. There was a young chef, Leisa Payne, who was plying her cooking talents at Trillium. The version I had had chicken in it, but I have made it as almost vegetarian at home. Almost? No chicken, but chicken broth.

I haven’t fixed polenta in a while, but I do love the flavor and that it is an excellent vehicle for gravy. I’m not sure if “Trillium a Bistro” in Asheville, North Carolina was the first time I tried polenta, but I do recall that Chef Leisa Payne fixed some delicious alligator sausage, gravy and put this on top of polenta cakes. 

I went online looking for a stick blender, and soon found that some stick blenders were sold as part of a set of interchangeable kitchen tools. Braun sold a MultiQuick Tool that included a stick blender, a whisk, and a food chopper. I bought a small version of the Braun MultiQuick Tool and used it for several years. Actually, I limped along using the chopper in this tool, because the chopper bowl was too small for some tasks, and the motor was too weak for some tasks. *The one task that comes to mind is using the tool to make hummus at home. The bowl was a little too small to blend a whole can (about 15 oz.) of garbanzo beans, and the motor was a little too weak to blend a whole bowl of chickpeas at a time.

After years of using this small, less powerful MultiQuick, I finally bought the bigger, more powerful brother, and what a difference. The chopper bowl was bigger and the motor more powerful. I could put a whole can of chickpeas in the bowl and add tahani, and then blend and the motor did the job easily.

I bought the MultiQuick tool for the stick blender, but the chopper bowl became more important because I was able to make hummus, and I was able to blend salsa. *If I were sending a child, especially a young man off to college, I would send this chopper along with him. Why? He could become a “hub of activity” by working out a deal with his other suite/dorm mates. I’ll provide the hummus (a few cans of garbanzo beans) and you provide all the veggies we eat. Someone brings carrots, and celery. Someone brings some chopped onion and tomatoes. You get the idea. Everyone to the “feeding trough” and fed boys are happy boys (for the most part).

You could do the same thing with making salsa. I provide the diced tomatoes, with green chilis. Someone provides the onion & sweet bell peppers, and cilantro. Oh, and others bring the chips! Chow down on the salsa and chips. *And if you can cook on the hall, the chopper makes it easy to blend some black or pinto beans and add that to the “un-smushed” beans for a rustic refried beans.

NOTE (08/03/25): I was looking at some YouTube videos again this morning about eating the right foods for controlling blood sugar, and I came across this video by accident, but… I have this style can opener and have used it for years, but every so often, this opener fails to open a can. But the reason is either the metal of the can is too soft and it doesn’t allow the opener to penetrate the can top… or the can top is recessed too deeply and the opener can’t penetrate the lid. This is why I pull out my John Wayne and finish the job. But having seen the alternate means of using this can opener, I may never use my John Wayne again, unless I don’t have my usual opener.

I tried opening a can of garbanzo beans using the opener in the alternate way and it worked perfectly. The one problem I see with using it this way is that if there is liquid in the can, it may slosh over the edge of the can. So, I may have to use a plate beneath the can before opening.

The video was playing in YouTube and I just did a hand swipe on my phone to capture the above image of the can and opener.

Aldi’s was supposed to have Lentils for $1.55 for 16 oz. but when I got there, they were only charging $1.39

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Spicy Pork, Lentil & Quinoa Soup

This recipe aims for a comforting, slightly spicy, and aromatic soup.

Yields: 2-3 servings (approximately) Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 Hot Pork Sausage
• 1 medium Carrot, diced
• 0.25 cup Onion, diced
• 1 Sweet Pepper, diced
• 3 tbsp Cooked Lentils
• 2 tsp Cooked Quinoa
• 2 cups GV – Chicken Broth
• 1 tsp Grass Fed Butter
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced (from Garlic Powder, see note)
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1/4 tsp Fenugreek Powder
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (adjust to your spice preference)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Fresh Cilantro, chopped (for garnish)

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This soup is likely to be a good source of protein, fiber, and various vitamins and minerals.

Here’s a look at the key contributions from each main ingredient:

Hot Pork Sausage:

• Calories: Can be significant, ranging from 100-200+ calories per sausage.
• Protein: Good source of protein (e.g., around 10g per sausage).
• Fat: Contains a notable amount of fat, including saturated fat.
• Sodium: Often high in sodium due to processing and seasoning.

Lentils (cooked, 3 tbsp):

• Calories: Relatively low for the volume, but contribute to overall energy.
• Fiber: Excellent source of dietary fiber, crucial for digestive health and feeling full.
• Protein: Good plant-based protein source.
• Vitamins & Minerals: Rich in folate, iron, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium.

Quinoa (cooked, 2 tsp):

• Calories: Similar to lentils, it contributes to energy without being excessively high.
• Carbohydrates: Primarily complex carbohydrates, providing sustained energy.
• Protein: A “complete protein,” meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids, which is notable for a plant-based food.
• Fiber: Contributes to dietary fiber intake.
• Vitamins & Minerals: Good source of manganese, phosphorus, copper, folate, iron, magnesium, and zinc.

Carrots (1 medium):

• Calories: Low in calories (around 25-50 calories per medium carrot).
• Carbohydrates: Primarily complex carbs and natural sugars.
• Fiber: Good source of dietary fiber.
• Vitamins: Excellent source of Vitamin A (from beta-carotene), important for vision and immune function. Also contains some Vitamin C and K.

Onion (0.25 cup):

• Calories: Very low in calories.
• Vitamins & Minerals: Contains some Vitamin C, B vitamins, and potassium.
• Antioxidants: Rich in antioxidants.

Sweet Peppers (1 pepper):

• Calories: Low in calories.
• Vitamins: Excellent source of Vitamin C (often more than an orange!), and also provides Vitamin A and some B vitamins.
• Antioxidants: Rich in various antioxidants.

Cilantro:

• Calories: Negligible.
• Vitamins: Small amounts of Vitamin K and Vitamin A.
• Antioxidants: Contains beneficial plant compounds.

Grass-Fed Butter (1 tsp):

• Calories: Concentrated source of calories from fat.
• Fat: Primarily saturated fat, but grass-fed butter also contains beneficial fats like Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) and short-chain fatty acids.
• Vitamins: Contains some fat-soluble vitamins like Vitamin A, E, and K2.

GV – Chicken Broth (2 cup):

• Calories: Generally low in calories (e.g., around 5-10 calories per cup for low-fat versions).
• Protein: Minimal protein, but contributes to the liquid base.
• Sodium: Can be high in sodium, depending on the brand. Opting for low-sodium broth can help manage this.
• Hydration: Primarily provides hydration.

Spices (Turmeric, Garlic Powder, Fenugreek Powder, Red Pepper Flakes, Salt & Pepper):

• Calories: Negligible from the small amounts used.
• Nutrient Boost:
  • Turmeric: Known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties due to curcumin.
  • Garlic Powder: Contains some vitamins and minerals, and compounds known for health benefits.
  • Fenugreek Powder: Contains fiber, iron, and has been studied for its potential effects on blood sugar and cholesterol.
  • Red Pepper Flakes: Contains capsaicin, which can have metabolism-boosting and pain-relieving effects.
  • Salt: Provides sodium (essential for bodily functions, but needs to be consumed in moderation).
  • Pepper: Contains trace amounts of minerals and antioxidants.

Overall Nutritional Profile of the Soup:

• Good source of Protein: From the pork sausage, lentils, and quinoa.
• High in Fiber: Thanks to the lentils, quinoa, carrots, onions, and sweet peppers.
• Rich in Vitamins: Especially Vitamin A (from carrots and butter), Vitamin C (from sweet peppers and onions), and Folate (from lentils and quinoa).
• Provides various Minerals: Including iron, potassium, magnesium, and zinc.
• Hydrating: Due to the chicken broth.
• Healthy Fats: From the butter and some from the sausage.
• Antioxidants and Anti-inflammatory Compounds: From the vegetables and spices like turmeric, garlic, and sweet peppers.

Lowest Gas Prices in Fayetteville, North Carolina

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The Ideal (and Elusive) Center:

The goal for many people is to find food items that strike a good balance in the middle of this triangle – reasonably priced, adequately nutritious, and enjoyable to eat. This often involves:

• Cooking at home: This gives you control over ingredients and preparation, allowing you to prioritize nutrition and often save money compared to eating out.
• Buying in season: Produce is generally cheaper and fresher when it’s in season.
• Utilizing sales and discounts: Stocking up on staples when they’re on sale.
• Considering frozen or canned options: Frozen fruits and vegetables, and canned beans or fish, can be just as nutritious as fresh (sometimes more so, as they’re picked at peak ripeness) and often more affordable and convenient.
• Meal planning: Reduces waste and helps you stick to a budget while ensuring nutritional needs are met.

While you might not always get perfection in all three areas, understanding this “triangle” can help you make more conscious choices about your food purchases based on your priorities and budget.

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You’re describing a classic type of trade-off model, often visualized as a triangle or trilemma, where three desirable attributes cannot all be fully achieved at once. In the case of food purchasing, the triangle with Cost, Quality, and Nutrition at each point is both intuitive and widely recognized, even if not formally codified under that exact name.

Your proposed triangle:

• Cost (cheap/affordable)
• Quality (taste, texture, freshness, brand reliability)
• Nutrition (healthfulness, macronutrient balance, minimal additives)

And the common idea is you can often have two, but rarely all three.

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It’s entirely possible to “hack” the triangle with:

• Bulk buying
• Home cooking
• Seasonal/local produce
• Canned/frozen items
• Simple ingredients

These can sometimes get you all three, just with more effort or creativity.

It’s been a while since I ate the Harris Teeter Lunch Bar. I did recently eat the breakfast bar.

I had already shopped at the Walmart across town, and then came back to Pate’s Farm Market and bought some raw peanuts, zucchini, garlic, and a couple of peaches. *I just ate one of the peaches and it was delicious.

I was planning to go to the Harris Teeter for their Salad Bar, but temporarily forgot and made a wrong turn heading over to get my hair cut. I forgot and made a wrong turn, but the guy beside me decided to run a very red, Red Light. I then turned back to get to Harris Teeter and went to their salad bar. I’ve been spoiled by the IGA Salad Bar in Erwin for the last week. I think I’ve eaten there either 4 or 5 times already. The experience the first day was so good that I had to keep coming back. And that experience wasn’t just based upon having a delicious salad, but also a perfectly ripe avocado, and 3 different tasty BBQ chicken wings. All three of those things came together so that I repeatedly said, as I ate in my car, “Now that’s delicious!”

Let me name again those items I enjoyed on the IGA salad bar: sliced hard boiled egg, raisins, broccoli & cauliflower florets (both were small in size), bacon bits, small Spanish olives stuffed with pimentos, sliced cucumber, green bell pepper strips, red onion, freesia & Romaine lettuces and I bought a ripe avocado and sliced that up.

The Harris Teeter Salad Bar didn’t have cauliflower and the broccoli florets were very large, as were the Spanish olives. They did have two whole peeled hard boiled eggs left and I took a whole one and sliced it up later. They had sliced red & yellow sweet bell pepper. *I didn’t buy an avocado at HT, but that is probably because they charge a lot for their avocados.

I liked the IGA salad dressings, Ken’s Honey Mustard and Ken’s Ranch dressing. But to my surprise, I tried a different, and new to me, salad dressing at Harris Teeter today. It was so good that I called Harris Teeter and asked to speak with someone that oversaw their salad bar. The young man was nice enough and went to check for the name of the dressing that I described as “dark green with flecks of green” and “I think it had “Basil” in it’s name. He was gone a short time and came back on the phone. The name of the dressing was “Sweet Basil Vinagrette” by Cindy’s Kitchen. *After I thought about it a while, I recalled the flavor of a Basil Pesto that I had made (Emeril Lagasse) several years ago, and this dressing had a similar flavor. That recipe included garlic, olive oil, and pine nuts, and that pesto went well with steak.

*The images above are from a second visit (and another), the next day. Funny how the labeling on the dressing bottles is plainly obvious, but in my mind, the previous day, would have almost been blank, except for the actual name of each dressing. I know that’s highly unlikely. **Note the whole hard boiled egg, and just beneath it, a very large Spanish olive, and the very large broccoli floret. I’m not sure if I equate these three components to laziness or lack of forethought. But, having experienced the sliced hard boiled egg, and realizing how that makes it easy to spread the egg across the salad as it is being made. Also, seems like making someone take a whole egg (I guess they could cut it, if they had something to cut it with at the salad bar.) instead of scooping several bits would save you some eggs in total. *I’ve included a picture of an egg slicer, not exactly like mine, but like the one I now have in my car to slice the whole hard boiled egg. Such a simple process, that they should perform.

And that damned, gigantic broccoli floret is just too big, not to have to cut into smaller pieces. Yes, the customer can and has to do that, but it makes the overall aesthetic of the salad when it is being prepared, less.

I added a couple of images of a HT Salad Bar lunch that I carried several items from home in a sandwich bag. I boiled my own egg, and took some broccoli sprouts, raisins and olives. The salad bar only cost a little over $4. Never sure if I could get the items cheaper by buying all on the salad bar. Does it save me any money to boil my own egg and bring olives?

I’m thinking I should carry some of the ingredients that HT doesn’t offer, like raisins, sliced cucumber, and cauliflower florets. And, I don’t know where to buy an avocado on the same day I plan to eat it, but if I can find one, then I shall.

The salad I bought at Harris Teeter today only cost $6.60 (that’s without an avocado or chicken wings). I did include a little chicken salad, some seafood salad (the fake, but delicious crab in mayo) and a few chicken and/or ham cubes. Yesterday I had included some of the meats (cubed chicken & ham) on the salad bar in my salad. I think the prices for the whole meal at IGA had been somewhere between $7.50 and $9.50. The higher amount was also due to larger BBQ chicken wings, and me buying an extra avocado for home. Still while prices for eating a breakfast out have creeped up to about $14 with coffee, a filling lunch for $7.50 is a good deal.

I have now started boiling my egg or eggs at home to take with me for my salad bar lunch. But, I realized that peeling the egg after it was done wasn’t working very well. Sometimes the shell comes off easily but other times chunks of the egg white come off with the shell. I finally googled for help on boiling and peeling an egg successfully, and I think I’ve found the right process.

For years I’ve put my uncooked eggs in the cold water and then put the pan on the stove to heat up. I had seen online that eggs should be cooked completely if you boil them for 9 minutes, and this did appear to work for me. I would start the 9 minutes count once the water started to boil. But recently I read that you should put the eggs in boiling water, and not cold, so I tried that. And peeling them did seem to go much easier, but about the second time I tried this, the center of the yolk wasn’t quite cooked. It wasn’t runny, but was a little soft. I wondered why because I had boiled them for 9 minutes. Then while I was rehearsing what might have gone wrong I realized that if I put the eggs in when the water is cold that as the water warms, and before it actually starts boiling, the eggs are being cooked at least partially. So, if I am going to wait to put the eggs in boiling water, then I’m going to have to cook them longer than 9 minutes. I tried 10 minutes and that seemed to solve that problem.

So, after they are boiled you immediately put them in an ice water bath and let them cool completely. You then tap both ends of the egg, to break them slightly, then roll the egg around in your palms to cause more fractures all around the shell and then start peeling from the fat end of the egg (there is a slightly wider end). It worked! It worked! The shell starts to peel of and peels off pretty quickly. So now I have a smooth hard boiled, peeled egg and I put it in my slicer and it’s quick work.

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I’m going to put the following item here although it might go elsewhere sometime.

I’ve probably mentioned elsewhere that I like to make my own sweet horseradish mustard (using French’s Yellow Mustard, Inglehoffer Creamy Horseradish, some Agave Nectar and Equal. I use an Inglehoffer squeeze bottle adding all the above contents and shaking it up.

But, I’ve just recalled that I like to slice off a thin slice of sweet potato and eat it. I now see that combining these two items is a very pleasant snack. Who would have thought that raw sweet potato and sweet horseradish mustard would be a great combo? They are!

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Prepared Food from Harris Teeter and their Buffet

I was shopping in Aldi’s yesterday and took a closer look at their spice rack. The apartments where I live are having a three weeks Food Drive (July 14th – August 8th). I’ve got a lot of canned goods that I plan to donate (my knee jerk reaction to the Donald Trump Tariffs) so I was thinking about this in Aldi’s.

It then struck me that I might want to donate some cheap spices, to go with all these beans. I use powdered garlic often, and powdered cumin, both good additions to my homemade salsa, and refried beans. I’ve also been using more ground cinnamon. Aldi’s also had Italian seasoning, paprika, and chili powder.

• Garlic (ground)
• Cumin (ground) LIDL
• Cinnamon (ground)
• Italian Seasoning
• Turmeric (ground)
• Ginger (ground)
• Salt (iodized)
• Black Pepper
• Cayenne Red Pepper (ground) LIDL
• Crushed Red Pepper (LIDL)
• Ranch Dressing Powder (.50) Food Lion

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Dry Beans for Donation

Aldi’s has Dakota’s Pride Green Lentils – 16 oz. for $1.39 (07/21/25)

According to an AI, dry lentils are about 3 to 5 times cheaper per serving than canned lentils.

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A Cheap Mexican Themed Meal

Brown your ground beef, add some chopped onion, diced tomatoes with green chilis, and maybe some more flavorful peppers and you’ve got a good salsa to go with refried beans and guacamole. I showed the can of refried beans and black beans because if you need to control the amount of your sodium (salt) intake, then use pinto or black beans to make your own refried beans easily at home.

… an alternative to refried beans.

Quinoa & Black Beans

This “Quinoa & Black Bean” recipe goes great with ground beef seasoned with diced tomatoes and green chilis and a little homemade guacamole. It only takes about 25 minutes to prepare and quinoa is highly nutritional.

Oh, I forgot. I’m pushing blue corn tacos and tortilla chips. Apparently they are more diabetic friendly than white or yellow corn.

And, I’ve just recently found that crumbling some of the blue corn tortilla chips with my egg salad for breakfast is a delicious combination.

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Canned Beans