I had a piece of lamb shoulder left from a previous meal. I heated it up. I also re-heated some garden peas, and some green beans, potatoes & seasoning meat. I found some Roma tomatoes that I had cooked on the stove top with Balsamic vinegar and sweetener. I left this cold. I sliced off a small amount of Vidalia onion.
Tomatoes, Onion, Balsamic & Red Wine Vinegar & Sweetner
All these flavors came together really well.
08/11/21
Lamb shoulder, green beans, potatoes & seasoning meat, corn on the cob (late in the season, but still a comfort food). *I do love the lamb flavor.
Oh, I bought my first bread assortment at Publix this morning. Beforehand, I had been to the Cumberland County Courthouse. This was the scheduled date (Court Room 002C – AM) for the Vehicular Manslaughter case against Shirley Mae Barath.
I asked for Cyndi at Publix. She was in the middle of putting several trays of bread in the large oven. So, all I had to do was to select several types of bread on the public shelves and Cyndi took it behind the counter and packaged each into smaller units. A bag with two Pretzel Rolls. A bag with four dinner rolls. A bag with a couple of knots. The package with four dinner rolls was only $1. Apparently, they have no trouble selling the odd packages of bread that are left.
I think I met the whole family at the courthouse and a friend.
I was watching old episodes of America’s Test Kitchen, or maybe Cook’s Country and they did a taste test comparison on spaghetti sauce starters. I have used the Hunts or Delmonte starters that cost around $1 for years. But, on the show their winning sauce was a Rao’s sauce, which was very expensive, about $7 per jar, compared to what I normally start with. *But, that did place a question in my mind.
So, I happened to see Rao’s on the shelf in Walmart the other day. The price was a little over $7 for the jar. I didn’t notice that this was “Tomato Basil Sauce” or know that there were other versions. I hesitated at first, but then decided to at least try Rao’s once and put the jar in my shopping cart (der Einkauftswagen).
Tonight I decided to make my spaghetti sauce. I saw the jar of Rao’s on my counter.
So I started with some chopped onion in olive oil in a tall pot on the stove-top. I then added ground beef and after that browned, I added a can of diced roasted tomatoes and then looking at the jar of Rao’s I hesitated and thought, for $7 I am just going to put half of it in this sauce.
As I go, I chop up some orange & yellow bell pepper, open and add a small can of mushroom pieces, some roasted garlic, and a couple of cloves of raw garlic. Now, I have added some salt, some freshly ground pepper, some thyme, marjoram, dry basil, dried oregano, fennel seeds, several anchovies with their oil, and some red pepper flakes. I think that is all that I added to the starter.
But, here is the thing. When I finally tasted this sauce, somewhere during the above process, I was immediately wowed by the different, and most assuredly better taste. As far as I know the only difference in this sauce and the others I have made over the last several years is starting with Rao’s. And, I think I may pay the extra cost and use Rao’s as my starter sauce… or at least until the difference is no longer worth it.
I made a Greek salad, and had angel hair pasta, with an Italian blend of cheeses (just two types) with the finished spaghetti sauce. It was a very pleasing meal.
NOTE: When I say “anchovies with their oil” this is what I mean. After I open a can of anchovies, what I don’t use, I put in a small tupperware container along with the oil they are packed in, and put that in the freezer. The oil hardens and turns whitish. When I want to use this frozen anchovies, I just use a fork to chop out a couple of anchovies and chip off some of the frozen oil. This melts quickly into whatever I am cooking on the stove.
I have used the canned Hunts or Delmonte spaghetti sauce starters for many years. I even recall when those companies started selling their starter sauces in slightly smaller cans. I kept one of their larger cans, and may have even taken a picture of the difference in sizes. That is the way a company can continue to sell an item for about the same price, when in actuality they are selling less of their product for a higher per unit price.
Now, if I had only kept some old yogurt containers because that was a really drastic change in size for the price. The current containers almost seem like thimbles (der Fingerhut) compared to what used to be.
GreenWise Sprouted Multigrain Bread, per slice (43-46g), contains approximately 100 calories, 1g total fat, 140mg sodium, 20g total carbohydrates (including 3g fiber), and 5g protein. It is USDA Certified Organic and made with sprouted wheat berries and millet, but does contain honey and wheat ingredients, so it is not gluten-free.
Here are the typical nutrition facts for one slice (43-46g):
No Artificial Ingredients: The bread is free from artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives.
I had a really good visit and experience at Publix this morning. Normally, I walk over to the fresh bread section, walking past the cakes and cookies. There was a baker working at the counter, but I didn’t strike up a conversation although I wanted to ask someone if they ever would sell an “assortment” of breads where I could maybe get a couple of pretzel rolls, four dinner rolls, and a half loaf of Rye bread. I am single and I don’t need a whole loaf of Rye, or four pretzel rolls, or six dinner rolls. Some will go bad before I eat them all, and in fact, I probably wouldn’t eat the dinner rolls, except that I am currently in my “lamb” stage, cooking lamb at home and trying to replicate a good meal that I had when Sherefe would offer a lunch special on the lamb, with a Greek salad and yeasty dinner rolls.
As I was walking over to the bread section, I noticed an employee walking past me leaving that section. I looked at the bread and then walked away from the area. I walked toward the back of the store. I don’t recall why I stopped by a display of “real” bunches of sunflowers, but I recall looking down at them to see if they were real. They were real, but seemed wilted.
I then walked around the corner and as I did the female employee that had walked away from the bread section came around face to face, and we had to step aside. She even said something to the effect that, “Oh we meet again.” She took a few steps, but I turned around and called out to her, “do you work in the bakery section”. She turned and acknowledged that she did work in the bakery. I said, “Can I ask you a question”. I then said that I was single, and that often I did not need to buy a bunch of bread, but could I buy an assortment. The employees’ name was “Cyndi” (sp) and she was very energetic and mentioned that there was another customer that already was purchasing an assortment of breads, and that it was no problem for them to create an assortment for me. I said, “That’s fantastic (or great)”. She said to come see her in the bakery when I want to buy an assortment. I thanked her and walked away.
Now I walk down, past the frozen seafood freezer, past the seafood section, past the meat counter, and then along the packaged meats section. Part way down the area is a small section of lamb. There was one package of lamb shoulder and I picked it up looking at the per pound price, which was about $7.49 per lb. and that was about 20 cents less that the lamb I had purchased there about a week before.
I then walked back to the meat counter. There was a young butcher working at a table. He was in the process of trimming meat, or maybe just cutting it into smaller pieces. He did not look up as I arrived at the counter, and I waited to see if he would look up from his current task. After about 30 seconds, I asked if I could ask a question. He looked up. I asked how often they had lamb. He said they tried to keep lamb in stock, and that they had to cut the lamb up. *I had in another article mentioned that their lamb looked “locally” packaged, which was different from the packaged lamb at Harris Teeter. Now, Harris Teeter had a large selection of lamb. **Almost no one has much lamb in the local grocery stores. It is not something that I have seen on display in “southern” groceries.
I walked away from the meat counter and started up an isle toward the front of the store. There was a young man, store employee, stocking the shelves. I navigated past him, and I think he said something positive toward me, which made me stop, as I was beside the Hispanic section. The area where the Herdez Salsa Ranchera should be was at about eye level with me. Since I had already had two positive encounters with store employees I decided to initiate another dialogue. I asked, “Can I make a suggestion”. He turned his attention toward me.
I went through my “spiel” regarding the Herdez Salsa Ranchera, having been stocked when the store first opened, but was soon discontinued and had not reappeared since. He looked on his phone at an app and suggested that if I could supply the bar code from the can of Salsa Ranchera, that he might be able to see if they could stock this item. I thanked him and headed to the front of the store to pay for my package of lamb.
The cashier was very attentive and asked if I was ready to check out. As I was paying for my lamb, I struck up a conversation with the cashier. I suggested that if she could try the lamb, with some “char” on it it might be very good, since I had a good experience with it. I mentioned Sherefe and that it was closed, and she seemed to be aware of the restaurant and she was surprised that it was closed. Sherefe has been closed at least a couple of years, so she must live in a different direction.
I had a bake at home whole wheat dinner roll (not what they called it). You see how beautiful the lamb shoulder chop was getting on the stove top. The salad had Spring Mix greens, Vidalia onion, Kalamata olives, Campari tomatoes and feta cheese. I used avocado oil, red wine vinegar, yellow mustard, Agave nectar, sweetner, and salt & pepper for the salad dressing. This was a very comforting meal!
][ADDENDUM 01/04/25]: I haven’t completely reread the above posting, so if I am redundant, sorry.
I’ve continued to shop at Publix and have a good relationship with one of the bakers. I don’t know her name, but we recognize each other readily, and I do know she is from Jacksonville, FL originally. But, I can ask, as I did yesterday, if I can have “half a loaf and sliced, please,” and they will do it for me. They will slice the load, separate it into two, at half price each, and then let me choose which one I want. I bought a multi-seeded dark loaf (half) and I saw some sourdough English muffins and bought a bag of those. I had one of the English muffins this morning, with white American cheese, a slice of fresh ham (I bought at a HT across town yesterday, after eating at Pharaoh’s Legacy for lunch) and an egg I prepared in the microwave onion cooker. *I do need to toast the bread first.
I had never been to that Harris Teeter, although I had eaten at Pharaoh’s Legacy quite a few times. It was a very nice HT, and I think it may be the “flagship” HT in our area. Much like the WalMart on the other side of town is probably the best one in Fayetteville. I was looking for eggnog, but I guess that season is gone. I think they (all stores, all brands) either sell out before Christmas, or send it back to the company directly after Christmas. *I just thought, Fresh Market might still have some.
I buy most of my bread at Publix, but also some of the LaFarm Bread at Whole Foods in Raleigh. The two other things I buy at Publix are the frozen Heads/Shells/Tails off medium shrimp, and their Round Bone Lamb Chops imported from New Zealand.
I’ve not had a round bone lamb chop in quite a while, nor have I fixed my Shrimp/Kielbasa/Zucchini dish in some time. I’m almost surprised that I really only have two meals a day to prepare, and if, as yesterday, I bring home half of my lunch (lamb gyro pita & Greek salad) I’ve got to insert that into one of two meals in the next couple of days. [end]
Arnold’s makes good, moist bread. I like their 12 Grain, Whole Wheat and Rye breads. I just made a simple sandwich of Kielbasa (sliced in two and heated in the microwave), some sweet mustard (Frenches with Agave Nectar added), a little sweet onion, and a little taste of relish with some of it, and a slice of 12 Grain bread. This is such a simple “comfort food” but one that I remember, every so often. The warmth of the sausage, the moist bread and the sweet mustard… mmm.
And how I would handle this now. I would use “Knock Your Sprouts Off” or “Ezekiel 4:9” sprouted grain bread. I also make my own sweet, horseradish mustard, adding some Agave Nectar and/or Equal, and mix it in an Inglehoffer container. I’ve found that the Hillshire Farms Beef Polska Kielbasa is available for about the same price at Walmart and LIDL. I might also throw in a “Ranch Dill Pickle” with some extra dill seeds for flavor.
I ran the below image through the Pixlr Background Editor and within a second or two it had removed almost the entire background. I think it left a wisp of the image of the sauerkraut & thousand island dressing near the fork. I used the lasso select tool and that portion was removed instantly. Original photo was taken with my Samsung Galaxy S10+ phone.
I took this photo outside of my hotel room in Lynchburg, VA.
I think it’s fantastic how quickly the software removes the background. This might have taken almost an hour previously and it is done in seconds now. The automatic background removal did remove the front parking light, so I had to use the lasso tool and Keep option to add this back and then remove the extra portions.
My visit to Hamlet today was on the “spur of the moment.” I had just finished breakfast at J.K.’s in Fayetteville and asked myself how long it would take to drive to Hamlet. It was a little over an hour, one way. It made no sense to drive to Hamlet today. Also, it made no sense to be in Hamlet at lunch time, and not visit Seaboard Station Restaurant, having just shortly finished a “late breakfast.”
But, I arrived at the Seaboard Station Restaurant about a quarter till noon. There were few spaces left around the old house, but I found a spot on the far side of the house. I walked around the front, walked up the steps, and entered the front door. A couple of guys were sitting on the front porch talking.
A waitress asked me how many, which was “Just one.” She directed me into a backroom, which had several tables, and one table, just for two. I unwrapped my cutlery and headed back over to the buffet.
I chose a white melamine plate and waited for an elderly black man to continue loading a take-out box, and move down the line. Before the black gentleman had finished, and at one point, he actually began to “tamp down” some of the food around the edge of his take out box with a fork.
I got a small scoop of scalloped potatoes (cheese), I got a couple of scoops of black eyed peas. I got a drum stick of fried chicken, and reached over and took the tongs that the black gentleman had moved from the lightly breaded thin sliced porkchops over to the cornbread, and got a pork chop and left the tongs in that tray. I got a couple of scoops of steamed cabbage. I didn’t get a biscuit or cornbread, nor any desert. I walked around the corner where the salad bar was located, and got a few sweet pickles (I hoped they were sweet, and they were), a pickled okra, and a small scoop of potato salad, and some chopped sweet onion.
I went through one dining area and through a door into the back dining area and sat down. The waitress may have already brought my water. She brought it either as I was getting up to go to the buffet bar, or as I was just returning.
The scalloped potatoes needed a little salt as did the black eyed peas and the steamed cabbage. I added some of the sweet pickles to the potato salad, which is exactly what it needed, and this would be a winner that everyone wanted. The black eyed peas seemed to be unseasoned and probably were cooked this morning. I say this because I do know how to cook black eyed peas. You get some kind of seasoning meat, but the real secret to excellent black eyed peas is to let them cool, refrigerate them overnight, and re-heat and serve the next day. This gives the beans time to incorporated their flavors and they become something magical the next day, even for a mediocre cook.
I got a drum stick of fried chicken, and yes, the chicken parts were smaller, which someone mentioned is intentional, and maybe smaller (younger) chickens make for better fried chicken. The coating was flavorful, and not heavy, and the fried chicken was really delicious. But, I also got a pork chop, and this too was very delicious. It was a lightly breaded, thinly sliced, bone-in porkchop. I’m not sure of the seasonings in the breading, but this pork chop was very good.
After lunch, I drove over to the Hamlet Public Library. I saw a couple of people coming out of the Library, so I parked, put on my mask, and went in. I did notice a sign on the door that said masks were encouraged for those who had not been vaccinated yet. I looked to the left and the small alcove that had magazines the last (only) time I had been in the Library, only had green, barren shelves. No magazines. *I went up to the counter and asked if this was a temporary outage due to COVID, but the librarian said, that they were no longer going to have magazines as these could be accessed online. She did say the newspapers were over in another area. I thanked her and went to the bathroom.
As I walked out, I noticed some Federal Tax Forms & Instructions, and I got a couple of these.
ADDENDUM [01/27/22]: The Seaboard Station Restaurant photos are from my Monday trip, but most of the food descriptions are the same. The fried chicken on this day was exceptionally juicy, maybe the best fried chicken I have ever eaten. Not just at this restaurant, but ever eaten in my whole life! However, the pork chop was dried out. Not a bad pork chop, but not the best I have had here. If I just glance at the food photo, I might think I am looking at a banana pudding in the wooden bowl, but it isn’t. I used the wooden bowl this time to make my modified potato salad… with sweet pickles, sweet onion, hard boiled egg and some sweetener. They sweeten the steamed cabbage just a little, but perfectly. I don’t think there is any seasoning meat used in either the cabbage nor the black eyed peas. The black eyed peas do need seasoning meat, and as I stated earlier, really good black eyed peas require you to let them sit for a day for the flavors to meld. I try the scalloped potatoes almost every time, but they have not yet reached perfection. Not sure what they need. More cheese? More salt? Don’t know. They have pickled okra on the salad bar, and I get a couple of them usually. Their carrot cake is my favorite dessert.
NOTE [10/10/22]: On the way to Hamlet, NC I came past a new facility, the James A. Leach Aquatic & Recreation Center. Previously I had thought this was going to be a new school, perhaps high school, but now I saw the writing on the wall, literally. I googled for more info. A full sized swimmng pool & two basketball courts, with an indoor track, and I think I read, a price tag of $20 millions. *The negative part of me, which I’ll admit is very prominent, immediately started to question how many people you could get it the pool (around the clock) and how much basketball you could play on two courts (around the clock) and how much it would cost in the day to day operations for staff & heating/air, water and trash, to keep the place running. “Leach’s Folly” if a bust.
Had lunch at Seaboard Station again. As I picked up a small drumstick and brought it to my lips, I immediately was made aware of how tender their chicken was. My lips told me it was tender, and once chewing the chicken I also realized how moist it was. Immediately I was thinking or asking myself if they marinated their chicken with something… like buttermilk? The pork chops they had were also incredibly moist & tender. Sometimes the pork chops are a little dry, but usually flavorful.
They didn’t have any Sara Lee “Carrot Cake” on the counter, and I didn’t ask for any since they did have a wide variety of desserts. I also did not “feel like” making my souped up potato salad from their “starter”. I normally add some of their chopped sweet onion, some crumbled hard boiled egg, some sweet pickles and even a little sweetener over the whole mess. I just put some of their macaroni salad on my plate and added a few diced tomatoes. The tomatoes looked good, but as most tomatoes do “now a days” had little flavor. The canned Diet Coke cost $1 and I think the buffet was $11 tax included.
I drove back from Hamlet, the “back way” taking various secondary roads (38, 381), making it into and out of South Carolina, and eventually coming out on Hwy. 74 in Laurel Hill, directly across from where I got onto Hwy. 74 earlier in the day.
I drove into Laurinburg, by the high school, and into the Scotland County Memorial Library parking lot, parking in the shade. Clean bathroom. I went over and got a magazine that caught my attention, Consumer Reports. The cover had something to do with choosing TV channels & streaming services cheaply. I read a little, and slept a little, and read some more. Most of the streaming services I was already aware of, or had used at some point already: HULU, Netflix, Paramount+, Acorn TV, HBO Max, etc.
Scotland County Memorial Library
I finished the magazine, saw nothing else I was interested in, and walked up & down the Non-Fiction aisles looking for a book that I might have donated. I did not recognize any of my donations, but did see they have quite a few cookbooks.
I drove back to Fayetteville, needing gas, but having checked my Gas Buddy app, thinking that Fayetteville might have gas cheaper. There was a Circle K which proved NOT to have cheap gas ($3.48 / gal.). I did a circuitous route back to another Circle K at the corner of Glensford Dr. & Raeford Rd. This location had gas for $3.30 /gallon. I filled up.
I was planning to stop at Taco Bell for dinner but made a trip down Bragg Boulevard and then something caught my eye. Just off Filter Plant Rd. there was construction blinds along a fence, but it was obvious that many trees had been cleared and heavy equipment was clearing a large portion of this corner. I turned around and came back to take pictures. I don’t know what the plans are, or if the city has sold this area, or is planning to develop it, but this is a major change (after 24 years of working at FSU). I took pictures.
I headed on to Taco Bell. I complimented the two workers there (probably the manager & a regular employee) for their efficiency and good work.
Although the title does not seem to apply to my recent mini-vacation excursion through mid and western Virginia and western North Carolina, it was during this trip that I came to embrace the spirit of these phrases. “Only an ogre… go away!” The online language learning site, Duolingo, includes a section for stories. As you read through the story, you learn the language and phrases by responding to questions, and making verbal responses. These two phrases are in one of my favorite stories, a pared down version of “Puss in Boots”, “der gestiefelte Kater”.
I think I was in my hotel room in downtown Asheville when I thought of the “only an ogre” “nur ein Ogre” which is said with a gruff ogre voice. This is just before Puss tricks the ogre into changing (apparently ogres are able to shapeshift) into a mouse, and quickly gobbling up the mousey ogre. “Geh weg” apparently is the standard ogre greeting to those that knock on his door. How appropriate is that for me;-?
Downtown Inn Asheville – 5th Floor View and Room, Breakfast, Parking
My room was on the 5th floor of the hotel in downtown Asheville. It was an older building, but the room was clean, comfortable and quiet. Well, except for a loud motorcycle that revved its engine up about 6 am. I awoke from my sleep and it seemed that the room had actually vibrated from the bike, which I thought was part of early morning traffic on the other side of the hotel. *Later, as I walked out of the hotel entrance, I noticed a motorcycle parked in a reserved spot. I then thought that the morning hotel desk clerk might have ridden in on that cycle about 6am.
Blueridge Parkway Near Asheville, NC
I had thought that I was going to walk over to Dobra teas which was a few blocks away, but as the day unfolded, I realized that I would probably check out of the hotel, go for a short ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway, visit the WNC State Farmer’s Market and then come back to Dobra for some hot “Assam Bhramaputra” (with sweetner, this time). But after doing the first two items, I decided to “pass” on the morning tea.
I did however come back through downtown Asheville, and actually rode down Merrimon Ave. all the way through downtown Weaverville. I have a route where I then weave up through a residential area and eventually take a winding road up to the Parkway coming out by the visitor center near Hwy 70.
WNC State Farmer’s Market Visit
I parked outside of the Coates section and went inside. I walked up to the nearest end of the building to what I now know is “Cara’s Corner”. About the time that I saw on the far wall, a bunch of spices, I also noted Cara sweeping the floor. And, the dust did make me start to cough, but eventually she made it far enough from me so that I didn’t respond negatively.
I guess that I am looking for items and spices that I’ve not tried before. I saw a “Gumbo File” which apparently is finely ground Sassafrass leaves. I googled on how to use this, and found that it was an ingredient in gumbo (soup?). I bought some marjohram and some pearled barley.
October | Yellow Eye | Speckled Butter Beans
As I walked toward the cash register, I noted some dried beans in boxes near the floor. I bought some Speckled butter(beans), Yellow eye ( a play on black eye peas I guess) and October beans. **I have since gone online to figure out how to cook these beans.
Cooking Yellow Eye Beans
Above, I am cooking the Yellow Eye beans as I would Black Eyed Peas. The more they cook, the closer to the “look” of Black Eyed peas they become. But, they do appear to be plumping up larger than Black Eyed peas would. The peas were plumper, but I’m not sure of the flavor. But, with Black Eyed peas, they are usually better if you let them “sit” in the fridge for a day. They flavors meld and can become quite good. I am hoping these peas will do similarly… but I don’t think they will. *** The October beans, and the Yellow Eye peas seem to not have the distinctive flavors of more established beans & peas. I am guessing that white Butter beans, and Black Eyed peas have thrived because they were the most distinctive of their counter parts.
Cooking October Beans
I cooked a pot of October beans this afternoon, adding ham hock and chopped onion as they cooked. It took a little over an hour and a half, on stove-top for the beans to become completely tender.
I took some beans out and used the blender on them, returning the crushed beans back to the pot.
Their cooked texture and flavor reminds me of a Pinto or maybe a Kidney bean. And, look at the dried beans above. Some are red like a Kidney bean, and the rest become a solid brownish, with a slightly white interior when cooked. The cooked flavor is somewhat reminiscent of the refried beans that you can get at Taco Bell in their bean burrito. So, I would suggest flavoring the beans not with ham hock, and maybe adding jalapenos and maybe some Southwest Seasonings. Cilantro, cumin, paprika, sour cream, jalapenos, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese and sweet onion, hot sauce… ***I did blend the cooked beans and they are very good “refried beans”. But, since you can buy a can of refried beans fairly cheaply, I see no need to cook them from scratch.
Cooking Speckled Butterbeans
I did not add salt to the beans, and the seasoning meat was the same as used in the other two beans, but these appeared much saltier. It may be that the bean itself has an almost “acrid” flavor which seems to have heighted the salty flavor. They are distinctive in flavor, but perhaps with a slight butterbean aftertaste… that flavor you get from the inside, mealy part of the butterbean. During cooking the beans go from speckled to a solid, deep brown color. The “pot liquor” is delicious when hot. *I think there might be some other seasoning(s) or additions (e.g. dandelion greens) or serving these beans with rice or pastry. I fixed some chicken gizzards & rice at the same time, and ended up eating both together, and the bean/rice combo worked fine.
LYNCHBURG – Quality Inn
Note that I brought a Bigelow Raspberry Royale tea bag with me so that I could have a hot cup of tea in the location where I first was introduced to this tea. They didn’t have assorted flavors of tea this time, just one standard tea, but it was still Bigelow.
SALEM, VA – MACADOS – PASTRAMI REUBEN (RACHEL)
I did make it to Macados in Salem, VA for lunch on Wednesday. The sandwich was pretty good, but I’m not sure if it was Thousand Island dressing or Rye bread.
I bought the fixings to make a Pastrami Reuben at home. Rye bread, pastrami, Swiss cheese and cheap sauerkraut from Publix. I made the Thousand Island dressing at home from a recipe that I found online some time ago. It is simple and consistently good. Basically mayo, ketchup, relish, sweet onion, and hot sauce.
Homemade Pastrami Rachel
I first buttered the outside of each slice of rye bread and toasted them in the oven. I then flipped them and placed a slice of Swiss cheese on each and toasted that. I put some pastrami on one slice of bread, and then put the sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing on the other slice of bread. I added some sauerkraut and a dollop of dressing on the plate beside the sandwiches. The sandwiches were good, and I was surprised at how easy the process went this time. I think it was the toasting process for the bread. I did the buttered bread and the cheese toasting both in the oven.
TUESDAY – Seal Coating the Parking Lot
On Tuesday morning they were supposed to start seal coating the parking area at my apartment. The notice said we should all be out of the lot by 7 am, but as I left there were still many cars still parked there. I called and left a message asking if they were still going ahead with the paving.
I made it to Sticks and Stones Pizza in Greensboro before noon. I think I might have been the first customer, but others came in before I was through eating and left. Several years ago I think I heard about Sticks & Stones Pizza as being one of the top three restaurants for good pizza. This is probably my 5th or 6th visit, even having a group (the UNC-G Blackboard staff) that worked with me for the FSU Blackboard System, have a “wrap up” lunch when we transitioned over to Canvas at FSU.
Sticks & Stones Pizza in Greensboro, NC
I took some good photos of the inside of S&S, but I am surprised that I didn’t take any photos of the pizza I ordered and ate. They have a pizza titled, “To Be the One,” a Margarita style to which I added roasted peppers and red onion. The pizza was thin crust, and it was still a good flavored pie.
[NOTE 08/25/24]: All sorts of notes to make about the above article:
I was at “Sticks -n- Stones” in Greensboro and had my favorite pizza, and it just wasn’t as good as I had recalled. It hadn’t been as good the previous time either, and as I am driving back home the idea comes to me that “they probably have a new chef that doesn’t know how to make those ‘really good’ artisan pizzas… I probably won’t be able to get a good one there, ever again.” So, I don’t plan on making a special trip there for another “To Be the One.”
Once again, they were repaving some problem parking areas at my apartment, and Monday, August 20th (2024) was the day I needed to move my car by 8 am and so I decided to make a quick trip to Asheville. I was wrestling with either going to Asheville or Salem, Virginia, but finally decided on Asheville. *A good choice!
I thought I could get “the second best Pastrami Reuben” from the East Village Grille, as I had back in 2017 when I had “the best Pastrami Reuben” at Macado’s in Salem, Virginia. But when I arrived in Asheville, about 5 pm Monday afternoon, the waitress said they had stopped serving Pastrami some time ago. So, I ordered their Philly Cheesesteak with ‘steak fries’ and it was a good sandwich also. I first tried “Tiger Sauce” at the East Village Grille while eating one of their Cheesesteaks. *So, another mini-tradition comes to an end. No more Pastrami Reubens at the EVG in Asheville.
While visiting Cara’s Corner at the WNC Farmers Market, I saw a new (to me) type of dried bean called “Anasazi” so I bought a small amount. They were good, but ended up tasting like a kidney bean, so now I am 4 for 4 for not finding a new bean I like from Cara’s.
I had a really good stay at a Quality Inn on Tunnel Road. An old motel, very nicely renovated and still reasonably priced. I saw two black bears crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the next morning saw a couple of wild turkeys at the edge of downtown Asheville, near the downtown tunnel.
These looked good and were under $5 for XXX. Nuff said, that I would rarely buy these because I wouldn’t have any idea on how to cook them. But, there is the web. I was really looking for a way to fix pork & jalapenos, because China II (out of business for several years now), and I loved the flavor they had.
I ended up just putting the pork in the bottom of a small glass dish, and cut up a bunch of jalapenos and some onion. Added olive oil, and some seasoning, Marjoram, Salt & Pepper and a little Agave Nectar.
I Broiled these, first on HI and then for a short time on LO. The jalapenos had protected the meat and many of them had turned black, but they had not lost their flavor. In fact, this turned out really, really well.
I ate a couple of these with some Rays Sugar Free BBQ Sauce, and that was good.
Next day I finished the remaining ribs off with a Mircowaved Baked Potato and some onion. I was afraid that the potato wasn’t going to go well with the ribs, but I was sooooo wrong. The potato & sweetness of the onion soaked up the juice from the ribs & jalapenos. This is a keeper. I even had to look in the trash can to see what the cut of meat was actually called. This was really good, and took a short time in the oven.
I ended up just putting the pork in the bottom of a small glass dish, and cut up a bunch of jalapenos and some onion. Added olive oil, and some seasoning, Marjoram, Salt & Pepper and a little Agave Nectar.
I Broiled these, first on HI and then for a short time on LO. The jalapenos had protected the meat and many of them had turned black, but they had not lost their flavor. In fact, this turned out really, really well.
Bill Gibson, II 