Sea Buckthorn Jelly

February 23, 2025March 19, 2025 bgibson135

I was walking along one of the isles at Golden Hex in Cary yesterday and happened to see a jar of some type of jelly. You’ve got to understand that Golden Hex is a European Market specializing in various foods from Europe. They have a deli meat & cheese section where I bought some Head Cheese and some Kabanosy Podsuszane (dry sausage – links).

I had originally found Golden Hex online, a couple of years ago, because I was looking for a store that sold Blutwurst or Head Cheese. I couldn’t find anyone who did sell these, and even got a weird look from a deli worker in a restaurant near UNC-G when I asked if they sold Blutwurst. I think I first tried Blutwurst and/or Head Cheese when I was living and working down in Myrtle Beach shortly after I had graduated from UNC-W in 1976. There was a deli located next to the tennis shop I was managing, “Tennis With Love,” and I tried several of their “exotic” meats sandwiches.

*I don’t recall whether I viewed a YouTube video, or if I found a web site regarding the following: There was a young, inexperienced, sausage maker (butcher?) who was going through a book about how to make various sausages. One of the types of sausage he made was “Kabanosy Podsuszane.” It must have been a video I was watching because I recall that his finished product looked “too fat” to be like the Kabanosy Podsuszane I had tried earlier from Golden Hex, and there must have been a comment section because some other viewer made the comment that the result wasn’t a true Kabanosy Podsuszane because it appeared to have too much moisture (not dry enough) as this commenter had experienced growing up (in Poland, I think). The commenter suggested that you can’t learn everything from a book, but you need to find an experienced sausage maker, who can teach you how to make the various sausages. I thought this was a very wise suggestion, although I read and interpret well, I know that words and their interpretation have limits, and just because someone explains in great detail “how to do something” doesn’t mean anyone can pick up a recipe, read it, follow the “step by step” instructions and come out with a successful finished product. It can happen, and sometimes, it can’t.

I like that Golden Hex has labeled their products along their shelves including a colorful national flag of where the item comes from. I would think that they might create a special monthly display where they congregate all of a country’s items, in one location. One month a special display of all items they sell from “Germany,” next, “Poland,” “the Ukraine,” “Israel,” etc., one each month.

The one item that I had on my list to buy at Golden Hex was an item they currently had out of stock. I talked with one of the owners and he said he knew the “Zip” (company name) product and would re-order it. I did buy a different brand of seaweed to see if that would work as well.

I saw from the label on the shelf that this was Sea Buckthorn Jelly (from the Ukraine), and I had never heard of Sea Buckthorn. My thought was that it might taste a little like Golden Berries which are slightly tart in flavor.

At home later, I tried the Sea Buckthorn Jelly and liked the flavor. I tried it by itself from the jar, and then on a Black Sesame Rice Cracker, and a slice of Sourdough Bread, with a little grass fed butter. Oh yeah, and with a little peanut butter and with some Greek Gods “Plain” Yogurt.

Late in the afternoon, about 4 pm, I drove over to Publix to pick up the Seeded Rye Bread that I had ordered last Monday. I only wanted half a loaf, and it sliced. I made the initial order on Monday, but later that day I heard on TV that there was a winter storm coming and Thursday, the day after the storm, I probably wouldn’t be able to drive over to Publix, so the next day, I went back in to Publix, with my pink order form and asked that they change the pick-up day to Saturday, the 22nd. A woman took my pink sheet, went around the corner, out of sight, and after a short while came back to me, handed me the pick slip, and said that the pick-up date had been changed to Saturday.

— Sounds good, until I show up on Saturday about 4 pm and find that they have no bread for me. They look at my pink slip that shows the original pick-up date of 02/20/25. But I tell the man that I had come back in and the date was supposed to be changed. *I do see the number “22” but it’s in the price section, and the original date isn’t crossed out. But, I’m thinking that the woman entered the new date in “the computer.” The only logic I can think of is that the baker, instead of looking to the computer for the scheduled orders, may have looked at the original order form and thought that date had already passed for pickup.

It’s not my job, but my curiosity will try to make sense of why my order was dropped even after I physically came back to the store and supposedly had the date changes.

I’m glad that they didn’t have my Seeded Rye Bread because I bought some Head Cheese at Golden Hex and want to finish that off before I make my Pastrami Reuben. I haven’t opened my Hillshire Farms Pastrami yet, so hopefully it won’t go bad before I use it next week, or whosever Seeded Rye Bread I buy.

As I walked back to my car I was thinking about going over to the new Sheetz store that has just been opened in the last day or so. Coming into Publix, I had seen that gas was listed on the sign for $2.35 a gallon. $2.35 a gallon is a great price currently since I’ve been paying around $2.79 a gallon.

I did go over and get “cheap” gas. *But oddly, next day, this morning I passed two different convenience stores that were showing gas for $2.59 a gallon, so the price of gas must be starting on a downward trend.

[NOTE 03/19/25]: I finished off the Sea Buckthorn Preserves this afternoon. I added some of them to Plain Greek Yogurt. It has a citrusy flavor, that is unique. Probably you could say that peach preserves have a distinctive flavor, or orange marmalade.

Hopefully the Ukraine won’t be “sold out” and their democracy will flourish, instead of being incorporated back into Russia. Oh, yeah, in case you didn’t make note of it, these preserves were from the Ukraine. [end NOTE]

차

February 21, 2025February 21, 2025 bgibson135

The Korean characters for the word “tea” are ( 차 ).

Korean

February 21, 2025February 21, 2025 bgibson135

God	신
light	빛
hot	더운
cold	추운
rain	비
man – male	남자
woman – female	여자
baby	아기
food	음식
water	물
salt	소금
milk	우유
tea	차
brown rice	현미
bread	빵
chicken	닭고기
pork	돼지고기
beef	소고기
vinegar	식초








fermentation	발효
100% fermented vinegar	100% 발효식초

현미 brown rice

식초 vinegar

100% 발효식초

Well, here is something that I hadn’t thought about, and am surprised is possible. I had come across the image of the “brown rice vinegar” label that was written mostly in Korean. I hadn’t researched the translation of the characters, until now. I found that one small set of characters on the label represented the phrase “100% fermented vinegar.” So, I took the characters representing the word “fermented” ( 발효 ) and added them to the name for Pu’er ( 푸에르차 ) is a “fermented tea” ( 발효차 ), with ( 차 ) being the symbol for “tea.”

The thought came to me, whether I could save a file using Korean characters. Could I find an image file related to tea, and then save that file with the Korean characters for “tea” ( 차 ). So, I tried it, and darn if it didn’t work flawlessly.

Here was the image file named with the Korean characters for “tea.”

And how the URL to the image file gets re-interpreted: https://billggibsonii.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ecb0a8.png

And once the above test worked, I asked myself if I could incorporate Korean characters into my naming of meals in my “MyFitnessPal” site. And I was pleasantly surprised a second time when it worked flawlessly.

I created a multi-item meal & saved the name using Korean characters for “tea” ( 차 ). See above. I checked the box beside the name “차” and then clicked on “Add Checked” and it did.

And here is what the URL for a WordPress page named with Korean characters looks like:

and how the URL is interpreted:

https://billggibsonii.com/2025/02/21/%ec%b0%a8/

Vinegars

February 20, 2025September 26, 2025 bgibson135

RICE WINE VINEGAR

샘표 “Sempio” in Korean

표 “Pyo” which means “mark” or “label” as in brand, but it can also mean “table.”

현미 brown rice 식초 vinegar

Several years ago there was a Korean Market located across town (Fayetteville, NC) near where the original Thai Pepper Restaurant was located. I bought a couple of bottles of Korean Brown Rice Vinegar there and really liked the mild, but distinctive flavor. The vinegar was slightly tinted. The problem was that after I finished using the second bottle and went back, they no longer had this brand of vinegar. I went looking and it seemed that the company might have stopped exporting their vinegar to the United States. I did keep the label and took a picture of it and I just came across that label again.

The label from the original
Korean Rice Vinegar.

It was only since I started translating the Korean symbols above that I can understand that the first two labels, from the left, are for the same company, so both these vinegars should be the same.

I also bought and enjoyed some “drinking vinegar” from this Korean grocery. I don’t recall the flavor, but it was a sweetened, flavored vinegar that was pleasant to drink.

I found the following online at Amazon, but it is a 5 pack of vinegar for about $67 before tax.

Sempio Brown Rice Vinegar (900ml), 30-Ounce (Pack of 5)

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR REFERESHERS

The last time I was in Asheboro, North Carolina, I found a health foods store, “Samson & the Lion Natural Foods” and went in to see what they had. I ended up buying a bottle of “Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar Refreshers” (ginger, lemon & honey flavored vinegar) and a package of Frankincense Resin Gum.

The vinegar, which was mostly water, had honey, ginger and lemon for flavoring, and I really liked those flavors together.

I later bought a bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar at a Food Lion and when I was back home made my interpretation of the flavored vinegar. I came close enough to the original that I have made it a couple of times and keep some in the refrigerator door. I’ve added Turmeric also.

SCLAFANI BALSAMIC VINEGAR OF MODENA

The shop where I bought the vinegar is no longer located in Grove Arcade.

Years ago, and I don’t actually recall where I first bought and tried this particular balsamic vinegar, but I tried Sclafani “Balsamic Vinegar of Modena.” I liked the sweetness, and ended up buying some for myself, and later as perhaps Christmas presents for friends & relatives.

I’m not sure that I could buy this, in this type of bottle, any more. It’s not currently available at Amazon. I do recall finding it for sale in a store in the Grove Arcade in Asheville, North Carolina.

POMPEIAN RED WINE VINEGAR

The Pompeian Red Wine Vinegar has been my favorite for several years. I’ve tried a few other “red wine” vinegars, but this one satisfies me.

I bought a 6 pack of this vinegar from Amazon, but have gone through it already. I may use this vinegar in cooking almost as much as I use onions.

Making Vinegar at Home

I am perfectly happy with the Pompeian Red Wine Vinegar that I can get at Walmart, and so I am not really sure why I came up with the idea to try and make my own vinegar at home. It could have been something as simple as trying to explain the meaning of “the mother” regarding vinegar. *You never saw “the mother” in bottles of Apple Cider Vinegar when I was growing up. You probably would not have bought it if you had, thinking it spoiled. **I guess this is something like not having any color of sweet bell pepper other than green when I was growing up. And, I’m not sure what I would have put diced green bell pepper in other than spaghetti sauce, or maybe a salad. Not sure if this fits, but how about the McCormick’s Ground Black Pepper that came in the red & white tin can. I am thinking that we kept one at least 10 years, if not longer. And now, I grind an Indian Long Pepper or mixed red, white, green & black pepper freshly each time.

Here is what the AI said about the vinegar making process:

Making vinegar at home from cheap wine (Winking Owl from Aldi’s – Cabernet Sauvignon $4.39 750 ml 12% ABV) is fairly straightforward and requires just a few ingredients and some patience. Here’s the general process for turning wine into vinegar: *It already looks to me that making vinegar at home will not be worth the time (up to 6 weeks) & effort. If there is little to no loss of wine being converted into vinegar, the cost per ounce is about 18 cents, which is the approximate cost of commercially produced red wine vinegar. **And then I found that I might have to dilute the wine, with water, to reduce the ABV from 12% down to about 9%. Now we are producing a larger volume of vinegar because we’re necessarily adding water to the mix for a total liquid volume of about 45 oz.

🧪 BASIC OVERVIEW

Vinegar is made by converting alcohol (ethanol) into acetic acid using acetic acid bacteria (mainly Acetobacter). This is called acetous fermentation.

🍷 WHAT YOU NEED

Cheap wine – red, white, or even a blend. Avoid wine with sulfites if possible (see note below).
Unpasteurized vinegar with “mother” – Bragg apple cider vinegar or any live, raw vinegar will do.
Wide-mouth glass jar, ceramic crock, or food-grade plastic container.
Cheesecloth or clean cloth + rubber band – to cover the container and allow airflow.
A warm, dark place – ideally 60–80°F (15–27°C).

🧂 OPTIONAL

A vinegar mother (a cellulose mat of bacteria) from a previous batch or commercial source – this speeds up the process.
A pH meter or pH strips – to test acidity (vinegar is around pH 2.5–3.5 when ready).

🧃 STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1: De-sulfite the wine (if necessary)

Sulfites can inhibit bacterial activity. If your wine has sulfites (most do), let it sit open for 24 hours before using, or pour it back and forth between containers to let them dissipate.

Step 2: Mix wine and vinegar starter

Mix 1 part water to 3 parts wine to get ABV from 12% down to about 9% ABV.
Mix about 3 parts water/wine to 1 part unpasteurized vinegar (e.g., 3 cups wine + 1 cup Bragg’s ACV).
Pour the mixture into your jar or crock until it’s about 2/3 full to leave room for airflow.

Step 3: Cover and store

Cover the container with cheesecloth or a clean towel, secured with a rubber band.
Place it in a dark, warm (not hot) place with good air circulation.

Step 4: Wait and watch

Let it ferment for 3–6 weeks, or longer depending on temperature and strength of the wine.
You may notice a gelatinous blob forming — that’s the mother of vinegar. It’s a good sign.

Step 5: Taste test

After 3–4 weeks, start tasting once a week using a clean spoon or straw. When it’s tangy and no longer tastes like alcohol, it’s vinegar!

Step 6: Strain and bottle

Once it’s fully fermented (no alcohol flavor remains), strain out the mother and any sediment.
Bottle the vinegar in clean jars or bottles. Store in a cool, dark place.

🧫 SAFETY NOTE

Smell is important: Vinegar should smell pleasantly sour. If it smells rotten or moldy, discard it.
Mold: Sometimes a white film (kahm yeast) forms on top — this is generally harmless, but black, green, or fuzzy mold means contamination, and the batch should be thrown out.

🧪 HOW TO KNOW IT’S DONE

You can be more precise with:

pH testing: Vinegar should be around pH 2.5–3.5.
Smell/taste: Sharp, tangy, and acidic with no alcohol burn.

🥫 BONUS: Reuse the “mother”

Save the mother to kick-start future batches. You can also gift or compost it.

I used the cheap red wine from Aldi’s, Winking Owl, and added water. I put cheesecloth over the mouth of the jar, and fastened it with a rubber band. Basically I left it on the top of my refrigerator for more than a month. I’m still not sure if the product is vinegar or wine. It is pleasing to drink if I add a little sweetener to it. As warned there is a whitish scum that forms on the top of the vinegar/wine, and I just strain it off through my coffee filter as I pour from the carafe into the wine glass. I noted that the Winking Owl wine was only $3.95 today (09/26/25).

Ram Rod

February 19, 2025August 9, 2025 bgibson135

I started smoking these “Original” RamRod Cigars many years ago. I came upon them first at a smoke shop just across the river from New Bern, beside Hwy. 70 heading toward Havelock, North Carolina. Eventually this smoke shop stopped selling these cigars. The owners of this shop appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent. I did find the RamRod “Deputy” cigar, but this was a little cleaner looking and about half the length of the original. The original was long and sort of gnarly (not a straight roll of the cigar) that was Bourbon flavored. I have driven past this location within the last three months and the smoke shop is no longer there, but it was there for many years.

I like the aroma and flavor of these Avanti Cigars. It is Cafe Mocha. I think I first tried these at JR’s off of I 95 at Smithfield, North Carolina, because they had stopped selling the RamRod Cigar. I rarely smoke, but do it maybe one in a three to six months period. I’ve said, and this was the original reason, that I smoke a cigar to “get in character” when reading something like “1984” or a “seedy” detective novel.

JR’s is now just a large smoke shop, but for many years JR’s was a large, sprawling department type store, with a large book section. I’ve bought many cookbooks there, for myself and as presents for Mary Ann and others. JR’s sold clothing, dishes, cologne & perfumes, and assorted “stuff.” This was one JR’s location, but I think the other that I knew of, and visited at least once, was located at Statesville, North Carolina.

I bought a pack of cheap cigars, GAME Expresso Martini. They were a pleasant smoke. I may have bought Swisher Sweets BLK Cocoa flavored. If so it smoked fast, but had a pleasant flavor. The plastic tips begin to melt when the cigar burns near it.

I guess this posting will morph into a story about things that were, and are no more. “If you live long enough… and even if you don’t.”

I’ve mentioned elsewhere that there was a LIDL in Havelock that I shopped at when passing through the area. This was just off Hwy 70 that passes through Havelock as you are going between Morehead City and New Bern. I’ve also mentioned that I now see the blatant evidence that they are working on a bypass for Havelock. But one time, I bought a gallon of milk and a jar of dill pickles and was surprised that the pickles cost a little more than the gallon of milk. *Maybe that’s why LIDL didn’t last at this location. But, I took a picture, with the jar of pickles, the gallon of milk and even the register receipt (that’s readable, if you zoom in far enough).

I think there’s another LIDL location, in Rockingham, North Carolina that I shopped at a couple of times before they closed. I think that location has been repurposed, but I don’t recall to what purpose.

But recently, I’ve started shopping at LIDL in Fayetteville more than in the past. I’ve found that they sell the “Hatfield” Brand of hams. I first bought a pre-sliced Hatfield Ham at Harris Teeter, and then couldn’t get another. And then was recently surprised by seeing the LIDL sells the Hatfield Brand, and I bought one there. *But, they also had good looking carrots, so I bought some of these also. Pre-Covid, I could get a small bag of carrots at Food Lion, near me. After Covid, they and other groceries began to sell larger bags of carrots, and not the small sized bags. LIDL also sells the Hillshire Farms Brand of “Beef Polska Kielbasa.” Both LIDL and Walmart have good prices on the Hillshire Farms products.

If you travel to Cheraw, South Carolina you could drive by the former location of FATZ Restaurant. I enjoyed eating at the restaurant chain several times. They were sort of a Yuppy environment, and I had some delicious “Honey Balsamic Brussels Sprouts” there. They were so good that when I came back home I tried to make these at home and was successful. There was/is a FATZ in Rockingham also, but I’m not sure if it is still open for business.

I’ve been to Rockingham quite a few times. I fell in love with the fried chicken (and other buffet items) at the Seaboard Station Restaurant in Hamlet, North Carolina. Hamlet is a short distance from Rockingham, and I will normally also visit the library in Hamlet and then go to the library in Rockingham. I’ve bought books at both locations several times. I’ve also bought books at the library in Laurenburg, North Carolina. They usually have a large selection. Most of the books I buy are not for me to read but as books to leave in various “Little Lending Libraries” at various locations, in assorted cities & towns, or to give as gifts to family & friends.

But in mentioning libraries, the main library in Asheboro, North Carolina is vibrant. They keep a large selection of book on counters for perusing. The library in Laurenburg has also done some remodeling inside and “looks good.”

Normally I do not drive on Hwy. 70 directly between New Bern to Havelock and then on to Morehead City. I have recently, but that is the exception.

The new New Bern bridge crossing the Neuse River.

I normally will drive across the bridges at New Bern and over to the Bridgeton side of the river.

Growing up, I would cross the old New Bern bridge, between New Bern and Bridgeton, riding on a Trailways Bus heading from Jacksonville, North Carolina to Portsmouth, Virginia. This was a low bridge, near the water that headed directly across the river. This bridge was torn down years ago.

*A note, I had a good friend, Leo Taylor, who hired me to work in the IT department at Fayetteville State University. Leo’s parents (“Silver” was his mom.) ran the Trailways Bus Terminal in Washington, North Carolina. I call Washington, NC, “Little Washington” as most of us did. So, no telling if I ever saw a young Leo as I was passing through on the bus (either heading to or from Portsmouth).

My mom worked at the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth for several years and I continued to live with my Aunt Sis (mom’s sister) in Hubert, North Carolina until I graduated High School in 1972. I then went on to college, and when I returned to the area, lived with my mom at our house in Jacksonville, North Carolina (204 Johnson Blvd.).

The house at 204 Johnson Blvd. was torn down several years ago and the lot remains empty, but the property is owned by my cousin, Raymond Sharpe.

Then on to the Minnesott Beach Ferry and taking the 20 minutes ride across the river, and from the Cherry Branch side, I will normally head back to Havelock and then find the route to head back to Swansboro. But when I have much more time, I might “take a left” and head away from Havelock and find my way, the “back way,” to Beaufort, North Carolina. I then try to drive down the waterfront. For many years there was “Down East Gallery,” the art gallery of Allen Cheek, but that has been gone for quite a few years now.

*LaVaughn’s on the Beaufort waterfront.*

There was also a gift shop, “LaVaughn’s” from which I bought several Mangum ceramic mugs. That shop too has been gone quite a few years. *But, I have gone to the Mangum store in Weaverville, North Carolina. Weaverville is about 9 miles north of Asheville, North Carolina. I visited this gallery the last time I was in Asheville, which was about 5 weeks before Hurricane Helene came through the area. *I happened to find a picture of LaVaughn’s storefront on my old Flickr site, otherwise I would have never recalled what the name was. *I found the owner’s obituary online: LaVaughn J. Hendricks

These were the Mangum mugs I bought at LaVaughn’s over the years. I also bought a large serving platter in this pattern, and a creamer. Seems like I also had a sugar bowl too, but I think I’ve gotten rid of the platter, creamer & sugar bowl. I use the largest Mangum mug regularly, usually for coffee.

Well that doesn’t happen often, if never, till now.

February 18, 2025February 21, 2025 bgibson135

I poured out a small amount of my “Bill’s Drink” into one of my glass beer mugs. I’ve had these over 30 years They belonged to Russ & Deborah, and they had donated them to the “Hem of His Garment” when I was working there, and I bought all six of them. I was living, working and going to school (Coastal Carolina Community College) in Jacksonville, North Carolina at the time. When I moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1995, I brought these beer mugs with me. They were a nice size for drinks with ice.

So, just about an hour ago, I had used these beer mugs without breaking any of them in over 30 years. *I just checked and I still have five left.

I wanted to wash one of my drink carafes which had a small amount of “Bill’s Drink” in it. I poured the remaining drink into one of my beer mugs and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes. I like my drink hot or cold, and almost every day for more than six months.

So, I was doing something. I might have been pre-treating a few of my T-Shirts with the stains that haven’t come out after a good washing. I think some of the stains are from spilled Hot Chili Crisp, which is a reddish oily stain. I pre-treated with Dawn dishwashing liquid, and a little water, but I didn’t see much of those stains being loosened, or disappearing. But, all of a sudden I hear a loud crash. It sounded like something had fallen off a nearby shelf. I even walked out of the kitchen and into my living room looking for what might have fallen, but didn’t see anything.

I came back into the kitchen and heard my microwave talking to me, so I went to open the microwave door. It was then that I saw something that surprised me. The glass beer mug had exploded in the microwave and except for one large ring of glass, the rim of the glass mug, there were a bunch of large shards of glass and the small amount of Bill’s Drink.

The drink was room temperature. No ice. And, I’ve heated water for hot tea in these glass mugs for years. In fact, I will even use the glass mug to heat the water and then transfer the hot water into a fancier coffee/tea mug. Not sure why this happened, but it is an exceptionally rare occurrence, “never” rare. *I’ve re-thought this and I think it may have been that I had so little liquid in this mug that it allowed the existing liquid to get much hotter, thereby breaking the glass mug. I have heated many, many, many of these mugs, with either water, or Bill’s Drink in them from 3 minutes to a couple of minutes and none have ever broken until now. I even heated water in one of the remaining mugs for 3 minutes this morning to make my Raspberry Royale tea and it worked just fine. **I will just have to pay attention and fill these mugs higher.

*I seem to recall breaking two other glasses when I had put either ice, or extremely cold liquid in them and then the heat from the microwave cracked them, but this wasn’t the case. Maybe the small amount of liquid concentrated the heat on the glass.

This may be the perfect spot to show my current coffee/tea cups/mugs. I’ve been thinking about getting rid of all but about three of them, but don’t quite know which three to keep. I did have a favorite, large, blue glass mug that cracked, and I didn’t replace it because of how expensive a replacement would be.

Marinate Boneless Pork Neck Bones for Stir Fry

February 16, 2025February 18, 2025 bgibson135

AI says, “Yes, you can marinate meat, poultry, or seafood, then refrigerate it overnight or for a few days before cooking,” and “A good rule of thumb is to keep marinating time under 24 hours.“

For the above marinade I used water, salt and coconut sugar. I’m planning to stir fry some of the pork tonight, but let the rest marinate in the refrigerator overnight. I may freeze some tomorrow, and perhaps cook the remainder tomorrow.

I cut the meat into smaller portions earlier before marinating and am thinking I’ll leave it for at least an hour while I cut up the other ingredients.

Do not wash the marinade off of the pork, but you may want to pat it dry to aid in cooking.

Stupid me. I forgot the pineapple.

The orange bell pepper looks much like the orange carrots, but the veggies in this include: carrots, jalapenos, onion, and sweet “orange” Bell pepper. Also note how fresh the “Stir Fry Vegetables” from Polar look. They are consistently of good quality.

Well, it turned out well. The pork was tender and flavorful. I put in Toasted Sesame Oil and some Avocado oil, and then added the pork. I got a good brown on the pork before adding most of the other veggies (carrots, onion, jalapenos, sweet Bell pepper), and sprinkled on some powdered ginger, and garlic powder and Splenda. Towards the end I added some pineapple chunks and finally at the end, some white sesame seeds and cornstarch slurry. *I didn’t add any Spicy Chili Crisp to this, because I wanted something different. I used a whole jalapeno without the seeds, but it wasn’t hot. Makes me think I might be able to make “Jalapeno Pork” this way.

AND CAN CHICKEN BE FAR BEHIND?

I bought a package of Chicken Tenders at IGA (Eutaw Village Shopping Center) and cut the tenders into bite sized pieces and put them in three zip lock bags, labeled them and put them all in the freezer.

“IGA CKN 02/20/25” was the label I used. If something is good, I often don’t recall where I made the purchase, so IGA tells me where. Not so much with chicken, but sometimes, frozen steak and pork can be hard to distinguish. I don’t label the dates regularly, but I know I’ve come across frozen items that have a date that is at least a couple of years old.

I flattened the packages as I’ve been reminded that keeping them flat helps quicken the thawing process later. *I’ve also frozen pineapple (in chunks or slices) to be used later in stir fry cooking.

And sometimes I freeze the second helping of the “Stir Fry Veggies” that I get in a can from Walmart. I try to divvy up the assorted stir fry veggies so they are equally portioned from one fry to the next. The veggies include: sliced water chestnuts, baby corn, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, and (red sweet pepper, but not much of that). I am also reminded that sometimes, when I buy a bag of frozen shrimp at Publix, I divide them up into zip lock baggies with about 15 shrimp per bag. I then put these zipped bags back in the one original Publix bag, and take one out to thaw as needed. *And I normally thaw the shrimp in the microwave shortly before using. Recently I used shrimp (because I either didn’t have chicken or pork) in a stir fry, but normally the shrimp go into my “Kielbasa, Shrimp & Zucchini” dish (which I haven’t made in a long time, but it almost always is delicious… a little spicy and just a few ingredients).

I tried to “do the math” on the portion sizes. If the package was 1.11 lbs. total, and 16 ounces in a pound, then that should be about 17.76 ounces (almost 18), so almost 6 ounces per package. That’s a little more than I would normally like as a serving size. Actually 3.5 to 4 oz. would probably be ideal.

Now I am strongly thinking of using this chicken in a stir fry, but I could just as easily fix my Mexican or Indian Themed dishes from the exact same chicken. The veggies are the same: onion, carrots, and sweet Bell pepper. The difference is whether I use “Patak’s Hot Curry Paste,” or “Salsa Ranchera” by Herdez.

pataks_curry_paste — Patak’s Hot Curry Paste

Ooops. I just visualized another posting about using the exact same meat & veggies and making either a Chinese Stir Fry, a Mexican dish, or an India Indian meal, just based on the seasonings I choose. The Chinese version would include the “Hot Chili Crisp,” Toasted Sesame Oil & Soy Sauce, and powdered ginger, but all three would include powdered Garlic, S&P.

I haven’t had one in a while, but instead of rice, and that would be my preference with all three versions of the meal, I could microwave a sweet potato (adding some cinnamon, sweetener, butter & sour cream) and that would work with either the Mexican or Indian versions.

Lamb Stew

February 15, 2025February 16, 2025 bgibson135

I think it was over at Publix that I was looking in their meat section, where I have in the past bought many packages of “Round Bone Lamb Chops.” I haven’t had a hankering for those chops in a while, and I think I may still have at least one package in my freezer. But, I saw a package of lamb that was cut to be used in lamb stew. I bought it and once home went looking for recipes. There was a Moroccan version which looked delicious with various spices, like Cumin and Paprika, but I decided to go with the English or Irish version: carrots, onion, & potatoes.

I have a small black crockpot that I haven’t used in quite a while, so I got it out, and brushed it off and started by roasting the lamb in my wok under Broil in my oven. It browned, and I probably should have left it longer for more char, but no. I put the browned lamb in the bottom of the crockpot, and added some chopped onion. Later I would add the carrots, and much later after 3 hours cooking time, on Hi, I added the potatoes and a couple small tomatoes, diced. I used S&P and garlic powder, dry Thyme and at the end I added some Cumin and Fenugreek.

The result was “okay” but not quite what I had hoped. I did finish eating the meat, and a few carrots.

There wasn’t a lot of meat on the stew bones, and I don’t think I will try lamb stew again, or at least not anytime soon. The result was sort of like making a lentil soup and it not being “anything to write home about.” Lentil soup, done well, perhaps with spicy Andouille, some carrots, onions & a few small tomatoes, and the right spices (???) can be very satisfying.

A good price on “store bought”
broth at Walmart…

I just added a couple of onion tops to my frozen flavorings for my next “homemade broth.” The package is getting pretty full, and I easily have enough for making a good supply of broth. Probably more onion and celery, than carrots. I forgot that when I get a head of celery, I can cut both the tops off and the root end off. The root end supplying a lot of flavor for broth.

I may buy a rotisserie chicken from Harris Teeter next week, and then about four or five days after that will make my next batch of homemade stock (God willing). I love the way how all of these things can begin to work together. Using the chicken carcass, gets the last little bit of flavor from the unused bones & some of the skin and remaining meat (after 4 or 5 meals from the one chicken).

But, because I eat Greek yogurt almost every day, I get a nice sized plastic container, with a snap lid, that I can use for storing the stock, and then freeze it. I think I might be able to get two containers, one on top of the other, in my freezer. But, I’ve also used an empty Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice container for my chicken stock, and that container fit perfectly in my refrigerator door.

Keep those Mealy Bugs out! – Plastic Dukes Mayo

I prefer Dukes Mayo, to Hellmans, for flavor, but also, the Dukes yellow plastic lids fit regular Ball/Mason jars perfectly, Hellmans does not. And the large plastic mayo bottle works well for storing dry beans with a tight fitting lid to keep out “mealy” bugs.

And as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I also keep my Hillshire Farms Deli Meat containers (clear plastic bowls with red see-through tight fitting lids, that are both microwave & top rack dishwasher safe) and reuse them for things like leftovers, and for storing my uncooked bacon. A pound of bacon fits perfectly in one of these, but I also have some black bean, and regular hummus in one.

*I realized that the company had intentionally made these containers to be reused, and if I got a good price on the deli meat in the store, it was worth the reusable container. If the deli meat (Pastrami, Honey Ham, Black Forest Ham) is under $5, you’re getting a reusable container for maybe two dollars. The Hillshire advertising on the top of the lid is printed on a cardboard sheet, which is attached to the lid with a little rubber glue. It comes off easily.

One note, is that I am not eating much of this deli meat any more, so I’m not getting a bunch of these reusable containers, but I still think I have about five of them… and their red plastic tops go with the color scheme of my Rubbermaid “Easy-Find Lids” storage containers. *Oh, I enjoy making “Pastrami Reubens” at home, but not very often because of the calories & salt, and what the bread does to my blood sugar, but for a splurge, I still do it. So, at some point, hopefully, another storage container from the Deli Pastrami.

LIDL: Items

February 14, 2025September 14, 2025 bgibson135

I don’t shop at LIDL very often, but I was in today to buy Smoked Oysters. They have a good price on cans of these. But today as I was looking down several isles, I came across other items that I purchased: Hatfield Pre-Sliced Ham, NIXE Smoked Oysters, raw carrots, fresh raspberries and fresh blackberries. *Actually, I now shop at LIDL and Aldi’s quite often.

As I was standing at the register to check out, a manager was working on something at the register, the clerk that would wait on me was standing back watching what was going on.

There was a woman standing behind me and at some point she struck up a conversation, asking me if the smoked oysters were for my Valentine. I told her I didn’t have a Valentine and that they were for me.

I noted that she had a couple of large Avocados (not an innuendo about her breast, but the big green ones, not Haas), and a couple of other items. I asked her if she liked hummus, and she responded, “yes.” I told her that I like the smoked oysters with my hummus. She thought about going back to get some smoked oysters for herself, but then thought otherwise because of the line of other customers behind her.

Before I went shopping, I had been writing about wanting to buy the Hatfield Ham again to see if the flavor made a difference in my “Bill McMuffin.” But, I wasn’t even thinking about looking to see if LIDL sold this brand of ham. The only grocery chain that I knew did sell Hatfield, was Harris Teeter. And, I also still had some unfrozen ham in my fridge and the remainder of that ham in my freezer, so it wasn’t actually time to buy more ham. Still, I am at an age where if “it” doesn’t please me, I had better make a change quickly, to something that does.

[NOTE]: Well, I tried another “Bill McMuffin” with the Hatfield Ham I bought yesterday. I did like the ham better than what I’ve been using, but this time I think I should only microwave 1 egg, and not 2 and use only one slice of cheese, split between the two halves of muffin.[end NOTE]

I saw some fresh raspberries and nearby fresh blackberries, both at what seemed to be a good price. I’ve been pureeing these fruits to eat with my Greek Gods Plain Yogurt. I was also thinking that I would have to go somewhere else to buy carrots, but then I saw a bag of large carrots (2 lbs.). The carrots were large, not the bag.

Just before I went to the register, I picked up a couple of cans of the NIXE Smoked Oysters.

Soft Apricots – Alesto
- These were the softest dried apricots I’ve ever eaten. I bought a second bag, but haven’t been eating them very often.
Camembert Cheese
Carrots (good price on 2 lbs. package & good looking carrots.
Fruit (fresh Blackberries/Raspberries)
- Earlier in the season they had very good prices on blackberries & raspberries.
Green Beans
Hatfield Pre-Sliced Ham
- I enjoyed this fresh ham. It made delicious Bill McMuffins, but I seem to recall looking at the calories/fat/sodium and haven’t bought any since. *I originally bought this on sale at HT, but then couldn’t get it again there and then saw it at LIDL.
Hillshire Farms Beef Polska Kielbasa (Walmart also)
Milk 2% (cheap)
- They had fantastic milk prices earlier in the year, but have gone up, but still a good price.
Smoked Oysters
- Both LIDL and Aldi’s have good prices on smoked oysters, but I’ve sort of not been wanting them lately.

This is now the LIDL in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

You know what still worries me? I looked pretty intently at the woman’s items she had placed on the conveyor belt behind me. I can visualize the two large green avocados, and there was something above those, and there was something below them, but I can’t visualize anything but those two avocados, which I think I almost touched, or at least reached out in pointing to them during our short conversation.

The above, “forgetting something” just reminded me of a time long ago, when I was attending college at UNC-Chapel Hill. One Saturday, during the fall, there was a football game at Kenan Stadium. I think we were playing Duke. In fact, it was my Freshman Year (1972), because I went to the game with a small group of people that included my roommate (Keith Smith) and his fiance, and I think her brother and seems like there may have been one more person, ah, maybe “Stick” Mann who was our next door dorm mate, and maybe even Stick’s date. Yes, if it wasn’t Stick Mann, then there was an incident later, after the game where I met Stick Mann’s father in the hall way, and was introduced. As I recall, from my drunken stupor, Mr. Mann had short (military style) white hair. Seems like I was so drunk that as Stick and his dad were down near his room door, and me & someone else were about mid hall, where there was a drinking fountain, I actually said something about his dad looking like an “onion head.” I didn’t mean anything derogatory, but I was extremely drunk and was just relating my first impression.

At the game, someone had brought a bottle of Tanqueray Gin, and it was being passed around. I was so drunk by the time it got to me that I poured a small Dixie cup full of straight gin, and then because we had no more mixer, I asked for a Peppermint Lifesaver and dropped it in the cup, suggesting that now I wasn’t going to have to drink it straight.

There were also some people seated behind us and there was a woman that reminded me of Marlo Thomas, which, as drunk as I was, I had to tell her this at some point.

Eventually, before the game was over, the “brother-in-law-to-be” had to walk me back to my dorm from the stadium. At some point, I woke up on my dorm bed, with a small bit of “puke” on my pillow and a “dog chewed” Frisbee in my hand. I was still very, very, very drunk and I had no idea from where I had gotten the wrecked Frisbee. And, even though this was only late afternoon, and I would drink nothing else the rest of the day, when I did finally go to bed, much later at night, I was still really, really drunk.

So the next morning, I have this severely chewed plastic Frisbee and I don’t know where it came from. Not a clue. There are dog teeth marks on every part of this toy. Now, I didn’t recall how I got back from the football game to my dorm room. Someone may have told me that the “brother in law to be” had walked me back, but I had no remembrance of the journey. That is until several years later, and suddenly I had an image of the courtyard in front of “Connor” dorm, which was about three dorms down the street from my dorm, “Aycock.” *I shared a dorm room with Keith Smith, Room 318, I think. Third floor, second from the end, toward the street. This dorm was later (many years later) renamed, since “Charles B. Aycock,” former Governor of the Great State of North Carolina was a racist. I guess if someone could convince President Trump, he could find another person with the last name of “Aycock” that the dorm name could be changed back to, like Fort Bragg – Fort Liberty – Fort Bragg, but not the same Bragg. How stupid!

I then recalled that there were bunches of people spread across the courtyard and that there were several dogs all chasing and playing with “the” Frisbee. That is where all of those teeth marks came from, and I must have wrestled the Frisbee from one of the dogs and brought it back to my dorm room. So, the incident was a complete blank for at least a couple of years, but eventually I did recall enough to know where the Frisbee came from, and how it had become so damaged.

Courtyard in front of Connor Dorm. During my time at Carolina, there were fewer trees along the street.

pu’er tea

February 13, 2025February 16, 2026 bgibson135

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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