Pared Down Spaghetti Sauce

February 18, 2024May 4, 2024 bgibson135

I haven’t made spaghetti sauce in a long time, but in the past, I made it quite often, probably every two or three weeks, and each time I made it there would be at least enough for three meals. I just haven’t needed the extra carbs of the spaghetti noodles, and I can’t imagine substituting zucchini noodles for actual pasta. *I do think I had some zucchini pasta with chicken at the Olive Garden, and wasn’t too thrilled when I found that the cheap special came with the zucchini noodles.

Olive Garden is one of those restaurants that I’ve completely stopped going to, although since my last visit to Dr. Norem (quarterly checkup), I haven’t been eating at very many restaurants. I’ve even pared my weekly visits to Taco Bell down to almost none. A day or so ago when I was preparing my schedule for meals for the next week, I thought of stopping by Taco Bell to buy either a Beef Burrito Supreme or a Crunchy Taco, but when I looked at the calories in just one taco, I decided to not go there,… and I love the flavors of their burrito supremes & tacos & bean burritos.

I haven’t been to the Rainbo in many, many months. Nor have I visited R.K.’s, or Zorbas. I’ve even made my lunch and took it with me twice when I was going up to Cary, Morrisville & Raleigh shopping. Ate twice in the Wegman’s parking lot and think I had a Greek Salad both times. The sesame crackers had become stale the second time, and they keep their crunch a long time. Probably should have put them in a plastic bag instead of actually on top of the salad, in the Tupperware container. Haven’t been to Golden Corral in way more than a year. I had been to the Pizza Hut in Lillington (just across the Cape Fear River) for their lunch buffet several times, but since my doctor’s visit, not once. I will have to say that their pizza and salad needed something, but I’m not sure what.

But this time I started with the intent of making only enough for one, or two meals. Quickly, I realized that you almost have to prepare spaghetti sauce for at least two meals. I had 4 oz. of ground beef, and diced a very small onion, some chopped red bell pepper, added half a can of diced fire roasted tomatoes to about a third of a jar of Rao’s Marinara Sauce, and a small can of mushroom bits & pieces. Italian seasoning, marjoram, bay leaves, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, onion flakes, garlic powder, ground Indian pepper, some dried parsley flakes, S&P, very little chicken stock, Agave Nectar and Splenda. I can see that this is going to provide me with two generous portions of spaghetti sauce, and I am planning to sauté some zucchini and add that to the pasta & spaghetti sauce (at the end). *Recall that fennel seeds are in some Italian sausage and provide a licorice flavor.

I have been to Helen’s Kitchen for breakfast a couple of times, when I visit Hubert & Jacksonville and Mary Ann. And on January 19th, I ate at both Helen’s Kitchen and at Down on Main Street, in “little” Washington, NC. I really, really, really enjoyed the shrimp burger with coleslaw, fried okra and cocktail sauce. Now, these are exceptions to my current eating patterns. And, if I am successful at getting my A1C below 7 this next doctor’s office visit, I might take a quick trip up to Greensboro, NC to “Sticks -n- Stones” Pizza. I love their Margherita Pizza with some jalapenos. The only other restaurant treat might be a visit to Pharaoh’s Legacy for their Lamb Gyro and Greek Salad, and my last visit there (about January 17th) I even carried my own Greek Salad and at the meal out in my car. But, this did throw my resting blood sugar level way high on January 18th, my & Mary Ann’s birthdays.

My change in eating patterns since shortly before my last checkup have greatly reduced my resting Bgl. And that only went up when I couldn’t refill my Trulicity prescription in a timely manner. I went up about 20 points on average until I got on Rybelsus, and then got Trulicity and started back on it. *I only used about 15 tablets of the Rybelsus because I had started to see things about extreme side effects, and then a commercial about another like product that was including Rybelsus in a law suit.

I left the spaghetti sauce cooking on low on the stove-top as I wrote the above, and when I went to it just now, most of the liquid had cooked out and I had enough for two 2-cup containers (only filling each about 2/3rds full). Fortunately, the sauce was just about perfect, and none of it had burned on the bottom of the pot. Sometimes, especially when I am cooking beans, and specifically those large white butter beans, I leave them and at some point realize that the water has cooked out of the pot and the beans on the bottom have become “scorched.” Although not inedible, the overcooked flavor is not my usual goal.

Both the YM Warranty and the BBC Volga appear to be in port at this time. The Warranty is at the Port of LA, and the Volga is at Douala, Cameroon. You know I am enamoured of the vessel Volga and her vast travels around the World since I first became aware of her, as she pulled into the Port of Morehead City in late November of 2022. If I were ever going to teach World Geography, I would hope to incorporate the travels of such a vessel because, and greatly to my surprise, the Volga, in a year almost completely travelled around the World in both directions. She did travel completely from West to East, and then turned around and almost completed the entire journey for East to West. And since, she has also gone through the Panama Canal, travelling completely down the western coast of South America, and then back up the entire eastern coast of South America, going to the Port of Houston, and then Panama City (USA) and then Jamaica and from there across the Atlantic to Cameroon. When you figure that she has been up to Norway, and over to Gdansk, Poland, and then to the UK, and around past the Straits of Gibraltar, across the Mediterranean Sea, through the Suez Canal, down and across to Singapore, up to China and all the way to Japan, I think you should be impresses with this “little” vessel. A Handysize container vessel literally travelling the World.

[NOTE 05/04/24]: Well, I was successful in getting my A1C down to 6.7 for my last visit to Dr. Norem, and I had also lost about 15 lbs. during that time. And I think it was the following week that I took a trip up to Greensboro, NC and had a pizza at Sticks-n-Stones. “I love their Margherita Pizza with some jalapenos.” That pizza was good, but it wasn’t the best I have had there. After looking at this picture, the colors are vibrant, and the ingredients look tasty (and they were), but I noticed that the crust was uneven and gigantic around the edges. I began to think that the chef wasn’t really “into” making my pizza, this time. Different chef, maybe?

After Greensboro, I drove to Burlington, then through Gibsonville, and finally to Mebane before heading back south and home. I stopped at the library and a bookstore in Burlington. I found the downtown section of Gibsonville and they had a neat little small toy train setup, and finally I stopped at a used book store just out of Mebane and the the library in Mebane. I had just missed the used book sale at the Burlington Library, and then was told that the Mebane Library is part of the Burlington system.

I’ve stopped going to Taco Bell altogether, and before I got serious about my A1C & weight, I probably would visit at least once or twice a week. Haven’t been to Golden Corral in many months, and for years when I was working, I would probably visit Golden Corral at least once or twice a week. Covid shut down most buffet restaurants, and I don’t have any buffets that I go out to now. I would visit Mi Casita at least once a week, but haven’t been there in a long while. I still will make a special visit to Pharaoh’s Legacy for a Lamb Gyro, but I now order out and eat in my car. I make a Greek Salad at home and bring it along with me for this lunch.

The last time I went down to Jacksonville to see Mary Ann, I didn’t eat at Helen’s Kitchen. And, at the moment, I can’t remember where I did choose to eat, or maybe, now that I think about it, I ate at home before driving down and then had lunch out at Marakesh with Mary Ann.

[end NOTE]

Garlic Cauliflower

January 28, 2024January 29, 2024 bgibson135

Beef Liver, Sweet Potato, Steamed Broccoli & White Mountain Bread

Garlic Cauliflower I steamed my cauliflower first and in a separate small skillet I made the Garlic Sauce with Avocado Oil, Red Wine Vinegar, chopped garlic, smoked paprika & some Equal sweetener. I normally will “turn” anything with vinegar with a little sweetener, and this worked well.

[NOTE 01/29/24]: I am making a note regarding the term “London Broil”. Somewhere online, not very long ago, I read an article that said that “London Broil” wasn’t a type of meat (steak) but a way of cooking on high heat and close to the burner. I explained this idea to Jeff Mitchell yesterday when I was visiting to watch the NFL Playoffs. But this morning, early, I am not finding that article and it seems that London Broil is steak that has little fat content and needs to be cooked on high heat, near the burner, to keep the meat tender. But, I may continue to use the term “London Broil” when describing how I cook the Round Bone Lamb Chops and the Pork Chops in the oven, on high and near the top burner. Cooking it this way provides an amount of “char” on the meat, which means “flavor.” [end NOTE]

I cooked the lamb in the oven as London Broil. The round bone lamb chops normally are sold in pairs (not always) and usually I eat one and put the remaining one in the fridge for another meal. This time, I cut the larger chop so that I should now have two meals remaining. I’m trying to eat a little less, because I know that less weight makes it easier to control my Blood Glucose Level. The Garlic Cauliflower was just mildly sweet but I could see this and German Potato Salad (both have vinegar & sweetener) as being interchangeable as sides. I added some dried tarragon to my garden peas, and a little sweetener. I think I also drained the original liquid from the canned peas, and added Chicken Stock back and maybe a dollop of margarine. *I also went to the extra trouble of making a slice of garlic bread (white mountain bread slathered with margarine, and sifted generously with garlic powder). This toasts in the oven quickly.

I don’t do this always, but sometimes I add lime juice & sweetener to my steamed broccoli. I first learned of how good the steamed broccoli could be with lemon juice & sweetener at Red Lobster. I would order the steamed broccoli with the blackened fish lunch special. At some point I wanted a different flavor for the broccoli than just salt & butter and found the citric & sweet combo worked well.

[NOTE 01/29/24]: I just noted in the paragraph above, that I was writing the word “cauliflower” but actually talking about “broccoli.” And oddly enough, I had written “steamed cauliflower” three times, but the last sentence (without even noticing) said “broccoli.” [end NOTE]

I probably first had a baked sweet potato, with sour cream, cinnamon and sweetener at one of the steak restaurant chains. Maybe Longhorn. I think I first ordered it with a cheap steak and liked it. But, I also like a “loaded” baked potato (Russet) with sour cream and butter. *It was probably America’s Test Kitchen where I first learned of the trick to a tasty baked potato. You pierce the potato skin all around the potato and then roll the potato in a saline solution (salt & water). The salt in the water sticks to the skin of the potato and forms a salty skin.

I like steamed cabbage, but also like cabbage slaw (with mayo & half-n-half, sweetener, vinegar). *I don’t usually add carrots to my slaw, but I have added sweet onion before and like that. I’ve also played with slicing the cabbage into thin, long slivers but sometimes have put the chopped cabbage in a blender with plenty of water and blending the cabbage until it is all just little fine bits. The water keeps the blended cabbage from becoming total mush, and each little sliver of cabbage is a consistent size. **I do like using Duke’s Mayo and some Half-n-Half and sometimes either a little vinegar or lime juice to thin it out.

The Liver Pudding shown above is a breakfast dish for me. I heat the liver pudding up in a small fry pan, on the stove top, in a little bacon fat. I peel the skin off the liver pudding and mash it down. It softens quickly. I also slice a couple of half inch wide polenta slices and put them in my waffle iron & press them down. Sometimes the polenta waffles brown just a little, but usually they just get warmed through. Still, I like these polenta waffles with the liver pudding and with the chipotle/avocado/chicken soup I make often. The chipotle/chicken soup has Southwestern flavors, so polenta, which is corn, works well, as do adding chopped cilantro leaves, or some chili or cumin powder.

The round scrambled egg is made in the microwave in my onion cooker. Currently, I have a bag of shredded 4 Mexican cheeses and I like adding that to my egg as it cooks. The cheese melts inside the egg. *I bought the 4 Mexican Cheeses blend with the intention of making a Southwestern Salad, but haven’t gotten around to it yet, mainly because the simple salad has a lot of calories. It includes: black beans, romaine lettuce, onion, ranch dressing & the Mexican Cheese blend.

I made a Cilantro-Lime Dressing when I fixed a salmon steak about a month ago. The dressing was good, different, but pleasant, but the next day my weight & resting Bgl jumped way up. I attributed the jump in the wrong direction to the dressing, but also wasn’t sure if I had eaten a larger portion of salmon than needed. Oh, salmon is pleasant, but it’s not something that I would repeat often. I will stick to my meat rotation of ground beef, steak, pork chops, lamb and roasted chicken (which I get from Publix). I do make a delicious tasting Seafood Chowder, which I do like to repeat. But, I prefer a little heat to the chowder and the end of the summer is when I can get some delicious peppers up at the State Farmers’ Market in Raleigh.

The savory rice thins crackers are delicious. They go good with salad and soups, and as a snack they take the Nueske’s Smoked Liver Pate and the two goat cheeses I really like, Bucherondin and Capricio de Cabra (sp). I had forgotten about the Bucheron Goat Cheese until about 3 months ago when I saw some in Wegman’s. I took a hockey puck of the Bucheron cheese home and when I tried it I recalled that this was one of the special cheeses I had tried years ago and liked. It might have been more than 30 years ago when I first tried this cheese, while I was living down in Jacksonville, NC. I probably couldn’t find it after I moved to Fayetteville, almost 30 years ago, and so I forgot about it. I’ve mentioned this elsewhere, but these crackers do not get soggy quickly when moisture hits their surface, so they provide a nice crunch with either soup or salad veggies.

I’ve found that Sprouts sells a cheap bottle of Pomegranate Juice. It does have a lot of sugar, but this juice also is supposed to be good at controlling blood sugar levels. *It is difficult to find low-sugar dried cranberries, but I like these with chocolate drops & either cashews or walnut pieces. When you do find low or no-sugar dried cranberries, they are much more expensive than the sweetened dried cranberries.

I was just watching TV, as I normally am, even if I am reading or doing something else on the laptop, and I saw a phone commercial. I don’t recall which company (AT&T I think.), but they have the young woman that was rather chesty, but has toned that down. What I found exceptionally funny was that the two women were looking at wedding dresses, and there were three white dresses displayed on mannequins with a sign that said, “Buy Two, Get the Third Dress Free.” One woman asks the other woman, “Is that a good deal,” to which the reply is, “No.” I started replaying this in my mind and suddenly thought that whomever wrote this commercial was very humorous. Ludicrous to think about buying two wedding gowns, and then to offer a third gown, even more idiotic, but how funny!

Great Gravy? Maybe Not. Good Gravy? Yeah.

January 24, 2024January 24, 2024 bgibson135

Recently I have made pretty good gravy from hamburger, steak and pork chops. I pour out most of the grease from the meat I have cooked (in a pan on the stove-top), turn down the heat, and then sift in some Wondra fine flour. I scrape the bottom of the pan and remember TV chefs saying to make sure the flour is cooked long enough to lose it’s raw flour flavor. I then add some Chicken Stock and try to make a thick gravy. I may add some marjoram and/or thyme, and if the gravy is bland, some salt. Seems like the pork chops make the best gravy.

My cousin, Mary Ann, has always been a good cook, and she does make good gravy. One of her secrets to flavorful gravy was using some Morton’s Nature’s Seasons. I think she also used Morton’s Season All but I don’t recognize the current packaging for it. *But, one Thanksgiving it wasn’t the gravy but the mashed potatoes that she made that we both still remember to this day. She mashed them, and added some butter & cream, and mashed them some more, and some more butter & cream and blended them. At the end they were so silky smooth and flavorful that we had extra helpings and its something we mention on the holidays and agree those mashed potatoes were exceptionally good that year.

I heat up a slice of wheat bread (to soften it) in the microwave (about 10 seconds usually does it).

I did make a slice of garlic bread the other day, slathering margarine on it first and then sifting a generous amount of garlic powder on top, and then toasting it in the oven. I don’t recall what I ate the garlic bread with, but I do recall that it was delicious and worth the extra effort. *Without looking back at what I’ve eaten recently, I know that I would have enjoyed garlic bread with spaghetti, but I haven’t had spaghetti in quite a while.

For years, I made my homemade spaghetti sauce by starting with the $1 can of starter sauce (Delmonte or Hunts). For a while I would add a small can of mushroom bits, and some ground beef. At some point, I had some Italian sausage, and read somewhere that fennel seeds were a flavoring spice, so I started adding fennel seeds to my sauce, even if I didn’t have Italian sausage. Once I used ground beef, pork and lamb. The ground lamb was expensive. The end result was a little more flavorful, but I decided it wasn’t worth the extra money and effort so I went back to just ground beef. I do add oregano, thyme, bay leaf, S&P.

But about two years ago, I saw a chef on TV using Rao’s sauce as a starter, and not too long after that I bought a jar of Rao’s in Walmart. The jar of Rao’s was about $8. When it came time to use it, I only used half a jar, but the end result was definitely worth the extra price. I’m not sure what I like about Rao’s (and they do have an assortment of sauces) but the extra cost was worth it.

The Sesmark Savory Rice Thins Crackers go good with the Bucheron Goat Cheese and the Nueske’s Smoked Liver Pate. I like them with my Greek Salad also. They are crispy and flavorful, and they stay crisp even when wet.

Liver Pudding Soup

December 23, 2023December 27, 2023 bgibson135

No, I don’t see where anyone has listed a liver pudding soup online. I had bought some liver pudding this afternoon, just because it looked good, and was in link form. I think it cost $3.99 plus.

I bought some Red Swiss Chard at Fresh Market for about $2.99 a bunch. For some reason this Chard looks good there, and seems to be very reasonably priced, although I think most of their other pricing on both vegetables & meats are a little high. It may be the dark green leaves with the bright red ribs that set it off to me.

I had bought Red Chard there previously, and had combined that with Borlotti (Cranberry) Beans and some seasoning meat, and that had turned out really good. Sort of a unique, earthy flavor not already in my repertoire. Uncooked the beans have burgundy streaks on a brownish gray bean, but once cooked they lose the streaking and just become a plain brownish bean (but flavorful). *I have written about the Borlotti beans elsewhere, and recall that it was on an episode of one of Jamie Oliver’s cooking shows (of which he has had many) that he brought these beans to my attention. Since then I have seen & bought them dried, but also seen them cooked & canned (15oz.) at Walmart. I think they are called Roman Beans in those cans, but I have seen them advertised as Cranberry Beans, and they are also Borlottis.

So, I wanted to use the liver pudding as the meat flavored base for this soup. I started with some bacon grease and sliced onions in a pot on the stove-top. I then added chicken stock to the pot, cut some of the Red Chard, first de-veining the leaves and then chopping the red ribs up into smaller cubes, while choosing to chiffonade the leaves into little ribbons. Now, I had a Roma tomato close at hand and diced just one of these. But, the really odd thing that I chose to add, and this was mainly because I had a medium Avocado which was about to “go to waste” as they often do in my house. *With my increased attention to the meals & foods that I am eating, and am scheduling to eat, I know when there is no room for extra food items. And even with this soup, I don’t actually have it scheduled in any of my upcoming meals yet. However, I have already tasted it a few times, and it has a good flavor.

Surprisingly, the avocado didn’t break down immediately, so there were good sized chunks of it floating with the dark green Chard and a few of the diced tomato still intact. The liver pudding has long since dissolved into a browning base for the soup. And, I just tried another few tastes, and “Yes, this is good soup!” The beans probably have another 30 minutes to an hour to cook thoroughly, but they are edible even now. The rest of the ingredients are cooked well.

NOTE [ 12/27/23 ]: I’m not going to eat a lot of this soup, but it was a test. Much more successful than the three bean test I did a few years back, where none of the 3 actually made a better soup. I had about a cup full of this soup for lunch. It wasn’t bad, and I had it with some sweet onion. The liver pudding isn’t distinctive enough to carry the meat flavoring portion of the soup. The Red Swiss Chard and Borlotti beans provide an “earthy” flavored base. I think the Borlotti beans do have a distinctive flavor, not necessarily a distinctive look after cooking. They go from brown with burgundy striations to just a plain brown cooked bean. Both times I have cooked the Borlotti beans and Red Swiss Chard, the result is a thick soup. This would be a good side dish, but would try to find something “lighter,” like a salad or steamed asparagus/cabbage.

[ NOTE ]: I had substituted this soup for baked beans in my eating plan, but at the last decided to substitute something else. This says to me, whether I want to be honest with myself or not, that I don’t really like the taste… or I would be eating it.

Andouille, Shrimp & Lentil Chowder

March 25, 2023March 25, 2023 bgibson135

I bought a long link of Spicy Andouille Sausage at Sprouts today. For some reason, I started thinking of making a seafood chowder using lentils and not potatoes. I didn’t use tomatoes or half-n-half.

Andouille Sausage
Onion
Olive Oil
Bacon Fat
Carrots
Poblano Pepper
Jalapeno Pepper
Chipotle Pepper
Lentils (red, black, brown)
Shrimp
Thyme (Mediterranean)
Celery
Celery Seed
Garlic Powder
Onion Flake
S&P
Chicken Stock
Margarine
Cumin Seed

I’ve made Andouille & Lentil soup before. Kielbasa doesn’t work as well because it isn’t spicy. And adding hot peppers accents the Andouille. I thawed the shrimp in the microwave and added the juice and the shrimp once they were thawed. I would imagine that you could leave out the shrimp and this would still be a good soup… and yes, I have made this type of soup before.

Made a Really Good Helping of Green Beans, Potatoes & Bacon.

March 3, 2023March 4, 2023 bgibson135

This was so simple, but ended up being really flavorful.

The can of green beans that I opened were whole, not cut or French Cut, green beans. Seemed thinner and not cut. I peeled one medium potato and then cut it up roughly. I used about three, half slices of bacon and then cut them into about six smaller sections. I used some Chicken Broth, S&P, and a little margarine. I may have used a small amount of bacon grease (from what I save after breakfast).

I stood over the stove, having heated up some of the green beans, potatoes & bacon, and I kept saying how good this tasted. *I am reminded of many years ago, probably the 1970s when I was working for Region “P” and was down in Queens Creek at a Senior’s meeting. They were having a pot luck lunch, and Essie Davis (not the Australian actress), who was a friend of my mother… they may have car pooled to/from work on board Camp Lejeune. Ms. Davis lived almost at the curve near a church, deep in Bear Creek. … Ms. Davis fixed a “mess” of green beans, potatoes & seasoned them with bacon. I remember enjoying the flavor of this dish so much that instead of having a desert, I had a second helping of the green beans. Delicious! And now what, about 50 years ago, I recall how good these beans were.

I fixed this again yesterday. I didn’t have much Chicken Broth left, so used more water. I think I kept all other ingredients the same, and I paid attention to the doneness of the potatoes. They aren’t overdone… not too tender. I used cut green beans instead of the whole beans. But, the final product was not as delicious as the previous one. I added more salt… more margarine… more bacon grease… nope, just a little less flavorful than previously, but still very good flavors together.

Green beans are still one of the cheapest veggies you can buy at the grocers. And adding white potato, which will begin to soak up any other flavors… so adding bacon (not pre-cooked) to the broth just hits the spot.

Several weeks ago I tried chopping up fresh asparagus, steaming it, and then adding the asparagus to mashed potatoes. It was absolutely delicious! I made it several times, but surprising to me, it did not take long for me to not want this often. Or maybe I couldn’t figure out what other “sides” I wanted to have with this. *I did combine carrots & garden peas and cooked them in some Cary’s Sugar Free Maple Flavored Syrup, with some margarine. The sugar free syrup does not thicken up & burn like sugar or maybe honey would in a pan. It remains thin and watery, and the margarine provides a sheen to the carrots.

Haven’t made my Tomato Chutney in a while. But, did make my Cibatta Roll Pizzas at home. The home made pizza sauce is so easy to make. Only seven ingredients and I mix them up in a small glass jar. Tomato paste, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, white vinegar, olive oil and salt. I buy cheap, but good, sliced pepperoni at IGA… shredded mozzarella cheese, and the other two ingredients that I like are a little sweet bell pepper & some finely diced onion. I would like more bell pepper & onion, but the size of the Ciabatta rolls limits these. Bake in the oven first, and then a short time under HI Broil to crisp up the pepperoni. For me, this consistently satisfies my craving for pizza. The sauce is spot on for any good pizza sauce that I’ve had at a restaurant. And, the four small slices of bread fill me up, just enough.

Made some good spaghetti sauce the other day, but haven’t actually tried it on pasta yet. And, I decided to make only enough for two good helpings. I had a small amount of ground beef that might have gone bad in a few days, so that was my impetus for making spaghetti sauce. I had a half jar of Rao’s starter sauce in the fridge. I had a half can of diced tomatoes that were frozen. I cut up some sweet red bell pepper, and some onion. Think I added dried oregano, garlic powder, S&P and a little Equal sweetener. Turned out very well, although much more ground beef than usual.

Over the last six months there have been many changes to the foods that I have a desire to eat. I no longer like a hamburger with cheese. I put a slice of American Cheese on a burger recently and before I was through, I was asking myself if I could remove the melted cheese from the bread. I still love cheese. I like Swiss cheese toasted on bread and used to top French Onion Soup. *I use the cheap Beef Broth to make the onion soup, and I am thinking a better quality of broth would add to the finished flavor of the onion soup. *I also toast Swiss cheese on Rye bread when I am making my Pastrami Reubens (Rachels) at home.

Capricho de Cabra is one of my favorite soft cheeses, and it has remained relatively inexpensive. This goes well with Raspberry Jam and crackers. It is white, soft, crumbly and a little tart. I get this at Whole Foods in Raleigh.

I had some good Pepper Jack (maybe using jalapenos) that I bought at Wegman’s recently. I had also bought some smoked deli ham, and some Miami Onion rolls. Also bought a small jar of horseradish, and combined the horseradish with some sweetened yellow mustard. I use Equal and Agave Nectar to sweeten the yellow mustard. Currently love this horseradish/mustard combo, on deli sandwiches, hamburgers & hot dogs.

I like smoked Gouda and recently tried some “flowers” flavored cheese (don’t recall the name) that had a distinctively “earthy” flavor. I don’t think it was labelled as “Alp Blossom” cheese, but I had seen the name previously, and bought a small block at Sprouts.

Oh, forgot about the HT White American Cheese that I have gotten at Harris Teeter for sandwiches.

Vegetable Soup Using Dried Veggies…

November 9, 2022November 11, 2022 bgibson135

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I enjoyed some vegetable soup broth (with dried veggies) at CiCi’s in Smithfield, NC. As I said then, that I normally would not use dried vegetable flakes to make vegetable soup, but the intense flavor of this broth was addictive.

I looked online and saw several sources (at Amazon) of dried veggies. Many of these were expensive, for “giving it a try” some from $45 – $62 for a container of dried veggies. I did see a few offers at about $20, so I ordered one of these a few days ago. My order arrived today.

The container was small, even fitting in my mail box.

My first attempt, I just used water for the broth, adding a little salt, and putting in way too much of the dried veggies. The outcome wasn’t quite what I had wanted. But later, I tried again, this time using some of the Chicken Broth from WalMart. This had been on special for only a dollar a container. I guess this is a special price for the upcoming holidays.

I added just a little water to the chicken broth, and then only a few of the dried veggies, trying to make the consistency as I had tasted it at CiCi’s. This time, it was spot on. Good, intense vegetable flavor, salty and hot.

Made some soup again and this time I had some white meat from the Roasted Chicken that I had bought from Publix. Ingredients: chicken broth, about a tea spoon of dried veggies, about a 1/4 cup of white chicken breast shredded, S&P and a little water. Once again, this was just as satisfying as the CiCi’s broth, and an alternative to the Soy Sauce Ramen Noodles. Perhaps even a little quicker because it is heated in the microwave for about 2 minutes.

Bought some of the dark wheat Mountain Bread from Publix today. It is a little moister than the white wheat bread, but both are good. I think I might like a deli meat sandwich with the darker bread. Didn’t have any of the bread with the soup.

Bringing It Home.

August 12, 2022August 15, 2022 bgibson135

Thai Basil Chicken from Maguro’s in Southern Pines…

I have taken a few things with me when I am going to Maguro’s to have lunch, and I have since after my first visit only eaten “Thai Basil Chicken”.

Russ and Deborah took me there to celebrate my birthday and Russ had the Thai Basil Chicken. I had something else, which was “okay” but looking at Russ’ meal from across the table, I thought it looked especially tasty. At some point, Russ asked if there were hot peppers in the dish. I recall that both Deborah and I looked and I think we found what appeared to be a sliced Jalapeno. Now, I would guess that hot is not what Russ wanted.

I’m sure that Russ and Deborah had “cut out a swath of time” for me for my birthday celebration, but after lunch as we are standing in the Maguro’s parking lot talking, I realized that I had an upset stomach. My way of saying that I felt I needed to go to the bathroom. I told them I was going home and left my celebration early.

But, the next day I drove up to Southern Pines again to have lunch at Maguro’s, and to order the “Thai Basil Chicken” for myself. Making back to back trips to Southern Pines from Fayetteville would be highly unusual for me, but at this time, our gas prices had not started to rise drastically.

The Thai Basil Chicken was delicious! During the Pandemic, I would normally drive to Southern Pines on Thursdays and order the lunch special, which for sometime was still only $7 with water to drink.

The few things I took included:

— Hot Mustard which I would dip my egg roll (more like an egg roll instead of a spring roll) in and their sweet sauce. This mustard will take your breath away if you eat too much, and too much might just be a very little.

— Toasted Sesame Oil which I add to the fried rice. I had found that the flavor of the Toasted Sesame Oil was what “meant” fried rice to me. This does make the rice flavor better.

Many times I have eaten the entire meal at the restaurant, but a few times, I have brought a “doggy” box home with me. And, what I found is that adding extra peppers and onion to the left overs works well. I had some hot peppers including Habaneros, a poblano and some onion which I cooked up on the stove top. I added the peppers & onion to the left overs and microwaved for a couple of minutes. This worked excellently!

Andouille Lentil Soup

I knew that I wanted to make some lentil soup before I left for lunch in Southern Pines. I was going to look for some Andouille sausage at Fresh Market in Southern Pines. Not all sausages are the same, and I have had bland Andouille. But, I have also used Polska Kielbasa which was a failure. Not spicy.

I went into the Fresh Market and sauntered through apples, carrots, nuts and olives before making it to the meat counter in the back. You can only get to the meat counter from two directions, and I realized after walking along the counter that there was a “proper” direction, and there was a large sign for “the next customer”. I had not asked a butcher for assistance, and after finding the head of the line took my place behind an elderly couple that had just been called up to the counter by a butcher. I saw sausages and one of those was labelled ‘Andouille’. Another butcher, a black man, came to the counter and asked if I needed assistance. I asked him if the Andouille was spicy. He said he had not tried it personally and did not know. I asked if a pound of the Andouille was about two links. I ended up getting 3 links for a pound. The white butcher didn’t know if the Andouille was spicy, but knew that Andouille should be.

I had a 3 quart pot, and put a couple of links of the Andouille in the bottom and cut the casings from end to end. I tried to scrape the meat from the casings. I then added some red & brown lentils, some chopped onion and some chicken broth, S&P, and garlic powder. At some point I added some Poblano, and hot peppers, including a Habanero.

I was finishing off my Maguro’s Thai Basil Chicken as I was cooking the Andouille Lentil soup. But, I was tasting the soup broth, and it was obvious that it was spicy hot. The Andouille was ground chunkily (which is how it should be) and had good flavor, although I honestly cannot say if this Andouille was spicy because of the overpowering heat from the hot peppers I had added. But, this was really good soup, especially because it was spicy hot, and had good meat flavor!

So, I am sitting on the toilet the next morning, and it comes to me that my stomach feels like someone had punched it. It is slightly sore, and I smile thinking that the cause of it was all the spicy, hot peppers I had eaten the day before.

After lunch, I drove over to Ken Chappell’s fruit stand near Candor. This is a regular practice during peach season. Peaches & apples are the main produce, but they also have okra, tomatoes, cantaloupe & watermelons in season.

I bought a watermelon ($7 maybe $5), three small tomatoes, some Gala apples (small & hard) and a small bag of peaches (Flame Prince). I drove back to the Fresh Market.

I drove over to the Mitchell’s after I had bought the Andouille. No one was home, no cars in front, and no one answered the door bell. I left a few apples & peaches on the table under the patio.

I drove back to Fayetteville. I left the watermelon in the car, but brought the rest of my purchases & the left-over Thai Basil Chicken inside.

Not sure how soon afterwards that I went to bed, but I awoke about 8:45 pm. I started wandering through the apartment. I see that I left the left over Thai Basil Chicken in the little white plastic box, on the table, not the refrigerator. And also on the table was the package of Andouille Sausage, unrefrigerated. I got the bag of peppers out of the refrigerator, grabbed an onion, and started chopping dividing it out by eye, some in the Andouille Lentil soup pot, and some in a small fry pan (for the left overs).

Just before I got home, I stopped at the Food Lion. I bought a bag of carrots (for the lentil soup), a few Gala apples (for fried apples), a sweet bell pepper, roasted cashews, and supposedly “Sweet Bites” tomatoes. I was surprised to see the Sweet Bites, because they haven’t been available for over a year (maybe longer). But see my concern, because although the “Sweet Bites” package has returned, the small tomatoes inside are not the same variety (or flavor) as previously sold under this name by Sunset Company.

ADDENDUM [ 08/12/22 ]: Boy! I just had another helping of the Andouille Lentil soup I made last night, and there is just one more helping left in the fridge. This soup turned out to be really good, and addictive. It is so spicy hot, and the Andouille sausage has enough distinctive flavor (although I still can’t judge whether it is spicy, hot, or not), and the Poblano peppers offer their distinctive, earthy flavor and the carrots provide a cooling effect. I like lentil soup and have made several versions of it in the past. But, they are not always winners. I remember adding Texas Pete hot sauce to it in the past. I think that I had forgotten which type of sausage to use, and Polska Kielbasa doesn’t work here. *So, I would add this version of Andouille Lentil soup to my three other favorites, Curried Apple, Tarragon Leek, or Avocado Chipotle soup.

I currently think that they would be ordered in this order, as to my favorite:

Curried Apple (hot or cold)
Andouille Lentil (hot liquid, and spicy hot)
Tarragon Leek (hot or cold)
Avocado Chipotle (hot)

Chicken – Chipotle Soup

September 23, 2009May 4, 2024 bgibson135

This is a very simple soup, but I knew the first time that I had it that it would be something I would fix again and again.

— A couple of cans of chicken stock.

— Some diced chicken (boneless)

— Two or three chipotle peppers (wash off the adobo sauce)

— Several slices of avocado (per person).

Perhaps a little oil in the pot to start browning the chicken. Throw in the chipotle peppers and mix with the chicken, but try not to break the peppers (some will even want to remove the peppers before serving, but I like them). Once browned, pour in the chicken stock and heat to a boil.

Once you’re sure the chicken is cooked through and the stock is piping hot, you can remove from the heat and remove the chipotle peppers (if desired).

Slice the avocado into bite sized pieces and put in separate serving bowls. Pour in the soup and serve quickly. The avocadoes will start to break down quickly. The heat of the stock and the chipotle peppers is offset by the cool butteriness of the avocado.

[NOTE 01/30/24]: Fifteen years, and I am still making this soup. Although I still like the basic four ingredient version of this soup, I just fixed a delicious version where I added white rice, orange bell pepper, jalapeno, poblano, a couple of smashed garlic cloves and onion to the chipotle & chicken. I also seasoned with cumin, cayenne, red pepper flakes, dried cilantro leaves and a little lime juice. *In the past, I have added fresh cilantro leaves, and maybe even corn kernels. I recall at least once the extra items did not make this soup better, or even as good, so I went back to the basic ingredients.

My combination of extra ingredients & spices this time “was a winner.” I like a spicy soup, although as I have said at other times, I don’t want a really hot pepper that has no flavor.

I think the rice was a good addition. It helps cool the chipotle spiciness, as does the avocado.

*Oh, to mention it here also… I used the canned chicken breast (size of a tuna can) today. I pour in the water that comes in the can of chicken. But, I have found if I have some white meat left over from a whole roasted chicken (that I get from Publix), I can shred that and use it instead of the canned.

[end NOTE]

[NOTE 05/04/24]: I just tried this soup with some sliced polenta in it. It works really well. [end NOTE]

2 Ingredient Ranch Pickles

Curried Apple Soup

September 23, 2009December 9, 2025 bgibson135

granny_smith_apples — Granny Smith Apples

Apparently, “Trillium a Bistro” is no more in Asheville, NC. It has been several years since I made one of my Spring jaunts to visit Asheville stopping at Trillium, visiting the Grove Arcade to purchase a special balsamic vinegar, and then on to the Farmer’s Market for assorted cheeses, fingerling potatoes and a hand or two of ramps.

swansons_chicken_stock — Swanson’s Chicken Broth

I probably visited Trillium early in it’s history, when Leisa Payne was still developing her creative chef juices there, before leaving. Okay, okay, I don’t know her at all. I may have caught a glimpse of

dodge&trillium-location — Dodge RAM 1500 & Old Trillium Location

her sticking her head out from the probably small kitchen, talking to the wait staff. But, without her knowing it, she provided my table with a recurring joy. Curried Apple Soup.

I remember the soup, with chicken, as having a deep redness. Something which I have never approached. I have developed a bright orange color, and the flavor satisfies my memory, but I’m not sure I have ever come near to how Leisa prepared this soup.

The soup is delicious both hot or cold. Adding a dollop of sour cream is a nice touch. *Thinking just now, a sprig of some type of fresh mint might top it off nicely.

Here is how I remember the recipe that I have used repeatedly. I normally do not add chicken.

— A couple of Granny Smith apples cored, peeled, and a large dice.

— A couple of carrots diced.

— A stalk of celery diced.

— Half a medium onion diced.

— Small can of peeled diced tomatoes.

— Curry paste (Patak’s to taste, about a table spoon. )

— A sprinkle of Mace (too much will make the soup bitter)

— A small amount of ground Cloves (not too much)

— Some flour mixed with water and the curry paste to thicken the soup

— A couple of cans of chicken stock (use vegetable stock for vegetarian version, add extra water if ingredients are too dry)

— Several teaspoons of sugar or brown sugar (sweeten to taste)

In a 2 quart sauce pan, add a little oil when you start to saute the apples, onion, celery and carrots. After they start to become aromatic, add the curry paste/water/flour mixture and stir in. Before it gets too dry and starts to burn, add the chicken stock and then the tomatoes, sugar and other spices. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a light simmer and cover for about 20 minutes until the apples & carrots have softened.

pataks_curry_paste — Patak’s Hot Curry Paste

Now, here is why it doesn’t matter how well you dice and chop in the beginning (as long as all the bits are tender at the end): Pull out your stick blender (you should have one of these) and pull the pot off the fire and start blending the soup in the pot. Be careful so that the hot liquid does not slurp or splash over the edge and burn you, or make a mess. But, just keep blending until there are no chunks in the soup (carrots may hold on to the very end) and it is a beautiful smooth orange color.

I’ll admit to having a sweet tooth, so I may add way too much sugar. I may also add way too much curry. But, the end result is a soup… hot or cold that gives a bite, but the burn quickly goes away. This is not like a pepper hot which lingers on the tongue.

ADDENDUM [01/06/22]: I’ve always remembered this soup as being a darker red color and have never been able to have it turn out that way. I was just looking at some images of curried soups and noted a few with a dark red color. One of them had Smoked Paprika as an ingredient. Now, I don’t remember a Paprika flavor to the soup, but it might have had it, and I do know that some Chorizo & Garbanzo Bean Soup that I have made did have a dark, almost ruby red color due to the large amount of Smoked Paprika that I added to the recipe. It may be worth a try to add either Paprika or Smoked Paprika to this soup.

The above is not the Curried Apple Soup, but the color that I want the finished soup to look like.

NOTE [10/02/22]: I was going another way with a recipe today… I saw a pumpkin & lentil recipe online. I thought I had a can of pumpkin, but either did not have it, or could not find it. I did see a can of yams (sweet potatoes). These were largely chopped, but well cooked.

I added onion and then the yams. I added smoked paprika, turmeric, curry powder & paste, S&P. I added red lentils. I added some ground coriander, and ginger, mace & cloves. I added a couple of small tomatoes and a stalk of celery chopped. I then realized I was going more toward the Curried Apple Soup, and chopped up Granny Smith apple. I let this all cook down for about 20 minutes. I added some Equal sweetener, and a little Agave Nectar.

I then pulled out my stick blender attachment and blended this all down. It looked like the Curried Apple soup, but perhaps just a little thicker. Tastes much like the Curried Apple soup, and the smoked paprika nor the lentils overpower or ruin this Curried Apple & Yam Soup.

NOTE [10/04/22}: I think it was yesterday, that I was sitting in my easy chair and happened to look over at the shelving where I put my special flavorings and condiments section, and my eye fell on a can of “Pumpkin Puree – 365”. *The 365 brand is from Whole Foods. I think I would normally have this in my kitchen cubbard with the other canned veggies, probably right next to the can of yams that I used for the soup.