KITCHENDAO Citrus Lemon Peeler Zester Tool with Specially Designed Channel Knife to Save Effort, Ultra Sharp Lemon Rind Twist Peeler Tool Bar Bartender Lime Lemon Stripper for Cocktails Kitchen (Amazon.com link) It costs about $10.
I bought this kitchen tool in order to cut orange rind in strips to add to my homemade Dolce “K” Sweet Olive Mix. This was my attempt to recreate the Whole Foods version. And, it worked! I actually think that my version has more flavor, although I don’t know the actual ratios of the various ingredients so I can’t absolutely recreate the same mix each time… yet. Note the Orange rind shown in the mix here.
The peeler portion of this tool does a great job of cutting long narrow strips of rind, but there is still a good amount of pith on each strip. *I just tried the zester part of this tool and it does a better job of cutting just the rind and very little pith. So, I have rethought the mix process and decided to use zest and not the wide rinds cut into half inch lengths. And, the zester worked quickly for the whole orange.
This morning I had decided to fix fried apples & bacon for breakfast, and to make some Bigelow “Constant Comment” tea. Constant Comment has citrus highlights and in the past I have added dried orange slices to it for more orange flavor. I added some of the orange zest to the hot tea. But, I also added some of the orange zest to the frying apples. I think the zest made the tea and the apples more distinctive.
As a precautionary tale, you will need to freeze (or at least put in the fridge) the rind because left out, they will start to mold.
The zested orange rind looks good in the Dolce “K” Sweet Olive Mix. I also think the liquid in this becomes less pungent over time. I made a new batch of liquid and put the olives in it.
A few months ago I was in the CVS on Law Road looking to pick up a prescription. I glanced over to my right and down and saw a box of single serving bags of the Well Market Popcorn (White Cheddar flavor). They were giving away free sample as they were changing their popcorn vendor. I took one of the bags and when I got back to my car I opened it and tried the popcorn. It was very good popcorn. It was so good that I determined to seek out this popcorn in CVS in the future.
I don’t recall how long after I had first tried the popcorn that I was standing in front of the CVS shelves on which they had the Well Market Popcorn for sale. I think they had a discount on the large “family” sized bags so I bought one. This too was delicious popcorn.
I had my annual eye exam and found that the clinic actually had two locations separated by a small parking area. I had always gone to the location further away from Cape Fear Valley Hospital. Not this time. It was an overcast morning, but it wasn’t raining when I went in. However, by the time that my exam was over it had started to rain fairly regularly. I think I asked a technician if there was a “loaner” umbrella I could use. I knew I had an umbrella in my car which was parked near the other location’s entrance. I figured I could walk to my car, exchange umbrellas and then leave the loaner with the front desk at the separate location. But the technician said she would walk with me. She got an umbrella for herself and handed me one too. We walked across the small parking lot to my car and I handed the loaner umbrella to her thanking her.
Her name was Stephanie, but I didn’t recall that from the first meeting. I decided to leave a present of Well Market Popcorn for her and stopped a few days later at the CVS next to Cape Fear Valley Hospital and bought a bag. I think I also had a small bag of Peppermint Bark that I also gave her.
I had my annual, in hospital visit, for my pacemaker a few days ago. They check my pacemaker four times a year, and do three of those checkups remotely. The checkup this time probably didn’t last more than 10 minutes.
The male nurse/technician told me that when they replace my pacemaker battery that they replace the whole unit because it is wrapped in titanium. Oh, Joy!
This photo is of the top parking level at Cape Fear Valley Hospital.
All you do is take one packet of the powdered Ranch Dressing (Hidden Valley is the standard & costs about four times more than, the Food Lion brand which costs about 50 cents a packet) and pour it in a jar of Dill Pickles. I use the GV Dill Pickle Spears from Walmart. I pour out just enough pickle juice to make room for the dry Ranch Dressing powder. You want to try and make the juice cover all the pickles. Put the lid back on, shake it up, and put it in the fridge for a day to let the flavors soak in.
A cousin of mine mentioned that he thought the skins of the pickles became tougher after they were brined in this Ranch Dressing & pickle juice mixture, and I think he is right, but the jar of pickles usually is gone before the skins become too tough.
Oh, and I definitely reuse the Ranch Dill pickle juice from new jar of Dill Pickles to new jar.
*I bought some whole dill seeds in order to try and sprout them. They didn’t, but I put some of them in a jar of Ranch Dill Pickles and I think they have “kicked it up a notch.” I guess they’ve added more dill flavor.
Currently $2.34About $2 at Walmart.About 50 cents.Whole Dill Seeds
Wakame Seaweed Salad
I wanted to fix the Wakame (seaweed) Salad like the one I bought at Publix a few years ago, and that was also offered at a few restaurants as a side dish. Over the last few years I’ve bought various brands of seaweed (perhaps some were not Wakami) to try and reproduce this dish, but none were anywhere near it. Last year I found a jar of “Seaweed Salad” that looked a lot like what I had eaten, so I bought a jar at Golden Hex in Cary. Golden Hex is a European Foods specialty store, which carries many canned goods from various European countries, but also has a meat & cheese section, and even various candies.
The salad from Golden Hex was not “perfect” from the jar, but the ingredients I added to it did make it “PERFECT”. The additions included toasted sesame oil & seeds, soy sauce, vinegar, and some sweetener. *I think there was also some hot pepper flakes. *Not sure where I found the ingredients list, but probably online because I can’t imagine coming up with the ingredients from memory.
I guess if I would just read the ingredients listed here, I would know.
At Walmart for about $6.
[NOTE 04/12/25]: I made some more of this last night. I poured out the liquid from the seaweed which was a little salty and vinegary. I added:
toasted sesame oil,
red wine vinegar,
soy sauce,
red pepper flakes,
white sesame seeds, and
some sweetener.
* I had talked with one of the owners of Golden Hex and he knew this item but it wasn’t in stock at the time. He said he would order it. I don’t usually put much trust in someone saying this, but maybe a month & a half later I was in Golden Hex again and asked some of the staff if they knew if they had any of the seaweed. They didn’t know, but eventually we found it stocked on the shelf. Apparently, he had re-ordered it. I bought two jars of it, so now I have 2 because I used one last night. **I’m going to try the Walmart brand and see if it works.
Aisle A36 ***I was surprised to find, with the help of Alex, a Walmart employee, that they actually had the Seaweed Salad. It was in the refrigerated section but there was no Aisle A36, and I got it home and it worked just fine. I even added a little ground ginger and it was just as good as the Golden Hex version that is unrefrigerated. [end NOTE]
[ADDENDUM 04/16/25]: The Walmart Seaweed Salad is delicious, and it is super easy to add the other ingredients that make it “perfect”: toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, red wine vinegar, white sesame seeds and some sweetener. And I added some GV Wonton Strips and sprouted Mung Beans. This is a really satisfying combination… and alas, I’m going to have to not eat it too often. It is high in sodium and sugar. I could imagine the combination being so wonderfully “diabetic friendly” but it is NOT. I checked with the Gemini AI. Oh, well. The sodium is a natural part of it coming from the ocean. [end]
[ADDENDUM 05/31/25]: I hadn’t had this in a while and this time I added some of my Mung bean and broccoli sprouts and it was just as good, perhaps even a little more crunchy. *My quinoa sprouts don’t seem to be. They are supposed to sprout more quickly than most other seeds, but these don’t seem to be at all. They may not be the actual seed, but some processed seed. [end]
[AND MO ADDENDUM 06/28/25]: I just had another Wakame Seaweed Salad, but I added several things. I first added some of the wonton strips. I’ve done this previously and they should be a “must” because they add crunch at little or no cost, nutritionally. But, this time I thought about adding some almonds. Yeah? I’ve never thought of that before and when I added some, they were pretty pleasant in the mix. I already had the Mung bean sprouts, which are also a “must.” They definitely add crunch, and deep down inside I think they’ve got to be adding a bunch nutritionally. And, as I ate the almonds, the thought of even adding some dried cranberries creeped in… and I think they might work also. I think the thought of cranberries & almonds came from some other salad. I’m not sure if I would ever go walnuts, but it might be worth a try and walnuts and cranberries definitely applaud each other.
**I’m tacking this on, from the next day. I made my Souped Up Wakame Salad today, and added all the bells and whistles, and it was FANTASTIC! So, Walmart Seaweed Salad, toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, red pepper flakes, white sesame seeds, Agave Nectar, Equal, a little garlic powder, almonds, dried cranberries & wonton strips.
Example Scenario (Serving Size 1):
Walmart Seaweed Salad (1/3 cup): 75.0 calories
1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil: 40 calories
1/2 tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce: 10 calories
1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar: 0 calories
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes: 0 calories
1/2 tsp White Sesame Seeds: 20 calories
1 tsp Agave Nectar: 20 calories
1 packet Equal: 0 calories
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder: 0 calories
Almonds (1/16 cup whole): 42 calories
Dried Cranberries (1/16 cup): 23 calories
Wonton Strips (1/2 tbsp): 8.75 calories
Total Calories = 238.75 calories
That all combined makes one delicious snack.
[end]
[ADDENDUM 08/03/25]: Damn! Sorry I didn’t scroll down further and remind myself of the almonds and dried cranberries. They do make this dish so good. But, I did add some mung bean & broccoli sprouts to this with the wonton strips and it was good too. If I haven’t said it previously, and even if I have, the wonton strips are a gift. They add crunch and there isn’t enough negative to not add them. [end]
[NOTE 09/28/25]: Yes, again. The seaweed I had in the refrigerator hasn’t gone bad. I pretty much recall all the ingredients, which is a surprise to me. It’s as if I naturally know what should go in this. I even did the Agave Nectar and Splenda without looking at the menu. The one thing I forgot, but added were the white sesame seeds. It is a pleasing little interlude. of flavor. [end]
Dolce K Sweet Olive & Fruit Mix
I have yet to order the Spanish Marcona Almonds (blanched). Above, I show a zester that I bought to zest the orange rind. It works well. I don’t have the amounts of each ingredient to use, but the first time I made this was “spot on.” Once you have your marinade, you just put the olives in and wait for a day or so, and they take on the marinade flavor. I think I should just use currants and not raisins, because the yellow raisins I used rehydrated to almost their original size, and at first I thought they were olives.
I bought some of the Mix from Whole Foods after I had made my own, to compare the two. I actually liked my version better. It seemed thicker, and more pungent. I also think that I can reuse the marinade several times, but just add a new jar of pitted olives. *It does take a day or so for the new olives to take on the flavor of the brine/vinegar but they do.
*Funny, once I knew how to make this, I stopped eating it. I haven’t had it in a long while. Not that I don’t still like the flavors.
I had a simple Cucumber & Sweet Onion Salad tonight. I’m not sure I think of it as a “salad,” but I’ve grown up with it since I was a child. My Aunt Sis made it, and it is so simple: sweet onion, cucumber (with or without the skins), vinegar & sugar (or in my case now, sweetener). Maybe a little salt would cause the flavors to “pop.”
*I’m not sure of what kind of onion my aunt used, because we didn’t grow up with Vidalia onions, and “sweet” onions only came along after the Vidalia became popular. My guess is that the “sweet onions” don’t take the name Vidalia because they aren’t grown in the “Vidalia” region of Georgia much like certain wines or chesses can’t take on a specific name because they don’t come from a specific region of France, or Italy, or elsewhere. *Now that I think of it, we didn’t grow up with English Cucumbers either, but I don’t recall regular cucumbers as being as bitter as they now are.
But then I came upon an Asian Cucumber Salad online that piqued my interest. So much so that, I got up and made a test sample to see if it would have a distinct flavor… and boy, IT DID!
First, you’ve got to know that I’ve fallen in love with the flavor of “Spicy Chili Crisp.” I found this while looking for something to add to my Stir-Fries, as a “change-up” flavor. It is about the cheapest chili oil that you can find, and it only costs about $5 at Walmart. And I like it just from the jar. It has an earthy flavor.
My version:
INGREDIENTS
English Cucumber
Spicy Chili Crisp
Toasted Sesame Oil
Red Wine Vinegar
Garlic Powder
Splenda Sweetener
Salt
Sesame Seeds
Romaine Lettuce (if you have it)
I’m thinking that this sauce would spiff up more than just cucumbers. Maybe Cannellini beans, or even green beans, or the two combined. Maybe this direction is based upon me thinking about a 3 Bean Salad, where beans are combined with vinegar & sweetener. Kidney beans & Garbanzos?
I have some pork chops that I think would go well with this Asian Cucumber Salad. Another thought, is using this sauce either on raw or roasted cauliflower. I’ve had something like this on roasted cauliflower, but I didn’t have the sweet vinegar. I think that is exactly what it would need. Oh wait, the roasted cauliflower had turmeric & garlic. I usually prefer sweet to savory flavors.
Spicy Asian Cabbage
I had steamed cabbage tonight and added Spicy Chili Crisp, sweetener, toasted sesame oil, and white sesame seeds. I may have liked these flavors together better than the Spicy Asian Cucumbers. I ate this with a pork chop that had agave nectar and some lime juice. I did not add soy sauce or vinegar, although that should be at least one taste test later on.
Yes, I do like the Asian seasonings with the steamed cabbage. I have made this about three times and I like it each time. I’ve also tried “smashing” the cucumbers to provide more surface area for the sauce to stick to. After I smash them, I sprinkle on some salt and set it in the fridge. After a while I pour off the liquid that has leached from the cucumbers and then add the Asian seasonings.
Broiled pork chop, charred onion, pickled beets and Asian Steamed Cabbage.
Note the one fried peanut (the red bean) that comes from the Spicy Chili Crisp.
Reader’s Digest: Magic Foods for Better Blood Sugar
One of those books that I must have found at a library book sale for a buck or two. It’s re-enforcing that my choices, for the most part are good and in line with eating better. There is a test on pp. 60-61 regarding my current eating habits, and I think I did pretty well… Yeah, I did. I just checked and I scored a 27 which was pretty good.
But I just read that Agave Nectar is terrible because it causes blood sugar spikes, and a quick google has found nothing positive about using it. But, somewhere inside, I feel that there is something special about AN. If nothing more, that it causes chocolate syrup or honey to dissolve in cold milk. *If you’ve ever tried putting either of those in cold milk you know that they don’t mix well. They fall to the bottom of the glass, but if you add a little Agave Nectar, and stir, they completely dissolve.
I’ve been enjoying the Greek Gods Yogurt with various fruits or fruit purees that I have made. I pureed some raspberries and added a little Splenda, or I pureed a persimmon and had that with the yogurt. And the other night I added some walnuts to the mix. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries. Loved it all.
I’ve been eating more oranges. Found the Cara Cara orange at Pate’s to be really flavorful. I bought a zester on Amazon and have actually zested several oranges before eating them. I put some of the zest in a sandwich bag and put it in the freezer, and some in a baggie just for current use. The current use is to add it to my Constant Comment hot tea for added citrus flavor.
*But, my goal was to have plenty of orange zest to go into the Dolce “K” Sweet Olive & Fruit Mix (Whole Foods) that I’ve learned to make at home. I haven’t gone back to my test batch that has been in the fridge for several weeks now. I don’t expect it to go bad, but who knows.
Recently, I’ve made some good Chorizo & Lentil Soup, and a good Seafood Chowder. I added more smoked paprika and regular paprika to some Spanish Chorizo (without the skin). I’ve got a basic ingredients list for the Seafood Chowder. The four seafood items currently include: cod fish, chopped clams, bay scallops and shrimp. I also include okra (fresh when I can or frozen), onion, potato, tomato & zucchini.
Since seeing Lee’s Fresh Market ad on TV, and then tracking them down just a couple of miles outside of Benson, North Carolina, I have shopped there repeatedly. It only takes me about 37 minutes one way, back through Erwin to get there. The two things I’ve bought the most there have been their Pepper Bacon and their Thick Cut Pork Chops. As long as the pork chops are on sale, what a deal! I can make at least 3 meals out of each pork chop. If they are a pound each, and even with the bone, you are still going to get a 3.5 or 4 ounce chunk of meat, and they are delicious when broiled in the oven.
[02/08/25]: And, I just broiled one tonight. I found two packages like the one shown above in my freezer and took one out to thaw. I only cooked one for dinner, but yes they still make about 3 meals. Amazing to me how quickly it cooks, being as thick as it is. I think it took about 10 minutes on the first site and then I flipped it for maybe another 4 or 5 minutes and it was done. The meat is still tender & moist on the inside with just a few charred edges, and it’s not raw, but just slightly pink on the inside. I’m now in my Asian seasonings era, so the English cucumber had some Spicy Chili Crisp Oil, Toasted Sesame Oil, Red Wine Vinegar, Splenda Sweetener & Soy Sauce. The Stir Fried Green Beans had Toasted Sesame Oil, Ground Ginger, Red Pepper Flakes and some Soy Sauce.
I look at the image below of the chicken gizzards and yes, they were good. But, I was thinking of buying some chicken livers and Stir Frying them along with some of the green beans. I had a couple of helpings of the Stir Fry Green Beans at the “No. 1 China Buffet” in Asheboro, North Carolina last week.
I picked up a container of chicken livers at the IGA across town this afternoon, but the outside of the container had bloody smears and I couldn’t make out whether the livers were fresh. I put them back thinking I would stop at the IGA in Eutah Shopping Center. That is where I had taken the picture below, previously, of the gizzards. Eggs and chicken prices have gone up, although ALDI’s still has a dozen eggs for under $5, but livers & gizzards are still reasonably priced. [end]
I’ve also bought a bunch of the Sanderson Farms Chicken Gizzards at IGA. They looked good in the store and they translated well in the pot. An earthy flavored delight, that goes well with blackeyed peas and well seasoned collards.
I wanted some collards and blackeyed peas for New Years Day. A little bacon grease starts either, but then I added a white potato to the canned collards. I don’t need to buy a large bunch of collards and cook them down for just one person. The blackeyed peas just need time to morf into something delicious with some chopped sweet onion. The onion goes good on the collards also.
I do eat a bunch of nuts, and some dried fruit. I don’t eat a bunch of dried fruit because of the extra sugars, but I like a couple of pitted prunes (the really moist, shiny dark ones), a pitted date every so often, a few raisins with some roasted pumpkin and walnut pieces. I like the wasabi/soy powder on the pumpkins seeds. I like almonds and cashews, and I love raw peanuts in the shell from Pate’s. I ate them repeatedly for about 3 months until they were no longer available.
I’ve been drinking “Bill’s Drink Mix & Some Real Juice” for months now, and almost every day finishing off a 1 Litre carafe. There are four ingredients in this drink and it doesn’t work for me if any one of them is missing. They include: orange juice, cranberry juice, Pomegranate Lemonade Mix, and Sweet Tea Mix, with water. The majority of this drink is water in which to dissolve the two flavor packets from WalMart.
I bought a new electric wok (Aroma from Amazon) recently, one as a test, and the other as a wedding gift. When I saw the quality of this purchase, I ordered the second one. I go through stages of eating a lot of stir-fries, and then none for a long time, but once I’m into it, they are so easy to prepare the basic ingredients, quick to cook, delicious to eat, and finally cleanup is a breeze.
I like both chicken & shrimp as my protein, but then I want sweet bell pepper, onion, carrots, and a little pineapple. Add some soy sauce and toasted sesame oil, some spicy chili crisp & a little Splenda. If you have the Stir Fry Vegetables great, and Sugar Snap or Snow Peas are icing on the stir fry. And I try to finish off with a slurry of corn starch. Although I love rice, I rarely have rice with my stir fry. I might include a few Angel Hair noodles in the stir fry to soak up some of the juices. *I have stopped by the local Chinese restaurant and picked up a couple of egg rolls to go with my stir fry. These are one of the few fried items I still eat, although some good fried chicken from the Seaboard Station in Hamlet is always appreciated.
I so want tortilla chips to be healthier because I can just imagine that all the ingredients I put in my homemade salsa are healthy: roasted garlic tomatoes, onion, roasted jalapeno & poblanos, some chipotle peppers, some Salsa Ranchera (Herdez) and a little Splenda.
I like making hummus at home. The basic ingredients include: garbanzo beans, tahini, cumin seeds, lemon juice (lime), olive oil and maybe some water to thin it out, if necessary. I like to eat hummus with carrot sticks, some sweet onion & sweet colorful bell pepper. I especially like eating smoked oysters with hummus. The problem is that hummus is high in calories.
I was getting a half loaf of whole wheat, multi-grain bread sliced at Publix and happened to look down and see a bag of Sourdough English Muffins. They looked good, but I knew that regular English muffins were horrible for blood sugar spikes. So, I quickly googled to see if sourdough was diabetic friendly. The AI said, “Yes,” so I bought both items. It has a lower GL than other breads.
I had bought some fresh ham at the Harris Teeter near Pharaoh’s Legacy across town. This ham was pre-sliced and I checked the price online and it was 1.5 lbs. @ $3.99. That’s a great deal. *I have found this ham also at LIDL, but currently it is about $6 for the 1.5 lbs. I divided the ham up when I got home and froze half. I then made an Egg McBill (like an Egg McMuffin, but at my home) using the sourdough muffin. I toasted the bread first, then added a slice on each side of Wegman’s White American Cheese. I heated a slice of the fresh ham, but because it started to “pop,” I only microwaved it for about 25 seconds. I also took a large egg and beat it in a bowl adding, Dulse, ground Long Pepper, salt, and garlic powder. I microwaved the egg for about a minute and a half. **I’ve now tried the Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain English Muffin and it was good, but I prefer the “Knock Your Sprouts Off” – Reduced Sodium, sprouted grain bread from Aldi’s.
I had already put half of the ham on each toasted, melted cheese side of the muffin and I dumped the cooked egg on one of those slices. I put the two halves together and went and ate a delicious Egg McBill. Or is that Bill McMuffin?
Forgive the messy look of this sandwich. The muffin started off distorted and I had to make all the other items fit, but take my word, “This was a very satisfying breakfast.”
I mentioned that the fresh ham was an excellent buy, as was the thick cut pork chops on sale, but another “good buy” is the whole rotisserie chicken at Harris Teeter. I like the meat better at HT than Publix, which tastes a little mealy, and costs about a dollar more. The HT Rotisserie Chicken costs about $7.99, but I can make from four to five meals from the one chicken. The last meal is probably a chicken salad.
*I can also use the chicken carcass & skin to make homemade chicken broth. I freeze some onion tops & bottoms, carrot ends & celery ends (stalk and tips). When I buy a rotisserie chicken I pull off the different meals and then pull off the remaining meat to make a chicken salad, but then I am left with the chicken skeleton. I put that along with any skin I have saved in my stock pot and add the frozen veggie leftovers, along with any fresh carrots, onions and/or celery that I might think is needed. Add some S&P, some garlic or garlic powder and any other seasonings and let it simmer for at least a couple of hours. Strain the broth into containers. I use empty Greek Gods Yogurt containers that have a good snap on lid. I think I filled about 4 containers full with a little left over last time. What’s left in the bottom of the stock pot looks like the refuse that gets caught in a flood.
I have found this Hatfield Ham at LIDL, I think, but I haven’t bought any in a long while because I think the sodium & fat are prohibitive.
Nutrition Facts
SERVING SIZE 3 OZ (84G)
SERV. PER CONTAINER 8
AMOUNT PER SERVING
CALORIES 110
CALORIES FROM FAT 35
% DAILY VALUE†
TOTAL FAT
3.5G
5
FAT FREE
0
SATURATED FAT
1G
5
TRANS FAT
0G
CHOLESTEROL
30MG
10
SODIUM
700MG
29
TOTAL CARB
3G
1
DIETARY FIBER
0G
0
SUGARS
3G
PROTEIN
14G
VITAMIN A
0
VITAMIN C
0
CALCIUM
0
IRON
2
†PERCENT DAILY VALUES ARE BASED ON A 2,000 CALORIE DIET.
I find it difficult to imagine that I’ve not got a page dedicated solely to the Round Bone Lamb Chop. Well, I find it difficult to imagine that I could write a whole posting dedicated solely to anything, as my mind goes off on one tangent after another. I will write something and it will remind me of something else, and something else, and something else…
But, here goes.
I now have a brand new “non-electric” wok from VinChef. It is beautiful on the inside and on her bottom.
I mentioned the “oven safe” wok first because it is perfect for broiling a couple of round bone lamb chops in the oven.
I’m not sure of the first time I ate a round bone lamb chop, but I definitely had several pleasant experiences eating a lunch special at Sherefe in downtown Fayetteville, North Carolina. They are no longer located there but they seared the lamb chop very well.
I do remember going to Sherefe for their round bone lamb chop lunch special one time. It must have been a long time since they had last offered this special, because I order it and when it arrived at my table I saw the char it had on the lamb chop and realized that it was exactly what I wanted. I guess I was expecting it to be boiled.
Sprouts – Australia
I saw a good looking lamb chop at Sprouts recently and took this picture of it. It’s not a “round bone” chop, and it’s from Australia and not New Zealand (as is Publix).
I may have even bought a round bone lamb chop at Sprouts, but normally I buy from Publix because they seem to have the freshest presentation, even though their Greewise brand is imported from New Zealand.
I’m sitting in my easy chair in my living room at 2:41-2-3 am starting to write this blog entry. I am awake at this time, most mornings. I reach over to a glass beer mug that has a hot citrus drink and take a sip. I really do like the flavor of “Bill’s Drink Mix,” hot or cold. I created this drink combination about a year and a half ago, and almost every day since, I’ve drank about one carafe, cold with ice. But I’ve also heated some up in the microwave, and found it delicious each time.
Neither the picture of the beer mug nor the glass carafe are my actual items, but they are quite accurate as to how each looks. I’ve had the glass beer mugs (6 of them) since Russ & Deborah Savage donated them to “The Hem of His Garment,” over 30 years ago. When I saw them, I priced them and then bought them and took them home. I had them before I moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina from Jacksonville, North Carolina in 1995. The beer mug is “microwave safe.” It better be as many times as I’ve used one of these to heat water for tea, or re-heat coffee. I bought three of the glass carafes (each with a tight fitting plastic cap) probably ten years ago at a specialty shop near Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh. *I may be lying to you about where I bought them, but I do recall buying some glass containers at that store.
[02/18/25]
Well, I guess there comes a time for all.
Note the packet shown below. Each packet is a single serving and they come in a box of 10 each, at WalMart. One of their GV – Great Value products. I normally just slice off one end of the packet with a knife and then pour the contents (a powder) into a carafe of water, and also adding the other juices.
“Bill’s Drink Mix” consists of four items: a little orange juice, a little cranberry juice, one packet of “Iced Tea” mix from WalMart, and one packet of “Pomegranate-Lemonade” mix from WalMart. And, I must have all four of these items included to make “Bill’s Drink Mix.” Any one of them left out, and I wouldn’t be a long-time fan. *I have however replaced the flavored tea packet with actual brewed tea, and the tea can be plain tea, or a more exotic flavored tea. Of course this substitution occurred as a result of me running out of the flavored tea packets. And it’s never certain that I will find both of the flavor packets when I go looking for them on the WalMart isles. **I still long for the “Lime” flavored packet to return to the shelf. The unadulterated version, not the “Lime&XXX” version, like “Watermelon Lime.” The lime flavor was excellent. It wasn’t a favorite at home, but often after lunch, I would enjoy a limeade made with one of these lime packets. I don’t know why.
And, before “Bill’s Drink Mix,” I had two flavors that I alternated back and forth between: “Fruit Punch,” and “Dragon Fruit,” but neither had that citrus punch that I came to appreciate in my mix.
As I started to re-read the above article I came upon the idea of several items that I have used for over 30 years, and still continue to use to this day (and hopefully several more days). The three items that first come to mind are the classic beer mugs that I bought at a thrift store in Jacksonville, NC perhaps a few years before I moved, in 1995, to Fayetteville to live & work. So that’s at least 30 years ago. As I said above, I have one of these beside me as I write, filled with “Bill’s Drink Mix” and served hot this morning.
The next item is the “Revere Ware” frying pan made in 1978. The company stamped the manufacture date on the bottom of each pan or pot that was made. Paul Revere, long dead, delegated the task of making this pan for me.
When I think of how much use this pan has had over the years, and I just roasted some Brussels Sprouts, walnuts & cranberries in it last night, it brings out the New Englander’s frugal nature in me. And I was born in North Carolina. Grew up in North Carolina. And, have only been to New England once that I recall. But I did enjoy my visit with my friend, Gary Golden, very much. It was winter, and snow was all around. I will say that the one shortcoming is the handle. Not that is has not weathered well since 1978, but that it’s not oven proof, so I can’t bake or broil something in the oven with this pan.
*I’ve been on Etsy and seen Revere Ware pots and pans on sale, and some going back to the 1940s. I might think about buying one of these as a present for a young man who is going off to college (and is allowed to cook),
Below is me fixing my Zucchini/Shrimp/Kielbasa dish. Several years ago I made this from scratch early one morning and liked it so much that I’ve repeated it a myriad of times. Six ingredients: beef Polska Kielbasa, shrimp, zucchini, onion, pasta shells & a small amount of tomato (I didn’t want a strong tomato sauce for this dish.). I usually only use a couple of Campari tomatoes, quartered and they disappear into the sauce, except for leaving a light hint of red. I add S&P and garlic powder, but I also add red pepper flakes and maybe even a little cayenne powder. It is a spicy dish, but each item is supposed to be a little island of flavor, with no one thing overpowering the others.
Before leaving the Revere Ware, I would like to mention that I also have a couple of 3 Qt. pots, a 2 Qt. pot & a 1 Qt. pot that I use quite often.
I noted that the pots did not have a manufacture date on their bottoms, and in reading online the logo was changed in 1968 and manufacture dates were no longer stamped on the utensils. Eventually the company was sold to Corning, and the headquarters moved to Indonesia.
I bought a “steamer” insert years ago, that is not Revere Ware, but was made to fit the pot perfectly. This insert has gotten a great deal of use throughout the years. I love steamed asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, and cauliflower. Anything that I need to steam goes into the insert which has worked faithfully for many years.
Several years ago, I bought a “cheap” set of Guy Fieri pots & pans at Belk’s and they each had glass lids. What was nice was that these glass lids also fit my Revere Ware pots (but not the skillet) perfectly. I like being able to put a lid on a pot and be able to look through the glass at what is cooking. However, most times I will leave the lid off. I said “cheap” set, but they look to be quality, and have lasted, and are oven safe so I use these when I am broiling a steak, pork chop, or lamb chop in the oven.
Since I’ve been a batchelor all my life, I have had the opportunity to use and reuse many items that if I had a wife, she would have had me “throw out those old things” long ago. I would have had new dishes instead of the “Gibson” restaurant blue stripe plates that I bought as a set at a store in Jacksonville, NC. They were factory “seconds” so some of the striping wasn’t up to par, and a plate might have a slight warp, but none of that has stopped me from using them almost daily since. The picture shows one of my actual plates, with a favorite meal that just happened to be a vegetarian delight: corn on the cob, fried okra, a tomatillo & onion chutney and sliced tomatoes.
I bought the dish set and then was surprised when I turned one of the dishes over at home and saw “Gibson” imprinted on its bottom. I had to do a double take, because of how the “G” and “i” run together, but no, it said “Gibson.” I went online and found that there was a Gibson Company that made dishes. So as a bonus I ended up with a set of monogramed dishes at no extra cost.
Tomatillos remind me of green tomatoes, but they have a different flesh than tomatoes. *”Chutney…” I’ve eaten at the “Blue Willow Inn,” in Social Circle, Georgia, several times since my sister Donna first introduced me to the place many years ago. In fact, and maybe it was my first visit, Donna treated me, my dad Bill (her & my dad), and his wife, Sara (Donna’s mother, but not mine.) to the crowded Sunday buffet. We sat together at a table on one of the side porches and enjoyed the meal and time together on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Georgia.
*I see from their web site that the restaurant must have been closed for a while but is about to reopen. I did think the buffet was a little pricey for what you had to choose from, especially since you could get most of those same items at other “country” restaurants and at a much lower price. And, the ambiance had changed greatly for me when the wooded area behind the restaurant was cut down and a small “strip mall” was built there. I don’t care how old and beautiful the home is if you plop it in the middle of a business district.
One time I was walking along the inner circle of the Blue Willow Inn buffet (it has a U shape so you can have customers walking on both sides of the food) and I took a couple of fried green tomatoes from the bar. I then noticed that they had “tomato chutney” in a small dish beside the fried tomatoes, so I put some of this on the tomatoes. The tomato chutney was sweet and I found it “decadent” that you could have two different flavor profiles that compliment each other from the same fruit. The sweet ripe red tomato complimenting the savory fried green tart tomato.
The following story was added the next day from most of this blog posting, as I recalled another one of my visits to the Blue Willow Inn. I had finished eating and was trying to leave Social Circle and get back on I20 and I was heading back in an easterly direction, but I don’t know why. It was late in the day, and if I had been driving all the way back to Fayetteville, I wouldn’t have eaten at the Blue Willow Inn.
I didn’t see street signage pointing to I20, but I drove down a road quite a ways. I knew I was heading in a westerly direction, and I didn’t want to go back toward Atlanta. Eventually, I decided to turn around thinking I had gotten on the wrong road. I believe I even made it back to Madison, Georgia before heading back to where I thought I20 was located. Unfortunately, the road that I chose took me across I20, but there were no ramps either on or off I20 on this road. But, I continued on and tried to head in an easterly direction. Those roads wound in giant undulating swaths through country, but never was there a road heading back to I20 and an on ramp. I must not have had a smartphone, or at least a smartphone with an Internet connection because I had no map to reference. And eventually I began to wonder if I would run out of gas somewhere in this Georgia countryside. If you look at a map, I must have headed to Eatonton from Madison and only in Eatonton and Lake Oconee was I able to get back to I20. But what a circuitous and angst filled route.
And once I got home and the Internet, I went back on Google Street View and found that before I turned around in Social Circle, I had been just two miles short of getting back to I20.
And the third item that I have probably had the longest is my “John Wayne” P38 – Military Issue field can opener. *I was never in the military, but I grew up (Swansboro, Hubert, Jacksonville, Camp Lejeune) around Marines. I’m thinking that a Marine may have rented one of my aunt’s (“Sis” – Carrie Kellum) mobile homes (trailers) and having eventually moved out, left his John Wayne in a kitchen drawer, where in came directly or indirectly into my possession. However, I do recall that someone told me that the Marines called this tool a “John Wayne” and after all these years I finally googled for the reason “why.” **Seems that John Wayne did the “voiceover” on a military training video for the P-38 can opener. ***I do know why they called the rough brown toilet paper John Wayne. The joke goes it is called “John Wayne” because it’s rough, and tough, and it doesn’t take crap off of anybody.
What’s Mine is Mine… Sometimes.
As I re-read above about what an imaginary wife might have made me do. “Throw out those old things,” regarding the Gibson dishes I had, or the old Revere Ware that has continued faithfully to perform, I was reminded about something that happened to me a year so so before I moved to Fayetteville (1995).
I worked at Coastal Carolina Community College for a couple of years before I moved to Fayetteville. During my time at Coastal, I taught a few introductory computer courses (they were on the quarter system, not semester) and I worked in their computer department doing repairs, maintenance and software installs & upgrades on PCs. I was also working to complete an “Associates” degree dealing with PCs. *My age has stopped me from remembering the exact title of the degree, but if I scrounge around in my old papers, I think I may still have the degree that I earned. It was in a sturdy little folding, thick cardboard holder.
I had come across an old Marine Corps hooded poncho probably at “The Hem of His Garment.” That was the ministry that included a thrift store that helped supply donated items for people in need, and the profit from the sale of the donated items also went to support those in need.
The old poncho was made of a heavy rubber, a dark avocado military green, but despite a few holes it did it’s job well. It may not have looked good, but it did keep the rain off my head and body when it rained. So, I would take the poncho to work and leave it on a shelf just inside our office door. There was a young, attractive girl (woman) who I think was volunteering in our department, and she several times mentioned how awful the poncho looked. And I would “laugh it off” because it didn’t belong to her, and what she thought at least about the poncho didn’t matter. Well, at least it didn’t matter until one day I realized that the poncho on the shelf, was no longer on the shelf.
She had been cleaning up the place (office) and had taken it upon herself to throw my old poncho away. She didn’t ask me if she could throw MY poncho away, she had just done it. And, when I confronted her about it, it was obvious that what I thought about her actions mattered just as little to her, as what I thought about her demeaning my old poncho had meant to me. Nada.
I have given away a bunch of stuff through the years, and I’ve even given up stuff intentionally when I perceived that someone else wanted it more than I did, but this act made me angry then, and when I rarely recall it, still makes me quite angry to this day. What’s mine is mine, sometimes, but don’t take or throw away something that is mine until you check with me first. And if I don’t want you to take it or throw it away, you better not take it or throw it away.
It has been a while since I made any bean soup using dried beans. I had several plastic bags from which I had used at least some of the dried beans. Some green split peas, some baby limas and maybe some black eyed peas. So, I was in the mood for some green split pea soup with country ham. I got the half bag off the shelf and almost immediately noted that the bottom had peas that had disintegrated. I thought they might still be good so I dumped a small portion out into a white bowl and went back to get something else. To my surprise when I returned there were quite a few black mealy bugs coming out of the dried peas. I threw them out and then checked the several other bags. All were compromised so I threw them out also. It was then that I knew where the mealy bugs had come from that had ruined my Bisquick. Not sure if they can get into a glass jar with a tight lid, but I have bought one and put a new box of Bisquick in it. *This is a large glass jar, perhaps 1/2 or 1 gallon in size.
[NOTE 08/12/25]: I like the idea of putting dry beans in plastic jars instead of the glass ones. I ordered a 12 pak of plastic storage jars, with metal lids & bands from Amazon. I probably got the idea of the plastic jars from the reused Dukes Mayo jars. But I see that the 12 pak of plastic jars do not fit the yellow Dukes Mayo lids. [end NOTE]
Plastic Dukes / Glass Ball Both holding dry Lima beans.
If I buy any new bags of dried beans, I’ll have to put them in glass jars with tight lids.
I have a bunch of Rubbermaid Easy Find containers with lids, but I’ve also used quite a few Ball glass jars but I put the yellow plastic Duke’s Mayo lid on them when I have those. The plastic lids will eventually break, but it saves having to keep the canning jar lids (which have two parts). *Not too long ago I bought a foam noodle and cut it to put the canning jar bands on. They fit almost perfectly and it makes them more organized when I put them in a plastic storage shoebox.
*A note. I prefer the taste of Duke’s Mayo to Hellmans and now I also have another reason to stick with Dukes. The Dukes plastic lids fit the canning jars perfectly, but the Hellmans lids do not.
I had a hankering (something less than a hankering) for some homemade spaghetti sauce and pasta. I happened to be in Wegman’s in Raleigh about a week ago and they had their own brand of spaghetti sauce starters for only about $1.19 a jar. I decided to try it, but currently I like RAO’s starter sauces, but they are about $9 a jar. RAOs is a glass jar and the Wegman’s jar was plastic. That doesn’t matter.
I found the flavor of the Wegman’s sauce to be like the $1 a can starters I had bought repeatedly through the years. Delmonte was one company that made these starters. At some point, one of the companies started canning their sauce in a smaller can. Like what happened to the single serving sizes of Yogurt. I think the single serving size of yogurt is currently about 3.5 ounces. But maybe 20 years ago the sizes were maybe 5.5 or 6 oz. plastic containers. Of course you can continue to sell your product at the same price, if you actually provide less product to the customer. As long as the customer doesn’t realize the portion size has been reduced, everybody is a happy camper. And, not too long ago, maybe a couple of years now, Food Lion started selling a smaller size of sweet bell pepper (yellows, oranges, reds) for $1.48. It’s been $1.48 for several years now, but if you paid attention, the produce is now considerably smaller in size. If you want to buy a sweet bell pepper that was the size it was, maybe 3 or 4 years ago, you wouldn’t pay $1.48 but probably over $2 per pepper. *Price fixing? Well a sweet bell pepper at Food Lion and Walmart costs the same, $1.48 and both veggies are sized about the same (the smaller version).
So I used half a jar of the Wegman’s sauce, and added about half a can of the Fire Roasted Tomatoes from Hunts. It’s here where I mention again that it is difficult to cook for one when you are making homemade spaghetti sauce, or several types of soups (especially vegetable). For the vegetable soup you open a 15 oz. can each of green beans, corn, garden peas, tomatoes, chop some carrots, dice an onion and brown some ground beef (I like ground beef rather than stew beef chunks in my vegetable-beef soup.) add some Chicken Broth & water, and several seasonings like garlic powder, ground pepper & salt. Maybe even throw in a little margarine or even bacon grease for more flavor. But adding all of those makes the final product enough for maybe six servings, and unless you freeze some of that, you end up throwing half of it away. And that’s even if your soup was especially delicious. *I have also tried only using half a can of each of the above veggies and freezing the rest all mixed together in a Rubbermaid container. Still the frozen veggies usually get lost over time and I open a new can of each item when I start to make another helping of soup.
And the thought just came to me. If in season, I chop up some okra and add them in. And I add some orzo.
For the homemade spaghetti sauce I brown some ground beef, chop up some onion (regular not sweet, because… “any onion is sweet once it hits the heat.”) and add a can of Hunt’s Fire Roasted Tomatoes and some Chicken Broth. Garlic powder, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, sweetener (maybe Agave Nectar), and fennel seeds (licorice flavor as in Italian Sausage). If I am in the mood, I may add a small can of mushroom bits. *Chicken Broth? I’ve found (as has been mentioned on Americas Test Kitchen) that even if the recipe calls for a beef product, Chicken Broth provides a more rounded flavor than Beef Broth. **I have in the past (maybe only once) tried using three different meats: ground beef, Italian sausage and pork sausage (or ground lamb). I couldn’t tell enough difference to justify the extra cost of three meats, so ground beef is my usual.
Instead of using Angel Hair pasta, as I normally do, this time I bought a good sized eggplant and shredded it. Salted it and then squeezed out the moisture. Sauteed the shredded eggplant, let it cool and then mixed the eggplant with flour (Bisquick), an egg, and some spices like thyme, savory, garlic powder, etc. I normally do not like to fry anything in a large amount of oil, but I had some long-time unused Canola oil and I poured about a quarter inch of oil, heated it up in a frying pan and after it was hot put several large patties of the eggplant mixture in to cook. They browned fairly quickly, and I turned them over and viola. This turned out pretty well. The eggplant fritters had enough flavor to be pleasantly delicious with the homemade spaghetti sauce. *Through the years I’ve repeatedly failed at fixing delicious fried eggplant at home. But shredding it, and making a fritter worked.
I use the Hunt’s Fire Roasted Tomatoes when I am making homemade salsa also. I put a can of the tomatoes in my chopper, add some onion and sweet bell & jalapeno & pablano peppers (sometimes roasting them first for more flavor). If I have more exotic peppers such as a Biquinho, Brazillian Starfish, or Trinidad Perfume they will go in also. *I tried these three peppers a couple of years ago and added them to my seafood chowder and they were great. But, this past season I couldn’t get some of them at the State Farmer’s Market in Raleigh. Maybe next year. **I asked repeatedly about these.
A “kick” I am currently on is the Spicy Chili Crisp that I originally bought for my stir fry concoctions. I buy this from Walmart locally: Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp Hot Chili Oil (also available at Amazon.com) It only costs about $4 for a small jar. It is crunchy but adds a bunch of flavor to a stir fry.
I hadn’t made a stir fry in a while but added some of this oil mixture to my latest. And, while I was eating the stir fry, which turned out really well, I noticed a few peanuts in the mix. I wondered where they came from because I knew I didn’t add them. I even questioned if they weren’t peanuts but maybe the peas from the Sugar Snap peas I had also added. Eventually, I found these peanuts had come from the Spicy Chili Crisp, and a little of that is addictive. I’ve even added some to some Dukes Mayo and put it on a pastrami sandwich, with a slice of sweet onion, and it worked! It was different, delicious and a keeper.
A note. I finished off a previous version of the Spicy Chili Crisp, but had already bought some more. I noticed that the flavor between the two was different. Still enjoyable, but different, so maybe the peppers they use, or how long they cook the mix causes some flavor variations.
[NOTE 11/10/24]: Tried a few different flavors together for breakfast this morning: 1 egg in microwave, seasoned with some of the Spicy Chili Crisp, some chopped onion & sweet bell pepper and some shredded Mexican blend cheese. A couple of slices of polenta, heated in the microwave. Half of a small avocado. Three slices of bacon. [end NOTE]
They are little things, but still they are so important as first steps toward a more organized life.
I like the idea of compartmentalizing things according to their use, but I rarely, or consistently do this type of organizing. But when I do, I feel a minor, but definite sense of accomplishment.
I’ve recently bought 48 clean, new, glass spice jars, with shiny aluminum screw lids and translucent white plastic filters that snap snuggly on the mouths of the jars. They are squared off, and I kept one of the packing trays (there was a tray for both the top and bottom of these jars to fit into snuggly so that the glass wouldn’t “tink” into an adjacent bottle and break. I’ve filled almost all of these jars with either existing spices that I already had, or recently purchased spices that I thought I might like to try.
I’ve moved a bunch of stuff around on the countertop next to the stove on the side where the spices and a small plastic cutting board lie. Most importantly, I moved the paper towel dispenser away from the stove top (and potential fire hazard) and put it next to the side of my refrigerator and next to that I moved the plastic sandwich bag dispenser. This dispenser is indispensable. I use these bags to store food items both after and before cooking.
Oh, and something I’ve just started using for a different purpose is small colored plastic salsa bowls. The kind with the little plastic legs to steady the bowl. I’ve used a few of these (a bright green and a bright yellow one) for many years for when I make homemade salsa, hummus, or guacamole, but now I am also using one for my Greek God’s Yogurt (plain flavored) to which I’m adding fresh fruit that I have blended in my chopper. The raw (not sure how fresh) raspberries that I pureed turned out extremely flavorful, and were a very pleasant addition to this yogurt. *I recently bought (at the exorbitant price of $4.99) a 3-pak of assorted berries: blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. I plan to blend them and put them in the little plastic Rubbermaid containers, in the fridge, until use.
So first I bought, at separate times, a few more of these plastic salsa bowls and then came up with the idea to use them like monkey dishes. I have some dark blue (outside) and white (inside) ceramic muffin cups that I’ve used for years as monkey dishes putting in various liquid and dry ingredients. I have one of these cups in which I put my olive oil brush. This is to brush oil onto a pan surface or my waffle iron before baking a waffle, so that it won’t stick to the surface.
My salt dispenser sits beside the sandwich bag dispenser.
One of the items I have on the other side of my stove is a large ceramic container in which I put an assortment of kitchen tools. But tonight, very early morning, I decided to clear out some of the unneeded items in this horribly cramped container. Surprisingly, to me, I actually took several items out of this and actually threw them away. I did throw away a shiny melon baller, but I don’t think I will actually miss it. I found a cup sized tea ball, which I actually might use now that I know where it is. But I also plan to move this tea ball to a more visible location as a reminder. I do have a coffee, tea and flavored drink packet area on the corner of my kitchen counter.
The other thing I found was a dark metal pair of scissors. My mother had used them, and they are still a really good pair of scissors, and I’ve just used some olive oil on them for protecting their surface, which I see can rust, but hasn’t much. *Sometime in the last couple of years I recall asking myself, “What ever happened to those black scissors.” And the scissors are what started me writing this particular blog entry. I plan to put them in one of my plastic shoe boxes (for organizational purposes) and then put other “like minded” items in that same shoe box. *I do have a small sewing kit, but the scissors might also be used for cutting paper, which I did just a few minutes ago and they still do a fine job of cutting.
I mentioned the spice jars above, but I still haven’t quite got how I want them laid out. I have tried to come up with a 3 letter code to go on top of each jar, but I still have a few jars that I don’t quite recall what the 3 letters stand for, and a jar or two of spices/herbs that I don’t really recall which ingredient it is. But first I had all the jars alphabetically organized from A to Z. But now I’ve put the most used ingredients in the first two rows nearest my cutting board. It seems vaguely that I might want to categorize these spices/herbs even more. “Most Used,” “Warm Spices” for frying apples, and “Peppery Spices.” For a long time, I would sift each of the warm spices from their separate jars onto the fried apples (on top of the Splenda I had already sifted on them), but then I finally mixed all of these spices and put them in a separate glass jar with a sift lid. It just makes it so much easier to sift from just one jar.
Some time ago, I started organizing a few reusable items in some plastic sandwich bags. These items are rarely needed, but nice to have on hand if and when the need arises: assorted rubber bands (different colors, sizes and widths), various plastic bottle tops (My Agave Nectar dispenser has had a couple of broken bottle tops that it was nice to have an extra unbroken one to replace with.), twist ties (both from bread bags or label ties from Sprouts), and I also keep my yellow plastic “Dukes Mayonnaise” jar lids because they fit perfectly on regular sized canning jars.
One drawer beside my stove includes the most used utensils: apple corer, can opener, vegetable peeler, box cutter, etc. I think it was just a couple of years ago that I bought a 4 pack of the box cutters. They came in 4 separate colors and they have proven to be very handy. I keep one cutter beside my easy chair (for opening various plastic bags and Amazon packages). One cutter is in the drawer beside my stove (for slicing open the plastic bacon package, or slicing off the top of a resealable shredded cheese bag). I have one cutter in my car. And, I don’t recall where the fourth cutter is, but I have a suspicion that I gave it away as a present. These are really useful. *How about for slicing through those annoying thick plastic protective seals. The ones that snuggly protect a new tooth brush, or batteries, or…
Oh, every so often my can opener doesn’t work on a can. I think most times it is the design of the can rim, or the softness of the metal that causes the old standard can opener not to take and slice the metal apart as it travels around the can lid. *For those extraordinary times, I have my “John Wayne,” which I have probably had for more than 40 years. Perhaps even more than 50 years. I might have still been in high school when I found and kept the little steel can opener that was supplied to soldiers for opening their C or K Rations in the field. It has been on my key chain for many years, and when the big opener won’t start or finish the job, that little can opener works “every time.” Yes, it takes longer to open a can with this little tool, but it gets the job done.
This reminds me that I’ve recently bought a new pair of nail clippers. But the problem with these clippers is that they are a smidge too small to be comfortable in the hand when in use. And, I’ve checked at a different store and their clippers were also in this slightly smaller size. The smaller size works for adding them to your key chain, but they are an irritation that I plan to find a solution to… Another pair, slightly larger as they were for many years.
Which reminds me. Yesterday when I left home, my phone wasn’t sufficiently charged up for the day, and I didn’t have a charging cable in the car. I had used the short white charging cable that came with my hearing aids in the car to charge my phone. In the apartment, I used the black charging cable that I switch from hearing aids, phone and Chromebook in a round robin match that works. But, I sent the white cable back in the return of my hearing aids.
So, I’m in Goldsboro with my phone around 25% and falling fast. I don’t want to be without a phone, in case my car “acts up,” or I need to get navigation or an online map, or to check for a product, or location or time of an event, etc. I check for the nearest Dollar Tree and see one. I’m not sure if I’ve been to this exact location before, but I had a slight awareness of where it was located even before using the navigation to drive there. I think it is next to a Walmart, because I saw the Walmart Blue color on the side of an adjacent building, but never actually saw the Walmart name on the building. I was parked askew of that building, and had no need to get a better view. I go into this Dollar Tree and start looking for the USB cables. And they don’t have any. What? The USB cables are always with the assorted smartphone protectors, and the other little, cheap electronic thingys. I look and then I go to the register and ask and the clerk sends me back to where I had been looking. I go back, and they don’t have any, any, any USB cables. How can this be? I go back to the car and google for another Dollar Tree. It can’t be that ALL Dollar Trees in the area are devoid of USB cables. The other Dollar Tree is across town, past Wilbers BBQ. But, this is not an unfamiliar location as I go by it quite often when visiting Goldsboro. There is a dead end road that butts up against the chain link fence next to the Seymour Johnson Airforce Base runway. There are fields on either side of this road and most of the year, except when the crops are tall in the summer, this is a perfect location to come watch the take offs and landings of the fighter jets and the refueling tankers. I’m not the only one who knows of this location and I’ve been there when several others are watching also. Most of the time it is deserted. You might see a white security/maintenance truck in the distance traversing around the runway. I think it may be looking for debris that is on the runway, more than checking on possible intruders.
So I go to the other Dollar Tree and go to the electronics section and here they have at least three different styles of “Fast Charging” USB cables (Type A to Type C). The price on the package is $1.25. I buy one of the fancier looking cables, but would like to buy a couple more and have them about, just in case. My phone was down to 17% by this time, but having the phone hooked up only a brief time, I saw the percentage of charge begin to climb and by the time I was back home I think the charge was close to 60%. I think ALL USB cables should be “fast charging” and cost only $1.25. Why pay $10 or more for this basic cable? *I don’t understand what the difference is between a fast charging cable and a regular (slow charging) one, but it is probably just one extra wire or some such. **Just checked and the fast charging cable is thicker with more insulation which provides a higher delivery voltage, and therefore quicker charging.
On the way back home, I stopped at the drug store in Newton Grove and had a Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream, regular cone, for $2 total (including tax). It is $2 for one scoop, but they put what I call one scoop in the cone, and then add another scoop (sometimes it might be half a scoop), but I definitely would call it more than one scoop for the price. Unfortunately for me they discontinued the “Super” Raspberry flavor sometime ago, but they still have enough flavors (probably 20 or a few more) to satisfy. The raspberry ice cream had little chocolate candies filled with raspberry jam. I make this description of the ice cream after having gone online and researched the raspberry flavor. I might be able to get this elsewhere, either in an ice cream shop or in a small container to take home.
Bags of Nature’s Way Farms, Inc. potatoes @ Harris Teeter in Fayetteville
And something else. In the morning, I wanted to go to Nature’s Way Farm near Faison, NC. I checked my phone navigation and turned off Hwy. 13 to head toward the business. It’s out in the country. But this detour took me a different way to a familiar route. I’m not sure if it is a shorter route, but it almost seemed to be. Instead of going into Newton Grove (and circling the round-a-bout a full rotation), I can go this different way and end up on the “on ramp” to I40.
[NOTE 10/29/24]: And so, I guess it continues. I had the desire to have a Lamb Gyro Pita at Pharaoh’s Legacy Restaurant. I normally like to also order the house Greek Salad with this meal. Previously I’ve even made my own version of a Greek Salad, and even made the Italian Dressing at home, and taken it with me to eat in the car, outside of the restaurant. So this time I prepared a sandwich baggy with a few items meant to enhance the flavor of their Greek Salad: an extra Peperoncini, some chopped sweet onion, a Campari tomato, diced, and a few green pitted olives (because I just can’t find any Kalamata olives in my fridge).
From a previous visit, and all the inside fixtures were gone when I poked my head inside the front door a couple of days ago.
I drive clear across town, and park in front of the restaurant and start to go to the front door. I do note that there are no cars parked in front except for some utility trucks away from the front. I pulled the front door open, and there, to my surprise is no restaurant. It has been gutted, and as I start to step back outside, I do see a construction worker come around the corner in the far back. *I should have at least stopped to ask if the restaurant was just being remodeled, or if it was closed permanently. **And, I still don’t know if it is permanently closed because I see nothing regarding their closing on their web site. Maybe a fire, but the place was just gutted and I didn’t smell any smoke.
I decided to drive over to the old, other location. This was the first place I had visited some time before I had my heart surgery. I pull up in front of the other restaurant and another car pulls in ahead of me near the front door. I walk past this person, who is getting out of his car, and open the door. They are open.
I walk up to the counter and get a menu and go over and sit down at one of the dining tables. I already know what I want: Lamb Gyro Pita with a Greek Salad. But, I note that the Greek Salad is more expensive and apparently isn’t available with the Pita as it is at the other location. *I do ask the waitress if the Greek Salad is the full price with the sandwich, and then the waitress explains that this restaurant has different ownership than Pharaoh’s Legacy. I tell her this wasn’t always the case and that when I first visited this restaurant, it had the same owner.
**I do want to mention another thing that I am quite proud of, but not related to this story of Pharaoh’s Legacy. In a moment of insight, I thought about using the old Lazy Susan that I had previously used for my spices. But with the new spice bottles and the matrix that I’ve chosen to use to organize the bottles, I no longer needed the Lazy Susan. The insight was that if it would fit, I could use the Lazy Susan, and place the kitchen tool jar (with my assortment of various kitchen tools: spatulas, juice squeezer, spoons, etc.) in the middle and put some other items: Splenda jar, Sweet-n-Low packet jar, Coconut Sugar jar, corn starch jar, etc. around the outside. This worked excellently! And now all I have to do is spin the Lazy Susan to select what I need to use. [end NOTE]
I can get to Lee’s Fresh Market in Benson, NC in about 37 minutes, traveling mostly “back roads.” This butcher shop is a couple of miles outside of the town of Benson, so if I go into town after visiting this market, my GPS shows that returning home is shorter by going back on I95.
There is a Lee’s Market in Benson that is not related to the butcher shop. This is a vegetable market just about a block down from the IGA. But, this Lee’s Market is related to the Lee’s Market which is located at the State Farmers’ Market in Raleigh. I have been going to that vendor in Raleigh for about 13 years, and I found a picture that I took 13 years ago of some Anaheim & Jalapeno peppers at their stand. *These are just green peppers, but at some point they mostly have not-green peppers, reds, oranges and yellows.
But, I went to the butcher shop to especially buy some more Pepper Bacon. This is really good flavored bacon and I’ve even given some as a present to my relatives down in Hubert, NC. They only had one package of peppered bacon. They come in packages weighing approximately two pounds and the cost is about $14. I asked a nearby staff person if they had any more of the bacon. He said he was a “chicken” expert, but he would go back and check about more bacon. When he returned they had just gotten the bacon they season with pepper and he said it would take about a day for more pepper bacon to be available.
I walked down one isle and around to the next isle. Almost immediately I saw a package of thick cut pork chops, two to a package. I normally do not buy thick cut pork chops because I only need about 3 or 4 ounces of meat per meal. But, these looked good and I then noticed that they only cost $2.92 for this package which I then noticed weighed 1.63 lbs. *I had to do the math at home the next day to see how many ounces I could get from each chop. They were just too big. I was going to have to cut each chop in three parts because cut in two parts there were just too many ounces of protein.
I cooked one chop in my large frying pan that is all metal so that I can put it in the oven. I set the oven to Broil on LO. Normally I cook steak or lamb on HI but those are not usually thick cut. I really only like the Round Bone Lamb Chop because I think it’s flavor tastes better. I figured that the thick cut pork chop would burn to a crisp before the inside was done if I set the Broil to HI. The LO setting worked and I flipped the chop after the top started to crisp up. And, this chop was delicious and tender. I only cut off about a third of the chop and that was enough. I had some fried okra & onion, and an ear of corn on the cob, and some corn chips with guacamole.
[NOTE 10/03/24]: I was just watching an episode of “Diners Drive Inns and Dives” and one of the chefs used some Crunchy Garlic Crisp in one of his recipes. I think it went in a sauce that was used on a sandwich. I’ve only used the Garlic Crisp in my stir fry. There are expensive brands of this, but I get a cheap brand at Walmart and it does the job.
I had a little guacamole left from yesterday and find that with a few salty corn tortilla chips this is a decent side with various meals. It’s not just for Mexican anymore.
[end NOTE]
I don’t recall if the first brussels sprouts that I enjoyed included Balsamic Vinegar, but I recall the waiter said that they had honey. That was at Fatz Restaurant in Cheraw, South Carolina. That Fatz location has been closed a few years. There was another location in Rockingham, North Carolina, but I’m not sure if it is still there.
I did not follow the exact quantities above since I was only making enough for one helping. I cut five sprouts in half. At first I started to fry these on the stove top, but then I realized that the tops probably wouldn’t be cooked through, so I put them in a bowl, covered it and put them in the microwave for three minutes. After these looked tender and I put them back in the frying pan on the stove top and finished cooking them. *I did not add the condiments directly to the pan, but after they were cooked and had a dark brown bottom, I put them in a bowl and added the condiment mixture. I didn’t have enough honey (unless I put some of the crystalized honey in the microwave) so I added some Agave Nectar. Oh, and I added some Splenda to the mix also.
I enjoyed these brussels sprouts that I fixed the rest the next day, and they were just as good the second time. But, I hadn’t refrigerated those left from the first day and by the second day, one of them had actually started to rot. I had to cut the rotten part off before using the rest.
This turned out great! They were tender and sickeningly sweet and went well with the pork chop that I fixed on the stove top. *I’ve found that adding some Amchur (mango) powder and Tamarind powder, with some vinegar, lime juice and Equal (and/or Agave Nectar) makes a delicious flavored pork chop. The sweet vinegar flavors are echoed between the pork chop & the brussels sprouts. I also cut some grape tomatoes to go with this and they were a perfect balance for this meal. **I probably could have had cabbage slaw or maybe even some guacamole to balance the flavors of this meal out.
ADDENDUM [12/28/24]: I had driven up to Raleigh yesterday. I wanted to get another French Baguette (LaFarm) sold at Whole Foods, and then go to Wegman’s and see if they had Bigelow’s Raspberry Royale tea. Yes they did, and I bought two boxes (20 bags each). *Amazon wants to charge a little over $7 for just one 20 bag count box and Wegman’s only charged a little over $3 for the same. A few years ago I did buy the 6 pack of 20 count boxes from Amazon and gave them away as presents, but I didn’t want to buy that much again, if I didn’t have to. Fortunately I checked online at the Wegman’s site and to my surprise it said they they did have it in stock.
A black woman clerk had come to me in line and ushered me over to the Service Desk where she was working and checked me out there. We started talking and I mentioned that I had come to buy the Bigelow’s Raspberry Royale tea and she then told me the story about how her daughter who had been pregnant said that raspberry tea would force labor. The daughter had drank some raspberry tea and had her baby the next day. I told the lady that the Raspberry Royale had never forced me into labor, and she agreed that it had not forced herself into labor either. She was old enough that she more than likely shouldn’t be having any children. The woman said she had never tried the Bigelow Raspberry Royale. I paid for my few groceries and walked out to my car. There was a slight cold rainy mist, but as I sat in my car and opened one of the Raspberry Royale boxes it came to me, “why didn’t I open the box and give her a couple of bags to try.” So, I took out two bags of tea, still in their pouches, and headed back inside. When I got to the counter the woman was no longer there. There was a younger man, another clerk that asked if he could help me. I asked the whereabouts of the black woman clerk, and he looked around and said he thought she might have just gone to lunch. I handed him the two packets of tea and asked that he give them to the woman when she returned, then I left.
I ate at the Redneck BBQ Lab at McGee’s Crossroads (Exit 319 off of I40) and afterward headed to Lee’s Fresh Market just outside of Benson. It was after 3 pm when I got to Lee’s, but there were still several cars parked outside. I grabbed a red plastic shopping basket as I walked inside the sliding glass door and headed around to where the pork chops were located. A man and wife were standing in front of the “thick cut” pork chops, but they were looking at other cuts of pork. I waited briefly and then said, “Excuse me,” and reached for one of the 2 chop packages of Thick Cut Pork Chops. I saw the price was only $1.79 per pound, so I reached over and got a second package.
I fixed two of the pork chops for lunch today. I’m using my new “oven safe” VinChef wok to broil them. It does an excellent job and cooks them quickly. This wok is beautifully ornate on the inside and on the bottom! As I’ve said elsewhere, I can make two or three meals out of each thick cut chop. Each chop is about a pound (16 oz.) so quartering it would mean each serving would be about 4 oz. And 4oz. would be perfect. The chop was good again, and the grease/gravy left in the pan is delicious also.
,aspect=ignore)
Bill Gibson, II 