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]
[ADDENDUM 01/22/25]: Little did I nor anyone know that just five weeks after my visit to Asheville, that Hurricane Helene would come through Western North Carolina & Asheville and devastate the area. I had such a wonderful visit. The last place I visited in Asheville before starting back home was the New Morning Gallery in the Biltmore Village area. The flooding covered this area with a great deal of mud and destroyed many buildings. This was a high end shopping area, that was, and then wasn’t. I think the New Morning Gallery is still closed, and it has been about four months since the Hurricane.[end]
Gosh, what didn’t I do in the last day and a half?
I scheduled a one night stay at the Quality Inn at 180 Tunnel Road in Asheville for Monday night. At first I had looked at a different Quality Inn further down Tunnel Road, but then I saw a couple of negative reviews so I looked at the other Quality Inn. It seemed nicer, but for just a little more money, and still not $100 a night. *I had stayed at the other Quality Inn several years ago, and it had been a pleasant stay, but I’ll have to admit that the room was much better this time.
I guess I should mention my reason for my brief jaunt to Asheville, North Carolina on Monday & Tuesday of this week. I got a notice last week that they would be repaving and repairing various parking areas where I currently live, and that certain areas would need to be vacated, by 8 am, on selected mornings. I decided to make a quick trip, out of town, so I wouldn’t have to deal with parking in another area. I’ve done this at least once previously, several years ago. I also ran away once when a hurricane was coming through, back in 2018. I ran all the way to Milledgeville, Georgia that time, and ended up having to stay at a cheap hotel for a week because flooding had made it impossible to return to Fayetteville for that length of time.
The Milledgeville trip was fantastic. I didn’t have to worry about food, or the hassles of being homebound in Fayetteville, because Milledgeville was sunny and comfortable, and there were loads of places to eat. I did try to return to Fayetteville a day or two before I should have, and ended up having to stay at another cheap hotel in Siler City, NC for a couple of nights. Eventually, I found the one way back into Fayetteville but I had to drive from Siler City to Pinehurst/Southern Pines and then up toward Raeford, and then back into Fayetteville. This was the first route that the flooding had subsided to make it possible to return home.
So, that was my reason for my impromptu trip.
At the moment, I don’t recall what I had for breakfast on Monday… oh, I just remembered. I had a tin of Amour Potted Meat, which I had bought at WalMart. I had also bought a half gallon of regular milk for about $1.99 but only drank about a third of it, but that would still be worth the cost. *Because I didn’t refrigerate the milk, leaving it in my car overnight, I poured it out Tuesday morning in the toilet in my room (#125).
I didn’t want to eat a lot for breakfast because I was going to have lunch at the Seaboard Station in Hamlet, NC. But, on the way to Hamlet, I first drove by the Maxton Airport and was surprised to find that the retired NW Airlines jets that ran along the fence line from the airport terminal were all gone. ALL gone. I did see a few large sheets of slightly curved metal, one of which I think still had red paint on it. I’m guessing these might be the few remaining pieces of the old jets. Maybe broken down for scrap. *Recall that I think the Northwest Airlines logo, from a few years ago, was the “perfect logo” for English speakers.
U.S. Army Parachute Team Annex (Maxton, NC)
But, as I continued to drive around the end of the airport, nearest Maxton, I looked in the sky and saw a couple of sky divers rapidly descending. They were coming down fast and spiraling almost horizontally. I even questioned if they were actual sky divers *Not sure what they would have been if they weren’t real men with parachutes. Two came down and disappeared on the ground, and then I saw two or three more, one at a time coming down. They were all down as I came around the end of the field and I honked, but was away from them, so not sure if they were even aware of me. I never saw any airplane from which they must have jumped out of.
I headed back into Laurinburg via Hwy. 74. I stopped by the Scotland County Memorial Library and ended up buying about 10 hardback fiction novels to prime the Little Lending Library pump. They were only a dollar each, and I think I also left a $2 donation. The librarian helped me bag the books in a couple of plastic grocery bags and as I walked out the door I met a woman coming in. She let me go through the door first and made a comment that “Anyone that reads that much, deserves to go first.” I laughed to myself thinking that I wasn’t planning to read any of these books, but wanted them all just for the LLLs.
It’s Thursday afternoon and I’ve already dispersed all the $1 hard back fiction books that I bought on Monday. I also got rid of about 8 “Our State” Magazines leaving one magazine with each book (or one with a couple of books). *I did buy a couple of large cookbooks at the Northwood Temple Thrift Shop (Thursday 22nd) this morning. I had never been at this store before yesterday, when I was allowed inside, on a day when the store was actually closed, but the workers were friendly and let me look around. They were open today and I went in to shop. I paid $4 for one book (Americas’ Test Kitchen) and $1 for another large book. *Amazingly, having lived and worked in Fayetteville since 1995, and retired here about five years ago, and as many times as I passed this thrift store, I had never actually gone in. Through the years, I had seen people’s donations sitting beside the building. I guess it was the years of working & administering the efforts at the Hem of His Garment in Onslow County, I just have little or no interest in a thrift store. **I did buy some old Craftsmen screwdrivers for a couple of bucks each, several years ago, but that was in some other town I was visiting while on one of my vacations.
On the way to Hamlet, I made a detour to Gibson, NC. I’ve been to and through this little town many times over the years. It has a nice old train depot that has been painted yellow. There is also an old bank building that, when I first saw it, had a keystone that had a date written on it. I think it might have been in the 1920s, but that was removed by someone who bought the building several years ago and then painted the outside walls in a couple of bright, gaudy colors. I think maybe a burnt orange and an aqua. Don’t recall exactly, but they ruined this building and now the outside has been painted a light gray. *I say ruined because I had an idea that this little town would be perfect for filming a TV series or movie about a small town. There is also the G.V. Pate building which I think was probably a large hardware or agricultural supply store in the past. It’s was closed before I ever visited Gibson the first time. Oh, and the railroad tracks almost magically curve around back of the town after leaving the colorful depot.
After all of my meandering, I still arrived a little early, just before 11 am, at the Seaboard Station Restaurant. This was about 30 minutes earlier than most visits, but that was because I still was going to have to drive to Asheville after lunch.
For lunch, I had a couple of pieces of fried chicken, and a thin pork chop, some steamed cabbage and black eyed peas with some sweet onion. I sat at the same location that I had the last visit.
Seaboard Station in located in an old multi-story home, painted white. The dining area is located in several rooms on the first floor, and they have even added a room that must have been an “outdoor” porch at one time. This is all inside now, but there is a large opening, between rooms, that was once a window. Now it has no glass, and you might even be able to reach through this opening and take something off another diner’s table.
There was a man, Russell, sitting at the same table that he had sat the last time I was there. He is a retired cabinet maker, who’s wife died in 2016, and he has found that making knives is now fun. He is a Type 2 diabetic and wears one of those 14 day devices that records blood sugar levels without finger pin pricks. I think he said he was taking Wegovy, which was also a single shot a week, and needed to be refrigerated, like my Trulicity that I used to take.
After lunch I rode over to the library in Hamlet a few blocks away. Looked at the books for sale, but nothing there of interest for me.
A little after noon I left the library but stopped next in Rockingham at the Thomas Leach Memorial Library. No books there for me either. Later, I stopped at a Circle K, just past Monroe, before reaching Charlotte, to fill up on gas.
I chose to navigate through Charlotte instead of going around and paying a toll. Interesting about Charlotte, there was one sky scraper that had a large horizontal fixture at the top of the building. This reminded me of some of the fictional large buildings shown in the Westworld series, but this was real. *I looked this up on Google Maps when I returned home. I think it is just from certain angles that this cross bar appears.
The rest of this trip was long and boring, up the Interstates.
I made it to Asheville about 4:30 pm and went directly to the Folk Arts Center to see if they knew about the “space ship” mug and who might have made it. I had asked the last time I was in Asheville, and they still had no idea. After the Folk Art Center, I went directly to the East Village Grille,. It was late afternoon and the sun was brightly shining through the large westward facing window.
[NOTE 02/28/25]: Today, after about seven years of trying to recall or find out where I bought this mug, and who was the potter that made it, I finally caught an online thread, found an image similar to my mug, followed the artist’s name and even found a YouTube video by the artist, Claudia Dunaway, and even more surprising, the video showed several steps in how she made my mug (or one of thousands like it). Go here for more info on the mug, the potter & her husband, who drew the cartoon spaceship. [end NOTE]
They had updated their menu so that it is much smaller than the first couple of times I ate there. The original menus might have been twenty pages, dual sided and covered in heavy plastic. Now there are only about 5 pages, which each might be printed on a thin plastic.
I looked but saw nothing about a Pastrami Reuben. I asked the waitress if they still served a Pastrami Reuben and she said they had stopped serving pastrami some time ago. So, I ordered a Philly Cheesesteak with steak fries and a diet drink. The cheesesteak was delicious, but I only ate half and took the rest, along with some of the fries for a snack later. **So, they no longer serve a Pastrami Reuben. Yet another example of a past pleasant culinary experience disappearing over time. I am 70 years old, so I guess out with the old and in with the new. No “Sticks-n-Stones” pizza, too? Damn.
On the other hand, I do know how to make a delicious Pastrami Reuben at home, with homemade Thousand Island dressing, served with wavy potato chips & sauerkraut (on the sandwich, and as a special side). Mix some sauerkraut with the thousand island dressing and it makes a good side dish, maybe not just for Reubens. Would probably work for a fried pork chop, or even a hamburger.
I think I went to the Quality Inn directly after dinner and then went for a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway later. It was about 7:13 pm and the sun was going down, but some areas along the road were well shaded. I looked ahead and saw something in the shadows, large and black, meandering across the road. I said to myself, “That’s a black bear.” And then moments later, a smaller black bear followed the first across the road. I slowed my car down, because I didn’t want to crowd them. Moments later a couple of cars came up behind me. As I passed the two bears, they were walking slowly up the side of the mountain disappearing into the undergrowth.
I drove along the Parkway for several more miles, passing a few overlooks, and going through at least one tunnel (maybe two) before turning around and heading back down to town. I get off the Parkway at the entrance to the North Carolina Arboretum and then headed back into town passing the WNC Farmer’s Market.
I had decided to park my car at the front of the motel and not at the side nearest my room. I figured that with no one being around at the end, it would be a good place to try to break into a car. I did notice an outdoor camera this morning. *The room had been renovated with nice fixtures & a quiet flush toilet.
This morning as I drove around downtown Asheville, I drove through the downtown tunnel and then turned around and came back through it. As I exited the tunnel, I made a sharp left turn and headed up a road that took me up one side of this mountain and then over it and beneath a stone bridge (Which I did not drive around to find if I could cross it.). From Google Maps & Street view, I think this overhead bridge is just for foot traffic.
As I came back down the mountain, on the side nearest downtown Asheville. I approached two wild turkeys. As I passed the house, there was only one of the turkeys still visible and it had that beautiful bronze, almost metallic looking plumage. *So last night I saw two black bears in the wild, and this morning I saw a couple of wild turkeys in downtown Asheville.
I went to the WNC Farmers Market just as it was about to open at 8 am today. I took with me, my Cara’s Corner bright yellow shopping bag that I had been given a couple of years ago. Cara’s Corner is still in the upper corner of the Market. The man was most helpful. They had no Gumbo File, but I did buy some lentils @$2.29 lb. and another type of bean I had never tried, Anasazi @$4.89 lb.. Anasazi beans are also called “New Mexico Cave Beans,” a heirloom variety related to kidney beans. *The man said he liked these beans and apparently they form a tasty gravy. My thought, about which I did not ask him, was that he might just be a vegetarian & that is why he didn’t season these beans with some kind of meat. I also bought some Danish Blue Cheese. This cheese looked good in the display case. And somewhere in the past I’ve bought & ate Danish Blue. Later at home, this was a good flavored blue cheese.
I just came across this Anasazi bean recipe online: Anasazi Beans and Rice with Kielbasa Looks like I have everything that goes in this recipe at home already. Kielbasa, celery, onion and sweet bell pepper, yum! I see from the photo of the finished dish that the beans turn a solid light brownish color, losing their distinctive burgundy & white mottled raw color in the cooking process. *I think it was the October Beans that I tried from Cara’s which were shaped like limas, but also had the mottled burgundy & white uncooked coloring which was lost after cooking. And I think the October Beans took on a kidney bean flavor. I have said it elsewhere in this blog, why buy October beans when you can get a can of re-fried beans, that are mashed up kidney beans.
Well, I made a small batch of the Anasazi beans with the Kielbasa (but no rice as per the above recipe) this morning. It looks like the burgundy part of the bean sloughs off and you are left with a brownish, kidney bean looking and flavored bean. Nothing to write home about. If I wanted a bean with a kidney bean flavor, I would fix kidney beans. So, out of the four unusual dry beans I’ve bought at Cara’s Corner, none of them are worth fixing a second time. As I said elsewhere, the Yellow Eye has a mild Black Eyed Pea flavor and that is probably why the Black Eyed Peas became the more dominant bean.
I went to Earth Fare after the WNC Farmers Market and they had the dulse I have been looking for for quite some time. I bought their only two containers for about $7 each. *Funny, but as I was passing through Morganton, I looked over and saw a Food Matters Market. I did a double take because I knew of only one other market with this name, and that was in Brevard, NC. **I checked with an employee and sure enough there are only two of these. She didn’t know why this one was in Morganton. ***And, what? They didn’t have Gumbo File either, but they did have the dulse so I bought another container for around $7. Now after a long draught, I have three packages of Maine Coast Sea Vegetables Dulse. I think I also bought a couple of jars of Minced Ginger. Well, I either bought the ginger here or at Earth Fare. I think I bought the Andouille Sausages at Earth Fare because I had an extended, friendly conversation with the butcher, who was having a minor problem with a gentleman as I walked up to the counter.
I came back to the Quality Inn and got some ice to put in a small container (a plastic Bento Box container that once had a couple of smaller plastic side containers that fit in the bigger box) and put the cheese and a couple of Andouille Sausage links in it. The ice had completely melted by the time I got home and the water had turned a brownish color. Not sure if the sausage was ruined, but I put both links in the freezer. I think the cheese is okay and plan to try it shortly. *The cheese was still good. I had a little with a few of the black sesame rice crackers about midnight.
You’ve got to understand that I might never be on Hwy. 18 going through Morganton, NC again, but I just looked over and saw the name. I had a vague memory that I knew this grocery (health foods store) from having visited one near Brevard, NC several years ago. I think I had been to the Brevard location at least twice, but really don’t know why I was passing through this area. I still had time to kill so I turned around and pulled into the Food Matters Market parking lot and went in.
After Earth Fare I headed up to Weaverville and stopped in the Mangum Gallery in downtown. One nice thing is that there is a small parking lot across the street. No charge, free parking, and just walk across the street to several of the shops. There were several “artists” around this parking lot painting, but facing in different directions.
There was a young man, in the Mangum Gallery, working on some of the pottery and I ended up asking him if he had ever seen or knew who created my “space ship” mug. I showed him a picture from my phone. He didn’t know who, but directed me to to a guild gallery that also had a school for students. It began with an “O” but I don’t recall if it was Odyssey or not. I didn’t go there. *Checked online and it is the “Odyssey Clayworks.” Odyssey Center for Ceramic Art
After the gallery, I drove over to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I have a back route that leads me up the mountain and I come back down the Parkway, past the Folk Arts/Crafts Center, and then out onto US70. This time, I drove past the East Village Grille, on my left, and turned right at one corner of the VA Hospital. This road goes past the “staff/bus” entrance for the Folk Arts Center and under the Parkway. I then headed back to US70 which ends up below where the Parkway entrance/exit is located on US 70.
I then headed back to the New Morning Gallery and managed to get a parking space on the street at the very end (or head) so I didn’t even have to worry about leaving the parking space.
You enter the Gallery on street level and there are a bunch of stairs that lead up to the display area. But, I know where the elevator is located and I now take that up. They have blocked off one corner that was used for display, but now is used for storage. I looked at quite a few mugs and bowls and asked a female clerk about my “space ship” mug. She didn’t know it either. A gentleman also working there said there was a Guild location around the corner, and across the street, but I did not go there afterwards.
I did buy a cheap green Mangum soup bowl. It is a little deeper than the couple of bowls that I already have. The others might be shallow salad bowls. I say cheap because this bowl was only $34 plus tax. This is an old price because I see that most new items are now priced in the $60 – $80 range. Or at least they were at the Folk Art Center.
After the New Morning Gallery I headed out on I40, but pretty soon meandered back over to US 70. I did this because I needed to kill about an hour and a half. The actual driving time to Yadkinville from Asheville was about 2.5 hours.
I meandered through several towns on the way to lunch at 3:30 pm at the Yadkin Valley Seafood Restaurant in Yadkinville, NC.
I rode around Morganton for a short time, not finding their library although I saw the Library turn signs from several directions, but never saw a building labeled “Library.” Actually, I just checked with Google Maps and Street View and I drove completely around the Library but any signage was so small I did not see it. I do recall the parking lot across the street but didn’t know it was for the Library.
The cute blonde waitress with the nice behind wasn’t at the restaurant today. Probably long gone. I wasn’t even sure back then of how old she might have been. She might have still been in high school, or maybe in her early twenties.
I asked my waitress what diet drinks they had and I thought she said Diet Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper. I said, “Oh great! I’ll have Diet Dr. Pepper.” Later when she brought my drink, it looked light in color and when I tasted it I wasn’t Dr. Pepper. I asked her about this and she then said, “Oh, we don’t have Diet Dr. Pepper. I thought you said Diet Mountain Dew.” I told her it would be okay, and it was, but as I ate and thought about this, I wasn’t the only person who didn’t hear well, because I know I said “Diet Dr. Pepper” in my reply. If I had heard her as she stated, I would have chosen Diet Coke.
My waitress charged me correctly for my meal but it seemed to be about $3 higher than I thought it should have been so I only gave her a $2.50 tip on a $20 meal. I checked on my phone later and saw that she had charged me the extra price but then I realized I had ordered scallops, popcorn shrimp and flounder, and the scallops were one of several items they charged extra for in their combos.
So after my lunch, it was about 4:30 pm and my GPS was suggesting the quickest route back home was through Winston-Salem and then just south of Greensboro. I decided that going through those cities in rush hour traffic would not be best so I made my own navigation. First I drove from Yadkinville to Mocksville.
From Mocksville to Lexington, and then from Lexington to Asheboro.
I turned around in the Davidson Funeral Home parking lot to get my GPS directions to Asheboro. There were some Hispanic kids (boys & girls) walking across town and I passed them or they passed me a couple of times because I had gone in the opposite direction to see a little more of town and then turned around to get back on track.
Each of these three segments took a little less than 30 minutes. After Asheboro, I headed south, but turned off to come through Seagrove and Robbins, NC, and this segment I had driven before. *I thought I had been to Lexington before, but maybe not. I had been through Lincolnton, NC several years back.
Robbins, NC (I’ve bought gas at this store before, but not during this trip.)
I do want to return to my stay at this Quality Inn in Asheville. The motel was obviously older, but I asked and they had started renovations in 2021. Everything was superb! The toilet had a quiet flush. The shower and the sink had good fixtures and there was plenty of hot water (although I did shower close to 6 am). There were all the amenities: mini fridge, mini microwave, TV with at least 80 channels and a remote, an iron & ironing board (which I haven’t used in probably 25 years) and a blow dryer for your hair. I got ice in the ice bucket and had my “Bill’s Drink.” I had carried my empty carafe and several packages of the dry flavored drink mixes and even had a bottle of mixed orange juice and cranberry juice. So, I wasn’t lacking at all with my personal drink as I normally have at home. I also had a medium avocado which I cut open with a metal spoon I had brought with me, and then scooped all of it out a little at a time. The avocado was perfectly ripe, but I had no salt and that would have made eating it perfect.
The bed was comfortable and had maybe five pillows on it. I think I registered that the pillows were a little hot during the night. The room had been renovated perfectly. Perfectly modernized and for the nightly price worth it. I saw nothing in the room that was a negative. No negative smells or stains, etc. The air conditioning worked fine. Locks on the door. Water pressure in the shower fine.
This morning I decided to go out for breakfast and I got dressed and headed over to J.K.’s. On the way over, I remembered that this was Wednesday and that J.K.’s is closed on Wednesdays. Instead of going on to Zorba’s, I passed by there and went to the Harris Teeter to fix a breakfast from their breakfast bar. I had scrambled eggs, cheese grits, a biscuit and sausage gravy, a small dollop of corned beef hash, and a couple slices of bacon. The total for the breakfast was a little over $9. The items on this bar had good flavor and I would try this again. *Recall that I had enjoyed the Harris Teeter lunch bar many times before I got something “bad” from that bar and my throat started to close up. Since I had tried everything previously, I’m thinking that maybe someone used some chemical cleaning solution and that remained on an item causing the allergic reaction. I stopped eating the lunch buffet there for several months and later tried it once again, with no problems, but never went back to it on a regular basis.
This morning the air was cool in Fayetteville and it reminded me of how the air had been fresh and cool as I was driving around Asheville the morning before. Asheville was a pleasant change.
I fixed some Anasazi beans yesterday and now have a pot of Andouille & Lentils on the stove at 2:01 am Thursday morning. I can already tell that the lentils are going to provide a much better flavor. And, the Andouille seems to be better than the Kielbasa, although I like the Kielbasa for my Kielbasa/Shrimp/Zucchini dish. I’ve also added Savory to the lentils, which I didn’t put in the Anasazi beans.
And yes, I have just tried them and they are really good.
I had googled for different restaurants in Goldsboro because I had come to the conclusion that I couldn’t justify going to my old standby, the Longhorn Steakhouse Restaurant and having my old standard, a hamburger with lobster/crab soup and eating a whole loaf of the bread they give you as an appetizer. Even if you don’t eat any of the hamburger bun and justify the whole loaf of bread in that way. Longhorn is in front of the Berkley Mall and I have the shortest route to it from Fayetteville tattooed on my psyche.
I have even taken some sweet pickles (because they only serve dill slices) and extra slices of sweet onion because they only put on a single ring of onion on the burger. The Goldsboro restaurant seems to consistently have the best tasting soup, although I have tried the soup in Fayetteville and Southern Pines.
But after I looked at the nutritional value and calorie totals, this meal would have easily been over 1K. The loaf of bread alone would have probably totaled 500 calories. And, I consider 700 calories for a meal to be very high.
So, the initial google listed several local diners that looked like they had the good country breakfasts like I had at the Rainbow for years. In the end, I pulled over shortly before entering the Goldsboro city limits and found the Laughing Owl. One of the photos looked extremely delicious. It looked like an oriental chicken dish, with hot peppers, and it was served with some rice. When I got there, my waitress was new (I don’t know how new.) and I showed her a picture of the dish I wanted. She wasn’t sure of what dish this was on the menu so she went back and asked the chef. I think the suggestion was that it was a Garlic Kang Pow Chicken dish that had peanuts. *I don’t like peanuts in my Asian dishes, but I do like peanuts in all their various forms, and I’m not allergic to them, except for one time several years ago, at Russ & Deborah’s when Jeff Mitchell have me some peanut butter candy. I think it had “turkey” in it’s name and it was like a brittle toffee. I ate a bite and was watching TV by myself in the living room. At some point, I realized that my throat was beginning to close up so I stopped eating the candy and sat there quietly hoping my throat would stop closing. It did stop closing and I didn’t eat any more and I haven’t had any problem with an allergic reaction to any peanut variations since.
I ordered a cucumber salad with the meal. The meal was disappointing. The peanuts were a distraction and the entree wasn’t spicy although there were a couple of red hot peppers (hard even after being cooked). The rice was good. The chicken was tender with a sweet sauce. I ate half and asked for a “to go” box. I ate the rest at home before dinner, when I had a pared down liver & onions, with steamed cabbage & cauliflower and one disk of polenta which I heated in the microwave.
After lunch I drove out to my favorite location to watch the jets take off and land at SJAFB. There is a road that “dead ends” at a fence that runs along one side of the runway. In the winter and as long as the summer crops aren’t tall enough to block the view, it is a good place to be self-entertaining.
There is a Little Lending Library in a nearby neighborhood, from Berkley Mall, that I have left a few books there before. I may have even taken one from there, but don’t actually recall, but today I just left one, “Two Kinds of Truth.”
I didn’t drive directly back to Fayetteville along Hwy. 13, but took a circuitous route that included Pikeville and Smithfield.
Here was the Pikeville Book Exchange.
I even turned into this “Gander Lake” housing development. The sign says these homes start at the high $200K range. This is funny because near Fuquay Varina there is one development I pass that says their homes start at the low $500K range, and they don’t look any different from these (to me). Don’t know what kind of jobs these people are going to have to be able to actually afford to live in these homes. May be like the mortgage loans fiasco several years ago where people were given loans that they really were never going to be able to afford. But who cares as long as the Developers and Bankers make their money up front. *I never actually saw a lake from the ground, but there may be one at the back of the development. Not sure if anyone living in the development actually has access to this small body of water.
I was trying to find a new business in Benson that I had seen advertised on TV. Seems like it was a man & woman, maybe married and it was either a produce or meat business. I couldn’t remember their business name (was their first names I think), or exactly what kind of business (probably a butcher with various types of meat). I ended up stopping at Lee’s Produce, and they had tomatoes, various onions and some potted flowers. I bought some cheap heirloom tomatoes and have had one at home, at its not the worst or the best tomato I have ever had. A Campari or some of those grape tomatoes from Wegman’s have better flavor, still I could make a palatable tomato & bacon sandwich, which I might do tomorrow.
This was Lee’s Produce, but this Street View as taken when they weren’t “in season.” The woman that waited on me told me they had a place at the Raleigh State Farmers’ Market. I recalled the Lee’s name, and also Tarts. I think I’ve bought peppers & other veggies at both.
I’m thinking the business might have been Lee’s Fresh Market which has all sorts of good looking meats.
I bought this peppered bacon at Lee’s and finally cooked some of it this morning (95/30/24). It was very flavorful. Delicious! *But I had also bought some pork chops there, and they had “boar taint,” and were just unpleasant to eat. They weren’t poisoned, but just smelled “off.”
This seafood chowder was good, and would be repeatable, but just not as good, this time. However, adding the polenta waffles to it was a definite plus. I placed the polenta cakes on top of the chowder. And, it went well with the cabbage slaw I had made, but the slaw would have been better if it was fresher. The slaw had cabbage, sweet onion, red bell pepper, Dukes mayo, Half-n-Half, S&P and some sweetener.
[NOTE 06/09/24]: I buy polenta that comes in a tubular plastic package, shaped like “Jimmy Dean Sausage” pack. It is already cooked and apparently does not need refrigeration, because it is on display on one of the regular Walmart isles. I can cut off about a half inch thick slice and I think that is about an ounce. For a time, I would place a couple of polenta “rounds” in a waffle iron that I had coated the surface of the iron with cooking oil. They heat up, but do not brown up, but the waffle indentations make a good place of gravy to pool up.
But, having said the above, I haven’t been using a waffle iron to heat up my polenta. I have started putting the polenta in the microwave for about a minute to heat it up and soften it up.
I have put a couple of slices of polenta in my seafood chowder lately. It is almost like adding a cornmeal dumpling to the soup. [end NOTE]
I don’t recall when I first started collecting this cutlery, but it was many years ago, and not having bought any in this pattern in several years, I now find that Oneida has discontinued the pattern. Golden Juilliard has a gold plated highlight but there was a Juilliard pattern, same design but without the gold highlight. I always thought this had a elegant look without being pretentious.
I have a “silverware chest” for storage. I haven’t looked at what I have in a long while, but I think I had most of the pattern, both serving and individual place settings, and maybe enough to serve 6.
I have a different pattern that I use for daily use, but the Golden Juilliard has a small “seafood/cocktail” fork that I like to use for olives and pickles. I also like the size of the soup spoon which has a large bowl, which is even bigger than the soup spoon in the pattern I use everyday. But, I only have one Golden Juilliard soup spoon out of the storage chest for daily use. I don’t recall who made the pattern I use daily, but it is much different from the Golden Juilliard, less delicate and less elegant. I had eaten at a restaurant in Thomasville, Georgia on a visit there to the “Sweet Grass Dairy” (at the time they offered both goat and cow cheeses, but now only cow). The restaurant could have been Liams, but now that I think about it, it was probably Jonah’s (right next door). Their silverware was large, in the hand, and when I returned to Fayetteville, on my next visit up to the Oneida store in Smithfield, I saw and bought the pattern I currently use. [NOTE]: In writing the paragraph, I recalled that I had bought my current pattern at the Oneida Outlet Store in Smithfield. I don’t see the pattern on their web site, but haven’t looked at all their offerings. The Oneida Outlet Store left the Outlet Shopping Mall many years ago, now.
[ADDENDUM 02/06/24]: I thought that I might not be able to find the exact Oneida pattern that I use for daily use, but I finally saw four forks online that were for sale, and I immediately recognized them as the pattern I use. I believe it is called Oneida Stafford 18/10 Satin Flatware. There is a Stafford Mirror version which appears to be shinier.
I also have a sugar spoon, and a slotted serving spoon and serving fork. I lost my regular serving spoon by taking it to work one time to serve whatever dish I was taking, but then forgetting it and never seeing it again. Not often, but more often than you might think, I have needed a larger serving spoon (not slotted) to dip something, like soup, and the slotted spoon wouldn’t work. This flatware has a hefty feel and is a little larger in the hand, which is what I had liked about the flatware I used down at Jonah’s in Thomasville, GA. [end ADDENDUM]
On my first visit to Sweet Grass Dairy, and Thomasville, Georgia, I ate at Liam’s Restaurant. Jonah’s Restaurant didn’t exist yet. I think I’ve been to Thomasville three times, and I think because Liam’s was closed on one of those visits, I ate at Jonah’s which was right next door (with a little alcove between the two). I may have had a Lobster Bisque soup at Jonah’s and enjoyed it very much. And yes, I think it was Jonah’s that had the larger cutlery for dining. *And later when looking at the two restaurant web sites, I noted a “Christian” vs “Not Christian” vibe between the two establishments. At that time, Liam’s had named some of their menu items in a distinctly, “non-Christian” jibe at Jonah’s.
On my first visit to Thomasville, I was able to drive to the dairy where there were goats (not sure if the cows were there or elsewhere), and cheeses (both cow and goat cheese at the time), and a fat, old, white bulldog lounging on the cool concrete porch. I had come prepared and bought a bunch of different cheese and had an ice chest to bring it back to NC. I met the founding couple and a younger couple, that was son & daughter-in-law, or son-in-law & daughter. *On my next visit, you could no longer drive down to the dairy. There was a newly constructed store a short distance from the dairy. I think I bought some Pecan Oil, mostly as presents for friends & family. On my last visit to Thomasville, I think the only location was a restaurant in town, and now Sweet Grass Dairy was only producing cow cheeses, which appears to still be the case.
Oh, the other thing I collected was the Pfaltzgraff “Winterberry” pattern of Christmas dishes.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
Bill Gibson, II 