Some mornings come earlier than others. Yesterday's didn't come early at all. It came so late, in fact, that I missed the farmers' market. So LA and I had to find something else to do. Hmmm, what to do on a very warm Saturday? We headed on down to South Park. (Cue Les Claypool.) We did have ourselves a time, too.
The food court at the mall wasn't appealing to either of us. We passed on McCormick & Schmick's since they do steak and seafood, and I really don't want to deal with LA going into anaphylactic shock over lunch. He didn't feel like Mexican food, and M5's menu didn't appeal to him. That brought us to The Counter, for "Custom Built Burgers". The Counter is a small, mostly West Coast chain with a menu consisting, unsurprisingly, of mostly burgers. The restaurant is small and industrial, with high ceilings, visible ventilation, and a lot of blue paint. Too much blue paint, in my opinion. Even the staff wears blue t-shirts. While we were waiting for our food, we got to watch the World Cup. If you call periodically glancing at the monitors above the bar "watching the World Cup".
LA went the easy route and ordered the Hobo Pack. The menu describes this as "an assortment of grilled vegetables topped with fresh herbs". While it didn't specify which vegetables, LA was told that it did contain mushrooms and he would not be able to order it without them. He ordered it anyway, deciding that he would just pick them out. What he got was a parchment packet filled with an assortment of grilled vegetables. I saw corn, red peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms. He loved it and said he would start making it at home. Minus the mushrooms.
I like to make things difficult for myself, so I custom built my burger. While options are good, too much of a good thing can be overwhelming. For my burger, did I want beef, chicken, turkey, or veggie? 1/3 pound, 1/2 pound, or 1 full pound (post-cooking weight, not pre)? Did I want it on a bun or on a bed of lettuce? If I wanted a bun, did I want a regular bun, whole wheat, or an English muffin? Those were the easy choices. I was allowed one cheese, but had to pick from among 11 different options. I could have up to four toppings from a selection of 20. I can't imagine picking carrot strings, hard-boiled eggs, and pineapple as toppings for a burger, but obviously someone else can. Mustard and mayo aren't good enough for The Counter's patrons. I still had to choose from among 20 sauces. My mind was spinning by this point, and I wished I'd just picked the BLT from the standard menu. Before the headache kicked in, I settled for a 1/3 pound beef burger with Tillamook cheddar, bacon, dill pickle chips, scallions, and organic mixed greens, with garlic aioli on an English muffin. Oh, and the fries are extra. But what's a burger without fries? So I got those too.
The burger arrived perfectly cooked and one inch thick. Some may say that I have a big mouth, but I encountered some difficulty consuming the burger. I think "nibbled" best described how I ate my burger. The fries were shoestrings, sprinkled with seasoned salt. They were very good. I used the garlic aioli as a dipping sauce. Aioli is really just a fancy word for mayo, so I was expecting garlic-flavored mayo. I didn't detect even a hint of garlic. I also didn't detect a hint of cheddar on the burger, although I could see it was there. The bacon was a little on the undercooked side, but tasted fine. I was most happy with the scallions. They gave the burger an unexpected kick that was lacking from the cheese and the aioli. A tasty burger, yes. Worth the price? Not really.
I know this is South Park, where I should be happy to pay more for the privilege of appearing wealthy or trendy. The waitress told LA that she is a vegetarian. I said that of course she is. All servers in a place like that are vegetarians. It may even be a rule. She was friendly and polite, but more interested in chit-chatting with her friends than taking care of her tables. This also may have been a rule, since only one server spent more time serving customers than talking to coworkers. I wasn't unhappy with the experience at The Counter; just not impressed. The food was good, but not good enough for me to make another trip. I don't need 20 sauces and 11 types of cheese. I can get a burger with much less hassle anywhere, for the same price or less. And not have a headache when I leave.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Venice by Way of New York by Way of Kannapolis
I may be living on a shoestring, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to treat myself periodically to a meal made by someone other than me. Especially if it's inexpensive. It was this desire that led me to Venice New York Style Pizza and Italian Cuisine. Not only is Venice located very near my favorite wig store (no, I don't wear a wig. Yet.), but they have signs advertising their daily lunch specials for $5.95. That's hard to beat.
On our first visit, LA and I were initially the only customers, but more people came in while we were there. We both immediately took to the decor, with LA saying that he felt like he was dining on a train due to the unique booths. We took forever to order, mainly because we were having too much of a laugh over their menu. The menu items weren't the issue. The spelling and grammar were. As a pizza topping, you have the option of getting "green papers" or "banana papers". The Buffalo shrimp come with a side of "Ranch Dre". The "Chicken Rap" includes "chider" cheese. Many of the pasta dishes are available "backed", such as Backed Cheese Ravioli. You can even get Spaghetti Wits Meatballs. Our personal favorite was the "Child Lasagna". I believe they mean it is a child's portion of lasagna, but, without an accompanying description, you really are left with just an assumption. The server must be used to people's reaction to the menu, because she seemed totally unphased by it. When LA asked for his stromboli with banana papers, she said that it was the printer's fault and that they'd be getting new menus. She even provided us with takeout menus, so we could enjoy the typos in the comfort of our own homes.
Enough about our spelling snobbery. LA ordered a small pepperoni stromboli. What arrived was almost the size of his arm. I can't even imagine what the large must look like. The stromboli was pretty standard, with a side of marinara. LA raved about the marinara. I ordered broccoli chicken alfredo, which, surprisingly, was spelled correctly on the menu. The fettucine arrived in a delicious cream sauce that was a little lighter on broccoli than I would have preferred. As promised, it was topped with grilled chicken. I couldn't make out the seasoning used on the chicken, but it was absolutely delicious. And it was grilled. Menus often say grilled, but the chicken is often either parcooked and put on the grill for 30 seconds, or it's cooked by another method altogether. While LA thought that the cream sauce was too thin, I thought it was perfect. It wasn't overly heavy, which I find is often the case with restaurant alfredo sauce. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the chef actually knew what he was doing. Go figure. The pastas come with a side of garlic bread. In this case, it was a chunk of Italian bread, sliced in half, slathered with garlic butter and oregano and baked. I ate it all.
On our next visit, a few customers were already there. We began with the homemade potato chips with a side of ranch dressing. Maybe I'm too cynical, but I was more than a little surprised when homemade potato chips arrived. Very thinly sliced, skin-on Russet potatoes, fried until crisp. Some weren't as crisp as others. Just another way to tell that they were homemade. It's easy to forget just how good homemade potato chips are. I know I should stay away from the fried foods, but it's hard to do when they're that good. I would recommend the potato chips to anyone going to Venice.
LA ordered a personal cheese pizza from the Express Lunch menu. A larger-than-expected thin-crust cheese pizza was brought out on a pedestal (literally). When I asked LA how it was, he told me again how much he loves their marinara. That was far more descriptive than the "Good" that I normally get out of him. My side salad came first. Lettuce, tomato, carrots, and green olives with a side of not-homemade blue cheese dressing (despite what the menu says about homemade dressings). The side salad also comes with onions and green peppers, but I opted out of those. The only thing I really have to say about the salad is that it came too soon after the potato chips, so it just had to sit there on the table and watch me eat the chips. After the salad came my lasagna. The menu indicates that the lasagna is comprised of layers of pasta, ground beef (not child), and cheeses, topped with a homemade sauce. My expectations being low, I was prepared for frozen lasagna with some fresh sauce poured over it before heating it. (I worked in one establishment where the homemade lasagna was just that--frozen Stouffer's lasagna, topped with our own sauce.) Again, I was happily surprised. The whole thing was homemade. The whole thing was huge (I took more than half home with me). And the whole thing was delicious. It also tasted just as good the next day, when I reheated it. LA also took half of his pizza home with him, although he later ate it in the car, having been reheated in the heat of the car. Mmm, car pizza.
After two visits, LA and I both had the same impressions of Venice: good-sized portions for the price, all the important items are homemade (salad dressings notwithstanding), and everything we've had has been very good. We were highly impressed, moreso than expected, and we plan to make this one of our regular joints. We aren't, however, looking forward to the newly-printed menus coming soon. Part of the charm of Venice is the ability to laugh at the "printer's" mistake. I'll just have to keep my takeout menu to remind me.
Venice New York Style Pizza and Italian Restaurant is located at 1121 S. Cannon Blvd. in Kannapolis.
On our first visit, LA and I were initially the only customers, but more people came in while we were there. We both immediately took to the decor, with LA saying that he felt like he was dining on a train due to the unique booths. We took forever to order, mainly because we were having too much of a laugh over their menu. The menu items weren't the issue. The spelling and grammar were. As a pizza topping, you have the option of getting "green papers" or "banana papers". The Buffalo shrimp come with a side of "Ranch Dre". The "Chicken Rap" includes "chider" cheese. Many of the pasta dishes are available "backed", such as Backed Cheese Ravioli. You can even get Spaghetti Wits Meatballs. Our personal favorite was the "Child Lasagna". I believe they mean it is a child's portion of lasagna, but, without an accompanying description, you really are left with just an assumption. The server must be used to people's reaction to the menu, because she seemed totally unphased by it. When LA asked for his stromboli with banana papers, she said that it was the printer's fault and that they'd be getting new menus. She even provided us with takeout menus, so we could enjoy the typos in the comfort of our own homes.
Enough about our spelling snobbery. LA ordered a small pepperoni stromboli. What arrived was almost the size of his arm. I can't even imagine what the large must look like. The stromboli was pretty standard, with a side of marinara. LA raved about the marinara. I ordered broccoli chicken alfredo, which, surprisingly, was spelled correctly on the menu. The fettucine arrived in a delicious cream sauce that was a little lighter on broccoli than I would have preferred. As promised, it was topped with grilled chicken. I couldn't make out the seasoning used on the chicken, but it was absolutely delicious. And it was grilled. Menus often say grilled, but the chicken is often either parcooked and put on the grill for 30 seconds, or it's cooked by another method altogether. While LA thought that the cream sauce was too thin, I thought it was perfect. It wasn't overly heavy, which I find is often the case with restaurant alfredo sauce. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the chef actually knew what he was doing. Go figure. The pastas come with a side of garlic bread. In this case, it was a chunk of Italian bread, sliced in half, slathered with garlic butter and oregano and baked. I ate it all.
On our next visit, a few customers were already there. We began with the homemade potato chips with a side of ranch dressing. Maybe I'm too cynical, but I was more than a little surprised when homemade potato chips arrived. Very thinly sliced, skin-on Russet potatoes, fried until crisp. Some weren't as crisp as others. Just another way to tell that they were homemade. It's easy to forget just how good homemade potato chips are. I know I should stay away from the fried foods, but it's hard to do when they're that good. I would recommend the potato chips to anyone going to Venice.
LA ordered a personal cheese pizza from the Express Lunch menu. A larger-than-expected thin-crust cheese pizza was brought out on a pedestal (literally). When I asked LA how it was, he told me again how much he loves their marinara. That was far more descriptive than the "Good" that I normally get out of him. My side salad came first. Lettuce, tomato, carrots, and green olives with a side of not-homemade blue cheese dressing (despite what the menu says about homemade dressings). The side salad also comes with onions and green peppers, but I opted out of those. The only thing I really have to say about the salad is that it came too soon after the potato chips, so it just had to sit there on the table and watch me eat the chips. After the salad came my lasagna. The menu indicates that the lasagna is comprised of layers of pasta, ground beef (not child), and cheeses, topped with a homemade sauce. My expectations being low, I was prepared for frozen lasagna with some fresh sauce poured over it before heating it. (I worked in one establishment where the homemade lasagna was just that--frozen Stouffer's lasagna, topped with our own sauce.) Again, I was happily surprised. The whole thing was homemade. The whole thing was huge (I took more than half home with me). And the whole thing was delicious. It also tasted just as good the next day, when I reheated it. LA also took half of his pizza home with him, although he later ate it in the car, having been reheated in the heat of the car. Mmm, car pizza.
After two visits, LA and I both had the same impressions of Venice: good-sized portions for the price, all the important items are homemade (salad dressings notwithstanding), and everything we've had has been very good. We were highly impressed, moreso than expected, and we plan to make this one of our regular joints. We aren't, however, looking forward to the newly-printed menus coming soon. Part of the charm of Venice is the ability to laugh at the "printer's" mistake. I'll just have to keep my takeout menu to remind me.
Venice New York Style Pizza and Italian Restaurant is located at 1121 S. Cannon Blvd. in Kannapolis.
Monday, July 5, 2010
That's a Lot of Garlic
I'm always eager to try a new food. I'd stumbled across a couple of recipes for garlic scape pesto, and, never having heard of garlic scapes before, I knew I had to try it. I love pesto and I love garlic. What could go wrong?
The garlic scape is actually the stem of the garlic plant. We most commonly eat the garlic bulb, but the stems are edible as well. Garlic scapes look remarkably similar to the green part of scallions, and I actually got them confused with scallions on more than one occasion. I'm sure I'd seen garlic scapes many times, only I assumed they were funny looking onions.
After reading the recipes, I decided to seek out the garlic scapes. I didn't have to go very far--I found them at the farmers' market. I duly paid the price for a bunch of the scapes, then put them in the refrigerator. Each day I would look at them and think, "I need to make pesto today." But I always had an excuse. After several days, I finally had the now-or-never moment and made the pesto.
The pesto is very similar to normal basil pesto. I used the garlic scapes, walnuts (they're what I had), grated Parmesan cheese, salt, and olive oil. Very straightforward. I put it all into the food processor and let it go until it was the right consistency. I then ate it with some cooked pasta.
The verdict? I thought I loved garlic, but apparently I don't LOVE garlic. The pesto was very garlicky. So much so that I couldn't even finish all the pasta. I must've had garlic breath for three days. It was garlicky and pesto-y, but I don't believe I'll be having it again. Garlic scapes are one product of spring and summer that I won't be looking forward to next year.
If you think that there's no such thing as too much garlic and you'd like to try the pesto anyway, click here for the recipe that I (sort of) followed.
The garlic scape is actually the stem of the garlic plant. We most commonly eat the garlic bulb, but the stems are edible as well. Garlic scapes look remarkably similar to the green part of scallions, and I actually got them confused with scallions on more than one occasion. I'm sure I'd seen garlic scapes many times, only I assumed they were funny looking onions.
After reading the recipes, I decided to seek out the garlic scapes. I didn't have to go very far--I found them at the farmers' market. I duly paid the price for a bunch of the scapes, then put them in the refrigerator. Each day I would look at them and think, "I need to make pesto today." But I always had an excuse. After several days, I finally had the now-or-never moment and made the pesto.
The pesto is very similar to normal basil pesto. I used the garlic scapes, walnuts (they're what I had), grated Parmesan cheese, salt, and olive oil. Very straightforward. I put it all into the food processor and let it go until it was the right consistency. I then ate it with some cooked pasta.
The verdict? I thought I loved garlic, but apparently I don't LOVE garlic. The pesto was very garlicky. So much so that I couldn't even finish all the pasta. I must've had garlic breath for three days. It was garlicky and pesto-y, but I don't believe I'll be having it again. Garlic scapes are one product of spring and summer that I won't be looking forward to next year.
If you think that there's no such thing as too much garlic and you'd like to try the pesto anyway, click here for the recipe that I (sort of) followed.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
That IS a Tasty Burger!
At some point during my magazine-flipping or internet-surfing, I came across a photo of a pimento cheese bacon burger. It looked heavenly. I didn't read the accompanying article or recipe. I just figured I'd make my own with pimento cheese, bacon, and a burger. So I began planning.
With this recipe in mind, I bought some pimento cheese from Sandra with Harvest Catering. I've had good pimento cheese and bad pimento cheese. The supermarket variety is sweet and bright orange. I'd love to say that it qualifies as bad pimento cheese, but I can't. I happily eat it. But Harvest Catering's is very good pimento cheese. Grated cheddar, cream cheese, and pimentos. I didn't have any bread, and my ground beef was frozen, so I ate the pimento cheese with crackers. Until I ran out of crackers. Then I ate it with my finger. The point is that I'd eaten all of the pimento cheese by the time the ground beef had thawed, so I didn't get to have my long-desired pimento cheese bacon burger.
I was counting the days until I'd run into Sandra at the farmers market again, and today was the day! Sandra has two varieties of pimento cheese: mild and jalapeno. For a change of pace, I opted for the jalapeno. While I was out, I also picked up some Arnold's Select Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins, which look like really thin English muffins. I prefer to use English muffins as hamburger buns, so I figured the Sandwich Thins would work just as well.
Dinner time had finally arrived. I was using ground beef from Scally's Natural Beef for my burger, with some bacon from my freezer, and Harvest Catering's pimento cheese. I also added lettuce, pickle, and mayo to make it a traditional burger. Before final assembly, I toasted the bread. Just as protection against sogginess. So how was the burger? More heavenly than the original photo had led me to imagine! I almost cried when I finished eating it, because I didn't want the deliciousness to end. I was even tempted to make another one, but that would just be gluttony. I think I've discovered my new favorite burger.
Harvest Catering is at the Winecoff School Rd farmers' market on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and at the Kannapolis Research Campus market on Thursdays. The Scallys are at Winecoff School Rd on Saturdays.
With this recipe in mind, I bought some pimento cheese from Sandra with Harvest Catering. I've had good pimento cheese and bad pimento cheese. The supermarket variety is sweet and bright orange. I'd love to say that it qualifies as bad pimento cheese, but I can't. I happily eat it. But Harvest Catering's is very good pimento cheese. Grated cheddar, cream cheese, and pimentos. I didn't have any bread, and my ground beef was frozen, so I ate the pimento cheese with crackers. Until I ran out of crackers. Then I ate it with my finger. The point is that I'd eaten all of the pimento cheese by the time the ground beef had thawed, so I didn't get to have my long-desired pimento cheese bacon burger.
I was counting the days until I'd run into Sandra at the farmers market again, and today was the day! Sandra has two varieties of pimento cheese: mild and jalapeno. For a change of pace, I opted for the jalapeno. While I was out, I also picked up some Arnold's Select Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins, which look like really thin English muffins. I prefer to use English muffins as hamburger buns, so I figured the Sandwich Thins would work just as well.
Dinner time had finally arrived. I was using ground beef from Scally's Natural Beef for my burger, with some bacon from my freezer, and Harvest Catering's pimento cheese. I also added lettuce, pickle, and mayo to make it a traditional burger. Before final assembly, I toasted the bread. Just as protection against sogginess. So how was the burger? More heavenly than the original photo had led me to imagine! I almost cried when I finished eating it, because I didn't want the deliciousness to end. I was even tempted to make another one, but that would just be gluttony. I think I've discovered my new favorite burger.
Harvest Catering is at the Winecoff School Rd farmers' market on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and at the Kannapolis Research Campus market on Thursdays. The Scallys are at Winecoff School Rd on Saturdays.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Super G is Super Awesome!
Sometimes two occurrences take place simultaneously that cannot be explained away as mere coincidence. Fate, destiny, serendipity. Whatever you want to call it, they happen and you are compelled to action. My serendipitous moment came when 1) I learned of the Super G Mart's opening in Charlotte, and 2) I ran out of banana ketchup. Time for a road trip!
The first thing we noticed when we walked in was the smell. I've found that all "international" markets tend to have the same fish smell. The second thing we noticed was the huge produce section. We saw things we recognized and things we didn't. I saw one woman stuffing handfuls of hot chile peppers into a plastic bag. Whatever she was making, I was glad I wouldn't be there for it. We also spent a fair amount of time making fun of herbs that we'd never heard of. Not so much the herbs themselves, but their names. Lemons were 7 for 99 cents, which was a much better deal than LA had gotten at his neighborhood supermarket, where they were 75 cents each.
A walk through the meat section of any international or ethnic market can be educational, and Super G Mart's is more educational than most. I was eyeing pig uteri when I turned around and came face to face with a whole frozen pig. I think it was staring at me. Less disturbing, but far more horrifying, were the beef lips. We couldn't spend too much time pondering those, because we were getting a little creeped out by their appearance. I didn't get a good look at the variety in the fresh seafood case, as we walked past quickly. The look on LA's face told me that his morning smoothie may make another appearance if we didn't get out of the area. I did see live blue crabs, lobsters, and Self Serve shrimp.
In the frozen food section, I picked up a package of shu mai. I love shu mai. LA wanted some red bean buns, but all directions where in what I assume was Chinese. The illustrations on the back led us to believe that the buns could be cooked in a bamboo steamer, a microwave, or a rice cooker. We couldn't identify any numbers or additional cooking directions, so LA put them back.
Our favorite aisle was probably that containing the canned foods. Not because we loved canned foods so much, but because the packaging on the generic brand was so inventive. The label on the creamed corn had a cartoon corn cob sitting in a creamed corn hot tub, which another corn cob stirred with a giant spoon. The French green bean can was my favorite: Two green beans dancing the tango, one outfitted in a stripped shirt and mustache, the other in a pencil skirt and beret. Another had a mess of beans all wrestling in a ring. Food labelling doesn't get any better than that.
We hurried past what we called the American Food aisle. We were there for the strange products with the funny markings on them. We were successful in the hunt for banana ketchup. Three large bottles went into my basket. Any Asian, Middle Eastern, Indian, or Hispanic product that you may want can probably be found at Super G Mart.
Since we were there on a weekend, another product available in mass quantities was the clueless white Looky Lou. No matter how long and hard you may stare at a label written entirely in Korean, you are not going to spontaneously begin to understand the Korean language. The English translation will not pop out at you if you look long and hard and squint with one eye, like the 3-D pictures that were available in the late '90s. If you can't figure out the label quickly, look at the tag on the shelf. It's in English. Then get out of the way of people who are actually trying to buy things. I'm not against the supermarket tourist, but it's only good manners to go during off-peak hours and move out of the way of paying customers.
I left Super G Mart with three bottles of banana ketchup, frozen shu mai, and a package of tostada shells. LA left with a head filled with ideas of meals to come. We'll definitely be back. Only we may bring our noseplugs next time (and go on a weekday).
The Super G Mart is located at 7323 S. Independence Blvd, in what was previously a Bi-Lo. While they do accept credit and debit cards, they are not currently set up to accept EBT/food stamps. A number of signs around the store, including on the doors and all cash registers, will inform you of this. If you still try to use your food stamps, please know that the cashiers (and other customers) will laugh at you. It's not like you haven't been warned.
P.S. This post was going to be far more interesting and eloquent, but my laptop turned evil as I was trying to post and I lost everything I had typed. I apologize for leaving you with the "I hate my laptop" version.
The first thing we noticed when we walked in was the smell. I've found that all "international" markets tend to have the same fish smell. The second thing we noticed was the huge produce section. We saw things we recognized and things we didn't. I saw one woman stuffing handfuls of hot chile peppers into a plastic bag. Whatever she was making, I was glad I wouldn't be there for it. We also spent a fair amount of time making fun of herbs that we'd never heard of. Not so much the herbs themselves, but their names. Lemons were 7 for 99 cents, which was a much better deal than LA had gotten at his neighborhood supermarket, where they were 75 cents each.
A walk through the meat section of any international or ethnic market can be educational, and Super G Mart's is more educational than most. I was eyeing pig uteri when I turned around and came face to face with a whole frozen pig. I think it was staring at me. Less disturbing, but far more horrifying, were the beef lips. We couldn't spend too much time pondering those, because we were getting a little creeped out by their appearance. I didn't get a good look at the variety in the fresh seafood case, as we walked past quickly. The look on LA's face told me that his morning smoothie may make another appearance if we didn't get out of the area. I did see live blue crabs, lobsters, and Self Serve shrimp.
In the frozen food section, I picked up a package of shu mai. I love shu mai. LA wanted some red bean buns, but all directions where in what I assume was Chinese. The illustrations on the back led us to believe that the buns could be cooked in a bamboo steamer, a microwave, or a rice cooker. We couldn't identify any numbers or additional cooking directions, so LA put them back.
Our favorite aisle was probably that containing the canned foods. Not because we loved canned foods so much, but because the packaging on the generic brand was so inventive. The label on the creamed corn had a cartoon corn cob sitting in a creamed corn hot tub, which another corn cob stirred with a giant spoon. The French green bean can was my favorite: Two green beans dancing the tango, one outfitted in a stripped shirt and mustache, the other in a pencil skirt and beret. Another had a mess of beans all wrestling in a ring. Food labelling doesn't get any better than that.
We hurried past what we called the American Food aisle. We were there for the strange products with the funny markings on them. We were successful in the hunt for banana ketchup. Three large bottles went into my basket. Any Asian, Middle Eastern, Indian, or Hispanic product that you may want can probably be found at Super G Mart.
Since we were there on a weekend, another product available in mass quantities was the clueless white Looky Lou. No matter how long and hard you may stare at a label written entirely in Korean, you are not going to spontaneously begin to understand the Korean language. The English translation will not pop out at you if you look long and hard and squint with one eye, like the 3-D pictures that were available in the late '90s. If you can't figure out the label quickly, look at the tag on the shelf. It's in English. Then get out of the way of people who are actually trying to buy things. I'm not against the supermarket tourist, but it's only good manners to go during off-peak hours and move out of the way of paying customers.
I left Super G Mart with three bottles of banana ketchup, frozen shu mai, and a package of tostada shells. LA left with a head filled with ideas of meals to come. We'll definitely be back. Only we may bring our noseplugs next time (and go on a weekday).
The Super G Mart is located at 7323 S. Independence Blvd, in what was previously a Bi-Lo. While they do accept credit and debit cards, they are not currently set up to accept EBT/food stamps. A number of signs around the store, including on the doors and all cash registers, will inform you of this. If you still try to use your food stamps, please know that the cashiers (and other customers) will laugh at you. It's not like you haven't been warned.
P.S. This post was going to be far more interesting and eloquent, but my laptop turned evil as I was trying to post and I lost everything I had typed. I apologize for leaving you with the "I hate my laptop" version.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
So, How's It Going?
I've been asked a few times how the Escapades v. 2.0 are going. Honestly, some days are easier than others. I find myself craving familiar foods, although they are different than those that I would normally crave. Last week, I had a mystifying craving for ham. I broke down and bought some NC-produced country ham. And it was delicious. I'm eating less meat, which any dietitian will tell you is a good thing. I'm also eating a lot more fruits and vegetables--another good thing. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with myself.
Yesterday, I made a quiche using Miller Produce eggs and zucchini, with Cackleberry Farms' feta. I also threw in some jarred red peppers that were sitting in the fridge. I haven't had quiche in ages, but it seemed an appropriate use of the many ingredients I had.
LA bought a smoothie recipe book (I don't know if that would be considered a "cook"book, since nothing is cooked), so we've both been making smoothies left and right. He's sticking with the more traditional fruit-and-yogurt smoothies, while I'm branching out. I bought peaches and blackberries, then threw them in with some (organic) vanilla yogurt. That was a satisfying, albeit crunchy smoothie. Lesson learned: strain the blackberries after pureeing to get rid of all the seeds. I made another one, utilizing the lesson that I had learned, and the results were even better. I made another with cucumber, avocado, and kale. I didn't realize at the time that my yogurt was vanilla, instead of plain, so it made for an odd smoothie. Not bad, but not at all what I'd expected. After buying some plain yogurt, I decided to give it another shot. This time I added a small can of V-8 that I had sitting around. The resulting smoothie was a most unsettling color. While it tasted okay, I think the vanilla version had been tastier. I should probably stick with the fruits, since those turn out the best.
Lunch today was the result of needing to use up the rest of the kale that I'd picked up on Saturday. I was planning to cook it with garlic, then toss with spaghetti. That would've involved at least two pans, and I'm lazy. I bought some new potatoes from Miller Produce last night, thinking I'd make more Spanish potato salad, but soup sounded like a better idea. I'm a huge fan of the Toscana soup at Olive Garden (even if it does come out of a microwavable bag), and I had the majority of the items to make something similar. The Toscana soup has spicy Italian sausage in it, and I was going for a vegetarian version. A diced onion, quartered potatoes, shredded kale, some water and a little milk all made for a delightful soup. I got a little heavy-handed with the salt, but it all worked out in the end. As usual, I measured nothing. When I make potato soup, I think about the soup that my Grandma B. used to make, and I try to imitate the flavor of hers. Her soup never included kale or potato skins, but she may have still recognized it.
I've done pretty well in other ways, too. I'm drinking a lot more water, as well as herbal tea. The teas I've gotten from "the tea lady", as we call Linda, owner of Indigo Tea Market. She has a plethora of different teas, my favorite being the Long Island Strawberry, which is a green tea. The Moroccan mint is also wonderful. LA mixes the peach tisane with normal orange pekoe to make a flavored sweet tea. I actually bought a kettle for all the tea I've been drinking. Yesterday I fell off the wagon and had a Diet A&W root beer. No sugar and no caffeine, but plenty of other questionable ingredients that caused me to feel guilt for the rest of the evening. It was, however, the first soda that I'd had in a week and a half! I've also (mostly) stopped eating sweets. I've never had much of a sweet tooth, but what little I had is in decline. I ate one of my beloved Cheerwine truffles, and it was so sweet! No sweeter than it had been the last time I'd had one, but I'm apparently getting more sensitive to the sweets. I have to give LA props, too, since he's been eating a lot fewer sweets, and that's really an accomplishment for him (we won't mention the toaster pastries that he bought at the dollar store).
All in all, this has been easier than I thought, although still a struggle at times. I'm still getting enough to eat, I'm eating foods I enjoy, plus I'm having to broaden my horizons and try new items and recipes. I've got garlic scapes waiting for me, as well as an eggplant and a horribly ugly tomato. Guess I know what's on the menu for dinner!
Yesterday, I made a quiche using Miller Produce eggs and zucchini, with Cackleberry Farms' feta. I also threw in some jarred red peppers that were sitting in the fridge. I haven't had quiche in ages, but it seemed an appropriate use of the many ingredients I had.
LA bought a smoothie recipe book (I don't know if that would be considered a "cook"book, since nothing is cooked), so we've both been making smoothies left and right. He's sticking with the more traditional fruit-and-yogurt smoothies, while I'm branching out. I bought peaches and blackberries, then threw them in with some (organic) vanilla yogurt. That was a satisfying, albeit crunchy smoothie. Lesson learned: strain the blackberries after pureeing to get rid of all the seeds. I made another one, utilizing the lesson that I had learned, and the results were even better. I made another with cucumber, avocado, and kale. I didn't realize at the time that my yogurt was vanilla, instead of plain, so it made for an odd smoothie. Not bad, but not at all what I'd expected. After buying some plain yogurt, I decided to give it another shot. This time I added a small can of V-8 that I had sitting around. The resulting smoothie was a most unsettling color. While it tasted okay, I think the vanilla version had been tastier. I should probably stick with the fruits, since those turn out the best.
Lunch today was the result of needing to use up the rest of the kale that I'd picked up on Saturday. I was planning to cook it with garlic, then toss with spaghetti. That would've involved at least two pans, and I'm lazy. I bought some new potatoes from Miller Produce last night, thinking I'd make more Spanish potato salad, but soup sounded like a better idea. I'm a huge fan of the Toscana soup at Olive Garden (even if it does come out of a microwavable bag), and I had the majority of the items to make something similar. The Toscana soup has spicy Italian sausage in it, and I was going for a vegetarian version. A diced onion, quartered potatoes, shredded kale, some water and a little milk all made for a delightful soup. I got a little heavy-handed with the salt, but it all worked out in the end. As usual, I measured nothing. When I make potato soup, I think about the soup that my Grandma B. used to make, and I try to imitate the flavor of hers. Her soup never included kale or potato skins, but she may have still recognized it.
I've done pretty well in other ways, too. I'm drinking a lot more water, as well as herbal tea. The teas I've gotten from "the tea lady", as we call Linda, owner of Indigo Tea Market. She has a plethora of different teas, my favorite being the Long Island Strawberry, which is a green tea. The Moroccan mint is also wonderful. LA mixes the peach tisane with normal orange pekoe to make a flavored sweet tea. I actually bought a kettle for all the tea I've been drinking. Yesterday I fell off the wagon and had a Diet A&W root beer. No sugar and no caffeine, but plenty of other questionable ingredients that caused me to feel guilt for the rest of the evening. It was, however, the first soda that I'd had in a week and a half! I've also (mostly) stopped eating sweets. I've never had much of a sweet tooth, but what little I had is in decline. I ate one of my beloved Cheerwine truffles, and it was so sweet! No sweeter than it had been the last time I'd had one, but I'm apparently getting more sensitive to the sweets. I have to give LA props, too, since he's been eating a lot fewer sweets, and that's really an accomplishment for him (we won't mention the toaster pastries that he bought at the dollar store).
All in all, this has been easier than I thought, although still a struggle at times. I'm still getting enough to eat, I'm eating foods I enjoy, plus I'm having to broaden my horizons and try new items and recipes. I've got garlic scapes waiting for me, as well as an eggplant and a horribly ugly tomato. Guess I know what's on the menu for dinner!
Monday, June 21, 2010
So Meaty!
In the case of the beef stew, I can’t say which proverbial chicken or egg came first. Did I want to make dinner with as many local ingredients as possible because I’d decided to be a locavore, or did I want to be a locavore after making dinner? Either way, I was determined to make a full dinner for LA and I using as many ingredients purchased from the farmers’ market as possible.
After reviewing the list of items from Scally’s Natural Beef, I settled on some chuck roast. I hadn’t run into Sandra Scally at any of the markets before. I initially planned on getting beef from T&D Charolais, but they were apparently scared off by the storm that evening. Sandra had stuck it out, so I bought the roast from her. She even invited us out to visit their farm. We’ll be making the trip in the coming weeks.
Now that I had chuck roast, I had to formulate a plan for dinner. I still had some creamer potatoes that I’d gotten from Miller Produce. We got to the market late on Saturday morning, so the pickings were a little slim. No carrots? Everyone had sold out. I managed to find a bunch of meager-looking purple carrots from Barbee Farms. I also bought garlic and an onion from them. My dinner was starting to come together. I had gotten some rosemary from Deborah’s Kitchen Kreations, which I could put to good use in the beef stew.
While looking for carrots, we saw that Ohana Favorites was selling cherries. I love cherries. I grabbed a bag and instantly set my mind on cherry clafouti, a French dessert that falls somewhere between a custard and a bread pudding. I told my dinner plans to Joanie, the owner of Ohana Favorites, and she asked if she could move in. The custardy aspect of the clafouti would come from eggs that I’d also purchased from Miller Produce.
For the sake of full disclosure, I do have to admit that some supermarket items were harmed in the making of dinner. I used beef broth that I already had, as well as half a bottle of red wine, plus tomato paste from a tube (just like toothpaste!). Dessert involved sugar, flour, and milk from the supermarket.
The day of dinner had arrived. LA and I would be eating after completing a visit to the China Grove Roller Mill Museum. We learned all about how flour was produced in the last century. The museum was far more interesting than either of us had imagined. The day was exceptionally hot, and we both looked forward to returning home for a hearty meal.
First up was the beef stew. LA was concerned by the sight of rosemary in the stew, but I’d used a light hand. The rosemary enhanced the flavor of the stew without overwhelming it, as rosemary is often known to do. The stew was full-flavored and delicious. How beef stew should taste—meaty, savory, full of meat and potatoes. Even better was the tenderness of the beef. We ate it with a spoon, and it melted in our mouths. We sopped up the remaining gravy with homemade rosemary foccacia.
The clafouti came next. A sprinkling of Cognac and powdered sugar on the top, and it was ready to go. The cherries were sweet, although a little masked by the other flavors in the custard. I was concerned that it wouldn’t be custardy enough, since the eggs I used were medium-sized, rather than the more standard large ones. It didn’t matter. We each had a sizable portion and nearly licked the plate clean. Later that night, I finished off the rest of the clafouti. I told myself that it wouldn’t be as good after having been refrigerated. In reality, I just wanted to eat it all!
After the meal, we tried to take an honest assessment. Had it been cheap? No. Had it tasted differently than it would have using supermarket ingredients? No. The beef was more tender than what I’ve typically found in the supermarket, but the taste was imperceptible. With all that being said, I had to ask myself if it was worth the extra cost. My answer? Absolutely! I felt good afterwards. The meal had been quite hearty and filling, but didn’t sit like a brick in our stomachs. While I hadn’t grown the vegetables or slaughtered the beef, I still got a sense of accomplishment. I’d searched for some of the ingredients, rather than showing up and finding them. Plus, the menu had been modified based on what I found. I had a pseudo shopping list, but it wasn’t as easy to fill as if I’d run to the supermarket for everything.
While future meals may not involve as much thought and effort, I’ve decided that the source will still be the same. The farmers’ market sells everything I need to feed myself daily. If it’s not in season or the vendors are out, I guess I just won’t have it that day. That suits me just fine. I’d rather have a locally-grown in-season tomato than some wilted asparagus from Peru. Sorry, Peru. If I want your asparagus, I’ll just have to eat it while I’m visiting Macchu Picchu. Otherwise, I’ll stick to my local vendors.
After reviewing the list of items from Scally’s Natural Beef, I settled on some chuck roast. I hadn’t run into Sandra Scally at any of the markets before. I initially planned on getting beef from T&D Charolais, but they were apparently scared off by the storm that evening. Sandra had stuck it out, so I bought the roast from her. She even invited us out to visit their farm. We’ll be making the trip in the coming weeks.
Now that I had chuck roast, I had to formulate a plan for dinner. I still had some creamer potatoes that I’d gotten from Miller Produce. We got to the market late on Saturday morning, so the pickings were a little slim. No carrots? Everyone had sold out. I managed to find a bunch of meager-looking purple carrots from Barbee Farms. I also bought garlic and an onion from them. My dinner was starting to come together. I had gotten some rosemary from Deborah’s Kitchen Kreations, which I could put to good use in the beef stew.
While looking for carrots, we saw that Ohana Favorites was selling cherries. I love cherries. I grabbed a bag and instantly set my mind on cherry clafouti, a French dessert that falls somewhere between a custard and a bread pudding. I told my dinner plans to Joanie, the owner of Ohana Favorites, and she asked if she could move in. The custardy aspect of the clafouti would come from eggs that I’d also purchased from Miller Produce.
For the sake of full disclosure, I do have to admit that some supermarket items were harmed in the making of dinner. I used beef broth that I already had, as well as half a bottle of red wine, plus tomato paste from a tube (just like toothpaste!). Dessert involved sugar, flour, and milk from the supermarket.
The day of dinner had arrived. LA and I would be eating after completing a visit to the China Grove Roller Mill Museum. We learned all about how flour was produced in the last century. The museum was far more interesting than either of us had imagined. The day was exceptionally hot, and we both looked forward to returning home for a hearty meal.
First up was the beef stew. LA was concerned by the sight of rosemary in the stew, but I’d used a light hand. The rosemary enhanced the flavor of the stew without overwhelming it, as rosemary is often known to do. The stew was full-flavored and delicious. How beef stew should taste—meaty, savory, full of meat and potatoes. Even better was the tenderness of the beef. We ate it with a spoon, and it melted in our mouths. We sopped up the remaining gravy with homemade rosemary foccacia.
The clafouti came next. A sprinkling of Cognac and powdered sugar on the top, and it was ready to go. The cherries were sweet, although a little masked by the other flavors in the custard. I was concerned that it wouldn’t be custardy enough, since the eggs I used were medium-sized, rather than the more standard large ones. It didn’t matter. We each had a sizable portion and nearly licked the plate clean. Later that night, I finished off the rest of the clafouti. I told myself that it wouldn’t be as good after having been refrigerated. In reality, I just wanted to eat it all!
After the meal, we tried to take an honest assessment. Had it been cheap? No. Had it tasted differently than it would have using supermarket ingredients? No. The beef was more tender than what I’ve typically found in the supermarket, but the taste was imperceptible. With all that being said, I had to ask myself if it was worth the extra cost. My answer? Absolutely! I felt good afterwards. The meal had been quite hearty and filling, but didn’t sit like a brick in our stomachs. While I hadn’t grown the vegetables or slaughtered the beef, I still got a sense of accomplishment. I’d searched for some of the ingredients, rather than showing up and finding them. Plus, the menu had been modified based on what I found. I had a pseudo shopping list, but it wasn’t as easy to fill as if I’d run to the supermarket for everything.
While future meals may not involve as much thought and effort, I’ve decided that the source will still be the same. The farmers’ market sells everything I need to feed myself daily. If it’s not in season or the vendors are out, I guess I just won’t have it that day. That suits me just fine. I’d rather have a locally-grown in-season tomato than some wilted asparagus from Peru. Sorry, Peru. If I want your asparagus, I’ll just have to eat it while I’m visiting Macchu Picchu. Otherwise, I’ll stick to my local vendors.
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