HungryChris

It tastes fine to me. I think the mayo and half & half are both under $2.00, The blue cheese is $2.99 and their crackers and chips are on a par with TJ's but much cheaper.

I don't think that a coincidence. There are several other items much like that.

We have an Aldi's nearby and a Trader Joe's about 30 minutes away and visit each on a regular basis. I was first introduced to the deposit for the carriage in Italy (at the Coop) and loved the idea at once. No people on the payroll rounding up carts and no carts left all over the parking lot. I wish more stores adopted it here, but I digress. There are several items at both locations that we get regularly. Baby back ribs and grapefruit when they go on sale at Aldi's. The items on the left are some regular things from Aldi for the price and on the right are things from TJ's that we buy for the quality.

Happy St. Patty's day. HC

I just couldn't agree more! HC

My jerk chicken is not photogenic and lacked the oddly addictive heat of the real thing. The jalapeno peppers just didn't measure up, but the flavor was pretty good. Nothing close to Patricia's Beach Bar on Tortola or Cuzzin's in St. Thomas, but still not bad. HC

What wood do you use for smoking pork what wood for chicken, if you smoke chicken? Hickory is the easiest to come by here and is fine for pork IMO, but a bit too harsh for chicken. I use hickory for salmon, but would like to try alder and a few others if I could find some. HC

Deb tried this popcorn last season and raved about it. Apparently it was a seasonal item as the next time we tried to get more, it was gone. I just returned from my twice a month trip to TJ's today. I sent her a cell phone shot of it and her only response was "OMG, it's back! Get Several!!" HC

I also believe it to be a double boiler insert with a rounded bottom for a wire whisk. HC

Potato salad with the first chives of spring. Making this got me thinking about the jerk chicken with potato salad we had at Cuzzin's on St. Thomas so I'll be making jerk chicken to have with this tonight! HC

Corn beef, Lorraine Swiss and pickled ribbon zucchini on Russian rye

Thinking about it. Might do a white clam pizza pi. HC

I do have a blade grinder. The last time I was in NYC I went to Kalutyan's spice shop and bought whole cumin seed, but that was over a year ago. When I realized I was running quite low on ground cumin, I toasted some of that up and ground it. It was pretty good, but I think the age played a role in the result. Ground cumin is a big component in the rubs I use for smoking pork and I go through lots of it for both that and fresh salsa, which I almost always have in the fridge. I plan to use up the rest of the old cumin seed for pork rub. I also make big batches of salsa which Deb brings in to work to use as graft among her coworkers. HC

Fried eggs over easy, home fries with onions, bias sliced left over kielbasa and salsa: Speaking of salsa, got a package from Penzeys on Friday. More salsa, pico de gallo, gyoza dipping sauce and pickles!: HC

Welcome aboard, Stephanie, that Pho looks great!

Cicchetti night here. Little bits of what we have and what we like. HC I always insist on a salad. Dinner with daylight makes life so much better!

Poached eggs, home fries, scrapple and fresh salsa. HC

Fried scallops and a composed salad:

Yes, Instant Release...I struggled for the correct term. I had Yukon Gold, so that is what I used. They were quite good. HC

Stop & Shop has corned beef on sale this week and last for $1.96 a pound for the flat cut, which is the only cut I will buy. The point cut is best for pastrami IMO, not corned beef. I put it in the IP on the rack, covered with water, added the spices that came with the beef, bay leaves and 1/4 cup of Crystal hot sauce. Cooked for 90 minutes, natural release after ten minute cool down, wrapped in foil into a warm oven and added the cabbage and potatoes to the pot with the cooking juice for 3 minutes and pressure release. Best corned beef and cabbage I have ever had. I know my great grandfather, Timothy O'Learey was looking on with great approval! Deb could not believe how great it was either.

I'm probably being overly optimistic, but hope to plant Brussels sprouts this afternoon. HC

I love Bartlett pears. It has taken me far too long to understand how to deal with them properly, but this is my current method: Buy them when they are green and hard so that they are not easily bruised, Take the tag off of them as soon as you get home because it will rip the skin if taken off when ripe. Place them in a soft nest like place to ripen.

Absolutely one of my favorites!!!

About eight years ago I purchased ramps at the Union Square Green Market on a day trip to NYC. Even though I wrapped them up carefully in several layers of plastic, the smell of my knapsack for the remainder of that day is still brought up for my benefit from time to time as an example of how not to be socially responsible, travel in the city and on the subway. I did manage to get them home safely and planted them in a bed in what used to be my garden, until the surrounding trees just got too tall. Every year at this time I carefully rake away the leaves and watch for them to emerge and last year there were enough to start harvesting. This morning I had a quiet celebration as I noticed that they have just begun to emerge again. I think a ramp omelet is going to be the first order of business one day soon. Ramps 6, asparagus zip. HC

Tere. I buy it in 1 lb bricks (about the size of 1 lb of butter). It is about the same consistency as cold butter as well. I slice it into saltine like slices and fry it in a pan. You have to wait for it to crisp up before you can flip it without difficulty, then crisp it up on the other side. It is just one of those things (like beef tongue) that I was taught to cook at a very young age and it is a bit of nostalgia to me that I think tastes great. Others just can't get past the ingredients. HC