BeeZee

ugly clean out the fridge since DH is out of town. Leftover salad components from Sunday (greens, yellow cherry tomatoes, chopped yellow bell pepper, English cuke). A few pieces of herring in cream sauce from the jar (a twice a year craving). Couple of crackers. Apricot (mealy). Contemplated a beer, but decided I only wanted half, so I passed.

very interesting. May help explain why my Sicilian brother in law wants to put lemon juice on everything he eats. Because he can.

Well, once again, the day after I eat something I read about a recall. Some frozen yellowfin tuna shipped in from the Pacific may be contaminated with hepatitis A. Nobody has gotten sick, yet. They recommend getting a vaccine shot to be safe if you have eaten raw tuna recently. Sorry I am on my iPad and don't have a link to post, if you do a search you will find the info. Shipments to 3 states most likely, I know California was one. Shipments to NY didn't go into distribution. Please check it out if you have eaten raw yellowfin tuna recently. I intend to verify if I got Hep A vaccine when I had my physical last year, since I did get some boosters and such. Peace of mind even though NJ wasn't on the list.

stopped at the local TJ's on the way to a meeting the other evening, so I couldn't buy any perishables...restocking cheap vinho verde...bought mango tomatillo salsa (not opened yet). Coconut cranberry snacking crackers (I believe that's the name)...firm textured cracker, not too sweet, I think they would be nice with goat cheese. Just finished a bag of the baby dried bananas, it took me a while. I found them cloyingly sweet, not likely to re-purchase unless using (chopped up) as an ingredient in baked goods (which I can totally see).

interesting, 2 breakfasts using "pre-chickens", 2 using "post-chicken"

@Norm Matthews,The salsa was more of a fresh relish, not vinegary or spicy, so it really was just a bit sweet from the mango and red bell pepper.

so as it turned out, our guest who made the salsa (not spicy, just sweet from mango) brought a Riesling which went well. I had some indeterminate red blend that we opened that was actually OK. There was some Prosecco as well. Hey, if someone brings it, it gets opened. But I think a rose would have been nice (will file away for future ref).

I'm playing golf with our friend on Saturday, I'll see if he can give insight into the flavor profile. My bet is on not so spicy. Hubby is a fan of vinho verde, so that's an easy one. And I do like the idea of the rose.

thanks for the suggestions. My local TJ's does indeed have wine, so a trip is planned to see what they have. We also have a very nice wine store near my office that is a hidden secret (Moore Brothers Wine Co.), if I can un-bury myself on Thurs., I'll head over, as they are very knowledgeable. If I don't think I can find something suitable in a red, I'll just stick with white for dinner.

I am looking for some ideas for a lighter red wine that would pair with grilled tuna steak which may be served with a mango salsa being brought by my friend (so I don't know how sweet or spicy it will be). That salsa is throwing me off.

I had no problem unpacking the new blade and wrapping the old one for disposal. I did however cut my finger on the slicing blade as I was restacking everything in the storage corner. Found a small box to safely house those blades now. And hummous has been made, order is restored.

My replacement blade arrived today, about 5 1/2 months after the first request, I didn't get a "heads up" email. I had put in 2 requests a couple of weeks apart on 2 different emails, I am curious to see if I do get a 2nd blade. But at least I can make hummous this weekend!

Sushi burrito at Whole Foods (King California roll, surimi/avo/tempura crunch/mango). Thinking that if Japanese people were horrified by the size of rolls served at American sushi joints, this would really make them twitch. But I guess it isn't much different than a hand roll.

we get the weekly circulars for Shop Rite, Acme (local to the Philadelphia area), Wegmans (sporadically), and McCaffrey's (sporadically-it is a small local chain). Both Shop Rite and Wegmans do online digital coupons that give you additional deals which get loaded to your loyalty card. Whole Foods is testing this in selected markets also, the one near my office has a Rewards program where they email you a "reward" periodically to select/load onto your card. It might be something like $5 off $25 of produce, for example. I've accepted the lack of privacy in using these various rewards/loyalty cards. I don't care if they know my food buying habits and convey that to the manufacturers if it means I can save money. Call it a bribe, if you will.

I'm trying to make sure the perishables get used...last week I bought a pack of 3 heads romaine in a bag so salad it was for the 2nd Sunday in a row (one head left). I did defrost some roasted delicata squash (leftover from the end of 2016) and chopped it to put onto the salad, at least that freezer bag was diminished in size. And last week's salad used up some bread I had saved for croutons. I had soup during the week (one freezer bowl taken care of). I suspect this challenge at least got me motivated to think about using those leftovers piecemeal instead of "saving" them for some grand plan (which only ensures various bags of freezer burned items).

ahh, the ultimate in comfort food. Lot to be said for a genuine person like this, love to support people like him.

@Shelby, another tasty way to prepare fresh artichokes that I've enjoyed is to steam them, cut in half, brush liberally with vinagrette, and grill to get some nice marks.

hmmm, what about oatmeal cookies with raisinets...for those of us who like both?

I make this frequently with Trader Joe's multigrain hot cereal mix. It retains a nice texture. I found a "base" recipe which includes 2x volume milk (cow, soy, nut) to oats, chia seeds, and banana + other mix ins. The banana needs to be ripe, I cut it really thin and mix it in so it pretty much dissolves into everything, it acts as a natural sweetener. I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk, a squirt of agave syrup or honey, and cinnamon. Other additions have included cacao nibs, sliced toasted almonds, or additional fruit. I will usually make a large batch of the "base" and freeze portions in reuseable plastic containers (Ciao Bella gelato pint container with screw on lid are great for this). When defrosted I will add fresh fruit or nuts.

if you have pets...pet hair will get in there and clog up the works even worse. We used to pull dust kitties out of ours.

Received the 10" skillet. It's a little smaller across the bottom than the one it was intended to replace, so I still need to get something in a 12" version. The 10" is pretty heavy, I don't know if I want the same style in 12". I will have to use it to see if the weight bothers me. The finish out of the box feels pretty slick, there is a small imperfection on the rim (where it won't matter). I will likely go ahead and clean/season it a bit more.

I had gotten an email about a month ago saying that I might expect a blade in June/July....really annoyed. Have cans of chickpeas and tehina collecting dust. Blender not a solution for everything.

pulled the trigger on the 10" skillet, WalMart deal included the silicone handle cover. Will arrive around Wednesday.

Rivets aren't a deal breaker for me.

I'm considering dipping my toes into carbon steel pans, I use 10" Calphalon hard anodized most frequently and after 20 years the finish is shot (I don't use it "that" frequently, truth be told, or it would have been shot much sooner). It's the best overall size for our 2 person household. I never make eggs, so egg tests are irrelevant. I sear chicken and fish most of the time. Lodge sells them "pre-seasoned" which I am aware is not a guarantee of using it right out of the box, but I don't want to invest too much time with seasoning, so it seems a good start. Anyone have any experience with this product? It is very reasonably priced and is made in U.S.A.