Midlife

I went to college in Riverside, California and there was a popular shop there called D’Elia’s Grinders, so it’s not just a New England thing. Just checked and they’re still in business 55 years later, so pretty popular.

I just watched a really good documentary that will help a lot if you are interested in the ‘how’ of wine. It’s called A Perfect Vintage and is available on the streaming services FreeVee, Roku and Prime Video. It showcases the 2013 vintage in the Napa Valley but goes deeply into terroir, vineyard management, harvest, winemaking and is extremely well done featuring winery owners and mostly winemakers. Very educational. Drops of God (the series) is very good too and it goes more into tasting wine.

We’re lucky enough to have a Wild Fork retail store just 3 miles from us. At first I was put off that everything is frozen but, if there’s a taste difference, I haven’t found one. The variety of proteins is huge and they now stock a large number of pre-cooked entrees and sides at competitive prices. One of our regular meals is salmon filets and WF has them in 4-packs where all 4 are similar size and shape. I’ve been frustrated that the filets at Trader Joe’s, while not frozen, are usually a mix of center cuts and end pieces at what is a higher price. im a WF fan.

So I made the Chicken/Chili burrito tonight. I cooked it with some salsa and cheese and it was pretty good. It would probably have been better if I’d microwaved it or not cooked it in foil (in the oven). The bottom of the burrito stuck to the foil and I could only eat the parts I could pry loose. I only ate one of the two so I’ll get another chance at it soon. 😜

Somehow I stumbled on a TJs blog mention of what I thought was a chicken/green chili enchilada but must have been the chicken/green chili bowl. I’d bought the veggie enchilada and was a little underwhelmed. I’m gonna try the burrito for dinner tomorrow.

Found them today. I was thinking of the chicken enchiladas when I wrote that. Haven’t found those.

Haven’t found these yet at my sadly smaller TJs. I’ve tried the veggie one and it was OK, but the chicken was what I’d been looking for. Maybe soon.

Starbucks plain coffee has always had that burnt taste. I suppose some people like it that way but most order it doctored up in ways that mask that flavor. I wonder if there are stats available as to how much plain black coffee they sell as a % of their total sales.

The surf club beer tasting was kindof bizarre I think, unless it could be chalked up to people who really don’t care at all about taste and just drink to drink. Even then….. water doesn’t taste ANYTHING like beer unless the beer isn’t really ‘beer’. The story really does break my heart. Not saying this simply to pat myself on the back but at a family thanksgiving a few years ago one of the family set up a blind taste test of 5 beers. I was either just lucky or my years and years close to the wine world really gave me much more of an educated palate than I had imagined. I was able to name the type of all 5 beers without seeing a single beer or label.

The portions must vary. I had that same salad last week and it was really enough for 1.5 to 2 servings (though I don’t eat as much as I used to). It also had maybe 10 or so small pieces of chicken in it. The dressing was fine, but that’s a personal taste thing.

Somehow our son and his family wound up with this amazing digital interface toaster that is ridiculously expensive ($350). While I’d never in a million years spend anywhere near that for a toaster, I have to say that his is without doubt the best one I’ve ever used. It has a digital screen that’s very easy to use, it toasts perfectly, and is incredibly fast. I think it should be for that kind of money, and it is.

As an alternative……… I recently bought small a can of Mutti baby Roma tomatoes at our local Albertson’s. They were very small, oblong, and were NOT peeled, but there was a lot of purée in the can. I used them in a fish stew and broke them up a bit with a potato masher as I thought leaving them whole would mess with the texture of the dish. Taste was very good.

We have the Ninja 5 in 1 indoor grill and air fryer combo but use it only as an air fryer. We also have a ‘toaster’ oven with an air fryer setting. My experience is that any air fryer in an oven configuration is going to be a bear to clean. Our Ninja has a basket in a basket design that makes it extremely easy to clean. Ninja AG301 Foodi 5-in-1 Indoor Grill with Air Fry, Roast, Bake & Dehydrate, Black/Silver

This is one of those ‘if it works for you’ things apparently. Good quality olive oil will normally be at its best for about a year after it’s made. Then it starts to degrade but, like wine, it’s about how it’s stored and whether the user’s palate cares. I’d be curious as to how cooling and warming repeatedly affects it in a taste test.

Very curious about refrigerating olive oil. I worked in a specialty olive oil shop for three years and one of the first rules was that olive oil should NOT be refrigerated. (#s 2 and 3 were keep it in dark glass and away from light.) It tends to thicken and lose flavor when cold. Sounds like your experience is different. Can you please elaborate?

That orange chicken is a favorite for us. I always add red pepper and either spinach or baby bok choy plus some hoisin or Trader Joe’s General Tsao stir fry sauce to hype the flavor. We recently bought a box of Crazy Cuisine brand mandarin orange chicken at Costco (based on a food board rec) but haven’t tried it yet. Looks like it might be the same or very similar.

These are the ones I bought.

I’m lucky enough to live near two 99 Ranch markets, a Tokyo Central, a Seiwa, and a Mitzuwa. If there’s something I can’t find in that group I don’t know what it might be.

Great input. Thanks. Spoilage is not an issue. If I have buns left after a couple of days I freeze them. Steaming is a good idea. Typically I’ll microwave for just 5-10 seconds but will try one of your steaming ideas, though I think it might not be worth the effort unless I find a really good bun to work with.

Bought TJ’s flour tortillas for the first time last week because they looked really ‘home made’, almost like pitas. The first one I used I stuck in the microwave for maybe 10 seconds just to freshen it up……. big mistake. It was so homemade that the thickness was uneven and the thin part basically disintegrated from just that 10 seconds. Otherwise I thought they were really good and will stick them in a fry pan to warm next time. You live and you learn.

I really think you’re misunderstanding me or missing my point, but don’t feel it’s worth pursuing. Just to wrap it up….. is there a brand of hotdog buns, sold in major supermarkets (or available on line) that I should look for?

I think you’ll need to explain further. The bread here is, for me, really just the vehicle to hold the dog, so it’s not that big a deal….. unless I find myself somewhere I can find a brioche or maybe a pretzel bun (NOT at most of my local markets). I just find supermarket hot dog buns to be like folding a piece of white bread around the dog.

Indeed! Most supermarket hot dog buns are limp, useless things. I’ll often use a flour tortilla (TJ’s are almost like pitas) or a thin baguette cut up.

We’ve had a Waring Pro ‘flip-over’ 2 waffle maker for many years after using one at a hotel we stayed at. I have to admit it’s a bit much in the cleanup phase if you overfill it a bit, but it does a great job. I’d think any waffle maker would be subject to the same though. Waring WMK600 Double Belgian Waffle Maker (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

Following with interest. I have a Nespresso Aeroccino 4 and get great froth with Coffeemate Italian Sweet Cream, although only about 80% of the time. The 20% I get 2/3 froth, 1/3 liquid. I keep trying different kinds of oat milk but none has yet to deliver full, thick foam to any degree. I get the milk protein part of this discussion but wonder why Coffeemate works AND why it doesn’t work consistently.