Camping, Princess Style

[Smithy]

I had occasion yesterday to be at the far eastern end of Yuma again, so I once again did grocery shopping at the Foothills Fry's. I'm beginning to think that Wednesday may just be the day all the old fogies come out to shop, regardless of whether it's super-discount day! At any rate, the place was packed. Fortunately I only had a few items to buy. I wish I'd thought to peruse the meat counter for "pork steaks" so I could show the cut and the bone it contains, but it didn't occur to me. 

 

Still, there was a lot to see. I was ogling the plants and realized that there are some very creatively-trained bamboo plants for sale. We aren't in a position to have something like that, but it was interesting to see the offerings.

 

 

The citrus season is full upon us. Grapefruit were parked right next to pummelos. The grapefruit were large, as I expect them to be. The pummelos dwarfed them!

 

 

Want some rice cakes? These were on the back side of the sushi bar, which I've never mentioned before (or explored). They were the size of my hand. Is that typical for rice cakes?

 

 

I wanted to pick up some of my favorite mustard, which can't be found at the nearer Fry's. I was momentarily alarmed to see that it wasn't amongst all these choices.

 

 

Then I remembered I had to go one aisle over to the "European Foods" section! Couldn't get a picture of it because of a couple standing in the way, but I got three of these.

 

 

I also spent time looking at all the bottles sauces and marinades. It seems that Aji Amarillo has become all the rage; ditto Peri-Peri sauce.

 

 

This find surprised me. I thought back to ElsieD's question about being able to dish things from a buffet by oneself instead of having to request it.

 

 

I don't remember seeing this buffet before. I don't know whether I simply overlooked it or they're relaxing their restrictions a bit. They're still requiring masks, and the customers seem good about abiding by it.

 

[rotuts]

Oh Wow !

 

mustard was mentioned in a another thread ;

 

 

I get the FR's sneeze bottle

 

w the gradual 

 

https://www.mccormick.com/frenchs/products/mustard/spicy-brown-mustard

 

did not know they had this 

 

https://www.mccormick.com/frenchs/products/mustard/horseradish-mustard

[heidih]

I got an elaborate bamboo piece as a house warming gift from Vietnamese friend. Set in a ceramic large container of elephants holding the bowl. Trunks raised in the Good Luck way. Had for for years until an errant ball from pool table broke it. (there went my luck...)

 

Those rice crackers look like the ones I see at Korean market. At a certain time of year there is a guy out front making them on a unique contraption. To me....no taste. But they are a thing.

 

That mustard - oh yes - I had quite a collection of those mugs once. Don't remember who was marketing it.

 

 

[ElsieD]

I don't remember seeing this buffet before. I don't know whether I simply overlooked it or they're relaxing their restrictions a bit. They're still requiring masks, and the customers seem good about abiding by it.

 

@Smithy  interesting.  The clientele may be wearing masks, but it's still be concerned about the handling of the serving utensils.  Maybe I'm just paranoid.

 

Thanks for pictures.  I find it interesting to see things being sold that are different from what we see.

Edited February 18, 2021 by ElsieD (log)

[Smithy]

27 minutes ago, rotuts said:

Oh Wow !

 

mustard was mentioned in a another thread ;

 

 

I get the FR's sneeze bottle

 

w the gradual 

 

https://www.mccormick.com/frenchs/products/mustard/spicy-brown-mustard

 

did not know they had this 

 

https://www.mccormick.com/frenchs/products/mustard/horseradish-mustard

 

We usually have horseradish mustard around. When French's first came out with theirs I called and said how happy we were to find them getting on that particular bandwagon. The customer service person was so pleased to get a happy comment that she sent us a coupon or two for more. We made a point of buying French's for quite a while after that. Apparently it didn't catch on in our local grocery stores, though. When we could no longer find it we went back to buying some other brand.

 

I had no idea McCormick was the parent company for French's, Zatarain's and Lawry's until I followed your links!

[Smithy]

31 minutes ago, heidih said:

I got an elaborate bamboo piece as a house warming gift from Vietnamese friend. Set in a ceramic large container of elephants holding the bowl. Trunks raised in the Good Luck way. Had for for years until an errant ball from pool table broke it. (there went my luck...)

 

Those rice crackers look like the ones I see at Korean market. At a certain time of year there is a guy out front making them on a unique contraption. To me....no taste. But they are a thing.

 

That mustard - oh yes - I had quite a collection of those mugs once. Don't remember who was marketing it.

 

 

 

How big did that bamboo get? I suspect these are dwarf varieties; otherwise I can imagine them taking over the house.

 

I really like the mustard but the beer steins give me a qualm about throwing them away. I collect them and then when I have several I donate to a thrift store. I can imagine using them for food gifts, but haven't done so.

[lemniscate]

20 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I really like the mustard but the beer steins give me a qualm about throwing them away.

 

I use the mustard steins as measuring cups.  Filled to the 2nd line down, they are just about equal to 1 cup/225 ml.

[heidih]

26 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

How big did that bamboo get? I suspect these are dwarf varieties; otherwise I can imagine them taking over the house.

 

I really like the mustard but the beer steins give me a qualm about throwing them away. I collect them and then when I have several I donate to a thrift store. I can imagine using them for food gifts, but haven't done so.

Oh no this does not really grow. It stays alive just sitting in the frequently changed water. Originally had rice in the bowl too for luck but that got stinky quickly.  A bit of growth maybe but this is not the "take over your life" bamboo type. The occasional minimal trim to keep the look up. Massively marketed in our Asian markets around Chinese New Year festooned with some red ribbon with gold Chinese language characters (no clue to character meanings) 

[chromedome]

1 hour ago, heidih said:

Oh no this does not really grow. It stays alive just sitting in the frequently changed water.

"Lucky bamboo" isn't really a bamboo (it's actually related to asparagus). Its growth indoors is dictated by growing conditions you give it, so it's easy to manage for size.

[heidih]

15 minutes ago, chromedome said:

"Lucky bamboo" isn't really a bamboo (it's actually related to asparagus). Its growth indoors is dictated by growing conditions you give it, so it's easy to manage for size.

Thanks I have never bothered to look it up. It just is part of culture here. I had a real bamboo grower down the street couple years ago. The big hard diameter stuff. He also grew florist type sunflowers and sold them at local Farmers Markets with the cuts of bamboo as the vase - quite attractive. I coveted his big piece of property - old farmland in a gentrified part of the city.

[IowaDee]

I think lucky bamboo is related to the dracena family.  They both call for 2.2.2. strength fertilizer.  We have at least 10 lucky bamboo

plants, they are slow growers  I did buy a couple of the ones that had been trained to curl around a center post but the new growth wasn't willing to play along.  The two oldest plants, probably five years, are about three feet high and have never been pruned or trimmed.  I love the tropical look they add to the house in winter.  And you never know when a Panda will come along and mistake one of the plants for the real thing!

[CantCookStillTry]

@SmithySorry I meant - I caught myself "liking" a bunch of peoples posts on your thread that were months old. Which would have meant people waking up to 20 notifications of CCST liked your post. Like Spam mail. Sorry for confusion. 

[Kim Shook]

18 hours ago, CantCookStillTry said:

@SmithySorry I meant - I caught myself "liking" a bunch of peoples posts on your thread that were months old. Which would have meant people waking up to 20 notifications of CCST liked your post. Like Spam mail. Sorry for confusion. 

I have done that so many times.  "Liked" some post from back in 2008.  I'm sure people thought I'd lost it.  😄

[Smithy]

The other day when I was at the East end of Yuma I discovered a kitchen store! 

 

 

Oops. It won't be here much longer.

 

 

Everything must go, and everything's half off except the shelving and other store equipment. I don't remember what the deal was on those appurtenances. Too bad I'm making the discovery so late in the store's life cycle. I'll take you on a little tour anyway. 

 

This place was a gadget-lover's paradise. You want silicone trivets or pot lids or bowl stabilizers? You got 'em. You want individual covered holders for cupcakes? They're here.

 

 

How about silicone double-boiler inserts, or an old-fashioned peanut butter stirring gizmo? (I'd have gone for that last if "natural" peanut butter that settles and separates hadn't been banished from the household.)

 

 

They also had the old-fashioned wall-mounted Swing-a-Way can openers, though I didn't get a picture. I'd have bought one if I could have figured out where to mount it. It may be a cheap revival of an old standard anyway. That's my story and I'll console myself with it.

 

There were gadgets it never occurred to me to want. My sales resistance was high, so I wasn't tempted.

 

 

 

I love the idea of entertaining. If I actually entertained guests the way I'd like to, I might have gotten some of these cute little shell plates. I've already tried a pepper roaster similar to this one, so it wasn't much of a temptation.  If I actually made popsicles instead of drooling over the delightful creations of other eG members, I'd have gotten one of these kits. But my sales resistance was high, and it's rarely warm enough for me to want popsicles.

 

 

 

Did I mention that I love the idea of entertaining? These party lights were so cute! But my sales resistance was high, and we don't entertain enough to use the cool stuff we already have.

 

 

 

There were graters in styles I've never seen before. Has anyone else ever seen a fan grater?

 

 

 

My sales resistance wavered here. I love the idea of making my own tortillas. For $8 it could have been mine.

 

 

I really had no idea where I'd stow it, though, and we've seen my ineptness with tortillas. Maybe I'll try rolling them out with a rolling pin first, or flattening between two skillets - if, that is, I ever get around to trying to make them myself. Besides, it shouldn't be difficult to make one of these. But I admit to circling back more than once and picking up then putting this down. Sales resistance....

 

There were plastic baskets of the type one loads burgers and fries into, and unbreakable drinkware, and a few odds and ends of "gourmet food" (popcorn, salsas, dessert sauces). The baskets were $0.50 each, and that seemed a good price. I didn't need 'em.

 

My sales resistance finally crumbled in the juicer section, and I walked out with this for $12.75.

 

 

I think we already got $13 worth of entertainment just trying to figure out how it's supposed to work! There were no instructions on the package. I'll take photos later of the thing in action, and post an assessment of how well it works. Does that rotating reamer really produce more juice? Time and tests will tell. Speculations about its action are welcome, of course.

[heidih]

Fun tour of the kitchenware shop. As to the reamer - thats what forks are for. Insert and twist ;

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

Does that rotating reamer really produce more juice

I suspect it might! I have an electric reamer and that rotating action really seems to completely empty the shell of juice.  

[ElsieD]

@Smithy  Loved the virtual tour.  Who knew there was such a thing as a banana slicer?

[heidih]

Just now, ElsieD said:

@Smithy  Loved the virtual tour.  Who knew there was such a thing as a banana slicer?

FIL gave me one once along with a banana hanger. I do not care for bananas...

[Anna N]

28 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

@Smithy  Loved the virtual tour.  Who knew there was such a thing as a banana slicer?

There are some toys even I will spurn. And I am mighty proud of my collection. 

[heidih]

Oh and do not regret leaving the wooden tortilla press. In terms of presses every Mexicn restaurant or home kitchen I have seen usess the cheap metal one. Quite compact. 

[Smithy]

49 minutes ago, heidih said:

Oh and do not regret leaving the wooden tortilla press. In terms of presses every Mexicn restaurant or home kitchen I have seen usess the cheap metal one. Quite compact. 

 

Every one of those I've seen is for a small tortilla, though: 6" or 8", I forget which. Are there bigger presses for the grande (10", 12") size you'd use for burritos?

[heidih]

I see. Was thinking corn. Once you involve wheat flour you face gluten. I have not made then in a long time as so many local excellent and dirt cheap. Rolling works. I prefer an initial press of the dough ball and then treating it like pizza dough. Top of your fingers underneath and lightly stretching around.quickly. 

[Smithy]

4 minutes ago, heidih said:

I see. Was thinking corn. Once you involve wheat flour you face gluten. I have not made then in a long time as so many local excellent and dirt cheap. Rolling works. I prefer an initial press of the dough ball and then treating it like pizza dough. Top of your fingers underneath and lightly stretching around.quickly. 

 

Thanks for that. In fact, I was thinking both corn and wheat. I even have masa! But I have yet to try making tacos of either type. Does the rolling pin or a skillet mash work for corn tortillas also?

[FauxPas]

@Smithy, would something like this help with your spice storage issue in the RV?

 

https://www.containerstore.com/s/kitchen/pantry-organizers/pull_down-spice-rack/12d?productId=11007766

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

24 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

Thanks for that. In fact, I was thinking both corn and wheat. I even have masa! But I have yet to try making tacos of either type. Does the rolling pin or a skillet mash work for corn tortillas also?

 

I have a wooden press that I use for corn tortillas.  I would not try to use it for wheat.