beXnlog

Jackpot

I don't like the Whole Foods in Manhasset, Long Island. be and i took a drive out there and not only is it cramped and small, all the customers are assholes! It's like people don't know the concept of "excuse me" as they reach over you for something on the shelf. Whole Foods shoppers are not like the ones at real natural food stores; it's like they believe they deserve to eat better than anyone else. They don't even sell vegan cakes anymore!

Back in Queens, we walked to a shop called Garden of George on Steinway Street. I'm always disappointed in GoG because they always manage to NOT stock something that a "gourmet market" should. Once, be and i needed tahini to make hummus, and even the clerks were surprised they didn't stock it! This time, we left without purchasing anything because the cheddar was just too expensive.

We headed over to Stop & Shop off Northern Blvd, where we totally hit the supermarket jackpot. We usually shop at Pathmark since it's a closer walk, but after today i'm going to frequent Stop & Shop more. Whoever stocks that store does an excellent job; they offer many hard-to-find products, they even have a British section! The Spanish/Mexican section is 2 whole aisles alone! Among other things, we purchased:

1) Goya coconut water without sugar. It's easy to find coconut water with added sugar, but we think it doesn't need it. Coconut water is so sweet and refreshing on it's own. be likes to inform everyone that coconut water can be used as a I.V. drip.

2) My precious Boca fake sausage! I was so happy to see this that i bought 2 boxes at full price! Now i must make room in the freezer and horde boxes.

3) Ducal brand refried beans, one can red and one black. be's mom discovered this brand first.

4) Silk soymilk eggnog. Apparently be loves eggnog. I don't approve of eggnog.

5) Frozen puff pastry sheets. Inspired by his mom and sister's experiments with Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, i convinced be to try the real deal and make something with pastry. The crescent rolls were good, but overall i'm not a huge fan of the taste or texture of Pillsbury dough. That dough boy sure is cute, though.

Back at home, i cut off the beet top greens, saving the red stems and the actual beets for another time. I sauteed the greens with oil, garlic, salt and pepper and the resulting dish was so good! It reminded me of spinach, but heartier and didn't make my teeth squeaky. Alongside the greens, we finished the remaining grated beets with vinaigrette. be, who hates canned beets, actually ate a tiny scoop without gagging.

I also made a cheddar and beer fondue that we ate with toasted baguette cubes, Granny Smith apple slices, fake smoked mini sausages and mini pickles. I used an apple beer but it tasted too sweet, so next time i'll use regular beer or maybe stout.

Tomorrow is produce reduction day as we received another infamous box Friday night!

posted by beXn @ 3:52 AM