Saturday, April 21, 2018

Saturday, a foodie day and post -


Good fresh food, a necessity of life, is something we all enjoy, right?
Sadly, sometimes it's not healthy, and now and then it's downright dangerous!
The latest scares here in the USA are about eggs and Romaine lettuce.

Below you will see why I'm not at all concerned about my eggs. . . . . but
Romaine, probably my favorite leaf lettuce because I'm addicted to Cesar 
salads, will be missing from my refrigerator for some time. Salmonella (the 
egg scare) and E. coli (now covering all Romaine including whole heads as
 well as pre-chopped in bags) are both illnesses nobody wants to have - the
 latter of course being life-threatening in severe cases.

So, here's to ways of solving food contamination - we need to be sure what we
 eat is safe. Probably the only way to be 100% regarding veggies and fruits is to
 go back to growing our own - possible for some people, not so for others.
Today I'm looking for Romaine lettuce seeds and may give growing some
a try - I do have garden space so no excuses for me.


 Meanwhile, imagine my joy at finding these yesterday - freshly picked 
local North Carolina strawberries from just south of Raleigh. . . . . . .
. . . . . . and how delicious compared to the long distance ones transported 
and chilled for days before arriving at the grocery store.
The farmer selling these shows up each Spring at his 'patch' next to a 
nearby gas station. . . . . . and he told us this year's crop, despite a chilly
March, is going to be great and he will have fruits until early June.
Note he uses recyclable paper punnets, not those awful plastic clamshells.


Bob and I are back on a Muesli kick. I prepare it the night before with 2% milk
and a dash of orange juice and refrigerate.
We always enjoy this type of cereal on board ships - they seem to make the
 best (perhaps as the chefs are usually European where people love Muesli) - and
 we feel we are getting our daily does of goodness in this morning bowl. 
I usually add other things to my boxed mix (currently an excellent German one
with almonds, hazelnuts and raisins - purchased from Aldi), such as chopped
 dried apricots or prunes, oat bran, turmeric, chia seeds. . . . . and of course today 
the strawberries that taste like strawberries should, and Bob will always add fresh blueberries. 
A small dash of heavy cream just prior to eating makes it rich,
 but I never add sugar!


The beautiful eggs - oh how I absolutely love these.
Joan, a member of my Tai Chi class (and yes, I've just graduated from 
Beginners class and am now in Continuing) has chickens and sells 
these perfectly healthy eggs.  She brings them to class 'unwashed' but they
 are this clean so she must keep a fastidious chicken coop, and says 
this way allows you to use them for up to 2 months even if kept unrefrigerated.
One should always rinse eggs just prior to using, but of course you know the 
store-bought ones are washed as most people don't want dirty looking eggs,
something we've been brain-washed about in modern life.
Joan also told me the names of which chicken laid which color egg - and I
have to say they are the best tasting eggs I've had in a long time. 



Last but by no means least - pots of fresh basil are now coming into stores,
  I found this pot at Lidl on Thursday.  I've already cut several pieces and put into
 water to root on the kitchen window sill, later I will transfer them to a pot.
Soon I'll be planting basil seeds in large pots for my own harvest later in
 Summer. . . . .tomatoes, pasta, pizza, soups and salads all need to be
 enhanced by this wonderful Mediterranean herb. . . . . . and who can live
 without homemade pesto!!!

Here's to a wonderful weekend.
Anything special to share from your Spring kitchen today?

8 comments:

  1. Well, it's known that leafy vegetables (lettuce and the like), and flowery head ones (broccoli and cauliflower) are easily infected by both pesticides and worms (in organic crops). Lately, I've started to use only veggies that I can peel and discard the peel. Strawberries are also a risk but one I nevertheless take as I'm very fond of them.

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  2. Good advice Mary. I am terrible about buying fruit as it looks so good in the store, then, letting it go bad in the fridge. I just read about how many millions of gallons of water it takes to produce our fruits and vegetables. I am going to make sure and not get the big eye at the grocery stores.

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  3. I bought some SC strawberries this week, from a vendor on the roadside we always purchase from early in the season. NC local strawberries are not in yet here in the mountain area of NC. Your eggs look beautiful! Our old neighbors from Tennessee always have fresh farm eggs. They came a week ago and gifted us with two dozen. I am hoping by the end of this month to have my raised beds started!

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  4. I buy all organic food whenever I can, especially fruits and veggies, dairy and any meat products. I can't wait until the farmer's markets start back up here, not only because of the fresh, healthy food, but of course, I love to support local farmers, too. I hadn't heard of the recent egg scare. I have both farm fresh eggs in my fridge (from one of Brian's co-workers who has chickens) and ones from Trader Joe's (organic, cage-free). Hope those are ok because we've eaten a few already!

    When I make my own granola, I always add extras like you do - same with smoothies. My favorite breakfast smoothie is almond milk, banana, frozen organic berries, hemp hearts, flax and/or chia seeds, turmeric, and then a handful of fresh organic baby spinach.

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  5. Hi Mary :) Oh how I wish I had access to fresh eggs!!! You know...the only lettuce I can eat is my home grown. Even the stuff I buy at the markets give me terrible indigestion. Right now, since we're still renting, I'm trying my best to learn about gardening...I've managed lettuce, strawberries, lots of herbs, potatoes and carrots. When we get our own land, I will very gradually be growing my own food...no more store bought if I can help it. Your strawberries look so delicious! :)

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  6. Mary, I had strawberries on my cereal this a.m. too! They look so good! Have a wonderful weekend!

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  7. Your muesli looks yummy. A co-worker gave me some fresh eggs last Easter that were colorful like yours and I blew them out to use and saved some of the shells because they were so pretty.

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  8. I do have basil growing in my kitchen window and had to toss out the romaine much to my sadness. The strawberries look soooo amazing, I can't wait until we see local ones here. I don't think I have ever had Muesli, but it sounds delicious. The eggs also look wonderful. Congratulations on advancing in Tai Chi. I just started taking a class then got sick, but looking forward to going back. Just the one class I could tell it will definitely help on several things.

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