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?