Orange Blossom

BELLARIA bakery & chocalatier is just a few blocks from where I'm working.

The cost of one truffle totals $2.93.

Do you think I might possibly save that much money by walking there instead of driving somewhere on my lunch hour?

Success! Contrary to Deborah's opinion on Facebook, the "poor steak!" turned out nicely.

With eggs and mini lemon tarts, we ate all but one of the steaks at our book & breakfast group last Saturday morning. So this afternoon I plugged in the George Foreman and grilled the last lonely piece of beef after soaking it in soy sauce for a few minutes. When the tell-tale clicking began, I unplugged the grill, pulled the steak onto the cutting board and sliced it. While boiling the whole wheat spaghetti, I cut the red pepper, zuchinni and green onion into strips.

A little bit of sesame oil with lime-flavored olive oil worked to stir fry the vegetables. The peanut sauce warmed well when about 1/2 cup of it was added to the drained pasta. Next, I added the sliced steak to the vegetables along with a dash of salt, ginger, garlic powder (my "fresh" bulb was bitter), and red pepper flakes. With the pasta and peanut sauce stirred in, and some sesame seeds sprinkled on top, the meal was complete.

Joel complimented me by claiming that it was better than the Mongolian Beef that we had at Shuan Cheng in Dinkytown on Tuesday. The only fault was that I didn't make enough for a second helping.

The woman cashier at the Asian market in Brooklyn Park recommended this "bell brand" for its "smell" aroma.

She said chicken curry with carrots & potatoes, or other fish\meat with basil & rice or any kind of noodle.

Tonight I plan to use chicken, onion, and zucchini. Joel will want Jasmine rice.

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What package, bottle, envelope or box doesn't come with directions or a suggested recipe, these days?

I decided to follow the instructions for once, so that I would have an excuse if it didn't turn out.

Butter, onion, chicken, curry powder...sauted.

Add water and allow the sauce to thicken to the desired consistency. Add coconut milk.

The woman was right. The aroma of the curry was sweeter than incense rising to the heavens (well, maybe not quite...).

The zucchini lost it's texture, having spent time in the freezer, so I added peas instead.

Rice: Jasmine for Joel, Brown for Beanie.

And a sprinkle of cashews to top it all off.

The curry was missing depth of flavor. Spicy hot but thin.

Try, try again.

Andy introduced us to pasties in the U.P. during his Northland days. Several years later, I bought a box from the frozen food section at a grocery store in Columbus, Ohio. Whereas frozen pot-pies bubble over with vegatables swimming in sodium rich gravy, the Cornish Pastie is rather dry and usually just holds meat and potatoes(...onion your vegetable?).

A few weeks ago, Joel suggested we share cold fried chicken with our guests at Sunday dinner. For a side we could have prepared mustard potato salad at our indoor picnic, but I decided not to go out to buy a bag of spuds. Instead, some frozen french fries, steak, and onion were fried, then enveloped in a whole wheat pastry crust.

Just this evening I Googled "Cornish Pastie" for an image of the finished product. Did you know there is a Cornish Pasty Association?

If you so happen to have left-overs, these hand-held pies are tasty cold with a dash of tabasco sauce.

Most of my shopping is done at Rainbow Foods, a middle-of-the-road grocery store, but occasionally I look for a bargain at Mike's Discount Foods. They often have cases of yogurt for $2 or so. The drawback is that you only get one flavor.

Last week they had something quite different, Rachel's wickedly delicious yogurt. It came in 3 flavors: plum honey lavender, peach green tea, and pink grapefruit lychee. After much deliberation, I pulled a case of the "calm" plum honey lavender out of the cooler and placed it in my shopping cart.

Rachel has a website. I was suprised to find that she is in quite high esteem in the British empire, having acquired several awards and titles. 

Oh, and by the way...yogurt \ probitotics are good for your digestive system, too.

Last week, the watermelon that I purchased wasn't as flavorful as I expected. Jen White's seedless variety was undeniably superior.

Today, while eating the last slice, I went to the internet to see if this jucy red fruit had nutritious value beyond hydration.

See for yourself. It won't cure all ills that oil of oregano may, but the benefit claims are suprisingly broad.

" ...eating should count among the greatest pleasures of human existence. This is why cooking is a real art--just like music or painting-- that is accessible to everyone and which symbolizes some of the most valuable qualities of life. Perfecting this art should not be limited only to an awareness of the nutritional value of a food, but should also celebrate the culinary pleasures that come from discovering new foods and different ways of preparing them."