Certified

I am now a certifiable foodie.

My first issue of Food & Wine arrived yesterday. I am totally geeking out all over this.

The free year of subscription came as a part of the rebate for my Kitchenaid mixer I bought earlier this year.

Oh, that's right. I haven't blogged about that here yet. How silly of me!

Well, everybody, say hello to Bridget the Gadget, my fiery Artisan Kitchenaid.



And before you buy one of these, check this site for some good deals. I bought mine on a deep discount on Amazon plus the rebate and subscription. It was a heck of a deal.

Is Fresh & Easy right for you?

This is a re-post from my other blog. Yes. Yes, dears. I AM lazy. :)

ETA: Since then, I started a blog about everything F&E. Come on over!

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On my bus last night, one of the ladies asked the other, “Have you been to the Fresh & Easy market?”

“Oh my god, YES!” I chirped in. “I LOVE the place!”

The lady looked at me, stunned for a second. “Oh, I was going to say the opposite.”

Apparently, that might just be the opinion of most Americans of the brand new “neighborhood markets”, a creation of Tesco. The LA Times reported a few days ago claiming that the sales at F&E were 70% off mark.

Folks don’t want to change their shopping habits. The lady on the bus claimed that F&E has “nothing”. The store was too bare, she said. She wanted more variety and stuff. She hated the self check-0ut. And, she didn’t say it outright, but she wanted the groceries bagged.

I am one of the small number of people who is madly in love with the place because it is the exact opposite of what that lady wants in a store.

I don’t want that much variety because I don’t want to spend an hour in there wading through stuff I don’t need. I’m not stuck on brand to begin with. The less variety, the better.

And when I say the less variety here, it means the less of typical COMMERCIAL variety, but not in the range of products.

For example, last night I picked up a Greek style yogurt, a Swiss style yogurt, and a Goat Milk yogurt on the shelves among a wide variety of F&E brand yogurts. You just won’t find your regular Yoplait in the place. There may not be a fridge full of competing Tillamook and Land O Lake cheeses but there’s a wedge of Cotswold and other delicious cheeses you won’t find in there. And dear god, the meaty and delicious British cut bacon!!! But I digress.

The place is clean and streamlined. No giant display around the corner. No coupons needed. No member cards needed.

The best part? You check out your own grocery. Oh my god! No more wasting time waiting for somebody to bag your stuff while trying awkwardly to be friendly with the cashier. Absolutely no line to fuss with.

It was easy to get in and out of Fresh & Easy and THAT is exactly what I want. Sure, I would spend about the same amount of time going to my local Vons around the corner as driving a mile over to the closest F&E. But I spend a LOT less time in F&E than in a Vons.

Everything you usually come in for–produce, meat, dairy, and booze–are located in the first few rows, not buried in the back of the store like most grocery chains. If you want to stay and browse, go right ahead and saunter through the back parts of the store. Otherwise, you’re in and you’re out.

The quality of the meat from this place is definitely better than my local Vons. The chicken breasts were definitely fresher. The beef? Rival what I can get fresh at Ploughboy in Fountain Valley. (Hey, I said "rival", not better.)

And the price? People assume that because it’s a British chain, or a brand new small fry that it’s going to cost more than the bigger chain. WRONG. The prices are very competitive. They even have a special sign to tell you when certain products are cheaper than anybody around.

Let me just say that Brandon has NEVER ask to go to the grocery store before. Last night, he actually wants to detour from our dinner run to go there. After all, he says they have the BEST pre-cut pineapples outside of Hawaii. He also loves the self check-out.

So while I let this older lady dissing the joint. I can see the younger generations flocking to this place. It’s perfect to pop in on the run.

If you like to spend time in the grocery store and getting your human interaction fix from your cashier, stay clear.

If you value your time and your money; if you’re an adventurous consumer; and if you HATE everything the normal grocery store stands for, you’ll love Fresh & Easy.

Find one near you.

Note: Yes. I’m supporting my local favorite store for the most selfish reason. I love the goddamn store! And if they go under, I have to go back to Vons again. And I DON’T WANT TO!!!

Target addiction...a riff on Oak's TJ's post

While TJ's is my usual haunt, I've discovered the joys of Target's food section as well. I will warn all that you need to find a bigger store to get the full selection. Damned Long Beach and their business laws. "Super Stores" would limit competition my butt. But I digress...

While searching for my other addiction besides cooking (baseball cards) I came across Archer Farms products in my local store. Remembering something from the Bon Appetit awards issue a couple of months ago I decided to give a few of them a shot. For the most part, pretty darned yummy. The only no-gos so far have been the cheese risotto (too much gorgonzola) and the cavatappi carbonara (I can make better from scratch). Highlights? Red enchilada sauce that is mild yet rich in flavor. Poblano simmer sauce that is excellent with chicken. Frozen appetizers that look good and taste great, especially the crab rangoons and spinach-artichoke purses. Blood orange Italian soda that rocks. Their pastas were the award winners but I would suggest trying more!

Joe the Dealer

Hello. My name is Oakley. I am a Trader Joe's products addict.

Sure, compared to many others, I am a TJ newbie. The first time I was at the store, it was the one on La Brea and 3rd in Los Angeles many, MANY years ago. The place was a few blocks from my apartment, but being a grocery run, I brought my car. A weekend at La Brea TJ with a car? That was a HUGE mistake. I couldn't find a place to park, left alone spending a good 5-10 minutes getting out of that crowded lot. I ended up driving home that afternoon and heel-toed over the next day.

At the time, the only things I've made other than the Moon Bars (butterscotch + chocolate chips + marshmallow sugar overdose cookie bars) came out of boxes. But I was just learning to cook outside those boxes. Someone told me about Trader Joe's so I was going there to learn.

TJ scared the hell out of me the first time out. I was first overwhelmed with the amount of shoppers and how crowded the place was! That got me flustered and once I started browsing the shelves, I got even more flustered. All of these products I didn't know. What the heck is up with the blue cheese stuffed olives? What the hell kind of vegetables are arugula? Frozen Thai entree? A whole shelf full of olive oil and why the hell do you need so many?

Oh. My. God. What. The. Flying. Duckies. Is. Going. On.!?!?!??!?!

I left the store with a couple of the frozen Thai entrees. That was it. And I didn't even like them. (I still don't, just for the records. Nothing's like the real thing.)

But many years after, once I started to cook and learn more about food, TJ has slowly become my favorite place. All of these foods at these fabulous prices! I mean, look at that reasonably priced wedge of Parm-Reg! A salt-free pork tenderloin to make Pete's Pork Slug! Wine and beer galore! Proscuitto and pancetta a plenty! And arugula--now that I know what it is...and tha Brandon actually asks for them in his turkey sandwiches--I can get them everyday instead of having to try the Vons/Ralphs "do they stock them or don't they" roulette! Even Brandon has a few favorites at the place.

What more can a developing foodie want from a store!

So here is a list of what we are addicted to at Trader Joe's.

1. Peanut Butter Granola Bars. Brandon wouldn't eat anything else once we have discovered these. Even I like them and I'm not particularly fond of peanut butter...unless its covered in chocolate.

2. Greek-style Yogurt. I already mentioned this one.

3. Matcha Green Tea European-style Yogurt. I bought all three flavors on a whim one day to try them out. I could get used to the chocolate and the tartness of yogurt, but I had to toss the whole mocha one at first bite. That didn't go well. The green tea though reminds me of the tart green tea frozen yogurt I'm addicted to. Very tasty indeed!

4. Blueberry Oatmeal. Their oatmeal is so good, I threw away the whole box of Quakers fruity ones. The blueberries are bigger. And the whole thing wasn't overly sweet. I also tried the cranberries one. Not my favorite, but once again, the bigger/more fruit is a big winner.

5. 100-calorie Pack Cheese Crackers. They totally have crack in the bag. LOL. I could definitely eat more of them, but usually the one bag has enough cheese/salt to satisfy the craving. It was hard to not reach for another bag when you're super hungry, but on regular circumstances, one bag usually did the job.

6. Chateau Mayne Guyon 2003 Premieres Cotes de Blayne. $6.99 at TJ's for a bottle of Bordeaux. And a testament to how unrefined my taste buds are for wine. I. Love. This. Bordeaux! But then again, this is the one and only Bordeaux I have ever had. I read many reviews from connoisseurs of the internet on how sucky this wine is...and I started to feel stupid. I mean, it's like me, a Guinness lover, trash talking Coors Light drinkers for their taste in beer. What can I say! I like what I like despite how expensive/cheap it is.

7. Dark Chocolate Truffle bar. Maybe the reason why I fell in love with #6. These two go so well together! I tried a bite of this after dinner with a glass of BV Coastal Estates Cab and that didn't go so well. Heh.

8. California Nicoise Salad. If you like capers, this salad is for you! Shopping hungry on the way home from work one night, I browsed through the salad section and picked up this one. Tuna, eggs, green beans, super duper sweet and flavorful teardrop tomatoes and greens with loads of capers instead of olives. The tangy dressing meshed well with the capers, making everything all tangy and delicious.

I bought a box of the Everything Crackers the other day but have yet to open the box. Who knows, that may be another crave-able item I have to add to the list!

Now you, readers, share your TJ's addiction!