Cold & Frosty winters on !

December 4th there is sometime special about this day but for the life of me it's slipped my mind ... spent the morning checking my stores here in town too frosty to go on the interstate today is home town checks, for stock everyone I work with is so nice its fun to chat with grocers that talk of what is new coming into the stores I never realized how many products don't make it to the shelf & of course how many different variety's of one product there are not like in the pre 1970's where you would choose from ... take for example 3 different mayonnaise brands before 1970 , Hellmanns or west of the rockies Best Foods , Kraft & the stores brand ... I learned that from a dapper gentleman with a green bow tie on who has been a grocer-man all his life he told me he started as a box boy that was back in the days when they used the empty boxes to pack your groceries in which I think they should get back to doing saving money & then the boxes can be recycled ... everybody has gotten too fancy toting around cloth bags advertising where they shop ... anyway it was interesting to walk the aisle's with such a knowledgeable person ... so that was how my morning started & I also get my own grocery shopping done tonight it's scampi I found a great deal on hugh shrimp & I'm going to clean them ... then ... pat them dry ... then put'em in a bowl squeeze a whole lemon over them & let it soak for about 20 minutes then I'll toss them in a hot pan with a few tbsp.s of olive oil & a 2 big tbsp.s of butter throw in 4 chopped cloves of garlic & a 1/4 cup of fresh chives a few sprinkles of red pepper flakes & finish with a good splash 1/4 cup of white vermouth .... then spoon around a molded cup of rice .... let the weekend begin *-)

Today I ventured out to the grocers & my seafood store Fitt's Seafood owned by my friends Rod & Mimi wonderful people they have the freshest & finest seafood on the west coast they get shipments daily & you can always count on them for great tips on preparing whatever it is you decide on ... like I bought a nice piece of sturgeon & Rod said his favorite way to cook it was to saute it in olive oil & a dab of butter with just a sprinkle of salt & pepper till it gets alittle brown then flip it , so I'll try that tonight I usually smother it in sliced onions & bake it in a hot 450* oven till done it's nice to have someone give you suggestions on someway new & easy to prepare what your cooking & they even suggest a wine to go with it which they have a great selection of its like one stop shopping ;) & of course they carry Miss Maryann's Sweet & Sour which I'll be splashing on shrimp salads tonight ... I bought a quart of their creamy clam chowder as a starter to warm us up she makes a good one almost as good as mine ;) then I'll serve my salad with miss m's next to my sautéed sturgeon... mmm !

Salad dressing & Pantry Goods

Well you'll all be happy to know Miss Maryann's is moving along she's broke out of Salem & is in Lake Oswego " Wizers" & West lynn "Market of Choice" & Eugene "Market of Choice " 4 stores in that fine city also known as Duck city & she's crossed state lines a case to Wichita Kansas dear to my heart ( more about that later ) not in a store there yet but pending woo hoo ... just alittle up date *-)
I should be writing about decorating "which I've started" for the holidays but I have to talk alittle about food & my pantry ... heres just alittle view of some of my goods I grew & tended in my summer garden then canned some say canning is a lost art not around my world it wouldn't be summer if I didn't baby my vegetable garden with thoughts of filling my jars there have been days when just heating up a jar of tomato puree & adding alittle rice or bits of chopped celery & onion just hits the spot for a hot cup of go juice ;) to get those afternoon chores done ... add a small salad & it'll keep you till dinner. And don't the jars look pretty here I have thick slices of green tomatoes I've pickled mmm ! they really have a snap when you bite into them & they are delicious as a salad topper, sandwich builder, snack or with any kind of roasted meat like the turkey we had for thanksgiving when I do my pickling late in the summer I go by the old rule that they'll be ready for the taste buds around thanksgiving ... Then we have the pickled peppers & cucumbers almost too pretty to open & eat but boy' do they beat out the grocery store ones. I also do a killer Bloody Mary mix really spicy delicious with the ring of salt it's one of my favorite cocktails & I always feel like its on the healthy side you know made with tomatoes ''' They contain lycopene, one of the most powerful natural antioxidants ''' so see Bloody Mary's are actually very good for you ;) I think I'll go make one now & write more later .... ttfn !