Whole Foods opened this week. I went on opening day (with a couple of friends) over the lunch and squeezed through the overly crowded store. We ended up not buying anything, because we felt that if we actually had to make it to a register it would've taken another half hour or so, just to get out of the store. A few comments right off the bat here. Their selection of pork seemed kind of pathetic considering the location where they are. The price on the chocolate I really like to use is quite a bit less then the other source, so I hope that they adjust their prices accordingly. The local Iowa wine selection is...well, very limited (Jasper plus a couple of others, no Cedar Ridge). This was my first visit to Whole Foods (grocery shopping is not something I generally do when I travel). There are many things I will like to try, I like the layout, generally, but it's quite a way out of my way. A side trip to Gateway gives me an 8.3 mile trip. To Whole Foods, 13.2 miles, including driving on I235 generally during the worst part of the day (evening rush hour). What I really hope this does, is bring the game of GWM up. They have good people there (though I think they have lost quite a number to Whole Foods) and I trust their general recommendations. Will I go from time to time? Do they have some things that I want that I haven't seen elsewhere? Yes. I imagine we'll take a trip in a couple of weeks to really look at all the things they have.
BLTs (My brain can't help going to the BMT reference in The Princess Bride) (Grade A Grass and Gardens, Cleverly Farms)
So I love cheese, and that would be the only drawback to something like this. So in thinking about this I was like what could I use for a cheese that would accentuate, but not over power the combination. So where else would I go? The Cheese Shop has always provided me with insightful and good suggestions as to what to use. So CJ suggested Harbison from Jasper Hill. This is a very soft cheese and worked like mayonnaise on the sandwich (a really excellent, slightly smoky one). It turned out excellent. Trust your cheese monger, they are usually right.
Sausage and Tomato Pizza (Crooked Gap, Blue Gate)
It has been quite a while (6 weeks), since I made a pizza, and this was a nice break back into the process of it. I may have overcooked the sausage a bit, but it all worked out in the end and tasted really good. The tomatoes were good as well. This week, I think I will make some more pizza, but use some of the mozzarella made by The Cheese Shop and something simple on top...I'll figure it out.
Baked Potatoes (Grade A Grass and Gardens)
Oven on, back downstairs to hide in the basement from the heat. Good meal, minimal time in the kitchen. Served with a bit of bacon, sour cream and I was going to try to serve chives, but...well...they're dead.
Pork Burgers (Crooked Gap)
nom nom nom.
Chicken and Bacon and Ricotta Frittata
So I open the fridge, I have a single chicken breast, some bacon, some ricotta...which I didn't use and used sour cream instead. And then I have leftover chèvre (I meant to break it out for game night...but...well...forgot, people were distracted by ice cream anyways). So I used 3 pans, and there were plenty of elements, and it looks a mess, but it tasted pretty good.
Tomato and Pepper Pasta (Juan O'Sullivans)
This was ok...it was not quite how I thought about it in my head, but even so, it turned out pretty well. Perhaps I should've added more of the pasta liquid. Oh well. I added a bit of leftover pork (1/3rd pound) and it came together. It was better heated up the second day.
