Fruit and Yogurt

Vanilla yogurt over melons and pineapple

Sometimes I have breakfast. Typically, it's leftover pizza or a breakfast burrito. Or, if I bought them, cups of fruity yogurt. Back in MI, I used to adore Dannon Fruit on the Bottom. Mmm.

Out here in CA, Dannon cups aren't available (except those tiny Activa ones) though Yoplait is on sale often, 10 for $5. And I bought them, thinking "how convenient -- and healthy!" Until one day when I looked at the bottom to see the number within the recycling symbol. You know what else the bottom of Yoplait yogurt cups say? "Protect Wildlife: Crush Cup Before Disposal." Say what?

Turns out, skunks can get their heads stuck in the tapered cups (which Yoplait has since rectified by adding a ring at the base). I'm also bothered that Yoplait execs didn't say to crush cup before RECYCLING. Then I took a closer look at the packaging and checked out the ingredient statement. Did you know Yoplait has high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in it? I steered clear of other yogurts because they had gelatin in them just because they were gross.  I didn't think to look for HFCS.

I'm not a big fanatic about scrutinizing everything that goes into my yammer. Sure I try eating a variety of food, at which I am often not at all successful. Did you see how many days in a row I recently ate chicken wings? That said, I tend to believe that HFCS plays a part in the obesity problem in the US. Why does yogurt, marketed as healthy, have HFCS? The fruit isn't sweet enough? Why not add some MSG for some umami?

Anyway, people vote with the money they spend toward the purchases they make.  I choose to vote big containers of yogurt. No animals will get their heads stuck in them, there is less packaging (1 container vs 10 every two weeks) and Dannon brand is available out here in those big containers, HFCS and gelatin free.

Now that's good yogurt. And I get to put in however much of whatever fruit I want.

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I recently came across this article, which essentially states what I was trying to get across when I ranted above.

Chef Salad-ish

My previous slinging-hash-in-a-restaurant experience tells me this isn't truly a Chef Salad as mine consists of only one meat, no cucumber or black olives. However, I think it's close enough to a Chef Salad to actually call it Chef Salad-ish.

The salad I ate tonight consisted of a generous handful of chopped romaine, a handful of fresh spinach, a chopped boiled egg, halved grape tomatoes, a couple slices of Black Forest ham chopped, a sprinkling of aged cheddar, a douse of Hidden Valley Ranch Spicy Ranch, and some croutons found in the cupboard.

Usually I have a cost associated with a dish. But since this was put together essentially on the fly, I can only offer a SWAG of about $5. If the cheese wasn't included maybe $4.

Roast Beef Sandwich Tortilla...Wrap?

Roast Beef and Cheddar Wrap

I thought I'd be able to stretch the ciabatta I bought two days ago, but it was nearly as hard as a brick tonight. When "they" tell you that you should eat fresh bread the day you purchase it, "they" weren't kidding.

With a pile of roast beef and lettuce and a small hunk of insanely expensive cheese, I was bound and determined to eat a sandwich of some type.

The tortillas weren't green, so away I went.

A single 8" tortilla was placed in a small skillet and flipped regularly to ensure even heating. While in the skillet, some Hook's cheddar was dispersed over the tortilla.

Once the tortilla was quite warm and the cheese began melting, the cheese-ladened tortilla was removed from heat. Two slices of roast beef was placed over the cheese followed by some mustard. Then I decided that two slices of beef wasn't sufficient and a third slice was placed over the mustard-ladened beef.


A giant romaine leaf was folded in half and placed over the beef before the entire thing was rolled into a wrap.



Fast and tasty. Again, I miss the red onion and tomatoes. C'est la vie. And I wished I'd made some fries.

Cost:

Just guessing, about $6. That cheese was expensive!

Roast Beef on Ciabatta with Expensive-as-Hell Cheese

Roast Beef and Aged Cheddar on Ciabatta with a side of too-crispy fries.

Once the fries were just about ready, I cut off a hunk of ciabatta from the loaf and split it in half. With a steak knife, I attempted to cut slices from the tiny brick of expensive-as-hell Hook's 10-year-old cheddar to find that slices would be impossible -- the cheddar was so crumbly!

The other half of ciabatta was topped with a quarter pound of Boar's Head roast beef which was then smeared with Whole Grain with Garlic Mustard.

A couple of romaine lettuce leaves were placed on the cheese before the roast beef and mustard half of the sandwich joined the cheesy lettuce half.

At this point, I was kicking myself for not having picked up a red onion to slice and a nice tomato.

The sandwich was enjoyed with some oven-baked fries*.


*The fries were prepared just as they were previously, per the Oven-Baked Fries recipe, except I only used one potato. So take note: if you don't want overly-crisp fries, use a baking sheet fitting for the potato quantity.

The sandwich was good. However, it was too big with bread. I should've cut a smaller chunk of bread and ate it the same day it was purchased. As it was, I ate the hunk of ciabatta the second day and it was becoming a little chewy. Overall, the sandwich was good. I anticipate a re-do in the future utilizing per individual bread portions but with the same cheese and beef.

The cheese? Spectacular!! It was simply awesome. Even with just a few crumbly wanna-be shavings, the cheese was pronounced within each bite. Oh yeah, it was super good. The roast beef as well.

Cost:

Guessing? This sandwich cost me about $10. And I'm kicking myself over the lack of tomato and red onion!

Hook's Aged Cheddar

This might just be the most expensive food item I've ever purchased. Per pound this 10-year-old cheddar is $40!! That's $2.50 per ounce!

After I ordered pizza from Pizza Land, I shopped Grower's Direct, unloaded my goods in the truck and headed to The Meat House. I went to The Meat House specifically for sandwich fixin's, namely a decent bread, cheese and meat.

Once I picked up a ciabatta, I wandered to the cheese case. There were two guys ready to assist me; Guy #1 asked what I was looking for. I told him I wanted to make a good sandwich. He wanted to know what kind of sandwich. I told him I'd know once I decided a cheese. Guy #1 left me to my decision, which was a relief. The pressure of two dudes waiting for me, the same person that takes up to an entire day to put together a half-assed food plan, was too much.

I wanted to read every single card that described each cheese, telling of the consistency, the ingredients, with suggestions on how to eat the cheese. While perusing the three tiers of cheeses, looking for one that screamed "sandwich" at me, Guy #2 was waiting. The Meat House could take a lesson in customer service from a former bookseller: customer browsing is a good thing.

Guy #2 suggested I try an aged cheddar they had available. Remembering the twang of aged cheddar from when I made cheddar-zucchini biscuits, I told him that sounded great and requested a quarter pound, not knowing it was 40 freaking dollars a pound.

Then Guy #2 suggested a roast beef. Normally, I'm not a roast beef fan. When he showed it to me and how nicely medium rare it was, I requested a half-pound. A roast beef and cheddar sandwich on ciabatta? Oh yeah. I also requested a half-pound of Black Forest ham because I like ham.

This is what $12.60 looks like when it comes in the form of insanely expensive cheese.

Hook's 10-year aged cheddar, available at The Meat House for $40/lb. This cheese better be the best thing to ever touch my tongue.

Pizza Land Pizza

Over there by Grower's Direct and The Meat House is a pizza joint called Pizza Land. It's been there for as long as I've been going to Grower's Direct; fairly recently a banner has been up announcing new owners. I hadn't tried this place due to the poor Yelp reviews in the past. But with new ownership, I figured I'd check it out. Besides, I love pizza and had no idea what I'd be eating for dinner.

When I parked in front of Grower's Direct, I walked over to Pizza Land in the shared parking lot, picked-up and perused a paper tri-fold menu outside which included appetizers, sandwiches, pasta dishes, soups, salads, side dishes, and desserts, in addition to Sicilian deep-dish style pizzas.

I bypassed the open dining area and at the counter toward the back of the restaurant, placed an order for a 12" Works (pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, onion, bell pepper, black olives). One of the co-owners took my order and was very nice and friendly. According to him (Milad, if I remember right), Pizza Land has an expanded menu compared to when the previous owner(s) were in charge. Milad informed me that the place has been renovated, which was exceptionally clean and the decor comfortable.

And I found out that I might be within delivery range, which would be very nice, particularly if this pie turns out fabulously.

Once the order was placed and the pie paid for (while AmEx is not accepted here, Visa's are), I shopped Grower's Direct and The Meat House. By then my pizza was ready; once carefully placed on the dash of the truck, I sped for home.

The box is one seen from many places. I like that they don't spend money on personalized boxes as that indicates more money toward ingredients, which is where it should be. There was a piece of advertisement attached to the box with their phone number on it. I did wonder what was cut from the corner of the ad.

When I opened the box, I was happy to see toppings loaded on a thick crust, just as I'd anticipated. The ingredients appeared to be fresh, even the mushrooms and green peppers. Not shown are the packets of parmesan and pepper flakes.

The crust was soft and chewy with a slight crisp, not at all overly-salted. While not as thick as I'm accustomed to when it comes to Sicilian-style crusts, it was thicker than the other pies I've had in CA. The sauce could use a little jazz in my opinion. After all, my favorite pizza is my favorite due to the exceptional sauce. The toppings were evenly loaded and distributed.

Overall, this pizza was decent but not what I'd consider exceptional. Considering the price, it is certainly worth getting again, especially if it is delivered!

12" Pizza Land Works, about $14.

Grocery List, 080110

I have no idea what I'm going to eat this week. I'm tired of trying to figure it out. Doing it for one is just as much a chore as I thought it would be. Last week I ate steak and steak derivatives.  Last night I had a basil-ricotta-stuffed chicken breast that, honestly, wasn't very good. 

This week, I'm going to the produce store and maybe the Meat House, picking up simply what sounds and looks good. A sandwich sounds really nice.

Grower's Direct:

• honeydew melon: $2.89/5.90 lbs
• cherries: $6.94/2.32 lbs
• cantaloupe: $1.95/3.98 lbs
• russet potatoes: $0.80/1.35 lbs
• asparagus: $2.07/1.04 lbs
• onion: $0.32/0.66 lb
• Fuji apples: $3.16/2.45 lbs
• pineapple: $4.14/4.65 lbs
• carrots: $0.50/1.28 lbs
• romaine lettuce: $0.79/head
• red yam: $0.77/0.65 lb
• baby spinach: $1.99/6 oz
• cottage cheese: $2.69/16 oz
• TOTAL: $29.01. Damn, that might be the most I've ever spent here at one time.

The Meat House:

• Hooks Cheese, 12 year old: $12.60/0.25 lb
• Boars Head Black Forest Ham: $4.90/0.5 lb
• Boars Head Roast Beef: $5.49/0.5 lb
• Ciabatta bread: $3.29/loaf
• TOTAL: $26.28

Grand Total: $55.29.

Once again, isn't it supposed to be cheaper for one person to eat than two? What am I doing? Oh yeah, I spent $13 on a quarter pound of cheese. And while I intend to eat a fruity breakfast daily, I have no idea what I'm going to do with the vegetables I purchased.

Dinner tonight?  Pizza!