a vegan grocery list from thriftway

A person with a dorm fridge and no stove, at DeKalb Thriftway, Norristown. The smartphone says you can make baked potatoes in the microwave.

10 small-to-medium Yukon Gold potatoes
1 lb. bagged spinach
a carton of grape tomatoes
1 lb. whole grain penne pasta
24 oz. Newman's Own Cabernet Marinara sauce
3 oranges
24 oz. apple sauce
1 quart soy milk
99-cent bag of barbecue potato chips

Total:  $21 and change

I have this trail mix with carob chips and giant raisins and sunflower seeds that is great sprinkled on a salad with Wishbone Robusto Italian dressing.

Microwave-baked potato with olive oil and seasonings.

Oatmeal, also with the trail mix.

Pasta and marinara with mushrooms.

Should have picked up some asparagus.

Saturday

Coffee is brewing here. I'm downstairs at my cute neighbor's apartment. We're watching Planet Earth.

This morning, walking to Stony Creek, ate a banana to get breakfast started. Then wandering on the creek bank, had my favorite trail mix from Nuts to You ('Slightly Sweet,' $2.29 / lb.). Crunchy soy nuts, sunflower seeds, pepitas, peanuts, raisins, carob chips.

After creeking, and after thrift store shopping for home decor (successfully: $8 = Ikea stool, body pillow with washable brown cover, aqua throw pillow, two big cream-colored plates, two small white plates with blue trim and the words Delta Airlines on the bottom, two petite coffee cups that look like miniatures of big chunky midnight blue coffee mugs, and a little box with a green fish on it), my pal and I went grocery shopping at the DeKalb Thriftway.

I am so stocked for food. This is great. Discovered a wonderful generic brand called White Rose that has delicious things with short ingredient lists for cheap money.

1 lb. box of whole wheat penne
?-oz. pasta sauce (like, enough for the pasta, Newman's own, tomato and basil, $2.99)
1 lb. jar of White Rose natural peanut butter, $2.79
gigantic box of "whole grain" saltines (whole grain saltines?), $2.50, to spread the peanut butter on
22 oz. box (yes, you heard correctly) of Mom's Best raisin bran for $3.29, also with a strikingly short ingredient list
a 12-pack box of White Rose instant oatmeal, $2.49
a jar of Vlasic baby dills, $don't-remember
1/2-dozen doughnuts, $1.50

I cannot remember what else I bought right now, but I spent $23. My companion bought some peapods and tomatoes and coffee and some other important things. At home were couscous, asparagus and broccoli.

Dinner was couscous and steamed peapods, asparagus, broccoli and tomatoes. Dessert is dark, muddy coffee and doughnuts.

Yes, you are seeing  Steamed Grape Tomatoes.  

They were... tomatoey, in the very best way.

Snack, on my mind for later: Saltine cracker, peanut butter, crunchy soy nuts, banana slice, drizzle with honey (or not). Repeat.

Other snack, on my mind for another time: Raw peapods and broccoli and cherry tomatoes dipped in Italian dressing.

Also begging to be put with peanut butter: 'Slightly Sweet' trail mix from Nuts to You ($2.29/lb.) and oat bran pretzels ($1.50/lb. at Nuts to You). Spread peanut butter on a pretzel and sprinkle with trail mix.

Pasta and steamed veggies for dinner a couple times this week. Maybe once with just olive oil, seasoning and steamed veggies, and nutritional yeast, and once or twice with the marinara sauce and veggies. Marinara and veggies is decadent. Doesn't happen often enough in here.

Breakfast will be raisin bran and 8th Continent soy milk. Oranges. Coffee. Improv breakfast cereals: banana/trail mix/soy milk or even orange/trail mix/soy milk.

The couscous turned out better tonight. I didn't make it. Hm.

Food Snapshot: DeKalb Thriftway

DeKalb Thriftway. Rainy Thursday night. Had the day off and spent it cleaning and continuing to settle in. A lot has changed in this blog's lifetime. Kitchen appliances now consist of a coffee maker and a rice steamer. Employment is marginal. Food comes from DeKalb Thriftway, CVS, 88 No. 1 Chinese Kitchen, a gas station, a fancy-schmancy grocery/deli in Bridgeport, and on trips back to the old neighborhood, I suppose there will be things from the Clark Park Farmers' Market and Mariposa Co-op. I'll be shopping as a nonmember. I don't live there anymore.

Tonight in the rain at DeKalb Thriftway:

- Green onion bulbs, eight of them in a package, slightly wilted, for 79 cents.
- Broccoli
- Asparagus
- 3 bananas
- 3 oranges
- 1/2 gallon 8th Continent original soymilk

Total: $9.39

Running clean water through the rice steamer now to clean it up after the move. Then steaming vegetables. Borrowed Salad & Greens Seasoning, Basil, Black Pepper, and Coffee from my downstairs neighbor, the cute one.

Going to steam vegetables and couscous. Was going to buy my own coffee, but this mean man who works at the DeKalb Thriftway rudely told me to leave because the store was closing. I could have taken an extra moment to grab coffee and tea, but I didn't appreciate his tone. I'll go elsewhere, but I'll go back to the DeKalb Thriftway again. Most because it's there.

My rented room has two closets. One of my closets functions as a pantry. In my pantry are: CousCous, Thai Kitchen Garlic & Vegetable Noodles (1 pack), a box of Fantastic Foods falafel mix, what's left of a 1 lb. bag of trail mix from Nuts to You (across from my office), what's left of a bag of roasted green peas from Nuts to You, what's left of a bag of oat bran pretzels from Nuts to You, nutritional yeast, sesame seeds, cornmeal, what's left of a box of Oh's cereal ($1 for a 6 oz. box at CVS), instant cream of wheat, one packet of instant oatmeal, and a jar of peanuts.

On my countertop are two leftover Fortune Cookies from 88 Kitchen, the seasonings and coffee I mentioned, what's left of a bottle of Canada Dry seltzer water, a bottle of extra virgin olive oil, and the three bananas and three oranges I bought tonight.

In my fridge are the soymilk, the asparagus, the broccoli, the green onion bulbs, what's left of a bag of spinach, what's left of a carton of white mushrooms, a small bottle of Italian dressing, and leftover soy sauce from 88 Kitchen.

What I would get from the co-op:

- rolled oats (bulk)
- tea
- more Thai Kitchen Garlic & Vegetable noodles

My favorite food discovery lately: Nuts to You. Right across the street from work, easy to visit, cheap, great selection, cheap, cheap! A pound of the most magical trail mix I've ever had for $2.29. It's soynuts (crunchy), carob chips, fat raisins, peanuts, pepitas (those little flat tear-shaped green things that remind me of pumpkin seeds only green and smaller), and sunflower seeds. I feel like a bird. A healthy, happy bird, living in winter.

I've been swallowing a tablespoon full of olive oil every day, because I remembered that I learned last winter that it keeps my skin from being dry. It does. It's amazing. Do it.

Clark Park and cherries

Clark Park Farmers' Market was in full summertime glory today. I got....

broccoli
red russian kale
sweet potatoes
summer squash
zucchini
cucumbers
white button mushrooms
cherries (sweet and good!)
cabbage (going to make slaw)

And at Mariposa Coop....

mixed salad greens
almond-milk yogurt
white flour (going to try biscuits again)
bagels
hummus

Clark Park is open again, for the past week or so, after being closed since last fall. Instead of having all benches, they have conversationally-arranged gatherings of orange chairs.


The grass is baby grass, with straw still on it....
And you're asked to not walk on it if you can keep from it....

Saturday food haul

At the farmers' market (about $25)

1 quart button mushrooms

a bunch of collard greens

a bunch of kale

a bunch of winter salad greens (watercress, etc. mix)

1 head of green leaf lettuce

several bulbs of red shallots

10 red carrots

3 bagels

2 brownies

1 quart apple butter

At Mariposa co-op (about $35)

1.5 lbs rolled oats

1 lb penne pasta

1 lb asparagus

1 quart rice/soy milk

a bunch of dulce (sea vegetable)

dijon mustard

Tofurkey deli slices

4 bananas

lapsang souchong tea (bulk)

raspberry leaf tea (bulk)

valerian root powder (bulk)

nutritional yeast (bulk)

1 can of red beans for the food drive at my school

1 can of spicy refried beans for the food drive at my school

6 starter strawberry plants

I forgot to get beans for us (bulk red beans), and I forgot garlic. The winter greens mix and collard greens were the best deal of the day: $2.40 for both at the Pennypack Farms table. I'm into mushrooms for sandwiches again. They're filling and high in protein and they soak up whatever flavors you put on them. With springtime, I'm into sandwiches again, which just always seem like an appropriate food for warm weather. We've been getting hoagie rolls from Fu-Wah, and I bring sandwiches on them for lunch. Mark has been making me a delicious pasta and bean salad for lunch that I just don't get tired of. It saves my life on those long Wednesdays when I have to go out to Glenside for class after school.

Lapsang Souchong tea is now one of my favorite things. It is smoky and sexy. It's campfire tea. Valerian root is for relaxation, including relaxing your muscles, so I wanted to try it to help ease the tension in my neck and shoulders that doesn't let go at the end of the day. Raspberry leaf tea is especially for ladies. I just discovered that the co-op has bulk teas, which is great. I got a lot of the campfire tea for $4, which, a box of 16 Russian Caravan tea bags (another smoky tea) is over $4, and this is a lot more tea than that. I don't know how to use the Valerian root, so I have to look that up.

We've been running out of money pretty much every week as we catch up from winter heating bills, unemployment, and the general January-April money curse, so we've gotten creative with food a lot. Mark's payday was yesterday and not a moment too soon. Yesterday, I actually brought four slices of cheap white bread and a container of apple butter to spread on it for lunch. Thursday, I brought a bag of raisins and got a bag of pretzels and a very sad banana at the 7-11 near the school. Pitiful. Back on top of things now. I tried to be conscious about what would last the longest, with the exception of the Tofurkey slices, which were a splurge. The quart of button mushrooms, with greens, vinegar, mustard, and onions, will be great for sandwiches for lunch. I'm sure I can sweet talk Mark into making me another pasta salad. I still have lots of raisins, and the rolled oats are $1.02/lb, and a lot of bang for the buck, with high protein, calcium and iron, and very filling for breakfast (or dinner). Adding raisins sweetens the oatmeal and ups the calcium. Cheap pasta sauce from Fu-Wah, along with the cheap white bread for garlic bread makes for a good, cheap, filling pasta dinner. We also have plenty of whole wheat flour and black pepper for gravy, and Mark perfected a rice-and-gravy dish this past week that is ridiculous-tasty. I don't know what the hell I would do without Mark's mad cooking skills. My life would be sadder and less fulfilling. And then there's the love. That makes things better, too.

Saturday

Farmers' Market this morning:

Sweet potatoes

Crimini mushrooms

Red beans

Sweet onions

Red, orange and white carrots

Collard greens

Lettuce from York County, where it snowed last night

Breakfast this morning:

Sesame seed bagel with hummus, and coffee from Green Line Cafe across the street from the farmers' market, where I watched dogs walk by with their people and people shop at the market and street canvassers canvass.

Pictured above: Take-Out from Desi Village. I don't remember what the main dish there is called but it was basically mixed vegetables over rice. Also in the picture are vegetable pakora (veggies battered and fried) and vegetable samosas (peas and potatoes with cumin in a pastry shell). The green sauce is hot and the red sauce is sweet and smoky.

Co-op later for: bananas, raisins, English muffins, soy milk, nuts, and tea

$18 at mariposa co-op

3 bananas
3/4 lb organic flame raisins
1/2 lb pecans
3/4 lb carob chips
32 oz soymilk
16 raspberry-leaf teabags
and
a 3.2 oz raspberries-in-dark-chocolate candy bar

Saturday Shopping List

From the Clark Park Farmers' Market, which I had not been to in weeks.

1 bunch collard greens

2 heads green leaf lettuce

1 head broccoli

1 quart brussels sprouts

3 white sweet potatoes

3 orange sweet potatoes

2 portabella caps

6 sweet yellow onions

1 giant parsnip for a soup

4 green peppers

And from Milk & Honey Market, a loaf of cracked wheat bread.

The other night, we had an early Tofurkey feast and have been having sandwiches from leftovers.

On the menu this week: Soups. Probably time for a blended sweet potato soup. Maybe some chili but we have to get tomatoes from the co-op. Stuffed, roasted portabella. Baked potatoes. Roasted collard greens. Could do collard green wraps with rice and tomatoes and maybe a little bit of soy sausage. And I have to get some sauerkraut for Brussels Sprouts & Sauerkraut, aka, Sprouts & Kraut.

Kids in a Candy Store

We've joined Mariposa Food Co-op and have been dining on...

pasta with mushrooms, marinara, greens, and fake meatballs... three-bean chili... red dulce... seaweed ramen... veggie burgers... crunchy bean sprouts... beans & rice... raw green beans... sandwiches w/mushrooms, lettuce, onion, tomato... ravioli... nuts... pumpkin seeds... grapes... apples... sesame seed candy... carob chips... oatmeal... trail mix... cold cereal with oat milk... sunflower seeds... and various cookies, brownies, and cupcakes... washed down with coconut water.

Life is good.


Today at Clark Park Farmers' Market

one bunch kale
one bunch collard greens
one head green leaf lettuce
one head red leaf lettuce
one head broccoli
two portabella caps
red and white carrots

A loaf of Cracked Wheat bread from Metropolitan Bakery. Then shopping tonight at the co-op for many of the things mentioned above plus sage incense and a new toothbrush.

Ready for the week

Made this chili with canned ingredients tonight, for lunch tomorrow. Roasting some greens (fresh from the farmers' market) right now to go with them. Will also bring grapes from the farmers' market that taste like wild grapes. Very excellent trip to the store tonight.

Fu-Wah Mini-Market

Whole wheat flour
mineral water (2)
diced tomatoes (in a can)
black beans (can)
kidney beans (can)
Beirut Tahini Sesame Paste
brown rice cakes
chili powder
1 quart Almond Dream almond milk
baking soda

Total: $23.80

At the farmers' market on Thursday, I bought...

collard greens
mustard greens
okra
green beans
grapes
blackberries
yellow onions
carrots
tomatoes

I think that's it. I have maple syrup to mix with the tahini paste to put on the rice cakes. I can now make whole wheat pancakes. (I'm getting really good at pancakes.)

Tomorrow:

Breakfast - raw grain and walnut cereal with almond milk and blackberries
Noon Lunch - roasted greens, tahini w/maple syrup on rice cakes, and grapes
3 pm Lunch - 2-bean chili
When I get home from Arcadia - Whole wheat pancakes w/maple syrup

More hits from the road, and shopping back at the ranch

Returned home to Philly on Wednesday. On Tuesday, enjoyed Lewisburg, WV. Visited the Wild Bean and the Bookstore and Edith's Store. The Wild Bean has a very nice menu.

I had the Healthy Wrap, which has greens, avocado, red onion, seeds, not sure what all else. Also had some of the chili you're seeing to the left. This was delicious. Sweet and hot and tomatoey. I was impressed that on the menu, in the description of the "Fakin' BLT," they note that their mayo is vegan. I didn't try the BLT, so I guess I have to go back someday. Oh, darn.

the "Healthy Wrap"

At Edith's Store, I bought a 2-oz. package of the sea vegetable Dulse, which I had never had before. It is red, and much softer and less chewy than the green varieties of seaweed I have tried. It tastes like bacon and sharp cheddar cheese. It has a sharp bite to it, and on the package they actually recommend crisping it in a pan in oil and using it to replace bacon on a BLT. It was so good as a raw snack that I ate most of it on the train the next day. The brand I bought is the same brand they carry at Weavers' Way Co-Op, but I don't remember if they had this variety or not. The brand is Maine Coast. Also bought some Celtic Sea Salt, some tea, and a mesh tea ball.


From a vegan-food-blogging perspective, my trip to W.Va. was a smashing success. It's so fun to go someplace I'm not usually and see what there is to eat. I can't believe I ever thought being vegan would be hard. Food is everywhere once you know what you're looking for. The Wild Bean and Edith's Store are not everywhere, but you remember my vegan Wal-Mart grocery list from the other day, right? The idea behind that was not to encourage vegans to shop at Wal-Mart (I don't recommend that to anyone); the idea was to show people who already shop at Wal-Mart that you can buy vegan foods in almost every aisle. Yeah, it's easier than you think. And remember, I also ate at a Mexican restaurant in Summersville in the same strip mall as Wal-Mart. Easy. Like fallin' off a log.

Got home Wednesday night and went to the farmers' market on Thursday to stock up. (I have no idea what Mark ate while I was gone. I'm not going to ask.) Went to the market this morning for a few more things.

Thursday Shopping List

1 bunch kale
1 bunch mustard greens
1 quart green beans
6 plum tomatoes
4 (bigger) red tomatoes
6 (big) yellow potatoes
1 pint blackberries
1 pint raspberries
(and at Milk & Honey Market)
1 avocado
1 loaf multigrain bread

Saturday Shopping List

1 quart okra
1 head red leaf lettuce
4 red shallots
1 golden zucchini
10 ears white sweet corn
2 portobello mushroom caps
1 oz. peppermint
1 oz. chamomile flowers
1/2 oz. lemon verbena
1 oz. sage
(and at Milk & Honey Market)
1 lb. unbleached wheat and barley flour
vanilla extract
1 lb. organic cane sugar

The chamomile flowers, peppermint, and lemon verbena are for tea, now that we have that mesh tea ball. Can't wait. Need to get cinnamon.

Oh, remember the vegan burger from the Amtrak train? On the way back, I got another one. It's actually not bad at all. You wouldn't want to eat it every day, but it's pretty tasty with ketchup and mustard. The bun is a Kaiser roll, and they microwave the whole thing in the package, but it doesn't get soggy somehow. A little chewy or stretchy, maybe, but tolerable.

After returning home from mom and dad's I am now inspired to make biscuits, hence the flour. And pancakes, hence the vanilla extract. Things we had to eat at mom and dad's included fried potatoes with peppers and onions, homemade biscuits with molasses, kale crisps (which I made and they loved), tomato-rice-bean soup, hummus & avocado sandwiches (both grilled and not grilled), fire-roasted corn on the cob, fire-baked potatoes, baked apples with walnuts and cinnamon crumbles, sweet potato fries, oatmeal, berry smoothies, and pancakes.



It was good to be home while I was there and good to be home now that I'm back. Wherever I go, some things don't change. More scenes from the Wild Bean....

Summersville Wal-Mart, WV State Fair, Bob Evans, Vegan Living

I'm visiting my family in W.Va. I count Summersville as my home town, although we lived all around it. They live in a different little town now. We spent the day at Summersville Lake today. I visited the site of the original Campfire 30. Campsite #30 at Battle Run Campground.

Wednesday night when my train got in, my parents and niece picked me up at the station and we ate at Bob Evans. I wasn't very hungry. The microwaved Amtrak vegan burger and Cliff Bars had ruined my appetite. I had a plate of sweet potato fries and a salad. Then we went grocery shopping at Wal-Mart in Lewisburg.

Vegan Burger on the menu in the Amtrak cafe car

At the State Fair of WV the next day, I ate corn on the cob roasted in the husk in a fire pit by the Shady Spring Future Farmers of America (a favorite snack from childhood state fairs), sweet potato fries with cinnamon and sugar, mashed potatoes, broccoli-cauliflower salad, garden salad, baked apples, and a baked potato. The "butter" the future farmers offered with their corn on the cob was vegan. It was Parkay Squeezable Margarine. (And yes, if you have that in your fridge right now, it does mean you are vegan and probably a Socialist and possibly gay.)

That night we had to drive to Beckley to reunite my niece with her mama, so the next morning, we had breakfast at Tamarack. I had a bagel with jelly, an English muffin with baked apples, and fried potatoes with onions and pepper, along with a really great cup of coffee.

Yesterday, we stayed home all day, made a fire, cooked on it/in it. Both sisters and one of their significant others and the other ones' kids came down. We roasted potatoes and corn. I made what I'm calling a campfire panini. It has a thin layer of Vegenaise (from Edith's Store in Lewisburg; you could also use margarine) on the outsides of the bread, then stuffed with hummus, tomato, onion, and dill seeds. Would have been great with avocado, but I forgot. It's grilled in this neat thing that we used to have a set of when we were living in the campground. Here, I'll post pictures.

This morning, we went out for brunch to Los Pescadores Mexican Restaurant in Summersville, on our way to the lake. This is in the same strip mall with Wal-Mart and the Dollar Tree. I had vegetable fajitas. Looking at the menu, I ordered it without sour cream (still had guacamole), and then after it came, I scraped the cheese off the beans. (They don't mention the cheese on the menu. Everyone would of course obviously want cheese on their beans.) The food was really good. The service was good. I had sopapillas for dessert.

After spending the day at the lake today, we picked up a few more groceries at the Wal-Mart in Summersville.

Vegan Grocery list from Wal-Mart

2 bunches kale

1 head green leaf lettuce

1 bunch asparagus

Big tub of hummus

Small tub of Earth Balance margarine

1/2 gallon of almond milk

2 things of Fig Newmans cookies

Arnold's Sandwich Thins (round sandwich bread)
Some kind of square bread from the deli

some other kinds of bread (cause my mom and dad like lots of different breads)
frozen berries
bananas

onions

potatoes

sweet potatoes

2 avocados

We didn't get any beans, pasta, rice, hot cereal, etc., but they have those things. You can certainly get your four vegan food groups at Wal-Mart. I know the vegetables might have been grown halfway around the world and have been sprayed with chemicals, but they're at least as good as anything else you're getting at Wal-Mart. Their selection of almond milks almost made me jealous.

At the house, I've been eating a lot of sandwiches, with hummus, avocado, etc., the things I usually eat at home. And toast with molasses, which I usually don't have. Mom usually makes fried potatoes in the mornings, and berry smoothies. Just bought the kale tonight; I'm going to roast a pan of it for mom and dad tomorrow. Dad made biscuits and brown gravy to go with the campfire foods last night. I brought some Bob's Red Mill muesli (cereal with uncooked rolled grains, nuts, raisins, dates, seeds) with me. Brought some Cliff Bars but haven't been eating them. They will be good for the train ride home. Can't believe it's already Sunday night.

Thursday, Friday pizza, Saturday, and Bob's Red Mill

Saturday Shopping List

canteloupe!
1 lb. baby lima beans
5 tomatoes
3 yellow peaches
3 white peaches
1 pint blueberries
6 onions
10 carrots
3 ears of corn
1 pint shiitake mushrooms
12-oz jar of strawberry jam
and a 16-oz iced coffee

total: $28


Thursday Shopping List

1 bunch curly kale
1 bunch mustard greens
1 bunch Swiss chard
1 quart green beans
1 pint raspberries
1 pint blackberries
4 heirloom tomatoes
1 spaghetti squash
6 ears of corn
1 loaf country white bread

total: $36

Mark has made a soup with rice, red beans, corn, onion, carrots, and cayenne pepper. Overall, it has a sweet taste, from the corn, carrots, and cayenne, and of course a hot taste.

Ordered Papa John's last night, with onions, mushrooms and black olives. I tried putting Diaya's mozzerella cheese on it, but the cheese had been in the fridge and was too cold, so it didn't really work with the pizza, which wasn't quite hot enough. I only tried that on one slice. We got that cheese for a pasta last week, and it was amazing. They have it at Fu-Wah. Daiya cheese is not a soy product. The ingredients are: Filtered water, tapioca and/or arrowroot flours, non-GMO expeller pressed canola and /or non-GMO expeller pressed safflower oil, coconut oil, pea protein, salt, vegan natural flavours, inactive yeast, vegetable glycerin, xanthan gum, citric acid (for flavor).

I forgot to stop at the Slow Rise Bakery table today for more granola. I usually only stop there if I want sweets, so today I skipped it, completely forgetting that last week I bought a lb. of delicious maple granola there and meant to get more. May have to visit the store for some granola or cereal. On the topic of cereal, I have to recommend Bob's Red Mill products (grain products). Not only because they are good, but because the owner earlier this year transferred ownership of the company to the employees. I will vote for that company with my dollars every chance I get. The people who do the work should reap the rewards.

Saturday, Swiss chard, and bean salads

Saturday was the day we had to be out of our old apartment, so I haven't blogged the groceries yet. I got so much stuff at Thursday's farmers' market, that Saturday felt more like a Thursday. Only spent $28 Saturday morning... er, afternoon. I actually forgot to go to the market until half past one, because of all the excitement.


Saturday Shopping List

The four lovely heirloom tomatoes you see above
5 red shallots
3 bunches of small orange carrots with the greens on
6 ears sweet corn
4 cucumbers
1 pint blackberries
1 lb. maple granola
1/2 loaf banana sourdough bread
1 loaf multi-grain bread
and a 16-oz iced coffee

Total: $28

On Thursday, I had spent $36.50, and got kale, mustard greens, Swiss chard, lettuce, potatoes, onions, mushrooms, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, tomatoes, green beans, and garlic. I may be forgetting something.


The Swiss chard is GREAT for roasting. I usually roast kale and mustard greens for about 30-35 minutes. I had forgotten a pan in the oven recently and burned it to a crisp after 45 minutes. Well. I got the Swiss chard, put it on the bottom, put kale and mustard greens on top, and put it in the oven intending to leave it about 30 minutes. Did the same thing again! Forgot about it and after 45 minutes I went in there steaming mad, figuring I just ruined another pan of perfectly good greens. No. The chard was still a little moist and had protected the other greens and everything else was golden brown and crispy. The chard was golden brown and flaky like a pie crust! It was ridiculous. The flavor was strong. It was very savory and rich. Now I have a reason to buy Swiss chard. So good.


Mark made this delicious summer bean salad. It has: red beans, corn, cucumber, tomato, carrots, and purple lettuce, with an oil & vinegar dressing and cayenne pepper. Shut up. It's amazing. He made another, similar one, but with green beans and potato, and with an avocado dressing that he made himself. I think it was just avocado and olive oil with pepper. That one was also delicious. The avocado dressing made it very filling and added some good fat.

Fruity Thursday

There is so much fruit in my house right now.

Thursday Shopping List

1 pint blueberries

1 pint blackberries

1 pint raspberries

6 peaches

6 green apples

1 lb. baby spinach

1 bunch curly kale

1 bunch mustard greens

1 quart green beans

3 ears bi-color sweet corn

6 tomatoes

Total: about $30 (berries are pricey but worth it)

The apples are perfect. I don't remember seeing these last year. They're smallish and green. They are very crisp, both in texture and taste. They have a tartness but are not at all sour and with a sweetness to balance it out. They seem like they would be great for pies. Now I just need to try actually baking a pie. I got them from Fahnestock Fruit Farm, the same people I get the peaches and tomatoes from.

I got the mustard greens specifically to try roasting them, as I usually do with kale. I made a bunch of roasted kale and mustard greens when I got home, and there wasn't much difference between the two, except the mustard greens had more of a bite to them. I think this makes them slightly superior for roasting. Again, here's how you roast greens: coat them with olive oil, sprinkle liberally with sea salt, place in a cast iron pan and into an oven preheated to 350, for 30-35 minutes. Greens should be browned (actually, I like to blacken them a little bit) and super-crisp and dry, like very thin, green, misshapen potato chips.

Incidentally they're great for a hangover.

Stocking the new kitchen!

First farmers' market from the new apartment. It was a nice little walk (about the same distance, but a different direction). I cleaned the new (to us) refrigerator to within an inch of its life before heading out this afternoon (yes, it was afternoon before I was done). That took about an hour and a half. I took out all the trays from the door and all the shelves and washed them in the sink with baking soda and hot water. Scrubbed out the inside of the fridge with baking soda as well. Dried and reassembled everything. It is sparkling. Then went nuts at the market.

Saturday Shopping List

1 lb. small red beans
1 lb. green beans
1 pint shiitake mushrooms
2 heads red leaf lettuce
6 ears bi-color sweet corn
10 red potatoes
10 sweet onions
a dozen carrots (smallish, with the greens still on)
3 summer squash
2 golden zucchini
2 green zucchini
4 small cucumbers
2 purple peppers
1 green pepper
6 heirloom tomatoes
2 giant red tomatoes
6 peaches
1 pint blueberries
12-oz jar of strawberry jam
1 lb. granola
1 loaf country white bread
1 oz. fennel seeds
2 oz. black pepper

Total: about $50


Came home and had raw green beans and carrots dipped in hummus for brunch. Haven't had coffee yet, so I'm venturing out in the heat for an iced coffee. Later, it's off to the old apartment to gather up dishes and cooking utensils.

We've been living large these past couple days, picnicking on gourmet food from the local restaurants. Gourmet veggie burgers and salads last night from Dock Street Brewery. Night before last, chickpea-tabouli salad, guacamole and hummus with pita and black olives, with orange-chocolate-chip cake for dessert, from the Gold Standard Cafe. Tofu scramble from Gold Standard for breakfast yesterday. But at some point, we have to actually settle down and start cooking again. Clean fridge, check. Groceries, check. Clean stove, clean cupboards, clean dishes next.

Thursday boost

Summertime. I can go shopping at the park on a Thursday afternoon. Nothing better to do. Nice.

Thursday Shopping List

6 peaches
1 quart blueberries
1 quart peas-in-the-pod
bunch of green onions
giant head of purple leaf lettuce
I feel like there was something else, but I don't remember what.

total: maybe around $12

And then at Milk & Honey, we found sweet corn ($2/lb.) and bought 6 ears of that. Haven't seen that at the market at all yet and have been waiting eagerly. Today was the first time there were peaches.

I have eaten a lot of fruit and raw vegetables this past week. I love this time of year because a.) the fruit is here and b.) all the veggies that are good to eat raw are out. Raw green beans were the prize from Saturday. Those peas in the pod are amazing raw. They're big. Every pod has about 9 or 10 peas in it and they are plump and sweet and juicy. They're not the ones I was getting in the quart boxes, that are already shelled. Those are good too but always go bad by Monday when I get them on Saturday. I don't know if it's my fridge or if they just don't keep. The ones in the shell are much less finicky.

Snacks: apricots, cherries, blueberries, green peas

Apricot, cherries (chopped) and blueberries, ready to go onto granola

Apricot, cherries and blueberries on granola with rice milk