I was looking for something different for dinner, preferably something quick and easy. I’m not a big fan of processed dinner entrees or heat-and-serve frozen dishes, but a box of Tastee Choice Frozen Shrimp Tempura caught my eye. I love Shrimp Tempura when we order Chinese and it’s a dish you don’t just whip up at home. So, I rolled the dice and bought two 6-count boxes at $5.99 each. Oh yes, I … [Read more...]

If you go to the grocery store and want to buy two oranges, they’ll let you buy two oranges. Of if you only want to buy one grapefruit, you can buy just one grapefruit. But you can’t buy just one or two tangerines. You have to buy a half bushel, or how many ever comes in a five-pound bag. I was in the store recently and really didn’t need a tree-full of tangerines. I  tried to get another … [Read more...]

When my some Jimmie was a little fellow, he called pineapples “apple pines”. He also called roosters “doodle-o’s” and he referred to fish as “sous”. To this day, I often call fish “sous” and barnyard fowls “doodle-o’s” - and I still refer to pineapples as “apple pines”. Your children’s cute words never go away. The point of all this is that I have concluded that pineapples are far and away the … [Read more...]

I shop at Harris Teeter on occasion, but not regularly. It’s not as convenient for me, and the prices seem higher. But I went there recently to check out their seafood. They often have great Argentine Shrimp and fresh flounder. The flounder looked good, so I bought it, then saw some breakfast sausage in their custom meat counter and bought a pound. Over in their hamburger display I noted Ground … [Read more...]

I was reaching for a box of butter in the dairy section at Food Lion when my eye caught a wrapped package called Amish Country Roll Butter. It was one-pound log of butter wrapped in wax paper and not much more in price than a pound of regular butter. What the heck, I’ll give it a try. All I can say is bring on the “Buttah, buttah, buttah!” If you believe that “Everything is better with … [Read more...]

The holiday season always arouses old memories and one that was brought to my mind recently was of Florida oranges. A few days ago, I bought a couple of navel oranges from Food Lion. They were fat and colorful and appeared orchard fresh. And they were, with quite a fragrance – like the Florida oranges of my memory. Mama Ida always sent our family a box of fresh citrus fruits from Florida in … [Read more...]

There is an old tale about a fellow who prayed every day to win the lottery, and he never did. When he went to heaven, he asked God why it was that he never won. And God said, “You had to have bought a ticket.” Beef and some grocery prices are high, but they don’t have to be. It’s kind of like “You had to have bought a ticket”, but it’s this: “You have to go to the grocery store on a regular … [Read more...]

As most know, I am a huge fan of Aldi’s. Their prices are hands down the lowest anywhere. Even Wal-Mart, and I like their products. One especially. Their sausage from Appleby Farms. I am a sausage lover. I prefer Gunnoe’s over Jimmy Dean, but if it’s sausage, I’ll eat it. One thing I’ve noticed about inexpensive sausage is that it’s full of fat. Fry a half dozen pieces and they float to the top … [Read more...]

When our group first started going to the Oyster Festival in Urbanna about 20 years ago, a quart of oysters was $10. Then they went to $11, then $12, and higher. Last week, I bought a quart of oysters and paid $39.95. But they were really good. When I was a child, oysters were cheap. My Uncle Sidney would go down to Morehead City and return to Raleigh with a bushel of oysters for $3 or $4. Then … [Read more...]

You don’t see them often, but if you do, and if you are a meat and steak lover, buy them. Denver steaks - perhaps the best cut of steaks you’ve never heard of. Denver steak, also known as the Denver-cut or Denver chuck steak, is a relatively new addition to the world of beef cuts. It’s sourced from the chuck primal or serratus ventralis muscle, which lies beneath the shoulder blade. For this … [Read more...]