I saw them in the bread aisle on my last grocery store excursion – Buttermilk English Muffins from Thomas, the clear frontrunner in English Muffins. They sounded good and I picked up a package. They were good, and from now on, this will be my muffin of choice. They make delicious toast when slathered with butter and set beneath a broiler, and they also make great sandwiches. And they are very easy … [Read more...]

    I have no faith whatsoever with the average cantaloupes at the grocery stores. They mostly have no odor, meaning they are not ripe, and they are tasteless. So, I try to buy more exotic cantaloupes – like the Tuscan-Style melons from Dulcinea Farms. I have been seeing a few recently at various stores and bought one yesterday at Wal-Mart. In a word – excellent. Sweet, firm, … [Read more...]

I have been shopping more and more at Aldi’s. Their prices are simply incredible, and I have found a few products that I really enjoy there that are available nowhere else. Their Great Gherkins Hamburger Dill Pickle Chips, for one. I was in Aldi’s recently and bought some ground sirloin for burgers that night and remembered that I was out of dill pickle chips. To me, a cheeseburger without … [Read more...]

When we went to Atlanta to spend Christmas with my son, Jimmie, and his family, I fell in love with his 14-inch cast iron skillet. It was made by Green Egg to go on his grill for baking or cooking. But Jimmie used it inside as well. He could put nearly a whole pound of bacon in the thing and have space between the strips. I have an 8-inch chicken fryer at home that I love, but it is limited … [Read more...]

My Nancy likes popcorn, often on a Sunday afternoon while she’s watching a Hallmark Movie or busy wrapping presents. She wraps a lot of presents. Somehow, I have earned the honor of being Chief Popcorn Popper. I figure if she’ll do all the laundry and keep the house in order, making a batch of popcorn is the least I can do. Usually, I retrieve the old Whirly-Pop Popcorn Popper from the basement … [Read more...]

We have lots of grocery shopping choices here in Charlottesville, but we don’t have a Publix, and I for one wish we did. My first shopping experience with a Publix store was in Myrtle Beach. It happened to be the closest store to my brother’s condo and, naturally, I made several trips. I was totally amazed in one visit when I saw the meat department manager out in the aisles chatting with … [Read more...]

I used it this morning and I’m still not sure exactly how the thing works. It’s a Pineapple Tool made by a company named Imusa. This stainless-steel product makes short work of a usually difficult-to-prepare pineapple. It peels, cores, and slices the pineapple in one step. It will also cut wedges if you’d like. It’s simply amazing. I really enjoy pineapples (apple pines, my children called … [Read more...]