Compost, Fried Sage and Upstate New York Produce

Hi everyone!

Before I go on to my new blog, I would like to clarify a couple things from my last blog.

First, what I wrote was my exact experience at each of the grocery stores.

Second, I am sorry if I offended anyone in regards to the comments about not being able to understand the people at the store, however I MUST defend my position here. If you are going to work somewhere where you will be having contact with customers, you must be able to communicate properly. If you cannot speak and understand English and have a good command of the English language, then you should be working in a place where you will not have contact with customers. We live in the United States of America. Our language here is English. If you live here and you are going to be in the service or retail industry, learn to speak AND understand English. How on earth are we to be able to figure out or ask questions about our food if the people we are asking cannot understand us, or better yet, just walk away from you when you try to talk to them? Rudeness and manners are the same in every language ... in every culture. Do not give me a hard time because I asked you a question in English in a public store in the USA, where our language is English.

Third, I would like to be clear that I DO shop in each of those stores I reviewed ... and I will continue to shop in them. They ALL have their good points. However, I will now adjust my shopping habits in that I will purchase different products at different stores now.

I would like to have each of those stores try to up their game a bit. Make some changes that benefit the customer. Ideally? It would be awesome if JEWEL and WHOLE FOODS could make a serious commitment to making sure healthy and local products are affordable to everyone. It would be ideal, if WESTBROOK and BROOKHAVEN would make an effort to have fresher and better labeled produce. (AMICI'S? Well, just making sure their employees speak and understand English would be great.) 

On to today's blog. :) Composting ... Lad and I save our scraps, etc., for the compost bin. Sure, there are many books and articles and fancy equipment you can purchase to do this. However, we just bought an extra plastic garbage pail/lid (actually Lad bought it) and just started throwing things in there that could be composted. We do not throw in fruit (too acidic) and we do not throw in meat. Lad "turns" the compost frequently. We have not added any extra ingredients and we do not have different "levels" of different scraps. When it gets too dry, Lad leaves it open for rainwater. Then after the rain he will turn it and mix it. Is this the "proper" way to compost? Probably not. But this is how we did it! We'll see if it works. We had composted beginning last spring and had a full garbage pail by fall. I will let you know how our plants turn out-if we see a noticeable difference.

Fried sage ... YUM!!!!!! I saw this recipe on Emeril ... you get you sage leaves and dip them in egg and then bread crumbs. Throw them in a skillet that has some heated olive oil in it. Toss them frequently to cook evenly. Then place them on a paper towel to draw out the oil. It is also great to just heat up the olive oil and throw the sage in without breading them. Keep tossing them. They cook VERY quickly. If you wait until they are browned they are overcooked. Just a handful on a plate is plenty. Serve with a side of fat-free or low-fat ranch dressing. They are also beautiful for an edible garnish on steak or chicken dishes. (Not so good with pasta dishes.)

Lastly, I have been in Upstate New York (Syracuse) for a few days. I was born and brought up in this area. My grandparents had a farm and I grew up with fresh EVERYTHING—from vegetables, to fruit to meat, chicken and pig ... no pesticides ... no injections in the animals. The animals were respected when they were alive and treated well, given the best food, and allowed to roam and be animals.  

Kinda funny how that food was so healthy because nothing extra was added to it and the animals weren't "forced" to grow bigger and better and faster...Nowadays it would be called All Natural or Organic but back then it was just called FOOD. :)

I will see you next week! Until then, EAT WELL and ENJOY YOUR FOOD!