This apple almond stuffed pork chop looked pretty good in the meat case at Trader Joe’s. So I mentally declared it the Fall season, and bought a package of two. Never as good as one’s own stuffing, but ohhh so easy, and it was not loaded with salt. It wasn’t bad, either, the stuffing was moist … Continue reading
Filed under Grocery shopping …
Asian Chicken Salad
This was an impromptu worknight salad that worked out better than I expected. So well, in fact, that I made a similar version later that week, adding some fresh NJ peaches, for a pot luck office event. It all started, as so many things do, at Trader Joe’s, where I purchased something I rarely deign … Continue reading
Peach Mania
New Jersey peaches are in season and peach promotions and events abound. The Peach Promotion Council has been making the rounds of farmers markets, supermarkets, and restaurants, with special events and even appearances by the Jersey Peach Queen, Ms. Leevon Lacy of Woodstown. Jersey-grown peaches will be celebrated with special “Peach Party” peach dishes at the … Continue reading
Preserved Lemons
Be sure to check out the nice piece on preserved lemons at Serious Eats. There are so many great ways to use these, they are a wonderful addition to many summer dishes, grilled salmon or chicken, rice salads, various relishes and dips. Whether you buy yours or make your own (really easy), look around on … Continue reading
Crab Gratin
A few weeks ago, before this terrible heat wave started, I paid a crabby visit to McCaffrey’s Market in Princeton. No, I wasn’t feeling crabby, but had crab meat on my mind. I headed right to the ice case in front of their seafood counter. There’s always something interesting nestled in those ice chips. For starters, I bought … Continue reading
Local Ghee
Congratulations to Pure Indian Foods, makers of organic ghee, which you will find at local farmers markets, for their July 21 write-up in the New York Times. There’s always something interesting in Florence Fabricant’s Food Stuff column, all the more so when it features a local company. I first found Pure Indian Foods at one … Continue reading
Thai soup
I love Thai soups, and was inspired recently by Wegmans’ Thai cuinary stock to make a seafood soup, adding coconut milk, sliced baby bok choi, bean thread noodles (first soaked in hot water until soft), and shrimp plus leftover mahi mahi (more on that another time soon.) I also added some chopped lemongrass and galangal … Continue reading
Oven-Fried Eggplant
When I attended a Suppers Program dinner for a recent recipe column, one of the dishes served that evening was delicious oven-fried eggplant. Thinly sliced, it was drizzed with olive oil and baked at very high heat on shallow baking sheets. Maybe it was flipped once, but thin as it was, might not have needed … Continue reading
Christmas in July
Okay, in June. Winter was over, and I still had a canister of Trader Joe’s Wintry Blend coffee in the cupboard. Unlike other flavored coffees, which are made with (to me) harsh extracts, this one has whole spices ground up with the beans – cardamom, clove, pink and green peppercorns, a touch of cinnamon. I … Continue reading
Farmers Markets – Monty open to 1:00pm on Sats.
Here’s a list of Central New Jersey Farmers Markets, for your weekend shopping. Please note a correction to the original list that appeared in the Packet last week – the Montgomery Friends Market is open until 1:00pm on Saturdays. Also, be sure to check out the new Trenton Fresh Farmers Market, too! (We may be JerseyFresh, but … Continue reading
NJ SPICE 