Thursday, February 16, 2006

Making Lists

We make lists of things we want to bring back from Houston.

The things on the "Grocery List" so far:

Capers - I can get capers here but I like the tiny ones and I can seldom find them here. The ones here are big with a thick skin and soft inside.

Bubbies pickles - Ned loves these garlicy dill pickles. You can buy them in the refrigerator cases at Whole Foods. We have never seen them here but Ned was looking at the writing on the jar and they are pickled and packed in Mexico.

Sweet pickles - I like sweet pickles. The other day I did see some at Bonanza but I'll probably bring back a jar of my favorite brand.

Chicken broth - We can never find canned or boxed chicken broth. I've learned to adapt...most of the time...by making my own chicken broth. But it is nice to know I have some boxes of chicken broth sitting in my cabinet when I need it.

Basmatic Rice, Polenta, Risotto, Wild Rice and Bulgar Wheat - I can find these here most of the time but not necessarily when I want it. I like to buy it in bulk at Central Market or Whole Foods and bring it back with me. It usually costs less than what I pay for it packaged or in bulk here.

Dried cherries - I have a couple of recipes that are great that use dried cherries. I've never seen them here.

Briana blush wine vinegarette and poppyseed dressing - I've found a pretty good poppyseed dressing here but nothing I like as well as the blush wine vinegarette which is my favorite when I don't make my own dressing.

Spagetti sauce - I can make a sauce from scratch but there are times when it is nice to start with a canned sauce and add "stuff" for a quick dinner. The canned sauce here is sweet, really sweet and rather pricey. I like the Classico sauces so I'll bring back 3 or 4 of them.

Italian sausage - I found some one time at a deli here in town but it wasn't very good. I haven't been able to find Italian sausage since then and neither has any of my friends.

Maple syrup - I don't use it a lot but nothing tastes the same as real maple syrup.

That is the "Food Bring Back List" as of today. Then there is the "Odds and Ends List" and then the "Photography List."

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Capers and maple syrup are on my list.

Anonymous said...

Bubbi's pickles used to be made and packed in Canada, at least the ones that I got at Trader Joe's. They are the real Kosher Dill pickle made with NO vinegar. Just naturally fermented cucumbers. FYI, Bubbi's is Yiddish for Grandma's.

Jerry

Billie Mercer said...

Jerry, We found out about Bubbi's pickles from one of our Jewish friends who asked us to bring him a jar of them from Houston when we came. He told us that Bubbi was grandmother in Yiddish. Ned tried them and has loved them. We buy them at Whole Foods in Houston and sure enough the last jars we bought were packed in Mexico. We were surprised. We'll check out the ones we buy this time to see if it is Canada or Mexico. Hey, Jerry, glad you read my blog.