This week brought lots of new things my way:
 |
I met a friend for breakfast who is always on board to try new places. She calls them our 'field trips.' We are planning some fun field trips that don't involve food when the weather improves. For now, it was this rustic diner. Everything is made from 'scratch,' which I didn't find all that amazing, since don't most independent restaurants make everything in the back? The menu featured calorie-laden items like tiramisu pancakes, strawberry shortcake waffles and biscuits & gravy. I ordered the standard egg breakfast. The hash browns were chunks of potato, deep fried. Not really my thing. I will admit, the wheat bread was clearly homemade, sliced thick and studded with sunflower seeds. Overall, we liked our food, but it would have been nice if they had some healthier options to choose from.
|
 |
| Speaking of healthier, I decided to try these green pea snacks, after seeing that green peas really was the first ingredient. They were not good. Had a bitter taste to me. I'd rather just snack on snap peas when they are in season. I'm finding that the more I get away from processed food, the more I just don't like it anymore. |
 |
| For Christmas, my son gave us some items he ordered from a winery he had visited in Italy. This is truffle oil, something I have never cooked with before. I drizzled some onto this asparagus and it was delicious! It definitely imparted more flavor than plain olive oil. |
 |
| I've been meaning to try roasted chickpeas for some time. My blogger friend, Mary, introduced them to me in one of her blog posts. I found these at Aldi and they are good. Not a ton of flavor, but crunchy and satisfying. I would buy again and I will attempt to make them at home. |
I love Harvest Snaps and have been eating them for years! I will say, some flavors are better than others. I haven't tried the white cheddar, but like the wasabi and black pepper flavors the best.
ReplyDeleteI like white cheddar popcorn, so I thought I'd like these. Just not my thing.
DeleteI love fresh peas right out of the pod, but there is something that needs to be cooked off or I will have a non-stop sneezing fit for over an hour. Took me a while to figure it out, but now I stay away from most raw veggies.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of raw veggies making people sneeze, but my oldest always sneezes after a first bite of chocolate. It's very bizarre.
DeleteI'm glad I've just finished lunch--the asparagus looks great.
ReplyDeletewww.thepulpitadnthepen.com
It was a very tasty side dish.
DeleteRoasted chickpeas! I had my daughter try them and she liked them too. They are really good in salad.
ReplyDeleteI will have to try them on a salad. Healthier than croutons!
DeleteWe went to a similar diner, looked at their menu and decided to bail and try a place that had at least some slightly more healthy options.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if it was the cheddar flavoring that made the peas bitter? Trader Joe's has a plain version called "Contemplating Inner Peas" that are freaking addictive. I was eating some once and my son, who was in high school at the time, tried one and said it was weird. Then ate another. And another. And another. Said he couldn't stop. I will look for the chickpeas at Aldis.
I have some truffle oil - I'll have to try that the next time I make asparagus. If you haven't yet, try balsamic glaze and feta on asparagus sometime - it's wonderful.
The closest thing to healthy that they served was a 4 egg veggie omelet, but I don't need 4 eggs! I usually love white cheddar flavoring, but not this. Maybe it was the brand? I have some Trader Joe's balsamic glaze that I'm obsessed with, so I will try it on asparagus and adding feta sounds super yummy!
DeleteYou really were all about the food this week! Nothing wrong with that... ;-)
ReplyDeleteI've seen the chickpea snacks at Aldi - I'll have to try them. Like someone suggested, they probably would be good on a salad.
The chickpeas have really grown on me. Nutty and good.
DeleteI love the interior of Scratch. It looks so rustic! Being a bread lover, that bread you ordered sounded AMAZING!
ReplyDeleteI've had those Harvest Snaps Green Pea Crisps and really enjoyed them. I've purchased them from Trader Joe's and a place called, Mom's Organic Market.
" I drizzled some onto this asparagus and it was delicious!"
OMG...sounds DIVINE! Asparagus is one of my favorite veggies.
I've had those Chickpea snack as well. LOVED them!
This post made me VERY hungry. HA!
Hope you're having a FAB weekend, my friend!
X
I've never heard of Mom's Organic Market. Sounds interesting! Isn't asparagus good? It's improved since we were kids and all you could get was the big, woody stalks. Have a super week!
DeleteLook at you go with the new. Never tried the chickpeas before, big surprise haha. You'd think a place that made things from scratch would have healthy options. Weird on that one.
ReplyDeleteYup, we were fooled by the name!
DeleteI wondered about those peas; glad you tried them; now I don't have to :) Saw truffle oil the other day at the store and wondered about that too. I think we'll have to get some to try; I bet it was delicious on the asparagus! I too thought a lot of independent restaurants made a lot of their things from scratch. Son works at an Italian one owned by a chef from Italy and they do make their pasta and sauce from scratch. I'll have to ask him about the bread.
ReplyDeletebetty
The truffle oil is definitely good. I'm going to use it on broccoli tonight. I'd be curious if the Italian place makes its own bread!
DeleteI'm looking at those Harvest Snaps, and I'm thinking, why not just eat fresh peas? I'm sure they're healthier, and they probably cost less. . .
ReplyDeleteBut the truffle oil sounds really interesting. . .
I feel like I never see snap peas sold at the store, except in season. We grew them here one year but didn't get more than a meal or two.
DeleteI very like asparagus...delicious.
ReplyDeletehave a great day
Very good stuff. Thanks for visiting.
DeleteThis is great, Bijoux. I really love how you're attacking this New Things project! You try new things: some you like and some you don't. Each time your world gets a little bit bigger.
ReplyDeleteThat Scratch menu sounds tasty, but point well taken about the lack of healthy options. And I'll have to try that truffle oil.
Keep it up!
I just can't have all that sugar and fat anymore. It's been fun trying new things!
DeleteI love green peas and buy a lot when they are abundant in the season.
ReplyDeleteThey are great plain or in a casserole.
DeleteWe eat very few processed foods these days, now we know how unhealthy they are. Couldn't do without bread though (including naan bread). Do you have Bombay Mix over there? It always includes roasted chick peas, which I love.
ReplyDeleteI just looked up Bombay Mix and I don't think I've ever seen or heard of it, but it looks delicious. And I have to say, Naan bread is my favorite form of bread. Love it for Greek gyros.
DeletePeas are best when fresh plucked off the vine ....... Queenie always wonders why we get so little out of the mass of 'em I plant each year, let's keep that secret between us OK?
ReplyDeleteAnd that is odd, most 'scratch' style establishments around here have too many healthy-ish selections and not enough hardy stuff to stay alive. Not so bad as we get new places to try every few years!!
I've become quite militant about my food. It's amazing how much better I feel now that I'm not eating crap! Unfortunately, CLE is all about the bacon, perogi's and other Eastern European food. Hence, the number of obese folks. Keeps the Clinic in business!
Delete