Pie for breakfast?

Why not? Friends think I'm strange or, if they're trying to flatter me, daring, all because I occasionally like a slice of pie for breakfast. My question is simply: where is it mandated that eggs, cereal, or bacon are Breakfast Foods to be eaten only first thing in the morning, while pie is a Dessert to be consumed only after stuffing oneself on Thanksgiving turkey (or meat loaf on an ordinary weekday night)?

Look at it this way: a generous helping of boysenberry pie at Coco's or rhubarb pie at Berry's is a fine wake-up food. Fruit (well, sort of, in the case of rhubarb) plus the crust for a carb. Really gets me going!

What's more, I'm happy to be served carefully scrambled eggs* with LOTS of bacon for supper. Mom did just that when I was a kid and the school lunch ladies have long since discovered that their charges get a big kick out of "breakfast for lunch days".

While I'm on the subject of us Americans and our food weirdnesses, let me pass along the anthropologists' method of determining which are our countrymen at an international conference banquet. Wait for the dessert course; if it's pie, you will note that only Americans carefully turn the pie so that they can eat it point first; all other folks start right in on the pie however it landed.

*Carefully scrambled means done s-l-o-w-l-y over a low flame, a la Nero Wolf.

Shopping with GrannyJ

Some shopping excursions are hell; others are hoo-rah! Today was one of the good days. Because of the rainy weather, walking was out; why not take a cab all the way to the K-Mart mall. For starters, my driver, she of the very blonde hair, turned out to be a cop retired from the Philly police force. Interesting lady.
What should greet me at K-Mart but extreme temptation. Worried about carrying all that bulk around, I resisted. But, oh....

First stop, the Amazing 99 Cent Store. It's unlike the newer dollar stores, which are just one more dull, niche market for the big food/houshold products companies. For a number of years, my Sson has stocked up on exotics here, especially sauces and similar items.

Here are the marinades I bought -- 3 bottles for 99 cents total! The store has long specialized in fancy food close-outs in addition to the usual tacky geegaws and everyday items.

Oops. What have we here? Protesters, perhaps? Big signs and the right kind of costuming -- ironic patriotism and goth.

But no. Tax service promotion. There'll always be an adman! Next stop, the real reason I came -- a new recycled printer cartridge store. A franchise out of Oz yet. And I did indeed save money over the name brand ink. About half price or less.

Another addition to the K-Mart center line-up: Jay's Bird Barn. Believe it or not, there are two shops in town for the bird watcher. Of course, Jay writes a weekly column for the Courier which I always make a point of reading.

And guess what -- I discovered at least one source of those fancy decorated mailboxes. Apparently the covers are attached magnetically. Jays is also a good source for birding field manuals (below) and, yes, topical Tshirts.


While on the subject of books, I poked my nose into Anchor. In addition to shelf upon shelf of pop paperbacks, there was one book I almost bought. A big picture album of photographs by Elliot Porter.

Final stop: our lifestyle Safeway. The supermarket chain's answer to WalMart's invasion of their food turf. In reality, it's up-market because the lights are a lot dimmer (saves on the electric bill, too) ... spotlights shine on a few gondolas of food imports ... more wines are stocked ... and there's a Starbucks. I happen to like the place because its deli is far better than average, though that happened long before the life-styling kick.

But what caught my eye on this supermarket visit was the dispenser above and the accompanying fact that frozen CO2 has been, Lord help us, Branded. I suppose we have a legion of young folk out there who are ignorant of all the fun you can have with dry ice or of its many uses. Live and learn.

My final score: two splendid horsie picture books @ $2 each for the granddaughter, plus a remaindered Larry Niven Ringworld book that I hope I haven't read. Oh, yes. More good news: zante currants have resurfaced in the dried fruit department. They beat regular raisins all hollow.

Cardboard Cookies

The recent heavy-duty database research left me low on supplies. Since the daughter and granddaughter will be here overnight this weekend for 1) the Lipizzaner stallions and 2) a trip to the Santa Maria River to play in the water, it was important that I restock. Hence a foolish visit to the WalMart. So the cardboard cookies were 50 cents cheaper than at another store. Big deal. $100 a pop, remember? It never fails.

Some readers might ask what I mean by cardboard cookies. Simple. Cheap imitations of Oreos, suitable for hungry, undiscriminating youngsters. They're good for adults, too; they quickly satisfy a sudden yen for goodies, but they aren't good enough that you continue eating them past the point of no return. This particular batch, with peanut butter filling, is yummier than many varieties, however.

My husband and I always kept a cookie jar full of cardboard cookies to cope with visits from his two growing sons, who were appetites on legs. We discovered, as most parents do, that with young lads, one cannot afford delicacies, organic foods or even roast beef. That's the real why behind junk food. One keeps a supply of bologna and hot dogs plus the biggest & cheapest loaves of bread available for boys. Otherwise you go broke.

Pinatas & More

The Mexican food store over on West Goodwin, in the Park Plaza shopping center is open. It looks good. Clean. Well stocked shelves. The cashier also said, "fresh baked bread every day."

And, in time for Christmas, a big supply of bright pinatas.

In addition to a basic produce section, plenty of interesting canned and packaged goodies.

A meat, cheese and deli counter.

And a bright yellow deli/ restaurant where, the owner assured me, they'd be glad to make mole for me! Wow.

All very interesting. One way of looking at it is that this old shopping center (Prescott's 1st, by the way) has suddenly become a place for food away from home. There's also the Thai take-out (above)...

...a little sub shop...

And a workman told me that the site of the former Liquor Barn is on its way becoming a bakery/ deli/liquor store, with the bakery predominating.

So I guess that change isn't always that bad! Even in Prescott.

In Which I Commit the Great Shopping Sin

That's right, I went shopping at the WallyMart today. Now, I do have a problem with WalMart, mind you. But it's not the usual complaint (wages, Chinese imports, etc.) No, it's the fact that I can't get out of the dang place without dropping at least a C-note. So much for everyday low prices!

While the amount of Stuff can be overwhelming, especially as we approach the Xmas gifting extravaganza, I felt it my duty as an American to do a walk-through today.

Besides, how can a non-driving sort come by copies of mail box keys, a CO alarm (recommended by my plumbing/furnace man), cardboard cookies, my first El Cheapo cell phone (recommended by my favorite aged-in-grade techie Bad Boy), obscure vitamins, grapefruit and a t-shirt with a dragon on it -- all at one place?

Of course, I had to look at the toy Stuff. Not done-up, Xmas-style like you'd find at many stores, but with bikes hanging from the warehouse ceiling...

...boxed barbies...

...and a belly-baring Bratz doll on plain wire rack shelves.

Next to all the toys, the battery concession. Logical.

On to the adult toys. Games. Flat panel TVs. Too bad WalMart doesn't do that zillion-screen TV display thing that so mesmerizes me over at Sears!

A splendid assortment of fabrics for those who sew special Stuff for Christmas. Tho I was a bit taken aback by the Disney (huh?) sewing machine below. It must have built-in designs or some such. By the way, I have found that WalMart carries almost as many fabrics as the JoAnn superstore nearby.

And, of course, there's the Pink and Lavender for little Princesses department. My daughter has warned me about the rampant pink and purple problem! Ugh.

My cynical self says that the complaints about low wages and chintzy benefits at WalMart really took off after the boys from Arkansas decided to tackle the supermarket biz. Why? Because that's the one segment of retail in which the unions have been strong and wages reasonably good. Plenty of room there for the old price squeeze! My cynical self also faults critics for not admitting that in general, retail wages and benefits have always been lousy--long before old Sam Walton had his great idea of a superstore for the small towns of America.

The food selection is pretty good with certain exceptions. Note that there is no cheese packaged in Black -- the standard wrap for decently, bitingly sharp cheddar (the only kind that's worth taking space in my fridge.) Good booze to go with cheese and crackers, tho.

For the record, a look at the exchanges counter. I'm sure that it will look a lot different after Dec. 25!

And here's my basket ready for check out. Yep, way over that $100 minimum I mentioned at the beginning!

B&G Is What's for Breakfast Today

Some years ago, while breakfasting at the Skull Valley Cafe, I heard a local young woman comment about her recent trip to a Big City -- Chicago or St. Louis or some such. "I didn't see any pick-up trucks," she said, querulously, wondering what the heck was wrong with city folk.

My experience with things country and western is similar, in the opposite direction: until I moved to these parts, I had never heard of biscuits and gravy. Honest.

This despite the fact that I was an editor/writer on the biggest of the restaurant trade magazines in the country. For over 30 years. In all those years, we never ran an article that involved--or even mentioned --biscuits and gravy.

As a kid, I learned about grits when the family moved to the South. "Aren't yuh gonna eat yer grits, honey?" was the standard question in the cafes back then. And, no, I wasn't. Grits struck me as a tasteless, unnecessary side dish. Like rice. I never did eat my grits, honey.

But once I landed up in the hills here, I quickly discovered that B&G is another matter. Tasty! Especially when it is cold and you are about to climb down a little canyon as the morning's exercise. Besides, I always did like breakfast sausage.

When we moved West, my late husband, another city sophisticate, drove some of our goods west, accompanied by his son and a couple of young stalwarts. Son, who had recently been in the army, not only was a connoisseur of B&G, but knew which parts of the country offered the best. He was looking forward to Missouri, in particular.

It turns out that in the Missouri countryside, a serving of biscuits & gravy is yeti-sized -- even bigger than the standard oval plate out at the Iron Horse in Chino Valley, where I always settled for a 1/4 size bowl. Today, my little walks in the city hardly exercise me enough for a hearty breakfast of B&G, but then we might have a real winter one of these days.

It's been 30 years since we moved West and times have changed. I suspect that with the emergence of down-home chic, you can get an upscale version of B&G in any Manhattan bistro that serves meat loaf made from premium Angus beef.