Yet Another Food Posting…

Let’s face it… With the pandemic, even though we’re just eating 2 meals a day, food and its consumption is a notable event every day.  Not so much for Laurie but definitely for me!

We actually went to a local coffee shop the other day.  Our old 2005 Avalon had a tire with a nail in it so we took it to Matlock Tire Service and Tire Repair in Lenoir City Tennessee.  Apparently everyone else in town had issues as well.  We were told that there would be quite a delay before they’d get to my car…so Laurie and I headed out for coffee and a snack. She'd followed me in her car to the tire place.

Ugly Mug in Lenoir City is one of 3 in operation across Tennessee.  Other stores are in Nashville and Memphis.  All of Ugly Mug’s coffee blends include between 10% and 100% Fair Trade coffee beans.  Roasting is done in Memphis.  Nothing goes to waste…by products from the grinding process are used as mulch or fertilizer and the burlap bags are used for moisture retention and weed control in gardens.  They even have a contract with some immigrants from Burundi who make purses from the sacks, selling them on line or in-store.

We hadn’t had breakfast so I was happy to see that our local Ugly Mug served pastries, breakfast sandwiches and lunch items as well!  Laurie had a slice of Lemon Pound Cake and I had a breakfast sandwich…Texas toast with egg, bacon and cheese.  She loved her pound cake but my sandwich was pretty average.  The coffee was excellent!  

(FYI, the tables were well spaced with an outdoor option available and the staff all wore masks...a must for us these days.  No masks on the staff in any restaurant and we don't patronize it!)

Ugly Mug in Lenoir City Tennessee is located at 108 ‘B’ Street, right off of Broadway/US 11/Lee Highway.  Phone: 865-816-6355.  They are on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/UglyMugLenoirCity/.

Another day at home and another test of a prepared frozen food item.  In this case, on impulse I bought a box of Sea Pak frozen Budweiser Beer Battered Shrimp with tangy citrus sauce for dipping.   

Sea Pak offers at least 24 different products although most (about 21) do involve different styles of shrimp preparation.  Other offerings include battered calamari, beer battered cod and breaded clam strips…

There were plenty of shrimp in the box…16 in all.  There were enough of them that this ‘appetizer’ ended up being most of our dinner one evening.  The problem was that it was all about the batter…and although the shrimp were decent sized, they were lost in the breading.  I would try the cod the next time though…

FYI…I ended up using the tangy citrus sauce as jam with peanut butter on toast.  Waste not, want not!

To view the range of products available from Sea Pak, you can just go to https://seapak.com/.

Remember that Vienna Beef Italian Style (Spicy) Sliced Beef and Gravy that I’d received as a birthday gift?  Well, there was 2 lbs. of sliced beef and there was no way we could have eaten it all in one sitting.  So one morning I heated up the remainder of this goodness…and piled it on top of a nice bun.  Given the spicy Italian seasoning, I decided that over-easy eggs wouldn’t be the best idea.  I didn’t have the nerve to give it a try.  It was still a great breakfast though!

Yes…sometimes we do eat relatively healthy.  This was my plate just showing off my nice portion of salmon one evening.  It came from a box containing 6 pre-seasoned and frozen salmon filets.  Thaw overnight and then follow the instructions.  I didn’t get the brand name but it was a Costco purchase.

Squash is heathy isn’t it?  This bowl of goodness originated with a large butternut squash that Laurie baked…with pepper, butter and brown sugar!  When it was done in the oven, she scooped it out and added a tad more butter and brown sugar.  Still healthy?  It was damned good!

Now this was Laurie’s dinner plate complete with her salmon filet, lemon and a nice serving of that tasty squash.  The problem is that there was a lot of squash and it didn’t sound too good as a leftover… So, with relatively little assistance from Laurie, I ‘had’ to finish off the rest of that big bowl of squash!

Some time ago Laurie had prepared Chicken Florentine.  Like many other prepared meals, we added our own extras, enhancing the final product.  In this case, Laurie started with a bag of Bertolli frozen Chicken Florentine…then added a container of fresh spinach, extra chicken (from leftovers), red pepper flakes, black pepper and a bit more Alfredo sauce…and voila…dinner!

It makes too much food for us to consume at one sitting so once again, I ‘had to’ deal with leftovers.  For breakfast one morning I heated up the remaining  Chicken Florentine in a frying pan with a bit of butter and parmesan.

Then of course, I fried up a couple of easy-over eggs and topped the whole thing with Tabasco!  It was a great breakfast…the yolks working very nicely with the Alfredo sauce, chicken and spinach.  It was a good start to my day!

That’s it for now.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit in these challenging times!

Stay Safe and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave