Self-Service Cash Registers: Pros and Cons

At recent visits to Kroger, Giant Eagle, Wal-Mart and other stores to do grocery shopping, I've noticed that most companies are the making the shift towards self-checkout.

While convenient at times, I miss the interactions I've had with my favorite cashiers, talking about the weather, how my family and students are doing, and a range of other topics.

One student in one of my classes noted that employment is challenging in many areas at this time, and self-checkout isn't just being done to save a company money, which is a great point.

I think that stores need to balance self-checkout with full-service checkout to ensure that all shoppers have a great experience.

Vital Farms: Breaking Down the Barriers between Farmers and the Food We Eat

In many factory farming operations, food producers don't want us to know how our food is produced.  They make every effort to conceal how the the animals they raise live.  One farm that is breaking down this barrier is Vital Farms, and an innovative strategy they're using is allowing individuals to see how farm animals live.

Below is a link to one Vital Farms chicken farm in which chickens live a happy and healthy life while producing eggs that go to tables across the country.

https://vitalfarms.com/farm/hillshollers/

Chef and Humanitarian: Jose Andres

Chef and humanitarian Jose Andres is changing the world yet again through food.  After his amazing work in Puerto Rico in 2017, he's now feeding many people in Ukraine.  His beautiful words are that "You can fight in many ways, and some people fight by making sure people are fed."

A video of Andres at work can be found below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk6ljspjOJA

Also, if you're in the Washington DC area, a wonderful restaurant owned by Andres is Zaytinya:

https://www.zaytinya.com/

Expresso Air Coffee Terminal: Delicious Coffee and Desserts in Westerville

While grading papers in Westerville, I stopped into the Expresso Air Coffee Terminal for coffee and a delicious piece of baklava.

I was advised that Turkish Baklava uses lemon juice and sugar for flavoring and it was delicious with a cup of strong coffee.

It's a must try!

https://www.espressoair.com/

School Lunch!

While teaching at a Worthington, Ohio high school yesterday, I realized I had forgotten my lunch and stopped by the cafeteria for a delicious and cost effective dining option.

The meal was very different from what I remember when I was in high school: and included a lot of fresh veggies and other light and healthy ingredients.

This General Tso's Chicken was a mere $3.75 and was DELICIOUS!

Amish Country Ohio's Colorful Cookery

While visiting Ohio's Amish Country, my wife Lindsay, son Finley and I visited The Colorful Cookery based on a tip Lindsay read online.

The pizza and bubble waffles were AMAZING!  The pizza crust was light, crispy and delicious and the bubble waffle we tried was loaded with delicious ice cream, chocolate and peanut butter sauce, and an array of tasty toppings.

If visiting or passing through Berlin, Ohio, don't forget to stop at The Colorful Cookery!

https://www.facebook.com/colorfulcookery/

Power Bowl

What do you make when all you have on hand are some chic peas, onions, corn, oil, and spices.  A power bowl of course! The chick peas provide protein, onion and corn texture and flavor, and spices a delicious kick.

Start by cooking some onions in a cast iron pan, then add your remaining ingredients to cook for a few more minutes.  If you'd like, you could also add an egg for extra protein.

Quick and Easy Homemade Pretzels

Making pretzels at home can seem like a daunting task, but the below recipe makes the process simple with outstanding results.

My pretzels didn't look amazing, but their flavor rivaled any pretzel from a professional bakery or mall chain.  Please see the attached link for the recipe:

https://thismomcooks.com/2022/02/04/amish-soft-pretzels/

Chinese New Year

 Chinese New Year is a time of celebration and anticipation of the excitement of the coming year.  This year, despite snow on the ground, I fired up the grill to prepare chicken and pork.

After grilling I sliced the chicken and tossed in a skillet with soy sauce, sugar, ginger, and sesame oil.

I removed the pork from the skewers I cooked it on and added peanut sauce and honey roasted peanuts.

With a pot of brown rice and some pre-made dumplings, the feast was complete!

Peeps: An Amazing Tradition for Any Time of Year

What is a Pennsylvania steel town to do when its major industry and source of revenue begins to wane?  Invent a creative marshmallow confection and market it for any time of year of course!
I was first introduced to Peeps (link to company website here), a wonderful treat still made in Bethlehem, PA, by my mother as a child.  Every Easter several boxes of the cute little marshmallow chicks extruded from a machine and dusted in yellow sugar would rest in my sister and my Easter baskets.  They were delicious as is or plopped in a cup of hot chocolate.
Today, Peeps come in all shapes and are marketed to excited connoiseurs for any time of year. 
While doing some holiday shopping I found a new wonderful treat: Gingerbread Peeps.  Excited to try a box, I took them home to sample.

On a plate and microwaved for 5-7 seconds, they are absolutely wonderful.  A distinct flavor reminiscent of pumpkin spice combines with the molten marshmallow for a heavenly combination.  Have a wonderful start to the holiday season and don't forget to pick up a few holiday Peeps to enjoy!
-The Food Pope

Fruitcake: A Wonderful Holiday Tradition

As we rapidly approach the holidays, I enjoy sampling the range of wonderful flavors associated with the season.  One unique delicacy that I didn't like for the majority of my childhood is fruitcake.  While perusing the holiday aisle at Wally World last week, I found a small section that contained Claxton Fruitcake (link to company website here).  I had never tried one before, and was curious if the $2.69 would be money well spent.  It certainly was!

Rich pieces of candied fruit adorn a lovely mixture containing pecans, walnuts, and what appears to be fairly traditional bread dough.  If you're looking for a unique treat to enjoy this holiday season, I'd recommend seeking out a tasty fruitcake that combines the flavors of yesteryear.  You might just find that your tastebuds take a trip back to a simpler time when fruitcake was a rich and flavorful delicacy containing all manner of wonderful hard-to-find ingredients that are commonplace in modern times.  Even if they don't, a slice of fruitcake is absolutely divine with a strong cup of coffee or tea.

Peace, Love and Little Donuts

What more decadent dessert could a person enjoy than a selection of delicious hand-topped donuts from Peace, Love and Little Donuts in Worthington, Ohio?  Donuts seem to capture all of the cravings we have for a sweet, filling, and calorie-laden treat that so many of use enjoy as a great "sometime food."

After getting his haircut, Finley is ready to dive into a selection of donuts that he helped choose from.  The look on his face matches mine when I'm ready to enjoy a great donut!

To check out the Peace, Love and Little Donuts website, click here

All Hail the Heel

The lowly bread heel is looked down upon by many.  The often thick crust turns many off, but to this foodie a bread heel sandwich is simply divine.  Why waste the end of a perfectly good loaf of bread when one could enjoy all the chewy, flavorful goodness all to oneself?

On my busy commute between Marysville Early College High School and Columbus State Community College on Wednesday, I took a brief moment to enjoy a wonderful bread heel sandwich with a thick layer of extra crunchy peanut butter.  My inexpensive but satisfying meal hit the spot during my busy day.

Typhoo for You and Typhoo for Me!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit World Market and browse their interesting array of international cuisines and beverages.  I was delighted to discover that Typhoo tea was available for sale for a mere $5.99 for 100 teabags.  This bold, bracing tea is a wonderful way to start the day and prepare for a range of mental and physical tasks in the day ahead.

Check out the Typhoo website at:
Typhoo Tea 

Food on a Board

The age-old concept of enjoying food on a board is one that can easily be reproduced at home.  Whether you enjoy a smorgasbord that combines a selection of meats, cheeses, and bread or a range of other foods on a board, the concept is simple to do.  Think of the types of foods that you enjoy, and imagine ways that they could be presented artistically and in a palate-pleasing way.  Find an old cutting board or consider purchasing an inexpensive one from a kitchen or food service vendor.  IKEA sells some simple and reasonably-priced boards that would be wonderful to serve appetizers or other small foods on https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80305422/

The above board is one I assembled with an array of my favorite breakfast treats: scrambled eggs, hash browns, croissants filled with Nutella, and freshly-brewed tea and coffee.  Enjoy the experience of assembling and eating your food board, and as always, stay healthy and happy!

-The Food Pope

Fearless Fusion: Middle Eastern Pizza

Fusion cuisine is taking the world by storm.  The ingredients, flavors, food culture, and presentation style of the foods of very different cultures can be exciting and delicious when combined together.

Looking for a way to create a new dish that honors some of my favorite food cultures, the below Middle Eastern pizza adorned my dinner plate last night.  I started with a Mexican flour tortilla.  This simple "crust" is readily available at many stores and I chose to go with the larger, burrito size.  In classic Italian style, I proceeded to build a pizza on the tortilla, choosing to forgo tomato sauce and instead use hummus.  The Cedars brand hummus that I used spread very well the flavor didn't overpower the finished pizza.

I added green peppers, artichokes, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, and baked for 9 minutes at 350 degrees.  The finished pizza was light, tasty, and delicious when sprinkled with a bit of cumin.

When trying new flavors and meals in your kitchen, be fearless and embrace a fusion of different flavors!

 

Hello Fresh: Food Pope Review

Hello Fresh is currently in the midst of a big marketing campaign to get individuals interested in trying some selections from their menu.  While at the mall, I signed up for an offer to get 2 meals for $10.97.  I thought that the price couldn't be beat, so I signed up and a week later the two meals for two were at our doorstep.

Pros:

• You have everything you need, with the exception of a few ingredients that most individuals will likely already have on hand (such as oil or salt and pepper).

• Foodies can adjust or modify the meal to their liking, creating a dish that is tailored to individual taste.

• The food is really good quality.

Cons:

• There is quite a bit of waste in the packaging.  While many things are recyclable or reusable (for example, I saved one of the freezer packs to use on future shopping trips and recycled one), there is still a fair amount of waste with each order.

Final Review:  Highly Recommended!

All Hail the Unhealthy Pop Tart

What should I buy, I ask myself as I gaze through the plexiglass shield separating me from an array of snacks.
A thermos of hot tea has accompanied me on this trip to the library, but neither woman nor man can live on tea alone.
Roasted almonds beckon me . . .
A granola bar calls for my attention . . .
A chocolate bar yearns for my selection . . .
But no, what I seek is located in section D8

After inserting a dollar, I carefully push the buttons cause a motor to move you forward,
Dropping to the machine's bottom.

The heavenly confection below has has a shelf life of a year, rather than days,
Thanks to the range of preservatives within it.

Sugar, gluten, chemicals, cinnamon, and artificial flavors combine to create this wonderful snack which,
When combined with a cup of hot tea.

Is nothing short of Heaven.

Improving Our Nation's Food Literacy

The next big movement in food will consist of improving our food literacy.  My prediction is that this movement will consist of three distinct initiatives that will make us wiser, more ethically sound, and less wasteful consumers.  These initiatives will ideally consist of:

• Improved understanding of how to cook a range of healthy foods at home.  Ideally, this will be integrated into a middle and high school curriculum so that individuals leave secondary school with a basic understanding of how to cook for themselves.
• Improved understanding of how to read food labels.  This will ensure that consumers are able to choose foods that fit within a healthy, balanced diet.
• Understanding of how to minimize food waste.  This will consist of such skills as how to preserve foods to prevent premature spoilage, how to integrate available ingredients into a range of dishes before they go bad, and how to shop and acquire food that has minimal packaging that will eventually be bound for a landfill. 

 In some cases, these initiatives are already in place.  The popular children's television show Sesame Street has a segment titled "Monster Foodies" that features Cookie Monster and his food-truck colleague Gonger prepare a range of foods.  In the below link, viewers can watch the fur-covered duo visit a cranberry bog to learn how cranberries are harvested for the cranberry muffins Cookie Monster and Gonger bake for a customer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjO6WxENdKQ 

Teaching children about where our food comes from at an early age will guide us towards a great era of culinary enlightenment.  Building these skills into adulthood will lead mankind towards greater health and happiness in the years to come.

Stir Fried Vegetables

One of my favorite foods by far has to be stir fried vegetables with General Tso's sauce.  The crispness of freshly-stir fried vegetables, salty/spiciness of General Tso's sauce, and the lower calories than General Tso's Chicken make it a hit in my household.

For the below dish, I started with baby bok choy, a hot wok, and 2 Tbs of sesame oil.  Heat the oil and add the stalks of the bok choy first.  Cook over medium-high heat until the stalks are tender.

Add the leaves last, as they won't take long to cook.  Scoop your stir fry in a bowl and cover with General Tso's sauce.  Stir quickly and enjoy!

Notes: This recipe works well with broccoli, string beans, eggplant, and a range of other healthy veggies.