Product Pick: Tessemae's Dressing

Alright. Something very good is happening in foodland right now. Within weeks of one another, two brilliant, clean, safe products have graced the shelves. Tessemae's is one of them.

One of the easiest things you can do is make your own salad dressing. It really is one of the number one most simple things to do. Yet, for years, I have taken the journey from hunting for to giving up on the perfect commercially available salad dressing. I'm all for doing something yourself, I'm all for simplicity-- but really, sometimes I just want to grab a bloody bottle of salad dressing and not worry about soybean-canola-oil-corn-syrup-sugar-and-crap within. I JUST WANT SOME SALAD DRESSING!

A gentleman named Caleb introduced me to the bottle that (finally) fits the bill. Dipped elegantly in red wax (taught to the company by Maker's Mark), the glass bottle with its popping, clean packaging contains only the finest of ingredients. There are a few varieties that shine brighter than the others-- Lemon Garlic, Balsamic, and Southwest Ranch stand out to me. For example, Southwest Ranch contains:

Olive Oil, Organic Lemons, Organic Garlic, Mustard, Sea Salt, Spices, Cracked Black Pepper

The most bizarre thing about the Ranch is how good it is and yet-- it isn't anything near the creamy-white substance we hold near and dear. Nope. It is neon orange and translucent. What? Whatever. Eat it. It would make a perfect marinade, too. I mean, I imagine all the things, dripping with this dressing. Shut up, it is an entirely reasonable image. I imagine chicken marinated in the ranch. I imagine avocado chunks tossed in the lemon-garlic. I imagine swimming in-- wait. Not that.

Please support this incredible family and their delicious, safe, healthful foods. Please please please make yourself some good things, and pour this all over it. I asked Caleb what it was that he wanted everyone to know. He responded: "We keep it real."

This might be the look that a dull salad receives before dousing.

TOPS. Winnah. On a scale of 1-10:

Ingredients: 10
Ease of use: 10
Nutrition: 9
Convenience: 10
Price: 7
Over-All: 9.2

WHY AREN'T YOU BUYING THIS ALREADY???

Product Pick: Epic Bars

For our product pic today, we have Epic Bars, a novel snack that I'd best describe as a sort of jerky-bar. Yes! A snack! A protein-filled snack without any questionable oddities inside! Absolutely delightful to have something that I can throw into my gym bag in anticipation for errand-running, or take on a hike with me, or nibble secretly in the pantry at 2:30am. What?

This comes in Turkey, Bison, and Beef. It is made with Grass-fed meat (in some form or another) and each variety has something awesome in it, like bacon, or almonds. Really. I would call them a modern version of real pemmican, but without the tallow. Because hey, we aren't literally living only off of them while trekking across the great plains. And hey-- another secret-- the turkey one is my favorite. Yeah, really. I was surprised, too. They're all EXTREMELY good, though. I can proudly hold these and strut around with them. Also, eat them.

Portable delights. I mean, just getting back to the beef-jerky goodness of dehydrated meat is an "Epic" thing. They do ring in at $2.50 each, though, so be prepared.

On a scale of 1-10:

Ingredients: 7
Ease of use: 10
Nutrition: 8
Convenience: 10
Price: 3
Over-All: 7.6

Eat your meat!

Chocolate, Tea, and Your Personal Grocery-Store Bodyguard (you can call me Betty)*

So, my friends, since we have last talked, many changes have seeped into my life like watercolors and told me that some things are going to be different. All for the better, but definitely different.

I had mentioned quite a while back that one of my goals was to be more forthcoming with who I am and what my life is, and I believe that this is a very good time. I am Shaleah, the Tea, Chocolate, and Hosewares Specialist at Whole Foods in Fairview, Texas. While I believe that mentioning your workplace specifically can be a touchy subject, I have decided that with the amount of Primal/Paleo people that I have helped at work, I would be good to do so.

I'd also like to welcome you all to my blog! There are a lot of guests from the local boxes-- CrossFit FX TX, CrossFit 380, and West Plano CrossFit.

Being the store's resident cave-chick, I have kind of an awesome opportunity. I have worked with the company for a while, coming from the Parkway store in Arlington, TX before this one, in which I was on the grocery team. I have read nearly every label in the store, and an generally quite used to what is 'safe' for our beliefs**. I would love to become your resource. Depending on what your views are-- ie: how strict, your allergies, what you love, what you hate-- I can help you find exactly what you want and what you do not. No cheese? Raw cheese, goat cheese, sheep cheese? No sugar? Pure stone-ground Mexican chocolate with only three ingredients (cough, Taza)? Chicken stock without yeast extract? Tomato sauce without sugar? Unsweetened almond milk? Macadamia-nut ''hummus''? Roasted red peppers without canola oil? It can be a dangerous and dodgy world to traverse! I'm even considering building very specific paleo-safe shopping lists that someone in a hurry can come grab or download without having to read every label.

Okay, okay-- this is not an advertisement here. I'm not here with any sort of ill-intent, nor am I a salesmen. But working where I do, I am in a position to be there for ya. Its just me extending a strong hand and telling you-- look here, you have a buddy. You have a buddy who knows stuff about stuff and you have a buddy who comes bearing chocolate and tea. I mean, if you're into that kind of thing.

Come see me at the coffee bar and we'll see what we can do!

*( first person to get the reference in the title gets a free high-five.)
** (That being said, I take pride in being able to help everyone who needs help. I can help a vegan find a chai without honey, I can help a mom find a nut allergen-free granola, I can help some guy find an interesting new beer, and I can tell someone all about our Waxahachie Local Honey.)

Foraged! Found Food (and some found links)

A few links: 

These people take food presentation and photography to an entirely different level of artistic beauty.

I made Adobong Pusit Sa Gata from 'Home Cooking Rocks' and I have GOT to reccommend it. Next I plan on making their Mushrooms, and I suggest you follow suit. This site is full of deliciousness, and is very primally workable.

Good News--- the bee hive found recently in the walls of my alma mater is being given a chance at survival! Or, at least, delayed execution. Its said to contain something like HALF THE BEES IN NORTH TEXAS.

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Foraging has always been something of a natural concept to me, and I was never one to be afraid to nibble on a leaf (or, perhaps more stupidly naively, a berry) as a kid. I LOVE the idea that we are surrounded by edible things, and there is no reason to stop at things that have been picked by someone else and 'labelled' for sale.


Eating for free is an alluring idea. Pair it with the romanticism of a whimsical stroll through a sunny field and you have created my Thursday-- and my salad. OK, maybe not really. Maybe you've just imagined my salad's accent-- scant seasoning-- whisper of--... alright, so not much. But the point isn't the AMOUNT of food-- it is that I danced (uh, stomped) through a grassy Texas field and found food!


I was told there was wild asparagus growing in a certain area by an amazing friend (Jim, the patriarch of my "Denton Family*). I made my way to where I thought he meant, found a place a few blocks away to park, and made my way over with little more than a bandana to carry my findings in and a car key. Not even my camera came. Dry yellow grass up to my knees and brush collecting in my Vibrams, I followed a kind of old path and wound around the entire property finding nothing that looked even remotely vegetable-like. The grasses I saw I knew of as different spring onions (three, actually) and I plucked a few, but wandered with growing disappointment toward the stalks that seemed to never come. Instead of taking a logical path around the back of the property (hours later), I decided to cut straight through the overgrown middle.


There amongst the grasses, in their yellow-green frailty, I saw them. How and why I spotted them as I traipzed on past, I don't know-- but there they swayed.


ASPARAGUS!


I plucked a few and left more so they could grow into something more substantial later on.


I think I'll toss them in vinaigrette and top my salmon with them.


Happy Eating!


*Bios to come later, after my Primal Birthday Revamp. TOMORROW!

Foodland Dreamworld

Merguez Sausage
Originally uploaded by CaptainShen

I've always been a little on the adventurous side of the kitchen, in comparison to most people I know. I find myself most at home in asian markets, and as such, have always had access to 'exotic' produce and exciting flavors.

Recently, however, I've been ebbing ever-so-quietly toward the vast craggy canyons of culinary dreamworld. I excitedly bought up parsley root and let it shine in Stir-Fry Day's (Dec 25th) giant stir-fry. I nibbled on Parmesan crisps-- not exotic in the least, but certainly delicious and reasonably uncommon-- and savored three types of caviar* (Yukon Gold Salmon, Golden Whitefish, and American Sturgeon) with litlte spoonfulls of crème fraiche. Into my lunchbox I have tossed, without a thought, everything from ahi sashimi nori rolls to Kabocha-Tuna Salad (made with homemade mayonnaise). Raw Cocoa nibs with coconut flakes, cinnamon, and black pepper are a regular snack for me.

I say all this not to idiotically commend myself for my uniqueness, but to highlight the fact that in this world (uh, country?) of unending pressures for ease and quickness, a person in my situation might come to realize something. Inevitably, this would go one of two ways: I would retract, snap-quick, into a swirling pit of fruit-loops and hot-dogs, never to touch a well-seasoned iron skillet or a jar of coconut oil again, or: something phenomenal would happen. I would stand in my kitchen, laugh maniacally, and sear the underbelly of wonderment on an open flame (while Super Saiyan).

The latter occurred.

But lets back up, shall we? It began this evening-- nay, December 24th, even-- when I saw two unnassuming, unfamiliar little figures lying in the glorious Whole Foods meat case. A variety of the in-house sausages... unknown to me. This cannot be. I have scoured the world for a good sausage, something without sugar and that didn't taste solely of salt and unidentifiable (unmentionable?) things. And there it sat like a humble little prince: Mergeza Lamb Sausage. Ingredients? Lamb, Paprika, Cumin, Chili, Sea Salt, Garlic, Natural Pork Casing. Mergeza...?? I did not know what this was, and that was unacceptable. I bought it (5.99 a pound.. I paid 2.40 for a single sausage! Mumble) and let it wait anxiously in my fridge for a bit.

Back to tonight. I went on my monthly trip to Super H-Mart, a large Korean market about 30 minutes from me. That isn't too far, but commuting an hour to and from work leaves you with not-so-much of an urge to drive elsewhere. When I got to H-Mart, there was a large light up sign suspended in the sky above the store, that read: "CAUTION: ALL OF YOUR HOPES AND DREAMS AWAIT*". I grabbed a cart and went inside. This is where the magic happened. I bought not many things, not individually so unique at all, but my heart went all a-flutter for each of the little treasures that I found. Into the cart went a lotus root, a banana leaf flower, powdered coconut milk, seaweed salad, very good shirataki noodles, oyster mushrooms, tomatillos, okinawan sweet potatoes, guavas, and Grey Squash (or so I thought).
I came home and fried a few thin slices of lotus root to try. Awesome. I then did some internet digging on the Mergeza sausage and found it by another name, Merguez, to be a Tunasian sausage. I prodded a bit deeper and found other dishes, such as Mechuoia and Les Ojja. I didn't make them, but I did take inspiration from their ingredients. I stir-fried garlic and slivered purple onion in a pan with red bell-peppers. I began to batonnet my Grey Squash (if you must know) and was shocked to find myself staring at what looked like a neon cucumber. I bit it. It tasted like a neon cucumber! Was it a Grey squash? Was it a Korean Cucumber, which I recalled being adjacent to the former? The world may never know. Anyhow, in went wedged tomatoes as well. Finally, to top it off, I scrambled an egg into the mix.

I had removed the Merguez sausage from the broiler by this point and sliced carefully into it, revealing the most gorgeus paprika-fire imaginable. I don't know how to describe the beauty of it, but I can tell you that I used to own white dish-towels and now I own orange dish-towels. After tasting a slice of the best sausage that I have EVER had (like some kind of mash-up of a regal chorizo and a refined corned-beef hash, taken to the next level by the complexity of lamb), I decided that a creamy slice of avocado would be a nice addition to cool it down.

How was this meal, you ask?

I mean, did you see the length of the post that it inspired?

*Despite the price (and expectation) that comes with American Sturgeon, I liked the oily burst of the Salmon the best.

*It did not actually say this. It also did not exist.

Arlington/Metroplex Market Guide (Drop a comment if you read!)

I've been working on these reviews for quite some time now, and I decided this morning to finish them up. Everything happens for a reason though, right? Wonder of wonders, as I was getting the address to my own main grocery store (Saigon Taipei), I checked their website and saw that, lo and behold, they are moving two days from now. I had no idea! I've been going there for years! What an oddity that I was just to randomly check the website that I didn't know they had. I'm excited for them-- hopefully a new place means a better place-- but I suppose this puts a stop on the bicycling to shop there that I was going to do.

Anyhow, this is a large list and I almost didn't post it yet because I wanted visitors (all one of you) to see the beautiful mussels two posts down, but alas. This is needed. Enjoy!

El'S HUGE ASIAN MARKET and JAPANESE SHOP
GUIDE AND REVIEW!
Kazy’s Gourmet
9256 Markville Dr., Dallas, TX 75243
972-235-4831
Mon-Sat 10:00am- 7:00pm Sun 11:30am- 6:00pm
[note: If you're coming off of 635, going south on Greenville, get in your left lane. It's a tiny little street that seems like its an alley of warehouses, but Kazy's is at the end.]

GO HERE FOR: Japanese, Hawaiian groceries, lunch supplies, the food counter, general groceries.
Kazy’s is a large grocery store with a good frozen section. It’s charming and the people are helpful enough—generally. Jun is a nice guy and there was a very very knowledgeable (and SO VERY nice) Hispanic girl there for a number of times I went. They have fish (I’ve never gotten them here, I go to Seabose for my fish) and pretty much anything you’re looking for. Be sure to check the back hallway, which is tucked out of sight, for bento things like sauce bottles and onigiri presses. However, the most exciting thing that I found there isn’t Japanese at all—but Hawaiian. They had Hawaiian Sun, Hawaiian salt, Aloha Shoyu, and even frozen bags of poi and sometimes ti leaves. They said just call ahead to make sure they had poi. Their food counter is great, too-- i've gone there for lunch before. So delicious :) and cheap too. I love Kazy's so much that I hav a Kazy's tshirt.
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Seabose
2760 Trinity Mills Road #102
Carrollton, TX 75006
214-483-5839
TUE-FRI 11:00-7:30, SAT 8:30-7:30, SUN 11:00-6:00
Tel: 214-483-5839, Fax: 214-483-2196
[note: this place has the teensiest sign in the world. It's next to a tanning salon in a shopping center with a 24-Hr Fitness.]

GO HERE FOR: Fish fish fish fish, Japanese, Fresh and high quality veggies, Sushi, korokke, General groceries
I love love love Seabose with all my heart. Just typing about it makes me want to go tomorrow.
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Minoya
3115 W Parker Rd
Plano, TX 75023
972-769-8346

GO HERE FOR: Japanese, things, non-food items, snacks, inexpensive stuff
This isn't a restaurant at all, but a shop. Kind of a 100 yen shop. They have various housewares, magazines, stationary and school supplies, as well as some bento stuff and dishes. They do have some food, too, like packaged cakes and snacks. There is a pretty good freezer wall in the back full of goodies. They're very nice here and usually have some kind of .15 cent candy in a bowl on the counter.
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H-Mart
2625 Old Denton Rd
Carrollton, TX
972-323-9700‎

GO HERE FOR: Everything?!
Do I really need to review H-Mart? I don't think I have time. It's huge, clean, and I'd trust it more than a run-of-the-mill American grocery store any day. They have shops inside, the best vegetable selection I've ever seen, a huge pickle-corner, fresh (WHOA amazing) fish (I still go to Seabose over them), housewares, endless rice and noodles, a great bakery right there, and anything else you want. Seriously. Appliances? Sure. An entire Lock & Lock aisle. Food court, with TAIYAKI! The handmade mango popsicle from the bakery is just to die for-- creamy, beautiful, delicious, and cheap. I go here on the way back from Denton.

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Saigon Taipei
2206 S Collins St
2430 E. Pioneer Parkway
Arlington, TX 76010
817-460-3428

GO HERE FOR: Bahn Mi, Everyday Asian Market Shopping, Common Japanese things, Cold Drinks, Vegetables, kitchen items.
This market is my main place. Cheap sandwiches when you're hungry, freshly made at the front. Boba tea and ice cream to the side. It's the best one in Arlington and it has pretty much everything I need. Their food is fresh enough and I haven't gotten anything spoiled there. I see live crawfish and crabs in the back sometimes, so if you're in need, go there. The security guard is a nice lady named Millie. I can't believe it's moving!

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Hong Kong Marketplace
2615 W Pioneer Pkwy
Grand Prairie, TX
972-988-8880‎

1816 E Pioneer Pkwy
Arlington, TX
817-265-1488‎

GO HERE FOR: Cell phone items, bulk rice, NOT quail eggs
[Arlingoton] I made the main move as a shopper to Saigon Taipei from here after I got some bad quail eggs here. I mean, really bad. But I still go here if I can't find something at Saigon Taipei or May Hao.
[Grand Prairie] This is a whole different world. It's clean, large, bright, and new. It reminds me of the Asian Market behind Joyluck BBQ in Plano, TX. Good stuff, but just far enough away so that it's not my main shopping center.
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May Hao
2525 E Arkansas Ln # 235,
Arlington, TX
817-261-8061‎

GO HERE FOR: Fresh fruits, snacks, small items
This is a good, tiny, locally owned shop. It's the best to go to for fresh fruit, I think. It's really no frills with a convenience store feel, and the owner is always there behind the counter, likely watching football. He's a really nice guy and it's a good shop. I go here if I can't find something at Saigon Taipei-- usually before I try Hong Kong Marketplace.

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(I wrote the following reviews and already posted some of them on www.justhungry.com.)

Note: On a recent roadtrip through the southeast, I found a great shortage of Japanese shops or information about them. I’m from Texas where I suppose I’ve been spoiled.
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MISSOURI
Fox Farm Whole Food
2639 E 32nd St # E
Joplin, MO 64804
417-623-3276

An odd little health food store, they have many Japanese things to choose from. A stop here is required when visiting my Hawaiian family in Oklahoma before a party. They have tako and other fish in the freezer and have inarizushi no moto, seaweed, a variety of rices (in bins that you can scoop from) and noodles, as well as fresh vegetables. And they’re honest about their veggies—if you ask for one and they don’t think its up to par, they’ll tell you and discount it. Its an interesting place… try it out.
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MISSIPPI
Little Tokyo
872 Avery Blvd. N.
Ridgeland, MS
601-977-0844

This place is an oasis in the middle of a Japanese shop void which is the southeast USA. It was small, but had exactly what we went for (mochiko, daifuku, tonkatsu sauce, and inarizushi no moto) as well as plenty of other things. They had mochi ice cream which I desperately wanted but I didn’t think it would fare too well on the road trip. They have a Restaurant two suites down which was QUITE delicious, too. Very cute shop.

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Aaaaalright, that seems to close our grocery store tour. Next up in reviews and guides, at some point: Boba.