Category: Stuff

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog and today it is Cathy’s turn.  Kirk is busy.

Hi again. Hope you day has been going well. Fresh & Easy has come to Southern California, and the one closest to our home has (finally) opened, so I thought I’d show and tell what our sort of "average" purchase is in a quick post..

For those who don’t know, Fresh & Easy is a mini grocery store concept, brought here by Tesco, the third largest retailer in the world, British based  (Wal-Mart and Carrefour in France are #1 and #2) international grocery and general merchandising retail chain. 

The products in the store are not from Britain, per se, but this one item I look for that seems to be sold out rather rapidly.

The "british-brand" uncured back bacon. ( no nitrates added except for naturally occurring nitrates in sea salt and celery juice) It is hand trimmed and hickory smoked.$5.59 a pound and *wonderful* stuff. The slices are not at all uniform- some thin and some thick, but I don’t cook a lot at once, so can keep an eye on the bacon in the pan.

Other items we buy on a sort of "regular shopping trip include:

Jewish Rye bread ($1.77)-this is thick cut, light(not dense) and has a hearty rye flavor.  A pack of four cheese Danish ($3.59), light and crispy, buttery crust with a not too sweet, creamy filling. Smoked Polish kielbasa ($2.49) a one pound ring of not bad-but not like I grew up with- garlic-y kielbasa is a staple in our fridge …OH and that pint of Roasted banana gelato for $2.98 is my personal new addiction- it is pretty much Bananas Foster in cream form.  Every flavor- butter and burned brown sugar- is there along with a wonderful, non-artificial banana flavor. I can’t wait for summer so I can maybe try other flavors, or just keep getting this stuff.

I also like the freeze dried banana/blueberry/raspberry mix ($2.50 for a 44g bag).  This is a wonderful snack or add in to plain yogurt, or on top of salads and costs almost double when sold under other brand names in regular grocery stores.  Freeze dried-light and airy crisp-not a hard and crunchy crispness-wonderful!  The 24 ounce bag of carrots is only $1.03 and the 16 ounce low fat cottage cheese is $2.28, a good price in Southern California nowadays, where dairy prices have gone insane.

I don’t usually like orange juice from concentrate, but for $2.19, I tried it this time.  It is not bad at all. The Greek yogurt (honey flavor and fig flavor) at $1.18 each, are a great deal.  This time we bought the regular hot dog buns ($1.19) and a jar of sauerkraut (99¢) because we have some good skinned wieners at home that I think will be tomorrow’s lunch.  The hot dog buns feel not soft, but the expiration date is about 5 days away- they were the freshest marked bread product there, so I am going to toast and butter the buns before eating and see how that works out.  I think it will be dense but fresh bread…unlike the 99¢ generic hot dog buns sold in regular grocery stores. 

Oh, the Huntsman Cheese is only $10.48/lb and one of my favorite treats, along with cured, dried meats, which we did not buy this time. 

The store is known for its concept of having foods that are easy to prepare or eat (hence the name) and the refrigerated section is quite large.  Sandwiches, salads, side dishes are not expensive and rather interesting.  I just like to cook, so I only have purchased occasional of those items, when I am in a hurry.  The lasagna is particularly good and, as I recall, $3.99 for a one pound serving. 

As well as easy to eat and prepare items (make your own shrimp and salmon skewers- with sauce and a tomato on each of the 4 skewers -$5.99 for 13 ounces) (boneless skinless chicken breasts ready to bake with bell peppers, cream cheese and butter sauce for $7.99/lb), there are also other grocery items, like whole chicken legs for 79¢ a pound (they are 99¢ a pound at Costco) and 5 or 6 types of ground beef , including Angus (th 80/20 ground beef is $2.59).   There are breakfast cereals, pancake mixes, syrups and baking goods, canned tuna, soups, oils and vinegars, both in popular brands and (about half the store is) Fresh and Easy brand.  They sell plenty of Indian curry items, both fresh and frozen items (a 24 ounce frozen Mac and Cheese is $2.99) and some regular grocery store items, such as pet food, baby needs, cleaning items and drug store sundries, although not a full selection.  Kind of a few notches above 7-11 in convenience and fanciness for those quick stops on the way home after a busy day.

It is an easy one stop shop, where you scan and bag it yourself.  There are no sales: just everyday low prices.  {They did have Whitman Chcolate 2 pound heart shaped boxes for $1.67 sold at the cash registers after Valentine’s Day, so I assume the prices were higher within the store prior to the holiday, but there are no sale flyers or things like that. } I do like it here and can do some regular, as well as some fancy shopping here. Addendum:  The "fresh" items are marked down to half price after about 3 p.m daily (Including the flowers).  The end unit you first hit when walking in the door has mark downs anyhow, but the half price stickers are fairly obvious on the items in the regular bins.    There are no ‘weekly specials’ per se.

www.freshandeasy.com

mmm-yoso.  A blog about food.  Mostly, written by a Kirk and occasionally some friends.  Today, an occasional day and Cathy is blogging.

Hello, Cathy again. So…..My dear friend, Ms. T., has been able to acquire invitations to the two annual "Events" that Nordstrom Stores hold for "special" customers..one in the Spring, just before Mother’s Day and one in the Winter, just after Thanksgiving but before Hanukkah and Christmas.(For those who don’t know, Nordstrom is a more upscale store selling mostly clothing and accessories for men, women and children.)

These events happen at 7:30 in the evening and a particular store is closed down, candles are lit, alcoholic beverages are brought out, caterers brought in and the Store Employees greet you by applauding down either side of the main aisle when you walk in… and there are small gifts with purchase, double points given when you use the Nordstrom Credit Card to pay for your purchases and a few giveaways here and there that ‘regular’ shoppers may not get to take advantage of. (OK, lets get real here: you get invited because you have indeed charged more than X dollars at Nordstrom throughout the year and they reward you this way-just before some major holidays, when you are likely to be spending money anyhow…).

Yep, I bypassed the beer and wine and went straight for a Cosmopolitan. Let’s just say the vodka hit me as I was paying for my first (and actually only) purchase of the night.  A strong mixed drink.  I could feel a blush on my cheeks and up to my ears…A nice touch is the stem removed from the maraschino cherry-less for others to have to clean up. {Note: I was very sober before I left to drive home}
Pasta with peas in a vodka marinara sauce. (Let’s keep that vodka theme going, people!) served in red Chinese take out boxes. A very nice flavored sauce, more just tomatoes, which I like. The peas were still firm and tasty.
Baby new potatoes, stuffed with an artichoke filling. Even though small, these packed some great flavors; I could taste the potato and then the saltiness of the artichoke puree. Interesting and in the small bite, just the right amounts of each. I am unsure if I could do this with ‘regular’ sized new potatoes.
Basil chicken salad in a pocket. Not a pesto sauce, but basil and a touch of mayonnaise and pecans and quite a bit of white meat chicken. Wrapped in a wonton skin and tied with a piece of chive. This was a three bite appetizer; a good size.
Corn and black beans in a lime chipotle dressing which Nordstrom sells and offers in their Cafe. Topped with a piece of avocado and a corn chip. The idea was to sell the dressing. This was quite refreshing.
Small mixed green salad, topped with the Nordstrom Brand champagne vinaigrette. Very nice.
A Prosciutto wrapped fresh fig, stuffed with goat cheese that had a bit of chive in it. Wow. The sugar from the fresh fig, and saltiness of the Prosciutto and cheese…perfect combination. Perfect. If I can buy a lot of the proper sized and aged figs, I will do this at home.
There, of course, is a coffee bar…but you know, a Nordstrom in store-for-special-clients coffee bar…self serve.
The only "sweet" I got- hot apple cider. They also had some very thin, densely cocoa flavored brownies, maybe one inch square, that I didn’t care to try. Ms. T said it was good, though.
and, so, we left…Christmas gifts in tow…a very nice experience with some fun treats and ideas to try for at home.