Pierogies!!
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In Vacaville, sort of to the left of the cheese display. We don’t have TJ’s or Whole Foods here, although I’ve been in a few. How do you think they compare? Is it a boutique? I like it for “treats” and husband does the weekly shopping there, but I usually go to Lucky’s for the “hidden gems”.
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I thought TJs only carried the chicken liver (truffle) pate these days - they either discontinued the other one a while ago or I haven’t seen it at my store in a long time (unless maybe it’s “seasonal.”)
This is the one they have near me:
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I’m near their original store often… I like their sausages but not so much the pates in tube form - just a different style / flavor profile (German rather than French).
I enjoyed shopping at the Nugget when visiting DD1 in Davis/Sacto; to me, at least, I’d call it a small chain “upscale” supermarket (as much as I don’t really like the word upscale” - maybe “foodie” supermarket, but I dislike that term also. The word boutique seems to imply a smaller type specialty market. “Unique” may work, but not quite as explanatory - the Nugget is where to go for a one stop shop if you’re having a dinner party, trying out specialty recipes, or if you’re short on time.
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I agree with all of that, and you know where they source their food and have great, responsible choices, but they are not as …diverse as some of the other stores around here. My favorite example is they have pork loin, but no pork shoulder.
ETA, I went there for “chap stick” today, and they must have had 100 options in two sections; natural, and I guess unnatural.
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Yes, you would know that much better than me, since you’re a hunter-gatherer of the highest order! That is odd about no pork shoulder too - that’s pretty basic, and oh sooo good…
ETA - yes I remember the natural aisle for all the body lotions, potions, soaps and all that, it was almost overwhelming! Lots of unnatural stuff too haha, but in different parts of the store…
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That’s a high compliment coming from you! Thanks. I’m trying to cook a minim of 1-2 vegetarian/flexitarian meals per week. So I’ll have to keep getting creative.
I’ll try to remember your words the next time the kiddo tells me, “I hate it!”
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Tonight I made Melissa Clark’s potato-cheddar soup with lime-pickled jalapeños. I made quite a few changes: subbed evaporated milk for some of the half and half and chicken broth for vegetable, swapped chili flake for the powder, added 8 oz. diced ham, thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley, and bay leaves, and a few cubes of Velveeta to keep the cheddar emulsified. I did not puree it. It was good! The pickled jalapeños lent a welcome acidic pop. Served with homemade croutons and a bagged slaw.
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Street tacos (inspired by the halibut thread and @bbqboy’s suggestion), grilled halibut, red cabbage, mango salsa, lime crema and a squeeze of lime. A little sliced avocado. They were so good, I ate more than what was plated. Muchos T&Ts. I made a small apple/pear crisp today, so that will be dessert. Maybe.
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Just got off a very long and draining zoom meeting… dinner is going to be late.
Don’t think I’m going to get around to figuring out what to do with the “wagyu butter round steak” I bought on sale (ideas welcome over here if you know what it is - or what I should do with it!)
I did eat some tomatoes and mozzarella (with video off) because I was utterly starving. Tomato was deceptively delicious - it felt underripe, but was just perfect. And some castelvetrano olives on the side, also from my grocery run just prior.
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Last night, I had a redo of Hainanese chicken and rice (actually rice+quinoa). Might need to concentrate the broth a bit further, because I used bone-in breasts and so they were poached less than the thighs last time (I did put the skin & bones back into the broth & let that go longer).
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Was a bit off for a few days, and craving mom food, which I did end up making myself.
One night, after a critical evening nap, I woke up craving puris - so a whole meal centered around puris was made in an hour. Potatoes, kadhi (in place of dal, but yogurt-based), shrikhand (cardamom-saffron hung curd/yogurt)
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Another night, I wanted chapatis, so I made a few - why not, it’s not actually hard (for me - when I’m not being lazy). The rest of the meal was leftovers, though, so that balanced out. Lamb, green beans, chickpea paste.
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There was also an evening of tacos at some point - I made some chorizo & potato (flour) tacos before heading to meet friends for a drink (they eat terribly late and so I need sustenance before any scheduled meals with them) - and they coincidentally ordered in tacos for dinner later too. The chorizo+potato combination is always delicious - even though I used Spanish chorizo in Mexican tacos, because I have too much of it in the freezer 
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Great visual!
No meat!
But seriously - they look delicious. I stood and stared longingly at the pierogis at Whole foods yesterday…
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That’s what the one I buy looks like! I haven’t got it in awhile. Is it possible that I never looked about it being made with chicken, or perhaps there is a different version with pork? I don’t know and know I’m flummoxed. Well, I’ll have to check it out next time I go to the store.
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It was a dark and stormy day. Windy, rainy, perfect for stroganoff. Why should beef and mushroom never be your password? Because it’s not stroganoff. 
I also happened to have ALOT of mushrooms, and this dish made use of them all. We have a wonderful garden shack nearby that is open March through Sept each year, or seeds/compost to kale/squash. I was there a couple days before it closed for the season, and got to talking with a longtime employee. As we talked, I put mushroom after mushroom after mushroom in a bag, not really paying attention, until the entire thing (brown sack) was full. What a nice lady 
What a lot of mushrooms!
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Long ago they used to have a non-truffle pate plus this one. Maybe that had foie gras in it, which would be one explanation for its eventual discontinuation (CA etc).
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I’m sure the one I’ve bought was a truffle pate, so it may’ve been chicken and not duck or goose liver all along. I did not realize my senior moments were starting to blend into a senior phase!
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Thanks!
Want.
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Nah. I have willful blindness/forgetfulness for many of their indulgent items - maybe you do something similar 
