Monday, March 21, 2011

Foodie Weekend is over and all is well

Well, I managed to make it to both foodie events over the weekend and am happy I went. I saw people I haven't seen in a while and the food was good. All in all, it was a good weekend.


On Saturday, we went to Richwood for Richwood Methodist's Old Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie supper. I had already contacted a cousin in Delaware about it and she was planning to attend. She had already arrived when we got there, so we sat with Betty and her friend. 




The pot pie was good, but they should have used different side vegetables. They used frozen vegetables that still tasted like frozen vegetables. Now I use frozen vegetables myself, but I don't like the frozen taste; so I usually use them in soups or stews to alter that frozen flavor. I rarely serve them alone; but if I do, I let them cook as I would vegetables out of the garden with time and seasoning. These were not done in that manner.


photo by David Shankbone


They also Chicken Pot Pie that people know today; that is a crusted pie full of chicken and vegetables and thickened broth. That wasn't what I was there for, so I didn't take any. There was an array of salad items including cranberry orange relish and applesauce. Green salad was available, too, but there was only one dressing, Creamy Italian, and I don't eat that. I skipped the salad, but did enjoy the applesauce and cranberry relish. Of course, there was homemade dessert to be had as well as tea (hot and cold), coffee and water. Tom opted out, but I had the bread pudding.


While we were there, a woman my mother used to go to church with came in. I hadn't seen her since Mom's funeral three years back, so it was good to see her.


After leaving the supper, we went to Confession at Lady of Lourdes in Glassboro (for him) and then to Pitman to Bob's Hobbies to see if I could get stones for the bottoms of the containers for my container garden (they didn't even have any for aquariums! I opted for 12 mm plastic beads) after which we went to Queen of Peace Parish in Pitman for Mass. (It was a very nice mass. I recommend it.) From there we drove to the Deptford Mall where he ran into Boscov's to buy yet more clothing for his overstuffed closet.


Finally, we stopped at the Deptford Pathmark that lost its battle to the two Walmarts that were built on opposite sides of town with it sitting halfway between both. Picked up a couple of things, but I could tell they'd raised some of their prices to accomodate their "closeout" discounts. I have never in my life paid $1.59 for a can of refried beans at full retail. Even after a 30% discount, the price was above $1/can, which is still more than I'll pay. So, their refrieds will remain canned. I can cook my own dried beans for less (also marked up considerably from what I could see) and mash them myself. I did pick up a couple of things I thought prices were decent on, but I just don't trust "our store is closing" sales. When our local KMart closed last year, they actually put new price stickers over the old ones marked up exactly the amount that they were giving for a "closing" discount. The new prices were 30% higher than the old ones and the store-wide sale was 30% off!!! I ALWAYS compare prices and won't buy if they're not honest (or if items are not priced). I walked out of KMart without anything and told as many people as I could what their game was on my way out. I'll never understand consumer gullibility, especially in the face of such blatant dishonesty.


Then came Sunday, my son's 30th birthday. He wasn't a happy camper. He'd had to work all day Saturday when he'd wanted to go out Friday night and now he was having to get up early on Sunday after not going out again for his birthday on Saturday night. But, because Mom was doing the inviting and the paying, and because Mom wasn't going to see him again for a while once he returned to Utah, he allowed me to treat him to a rather affordable breakfast at the VFW in Mantua Twp. Mom's neighbors were there, Mike and Sandra. Mike is the current Post Commander. We got there later than planned, but they were still waiting for us. It wasn't a huge breakfast, but it was good and it was AYCE if you so chose. They had toast, French Toast, scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, bacon, sausage links, sausage gravy (yum!), tropical fruit, orange juice, apple juice, coffee and hot tea. All for $6. You can't beat that, I say. As it turned out, a high school classmate of mine was also there with her family. They come to the breakfast every month courtesy of her father who is a veteran. It was good seeing Joan again. It turned out her father had known my father because of his having been the township dispatcher during the time my father was a firefighter. Small world, really. I'd never met the man before, so it was a really nice day. On top of that, they were celebrating Joan's grandson's 9th birthday the same day, so we had two birthday boys in attendance. All in all, it was a really nice time and really good to see everyone. I hadn't seen Joan since my son was three and I hadn't seen Mike and Sandra since I moved the last of Mom's stuff out of her house following her death.


photo by kilbourne123


So, Foodie Weekend turned out to be a success and filled with friends and family as well as food. Can't beat that with a stick!

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