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2003.April.18
----------------------------- Yesterday around lunchtime I was craving fresh veggies. Completely out of everything green or grown, so Mandy and I made a quick run to Treasure Island. My list was brief: produce, peanut butter, yogurt, chocolate. The essentials. I ended up buying: - 3 Braeburn apples Total: $27.97 I love Treasure Island's produce department. Most of it is fairly cheap, and the selection is great, lots of variety and plenty of stuff on the more exotic end of the scale. The Pink Lady apple was bought on a recommendation from Mikey D, left in a comment. Heirloom tomatoes! There was a small box of them sitting by the weigh station, next to a box of Ugly tomatoes. At $3.95/lb, I only bought one, but couldn't pass it up. The heirloom I bought at a farmers' market last summer was quite possibly the best tomato I've ever eaten. So today, to start my lunch, I cut it up and ate it plain, with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper. Not as amazing as summertime fruit, obviously; a little gamey at that. But still, a treat. This time I remembered to browse the peanut butter section for brands not available at my corner store. First I had to find the section, my one complaint about Treasure Island: its layout. It's arranged by country of import or influence, among other things (like the organic section). So chocolate can be found in at least six or seven different places in the store. But I've griped about this before. Anyway, the peanut butter. Add these reviews to the ongoing taste-off: - Smucker's Natural: Ingredients: peanuts, salt. That's it. Stir before eating, and rid yourself of all preconceived notions of what peanut butter should be. On first bite, I hated it, felt like I had glue mouth. But I kept trying and it grew on me. The texture was creamy, but with these little roe-like bits that I found myself enjoying. The taste wasn't overly sweet, more like hardcore peanuty. Must be refrigerated when opened. Much to my surprise, I'd buy this again. Good stuff. - Skippy Roasted Honey Nut: Why did I bother? Skippy is the grossest of the brands I've tried so far, why did I let a marketing tactic (New Flavour!) sucker me in to the purchase? The taste was tinny, not right at all. I love the honey-PB combo, but this was so artificially done that it was WRONG. And don't get me started on texture: way too stiff! Not at all lickable or creamy. I will never buy this again, and fear the jar will languish, uneaten, in the back of my cupboards till I move. The only flavoured peanut butter I ever enjoyed was Jif's chocolate peanut butter. Oh that stuff was so good, evil to keep around the house. Haven't seen it in several years though, I wonder if they still make it. Speaking of the chocolate-peanut pairing, I considered buying the semisweet Belgian chocolate sticks like last time to dip into peanut butter. But decided I wanted something darker, more bitter, which is why I went for the Lindt. However, its dark, almost fruity taste was totally wrong to match with peanut butter. I learned something today: sweeter chocolate (semisweet, I'm still not down with milk) goes better with the PB. While we were there, Amanda discovered the Atkins section, and was overjoyed, since she's on it. While the diet does not make any sense to me (whatever happened to good old exercise and moderation?), Treasure Island is the first store in Chicago that I know of to stock Atkins items. It's a recent thing too; just last month Mandy was there, frustrated by their lack of low-carb products. So, Atkins people, you now have a non-corporate hookup. I still have to say, though: the Atkins has always seemed like a bad idea to me. But I hate being told what to eat (and what not to eat), so I don't judge anyone for trying it. I just hope that all actions are taken responsibly, healthfully. * posted by j3s 2003.April.18yAh! the smuckers natural is excellent! After you posted about peanut butter last time it reminded me how much I love it - so I went out to buy some. I bought Reeses because of your recommendation. But I also wanted a regular not-so-sweet peanut butter. Previously I had bought Whole Foods (I know how you love them) natural peanut butter - but I saw the Smucker's at Treasure Island and bought it. I wish Smucker's had a cashew butter too - but I didn't see one. Have you tried the natural peanut butter that you can grind yourself at Treasure Island? I'm anticipating your jelly blog entry next! I have been buying Polaner All Fruit which is sweetened with fruit juice concentrate and is GMO free. But I also bought Smuckers Low Sugar red raspberry preserves and liked it but it has some odd ingrediants I noticed after taking it home (locust bean gum? calcium chloride? potassium sorbate preservative!?). The Polaner is pretty much natural goodness with no preservatives. :) How come every time I visit your site I get hungry... Pfffft! * posted by sEn^ april 18, 2003 04:58 pmi'll happily take over the skippy from you. i tried it, didn't mind it & my jar is cashed. makes perfect sense to me ;) hope all is well! thoroughly enjoying my nephew this weekend - man, he's getting so big so fast!! see you for 6FU. * posted by miss ellen april 19, 2003 12:22 pmSmuckers is lying when they say you have to refrigerate the peanut butter after opening. Personally, I think cold peanut butter feels gross in my mouth, so I can personally attest that the only thing that happens if you don't refrigerate natural peanut butter (or cashew, almond, etc) is that the oil separates out and you have to stir it before each use. The only reason they tell you to refrigerate it is so that the oil stays mixed in after your initial stirring. It's totally personal preference, I just wanted to let you know nothing bad will happen if you don't keep it cold. :) - Jess Sen - I didn't see the grind your own PB at Treasure Island, I'll look for it next time. As for jelly, I had to ban myself from it for a while. I collect preserves like souvenirs, and found myself with a cabinet full of jams that it's taken months to make a dent in. When the farmers' markets start up I'll probably be buying more. Ellen - Glad you like the Skippy, and that it won't be wasted. Jess - Great, thanks for letting me know! Cold PB is weird, I was wondering what would happen if I left it out. * posted by j3s april 22, 2003 02:01 pmI know this won't happen in your house, but it is possible that your peanut butter that is all natural will go rancid. Websites I found said anywhere from 6-9 months, but I think it depends on humidity and it definetly depends on light. So, keep it in your cupboard, not your window sill and you'll be fine. (all nut oils will go rancid after a while. Depending on your constitution, you probably won't get sick but you could notice an "off" taste and if its really bad, you may spend a lot of time with your Reader's Digest bathroom version.) * posted by Cinnamon april 22, 2003 03:07 pmTry removing the pb from the fridge 10 minutes before using. It is much easier to spread and won't tear up the bread. :) * posted by Bonnie january 28, 2004 11:36 amThanks for all these comments on peanut butter. They were very informative. I have been eating Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter (no added salt) everyday for lunch for a couple of years. I do not find the stirring up part to be a problem, as I have read on so many other web sites. It only takes a ~5 minutes the first time, and then I do not refrigerate it, but leave it out, and since I eat it everyday, it is gone in a few weeks. No rancidity. And the stirring usually lasts, maybe a little stirring everytime you open it, but no big deal. And it is as good as any natural peanut butter that I have bought in the health food store. But I was curious about the comment on Honey Bunches of Oats with Strawberries. Is that healthy? I assumed it was full of sugar and sodium. * posted by Terrie may 10, 2004 03:11 pmPost a comment
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