QFC Grocery Basket 8/20

This is my begonia pot in August.  I think that it is beautiful, especially with the added peachy colored Verbena (I think that is what it is), but not as gorgeous as my usual pots.  I like to buy my bulbs from Costco but I didn't this year because there are like 12 bulbs in the pack and I only need three or four.  I was talking to Miss PeggyRae and we decided that we would buy a pack next year and share them so that we could both get those superior bulbs and colors.  These plants came from Hadlock Building Supply.

Now you know how Miss MoneyPenny is always on some bandwagon or another about things that she thinks are important.  And, as you know if you read this blog, "real food" is a biggie around here.  I love to garden so I grow a veggie patch for myself and to share with friends.  I want to share with you some of the ways I use my produce other than just eating it raw.

On Sunday I pulled some carrots and onions and dug around in my spud stash for these beauties.  I had a couple of meaty chicken thighs so I thought that I would roast them all for Sunday Supper.  It was crazy good and I got two meals out of it, plus extra potatoes.

I also cut a batch of chard to go with all these root veggies:

Chard is really easy to cook and very addicting.  After rinsing the chard I pull the tough stems and stack the whole mess up and run it through crosswise with a knife.  In a large skillet I heat up a pat of butter with equal amounts of olive oil.  In that I throw in a couple of smashed garlic cloves and some red pepper flakes.  I let this simmer until the garlic starts to turn brown and then remove it.  I then douse the whole thing with a couple of good dollops of sherry vinegar and then add the chard, with salt and pepper.  After stirring to get all the leaves flavored I put a lid on it.  It really cooks down fast and is ready in just a few minutes.  At that point I taste and, if needed, add more vinegar and salt and pepper.  Yum!!

You might have seen this on Facebook which is where I got this next recipe.  Basically it is a fresh and chunky tomato sauce with eggs cooked in it.  They call it Eggs in Purgatory which is very strange but I had all the ingredients except the coriander (actually I had it but it was so old it didn't smell or taste, so I threw it out) so I thought I would give it a go.

This is a picture of their eggs:

This is mine with obviously not as fresh eggs:

This was dynamite and so easy to throw together for a meatless meal.  Mine is more golden because I used a lot of Sungold cherry tomatoes.  This is the recipe and everything came from my garden.  If you want to fancy it up you could grate some cheese over it and add a dollop of sour cream.

Eggs in Purgatory
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped
1/2 small fresh hot chile, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
4 large eggs
Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
Fresh bread for serving

Directions

Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat until hot. Then stir in the onion, garlic, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, chile, coriander, and cumin. Simmer the sauce, uncovered, until the tomatoes are tender and falling apart and the sauce is slightly thickened. Make 4 divots in the sauce, and crack an egg into each. Cover the skillet, and reduce the heat to very low. Let the eggs cook, covered, until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle the dish with the cilantro and serve with the bread.

If you want to read the whole article you can go here.

Okay - let's look at the ad for this week.  Wait!! there is no add.  QFC decided that last week's ad was so wonderful that they would run it for two weeks and you can look at my suggestions here.  I didn't think it was that great but there you have it.  Maybe next week's ad will be more exciting.

This is my fearless great granddaughter's idea of riding the horsey.  Good thing her mommy and daddy have good health insurance.  She is such a little daredevil that they may need it.