Day 107

Chinese Eggplant: After looking at the last few days of blog posts, I decided that it was time to start actually cooking some new foods instead of focusing on ready-to-eat items. While it's easier to look for stuff that's already prepared, it's been limiting my options as of late. Today I decided to hit Your Dekalb Farmers Market to look for some new produce I could work into a meal. I knew that I'd seen several vegetables there on past trips that I'd never eaten, so I figured I could find a few interesting ones to try this week. Different varieties of eggplant have always been something I've wanted to eat, so I picked up these Chinese hybrids today.

After I got them home, I looked online for a quick and easy recipe to try them with. I found a basic Thai-style method, which had me slicing then stir-frying with oil, garlic, fish sauce, sugar and basil. I like all those components on their own, so I hoped they would only enhance the eggplant's flavor. I did notice that it looked a little less seedy that regular eggplant, and the flesh was whiter as well. Once the eggplant was translucent after stir-frying in the oil/garlic, I added the rest of the ingredients and served. The texture was a lot like traditional eggplant, but a bit more tender than what I'm used to. I don't know if it was because of the other ingredients, but I eagerly ate all of it and then had more. Really tasty, and I'll definitely buy again.

I'm liking the idea of actually cooking more new items, so keep on the lookout for more.

Day 106

Crab Apples: Today was one of those days where I really didn't feel like making a major shopping trip for new foods, so I scrounged the produce section at the Ansley Kroger looking for anything that might be new to me. I was almost ready to give up when I noticed these crab apples displayed amongst the regular apples. Crab apples are something I've heard mentioned here and there since I was a kid, but I've never known what they were or how they compared to traditional apples. These were tiny in size, and they almost looked like a shrunken version of a red delicious. These appeared to be my only shot at new produce for today, so I threw a couple in my basket.

Before trying these, I fully expected them to be sour and not sweet. I have vague memories of eating tiny sour green apples from a tree in my backyard when I was a kid, and those weren't very appetizing. I took a bite, and was surprised - it wasn't sour at all, but sweet like a red delicious. Except for a noticeably grainier texture, it tasted really close to any other red-skinned apple I've had. I'm not really sure what crab apples are used for, and I can't imagine buying them again instead of the cheaper red delicious variety. According to Wikipedia, they're sometimes used as an ingredient in cider, but I doubt I'll be making that anytime soon.

This week is apparently gonna require more shopping for me. Stay tuned.

Day 105

Saya Snow Pea Crisps: Today's new food was an item I originally found in the snack section at Super H Mart a couple weeks ago. I haven't had time to do any shopping since before Thanksgiving weekend started, so I had to pull from my reserves. When I saw these at Super H, they seemed interesting - I like snow peas as well as dried vegetable-type snacks, so I figured they couldn't be too bad.

The last few times I've had dried vegetable snacks, I've really enjoyed them (especially the crispy dried okra sold at the BHFM). I thought these would basically be the same, but in snow pea form. Well, yes and no. This snack was definitely made from peas, but I think these were formed into a snow pea shape instead of being actual dried snow peas. The crunchy texture reminded me of Funyuns (everyone's fave convenience store faux-onion rings), and the taste was, well...pea-like. Not that tasty, but sort of a mindless snacking-type option. They weren't really any more exotic than a random bag of potato chips or crisps from the USA.

In the future, I'll definitely stick to the real dried vegetables, like the okra I love so much. Oh well, I tried.

Day 104

Trader Joe's "European Style" Yogurt: Ok, so I know this one may seem a bit conventional, but when I spied this item at Trader Joe's this week, I really didn't know what they meant by "European Style" yogurt. I've had plain yogurt and Greek yogurt, but European? I like yogurt in all forms that I've had so far, and this one was only $0.99, so it didn't hurt to give it a try.

In addition to being "European," this one was also mocha flavored. Nothing really new, but I was more curious about how different the texture of this one would be. I opened it and gave it a quick stir, and it had a noticeably thin texture, much like Greek yogurt. I took a bite, and it almost reminded me of Jell-O pudding, but a bit thinner. The texture was smooth and creamy, but with a faintly tangy aftertaste like Greek yogurt. The mocha flavoring was also tasty - I like anything coffee flavored, so I knew that element wouldn't disappoint.

If you're looking for a healthier dessert alternative, check this one out at TJ's. Not an earthshaking new find for me, but I'm glad I tried anyway.

Day 103

Pomegranate: Today's post is another find from my pre-holiday Trader Joe's shopping trip. I know it's probably hard to believe, but I've never had the ubiquitous pomegranate in raw form. I've heard that there wasn't much to them, mostly seeds and a little bit of fruit, but I figured it was time to try one. TJ's had a plentiful supply of them for an inexpensive price, so I threw one in my basket to take home.

When I was preparing to eat it today at my parents' house, my dad advised me to roll it on the kitchen counter top to "break open" the juicy membranes surrounding the seeds, then puncture the skin so I could sip the juice out with a straw. He advised against eating the seeds, and said they were extremely bitter. I trusted his judgment, but I wanted to cut it open to see what I was dealing with. After slicing it in half, I noticed that it was almost entirely seeds, with some dark red pulp surrounding each one. I scooped out a couple and tried them, and my dad was right - they were bitter and not flavorful, but the pulp was sweet and tasty. I grabbed a bowl and decided to squeeze the rest of each half like any other fruit to get the juice out. What resulted was a couple ounces of the blood-red liquid, which I drank from the bowl. It was really good - almost like a sweeter, thinner, less pulpy orange juice.

I'd definitely eat pomegranate again, but I may stick to just buying the juice in its pure form to save on the waste.

Day 102

Oyster Stuffing: I didnt expect to be surprised with a new food as a result of my parents' Thanksgiving menu, but tonight I was. When my dad told me earlier today that he was making oyster stuffing, I was intrigued. I remember it being served at various family holidays when I was a kid, but it always sounded repulsive. I didn't even know what was in it, but oysters didn't sound like something that belonged in stuffing. Of course, now I'll eat anything, so I was eager to try it for the first time.

I'm sure all my readers know what traditional stuffing is, so I'll spare the rundown of ingredients. This version contains the addition of raw oysters in the mix, which is ultimately baked in the oven till the whole thing solidifies and the oysters are cooked. The oysters my parents bought weren't fresh out of the shell, but pre-packaged in a small plastic container. Upon trying, I noticed that the flavor wasn't that different from normal stuffing, but I thought the oysters added a nice, savory contrast to the stuffing mix. When I was a kid, I expected it to taste fishy and weird, but it didn't at all. I love oysters any way I can eat them, so I really enjoyed this variation on traditional stuffing. Good stuff.

Interestingly, my mom really doesnt like the oyster version, but loves it without. To each his own, right?

Day 101

Curried Lentils: Like many of you this week, I hit the road to spend some time with the family for Thanksgiving. My parents are currently in a small town in SC, so I brought some blog-worthy foods with me just to be safe. Before I left town, I hit Trader Joe's in Atlanta for some last minute provisions, and today's entry was a great new food find for me. I have very little experience with anything Indian, and I'd heard good things about TJ's line of frozen Indian foods. I picked up a package of these curried lentils w/rice to have for lunch today, and I was pretty happy with the results.

Obviously these were frozen, and they were packaged in a plastic film-covered container with the lentils separated from the cumin-flavored rice. I heated them up in the microwave, then poured the lentils over the rice in a separate bowl. I took a bite of both, and they were really tasty - almost like a spicier, curry-flavored black bean soup. It was a hearty dish, and the portion size was perfect for lunch. I don't know much about lentils, but the texture reminded me of a cross between black beans and chickpeas. Apparently they're extremely nutritious as well, so I definitely won't mind eating these again.

If anyone has any recommendations for authentic Indian fare in ATL, please let me know. This TJ's version was good, but I really need to try the real thing soon.