It's the middle of summer today, so you can either say summer is half over or we still have half of summer left. That's the power of mediocre thinking.
I am going to deviate from Aldi today. Actually, my Aldi is becoming too scary to shop at and I am too lazy to drive 9 miles to one in a retirement community. My choices for Aldi seem to be risking my life or getting rammed in the back with a shopping cart by an elderly person asserting their independence. I am partial to the life-risking because those people are damn interesting. Yesterday, I listened to two women shouting at each other from across the store - one would be in aisle 1 while the other was in aisle 4, or one would be in the front of the store, while the other was in back. It went on for a good 10 minutes and was entertaining. The man who reeked of urine was not.
So, Aldi has a sibling rival. He is Trader Joe. It's a cool story, you should google it sometime. Anyway, Trader Joe must be the pot smoker in the family, because once you walk in the store, you are greeted with fresh flowers and colorful fruit and all the employees are wearing Hawaiian shirts and want to be your best friend.
Trader Joe's has the best price on olive oil and Dr. Bronner's Magic Pure Castile Soap and I often run out of both at the same time. Of course you can get olive oil at Aldi too, but it's not a big bottle. I have to have the big bottle. You will not find fresh herbs at Aldi. You might find the seeds to grow your own. Ironically, its probably easier to buy pot in front of Aldi than in front of Trader Joe's. I don't know this for certain.
I think you could experiment with this recipe and make some nice skin products too. It worked for Palmolive.
Herb Infused Oil
- 2 cups olive oil
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped herbs (rosemary or basil are nice)
Place olive oil and herbs in a Crock Pot and cook on high uncovered for 2 hours. Allow to cool for about 30 minutes.
Drain using a white paper towel as a filter to catch the herb pieces. Transfer drained oil to a sealed jar. Store in the refrigerator. It will stay flavorful for about a month. Don't panic if it gets cloudy, it will look fine once it is room temperature.
Use the oil for bread dipping, or to coat pasta or anything else you can think of. This is an easy thing to bring to someone's house or a gathering with a few loaves of sliced french bread from a bakery (Trader Joe's has great bread). You can tell people you infused your own oil and they will be impressed. Or not.
Disclaimer: I do not own these recipes. I cook from memory and often adapt things I've seen, tasted, heard about, or read about.
Disclaimer: I do not own these recipes. I cook from memory and often adapt things I've seen, tasted, heard about, or read about.
Trader Joes is an awesome place, I stock up when I am in the cities..wish we had one closer to the northern region on MN
ReplyDeleteFunny and entertaining, as always. I would probably wind up at Trader Joes because I also favor the huge olive oil size. Also, I could possibly become violent if some senior shoved a cart into me. Even if Betty White did it, it would rile me. But I wouldn't relatiate, in that case.
ReplyDeleteI agree, though, that listening to people's conversations is hilarious but might be equally so at Trader Joe's although would be a different set of people entirely.
Great recipe and will try it!
As always you crack me up. I enjoy reading your writings and am always entertained. One of these days, when I'm not so lazy, I will actually try one of your recipes.
ReplyDelete