The Galloping Frugal Gourmand

That's right! It's time for more Food News!

I've had 3 new food experiences this week that I'd like to talk about:

1.Baked Flamin' Hot Cheetos. I saw them in the vending machine at work and could hardly believe my eyes! I had forswarn Cheetos, but if they were baked I decided I could consider them. So I had a test-bag. $.75; 200 calories (which is like 2 dense slices of bread), less than a third of the calories from fat, and no grams of sugar, but also not much fiber, but at least there was no high fructose corn syrup(death! evil!). So it would be kind of like eating 4 slices of wonderbread. Texture was entirely satisfying, and since they were baked not fried, there was no greasy residue. Taste-wise I had only had Flamin' Hot Cheetos once before, and I didn't remember them being this spicy (and my palate runs spicy these days). The hotness builds up over a few mouthfuls, so I think these would make a nice snack with tea, paired with a cookie or trail mix or fruit, though I should warn you they have a strong garlic/onion powder taste. Also, I ate my bag in 2 sittings: one half was part of lunch, and the other half was an afternoon snack (like with tea). I don't recommend eating the whole bag at once for nutritional reasons.

2. The deli at Whole Foods. I had to be at an appointment and the best time/place to eat (so that I'd get to the appt. on time) turned out to be the deli at Whole Foods because it was right across the street. I selected half a small container of the "Penne with Leek and Lemon" (@$7.99/lb=$2.00)and half a small container of the "Tarragon Beans" (@$5.99/lb= $1.50)which was a dressed-up 3-bean salad. Both were very nice; the Penne also had goat cheese and fresh parsley and in addition to lemon was dressed with something called "champagne vinegar" (is that what you have on caviar chips?). In the bean salad, I got to really taste tarragon, an herb I'm not familiar with. It was sweetish and reminded me a bit of fennel/anise, but only lightly so. So now I know. I'm brainstorming ways to use it now. I think maybe it would enhance a main dish where the side dish involved roasted fennel roots (I've been wanting to try this, and I saw Giada diLaurentiis do it and it didn't look too complicated). Also the bean salad had some very nice marinated, thinly sliced red onions: no sharp vinegar taste, but no sharp onion taste either, but just the right amount of tart/sweetness. I rounded out my meal with a bottle of "Honest Tea" which I highly recommend because it tastes great and is only very lightly sweetened (again, no HFCS). Also I think one of the founders is Indian, or anyway I find their use of South Asian art/iconography tasteful and respectful, even if they're using it to sell things.

3. Yesterday's toasted veggie sub from Subway. So I bought a foot-long yesterday and put half of it in the fridge to have for lunch today (and ate the other half for lunch yesterday). Usually I would be wary of this tactic because Subway subs tend to get very soggy and gross in the fridge overnight. However, perhaps because I had it toasted, it was in fairly decent shape today (and I nuked it for 45 seconds). So now you know.

I also went to a great little Italian restaurant before the show yesterday, but it wasn't very frugal. Outstanding tiramisu, though, and all the pasta was made in-house.

Do you think I spend too much time thinking about food? I'm beginning to be a little concerned. On the other hand, I mean some of it is an artistic endeavor--it's not like I'm always sitting around thinking about things I'd like to eat. Though I do that too sometimes. Hmm.
Oh, and anyone out there have ideas for elegant things to do with chard? I've got a couple, but looking for more.
- posted by k @ 2:28 PM