Dollar General Haul

 It;s getting tougher and tougher to food shop on  a budget. Thankfully there are stores like Dollar Genral and Dollat Tree to help out with feeding the family.These stores actually have pretty good choices and at a good price too,

I had my Dollar General haul today.. Tehy;re a bit more expensive than Dollar Tree but they have really good choices and fun ones at that. Dinner was Lily's Toaster Grill,s I bought them in plain and garlic flavored.Theyr'e from Lily.

Pop them in the microwave for three minutes and they;re just as good as homemade. I really liked these and they;re perfect with a couple  of pickle slices or cherry tomatoes.

Another Dollar General  must have is their mac an d cheese bowls. These are from in house brands Clover Valley (which also makes excellent croutons and salad dressing) It;a a cheap dinner at $2.95 as opposed to grocery store brands that can cost as high as eight dollars.!

The store also has fresh veggies, fruits and baked goods. Their French rolls, croissant like rolls filled with chocolate or vanilla buttercream are the perfect dessert. It;s like someone stuffed a cupcake inside a croissant.

These make for yummy desserts and are perfect chilled.

Times are tough. Shop at your local DOllar General to combat the rising high prices. There;s' some good food choices out there that can stretch your dollars.

On The Rocks A Delicious Memoir

 Can a former postman make it as a top restauranteur? If you're Joseph Constanzo Junior , the answer is a a resounding YES! This culinary force fo nature took over an average Italian restaurant and turned it into one of Pitssburgh's premier dining spots.His recipe for that? Grit and personailty.

His story is in a new book On The Rocks (Koehler Books 2023) written in his voice by his eldest daughter Maria Costanzo Palmer and Ruthie Robbins, Ms Constanzo Palmer's English teacher and good friend. This is a story of personality and good food. It starts with Joe being offered Fusco's an Italian restaurant and favorite place of hos and his  wife Donna. Joe, ,disilluisioned  with his job at the USPS jumps on the chance to own an Italian restaurant and bar, despite it being in one of the worst areas of Puttsburgh, a gritty,  scary area known as McKee's Rocks (hence the book's title). The odds were against him. who would want to visit an eatery in on fo the worst parts of the Pittsburgh area? Thanks to his warm personality and amazing food - especially his fried zucchini - The Prima donna - named after Donna became the place to go. Celebrities from both the sports and movie world ate there, sampling his array of tasty pastas and meat dishes. Even Frank Sinatra ordered from him.  Joe was also ambitious , running and unfortunately losing the Allegheny County commissioner's position.He also had a rasio show, interviewing other  local restaurant ownersThere is a down side to this  - as Joe is investigated for tax fraud and does time in a West Virginia federal penitentiary , This means the end of the Prima Donna.It has to be sold and unfortunately the new owners jsut don't have the magic Joe was blessed with. after being released there is a stab at another eatery the Cafe Costanzo but it didn't do as well. 

I loved this book. Joe remnds me of many of the many affable men I've met over the years. He has a great heart ,a constantly giving one . Even was he was a mailman , he had time to play basketball with the inner city kids on hos route. He was a good friend and mentor to his restaurant staff and a sympathetic ear and companion to his prison mates. This is a rare kind of person who always sees the good in any situation, even in jail. I admire that attitude. Joe had also an admirable drive. One has to be in awe of how he pushed the locally famous Mike Kalina to give the Prima Donna a five fork rating along with doggedly pursuing the critic to come in and try the food. That actually was the start of a deep friendship, endling tragically when Mr. Kalina took his life in the early Nineties. The incindent was also in the book,  as Joe told of him selling space in Mr. Kalina's cookbook. What has to follow On The Rocks is a Prima Donna cookbook. Home chefs like myself want to make that fried zucchini (this book made me crave it and pasta) along with his famed salad dressing which he sold locally. There is a need for a cookbook featuring good old fashioned  Italian cooking and I think the Costanzo family should consider this.

On The Rocks  tells of Joe Costanzo Jr's dream coming true. He turned a little Italian restaurant into one of western Pennsylvania award winning power houses. It's a fascinating story. 

Bee Konscous A Different Kind Of Honey

One of the healthiest sweeteners you can have is natural honey.There is a new brand  out there, Bee K'Onscious Raw Honey. It's a different, more artisanal spin on this classic.

I am a big fan of honey in cooking. I use the dark meadow foam kind in my Mom's recipes of tomato sauce and chili. It adds depth and removes the tomato sauce's metallic tang. I was not a fan of the light golden until I tried Bee K'Onscious Sage Honey.

It's perfect for flavoring teas , especially the all natural kind. I like the sage flavor because it has an herbaceous taste which gels perfectly with the all natural teas. There is also raw Montana clover which should be interesting along with the Brazilian Cipu Uva made from Brazilian Rain Forest flowers. There is also Marmeleiro honey made from flowers from northern Brazil.. Bee K'Onscious doesn't pasteurize its' honey so it's not uncommon to see pollen or other bits in it. This is honey in its' purest form and it's a light golden color.It's also good in salad dressings too

Another plus is that you can track where your honey is from, from the beekeeper to where it was harvested. It's a great way of being connected to the product. The company is from Denver ,Colorado and was started by the environmentally conscious Matt Kollmorgen.

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Bee K'onscious is the tastiest way to enjoy the benefits of raw honey. Try it and see the difference from other honeys. It's a definite must have in any kitchen.

Sage Honey Dressing

1 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon Bee K'Onscious Sage honey

1 teaspoon apple cider 

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

Mix all together and use for any light salad.It's especially good over grilled chicken salad.

Things Go Better With Coke

Cocoa Cola has been a summer standard for more than one hundred years. Who hasn't enjoyed a summer sitting by the beach or the pool with a can of it? Or made Coke ice pops or a Coke float?

This iconic drink started in 1885 , possibly as a competitor to an Italian coca wine, Vin Mariani. It was first made in Columbus, prohibition was launched through some of Georgia's counties and that's when Coke became carbonated. Its' early use was more for medicinal , claiming to cure everything from headaches impotence to addiction. It was also sold as a syrup to squelch nausea and calm upset stomachs. (in fact Coke is still used for that purpose today. I you feel a little queasy, COLA Coke over crushed ice really helps). It's iconic lettering was there from the very beginning thanks to Pemberton's bookkeeper, Frank Mason Robinson who designed it. it was a copy of the flowery cursive handwriting known as Spencerian script , popular of the times. The bottle as we know it was designed by Earl R. Dean in 1915.

Throughout the decades there have been many recipes involving Coke. There's the famous Coca Cola cake frosted with Coca Cola icing. This is a devil's food with the drink's added sweetness. Some barbecuers like to make a Coke marinade because they say it tenderizes the meat and leaves that sugary taste. You can also use it to make a teriyaki chicken or even throw a cup into a meat loaf mix to flavor it. Coke can even be used in a dressing for a sweet slaw or a different tasting salad dressing. Mostly it's use d in desserts, whether in ice creams or in pies. cakes and breads. I wonder if there's a Coca Cola cookie out there. Now that would be neat.

Coke has gone with our troops in war and celebrated our most glorious events as a country. It's our first party drink and the drink that gets us through a rough day. It really is a part of the American way of living.