I've Moved!!

This blog has officially moved to it's new home: www.balsamicreductions.com

Please check out the new site and leave me comments and feedback. :)

You can also leave me comments on my blog's facebook page. Looking forward to connecting with you soon.

~Balsamic Reductions

Shopping Hungry - the random meal

Did your mother ever give you the advice to never go grocery shopping hungry? Cause my mama did - and she was right! Not only will you end up spending a lot more money than you meant to, but you can also end up with some dangerously random food in your house. Even worse - I fall serious victim to longings that inspire lusts which in turn inspire more cravings. That is exactly what happened to me today.

There I was, innocently going to the store for some ginger ale (aw dang - I forgot the ginger ale!), when I think "I've got some unexpected extra free time today - why don't I make something to post about." Well that is just the kind of free pass I don't need to be giving myself! Distractedly wandering up and down the aisles, a theme starts to develop. Sauerkraut... that would be awesome! Yeah, on a rye grilled cheese with apple cider mustard... Well of course with this on the brain I can't pass up some kielbasa. ...nor could I honestly see the fresh pierogies and not pick some up. Butter fried onions anyone? I'm no saint - I'm just a girl who's clearly missing some good Pennsylvania Dutch food in my diet (though I don't really know how that actually happens to a person).
 

A few days ago I read Matt Wright's blog post about making his own mustard. Now I'm on a whole new inspiration whirlwind of food projects. Really as soon as mustard or a vinegar based food is a part of my craving (in this case the sauerkraut) there's no stopping it. I really want to get into making my own sauerkraut too - as I can never seem to find any potent enough for my tastes. Add cheese to this mess of cravings and it's all over. I give up. I give in. I can't help myself. I slab some butter in a pan and give in to the randomness.What else can a girl do?

Onions frying, I realize I've never made pierogies myself. Do I have to boil them before I fry them? I take my chances (in retrospect I'd say that's why they ended up rather dry inside and next time I'll boil them first, but no worries - it wasn't something a bit of extra mustard couldn't fix).

At the end of my meal though I have to say my mama was right. Don't shop hungry. I had to put this meal on a pretty blue plate just to distract from the fact that the meal itself was entirely the same brown color and covered in butter. Don't get me wrong, that sandwich might just start a grilled cheese habit in my life, I feel good having a few more portions of pierogies waiting for me in the freezer, and I'm never against frying an entire meal in butter... but I probably would have bought more vegetables for my money if I'd stopped for some tea and biscuits before heading out.

Thanks for the advice Mom.