Yas Grocery Store

It was convenient to stop at Farm Stores to pick up eggs, bread or ice cream. You would just drive through and someone would give you whatever you ordered and you were on your way without getting out of the car. That was fifty years ago! In between weekly grocery shopping sometimes you run out of a couple of things. That’s when we go to Yas Grocery and bakery. It’s not exactly Farm Stores - which are long gone - but it sort of feels the same. The big difference is that it is Persian and my husband likes to pick up sour cherry jelly, and a sort of relish. Aside from those items, he has some favorite cookies too. The bakery counter is really nice! But the other main items we get are cucumbers and flat bread. There can never be enough bread in this house. It’s hard to believe that we can go though so much bread in such a short period of time. And then you get more bread if you order from Moby Dick - our favorite take out Persian restaurant that is just a block away. So, it’s a nice ride to Vienna after a morning walk and we are never disappointed. They wrap the glass jars in Persian newspaper and we have been using the cloth bag we got in Isfahan for groceries. It’s nice to have so many options. 

Quince Jam

I never heard of quince until my husband introduced me to it. It looks sort of like an apple, but tastes like a splintered piece of wood. But my husband loves it so much so that he makes jelly/jam out of it. Last weekend we came across some quince at the Wegman’s on our way home from Lynchburg. So he had his sights set on making one of his favorite concoctions this week. Yesterday was the day. He started by cutting the very hard fruit in to tiny pieces, then dumping it in to the pan along with vanilla, sugar, lemon juice and water. It simmered on the stove for quite a while. He had to keep his eye on the contents making sure there was enough water and sugar as it started to evaporate. I usually smell the vanilla drift throughout the house - a very pleasant smell but it wasn’t as obvious. It took about two hours to create the stuff. He then poured it all in to two containers where it now sits in the refrigerator. The tasting starts tomorrow with breakfast. I hope he likes it! 

Muscat Grape Jelly from Merry Hill

It's not every day we receive home made jelly made out of real grapes from a vineyard on a farm in North Carolina. We've had home made jelly before - my husband concocted quince jelly. It has a peculiar taste for a particular person - and the quince fruit itself tastes like a wooden apple. We even had a quince bush in Milwaukee that we hoped would supply us with quince. That never happened. Yesterday one of our friends stopped by after work and brought along two glass containers of Muscat grape jelly. On the card was a picture of the old tobacco barn in the background and a the grapevine in the foreground. I recall him talking about the grape vines that he started planting there many months ago and he spoke of eventually making wine and such. And so he held true to his word. And of course we had to try it as soon as we opened one of the jars. It was quite good - I would actually eat it. I much prefer the jelly to preserves, and typically go for grape jelly. This was less sweet than most but was quite nice, and the color was interesting too. In the end it's not so much the jelly as the idea that he thought of us while making it. Now every time we have it we will fondly think of him and his family. What a sweet - and tasty - notion! 

Driscoll's Strawberries at Harris Teeter and Safeway

We usually go to Harris Teeter in the neighborhood for groceries. Occasionally my husband travels to the Safeway in SW if he is in the mood. After Saturday brunch in McLean, he also stops by the Safeway across the street from the family restaurant right off Dolly Madison Parkway to pick up odds and ends. He loves going to the grocery store.  Yesterday he picked up a big box of Driscoll's strawberries for $3.50. Earlier in the week he got a smaller box of Driscoll's strawberries for $4.00 in DC. I remember a lady from Virginia who was standing in front of us at a grocery store a while ago who said the prices for food in DC are ridiculous. On the surface it looked like she was correct. When we came home, I noticed the more expensive smaller box with the green label was from Mexico and the strawberries were organic. The larger box was from California and non organic. So we took a taste test. If you like firmer strawberries the organic won the prize. If you like sweeter strawberries, then the "regular" and cheaper strawberries were the clear winner. I suppose it depends what you are after and ultimately what you can afford. But what's the excuse for the cherry preserves? For the same bottle of jelly, you get to pay $5.50 in DC and $2.90 in McLean. Yes, the jelly was on sale, but it seems a lot of things there are always on sale. I was talking to a colleague last week and asked him where he might want to retire. He thinks he may return to Texas even though he really likes Virginia, citing how much more expensive it is to live around here. This is just one example of how right he is -  but at least he's paying less for groceries than we are. But Texas doesn't appeal to either one of us. 

Quince Jelly

Whenever we walk to the US Botanical garden, my husband takes notice of the quince tree regardless of the season. We had a quince bush growing in our front yard in Milwaukee. It only blossomed, but never produced the quince. It tastes kind of like a wooden apple, but he loves it. So this was the perfect weekend to make some quince jelly - something he does every year. We needed to pick up a few items at the grocery store and they they were - sitting in the fruit department waiting to be snagged by my husband who is always on the look out for them. It takes a whole lot of sugar and lemon juice, and I'm not sure what else. A recipe is never used. But when it is over, there is enough jelly to fill many containers. Today he had the homemade jelly with bread, and it was really good - to him. One of these days I should make some labels for his canning expertise and his enthusiasm.