I just tried something new. Had some Campbell's Healthy Request Homestyle Chicken Noodle soup... but I poached an egg in it.

Very tasty. And very filling.

I have cod defrosting but I don't think it will be ready until tomorrow.

-J.

I finally made it to Whole Foods today.

I asked the cheese monger about the change in the sale from prior years. It used to be that each cheese was on sale at 50% off plus 10% off for Prime for one day only. They changed it to all chesses being on sale all twelve days, but for only 30% off plus 10% off for Prime. Well, Saving the time and hassle of going to the store multiple times over the 12 days period probably make up for the smaller discount.

I bought Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog, Quadrello di Bufala, Corcuera Campo de Montalban and Uplands Pleasant Ridge Reserve.

I really wanted to get the Agour Ossau-Iraty, however, the store that I went to had not received any; he speculated that it's still on a boat waiting to be unloaded; however, based upon what corky had written, I knew that at least one store in SoCal had it in stock. Fortunately, there are Whole Foods markets every two to three miles along Ventura Blvd., so I stopped at the next one that was on the way to my next errand. That store had it in stock.

I would have also bought some Cowgirl Creamery Organic Mt. Tam, one of my favorites, however, my wife just got a two pack at Costco and we have enough cheese to last us a while.

I don’t know why I should defend The Villages, other than they’re not here to defend themselves. I don’t live there. I wouldn’t care to. But they are 130,000 vs. my town of roughly 30,000 ten miles down the road. So it stands to reason that there are fewer dining options where I live and more in The Villages.

It is far from homogenous. Pretty much any viewpoint you can imagine is represented there. Would some people be surprised that we dined one night with the Rainbow Club of The Villages? Or that there is more than one political party active in the community? Or that it is not at all age restricted? It has schools at all levels from elementary to high school. That people from all 50 states, and I don’t know how many countries are represented in the population?

Are people having fun there? You bet. Many are retired and when you don’t have to work, you find something else to do. That may be volunteering at charities, woodworking, golf, fishing, quilting, dancing every night at one of the squares. The drink prices are low and the pour is most generous. So, yeah, some people get drunk every night. Who knows what they do when they get home, if they do.

The STD thing is an urban myth. Florida collects health data by county. The Villages stretches over three counties. None of them leads the state in sexually transmitted diseases. The counties that host the three largest state universities have those bragging rights.

The fundamental problem outsiders have with The Villages is they want seniors to act like Grandma and Grandpa. These people are mostly healthy and mostly active and mostly wealthy. You should hope for all that when you reach their age. And you probably won’t give a sh*t about what other people think either.

My issue is with the development company. While the original developer was alive, promises were made and kept. Yes, he made a lot of money developing a community and skimmed his cut off the top of all activities therein. His heirs have demonstrated nothing but greed and like to wield their power to acquire more power and wealth at the expense of community satisfaction. They have added homes much more quickly than they’ve added amenities. They’ve broken Dad’s promise to keep the community north of the Turnpike. They’ve closed the exclusive Villages club and closed country clubs, pools and golf courses and tried to put apartments in their place, increasing population density without the infrastructure to support it. They’ve elected their people in part through their control of the media - they own the newspaper and radio station. Their people have changed Florida law to benefit the developers, making state taxpayers foot the bill for roads and bridges and schools to support The Villages community. The governor and legislature have been complicit in this. One county rebelled and voted out the developers puppets. That has not been forgotten. Phew. I need to take a breath.

Dinner: Omaha Steaks burger on a brioche roll. Cole slaw and ranch beans on the side.

Topic check! :)
 

Taking major advantage of Uber Eats promos tonight while the cod defrosts in the fridge:

Spicy Cucumber Salad in chili oil from Spy C on BOGO, so I got four! Should last me several days and I will probably add two of them into the salad I make. I just finished having one of them.

Sashimi Deluxe platter with a side green salad from Sakura in Howard Beach. They had a promo of spend $25 and get $15 off, so with delivery and tip it is $16. It is supposed to come with a side of white rice; I requested brown rice, or for them not to give me any rice at all. Will arrive here in about 30 minutes; hopefully it will last through lunch tomorrow.

Had a peach yogurt for dessert.

​​​​​​​That doesn't sound very tasty ;)

-J.

I like many types of pizza, but the NY reheated slices are among the worst I have ever had in my life, and I tried time and time again. To put it another way, I would much prefer Domino's. I do occasionally like a NY style pizza if I can get it well done/crisp bottom. I have never had a good one in NY ironically.

After a rainy flag football …

leftover Chinese!
reheated rice with leftover chicken thigh
reheated veggie moo shoo with tofu slices

The excellent Detroit style pizza I had for breakfast yesterday, wasn’t great today because my wife only wanted to microwave it.

Soggy crust. The air fryer reheating was so much better yesterday.

domino's: take a soggy "baguette" from Subway, then dip it in a Safeway 4-cheese sauce blend. Liberally add brown sugar.

You missed the last step: throw away immediately.

I liked my breakfast yesterday so much that I had it again today :D Oatmeal with a sunny side up egg.

I have leftover sashimi and cucumber salad for lunch. Tonight I will make cod and hopefully a real salad. Other vegetables and possibly an apple may make their way into my day.

-J.

Yesterday I made a lunch of baked frozed arctic char filet (rubbed with a little olive oil, salt, pepper) and sauteed vegetables (baby bok choy, red bell pepper, mushroom, garlic). I sauteed the vegetables in oyster sauce, soy sauce, and a little lemon juice (didn't have any rice vinegar...need to add that to my shopping list). I had never used oyster sauce before but saw a bottle of Lee Kum Kee (?) brand at the Filipino market I happened to be at over the weekend and remembered it being mentioned here. One question - there are two kinds of LKK oyster sauce. I got the "premium" one with a picture on the label of people in a boat. There was also a Panda one. Which is better/what's the difference?

I have the panda one but I haven't tried the boat one yet (ingredient glut so trying to finish what I have first). But apparently they have multiple versions of oyster sauce. I wonder if it's difference recipes based on taking over a brand or something.

Dinner: baked cod (chili oil and soy sauce from the cucumber salad, salt, pepper, cayenne, sesame seeds)

(sorry for giant photo)
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...72adf9b1a9.jpg

-J.

Early luncheon:
cost pepperoni slice - first cost pizza since January! Consumed in car with open windows because no indoor dining at Sf Costco.


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ec866e7a6.jpeg


it’s all good - panda is classic. Both are high sodium. i used to love lkk oyster sauce nonstop. Nice that it’s become popular.

This morning's hotel breakfast: 2 Large omelets with 3 types of cheese, ham, sausage, bacon, onions, mushrooms and green peppers; and, in addition, a plate of scrambled eggs with about 5 or 6 sausage links and 2 strips of bacon.

Before you guys think this is an copious amount of food, let me put this in context. Have been traveling and haven't had a chance to eat for about 42 hours--so, unintentionally gone on a fast. Got in late and was too tired to order of find food. So, decided to nap, and an early morning workout with weights & empty stomach cardio. The food was post workout, and I had a ravenous appetite.