Temple of Fresh&Easy

Effin Eat Well

2012-01-27T16:29:00.000-08:00

Last night there was a great twitter chat about eating well. Here's the summary.

Holiday Meals Made Simple

2011-12-15T23:24:00.000-08:00

Yes, indeed!

Good folks at F&E contacted me to do a taste test of their "Holiday Meals Made Simple", heat-and-eat holiday meals for 8 people in one box.

How could anyone say no to THAT?

Besides, I was just thinking about ordering a holiday meal this year (*gasp!*) because my friends from Thailand will be staying with us through Christmas. To maximize time spent with friends, I chose to make it easy on myself with someone else's cooking this year.

I requested the Beef Rib Roast dinner which came with a pint of beef gravy, and one "potato" and two vegetable sides. My choices were potato gratin, petite carrots with honey butter, and cornbread and sausage stuffing.

Then I called up my girlfriends for our little holiday gathering. Amanda, Lee, and Aurora had participated in the past Twitter wine tastings, and Lupe attended one of the F&E event with me. So, they are all veteran F&E tasters and loyal customers.

When I picked up the box of goodies, I also picked up our favorite F&E bubbly Montcadi Cava Rose and an F&E pecan pie I haven't tried before.

The best thing about this whole Meal Made Simple is that everything reheats at 375. First in was the roast as it needs an hour. Then the stuffing and the gratin for 25 minutes. I did the carrots in the microwave for 7 minutes.

While everything was heating up, we sipped the Cava. We had Gnarly Head Zinfandel with the meal.

The roast was pure perfection--perfectly medium rare, juicy, tender, and flavorful. The pan juice was perfect as a sauce we didn't really miss the gravy I left behind. (Whoops.) That was easily our favorite part of the meal. We have the seal of approval from Lupe, the best cook in our group, on this one.

Coming in second was the carrots. Just sweet enough and not overly buttery and perfectly cooked. I couldn't have done better myself!

A split decision on the potato gratin. It was super cheesy and delicious fresh out of the oven, but once cold, it felt heavy and too rich. We did a reheat test...aka sticking our second servings in the microwave. Lee liked it still, while it lost me. Amanda also found a few bites that were slightly undercooked.

Another split decision, leaning toward dislike, was the cornbread and sausage stuffing. Amanda found the cornbread "spongy and not in a good way". Lee liked that there was sausage in it. I thought the gravy I left behind would've saved this a little bit as I found the stuffing a little dry. Perhaps I should've reheated it in the microwave, or add a few glugs of chicken stock before putting in the oven. Oh well, next time.

Overall: Heavenly

And yes, it really did feed 8 people. 5 hungry girls plus one token male were happily and well fed and we had plenty leftover to feed two more people easily.

Sure, you can totally made a better holiday meal than this. But for being a heat-and-eat feast from a grocery store chain and you only spend an hour sticking things into the oven, the Meal Made Easy is a total dream.

And yes, I just placed my order online for a Hickory Smoked Spiral Sliced Ham feast for Christmas Eve. It couldn't have been easier!

You have until December 18 to place your order to have it in time for Christmas. So, get on it!

P.S. Pecan pie was Earthbound. Tasty but not craveable or mind blowing.

F&E Sausage Rigatoni Skillet Meal

2011-12-04T18:34:00.000-08:00

Denizens of the Temple!

On my maiden voyage to the brand new La Cienega & 18th street Fresh & Easy Express I picked up a Sausage and Rigatoni Skillet Meal.

Those who know me know the way to my heart is paved with pork products and Italian food. Plus this dish also featured my new obsession - roasted red peppers and the whole thing was in a cheesey marinara sauce.

I'm just going to come right out and say it: MEH.

The Rigatoni noodle is entirely too large for this dish. I felt, at times, like I was eating the penne of a giant. The sauce is very forgettable - a weird velveeta taste and texture to it. The sausage and roasted red peppers were too few.

And the whole bag is 2 servings packing a whopping 510 calories each. So Not Worth It.

Do yourself a favor, if the idea of this meal sounds good to you, pick up some Fresh & Easy whole wheat penne, their spicy arribiata sauce, some red peppers and hot Italian sausage and make it yourself. It will be much tastier and memorable.

Better luck next time!!! - Amy

Verdict: Earthbound

I'm BACK!!! Thank You Fresh & Easy Express

2011-11-16T23:16:00.000-08:00

Denizens of the Temple!

How's it hanging?! It's been awhile which I blame on the general inaccessibility of the nearest Fresh & Easy to my Fairfax District of Los Angeles abode. I mean, really, Hollywood Blvd? Underground parking lot? It is a nightmare.

Plus there is a Whole Foods one block away, the famous Los Angeles Farmer's Market across the street and four Trader Joe's within 2 miles. (Plus one being built at the end of my street, due to open in March 2012)

Still, I missed Fresh & Easy. Thought about heading to Hollywood Blvd many times, then remembered the nightmare parking (not to mention the traffic) and headed to Trader Joe's instead.

I have forsaken the Temple, I realize this.

So imagine how excited I was on Sunday night, when I was driving home from Oakley's birthday party and I saw the brand new Fresh & Easy Express at 1788 S. La Cienega Blvd.

Tonight I drove over there.

And spent $107 with the coupon for $5 off.

You have to work really hard to spend over $100 at Fresh and Easy.

Or you have to be suffering serious Fresh & Easy withdrawals.

I will have reviews of the many new products I bought tonight over the coming week.

What I can say now, is the store was pretty, with hardwood floors and an awesome coffee station. It is about 1/2 the size of a regular F&E store, but I didn't notice a ton of missing product. Certain favorites were not there, but whether that was because they don't stock them (Chicken Escalopes!), or they were out of them, who knows. I was there at 930pm and the F&E truck was outside, so... I don't know.

I am BACK! WOO HOO!

More soon!
Amy

A little help from your "Friends"

2011-10-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

Forgot to bring your coupons? Forgot you even had coupons? Not going to be a problem at F&E any more, believers.

Say hello to the Friends of fresh&easy Reward Program.

Scan your card when you shop and earn points for every dollar you spend. Once you get to 500 points, you can convert them into cash and use the card like a gift card. Nothing to lose by adding one more card to your overstuffed wallet. ;-)

$1 = 1 point earned. 100 points earned = $1 cash.

Oh, but you CAN get bonus points too. Sign up and 250 points are pre-loaded!

Pick one up at the store. Scan it. And start saving. Everything is done online. No paperwork anywhere. Sweet deal, right?

ETA: Glitches in the zip code registration has been fixed. Enjoy the benefits!

Twitter Tasting: Tales of Two Bloggers

2011-10-03T14:01:00.000-07:00

This is the first time that Sister Annette and I did our F&E twitter tasting separately. (Remember these?) Since we live nowhere close to each other, I thought it’d be more convenient to just do it at our own home. Annette didn’t have as much fun. And while I was in good company of friends who don’t tweet, it was kind of weird not hearing Annette’s Chuggability™ rating live.

In hindsight, I guess we could’ve done at Google Plus hangout. Hrrm.... [Annette: Next time!]

Anyways. Here are our comments and recaps.

Dreamstone Pink Moscato

Quick Hits:

Annette: Very chuggable. Better than chuggable, even my non-wine liking significant other liked it. If I didn't have to try two others, or get up the next morning …
Oakley: The only bottle that got finished that evening. And quickly too!

Chuggability™: A bottle for you, a bottle for me... (A: Two for me, one for you. This is definitely a go-to for a champagne substitute, a light dessert wine, or a sparkling summer or holiday wine).

A: I was drinking alone but wished I had some port cheese and fruit to go with it. I think it might have gone well with the citrus chicken fajitas we had the night before.

O: My party is having dinner of flavorful broasted chicken and potatoes with sides of macaroni salad and barbecue baked beans. (Broasting is essentially deep frying in pressure cooker so the chicken is crispy and moist without being greasy.) The moscato went splendidly with our summery dinner. General comments from my party were: peachy, fruity, and gimme more of that.

Ma Cherie White

Quick Hits: Oakley: Is it me or that doesn’t taste like anything?

Chuggability™: Will cook with it but won’t really enjoy sipping this.

O: Perhaps the chicken threw our palates off, but we didn’t much care for this mixed white. My friend Heather said it’s too oaky for how she likes her white. Lee, being scientific about it, tasted the wine with all the component of dinner and concluded that it was good with the barbecue baked beans. For me, I didn’t get any fruit or floral. All I tasted was a slight tang and the oak.

A: After reading everyone else's tweets about it I wasn't too inclined to try it. I think the tasting would have gone better if we had started with the Ma Cherie - you know, go from white, to pink, to red.

Doon Buggy Red

Quick Hits:

Annette: This would be great with a steak and was good with chocolate -- which I usually reserve for port.
Oakley: At least the label is entertaining. (See below. Thanks Annette for the pic.)

Chuggability™: Oakley's went straight to the sink. Definitely not for chugging for Annette, more for sipping.

A: I opened it at 7 as suggested by F&E to let it breathe. I think this helped a lot. @suki also suggested dark chocolate, of which I had a square or two left over from Ghirardelli Intense Dark Pairing tasting. I'm not a big red drinker, the tannins give me a headache, but I was able to get one glass down and enjoy it. I enjoyed the smell as soon as I poured it, so that was a bonus.

O: Oh, Doon Buggy. We wanted to like you. I wanted to like you. Given, we skipped the breathing part and totally forgot to use the aerator, we didn't care much for this wine at all. The first sip I had, I was taken aback by the buttery-ness. I made a face Brandon called it “Is that a spider in my wine?” face. Then I got the oak...or was that a smoke? Brandon--who already prefers juicier wines--flat out refused to take another sip. Lee then proceeded to do a dramatic reading of the label.

Sure, we had enough wine in us by that point that everything seemed funnier than it is. But seriously, who writes this stuff? [A: Someone who's already had a few glasses and wanted to keep the Napa theme going?] Like I said, that's the only thing we enjoyed about the wine.

And of course, the colorful description of Doon Buggy from Oakley's Peanut Gallery: troll blood, zombie food, dune buggy's exhaust, and grapes crushed by a dune buggy. Sorry! We really didn't like the wine!

All in all, this went from good to worst for my dinner party. We even revisited some wine after dinner just to make sure. While Ma Cherie gained a bit of favor back, Doon Buggy was a lost cause. All in all, though, it was a great night.

Thanks F&E for the tasting party. Sorry we didn’t like all the wine this time around!

[Annette: Pssst - pass the moscato!]

F&E Secret Stash: Plush Puffs

2011-09-26T10:23:00.001-07:00

Disclaimer: I absolutely did not get paid to talk about Plush Puffs. I just picked them up randomly from F&E and totally fell in love!

Alright, alright. This is really not a typical F&E brand product. But I think it's worth mentioning.

As I shopped for Ghrirardelli Intense Dark Pairing party at F&E a few weeks ago, stocking up on dried apricots, almonds, crackers, and parmigianno, I came across these Plush Puffs Gourmet Marshmallows in the bakery aisle, right next to the cookies.

I was going to get some marshmallows for the Intense Dark Toffee Interlude anyway. I thought, maybe I'd try these guys out. So I picked up the Vanilla Bean ones for the pairing.

At the party, I realized the mistake I made by putting all the foods out family style at each table. By the time we got the last pairing, the marshmallows and the Toffee Interlude, many tables were *ahem* missing the marshmallows.

They couldn't help themselves, explained my guests. The Puffs were so darn good!

And once we did the tasting, you should've heard the moans coming out of our corner of the wine bar. It was just Puffs and chocolate--we didn't even make a proper S'mores out of them! Everybody requested for more Puffs. Alas, I only bought 2 boxes.

A week later, I still had the Puffs on my mind. So I went back and picked up the Caramel Swirl ones. (Brandon loves caramel.) By itself, it was delicious but on the verge of being too sweet. So I tried it with the Ghirardelli Intense Dark Sea Salt Soiree with almonds. Magic, part 2!

And there are still many flavors I haven't yet tried! So, PLEASE keep these Puffs stocked on your shelf, F&E. I still have to try more flavors! They're also locally made in Sherman Oaks and AWESOME. :)

Verdict: Nirvana

Dinner Possible: 4 Ingredients or Less

2011-08-22T07:36:00.001-07:00

We're back to almost vegetarian in my household and Sunday nights are either gourmet or leftovers. We're out of leftovers.

Tonight's dinner is Portobello mushrooms with a side of summer squash and baked potatoes. It took about 20 minutes - less if your grill doesn't run out of gas!

Portobello Mushrooms with Summer Squash

Recipe by Annette Holland

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients

4 portobello mushrooms
1/2 cup Fresh & Easy Classic Balsamic Vinaigrette
1/2 cup Fresh & Easy Burgundy Wine Simmer Sauce
1 package summer squash
4 Yukon Gold potatoes

Cooking Directions
Grilled portobello mushrooms are delicious, but our grill was out of gas and it was too hot to broil. I made due with the griddle.

Lightly oil with olive oil, then spoon either the balsamic vinaigrette or burgundy wine simmer sauce over the mushrooms until soft, turning at least once. If grilling, marinate the mushrooms for a few minutes.
Saute the summer squash to desired tenderness.
Serve with a baked potato.

The Intrepid Princess still prefers steak to mushrooms, but The Teen and The Hunk both loved it.

Summer Squash

Bag Lady

2011-07-29T08:25:00.000-07:00

Ding ding ding! A winner has been chosen for the F&E bag design contest! Nice work, Las Vegas.

5 F&E Items I Always Have On Hand

2011-07-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

1. Jasmine Brown Rice

Alright. I'm an embarrassment to my heritage. Which Thai person doesn't buy rice by the 5 lb. sack!? This one. There are only two of us and we don't eat rice every night like, say, my aunt's household. I bought a big bag of rice once and at some point I got bugs in them. Since F&E sells smaller bag of rice--brown Thai jasmine, nonetheless--it makes better sense for us.

(Okay this photo the focus is on Long Grain White, but Jasmine Brown is right behind it! I called this "My Family Portrait". Hee.)

2. Big bag of Shredded Cheddar Cheese

I come home and split half into another zip-top bag and freeze both. 4 things I always have in the freezer so I never run out of: shredded cheddar cheese, apple wood smoked bacon, Irish Butter (which F&E also sells), and home made limoncello. :)

3. Assorted Dried Pastas

I raid the pasta aisle every 6 months or so to stock up on rotini, spaghetti, penne, and egg noodles. My last trip, I even picked up a bag of gluten-free pasta, just in case my gluten-free friend decides to drop in for dinner some night.

4. Montcadi Cava Rose

Love at first taste with this one and the affair continues. There is always a bottle of this chug-able rose bubbly in the fridge. After a long day at work. Friends happen to pop in. Hot Sunday afternoon. Whatever. I'm ready!

5. Chocolate/Strawberry/Key Lime Mousse

The Mousse Madness has taken over the house. The husband insists our fridge can no long be without the mousses. We do now have 4 chocolate, 2 strawberry, and 2 key lime in the fridge.

...make that 3 chocolate.

What about you? What are your 5 F&E products you cannot go without?

Mousse You Much

2011-06-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

(Thanks F&E for the photos!)

I was picking up a few tubs of Milk Chocolate Pudding for Brandon (he doesn't like dark) when I spotted them on the top shelf.

Little bitty tubs of F&E dessert mousses: chocolate flavored, strawberry, key lime, and vanilla.

So I grabbed chocolate for Brandon. The man LOVES chocolate mousse. Key lime and strawberry are for me to taste. Vanilla, well, I think I could guess what that would taste like.

Key lime was on the sweeter side than tangy, but it was fluffy and yet decadent and delicious. I was disappointed when I finished that little tub. I can imagine buying like 20 tubs of these to fill a pie!

Well, or I can just sprinkle some crumbled graham crackers on top instead. Make yourself a mini upside down key lime mousse pie!

I feel the same about Strawberry Mousse too, making a reverse pie out of that. Strawberry one, however, was perfect in its sweetness. It tasted like someone just whipped up fresh strawberries into cream right then and there. Awesomeness!

Now, the final judgement hangs on Brandon. Will Mr. Picky like this mousse? I had the first bite and I thought it might just be too dark for him. But what do you know? Brandon proclaimed this the best store-bought chocolate mousse he's ever had.

While I would want the mousses in bigger containers, Brandon wanted them exactly the same size for portion control. The bigger the tub, the more we both are going to eat the mousse and that's not good for anyone.

Much like why I'm not allowed to bring home the Banana ~~Crack~~ Cream Pie unless we have company or we're taking it somewhere else, I'm not supposed to tell folks at F&E that we want the mousse in bigger containers. ;-)

Verdict: Chocolate, Key Lime, and Strawberry Mousses: Nirvana.

Memorial Day Weekend 5-Meal Plan

2011-05-26T16:44:00.000-07:00

My BFF has invited myself and my hubby up to her family's cabin in Big Bear for the weekend. Since I'm currently unemployed, I was put in charge of the galley. Where else would I go if not F&E for the Memorial Day weekend awesomeness.

So I bought all F&E brand of...

Mixed grill pack--the 4 lbs. total of 4 beef patties, 4 mild Italian sausages, 4 each chili-lime marinaded chicken thighs and wings--is on sale for $6.99. Best. Value. EVER!
Butter-basted sliced turkey breast
Cheddar cheese slices (12 oz)
Vegetable and dip tray
Arugula
Tomatoes
Onions
2 bags of Microwave-able Spanish rice.
Chile Verde simmer sauce
1 bag each of fresh Snickerdoodles and Chocolate chip cookies.
Hamburger buns (8 buns)
Red potato salad
Strawberries
Apricots
Eggs

My total bill was $56.02. If I had remembered to take my $10 off $50 purchase coupon, that would've been $46. But yeah, I'm silly that way. *sigh*

I'm also bringing stuff I already have at home: half a carton of milk, a stick of butter, spices and condiments. So, let's round that total up to $60/$50 with coupon.

This set of grocery will make 2 breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 2 dinners with desserts and snacks for 3 hungry people for $20/$16.67 with coupon per person, or feed 4 for $15/$12.50 with coupon.

Five meals for $12.50-$20 per person? Epic win!

How will that work? Here's my plan.

Prep

I separate the Mixed Grill Pack into separate zip top bags. I put the sausage and patties in the fridge, and the chicken in the freezer. All of my cold stuff will go in the cooler with the frozen chicken in the bottom with the ice to make sure it keeps cold during transit. Chicken will thaw out beautifully in the fridge the next day.

We are leaving after lunch so by the time we get to the cabin, we'd want quick, easy, and satisfying dinner. And that's my starting point.

Friday dinner

Cheeseburger with grilled onion and red potato salad--a double for Brandon. Cookies for dessert. Tomato slices on the side. (Brandon doesn't like fresh tomatoes.)

Saturday breakfast

Breakfast scramble: eggs, Italian sausage, red onion. Fruit for dessert.

Saturday lunch

Turkey sandwich (using hamburger buns) with cheese and arugula. Tomato slices on the side. Veggie tray. Potato salad if there was any left. Cookies/fruit for dessert.

Saturday snack

Veggie tray. Cookies. Fruit. Your pick!

Saturday dinner

Chicken braised in chile verde sauce. (The existing flavor profile of the marinade should go well with the simmer sauce.) A side of Spanish rice and arugula salad with basic oil & balsamic dressing. Cookies/fruit for dessert. While the chicken is braising, I can do a little tomato confit with either cherry tomatoes in the veggie tray or whatever is left of the vine-ripen tomatoes.

Sunday breakfast

Breakfast sandwiches (2 open-face ones and one with lid) with turkey, cheese, and fried/scrambled eggs with tomato confit. OR 2-egg omelet filled with turkey, cheese, and tomato confit...with toasted buns on the side. Fruit for dessert.

Ride Home Nibbles

We may have fruit, veggies, and cookies left to nibble on.

I hope that gives you some good idea to pack for your trip!

Bag It: Part 2

2011-04-19T15:17:00.001-07:00

F&E brings back the canvas bag design contest! Winning design will go on all of their canvas bags and be available at every store. And YOU get free groceries for a year!

No, you cannot use the Temple's fresco for this. ;-D

Dinner Possible - Lamb Loin Chops

2011-04-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

Last night I was at a loss as to what to prepare for dinner. We had these tasty lamb loin chops from F&E that I was saving for Easter dinner, but two people I cook for don't like mint jelly. What's up with that???? Also my daughter was going to be at her Dad's for Easter, and since lamb is a family tradition I opted to make it early.

I present herb-roasted lamb loin chops. Sides were F&E brand three cheese risotto and steamed broccoli.

I apologize, I only had my phone on hand when I took the picture.

Herb-Roasted Lamb loin Chops with three-cheese risotto and broccoli

I did something you are supposed to do, but I was multi-tasking and needed to save time. I baked/roasted from frozen. The loins still came out tender enough to cut with a plastic knife.

Ingredients
4-6 large garlic cloves, pressed (or garlic slices if you're like me)
2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 1-1/4-inch-thick lamb loin chops

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Mix spices and 2 tablespoon olive oil in baking dish. Add lamb; turn to coat.
Set a timer for 25 minutes.
Bake for 20-25 minutes as you cook the three-cheese risotto. Follow directions on box.
Steam the broccoli the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Transfer lamb to platter, cover, and let rest 5 minutes.

Undoubtedly this tasted wonderful and would taste even better with fresh herbs, but hey, I got dinner on the table in 30 minutes.

Dinner Possible: Big Ol' Cheesy Pasta Frittata

2011-03-27T20:54:00.000-07:00

I just posted a recipe for a very fulfilling and addictive pasta frittata over on my food blog. Since I bought all of the ingredients at F&E, despite that not everything is F&E brand, I believe this is qualified as a Dinner Possible recipe. Don't you? :)

Check it out.

Put the Lime in the Coconut

2011-03-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's lunch was the Coconut & Lime Whitefish ($3.99) from the expanded eat well line.

This is the first eatwell meal that I haven't had to add any salt to. The rice noodles were perfect. I typically buy my lunches for the week, freeze them, and nuke them at work. Frozen then nuked noodles don't always come out right. The fish was so yummy, I was wishing for a bigger portion, but in the end I was satisfied.

The only thing missing was a dark chocolate pudding for dessert.

Verdict: Heavenly

Let the wine flow

2011-03-11T14:56:00.001-08:00

Last night, Oakley and I had the pleasure of attending a wine tasting that sampled four of Fresh & Easy's 27 new California wines at the very green SmogShoppe in Culver City.

How much is that bottle?

The wines range in price from $3.99 to $19.99 -- and let me tell you, the Open Field Pinot Noir is worth it!

Greenery at the Smog Shoppe - a LEED certified, converted smog shop.

Of course, we live tweeted it along with other food bloggers, wine lovers, and F&E enthusiasts.

The night began with hor d'oeuvres prepared by Chef Cynthia Perez.

And progressed onto making new friends. At first Oaks and I thought we were being avoided, but we are so glad to have met Vianessa and Rachel.

@vianessa and @theartmuse, whom we shared a table with

Before the actual tasting started, we watched a short intro video on the background of the winery.

Allen was very informative later in the night when he explained how the pinot noir acquired its exceptionally sweet taste. It's almost as sweet as a port, but without the aftertaste. By far my favorite of the evening and I am not a red drinker.

Speaking of the actual tasting ...

The first wine, the pinot gris was a bit acidic to me. Using our (practically) patented chug-ability scale it was given a 0. Not chuggable at all. NEXT!

2nd wine: Cloud Valley Chardonnay. Chug-ability: Will sip with chicken or fish dinner.

The chardonnay needed to breathe a bit. The chug-ability from freshly poured to about five minutes later changed from "This isn't sweet enough to be a chardonnay, but would be good with chicken or fish" to "this is chuggable".

Fresh and Easy Wine Tasting: 3rd wine: Open Field Pinot Noir

The pinot noir was next and I was pleasantly surprised. I am not a fan of reds at ALL, though Oakley is. We both agreed that this was a very tasty wine and worth chugging. Slowly. To enjoy the taste of course. And maybe have with that Hunk.

The final taste was a Cabernet. Vianessa and Oakley both agreed that it was their favorite and the best tasting of the evening. Needless to say, I traded my cab for her pinot noir.

4th wine: Barrel Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon. Chugability: Easy to drink, favorite wine of the evening.

We also had a favorite server of the evening

Cody of Colorado. Great personality and awesome service!

Richard - the wine expert - was kind enough to give us a quick lesson on whites

After all that, we were asked to guess the prices of the wines. Team Fabulous is obviously of the frugal sort. There is nothing wrong with the Big Kahuna and wines in that price range.

Fresh and Easy Wine Tasting: Obviously, we are cheap.
Inside the box is our guesses for what the prices for the wines were.
Whoops.

And a raffle in which Oakley won a gift certificate and a bottle of wine

After wining us, we were dined. We absolutely ADORE Chef Cyndi and what she whips up. (All recipes provided by Fresh & Easy)

Goat Cheese Stuffed Artichoke Hearts - Recipe

Lobster ravioli from the Gourmet line.

Steak and Vegetable Skewers served by Chef Cyndi herself - Recipe

Shrimp ceviche - Recipe

Pear and Brie Crostinis - Recipe

Dessert

And of course we were sent home with a goody bag

View all the photos

Related Posts:

Fresh & Easy Buzz stalked us while we live tweeted the event
Fresh and Easy Blog
Vianessa's Soundbites
Kaitlin with Honey

Party in the Kitchen

2011-03-09T22:11:00.000-08:00

There’s a party in my kitchen. So bitchin’ So bitchin’.

Sing to the tune of Yo Gabba Gabba. (And yes, I do watch Yo Gabba Gabba with my friends’ kids.)

Well, it wasn’t OUR actual kitchen, but the experience can definitely be duplicated easily with the recipes and ingredients from Fresh & Easy.

Annette and I were once again invited to a F&E cooking demonstration and party at Epicurean in Anaheim. We were greeted by these blushing beauties:

…and F&E staffers Stephanie and Allison too. ;-D

Oh, this Cava has a very special place in our hearts ever since the first Twitter Tasting. We love seeing it at F&E event!

This party was to celebrate the launch of two new stores in Laguna Hills and Lake Forest. Joining us was a full house of folks. Us bloggers were surprised to meet many non-bloggers there like our new friend Chantal who was a good sport when Annette and I, joined a little later by Catalina, ran around taking pictures and tweeting.

(Sorry for blocking your face, Chef Cyndi!)

I decided to be the photographer for the day. So it was agreed that everyone would partake in the making of the shrimp ceviche, the apricot chicken tenders, and the make-your-own pizza—all with ingredients from Fresh & Easy, of course—while I take photos that I would gladly share and that I would serve the dishes up to them.

Chef Cyndi’s recipe for the shrimp ceviche is totally money. Combine F&E cooked shrimps, F&E sun dried tomatoes, fresh lime and orange juices, red onion, jalapeno, avocado, cucumber, cilantro, and extra virgin olive oil and a little salt and pepper, then chill. Serve with chips. Done!

However, Team Awesome might have been a bit overzealous in our mixing as our avocado was quite mashed. We unexpectedly create a delicious creamy effect and surprised everyone, even the chef herself.

Pizza was what slowed down Team Awesome. We were ahead of everyone. Not sure what went wrong there but ours came out of the oven later than everyone else’s and therefore our apricot chicken were also late coming out. Whoops.

The pizza came out great—that sauce was absolutely delicious. We were a little sad about the chicken we put so much work into making. First you make the sauce with F&E Apricot Preserves, F&E Sweet Hot Mustard and F&E Whole Grain Dijon. Save a bit of that for dipping sauce. Now you dunk F&E chicken tenders into the sauce, then roll those in bread crumbs.

One thing we didn't think to do was to season the tenders and a little bit in the bread crumbs too before we started dunking. While the chicken was moist and has some good flavors going for them, they were bland. So much work, Chantal didn't even wait to wash her hands before celebrating.

All of this was paired with either a Chardonnay (I don't remember what was served now) or the Napa Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. I gotta say the Cab’s chugability is totally drinkable and paired well with the ceviche.

Richard the Wine Expert was on hand for us to ask questions and harass about putting on a wine maker type dinner event. (ETA: We are going to a wine event tomorrow, after all!)

Oh and there were desserts too. Glorious Banana Cream Pie! Delicious tiramisu! And the new dark chocolate raspberry sorbet bonbons!

/squees. /dies.

And of course, the gregarious, vivacious, beauty-licious staff handed us each a goody bag we can talk about. Being prolific, our little table went through the bags and did some swapping of stuff so no one went home with stuff they didn’t want. LOL

There’s a lot to be reviewed here, y’all. These bad boys were filled to the brim!

Thanks again for a good time and for introducing us to your new products like the Gourmet line of grab-and-go—you can’t beat fancy eats in 3 minutes, I tell ya—and simmer sauces. I’m already impressed by the Burgundy Simmer Sauce, I can hardly wait to try the Tikka Masala when my clear braces come off in 2 weeks!

Here's the entire album. Enjoy!

Hot Chocolate Shavings

2011-01-15T09:29:00.001-08:00

A part of the holiday treats I received from F&E was this wonderful carton of yummy. Its full name is "Rich and Creamy Hot Chocolate Bittersweet Chocolate Shavings".

Indeed.

This is not a carton of powder. See what's sprinkled on top of the whipped cream in the picture? That's what's in the carton. As the name says, it's chocolate shavings you whisk into a cup of hot milk. For those of us who likes our chocolate on the darker side instead of cloying, the shavings make for a perfect cup.

It's suggested that you can use that to sprinkle on to your other baked goods or dessert. Since I'm the only person in the household who eats the F&E Roasted Banana Gelato (Nirvana), I took the liberty of sprinkling these bits of heaven right into the pint. Heehee. Delicious!

I just now dropped a spoonful into my coffee to make a little mocha. Better than adding syrup, I can tell you.

Thanks, F&E again for sending this over. It will permanently be a part of my pantry from this point on.

Verdict: Nirvana

F&E Holiday Goodies

2010-12-21T12:33:00.001-08:00

These guys came in the mail today. Thanks, F&E! We'll report back. :)

And Happy Holidays, everyone!

Dinner Possible: Tofu and Butternut Squash "Stew"

2010-11-21T15:53:00.000-08:00

I eat meatless on Tuesday. Not the strictest of lactovegetarian sense (no meat, no eggs, okay dairy), I occasionally let some by products of meat or eggs slip through. For the longest time, I kept forgetting about eggs in baked goods and dessert. And recently, I just learned to read the labels to make sure certain meatless products are actually vegetarian.

A little hitch there with F&E Burgundy Simmer Sauce. (Verdict: Nirvana) I came home to find the sauce is made out of beef broth. Oh well. Too late to turn this boat around.

And the simmer sauce is super duper delicious. Beefy and mushroomy, the sauce tastes very close to the from-scratch red wine based stew sauce. If Brandon said "wow" to this, it's a very good thing.

So, the plan for the vegetarian "stew" was out the window. But hey, it was still pretty hefty for being a meatless dish. Of course, you can substitute the tofu for any meat of your choice. I highly recommended just a little under a pound of cubed beef sirloin.

And I know, I didn't take a picture of it again. But it's such a perfect fall easy dinner dish I must share right away! I hope you forgive me.

Now, on to the recipe.

Easy Tofu and Butternut Squash "Stew" (Meatless, NOT vegetarian!)

1 package of Wildwood SUPER FIRM tofu in a vacuum pack, not in the container with water (or 1 lb. top sirloin if you're using meat)
1 TBS of butter
1 bag F&E pre-cut Butternut Squash -- keep it in the bag!
1 jar F&E Burgundy Simmer Sauce -- has beef broth!
Fresh Italian parsley, chopped for garnish

1. Cut your tofu/steak into 1/2 inch cubes. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

2. Heat your skillet on medium-high heat. Add butter. Once melted, brown tofu/beef cubes on all sides.

2. Meanwhile, put the unopened bag of butternut squash in the microwave according to steamer instruction on the package. (I believe it said to cook for 3 minutes and let set for 30 seconds. I found mine undercooked, so I'd say go for 4 minutes.) Set aside.

3. Once all the tofu/beef cubes are browned, add the butternut squash and saute for a minute.

4. Pour simmer sauce into the skillet. Stir to coat. Bring to bubble then turn the heat to low. Put a lid on and let simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Sprinkle on parsley. Serve with crusty bread or on a bed of rice or noodles.

Dinner Possible: Yummy Garlic-Olive-Vodka Penne

2010-10-06T20:14:00.000-07:00

Hello Fellow Fresh & Easy Devotees!

It's been awhile. What can I say, I live in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles and the nearest Fresh & Easy is on Hollywood Blvd. Needless to say it is a pain in the ass to both get to and to park at. Now I understand Tesco's position - this is a big ass city and real estate is hard to come by. But Oh How I have missed Fresh & Easy. Cash is a little tight this month--who am I kidding, cash has been a little tight for several months. And so I stopped eating meat. And fresh fruit. And salad. It was an all whole wheat pasta (I gave up white flours and sugars in May) all the time sort of diet.

Today I decided to make the trek to Hollywood and brave the tourists on Hollywood Blvd. in search of meat and produce at not just fair, but downright inexpensive prices. And boy am I glad I did! For $114 I got enough food for my dog and I for about two weeks. All I'll need to do is restock fresh garlic, kalamata olives, Parmesan cheese and diet coke. (Those are the 4 food items I cannot live without.)

Anyway, onto the recipe for a delicious pasta dinner made entirely with F&E products

Yummy Garlic-Olive-Vodka Penne

Ingredients

Fresh & Easy Whole Wheat Penne (I made about 2 1/2 cups-I like leftovers)
Fresh & Easy Vodka Marinara Sauce (I used 1 1/2 cups)
Fresh & Easy Olive Tapenade - the one from the refrigerated case with the cheeses. (There is also one that comes in a jar and is sold near the pestos.)
Fresh & Easy Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Fresh & Easy Shredded Asiago cheese
Fresh Garlic, minced (I used about 15 cloves. I am a garlic FIEND)

Cook the penne per the instructions on the package, except add 1/3rd of the minced fresh garlic to the water as it is boiling.

In a saucepan combine 1 1/2 -2 cups of the vodka marinara, 3 tablespoons of the olive tapenade, the rest of the garlic, and a handful of each of the two cheeses.

When the pasta is cooked (approx 10 min), drain it and put the saucepan on the flame. Add the pasta to the mixture in the saucepan and toss to coat the penne fully. Add more of the Parmesan and Asiago cheeses and let heat for approximately 2 minutes.

Serve with a bit of cheese on top for garnish.

Buono appetite!!!

Amy

Creamy Coconut Chicken

2010-09-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

I'd include a picture, but I was hungry and it was lunchtime. I've been eating more Fresh and Easy products in an effort to lose weight. I'm not the only one in the house that does the food shopping,but it is widely known that I love F&E products.

The chicken looks and smells delicious, however there was a LOT of rice (I'd prefer more protein, but that would probably drive the price up), which is filling, but ultimately there wasn't enough sauce to cover it.

The meal is described as "marinated chicken breast on basmati rice topped with a creamy coconut sauce and sliced almonds" and comes in one of the new-ish microwave steamer bowls. Since I was heating from frozen, I did 4 minutes. Next time I'll opt for 3:30 since the chicken seemed a little dry. Serving size is 337g (1 container). Unlike the Eat Well line, it wasn't under-salted ... in fact, sodium is 1080mg (no wonder I was thirsty!).

I was left with maybe 1/2 serving of rice which seemed dry and unappetizing after eating everything under the chicken. If you're going to have a meal with a sauce, please include enough sauce to cover the rice.

Verdict: Earthbound.

Definitely a Wiener

2010-08-11T21:39:00.000-07:00

My apartment "complex" has 8 units with a rental house in the middle. Recently 3 new families moved in. And since we haven't really MET anyone in the complex even though some of us have lived here 4 or more years, I thought I'd throw a "Meet your neighbors" potluck.

The neighbor in the house rolled his beast of grill out to the parking lot, and I supplied the main course.

Hot dogs. More specifically, F&E Angus Beef Franks. As always, no artificial flavors or colors. AND it's gluten-free!

On F&E buns. Accompanied by F&E Organic Ketchup and Mustard I got from the summer care package. A non-F&E relish got thrown in there for kicks.

The dogs were a major hit. They were delicious. Off the grill, the skin crisps up just right and the meat tastes great. You know, nice and meaty as hot dogs with no fillers should taste.

Angus Beef Franks: Verdict: Nirvana

F&E also sent me 4 cartons of the new fruit candies (aka fruit gummies). So cute that these come in the shape of F&E clock logo!

There were Soft Fruit Candies, Sour Fruit Candies, Super Fruit Candies with Vitamin C, and Chewy Black Licorice.

Unfortunately for me, braces and gummy just don't go well together. And I don't care for black licorice.

So I gave the black licorice one away and the receiver ate 3 right off the bat. The Super Fruit and the Soour Fruit I took to work and they were gone in a matter of minutes as the word spread across our office.

I was going to bring my last tub, the Soft Fruit, down for the party, but I'd rather enjoy watching the office feeding frenzy. ;-)

Fruit Chews: Verdict: Nirvana

Welcome Sister Tina

2010-06-29T21:45:00.000-07:00

Tina of SendChocolateNow.com has joined the Temple's Monastery. Well, actually she has asked me to add her a while ago. I've forgotten until she reminded me after 6 Girls 3 Wines.

So, here she is, everyone!

Sister Tina, a mom of 3, is another Fresh & Easy addict. She visits the store at least three times a week.

"It's one of the best things that has happened to my taste buds and it has quickly become a place I don't want to live without," she said.

6 Girls. 3 Wines.

2010-06-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

F&E was at it again with twitter tasting. And of course, I said yes.

Last time, we had 4 girls to attack 3 bottles of wine. Those who caught wind of the last gathering wanted in this time around. So, here we were on a Wednesday night with 6 girls to split 3 bottles of wines sent to me from F&E.

The lovely wine-drenched evening was held at Ana's (@anaperiodista) place.

Sister Annette (@dananner) and I (@oakmonster) carpooled, picked up yummy barbecued stuff from Beachwood Barbecue in Seal Beach, and headed to Ana's. We arrived at 6:30 and set up for the shindig.

7 p.m. rolled around, it was just the three of us still. So we got started anyway. Vickie (@torie007) arrived next, followed by Vanessa (@vbesack) and Tina (@sendchocolate)

Ana let me commandeered her boyfriend's laptop. Unfortunately, it was on mobile modem and the connection wasn't all that great. Annette and I took turn tweeting through TasteLive and my account. At some point, Annette managed to get me thrown into TasteLive jail-- "You've tweeted too many times. Please wait."

Also, how many girls do you need to open a bottle of wine with a corkscrew? Two. Me for knowing roughly how it works and Annette for Amazonian strength. Well, we wouldn't need the strength if we knew what we were doing! Hahaha! Let it be noted that next time we go to Ana for wine tasting, we need to bring her a modern wine opener as a hostess gift. Or make sure her boyfriend was home.

We had so much fun with the wine and the talking that at some point we almost forgot we were doing a tasting! But then again, our group is no Jim Cahill of Fresh & Easy Wine Reviews! No connoisseurs over here, just 5 moms and a married woman who had had a long day and looking forward to some wine, conversation, and manic tweeting. ;-)

Here you go with our nonsensical review! (As always, we'll add commentary from Sister Annette herself later.)

Napa Family Vineyards Chardonnay 2008
Sister Annette's Chug-ability rating: "I need a refill!" - Heavenly

First wine for everyone after a long day may have something to do with why we enjoyed this wine quite a bit as a starter. Sister Annette mentioned that it would go well with a salad and promptly asked for another pour. I'm not a white wine drinker but I found myself enjoying a cold and crisp but full body in that warm evening. The other ladies agreed with this assessment. It also went swimmingly with the wild mushroom stew and blue cheese grits I was having for day-after-orthodontist dinner. Retails at under $12, this is a great buy.

Re del Castello Chianti Classico 2007
Oakley's Chug-ability rating: "If I have nothing else to drink, this will do." - Earthbound

We were all taken aback at first taste. Everyone thought it was sour/tart to start. After a few minutes to breath, it bloomed a bit and it was drinkable again. The peppery loveliness mingled with the smoky barbecued meats. Vanessa, a fellow red lover, didn't think much of this wine either, but since it's opened, we'd drink it. This one retails under $10.

The Vine Yard Late Harvest Riesling 2008
Ana's Chug-ability rating: "I don't even like wine and I LOVE this!" - Nirvana

*DINGDINGDINGDING* We have a winner! The riesling went over extremely well especially as a "dessert" for the evening. Sweet and fruity without being all syrupy about it. To quote Annette's tweet, Ana's expression said it all. Our "I don't like wine" hostess' face lit up "like Mikey in Life commercial." The wine also went well with Tina's brie and lingonberry jam.

What makes it taste even better is that $1 for every bottle sold is donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Oh, and it retails under $8. WIN!

At the end of the evening, we were all eager to polish off both of the whites. I did try to go back to the Chianti but my palates were shot by the point. Feh...

You can read the Twitter thread for the evening here and see what everyone else thought of these wines. Because, you know, when you mix 6 girls with plenty of wine, we can't really be trusted. ;-)

Summer Tasting

2010-06-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

A big box of F&E goodies arrived a few weeks ago. My apology for not getting too it sooner!

The thing is, before I even get to take a picture of the loot, SOMEBODY started in on the Cranberry Oaktmeal Cookies with Walnut ...and I haven't seen the rest of the tub since. *sigh* Verdict: Nirvana ...judging by the fact that it has disappeared in a few days after arrival.

Then there were the condiments: Organic Ketchup, Yellow Mustard, and Barbecue Sauce. Haven't tried any of them yet but their mere presence led me to find out that the ketchup and yellow mustard I have in the fridge expired in 2008. Whoops.

The Il Fornaio Gourmet Wheat Hamburger Buns arrived just in time for my LOST finale dinner! The original idea was to get a bucket of fried chicken and pretend they were from Hurley's Mr. Cluck. But now that I had the buns, we switched up the menu to a pineapple-ginger-soy glazed sirloin burger (flavored with pressed garlic, a squirt of Sriracha, and salt and pepper) with butter and rum caramelized onion instead.

The soft, tasty buns grilled up beautifully nutty. No structural integrity failure here when you take a bite (yes, we used that term for our food stuff in this geeky household). Verdict: Heavenly.

Now, I'm not a huge white wine drinker, so I past along the Vine Yard Pinot Gris to Sister Amanda (from Four Girls Three Wines episode) after said LOST finale dinner. She said she enjoyed it very much and it went very well with her mango chicken salad a few days later. Verdict: Heavenly.

Malt Vinegar & Sea Salt Kettle Chips is waiting to be tested. My boss is a big salty snack fan so I'll let her review that one. :)

The Box O' Joy also came with an apron, the crowd-favorite $5 of $20 purchase coupon, and a gift card.

Also in the box was a list of their grill events with award winning grill expert Neil Strawder (aka Bigmista) with special grilling tips. The first 100 people will receive a free reusable bag.

Friday, June 4: 5 p.m. at Eagle Rock location on, well, Eagle Rock.
Friday, July 30: 5 p.m. at Norwalk location on Rosecrans.
Saturday, August 21: 4 p.m. at Alhambra location on Main.
Saturday, August 28: 4 p.m. at Northridge location on Nordhoff.

The irony in this is that I just went to F&E to restock a couple of days before the box arrived. While there, I did go a little crazy as I always do after a few weeks of not haven't been to F&E. Ah...the binge cycle! I came out with a few new items I haven't tried before.

Barbecue Pasta Salad was a surprise. I bought that to eat with the veggie dogs I picked up for my meatless Tuesday and found myself serving it again with the LOST Burger and it was divine. Pasta, corn, black beans, and red bell peppers tossed in mayo-based barbecue dressing that is just sweet enough with a subtle kick of poblano chilli. It doesn't taste like a pasta salad mixed with barbecue sauce, if you're thinking that's what it is. It's more of a sweeter and smokier pasta salad than your plain ol' stuff.

Your meal having barbecue sauce already on it or not, this pasta salad will still kick your traditional pasta salad's ass. Verdict: Nirvana.

Organic Chocolate Soy Milk was new to me. Sister Aurora (the Provider of F&E Coupons...since she lives in Long Beach and getting all the F&E mail) told me about it but I haven't picked it up. And I was a little disappointed that it seemed more watery than the Silk counterpart. I don't know what are all in it that makes the difference but it tasted like a glass half full of Silk Chocolate Soy with another half a glass of water mixed in. Verdict: Purgatory.

Eat Well Creamy Basil Chicken was quite disaster. The whole wheat pasta was overcooked and was grainy in texture. And, a trend with Eat Well line, the sauce was under-salted. Having been to the Eat Well tasting event and talked with the chef, I knew why the salt level was low. But this thing just lacked flavors altogether. If there were more tomatoes, I think I might have been okay with it not having the salt. But I *did* eat it all, so it wasn't completely inedible. Verdict: Purgatory.

Tons of products at F&E for the summer grilling, you guys.

And of course, keep your eyes out for the great deal that are the Grill Pack: nearly 5 lbs. of burger patties, Italian sausage, and seasoned chicken pieces. The normally $9.99 deal usually go on sale for something like $5.99 during the high grilling season so keep your eyes peeled and stock up!

Plastic bags make great tutu

2010-04-26T07:22:00.000-07:00

I usually take my canvas bag to F&E. But as you in the congregation know, it's really hard to stick with the list at Fresh & Easy. So I usually end up with more than one or two canvas bags can handle.

But all of those bags I saved came in handy when I have to make a costume for a Thriller performance at Earth Day Celebration at SEA Lab in Redondo Beach with Dance4Oceans.

Say hello to Plastic Trash Zombie Ballerina.

That's me and Staci, fellow dancer who is concerned about the use of plastic bags.

As you know, I'm one of the organizers of Thrill the World Los Angeles. So when Akiko at Dance4Oceans came calling for assistance, we were more than happy to help out the Plastic Trash Zombies who dance to raise awareness about all the plastic trash that ends up in the ocean, killing marine animals.

So, instead of the usual undead zombies, we were made up to look like undead sea creatures who rose from the dead to tell you about how YOUR plastic trash are kiling them.

Hopefully, people get the message.

Design a Bag & Win Groceries

2010-04-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

Hello, designers.

...*giggle* I hear Tim Gun in my head when I typed that...

*ahem*

Fresh & Easy has a contest going on. Design their canvas bag and if your design wins the votes of F&E customers, you win a year of groceries! You have until the end of May to enter!

Here's the contest submission page. And here's where the logos are.

Now go. Have fun. Don't steal the Temple's logo. I think they'd notice. ;-)

"Eat Well" Party

2010-04-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

Well, it wasn't supposed to be a raging party. But the wine was flowing and somebody broke a vase at the end, so I guess the blogger preview of F&E new, healthy "EatWell" line was indeed a certified party. :)

This is also the first time all three of the Temple's priestesses were together in the same room! So, I'm starting this post and Sister Annette and Sister Amy will chime in as we go along.

'N: Indeed it was. All that was missing were the Cava and Malbec, but they may have taken the party to a whole ‘nother level. As it was, the wines that were offered were delicious, especially the bubbly. F&E really knows how to choose tasty, affordable wines. They certainly give Trader Joe’s a run for the money in that department.

We were there with many Los Angeles bloggers and tweeps to sample the new line of grab-and-go "nutritionally balanced meal options" which will be in store April 7.

'N: The launch will consist of 17 new items with a second phase coming soon after. The Priestesses all hope that dessert will be part of the second phase.

Many of the offerings are chicken and fish based meals with a good selection of vegetarian meals thrown in that this meat-eater would not lift her nose at.

Yep. Healthy, tasty meals that's FRESH! No frozen or artificial here, kids.

'N: But you *can* freeze the meals. Very important for those of us who grab prepared meals for office lunches. The packaging includes information on re-heating from frozen. They’ve thought of everything!

EatWell products have nutritional postings right in the front of how many calories, how much fat and saturated fat, and sodium per serving are in them. AND one serving here is exactly what it means--that container you're holding is one serving and therefore the nutritional value applies to all that you're about to eat.

The cool part? Each of these EatWell meals contains 25% or less of your daily caloric intake (based on a 2,000 calorie diet). So if you eat 4 of these in one day, you'll be right at the target. Pretty neat concept.

But what wins everyone over is the fact that one of these packages count as one serving. There is no calculating of how many serving is in a box and how many calories do they add up to. Throw out your calculator there, peeps.

So the team had the foods out for us to try. Not all 17 of the products, but the safe choices.

Farmer's Market Salad with Lemon Hummus dressing

O: I didn't try this one.

'N: Me neither, I opted for the Spicy Tuna.

Veggie wrap with red pepper hummus

O: I didn't try this one either. With my braces, I'm not about to bite into crunch veggies. But I adore the red pepper hummus so this can't possibly fail me.

'N: This is one of purely vegetarian offerings that I would eat on a regular basis. “Crisp cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots, and spring mix lettuce with red pepper hummus wrapped in a sun-dried tomato tortilla” – Quite tasty and filling. And for $2.99 you can get some of those pesky fruit and vegetable servings out of the way and enjoy it.

Spicy Tuna "Sushi Box" (aka Chirashi)

O: The heat is going to be too much for those who don't eat spicy at all. But those who already love spicy tuna sushi, the heat is perfect here. Just enough to kick you in the mouth but not so much you weep. With the brown rice and edamame, it's a complete meal. This would be the one I'd pick for lunch all the time. The Sisters agreed.

'N: and went back for seconds!

Turkey chili

O: Annette and I agreed this lacks some cumin and could use more chili powder. I mean, we're not looking for spicy heat, but spices as flavors.

What about some cheese or sour cream? Annette actually asked for some but there weren't any on hand. Chef Katie also pointed out, that the extra fixings would put the serving over 25% requirement. They did want us to taste the meals the way they actually will be sold. So...remember to pick up some cheese and sour cream on your own there, people.

'N:And as one mom blogger pointed out, you can always add heat, but you can’t take it away. This chili is a good base. You can have it bland for the kids and kick it up a notch at home if you like your chili to taste like it has some chili in it :)

Arroz Con Pollo

O: Again, need more cumin and spices. The texture is great, just need some more flavors.

Bruschetta Chicken

O: Something is missing and it ain't the salt. Again, we think it needs a bit more herbage in the sauce.

Teriyaki salmon, brown rice, and veggies

O: The salmon was cooked perfectly and the sauce is just right. Another go-to lunch item right here.

We had great food and great conversation with other bloggers and tweeps. A briefing from John Burry and the team, as he called in the Tupperware speech in the middle of dinner, and a casual Q&A with the bloggers.

Chef Katie revealed she likes the Mojito Shrimps, not served today but will be in the stores. On that note we also found that the shrimps came from sustainable farms in Asia that meet F&E/Tesco's standards. (Thailand shrimps! Yes, I am supporting my Motherland!)

ETA: A fellow blogger Amy also discussed the question she posed about the source of F&E seafood.

I'd ask about some EatWell dessert. I mean, you can have healthy stuff that'd fit in the 25% requirment, right? Fruit crumbles? Angel Food Cake? There's gotta be SOMETHING! They said they'd think about it.

Then we were off touring the HQ. We got to sneak a peek at products in development and packaging design, as well as the staff's Halloween party snapshots and, for you geeks like me, the tardis in CEO Tim Mason's office.

John also mentions that they're developing the EatWell for kids. Goodness, I think, is what they'll be called. Kids-friendly healthy, wholesome food with hidden veggies here and there i.e. carrots and spinach blended into the spaghetti sauce. The mom bloggers are excited about that one. Some of us with picky eating adults in the household also rejoiced. ;-)

We all went home with a gift bag each: the canvas 6-bottle-of-wine bag with a bottle of their new Tempranillo Spanish red, a recycled paper note pad, a $25 gift card, and a $5-off-$20-purchase coupon.

Oh, how we have missed you so, $5-off$20 coupons!

Over all, it was a great event for us to try out the new products. Once again, proven that they do listen to their customers here.

Here's the slide show:

Now, more coverage of the event:

Dinner Possible: 7-Layer Dip

2010-03-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

(The picture was from Valentine's Day 2009. Not made out of F&E stuff but I wanted to show you, that's all.)

My 7-layer dip has become somewhat famous among friends. So when I went to F&E the other day, I figured I could possibly pick up all the ingredients for that there. And I was right!

Usually, my first layer is non-fat refried beans with melted Mexican-style cheese. But since I've come to love the Cuban Black Bean Dip, I figured, why not? And it worked out wonderfully.

One-Stop-Shop F&E 7-Layer Dip

Layer them up and let sit in the fridge for an hour for the flavors to meld together. Served with any of F&E Tortilla chips. We like the organic mixed ones.

Layer 1
1 jar of F&E Cuban Black Bean Dip.

Layer 2
1 container of F&E fresh Mild Salsa (or spicy, if you like it hot)

Layer 3
2 containers of F&E fresh Guacamole. I like sealing off this layer underneath another layer (like the sour cream). If it's on the surface, it tends to go brown.

Layer 4 - The Secret Layer
Mix well 1 big tub of (light) F&E Sour Cream and 1 packet of Lawry's Taco Seasoning. Yep. It's the secret ingredient that makes people go...hmm...what's THAT?

Layer 5
As much as you like of the F&E Mexican Style Shredded Cheese

Layer 6
Black olives. 2 cans of F&E Sliced Black Olives or 1 can of F&E Chopped Black Olives.

Layer 7
Finely sliced green onion to your liking.

Whoops...

2010-03-27T21:43:00.001-07:00

I hope my comment on my Spring Street F&E running out of Guinness the day before St. Patty's didn't get the store in trouble.

I popped in today and in the middle of the beer & wine aisle were cases and cases of Guinness on sale.

Oops.

No Guinness for you

2010-03-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

Naturally, I ran into F&E today to pick up all of my St. Patrick's Day party need: components for the Guinness beef stew and for Guinness Chocolate Cake. I rounded the corner to get the Guinness and ...

...the shelf was empty.

At $4.99, rightfully so, I thought. Either way, I grabbed a 6-pack of Hornsby Hard Cider and went to check out.

F&E team member came to check my ID.

"How dare you run out of Guinness!" I jokingly exasperated.

"Um. That's my fault," he said.

"Are you guys going to restock tomorrow?"

"We're out out."

"?"

"We thought we ordered enough, but they were selling like crazy."

"Well, at this price, I'm not surprised."

"And I also bought a lot of it. I'm REALLY sorry."

I mean, if you ask someone at some other stores, they'd probably either don't know why they're out or blame somebody for it.

Not at my F&E.

Not only staff actually admit that they've understocked a popular seasonal product, but they confessed to out-buying your beer. LOL.

A Star Wars food moment

2010-03-05T16:07:00.000-08:00

F&E Gourmet Swiss Chocolate Truffles.

Death Star.

Just sayin'.

Four Girls. Three Wines.

2010-02-11T08:08:00.000-08:00

When I got words about the Fresh & Easy Twitter Tasting of their wines on Tuesday, a party was instantly planned. Having volunteered to participate in this, F&E sent me all the three wines for the occasion.

I (@oakmonster) rounded up Sister Annette (@dananner), and my friends Ana (@anaperiodista) and non-tweeting Amanda for dinner, wine, and girl talk.

Well, Ana doesn't drink wine but she took a sip of each for a taste anyway. That's the spirit! :)

And boy, did we all had a day from hell before we got to the wine.

Note here that the Twitter tasting was supposed to start at 7 p.m. PST. We didn't chime in until 7:45. And here's why.

Amanda was taking the usual commuter bus we usually take together except that the bus got in a fender bender up in Downtown LA. So she was late but still first to arrive. Ana has a 2-year-old son who was sick and wanted no one but his mommy. She came in after Amanda. I wasn't home to receive either one of them as I was on my way to pick up Sister Annette from the Blue Line station. Annette hauled in from Burbank on the Red then Blue Line just to find herself stuck on the train one station away from final destination due to police activity.

So by 7:45 when Annette and I got back, we got back online and on with #fandewine hashtag and hell bent on catching up to everyone. They were almost done with their Malbec by this point.

However, we were being complete and total clowns about this whole thing.

Everyone was talking wine: "smooth and oaky," "lemon on the nose," "acidity balanced with bright zesty fruit."

The reviews from our corner? "Yeah, I'll chug that." And we continued to tweet off topic as the evening progressed and more wine was poured.

Hey, when you put 4 girls who all had a bad day with 3 bottles of wine, you can't expect any professionalism out of that!

Now, on to the wines.

Montcadi Cava Rose – under $6
"Let's finish this sucker off." - Heavenly

I have been on a bit of a bubbly kick since Thanksgiving. So I was excited to try the Cava.

It didn't disappoint. A little fruity, but not too much. I can see myself coming home to this every night of the week. This was the obvious choice as it was the only bottle that got polished off that night.

We thoroughly enjoy this with the F&E Gourmet Swiss Truffles , which by the way is made with CRACK I tell you--Nirvana. Especially the milk chocolate ones. Oh my god. Sooo soo good!

Boro Hills Sauvignon Blanc – under $11
"Where are the bubbles?" - Earthbound

It was not love at first whiff for this screw top. It has this funky little smell at first pour which dissipated by the time you swirl it around a bit. For a second there, Amanda and I almost didn't try the wine based on that whiff alone. It turned out to be the tail end of that passion fruit/grape fruit note so prominent in the wine.

Amanda said this would be the wine she can imagine drinking by the poolside on a hot summer day. However, we agreed that we kept expecting to taste some bubbles. All the flavors that would benefit from the bubbles are there. It tasted like a sparkling wine that had gone flat.

Matuco Malbec 2007 - under $10
"We'll totally chug this." - Heavenly

Annette was the one to initiate the chug-ability rating for the evening with the Malbec. Full body, tasty treat that went quite well with the barbecued baby back ribs from Maderas Steak & Ribs and went gangbuster with their mac and cheese. Although we also agreed with folks in twitter that steak and chimichurri should be the best match.

Amanda did like this one best of the bunch and took the half of it home.

So, the Twitter tasting was a lot of fun. I couldn't have done it on my own. 3 bottles to taste with just little old me would take 3 weeks to polish off.

Thank GOD for girl friends. :)

F&E listens: Gluten-Free list

2010-02-01T19:44:00.000-08:00

Last week F&E announced that they are now marking their gluten-free products better so folks can find them. Their gluten-free intro says:

We've received a lot of questions about which of our products are gluten-free, so we created a simple way to identify them. Just look for this icon next to the notable gluten-free products in our stores. We also have hundreds of other products naturally made without gluten-containing ingredients.

You can download the list as well so you know before you shop.

On that same note, an F&E rep has emailed me after reading about my little vegetarian rant that to assure me that F&E has heard the message loud and clear. Obviously, I wasn't the first one to inquire about their vegetarian/vegan selection. F&E has been receiving a lot of feedback on the grab-and-go foods even before the Temple chimed in.

Maybe it's the New Year Resolutioners looking for healthy alternatives. (Wait until they get to the rightfully-so-back-by-popular-demand F&E gourmet cupcakes. Their diet is sooo over! Muwahahah!). Maybe it's those like me who saw Food Inc. and/or read Fast Food Nation or Omnivore's Dilemma recently and decided to change their diet to align with their ethics. (Gosh knows I'm trying.) Maybe it's just people becoming more conscious of what they eat altogether.

But hey, all of us spoke up. I'm just here to let you know that F&E heard ya. Like the Gluten-Free labeling, they are not ignoring our feedbacks. It just takes a while to get the ball rolling.

One day, part-time and full-time vegetarians and vegan brothers and sisters, we will have our moment too. :)

Now, back to those cupcakes...

Melts in Your Mouth

2010-01-31T10:13:00.000-08:00

Melts in Your Mouth - Fresh and Easy Sweets Review, originally uploaded by Nannerlady.

So I had had a satisfying dinner and needed dessert. Then I remembered that I hadn't opened up my latest Fresh & Easy box.

I was not disappointed. I have a new Hunk to enjoy on V-Day, some Swiss truffles that positively melt in your mouth and some kid-tested, mother-approved Snickerdoodles.

Onto the cookies. I don't make these but my mom does, so here's her review:
Pros:
- Throughly cooked. Neither over- nor under-done
- Not overly sweet
- Quote "For a store bought cookie these are pretty good. I would buy these."

Cons:
- Not much crinkle on top
- Needs more cinnamon. It should be evenly distributed over the surface of the cookie, not concentrated in the center.

Kid (that would be me) tested - cinnamon and sugar in a cookie. 'Nuf said. Crumbly, sweet, delicious. Now where's my cup of milk?

These would probably taste even better slightly warmed up in the microwave. The snickerdoodles are $2.59/8 count. Also, all natural so I don't have to worry about Josh eating them in the middle of the night.

Verdict: Heavenly

Gourmet Swiss Truffles ($3.99/6.3 oz)
*happy sigh* Chocolate craving for the day satisified. O.K., maybe one more. The wrappers are mint and silver, denoting milk and dark chocolate. I'm a HUGE fan of dark chocolate these days, but the milk variety was just as delicious. Extremely smooth and I only needed one to satisfy my sweet tooth. That in itself is amazing.

Verdict: Nirvana

One Huge Hunk $4.29/14.1 oz
I've had the Belgian Dark Hunk, and I can only eat one section of it at a time. The newest addition to the Hunk family (there's also a regular milk version) is a milk chocolate bar with candied pecans and fruit pieces. I may have to fight my mother for it. She saw "pecan" and her eyes lit up. I'll let you know how it goes.

Verdict: ...coming soon...

Vegetarian Dilemma

2010-01-16T17:56:00.000-08:00

One of my goals this year is to go meatless and mostly eggless on Tuesdays. (You can follow that particular adventure here.)

I know a lot of people are trying to do the same thing for health and/or environmental purposes like folks at Meatless Monday.

But mine is a bit of a spiritual and religious journey.

I'm doing it in memory of my mom who gave up beef a long time ago for religious reason. We're Buddhist, by the way. When I tried the meatless Tuesday, essentially not taking any lives on the day of my birth, back in high school and college, she was supportive of it. Of course, being so young and back in the days when tofu/soy products weren't all that available, I ended up eating mainly cheese and fries on those days so I stopped the practice before I have a heart attack.

Now that I have the motivation and the mean, I'm back on the weekly meatless wagon.

So, knowing that Fresh & Easy has a good selection of what I called "non-meat meat", I headed to the store to plan out my first Veggie/Meatless Tuesday.

First of, there are a whole bunch of soy "meat" variety and tofu to choose from. A lot of the marinaded "meat" you can just heat up and eat. Super easy. Actually, I tried one of the "chicken" things once and didn't have a good experience. So, I grabbed something a little more familiar, Wildwood Organics teriyaki sproutofu, a baked, solid tofu. Thai people use similar items in our Pad Thai and other vegetarian dishes.

Once that was picked up, the menu fell into place. Sproutofu dipped in the yummy F&E Thai Peanut Sauce (got a Heavenly review from this Thai) with a side of F&E heat-and-eat jasmine rice (perfect lunch portion for me) and organic vine-ripened tomatoes I got from farmer's market.

That sounded like a lot of work for lunch. So, I thought I'd take a look in the grab-and-go section to see what's what.

It was more of what's not.

To my surprise, 3 items in the grab-and-go section were vegetarian: the samosas, breakfast burritos, and the egg rolls. Absolutely nothing in the family size was vegetarian.

(Note: I'm sure there is some vegetarian soups on the shelf but I didn't get a good look at them. I know that I can't finish the tub of soup at work so I skipped them based on practicality.)

That disappointment turned into curiosity. So I went to the front of the store to check the pre-packed salads and sandwiches. Well, there's the pesto and mozzarella salad (which I love), the yogurt stuff, and maybe one other thing. That was it.

Final quick glance at frozen entrees perhaps? Aside from mac and cheese, nada.

Interesting, isn't it? As a meat eater, I never have to think of these things. Now that I'm a part-time vegetarian, I realize there isn't much I could grab right out of F&E to my lunch room that is nutritious and satisfying.

I mean, as a vegetarian, to have a satisfying and nutritious lunch from F&E, I have to assemble my lunch with different components. (And yes, I realize I could've picked up some frozen veggies to go with my lunch as well, but that's just ANOTHER component.)

As a meat eater, I can waltz in there and out the door as soon as I could decide what I want to eat. So. Much. Yumminess!

Now, I'm also going egg-less on these Tuesdays. And that got me thinking of the vegan diet.

If a vegetarian already has problems finding something to eat here, can you imagine a vegan trying to find some lunch at F&E?

I have noticed F&E has been very good with bringing in healthy products for other dietary need. I sent my friend with Celiac over to pick up the AFFORDABLE gluten-free food like the pasta, pretzels and dark chocolate pudding which saves him money and a trip across town to Whole Foods. Another friend who is allergic to dairy also appreciate the soy yogurt, milk, and dessert selection.

Maybe it's time to start treating our vegetarian and vegan friends right as well.

So, let us pray, my fellow F&E Worshipers, for the herbivores--even the part time one like me--that we would someday have the convenient, delicious and nutritious lunch like our omnivore brothers and sisters currently enjoy.

In Chef Mike we trust. Amen.

ETA - 01/20/10: Forgive me for I have sinned. I had Trader Joe's frozen Paneer Masala with spinach basmati rice last night. And it was delicious. 2 more of the frozen vegetarian entrees (one Indian, one Thai) await more taste tests.

Have a little F&E New Year!

2009-12-31T18:17:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve Dinner

Giada's Beef and Butternut Squash Stew - made with 2 lbs. of beef roast and the miracle that is pre-cut butternut squash from Fresh & Easy. Verdict: Nirvana for the time saving factor alone. Seriously. The first time I made this, I spent half an hour attacking the mutther-effin' whole squash!)

Chilled bottle of Ogio Prosecco. Verdict: Earthbound. Not bad for $8.99 to drink straight up but I'd totally buy these to make bellinis and the likes.

New Year's Day Breakfast Plan

The fantastic Il Fornaio Panettone. Oh. My. GOD! This so so fluffy and delicious. It tastes so fresh, so un-boxed--unlike other panettone. Verdict: Nirvana.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Holiday Under $10

2009-11-19T14:49:00.001-08:00

I haven't been grocery shopping in AGES. With, first, Thrill the World, then my work's Big Gala, I barely had time to eat, let along to cook. The last time I was at the store, we were stocking up before Brandon had his nose surgery, so that he'd have something ready to eat while he stayed home.

Naturally, I didn't think I'd be updating the Temple until I get back from Thailand at the end of November.

Well...surprise!

I came home yesterday to two big boxes from Fresh & Easy. There were in it.

Namely, Cranberry & Nut Popcorn Clusters ($4.99), Sweet Boutique Gourmet Belgian Chocolate Biscuit Collection ($7.99), Sweet Boutique Gourmet Swiss Chocolate Assortment ($7.99), Ogio Prosecco Non-vintage ($8.99), the Vine Yard Cabernet Franc 2007 ($7.99), and ChocChoc Mint Thins ($1.99).

According to the note included, "a few items from our new chocolate lines that recently launched on November 11 along with a couple bottles of our award-winning wines."

Well...I am totally surprised!

So...a few items came out of my suitcases and in went the minimum melting potential items of the biscuits and popcorn. The chocolatey stuff doesn't do well in the average temperature of 85F. Heh.

The bubbly? That'll come in handy when I get back. :)

So, thanks F&E for an early Christmas present!

Y'all take great care over Thanksgiving and have tons of turkey and stuffing for me. (We don't do turkey in the Big Mango.) I'll see you in December!

I want you back

2009-10-26T23:49:00.000-07:00

I apologize to the congregation of my long absence. Thrill the World has finally come to a close, officially, although I have to lead another mini team of zombies to dance at Halloween on Pine once more before we can call the whole thing quit.

The big team, over 100 zombies, are going to perform at the Clippers half-time show on the same night. I'm sticking with my hometown(ish) because I'm cool like that. Besides, I just made some money for Inner-City Arts for not being up at Staples Center. So yey, me.

Anyway. I have wanted to blog about F&E new moves since that visit to the Holy Land.

Things were taken off the shelves to be replaced with something else to see how they would go, Simon had said. Some of us hardcore fans are looking around the store, hoping that some day our favorite stuff would return to the shelves.

For me, I miss the Belgian Chocolate Mousse like it's nobody's business. Sure, it'll take me 2 days to finish just that little cup of heaven--so rich!--but I do love my mousse. From that same dessert case, I also miss the F&E brand cupcakes. I'm not fond of this new bakery they're getting their stuff from. So much frosting!

I also miss getting the whole chicken, but I also understand why that went off the shelf.

Now, let me open the floor to you guys. What are you missing at your F&E since store reorganization?

Dark Chocolate Heaven

2009-10-07T10:35:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying "mmmmmmmmmm". This pudding beats Jell-O® hands-down. So very yummy.

I've been craving chocolate and Fresh and Easy's Dark Chocolate pudding hits the spot. It's thick, creamy, smooth, and most importantly, very chocolaty. The secret? Real ingredients. Milk, chocolate, vanilla, etc.

I sighed in perfect contentment as the smooth chocolate pudding hit my expectant taste buds. It was the perfect ending to a stressful night. It's also the perfect size for dessert or a mid-afternoon snack. Bonus, it's all-natural and gluten free. And in my case tonight, guilt-free too.

Most Expensive Cobb Salad

2009-10-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

Last week, I craved a Cobb salad. I already had bacon and eggs at home and a leftover roasted chicken that needed to be dealt with. So I thought I'd run into F&E to get a bag of salad and a hunk of blue cheese and head on home.

I ended up with...

A bag of salad
A block of blue cheese...although took me a while to pick between regular blue and gorgonzola...
F&E string cheese
Peaches...that were on sale
Bananas from the hammock (snort...giggle...yeah, I'm a 13 year old boy inside)
A 6-pack of national brand yogurt, betraying my usual Greek variety because Brandon likes peach yogurt.
Milk
A small bottle of Moroccan Mint tea
A box of Yogi Tea
F&E Baby Breathe Easy bubble bath...which was 1 cent per oz. cheaper than national brand.
A bottle of F&E lemon dish soap...which by the way, oddly enough, has a gingery end to the smell. Oh, and once again, similar to the old orange juice bottle, the plastic here is a little soft. I simply grab the bottle and out squirt the soap for the first several uses. Product design folks, please take note. Thank you.
And something else I don't recall now.

Total bill was about $25.

Yep. The most expensive Cobb salad ever.

Bargains found at my Fresh&Easy

2009-09-17T21:29:00.001-07:00

Tonight I picked up a small Tri Tip roast at my local Fresh&Easy. It was on crazy sale and cost $4.00! I'm planning to season it with garlic and black pepper and rosemary and serve it with roasted red potatoes. The leftover tri tip can be sandwiches and salads for the next few days.

Another great and delicious bargain is the $3.99 The Harbor Pinot Grigio. It is crisp and slightly fruity and very very delicious!

Dinner Possible: Beef Sliders

2009-09-17T21:16:00.000-07:00

Oh Denizens of the Temple of Fresh&Easy have I ever got a delicious snack/dinner/diet friendly dinner for you!

Tonight I stopped in at my local Fresh&Easy and found a new product on the shelf: Beef Sliders. Even better, they were marked down for clearance. For $.75 I got 6 sliders. Easy peasy, I thought, I'll give these a try!

I pan fried the sliders for 7 minutes. While they were cooking I took two slices of Fresh&Easy brand sliced sourdough bread and put Fresh&Easy brand feta on 1/2 the slice. I added some fresh minced garlic, put the slider on top of the feta/garlic and folded the bread over.

All I can say is OMFG so crazy delicious that if I wasn't on a diet, I'd cook the other four sliders up and eat them RIGHT NOW.

Verdict: Fresh&Easy Beef Sliders: Nirvana

Visit to the Holy Land: F&E Headquarters

2009-09-12T16:20:00.000-07:00

The pilgrimage is now completed. I have been given a tour of Fresh & Easy headquarters by Simon Uwins and his team, Roberto and Stephanie. Elizabeth of LAMomBlog and TradedmyBMWfoaMinivan and Lindsay of LAist were also there.

- Photo courtesy of Fresh & Easy

We visited the wine tasting room. (But no wine for us...dang...) We poked our heads into their test kitchens. We got to see the staff "lunch room" which was more like a small cafeteria where they would hold a monthly video conference update between the HQ and the Riverside distribution center.

Naturally, we dined on F&E grubs in Simon's office and talked about all sorts of things before we head over to the El Segundo store for a tour of things to come and all the new products. And for me to revisit my swan dive moment... /shudder.

Anyways. Why were we there at F&E HQ?

A LOT of changes are coming your way, Believers. And it looks to be a good thing.

Simon started to mention it here on the F&E blog about how some things have disappeared to be replaced by other things, adjusting to what the customers are saying.

Yeah, how DARE you take away my Belgian Chocolate Mousse...but then again, you did give me the Banana Cream Pie... Sorry. Digression.

And there are more changes to come. For example, in a couple of weeks, F&E is going to launch their ad campaign. You'll see some bus shelter signs and billboards and signage in the store. You will also hear customer's testimony on the radio along with the specials. The campaign will focus on how F&E is saving money in the stores and therefore is able to pass along the awesome price to the customers without sacrificing the quality. [ETA: Simon just blogged about it.] Like these guys here:

- Both photos courtesy of Fresh & Easy

The radio spot actually got me and Lindsay giggling. After a customer testimonial, the announcer came on to say something like, "And thank YOU, Mike, for saving us some money [by not hiring an actor to do the ad]."

For example, how F&E stores are being energy efficient is not only good for the environment, but it's good for the bottom line. Energy savers like their LED-lit refrigerators and super energy efficient new slide-door freezers are saving on their electricity bills and therefore less cost to tag onto the F&E products.

Better care of the produce also plays in this. Simon pointed out the new banana display. So far we have to dive for the bananas from boxes on the shelves at F&E. And those suckers get bruised so easily and a lot went to waste. Not with the new soft display.

Simon said, "It cradles the fruits, reducing the bruising. You know, like a hammock."

Of course, I blurted out, "So it's a banana hammock..."

After he's done laughing, Roberto promised to send me a better picture of the "banana hammock" since the shelves were empty by the time we were at the store. Here it is.

- Photo courtesy of Fresh & Easy

See? A multi-layer hammock...for the bananas... Alright. I'll stop.

Some of the products and shelves are being moved around and more signage is being put in in each aisle for easy navigation. Ice freezer is being moved to the front so you can finally run in, get some ice, and out you go before the thing melts.

To my dismay, I still find the magazine racks up a the register at the Manhattan Beach store. Then again, that store has more room than others to play with those things. So, I'll let that one go. For now.

Next, you may have noticed, started with the intro of Mother's Joy, that F&E is now carrying more products than just the F&E brand. It came down to what customers want, Simon told us.

So we have the good ol' reliable F&E brand stuff. Then the national brand. And the newly added, non F&E brand but F&E approved "generic" brand for those who want to stretch the budget a little bit further. If Mother's Joy cereals are any indication, F&E approved generics are pretty good.

Finally, all the new products in the store. Like the variety of rice, gluten-free pasta (my celiac suffering friend thanks you), and marinades.

Simon pointed out the F&E line of baby products which include baby wipes, shampoos, and bubble baths. Didn't know they had that line, did you? Neither did we.

What got us girls excited was the new line of F&E beauty products called Retreat. I smelled just about everything on the shelf and decided that I would not be able to use the Mulberry hand cream because I would probably try to eat my hands in my sleep. It smells so darn tasty! I guess if the body scrub was a sugar scrub instead of salt, I might try to eat that too.

We also asked some of the questions we're sure some of you might have.

For example, the new line of organic preserves that are coming out said on the label, made "California strawberries". However, when you looked at the back it says, "Product of Canada".

It goes back to finding the vendor who would do it at the right quality, Simon said. For the all-natural, no preservative preserves they want, it could only be done in Canada. So, yes, strawberries are CA grown but they are shipped north to get processed and get shipped back down.

That brought up the questions of where the produce came from. Whatever is in season locally is stocked in the store, Simon said. Of course, for examples, if the apples go out of season, being a grocery store, you can't just go without them and therefore they will have to be imported from elsewhere.

These methods don't sit right with some of you, I'm sure. What bothers me more is that, like the case of the preserves, there is no facility in California, let alone the USA, that could produce what F&E wanted for that price. And we wonder why all the jobs are going overseas. But that's a major digression to a completely different place so, I'll shut up now.

A lot of information being passed back and forth between us bloggers and Simon and his team. All in all, it was a very interesting and informative evening, full of discoveries and exciting things to come!

Dinner Possible: Spaghetti alla Carbonara

2009-08-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

One of the new F&E product I absolutely adore is the 5-oz. diced pancetta. These pouches are measured out to perfect portion to start your spaghetti sauce, scramble with your eggs, or make pasta carbonara for two. (By the way, you'll find the pancetta in the deli section.)

I usually buy many packs and throw them in the freezer so I always have pancetta on hand. It only took minutes to thaw in the microwave or just leave it out on the counter for a bit.

Tonight, the pancetta came out for the carbonara I watched Chef Anne Burrell made on Food Network. Here's my adaptation to serve 2 with what I have on hand. The method is exactly the same.

Salt
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 pack of F&E cubed pancetta
1/2 package of F&E whole wheat spaghetti
4 eggs
1/2 cup F&E shredded parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper
Flat leaf parsley

For dessert? F&E Lemon Sorbet, splashed with Limoncello, will freshen you right up after a big bowl of creamy pasta.

Dinner Possible: Steak Fajitas

2009-07-28T15:45:00.001-07:00

I love to cook, no doubt about that. I also like to post recipes that I know work well and are easily adaptable. And so, with that caveat ...

Since I know from experience that Fresh and Easy isn't everywhere, I will provide ingredients and/or substitutes where necessary.

Bon apetite!

Ingredients:

If shopping at F&E

1 pack F&E Beef Fajitas
1 pack F&E Whole Wheat Tortillas
1 bottle F&E Ranch Dressing
1 bag avocados
1 count iceberg lettuce

If shopping at a regular grocery store:

1 lb. flank or bottom round steak, thinly sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 green and/or red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 pkg. fajita seasoning
1 dozen (whole wheat) flour tortillas
1 bottle ranch dressing
4 avocados (preferably Haas)
1 head iceberg lettuce

Directions:

Pit and remove avocados from their skin and place in a mixing bowl.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of ranch dressing per avocado to the bowl and mash with a fork (or blend in a blender like my mother did). Set aside.
Take lettuce and cut head in half, shred thinly.
Heat large saute pan on medium high heat. Once warm, add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Carefully add the contents of the beef fajita pack (or steak, onions, etc) to the pan. Toss ingredients to allow all sides of the meat and vegetables to cook.
While steak is cooking, microwave tortillas for about 15-20 seconds per tortilla.
Plate and serve!

Other sides: Salsa, Cuban Black Bean Dip, tortilla chips, sour cream

Welcome Sister 'Nette

2009-07-23T08:07:00.000-07:00

I invited Annette to join me at the demo the other day. She blogs and she twitter and she takes fabulous pictures and a foodie. So I thought, hey, perfect!

She really liked the food we cooked up and wine we tasted the other day. So she stepped into the store.

Everyone, please welcome the new Priestess of the Temple of F&E.

She currently lives in Lancaster, but there is no F&E up there yet. (Hear that, F&E?) So, she currently goes to the Van Nuys store.

Here's Sister Annette's recap of her experience and the demo.

Demo-licious

2009-07-19T15:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Brandon looked up at me after his first bite of Fresh&Easy banana cream pie. Intently, he looked into my eyes.

"They put crack in this."

I looked at him, bemused.

"Banana cream pies should not taste this good."

And I couldn't have agreed with him more.

Verdict: Banana Cream Pie: Nirvana.

*

Flashback to Thursday.

F&E invited a handful of LA mom/dad bloggers and one of its biggest fan over for an evening of wine tasting and cooking demonstration with Chef Mike himself at Sur La Table at the Original Farmers Market in Los Angeles.

We noshed on lovely snacks of dips and crackers, cheeses and meat, and crudites, while the wait staff brought us La Gioisa Prosecco to start. Nothing memorable about this one but it definitely didn't suck.

Verdict: La Gioisa Prosecco: Earthbound

I had the honor to meet Chef Mike. I know that I'm a blogger and that I put myself out there in the world, but it still freaks me out a little bit when Chef Mike told me he read my blog and wanted to know what I thought they should do about the tortilla soup situation.

Wow. I mean, WOW.

From then, we got to the hands-on demo. Each of the 4 stations attacked different dishes on the menu for the evening. All the while, the wait staff continued to pour any of the 5 wines on the tasting menu for us while we got our hands dirty.

I couldn't really eat that day since that very same morning I had a visit with my orthodontist. I managed to sample a few soft items that evening. And, of course, the wines to numb my pain. ;-)

My little team made lovely pizzas. My friend Lupe, one hell of a cook, even tossed the pizza dough for good measure! And then our group were tasked to make avocado sauce (fresh avocados + ranch dressing ...and a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon if you like a bit more flavors) for the heat-and-eat steak fajitas Chef Mike was cooking up in front of the class. A jar of the spicy bean dip also accompanied the meal.

The other teams made apricot (and mustard) chicken fingers with dipping sauce with (instant) brown and white rice and veggies with herb butter (heat-and-eat); and baked salmon with peanut sauce and soba noodles stir-fry with frozen Asian veggies.

Oh yeah, the peanut sauce. As I am a Thai, I don't put peanut sauce on anything but my satay so I'm a little wearied of people applying bottled peanut sauce to everything. But I must stay, F&E Peanut Sauce actually tastes pretty darn close to the real thing.

Verdict: Peanut Sauce: Heavenly (...or at least this Thai approves of it)

At this point you MUST understand what had already transpired at this demo.

You add free flowing wine to a room full of women (okay, there were a couple of men there, but surely out-numbered) who love to cook and eat and, well, drink. What you got by the time we arrived at dessert samplers was something just shy of total debauchery.

I must confess that at some point, I stopped watching Chef Mike's demo altogether as I was too busy sipping wine, noshing on whatever Chef Mike already dished out, and chatting with the other ladies, stopping occasionally to take some photos.

Lots of giggling. Lots of joking around. Lots of, I hate to admit it but it's true, that Sex And the City girl-talk. By the time dessert samplers were served, we were dying to try them.

Out came from all corners of the room, different moans, groans, and squeals of delight.

One word. Foodgasm.

We fell all over ourselves with different component of the sampler. The banana cream pie got the most moans and was quite a surprise to everyone. Sallie who usually doesn't eat banana cream pies that were not her mother's gave this pie a seal of approval. We have photographic evidence of Jennifer stuffing her face with almost the entire half of chocolate cupcake. Oh, and the tiramisu wasn't too shabby either although much overshadowed by the pie and the cupcake.

I know someone was taping part of the demo on the Flip Video (custom made with F&E logo by the way...adorable!). A play-back of the dessert tasting would probably be rated R.

Verdict: Chocolate Cupcake: Nirvana
Verdict: Tiramisu: Heavenly

I sipped the last drop of my Les Capages Pinot Noir (went great with dessert, oddly enough) and had all the intentions to lick my dessert plate. Darn super efficient wait staff took what he thought was empty plate away before I could have my way with it.

Then again, I couldn't chew much of what were made. Cream pie, tiramisu and super moist cupcakes were the only things I could eat that evening.

Verdict: Les Capages Pinot Noir: Heavenly

And finally, another star of the evening was the St. Helen Riesling. Just sweet enough for a hot evening in the kitchen and so drinkable I could see me sipping through the entire bottle by myself through out the course of the day. (Hey, I'm a light-weight! That's probably the best I could do without getting totally frakked up.) At $4.99 a bottle, darlings, buy a case and invite the entire neighborhood over to drink it with ya!

Verdict: St. Helen Rielsing: Nirvana

We left the joint with our bellies full and a goodie bag slung over our shoulders. More F&E products for us to experience on our own good times.

F&E should do more of these wine tasting/food pairing events everywhere. BevMo's $5 Saturday tasting seems to be popular. I can't see why F&E couldn't do something like that at other local collaborating venue or somewhere in the store itself.

You know, you'll have room once you clear out the clutter. ;-)

*

Quick bargain bin clutter update: I ran into the Spring Street store on Saturday afternoon to fetch the banana cream pie and I noticed the bargain bins in the produce sections were gone. I haven't gone through the entire store but that alone was a massive improvement. Thank you for listening, F&E!

Libation Lollygagging: Tropical Lemon Drop

2009-07-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

- Lemonade pic from F&E. Kai Lychee Vodka pic by Jo McGarry

I picked up a bottle of F&E Organic Mango Lemonade from the bargain bin with a day left on its shelf life. Even that, it was still very tasty.

Verdict: Heavenly

Always thinking about what I can bring to a party over here, so I pondered what I can mix this lemonade with. Suddenly, a brilliant thought occurred to me to do something with my newest alcoholic obsession, Kai Lychee Vodka! (Unfortunately, not available at F&E but at BevMo, in the premium vodka case.)

Welcome to the first F&E inspired bar menu.

Tropical Lemon Drop

In a shaker with ice, mix 3 (or 4 to taste) parts of F&E Organic Mango Lemonade with one part Kai Lychee Vodka. Shake well.

Enjoy tropical party in your mouth!

The Horror...

2009-06-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

The clutters.

THE. CLUTTERS!

A follow up from last post about the change I noticed in my F&E store: taller shelves, more brand names, more family sized items.

Front of the store is packed full of stuff. The bins are back in the middle of the produce aisle. To the greatest of my horror?

Wire basket displays in the middle of the last open space left in the store, between the toiletries and medicines along the wall and the rest of the shelves.

Even Brandon, who actually would gladly run into an F&E for me (and not the other places) because he LOVES the uncluttered spaces and self check-out, uttered, "What the...?"

Out of the respect of the store's request not to take photos, I didn't take any. I was too horrified.

We did walk out with more than what we went in for, as always. But the cluttered shop weighs heavily on our minds.

The self check-out really is the last thing left of the store I worship?

(Well, that and Belgian Chocolate Mousse.)

I tried to justify with the fact that UK items are coming to the store, that more wine selection are coming to the store...oooh, and they have turbinado sugar now...

But is that enough?

My faith is being tested.

You might still be fresh, my dearest store. But you ain't makin' it easy for me.

Verdict: Sale Item Displays Out In the Middle of Aisles: ~~Hell~~. Heavenly

ETA July 20: Quick bargain bin clutter update: I ran into the Spring Street store on Saturday afternoon to fetch the banana cream pie and I noticed the bargain bins in the produce sections were gone. I haven't gone through the entire store but that alone was a massive improvement. Thank you for listening, F&E!

Ch-ch-ch-Change

2009-05-30T13:50:00.000-07:00

Friends, I have braces.

Yep. This will surely affect the way I eat and therefore what I will cook and what I will buy stuff. Now that I can't do anything crunchy, (Bye, kettle chips!) chewy (bye, trail mixes!), or super meaty (bye rib eye steak...sniffle...sniffle...).

Aside: Well, I can still have meat if I cook the hell out of it in a braise. And in burger form. And in not-too-crispy bacon. Oh...but the crispy bacon!! *sigh*

Since I had the separators in to clear the way for the braces almost a month ago, I pretty much stopped cooking and haven't really gone to buy any groceries. Yesterday's trip was first major restocking in over a month.

Naturally, we went there before dinner and went a little bit crazy and walked out with $100+ worth. 3 canvas bags full of stuff.

We are trying a few new-to-us things from F&E which I will eventually report on: shortbread (a la Walker's), frozen turkey meatball, roasted garlic pasta sauce, teriyaki marinated firm tofu and Thai style firm tofu, Tofu burgers, refrigerated peach in syrup (surprisingly a product of Thailand. I didn't know *WE* grow peaches!?!) and a cheesecake with fruit topping I am taking to a potluck tonight.

The tofu is easy for me to chew. Once I make a big pot of rice, I can reheat and eat those for lunch all week. Yey, me.

The biggest change of all wasn't just my shopping list. But the store itself.

There were more sales stuff out by the entrance. Kraft Mac & Cheese anyone? Seriously. ANYONE?

I don't like how the sale stuff are all up in the entrance now, but it's much better than stuff in the middle of the produce aisle like how I ran into those watermelons last time.

The hummus, dips, and pasta salads are moved to where the bargain bin used to be. They were replaced by the refrigerated fruit-in-syrup stuff. The bargain bin goes over to the butter/sour cream section. This arrangement threw me off for a bit.

"Why were all these hummus and pasta salads going in the bargain bin???" LOL.

Then, I rounded the corner and looked up at the huge display of the new F&E's own Mother's Joy breakfast cereals. I mean, TOWERING by F&E standard.

- F&E Flickr

Actually, I was sent some of Mother's Joy cereals to taste with a list of new cereals and their prices. We gave the Corn Flakes to my friend Olaina and kept the Cocoa Crisp Rice and Magic Shapes.

Always a skeptic about generic brand, especially when it comes to cereals because I've heard they could taste like, well, nothing, I had Brandon tested the Magic Shapes since I can't do crunchy any more.

"So, how's your F&E brand Lucky Charms?"

"Tasted like Lucky Charms."

I gotta say the same with the Cocoa Crisp Rice. Given that I soaked it thoroughly in milk, it more resembles cocoa rice mush, but it tastes, well, just like Cocoa Rice Crispies. Seriously, I doubt I could tell the difference in a blind test.

According to my local Vons/Safeway online shopping, national brand is $3.49 for 12 oz. of Corn Flakes, F&E is $0.98; Lucky Charms $1.99 v.s. Magic Shapes $1.58; and regular Rice Crispies $3.49 v.s. Crispy Rice $1.58.

Not too bad on the pricing there, peeps.

Now behind the tall display, the shelves in the entire breakfast/chips & cracker aisle were also taller.

Holy high shelf, Batman!

The shelving which used to be just a little taller than me (I'm 5 foot flat) now seem a foot taller than it used to be, at least. Still, not quite as tall as the regular stores.

I guess it took me by surprise a little bit. But for the fact that I can still reach stuff off the top shelf, I am good with that. I guess instinctively that was why I was drawn to F&E in the first place.

You know how many times I have to abandon buying something because I can't reach it, or risking my life actually climbing the damn shelf like a 5 year-old in search for a cookie jar? It sucks to have ask someone who's not your husband to reach the top shelf for you, I tell ya.

I definitely see more name brands on the shelves than before. But as long as there are F&E stuff available where it counts, I really don't mind the new addition.

Just one request, guys. Don't add TOO MUCH stuff to the store.

Why many of love you is because of your streamline, uncluttered stores...which, sadly, seems to slowly going away now. We love that we don't have to go through a dozen brands of the same damn thing...which we now have to go through a few more brands that we are used to.

If you turn into just another cluttered, overstocked grocery store, you are going to lose the appeal that is worth me driving 3 miles for. I could easily just walk around the corner to Vons if I want a cluttered, overstocked grocery store.

I expect you to change as you grow, F&E. But I don't expect you to change into a small version of the stores I didn't like in the first place.

So, please don't let the self check-out be the only thing left to love about the store.

Fresh & Easy Pork Chops: I don't understand

2009-05-27T19:56:00.001-07:00

My friends,

If you know me, you know that I LOVE my pork. I have said, on many an occasion that the way to my heart is through pork products.

That is why it pains me so to say: Avoid the pork chops at Fresh & Easy. Twice now I've bought both the apple stuffed pork chops and the cajun pork chops. And all four times there was just something OFF about the taste of the pork.

I don't know if it is the supplier, the stuffing/spices, or what, but all four times I've taken three bites and thrown it all away.

If anyone has had a different experience of these dishes or other Fresh & Easy pork, I'd love to hear about it. I hate feeling like I have to avoid my beloved pork at my beloved Fresh & Easy.

Verdict: Hell

Genius packaging

2009-04-23T22:21:00.000-07:00

Thank you Fresh and Easy for making the interlocking container for the cupcakes!

I've always hated the fact that regular plastic containers elsewhere seem to have the flat top so you have to be super careful if you stack them.

These puppies interlock, so I carried 6 boxes out of the store, 3 on each arm, with no problem at all. Transporting this from Los Alamitos to Downtown LA tomorrow on my bus SHOULD be a breeze. Well, I will still put them in a canvas bag but they sure won't slide off all over the place.

Oh, and I will get a review/field report on the assorted cupcakes tomorrow. As much as I want to eat both vanilla AND chocolate cupcakes for the sake of reviewing, I think my coworkers would kill me for hogging the cake before I could die of gluttony.

New stores near you?

2009-04-18T15:53:00.001-07:00

Now, you can track and see when the new F&E stores are coming your way.

Hey, when is that rumored Cypress store coming?

Also, on Earth Day (that's next Wednesday, April 22) stop by F&E and get a free canvas bag with $10 purchase. Plus buy a bottle of ONEHOPE Wine, 50% of the profits will be donated to the nonprofit organization American Forests – so for every bottle of ONEHOPE Wine sold a tree will be planted in an area recently devastated by wildfires.

You too can save the world. :)

F&E Review: Experimenting with Grab-And-Go

2009-04-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

I've been stocking up on a variety of grab-and-go entrees from F&E as they make perfect lunch to take to the office. Some were hits, and some miss the mark by miles. So here are my verdicts.

Chicken Tikka Masala with Basmati Rice is still the winner so far.

Chicken Parmigiana with Fettuccine comes in close second. Can't fault anyone for the parmigiana not being crispy. I mean, it's been sitting on top of sauce and noodles. However, the flavor and the tenderness of the chicken more than makes up for the lack of crispiness. I like the fact that I don't need a knife to cut through the chicken. The pasta sauce is fine to me although Brandon thinks it's a little sweet. Verdict: Nirvana

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad looked and sounded promising, but it did not deliver. Not sure what it is with F&E (or Chef Mike's?) decision to put red bell peppers in a lot of things. (i.e. a surprise in the Tikka Masala although not disruptive.) But the roasted red peppers KILL this salad. I really want to like it but I just can barely taste the Caesar underneath the peppers. Verdict: Pergatory

Chicken Arrabiatta with Fettuccine is a far cry from the fellow Italian entree. The chicken was bland. I mean, I saw that it's supposed to have herbs on it but I don't taste anything. It was like bland boiled chicken slices on top of noodles and sauce. The sauce, I didn't like that either. Not sure what it is but I gave it three bites before I tossed that out and went downstairs to look for edible lunch. Verdict: Hell

Finally, a field report from Sister Sarah, another friend and fan of F&E, that matches my verdict. Chicken Tortilla Soup = FAIL. Big time. First, the texture was like someone blended a proper chicken tortilla soup. Not completely smooth but not completely chunky. That's not very appetizing. And then there was the taste. It was salty. And that is all we could taste. There is absolutely nothing good we can say about the soup. Verdict: Hell

**

Now you too can be the reviewers for F&E product!

F&E just announced that you can write your review of what you've tasted at F&E Kitchen Table. Once again, they're showing us that they LISTEN. And that's why we love the store.

Happiness!

2009-04-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

Life's been so busy, as you noticed since the last time I posted. So, my fridge has been looking like this for weeks.

$20 worth of F&E coupons and $70+ later, it looks a lot less like a college student's fridge. What all did I buy? Well, click on the picture to see my notes.

Not seen: cremini mushrooms and onion (for the stroganoff).

Oh, and there are these:

Best. Snack. Ever! (Note: I took this picture from the last trip to the store.)

Hooray for Coupons!

2009-03-12T17:37:00.001-07:00

I stopped by Fresh & Easy today after a grueling day of dentistry. There were balloon sculpture things outside. Of course, with a mouthful of Novocaine (or whatever), I didn't think to take a picture of that.

It's the one year anniversary of the Spring Street store, y'all!

Well, Happy Anniversary, my favorite store!

However, I did take a picture of what the staff gave me on my way out.

Oh, the STORE COUPONS!!!!

I squealed. The lady at the check-out station behind me squealed. We were more excited about the coupons than the free canvas bags they were giving out.

A $4 off $20 (Eeek!) and $6 off $30 (Eeeeeek!) valid March 10-22 and March 23-April 5. (Eeeeeeeek!)

I could've used them today but I didn't. Because, well, my mind wasn't all that clear. Heh.

The smell of those coupons. I've missed it so.

Review: Chicken Breast in Creamy Tomato Sauce

2009-02-27T23:25:00.000-08:00

My friends,

I love the F&E as you all know. The number of truly delicious meals I've made solely from their stock is staggering.

But I have to say it, I hate hate hate microwaved chicken. It just doesn't taste right. So why then, is the F&E brand Chicken Breast in Creamy Tomato Sauce (to be tossed w pasta) a microwave only dish? Perhaps I need to buck the instructions and just heat it up in my favorite magical saute pan. (It is magical because only delicious meals come out of it.)

I've bought the F&E brand Chicken Breast in Creamy Tomato Sauce three times now. And I have to say: MEH. It is bland and tasteless and the chicken is awful. I think if it were able to be heat up in a saute pan and spices added to it, then this review might end differently. I do have one more of these in the freezer and will definitely heat in the saute pan next time.

For now though, I have to say:

F&E brand Chicken Breast in Creamy Tomato Sauce
Verdict: Hell

Coupon Lover's Lament

2009-02-26T11:41:00.000-08:00

O F&E Coupons, wherefore art thou?
Deny thy users and refuse thy friends;
If thou wilt not return forth, my love
And I'll no longer be a shopper.

That's the prayer we have been hearing around the Temple these days. A prayer for the glorious return to the F&E coupons. Some of us miss the in-store coupons. And some question the minuscule discount offered through mail and email.

A while ago F&E had a deal that when you sign up for the e-newsletter, you'd get a coupon to get a free canvas bag. An F&E devotee misunderstood the deal, thinking she was supposed to get a DISCOUNT coupon. So she emailed F&E office about that and also that she has missed the in-store coupons. Here's the answer.

Thank you for your note and we are glad you have added fresh&easy to your shopping trips! The promotional coupons have come to a close. We will offer another promotion soon.

While the Devotee still loves to shop at F&E, that little sparks of joy that are the store coupons handed out randomly by the staff are now gone. And she misses that.

And frankly, so do I. It's like you won the lottery or something when the staff turned around and presented you with some coupons.

Another friend reacted to the recent coupon included in the e-newsletter:

But, this is only 10% off!! I like the other coupon that gave me 25% off. Trust me I’ll take whatever I can get, but now I have to spend more to get less!! That’s just not right. You should write to them.

And one more:

The coupons in the mail are so much better. Well, anything is better than nothing. If only they would bring back the bay shrimp louie...

At least these ladies still get their coupons in the mail. That's something I, on the wrong side of the freeway, do not get.

My beef on the lack of in-store coupon is that it was the only place I could get them. Living in a city without an F&E store, I get ditty in the mail. My friends across the freeway in Long Beach get theirs.

I understand it's probably the zoning but F&E peeps should take note that us folks who are straddling the border of Long Beach and Los Alamitos do cross back to the Spring Street store to shop. And we're sitting here with nothing in our mail. I wonder if we'd get anything if/once the Cypress store opens.

In the meantime, the Priestesses of the Temple and our devotees will continue to pray for the Return of In-Store/Deeper Discount Coupons.

Bag this

2009-02-15T14:59:00.000-08:00

You guys would've thought it's all praise for F&E here at the Temple. Oh no, darlings. As much as we love F&E, much like any relationships, there are things that drive us bonkers about our loved ones.

One thing we like about F&E self check-out stand was that there is an option of "I'm using my own bag" so the weight of the bag is calculated into the scale. We had massive issue with using our own bags at the self check-out at Ralphs.

However, we went a few pieces over the "15 or less" limit and using 2 bags. The first time machine called for assistance, we figured because we introduced the second bag. Fine. He cleared it and we continued checking out.

We were down to ONE item when it freaked out completely. We can't even pay for the rest of the stuff. One item left, y'all. One. Little. Fruit thing.

At this point, our one man show of F&E staff was assisting someone else with scanning her groceries over at the other end.

Behind us at the other 15-or-less station, a middle aged lady was getting cranky because she needed to be carded for her wine.

"I'm 65 years old and I can't buy my own booze? What's wrong with this picture?" She was getting increasingly frustrated, especially because there was no other F&E employees to help her out.

Good god lady, did you miss a step in your program or something? But anyway.

Our Lone F&E Ranger returned to help the lush and then had to reset our machine so we can add one more thing and pay.

"Yeah, that's why there's a limit of 15 items on this station. Once the weight goes over, the scale kind of freaked out," he said.

The machine works beautifully for us most days. It just got a hell of a day to flip the hell out as almost all of the stations were being used and only one guy running the front of the shop. Frustration for all at the Valentine's Day home cook dinner rush, I suppose.

Speaking of Valentine's Day dinner rush, with the 1 lb. cube steaks, 2 potatoes and a half gallon of milk I got from F&E, I made my first Chicken Fried Steak. Got a little bit of grizzle in my meat but I think next time I know how to spot it.

Frozen Yumminess

2009-02-10T19:46:00.000-08:00

Since LA is frozen solid, you would've thought I'd go look for something warm to eat at F&E. But noooo. I walked out of the store last night with two frozen desserts.

First, the Frozen Lemon Cheesecake. A surprise, it's topped with little shavings of white chocolate. We let it thaw out in the fridge over night. It was dense enough to stay on the fork but it's light enough to be heavy. Lemony, creamy, deliciousness. Definitely top my list.

Verdict: Nirvana

Secondly, the 4-pack Frozen Molten Lava Dark Chocolate Cake was on sale. Since I LOVE the dark chocolate pudding and OBSESSED with the Belgian Chocolate Mousse, I figured this should work. Nuked the little cake for 30 seconds according to the packaging. It came out moist and gooey like a lava cake should. It was dark, rich, and delicious. It's managed to be rich without being sweet but I can't really eat the whole thing. And it was LITTLE! but yeah, that was really good too. Makes me all warm and gooey inside. Definitely good with wine. And probably port.

Verdict: Nirvana

Sister Patty Reports: F&E Services

2009-01-26T19:56:00.000-08:00

My friend Pat is a fan of F&E store. However, she's not big on the blogging thing. So instead, she would tell me her F&E tales to go tell the world. Like the incident with the fresh fettucine.

Sister Patty would like me to tell the world today that F&E service is, well, awesome.

First, it starts with a bad chicken.

Yep. Bad, stinky chicken that went bad a few days ahead of the expiration date on the packaging. Patty and her mom bought a whole organic chicken on Saturday, and when her mom got it out of the bag on Monday evening, the chicken obviously had gone bad.

So Patty called her La Habra Store. The manager told her to just toss the chicken but if she could bring the tag and the receipt back, they would gladly give her a new chicken.

However, the chicken that were left had the same expiration date as the bad one. Patty would rather have her refund at this point. But the manager asked her to wait for a minute, went back to the storage, and emerged with a chicken with the expiration date many days later.

Sister Patty says hallelujah to that kind of service!

Now, Sister Patty and her mom shop at their F&E on a regular basis and had gotten to know the lady at the Kitchen Table, the product sampling corner of the store. It was always the same lady at the Kitchen Table who is always happy to let the ladies sample stuff.

She even asked if the ladies would like to try ANYTHING in the store. Just bring it and she'll let them try. Sister Patty thought it was awesome that she offers, but they never took her up on it.

So I told her about the tweet from @fresh_and_easy today, "Reminder -- if you want to try out some food, take a package up to the Kitchen Table. We will open it and sample it for you right there!"

It's not just people being nice, but it's an F&E thing! I didn't know that before. And neither did Sister Patty! I mean, who else would let you taste their foods?!

For that, Sister Patty and I say hallelujah to that!

And finally, Sister Patty also got to meet with one of the F&E executives at one of the events. At the mention that she shops at the store, the exec starts asking questions. Where do you shop? What's your favorite product? How's your experience so far? They went on for a good few minutes before the meeting commenced.

She expected that it was going to be a small talk, but it turned into an on the spot, private focus group. A high level executive is standing here, talking to her about what SHE think about the store and actually cares about what she says?

Sister Patty says the final hallelujah to that!

Review: F&E Brand Kettle Cooked Salt & Black Pepper Potato Chips

2009-01-15T18:55:00.000-08:00

Oh you guys. First, I should admit that in precisely 1 hour or less I will regret eating these potato chips because, well, I am allergic to potatoes. But sometimes, I've just got to do it and these F&E brand Salt and Black Pepper chips are well worth the hives I will have in an hour. :)

Cut thick and perfectly spiced they pack a bit of a bite with each chip.

The perfect salty/crunchy snack to go with my sweet snack.

Verdict: Nirvana

Review: F&E Brand Milk Chocolate Almond candy bar

2009-01-15T18:52:00.000-08:00

I went to Fresh & Easy tonight with $7 and a mission: Must Obtain both salty and sweet snacks to feed my craving and fuel the vast amount of writing I'm doing today.

Enter one $.50 F&E Brand Milk Chocolate Almond Candy Bar.

If Hershey's is the bottom and Dove is the top of our scale-- this candy bar is far more Dove than Hershey's. And that is a VERY good thing! It is creamy and the chocolate literally melts in your mouth.

My personal preference would be MORE almonds in it, but that doesn't diminish the enjoyment of the candy at all.

Verdict: Heavenly

Review: Mozerella Basil and Pesto Pasta Salad

2009-01-14T23:12:00.000-08:00

I picked this up in the Clearance aisle today and figured I'd give it a try. It is VERY good! I added some of the Lime and Cilantro Herbed Chicken breast to it and it is a great little protein filled snack for my long night of writing.

Mozerella, Basil and Pesto Pasta Salad Verdict: Heavenly
Lime and Cilantro Chicken Breast Verdict: Nirvana

Review: Pinot Evil & Barefoot Champagne

2009-01-14T00:08:00.000-08:00

Oh you guys! On New Year's Eve I went to Fresh & Easy for wine, champagne and the F&E cheese plate.

Have you tried the cheese plate? It is in the refrigerator case in the front of the store with the sandwiches and salads. It is just under $5 and has a little slice of brie, some cheddar cubes, some swiss (I think) slices, red grapes, apple slices and dried apricots. It has become one of my favorite snacks.

I picked up a bottle of Barefoot Champagne for around $6. This champagne was really good. Better than many champagnes priced far higher.

I was wandering the wine aisle thinking "what can I get that is good but also kind to my wallet?"

When what to my wandering eye should I spy but:

Pinot Evil! With the see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil monkeys on it. How could I resist buying this? I couldn't. Especially since it was only $4.99.

Pinot Evil! The BEST NAME EVER.

Verdict: Pinot Evil, Barefoot Champagne and F&E Cheese plate: Heavenly

Review & Recipe: Oh Salsa Verde, I love you so!

2009-01-13T23:55:00.000-08:00

I'm back! Sorry for the long absence, I was out of town for 3 1/2 weeks in an area without Fresh & Easy. And, you know, I am unemployed and freelancing. My exciting F&E purchases lately have been pretty restricted to my DAILY 6 pack of Diet Coke for $2.25.

Last week though, I bought a bunch of stuff to try and replicate my fav local Mexican place's Pork Barbacoa Burrito. (Cafe Rio FTW people. I swear they put crack in it. I could eat it everyday.) I will post my recipe for this tomorrow, but I had to stop in and say: HOLY MOLY the medium hot Fresh & Easy brand Salsa Verde is so good I want to bathe in it, I kid you not.

I made a quick and easy snack the other day. A basic quesedilla with a twist.

INGREDIENTS

F&E brand flour tortilla (I used burrito size)

F&E brand shredded Mexican cheese

F&E brand Salsa Verde, medium

In a skillet, put cheese on half the burrito. Pour Salsa Verde over the cheese. Fold tortilla and heat until golden.

THE. BEST. QUESEDILLA. EVER. Seriously people, it was tangy and had just the right amount of bite. It was a veritable party in my mouth. It takes the basic quesedilla from bland to a gourmet treat.

Verdict: Fresh & Easy Brand Salsa Verde : Nirvana

Grown Up Lunch: Parma Ham Charcuterie Plate

2009-01-13T21:57:00.001-08:00

@fresh_and_easy Twitter feed led me to the LA Times article on 40 ways to pack a "grown-up" lunch. Some of those points were a bit too complicated for me to even think to do. (i.e. A dandelion greens and goat cheese empanada? Please. Would I go through all that trouble?). But some were easy.

And so it inspires the new topic of Grown Up Lunch!

Like pack your own charcuterie plate.

And there was the last pack of Parma Ham staring at me from the bargain bin at 8 p.m. last night for about $1.50 discount, destined to be the star of today's lunch.

So, for this Grown Up Lunch, mix and match the following from F&E:

Parma Ham
Bocconcinis (little mozzerella balls)
Roasted tomatoes (marinated in olive oil)
Olive tapanade
Baby bagette
Fruit salad -- Pick out apples and and honeydews to go with the ham. The rest is dessert.

I ate about 4 slices/half the pack of the Parma Ham and half of the baby bagette, 3 bocconcinis and 3 slices of tomatoes, and about 1/3 the tub of tapanade.

I washed that down with a can of San Pellegrino Limonata. Not from F&E but from BevMo.

So, technically, you *can* repeat the performance with everything a day or two after this. Parma Ham instruction said it should be eaten within 3 days of opening. And who knows how long the bagette will hold. As for the marinaded stuff in the tubs, those guys can go the distance.

As for me, because my Parma Ham is pushing it already, I plan to make a little breakfast sandwich with the leftover ham, apples, and bagette. :)

Review: Cilantro Dressing

2009-01-07T15:38:00.000-08:00

The refrigerated cilantro dressing, thou art an enigma.

I tossed you with the rocket salad mix. My thought is that you're creamy and zesty. Like a lemony creamy dressing. But nothing spectacular. You are not something I crave.

However, you spilled over onto a piece of the Shake-N-Bake pork chop to which the salad accompanied.

And my god, were you fabulous!

Something in your herby goodness wakes up the boring (and a little dry) pork chops and makes it crave-able. I would gladly toss you to coat all over the other 2 leftover thin chops in the fridge.

I have a feeling you will also be delicious as a fried chicken dip or toss with a fried chicken strip salad. Or maybe even replacing tartar sauce with the fish sticks!

Verdict: Heavenly

First F&E Trip of 2009

2009-01-04T17:35:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, one and all! And welcome to my first trip to F&E of 2009!

After a few weeks of my holiday panic whirlwind trip to the store, now that I actually have time to look around, I've found many surprises at my local F&E. And not all of it is good.

First of all, remember about the garlic verdict I gave? I went in to find that F&E has changed the brand to Christopher Ranch. So far, no problem yet. But hey, it's only been a day.

Then the herbs. There used to be F&E brand small bunch of herbs in a zip-top bag like a few stalks of parsley or a few branches of thyme. Just the perfect size for one or two uses. They don't have those any more. Instead, it's the herb in the plastic tubs like those you get at the regular stores. Organic, though. And an interesting change. So now I have more thyme than I need (wink wink...).

Over to the next aisle, the meat. No center cut bacon at 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon? Seriously? Okay. Benefit of the doubt. It's the weekend after a long holiday season. Perhaps things are a little late coming in.

Then, the spices have moved from an end shelf by the freezer to be next to the the baking supply, sharing the aisle with salad dressing and oil. That makes sense. However, I can't tell you what goes in that shelf instead of the spices now as I completely flew past it.

Around that old spice shelf is the pasta supplies. The minor change in the spaghetti sauce department upsets me a little. My staple is the Organic Traditional Marinara Sauce, Brandon's favorite for the flavor and that we can actually see the chunks of veggies in the sauce.

But I couldn't find any on the shelf. I only found the Tomato & Basil and Chunky Vegetables--not organic. I hope they were just out of stock, but I picked up the Chunky Veggie as a back up. Brandon is a bit of a creature of habits, so I really hope I don't have to reintroduce a new sauce.

Finally, at first I thought it was just because of the holidays, but there are now other "clutters" at the front of the stores. Well, they have been stacking non-perishable on sale stuff right up front before like the cases of water or beer. For the holiday, there appeared a tall rack of panettone, gourmet chocolate and After-Eights.

But when I went in yesterday, at the corner of the fridges stacked a pile of After-Eights. And a red wire magazine rack (or were there two?) right at the register.

Oh no, F&E. You didn't just start adding what I hate the most about the regular store into yours!

The special sale items at the entry way, I can kind of understand. (However, many occasions it causes a traffic jam entering the store. No good.) But the implusive buying magazine rack? Seriously. We're doing our own check-out over here and there is virtually no line to stand there and browse the magazine. I just thought it was silly.

I bought a few things I will do a review on soon including cilantro fresh salad dressing, bottled creamy Italian dressing, and the aforementioned grab-and-go loaded potatoes.

One of my 10 goals for 2009 is to cook something new at least once a month. I am sure many of those will end up here as a Dinner Possible post.

Got any food related goals? Do share!

Holiday Fix

2008-12-28T20:25:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, F&E really can't give me everything I need for my holiday meals.

For example, I made roasted beef tenderloin on Christmas Day. I didn't get from F&E. I did see some on Christmas Eve, but, of course, being F&E, it was smaller portion. And frankly, there was a few that didn't look too good.

However, all sorts of other things from F&E worked out beautifully.

Last weekend, I made a version of Sgroppino, an Italian cocktail. A few little scoops of Pomegranate Blueberry or Lemon sorbet in a cup with a splash of vodka topped with lovely prosecco. I wish I had 2 pints of the Pom-Blueberry. Those puppies were extremely popular at my friend's Christmas brunch.

Over Christmas Eve, a bottle of Big Kahuna is a perfect gag gift for my friend's brother who works at Trader Joe's. Haha!

Then, Christmas Day with my aunt's family. The appetizers I picked out work fabulously. The fresh olive tapanade. The little balls of mozzarella. A tub of marinated roasted tomatoes. Variety box of crackers.

My uncle liked the heat-and-eat herbed and breadcrumbed chicken I fried up for him, the only non-red meat eater at the party. Well, technically, my aunt watched that pan so she was the one frying it up. Haha.

F&E balsamic vinegar glazed my brussel sprouts and pearl onions, flavored with F&E center cut bacon, my staple.

We topped off the evening with homemade brownies my friend brought over a la mode, with "mode" being the roasted banana gelato. (As a matter of fact, I just had some of that right now!)

The "Recovery Weekend" also aided by F&E yumminess. Brandon has discovered the chicken teriyaki bowl to be his new favorite. I fell in love with the peach ginger tea and even the Yogi Tea I picked up from the store.

It's all the little things, my friends, that rounds out the holiday. All the little things.

Tesco Lotus in Thailand

2008-11-30T00:30:00.000-08:00

Hello from Bangkok, the land of smile and closed airports. Heh. There may not be any Fresh & Easy here but there are plenty of Tesco Lotus around.

Tesco Lotus is like a Super Wal-Mart. It has everything from clothing to groceries, gardening to pharmacy. You can find just about anything there.

We were in one, shopping for some fruits to take to my friend's house for dinner. As we walked through the long, refrigerated dairy aisle, I came to a halt and started laughing.

"What?" Brandon and my friend Lily asked.

I pointed at the one section of the fridge.

"It's the Fresh & Easy bargain bin!"

Yep. They have it too, just this one little section.

Over in the produce aisle, you can buy whole fruits by the kilo, or you can buy pre-cut packaged pieces. Lily picked up peeled and ready to eat pomelo sections and whole bundles of fresh longans.

There was a section of "imported fruits" where we found apples, kiwis, and some very sad looking avocados.

The Tesco influence stopped there as there is no self check-out station in sight. Thai people don't really trust the honor system. However, over 30 check out stations with only 5 out of service was quite impressive.

We didn't have time to browse the rest of the store for me to do further F&E/Tesco Lotus reporting so I can't tell you about their heat-and-eat section or anything. I'm sure, being Thailand, they have an impressive array of those.

See you back stateside...hopefully sooner than later!

Off to Bangkok

2008-11-19T22:16:00.000-08:00

Not that you haven't seen me disappear from this blog before. But this time, there's a legitimate reason.

After having slaved many hours at my work for the Big Gala that had just concluded, I'm off to Thailand to visit family for 2 weeks. There is no F&E in Thailand but there seems to be a TESCO everywhere. That will be a reminder for me.

I'm sure Sister Amy will keep you entertained while I'm gone. See you guys soon!

Breaking News: F&E coming to Cypress

2008-11-11T20:24:00.001-08:00

I've heard it first through the grapevines that an F&E store is coming to my corner of town at Ball and Walker in neighboring Cypress.

Then F&E confirmed it with me today although they have no estimate opening date.

You've read it here first, folks. Fresh & Easy is coming to Cypress!

I'm so excited. Usually, I'm the last to know. :)

View Larger Map

Cypress store is not closer to me than Spring Street location. As a matter of fact, it is just about the same distance from my house to either location. However, it would be nice to shop in the same county.

Also, now I can really ride my bike to the store. To get to the Spring location, I have to ride over not one but TWO overpasses. One over the LA River and one over the 605. It was a heck of a ride for a loaded beach cruiser, I tell you. At least the Cypress location, have to ride over LA River.

Sooooo excited!

OMGBBQ - Online coupon

2008-11-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

Online coupon is back. $6 off $30 purchase good until November 16.

Too darn bad I won't be doing any more shopping between now and then. We're trying to keep the fridge somewhat empty so there is not much to worry about when we leave for Thailand on November 20.

F&E "Dumpster Dive"

2008-11-05T07:50:00.000-08:00

That's what I call it when I head directly to the "Half prized everything because it expires tomorrow" corner of the refrigerated area.

You would be surprise the awesome deals you get out of the "throwaways". No wonder some people are freegans. Most items still look pretty darn good. Some do look a little questionable.

Anyways, I made a stop there last night and scored me last night's dessert and today's breakfast and lunch. I could have gotten dinner out of that too, but Brandon already got us dinner.

Tres Leches Cake : I don't remember what regular price was : Paid $2.15. (Oh, and by the way, Heavenly!)
Exotic fruit salad : Regular $4.29 : Paid $2.40. 56% discount.
Chicken Cacciatore for 2 : Regular $4.79 : Paid $2.15. 45% discount.

Not too bad, eh?

Loving Right Now

2008-11-04T18:22:00.000-08:00

Hello!

Let me tell you about the kick ass dinner I am having right now. But first some backstory.

Anyone who knows me, follows me on Twitter, reads any of my websites, etc knows I am a Barack Obama supporter. So you know those darn Republicans STOLE the last two elections and the anxiety that they would pull another shenanigan this year was running high around 5pm. So I opened the wine. And by 6pm and my 2nd glass, well, I needed some food.

Enter:

F&E Mixed Green Salad (I think it is $2.92)
F&E Sliced Chicken breast with herbs. ($3.99)

Open Salad container, remove dressing. Throw chicken in, pour dressing on, close cover and shake shake shake, shake shake shake, shake your salad, shake your salad.

Easily a good entree salad or split into side salads for 2 people.

SO DELICIOUS!!

And now I can have more wine!

GO OBAMA! GO FRESH AND EASY!

-Amy

Echoing Oakley's last post...

2008-11-02T21:49:00.000-08:00

I am also sorry for the lack of updates. The truth of the matter is I've been in a food rut. F&E Traditional Olive Tapenade, F&E Feta Cheese, F&E Ciabatta sandwich rolls and F&E Sliced Turkey Breast.

For Every Meal. lol

What can I say, I became OBSESSED with the strength of the flavors in that sandwich.

As of today though, I am over it.

Which for you means that I'll be at F&E tomorrow shopping for new and different culinary delights. Reviews and recipies to follow my pretties!

I do want to send out a BIG FAT THANK YOU to Fresh & Easy for having my elixir of the gods, my lifeforce, my joy in a can, my Diet Coke for only $2.25 per 6 pack. That is literally saving my unemployed butt right now.

-Amy

Lack of updates

2008-10-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the lack of updates from me these days. Frankly, I haven't set foot in any grocery store, aside from running in to fetch stuff for the office, for over a month.

Our dinners have been heavy on buying "family meals" at restaurants and eat the leftover for days to come. My day job is threatening to take over my life for a few more weeks and then Brandon and I will be off to Thailand for a well-deserved vacation.

Oh, and I've also been busy doing this. Princess Leia Zombie? That'd be me.

Fresh & Easy Hollywood Store supplied the zombies with water and granola bars that morning. Thank you for your support!

Mayor of El Segundo's Seal of Approval

2008-10-22T22:15:00.000-07:00

Mayor Kelly McDowell of the City of El Segundo sent the Temple an email with the text of his weekly column in the local newspaper El Segundo Herald as a source of "Good News and Happiness". Since the paper is not online, I can only assume that it actually comes out today. (Any El Seg resident, please verify. Thanks!)

Wanted: Good News And Happiness
by Mayor Kelly McDowell

I've spent a good part of the morning hunting for good news. Browsed two daily newspapers, the Internet and even glanced at television--a rarity for me--only to come up pretty much empty-handed. Given all that's going on, that wasn't much of a surprise.

The best news of the day so far is that the Federal Reserve Chairman suggests that Congress defibrillate the economy a second time with even more money that it doesn't have. If $700 billion won't do the trick, what is the magic number? Whatever it is, it's going to take a long time to pay back.

On the Web, a Google search under "good news" returns a slew of sites, as one would expect. Many of them are religious in nature, also no surprise. OK, a couple look like earnest efforts to put forth uplifting stuff, like goodnewsdaily.com, but none of it looked much like news. ("Govt. to hand out free bike helmets to universities" reads the headline for one piece out of Malaysia, by example.)

And the goodnewsnetwork.org, for example, turned out to be a paid subscription site, which didn't strike me as either particularly good or newsworthy. It gets worse. Google's listing for goodnewsbroadcast.com strongly warns that "over the past 90 days [through October 17], 8 pages resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent." That isn't good news at all and promises bad news in spades if you visit.

A site called thehappyguy.com seems to be mostly about selling books that offer to make you happy. Royalties must make the author happy, at least. A message from the site's proprietor closes with "may you live all the days of your life." Well, happy or not, you can pretty much count on that little truism.

Finally, happiness.com, which you'd think would be filled with heart-warming vignettes about happy people leading happy lives, keeps its focus on selling Happiness magazine, sadly.

I guess the message from my Internet sampling is that selling your book is the true road to nirvana. Unfortunately, first you have to write it. Writing books, I know from my father, is not uniformly a happy experience.

The Internet is not devoid of good feeling, though. Try http://templeoffreshandeasy.blogspot.com. This blog is a monument to the new Fresh & Easy stores that are popping up in Southern California and elsewhere in the west. Its author, Oakley Boren, takes pains to point out that she maintains her blog without any compensation from the stores, their owner, Tesco (headquartered in our city) or otherwise. She does it for fun.

To take your mind off your problems I suggest a good book. I'm reading Ken Follett's World Without End right now (from New American Library; 1,010 pages), his sequel to Pillars of the Earth. They are both set in medieval England, are easy and lively reading, available in paperback and they are both quite long. Enjoy!

Fun is right. Fun is a huge part of me. Other people may have their inner children. I have an inner adult who steps up to do all of the responsible stuff and steps away when it's done.

This blog was born out of that outer child wanting to talk about products and stores that she likes so much that the inner adult has to get to the computer.

It's not supposed to be taken seriously, this blog. Obviously, neither Sister Amy or myself are gourmet chefs or professional food critics. We are not journalists in traditional sense. (Sister Amy's a writer by profession but I just, well, write.) We are far from knowing anything about the grocery business outside of "They have stuff. We go there. We buy stuff."

We are just happy talking about stuff we like. That is all. And that is fun.

Review: Orange Chicken and Jasmine Rice

2008-10-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Let me tell you about my latest obsession: F&E's Orange Chicken and Jasmine Rice. It's in the grab and go section in the back of the store.

My one issue is that there are only 4 chunks of breaded orange chicken in the bowl that states it serves 2. If it's going to serve 2, it needs 10 pieces. For one, at least 5 pieces to go with all that rice and veggies. However, the sauce is heavenly and the rice is just the right amount of sticky to make eating with chopsticks a possiblilty.

I am not a huge fan of microwaved chicken and in the two times I've eaten this in the past 2 days -- once the chicken was delicious, once it was microwavey. I suspect this is due to the length of time it cooked.

This dish falls just short of a Heavenly rating for me, even though I love love love it. It is still a dish I am likely to go back to time and time and time again.

Verdict: Earthbound

-Amy

Grown Up Lunch: Mediterranean Bruschetta

2008-10-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

Here's a little something I whipped up tonight using only ingredients found at my local Fresh & Easy. First the list of ingredients:

F&E Ciabatta sandwich rolls - 4 to a pack
F&E Crumbled Feta Cheese
F&E Traditional Olive Tapenade

Heat the rolls in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until crispy on the outside and softer inside.
Cut lengthwise and spread the tapenade over the entire face of each side of the roll. Sprinkle the crumbled feta over the top of the tapenade covered roll to taste. Personally, I like it completely covered in feta.

Enjoy!

Amy

OMGBBQ F&E Online Coupon is back

2008-10-13T08:40:00.001-07:00

I know that I just kind of leave the Coupon link on the side bar over there even when the coupon is past deadline. That's because I'm lazy like that. Haha!

But don't you worry, I will catch you up on when it returns.

Like NOW! $6 off $30 purchase - Expires October 19.

This is the second attempt on the online coupon for F&E. The last one, I must say that for $1 off $20 purchase, it almost wasn't worth printing out. At 20% off, $6 out of $30 is still better than that.

However, I do miss the $5 out of $20 coupon. There are some rumors going around over at F&E Buzz that F&E might is slowly phasing those out to favor the ones you get in the mail.

We do not receive any F&E mailer in my Los Alamitos neighborhood. The only coupons I've been using so far were given to me at the store. I usually get them when I requested help from a staff member up in the front i.e. check ID for alcohol, coupon got stuck, or when I buy a cartfull or when a staff member offered to help with bagging. It doesn't work all the time, but once in a while I got lucky with the coupons. :)

My friends in Lakewood and Long Beach do get thein the mail and they do use them on regular basis. That makes me a little jealous.

ETA: Just came back from my store. Once again, I should've grabbed a cart and extra canvas bag. I lugged my basket to the station and ran back to get the eggs. Timing is everything so by the time I was bagging the last thing, the ever friendly F&E staff came over to offer assistance. Since he couldn't help in time, he offered me a coupon..."Actually, here! Have a few more"...make that 3 coupons.

This, my friend, is how I usually end up with my coupons. Damsel in distress seems to work. LOL!

Dinner Possible: Roast Beef and Havarti Melt

2008-10-09T23:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a little something I whipped up last night using only ingredients found at my local Fresh & Easy. First the list and prices--

F&E Sliced Roast Beef 8oz $3.98
F&E Stramato 9 oz TODAY'S SPECIAL $.75 (I have no idea what a stramato is, but they looked like little roma tomatoes on the vine)
2 F&E French Demi Baguette TODAY's SPECIAL $.50 X 2 = $1.00
F&E Sliced Havarti $2.89
Girardi's Greek Vinaigrette Dressing $3.39

Total: $12.01

I sliced the bagutte lengthwise and poured the Girardi's Dressing on both halves of the bread. I used 3-4 slices of roast beef on each side of bread. This will be an open faced sandwich. I sliced several of the stramatos and covered the roast beef with them. Then I put the havarti cheese over it all and placed them in the broiler for about 3-5 minutes.

SO SO SO OMGBBQ Yummy.

I made this again today with the other baguette and served it to my 85 year old Grandfather and his 79 year old brother. They loved it.

My one issue with the F&E products listed above is one of personal preference--I like my roast beef on the pink side and this was definitely not on the pink side. But the meat was seasoned well and delicious. I would buy again.

Enjoy!

-Amy

Amy's Reviews

2008-10-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I attended the opening of the new Fresh & Easy location at 10 N. Eastern in Las Vegas. The F&E people in attendance could not have been nicer (Hi Simon!) and definitely embody the friendly neighborhood market energy that is Fresh & Easy's mission. I took pictures and will post them when I get back from vacation. (Hi Sallie!)

First, some product reviews:

Penne Pesto: This dish was delicious, light and flavorful -- which is perfect in the Las Vegas heat. I was so pleasantly surprised when the F&E pastas microwaved and didn't dry out. Fresh vegetables in this dish complement the pesto without overwhelming it. If I had one less positive comment it would be that I wanted my pesto heavier. But, disclaimer: I like a lot of pesto. My mom split the dish with me and it was the perfect proportion of pesto to penne for her.

Verdict: Heavenly

Penne Arribiata: OMGBBQ. SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO YUMMY. Spicy without being painful, with deliciously tender red and yellow and green peppers in the dish that add an aesthetic as well as aromatic appeal to this meal. (hey! I made a rhyme!) I've bought this dish a few times now. It is a perfect entree, late night snack, lunch idea.

Verdict: Nirvana

Penne with Tomato Cream Sauce: First of all it is only $1.99! You can find it in the sandwich and sushi display in the front of the store and it is the perfect amount of pasta for one person. Fresh diced tomatoes are throughout this dish and the sauce is the perfect shade of pink. I usually add some olives to it for my own personal perfection. This is what I'm having for dinner tonight.

Verdict: Nirvana

Tomato, Basil, Mozzerella Sandwich: The roll used on this sandwhich is delicious. Somewhere between a ciabatta and french roll, it is the perfect complement to the fresh buffalo mozz, fresh basil and tomato slices with a sprinkle of lemon juice/pinenut mixture on it. The ratio of bread to cheese to tomato to greens is DIVINELY PERFECT.

Verdict: Heavenly

Ham & Swiss sandwich: I've had this sandwich 3 times and it was delicious all three times, although once the bread wasn't the greatest--just passable. The next two times the bread was good, but not as good as on the tomato/basil/mozz sandwich and not as good as the individual french demi baguettes in the back of the store. The Ham is sliced thin enough for a gal like me who likes her lunchmeat wafer thin. The swiss is creamy. The dijon mustard has just the right amount of bite. This is the sandwich I'm tucking into my carry on for my flight to Aruba tomorrow.

Verdict: Heavenly

Chicken Escallopes and Rosemary Garlic Red Potatoes: I'm listing these together because together they take about 10 minutes to make and presentation and taste wise appear like you slaved in the kitchen for hours. Chicken fillets are in a crust of spices including rosemary, thyme, basil and garlic. Pan saute them in extra virgin olive oil for 10 min, turning frequently. Red Potatoes are in olive oil, rosemary and garlic mixture and microvave for about 3 1/2-4 minutes. OMGBBQ I could eat this everyday, for real.

Verdict: Nirvana

BBQ Chicken Pizza, Hawaiian Pizza and Pepperoni Pizza: for $4.49ish, they are a bargain and easy to pop in the oven. I did not add any extra spices to them and they were alright. They tasted like frozen pizza despite being fresh take and bake style. DiGiorno is better. Now, that said, some fresh garlic and tomato added to the pepperoni might have elevated its rating. My main criticism of the pizzas is that the crust was cardboard like.

Verdict on all 3: Earthbound

Fruit and Cheese Plate: Do you have to bring an appetizer to book club? For $4.49 this is the ticket. About 6 small rounds of bread with a small piece of brie, some white cheese that seemed havarti like, a few cubes of cheddar, sliced apples and dried apricots. This also makes a great snack and will also be in my carry on on the flight to Aruba tomorrow.

Verdict: Nirvana

Beef Fajitas: Oakley rated this a Nirvana, so I will give it another go after my vacation. I think perhaps the issue I had with the marinade/spices is cilantro. I'm not a huge fan. But the beef was tender.

Verdict: Earthbound

Pro-Yo Berry Crunch, Dark Chocolate Pudding and Vanilla Banana Smoothie: I AM ADDICTED to all three and my F&E is STILL out of them. HELP!

Verdict: Nirvana

Chili Marinated Chicken Tenders The plastic container melted in my microwave and the odor--oh good god the odor. This was a freak incident as no other F&E plastic container has fared a similar fate. I didn't eat them obviously and now I am (irrationally) afraid of them. Have you tried them? Should I give it another go?

Verdict: Purgatory for now, subject to change.

I'm off to Aruba tomorrow so I'll write more when I get back!
Amy

Fresh & Yummy!

2008-10-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

My friends,

Let me tell you about my night...

But first, HI! I'm Amy. Like our High Priestess Oakley, I am obsessed with Fresh & Easy. In fact 95% of what I eat these days comes from my local Fresh & Easy.

So around 9pm I decided I needed a snack and I hopped in the Saab and set out for the Sunset store here in Las Vegas. On my mind: Pro-Berry Crunch yogurt, Vanilla Banana Smoothie and Dark Chocolate Pudding.

All three were out! No yogurt/smoothie/pudding for me!

And this made me giggle in glee for it for sure means my fellow residents of Green Valley NV are embracing the Fresh & Easy lifestyle. I spoke to Marie (I hope I am remembering her name right, if not rest assured Sunset F&E Employees, We Will Be Friends SOOOON) and she said they'd been MOBBED all day.

MOBBED. I giggled. Oh Fresh & Easy, you've won over Green Valley!!!

As I steered my cart through the store I heard one of the other customers talking to another F&E employee.

"It is always such a joy to come in here," he said. "You guys that work here are so much fun."

I smiled and thought Yeah, every experience I've had in this store has been so overwhelmingly positive.

I moved to Las Vegas in February after living in Los Angeles for 20 years. It's been a tough adjustment at times. When I enter my local Fresh & Easy, I am always greeted warmly. 9 times out of 10 I end up in a discussion about something with an employee. It is awesome. F&E makes me feel like I'm a part of a neighborhood in a city that doesn't really have neighborhoods. In Las Vegas, that is no easy feat. Yet what I've experienced each time I've been in my local F&E is a sense of community.

Fresh &Easy: Your Neighborhood Market. Rock on.

Up next from me: A recap of my morning at the Grand Opening of the new Las Vegas Fresh & Easy at 10 N. Eastern, the recipie I made tonight using only F&E products, and some product reviews.

And first thing in the morning I'll be back at my Fresh & Easy getting my Pro-Berry Crunch Yogurt and Vanilla Banana Smoothie. YUM!

Yours in the Fresh & Easy,
Amy

Welcome Gridiron Goddess

2008-10-05T12:33:00.000-07:00

I've talked about F&E so much that finally my good friend Amy of Gridiron Goddess stopped by her store in Las Vegas.

Voila, an instant new Priestess! And a dark chocolate pudding addict.

However, Amy is going on a trip for a bit so you may not be hearing from her for a while. But she will definitely be posting! :)

Welcome, Sister Amy!

Dinner Possible: Fajitas

2008-10-01T21:34:00.000-07:00

Dinner for 2-4 in a jiffy, y'all!

Buy one each of the Fajita Marinaded Beef and Chicken. Toss all in a pan and cook according to the instructions. Chunky chicken tenders were totally satisfying and juicy and the beef also in good portion and tender. Brandon is not big on bell peppers so we only used the portion from one package. Mmm...cumin-y goodness! And even better as leftover.

Normally, I would prefer to dress this up a little more with onions and a side of guacamole. But for a quick dinner, this was plenty tasty by itself.

The fact that it's really, SUPER easy to whip up is a major plus.

Verdict: Nirvana

Brandon likes Flour Tortilla and I like Corn Tortilla, so I bought both kinds. Unfortunately, both of them didn't work out very well. Both seem a bit too dry, not pliable. I even heated them up under damp paper towel first. But the flour tortilla wouldn't hold when I wrapped up the meat. The corn one, forget it. It doesn't even bend well before ripping.

Flavor wise, the corn was disappointing. It tasted like cornmeal rolled out into a flat bread. Cardboard is not quite the texture but I think the flavor might be close. I don't know about the flour though but Brandon doesn't have any complain.

Flour Tortilla - Verdict: Earthbound
Corn Tortilla - Verdiect: Hell

OMGBBQ F&E Online Coupon!

2008-09-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

Now you can have your OMGBBQ moment all the time.

F&E Folks share the news with their fans and bargain hunter on the internet.

Get your $1 off $10 purchase coupon here!

This one expires September 28.

I will make a link for this on the side bar for the future coupon funnage!

We're not alone

2008-09-23T18:14:00.000-07:00

Our friend at F&E Buzz has posted a link to Fresh & Easy Review.

Friends and shoppers, as it turns out, there is someone else out there reviewing F&E products just like us here at the Temple!

While the Temple is slow going and slightly bias--because I'm so gosh darn obsessed with the store and because I still have to go 3 miles to mine and still I haven't been cooking as much recently--F&E Review seems to be cranking out reviews at a much faster pace.

However, I was told, they didn't have as much "personality" as the Temple. Hehee. ;-)

Just two different flavors of fun, folks.

One that note, Twitter @fresh_and_easy alerted me yesterday to this week's special deal. Now F&E actually has a page that features the deals, not just the ideas. Sweet!

Party for $20

2008-09-14T13:21:00.000-07:00

Actually, less than that.

I wish I wasn't in such a rush that I ran out of F&E on Friday without my receipt.

But just for $16.91 after the $5 coupon is applied, I managed to buy these for a barbecue with my out-of-town friend in Fullerton.

Big bottle Tropical Iced Tea
Big bottle Limeade
A package of Dixie plastic cups
3 bags of Kettle Chips (Jalapeno Cheddar, Hickory Barbecue, and Original salted)
Pretzel chips
Raspberry Swirl Shortbread
Chunky chocolate chip cookies (in a tub, not from the bread aisle)
Small bag of Cheetos (to hold me over for the drive over)

We were expecting a lot of people, but it ended up just 4 of us. We took a few swills out of the drinks and dipped into the cookies a little bit.

The only thing of these that got consumed in its entirety is the Jalapeno Cheddar Kettle Chips. Salty and a little bit spicy without being overwhelmingly cheesy or that fake Jalapeno flavor you get sometimes. It was perfect. And even yummier when crushed and sprinkled over your hot dog a la Latin American style. ...oh god. Now I'm craving THAT.

Verdict: Nirvana

The Raspberry Swirl Shortbread was good. VERY buttery andso deliciously crumbly I wouldn't eat this on a couch...or at the office. Delicious buttery crumbs everywhere! It's tasty, however, it doesn't incite the same craving for the next bit like Walker's Shortbread does for me. You know the "I must eat the whole box" feeling. Must be the whole European v.s. American butter thing.

Verdict: Heavenly

Adjustments

2008-09-09T22:23:00.000-07:00

F&E prides itself on their ability to listen to customers' feedback to make the stores really a neighborhood market.

I found a few things when I ran into the store this evening. (Some of these changes might have been there a while, but I just now noticed.)

Milk is now available in 1 quart size...and organic. It was one of my peeves with F&E when that wasn't an option. Two of us moderate consumers of milk couldn't even finish the half gallon, let alone a full one. So, hooray for the quart!

Only two kinds of Nature's Nosh available. At our store, there are the jicamas and the curried apples. Guess the public has spoken on which ones of the four they like best.

The missing Parma Butter. The butter aisle looks a little empty. The only "exotic" butter left on there is the Irish kind, right next to the ricotta cheese. Is it a good thing? Think so. No peddling of stuff folks don't need, now that's a neighborhood store.

Small Container of Mixed Fruit. If I wasn't jonesing for Papaya And Lime so much, I would've picked these up. You know how the fresh cut fruit came in this deep container tub and you can't quite finish eating it in one sitting? Up in the front there where you can find the Nosh, you can find the half-sized tubs of fruit. Perfect size.

(Oh, the papaya and lime thing? Back home, we would have papaya with breakfast with a slice of lime. It is suppose to bring out the flavors. I used to hate the lime thing when I was a kid--then again, I was never big on papaya either. Now I absolutely adore the mixture of the two flavors.)

Bacon is downsized. I usually buy a pound of bacon, yielding about 16 strips, and use 4 strips for breakfast (or dinner), and freeze the rest in bundles of 4 for future use. To my surprise, last month when I was ready to wrap up another 12 strips of leftover Center Cut Bacon, I was left with 2 more bundles instead of 3. Perplexed, I checked the packaging. It did say 12 oz.

My source at F&E explained that much like the downsizing of the salad dressing, customers wanted smaller package of bacon so there wouldn't be any leftover.

Obviously, they didn't ask "Embracing Slow Death By Pork Fat" people like myself about this. But no grudge. I just have to buy more bacon. Haha!

The Pudding Escapade

2008-09-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

All these few pounds I gain in the past 2 weeks are all for you guys, by the way. That's just how dedicated I am.

I picked up almost all of F&E single pudding and flans and tried them all out over the past week. I was never fond of anything "western" with coconut flavoring, having grown up where desserts actually HAVE coconut in them, I forwent the Coconut Flan to be subjective.

Here are the results.

Chocolate. A favorite at my household. Brandon got us buying the big tub now. I would occasionally dunk apples in them. It's definitely yummy. However, if you put me in a blind test between F&E and another brand, I'm not sure I could pick out the difference. But for whatever reason, Brandon seems to enjoy this one hence the high rating. Verdict: Nirvana.

French Vanilla. Not overpoweringly vanilla-y with crunchy little seeds. Not sure if I like the crunch but otherwise that wouldn't make it a FRENCH vanilla. I did like it quite a bit. Verdict: Heavenly.

Vanilla Flan. The flan was a double taste test. My coworker whose signature desserts are creme brulee and flans wanted in on the action. Neither one of us like it. We actually took a couple of bites each and decided to throw it away. It's neither creamy enough or caramel-y enough. So it tastes a little, well, bland. Not what we were expecting at all. If I have a flan craving to quench, I'd go to El Pollo Loco before I go to F&E. Verdict: Hell.

Rice Pudding and Tapioca Pudding. I had some that was more like vanilla pudding with tapioca in it. But this is more custardy and creamy and milkier tasting, if that's a term, than the vanilla pudding, Then again, on the same note, there is more pudding than rice/tapioca in theirs than in F&E's. The rice pudding, especially, it was almost like having a milk pudding in a bowl that used to have rice in it--too much pudding and note enough rice. It's almost the same way with tapioca, but I actually got more tapioca action than I did with riced. Verdicts: Rice pudding, Purgatory. Tapioca pudding, Earthbound.

Dark Chocolate. The king of the F&E pudding! I am already in love with the dark chocolate mousse (though I haven't officially reviewed it yet), and this was just like it...if you added more milk. Chocolatey with just enough sweet. My bias is toward dark chocolate so this is totally the winner for me. Verdict: Nirvana.

Now, I must go practice my Thriller to burn off the calories.

Ricey Redemption

2008-09-05T08:09:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night, we went to dinner with my friends James and Aurora and baby Dresden at their favorite Indian restaurant, Ashoka the Great, in Artesia. Everything was delicious.

I thought it might be a bit unfair to be eating F&E Chicken Masala and Basmati Rice Bowl for lunch the day after I feasted at an authentic Indian restaurant. But it was the only lunch I had to take to work and so I had to eat it.

And to my surprise, I did enjoy it. As a matter of fact, I like it a lot.

The sauce may not be the same as the chicken tikka masala at Ashoka, but it wasn't bad at all for a grab-and-go. Not quite as spicy, as in with a lot of spices, and a little bit sweeter, but it was yummy. Also, unlike the bland chicken of the tangerine atrocity, the chicken pieces in the Masala actually has spices on them. The pieces can be eaten without the sauce and it wasn't bad.

Much like the frozen Indian entrees, F&E brings their British expertise in Indian food to just the right place, resulting in an edible, almost cravable rice bowl.

Verdict: Heavenly

Music and passion

2008-09-02T21:06:00.000-07:00

F&E is now on Twitter. And that's where I have been getting some fresh information lately (like the grill pack going on sale and such.)

@Fresh_and_Easy broadcast a message today about the new concert series they will start up at the Hollywood branch. Free live acoustic music each Thursday night at 7PM in September.

Doesn't that sound just like Hollywood to you?

Down here at the Spring street store, I don't know if they would need a concert series to bring in customers because at 6 p.m. today, the store was PACKED!

As in, I actually was in line for about 15 seconds. *Gasp*

I was looking around for an empty station but there was none so I settled in behind this lady who actually needed help checking out her few flats of bottled water. The F&E staff rushed over to me to help me with my heavy basket and pointed out the station where someone was just leaving. He also gave me a handful of coupons.

Obviously, my "buy what I can carry" strategies didn't work today as I loaded up on fruits, juices, and puddings.

Oh yes, the great pudding reviews are on the way!

Speaking of review, I must break it to you yet another Hell rating.

The grab-and-go Tangerine Chicken and Rice was horrible. I'm sure someone might like this more than I did, but this is actually the first F&E product I had to throw away after a few bites. (Well, that and the one time I accidentally picked up a sugar-free French Vanilla pudding. I HATE artificial sweetner so that didn't go past one bite.)

The chicken is moist and the rice is soft for being a grab-and-go. However that tangerine sauce tasted like, well, tangerine syrup. All sweet and not enough savory. The flavors just refuse to come together, resulting in a confusion on my palettes. Unless that's changed, I don't know if this dish can be saved, personally. That is the #1 ick for me.

Ick #2 is that, much like the rug on the Dude's floor, the sauce is supposed to tie the bowl together. But since the chicken wasn't simmered in this sauce, it's just cooked chicken, veggies and rice topped with the sauce. And STILL the whole thing wouldn't come together. When I took a bite out of the chicken, I don't taste the flavor of something cooked in tangerine sauce, but a sad piece of chicken breast steamed all by its lonesome with minimal seasoning.

Verdict: Hell

Fresh off the press

2008-08-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

Muhammed's story ran today in the Business Casual Column of the Torrance Daily Breeze.

Finding Nirvana at salad bin

Oh gosh.

I'm in print.

ETA: And also on Muhammed's blog...with picture!

P.S. And the F&E famous $4.99 Grill Pack is back for the Labor Day weekend. (8 thighs and drumsticks, 4 mild Italian Sausages and 4 beef patties.) Grab 'em before they're gone!

Muhammed in the House

2008-08-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

Muhammed El-Hasan from the Torrance Daily Breeze is currently in my home office. Right now!

See?

Yes, folks. I am being photographed at the moment. Please excuse my spelling because I'm blinded temporarily from the flash.

(Well, it's been a few minutes since I wrote that now...)

I've been interviewed for the Daily Breeze business blog, Southbay Biz Waves. It would probably be published in a week or so.

Muhammed is interested to hear about why I started the Temple. Why do I blog? Kind of thing. I think it still amazes people that I seem to go out of my way to promote a store and not getting anything in return.

What did I tell him? Well you have to find out next week now, won't cha?

Nosh Away

2008-08-21T16:56:00.000-07:00

Kind folks at F&E tipped me off to their new products called Nature's Nosh a while ago. (They also provided me with pictures!) I finally picked them up the other day.

These Noshes come in 4 different "flavors": Wasabi Edamame, Curry Spiced Apple, Thai Mango Coconut, and Chili Spiced Jicama.

When you open up this little tub, the first layer is a cup of spiced nuts. The bottom is small bits of mixed fruits/soy beans featuring whatever they say on the label plus a few complimenting fruits/veggies. You can eat them separately, but the point is to mix both together and use the collapsible spork to feed your face.

Yes, I said collapsible spork. This unique plastic utensil comes with the salads as well. But I digress.

My first thought: Wow, now here's a way to not waste any pieces of the cut up fruits and vegetables. It's either that, or they're making good of culinary students honing their knife skills

The veggies are in tiny bitty uniform cubes. I'm sure that's not the intention but you know me and my imagination.

Anyways. I tried two out of four that sounded most appealing to me.

The Thai Mango Coconut one was good. You get the sweet mango and the crunch of apple cubes and crispy/chewy texture of toasted coconut. (Promise to update on what all goes into this thing when I jot out all of the ingredients next time.) I liked it enough, but it was a little bit on the boring side to me.

Verdict: Earthbound

The Chili Spiced Jicama, however, I like. I was already a little biased toward this one because I like crunchy snacks. (The apples in the Thai Mango Coconut didn't do enough on the crunching for me.) Cubes of refreshing cucumber and carrots add to the party. The cashews and sunflower seeds go well with all the crunchiness. Actually, compare to the carrots, cashews became the softer texture. The flavor was just the right side of spicy with chili powder and cumin (and whatever else). It reminds me of the salt-sugar-chili concoction we put on our jicama back in Thailand, a street snack.

Verdict: Nirvana

I must also note that the serving portion is plenty as a snack. The container looks a little small and the amount of food looks a little skimpy. But the combination of fruits and nuts, I'm sure any nutritionists can clarify, makes the whole thing very, very filling.

I started in on one as a part of my breakfast of champion (the Nosh and a tall soy latte), and continued to snack on it through the morning. That held me over until lunch time.

But I'm 5 foot tall and 105 lbs. Bigger folks may disagree on the scale of reasonable portion.