Welcome Sister Tina

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.

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. ;-)

Four Girls. Three Wines.

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

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...

I want you back

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?

Welcome Sister 'Nette

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

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!

Coupon Lover's Lament

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.

Sister Patty Reports: F&E Services

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!