Monthly Archives: September 2016

I Come Across Too Much Forking Bad Food in Phoenix Grocery Markets

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This is not a joke.  The above photo of corn was taken from my local Walmart Grocery Store. I also note that this wasn’t a fall holiday display. This corn was for sale for consumption.

Even though it’s been close to a decade that I’ve been living in Arizona it’s still a lot of culture shock to me when I see food like this at the Supermarket.  Where I grew up on the east coast the produce displayed was always fresh, bountiful and beautiful. I also don’t remember purchasing expired food there like I accidentally do here from time to time.  I don’t know if things have changed since I’ve been living in Arizona but that is the way it was.

Supermarkets in Arizona just leave the old rotting produce out instead of placing the stuff on a clearance cart for quick sale or donating the less than perfect produce to charity.

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Nearly all the cauliflower was starting to turn rotten from my local Safeway Store. All but a very few have many small rotten spots.

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Maybe it’s easier to see here.

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Fresh herbs don’t seem fresh and are wilted.

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Peppers are in need of botox because they have wrinkles.

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Sadly a bad apple spoiled the bunch……in every bag.

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I got these beauties from Costco. Every forking onion had a rotten center. How the Fork does that happen? Usually onions rot from the surface?

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How about some dried out purple asparagus for $4.99 a pound?

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Rapini looks almost dead.

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Salmon looks awful. Fish is almost always awful and always taste off here. That’s why I try to eat fish out when I go to a restaurant…because I can’t purchase any forking fresh fish.

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Lettuce looks unappetizing.

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Avocados are moldy

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Two weeks later the same or similar avocados were on sale for 44 cents each.

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It’s not just once in a while. This corn is from another time from the same store. (Walmart Grocery)

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This is the corn from Safeway. My picture doesn’t show how truly bad the corn is. It’s dried out and rotten at the same time.

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It’s not just produce ……….I found something FORKING Weird in my cottage cheese.

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I don’t know what it is and I’m afraid to touch it.

WhyyyyyyyWhyyyyyWhy.....

WhyyyyyyyWhyyyyyWhy…..

I contacted Kraft Foods and told them it’s looks like a forking gooey ear in the cottage cheese and asked them what it was.

Eric from Kraft Foods swiftly contacted me back.

He said that Kraft is very careful about their production of food. He said it looked like a problem of the product going threw temperature change during handling and might be some sort of mold. Ummm mold oh yum…….

It’s just another spoiled or bad thing I picked up at my local Phoenix AZ Market.

I note I don’t know if all of Metro Phoenix AZ Markets have these problems or if it’s just the ones conveniently  located near my house. I also do note it’s not this terrible all the time. It just happens often and I don’t understand why. I wonder if the stores are managed by a manager?  Do the stores pay a manager? I would think management would either not accept the less than desirable produce during delivery. Maybe the produce gets spoiled by improper storage in the Grocery Store….?  When spoiled produce is placed on shelves the management should tell the help to remove the spoiled produce……..I would think.

But no…that doesn’t happen….

I also note that I haven’t come across these problems from the small sized grocery stores like Sprouts and Trader Joe’s. But these stores are small and don’t carry everything you need so you have to do some of your shopping at some other store.

I come across TOO MUCH FORKING BAD Food at Phoenix Grocery Markets.

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

The Joy Bus Diner Phoenix AZ is MORE Than WORTH a Fork

The Joy Bus Diner Phoenix AZ

The Joy Bus Diner Phoenix AZ

The Joy Bus Diner in Phoenix AZ is a 100% non-profit restaurant located in Phoenix Arizona. All the money taken in goes to a charity called the Joy Bus that delivers free chef created meals to cancer patients and others with serious illness. The Joy Bus Diner is More than Worth a Fork…They are making our world better…..

The Joy Bus Diner is a small casual restaurant located in a strip mall without an outdoor sign. (at the time of this review) This restaurant serves up breakfast and lunch six days a week.

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The atmosphere is cheerful due to the brightly painted metal chairs and the children’s artwork that adorns the walls.

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I had a power salad with added salmon.

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My salad was filled with creamy ripe avocado, feta cheese, sliced almonds, quinoa lots of garbanzo beans that seemed freshly prepared, sweet small tomatoes and three rolls of smoked salmon.

My husband had the double patty melt.

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It was two beef patties studded with onions, layered with cheese on lightly grilled marble rye with French Fries. They serve the patties medium-well but they stay moist because of embedded onions in the patties.

Many local business in the area donate to help fund the Joy Bus Diner. Many volunteers spend their time to keep the Joy Diner running. Your reasonably priced meal all goes to The Joy Bus Charity serving free meals to cancer patients and others with great illness that need prepared meals brought to them.

The Joy Bus Diner is Worth More than a Fork as they are making this world a better place.

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

Forking Delicious Pear Almond Cake Recipe

 

Pear Almond Cake

Forking Delicious Pear Almond Cake

This recipe is based on Cook’s Illustrated French Apple Cake Recipe. The Cook’s French Apple Recipe is described as…… “Neither a Cake” “Nor a Custard” “Nor a Clafoutis” “But is a Bit of Culinary Magic that’s all three!” I made the Cook’s Illustrated French Apple Cake (you can see it on TheForkingTruth) and I thought it was a most interesting recipe but for my taste it wasn’t sweet enough and could use some more flavor. What I least liked about the recipe is that it was terribly greasy. I do note I am not the only blogger that felt this way. After I tasted this cake I looked into the internet to see others felt and I found many others felt the same way I did. I do note that Cook’s Illustrated Recipes are well known and cherished and are usually iron clad perfect….but this one recipe needed another day in the test kitchen for me and most people. That’s not to say it’s a bad recipe……It’s still a very good recipe but I just have to tweak it. I also note I never would have came up with exactly with what I prepared if it wasn’t for Cook’s Illustrated.I thought that if I cut the one cup of oil and replaced it with 4 oz of butter I might hit two birds with one stone. I was hoping for less grease and more sweet. I added 1/4 cup of almond flour hoping the taste of almonds would lace the cake and I also added almonds for the topping. I thought instead of apples I would add soft ripe pears that don’t require the pre microwaving. The pears are also much sweeter with a stronger fruit flavor than the apples. The pears also don’t require the added lemon juice so I can leave lemon juice out and the batter will seem sweeter. I also used 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk  with one cup of water instead of whole milk due to that’s what I had around.

Ingredients for about 8 servings

1 1/2 lbs ripe pears

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons flour (2 T for latter)

1 cup + 1 Tablespoon sugar ( 1 T for latter)

1/4 cup almond flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 XL egg – beaten

2 XL yolks – beaten

4 oz stick unsalted butter – melted

1/2 cup non-fat dry milk

1 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup almonds –  sliced and lightly toasted

neutral non-stick spray – canola or vegetable

Directions

set oven to 325 degrees F

In one bowl whisk together, 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, almond flour, baking powder and salt. Set to the side.

In another bowl, whisk egg, butter, milk, water, vanilla.

Now add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir till incorporated.

REMOVE one cup of batter and stir in the 2 Tablespoons flour and almonds and set to the side.

ADD the 2 beaten yolks to the BIG BOWL OF BATTER.

Peel the pears and cut into small chunks a little smaller than bite size and toss into batter till done.

Spray your springform pan with non-stick spray

Fill with the main bowl of batter.

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Top that with the cup of batter (with almonds).

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Sprinkle the one T of sugar over the top.

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Place in preheated oven at 325 degrees F

Turn oven light on after 20 minutes if it’s browning just place a loose sheet of aluminum foil over the top.

After 40 more minutes remove the foil.

leave in oven another 15 minutes and remove.

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Let it rest a half hour or so on the counter.

Then cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

Use a soft knife and slide it around the edges to make sure the cake will release and then release the cake.

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Cut and serve.

Pear Almond Cake

Forking Delicious Pear Almond Cake

SUCCESS! By NOT adding any additional sugar, changing the fruit, swapping out a cup of oil for 4 oz. sweet butter the cake is much more flavorful, sweeter and not greasy.

Forking Yummy! ……….It’s light custardy, moist, taste studded with sweet pears, laced with a mild almond cream with caramelized ends. It’s just delicious. This cake will please just about anyone. Even people who usually don’t enjoy dessert will enjoy this cake it’s sweet but not too sweet, buttery but not greasy and the pear and almond flavor are delicious.

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

 

 

My Forking Thoughts on Lay’s Chinese Szechuan Chicken Potato Chips

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Lay’s Potato Chips came out with four Global Flavors of Potato Chips to snack on while your watching the Olympics. By now the olympics are over and these chips have been hard to find by me but I finally got my hands on a bag of these chips. Here is the Chinese Szechuan Chicken. These Chips are NOT vegetarian. They have chicken broth, chicken powder, and chicken fat in the ingredients.No artificial flavors or preservatives. One of the ingredients is listed as Natural Szechuan Wok TYPE Flavor

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(WTFORK! is Natural Szechuan Wok “TYPE” Flavor?) These chips also actually contain Roasted Szechuan Pepper.

I am very excited to try the Lay’s Chinese Szechuan Chicken Potato Chips because I enjoy ordering it’s namesake dish out at Chinese Restaurants.

When you order Szechuan Chicken you should be prepared to taste lots of garlic and lots of fiery hot.

When you order Szechuan Chicken it usually will look something like this.

From New Asian Kitchen of Phoenix AZ

From New Asian Kitchen of Phoenix AZ

But if you go to a Chinese Restaurant that Specializes in Szechuan Cuisine the dish will look more like this.

Miu's Cuisine of Masa AZ (Now Closed for Business)

Miu’s Cuisine of Masa AZ (Now Closed for Business)

You can tell by looking at the second photo that Szechuan Cuisine can be very fiery. This authentic style Szechuan doesn’t have a thick or sweet sauce and is fiery hot. The authentic style dish is made with mouth numbing Szechuan Peppercorns. The Szechuan Peppercorn isn’t actually hot and is actually citrus like in flavor but it numbs your mouth so you can enjoy the spicy hot peppers more.

Back to the chips…..

When I opened the bag and took a whiff….I thought it kind of smelled a little odd and sort of like a frozen Asian inspired TV dinner. Compared to other Lay’s flavored Chips I tried these are larger, very thin and most are folded. The chips are light in color but darker than plain chips. They don’t have as many green specs as in the illustration on the bag. Some chips are without specs and look plain.

I thought they’d be greasy because of the chicken fat in them but they are not. My first taste of them I get sweet, salt and spicy tingly heat and a peppery kind of taste…but not too much heat. My second chip, I didn’t just eat and sort of let it stay in my mouth and sort of sucked the flavor out……I can taste it better that way. I get Chicken flavor followed by garlic- onion – a sweetened soy sauce taste with lingering tingly heat.

As I eat a few chips I notice that some chips have stronger flavor than others. Most of the chips are mildly seasoned and the potato chip is thin and light but still taste of potato and breaks nice in the mouth.

Some of the chips do taste different… some hit me more with sweetness than others….

I conclude that they are interesting because I want to taste what the next one will taste like and I like the tingly heat.

No …these chips are not a substitute for Szechuan Chicken but the chips are interesting and sort of tasty.

These chips aren’t bad….. I’m pleased that they are not bad.

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

 

Julia Child’s FORKING EASY Poached Egg Recipe

 

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I saw the Julia Child’s Poached Egg Trick on the internet and I thought why haven’t I seen this before??????

Well any who I thought I’d give it a try!

First take a sterilized pin and poke a hole in the wider end of the egg.

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Place the egg in boiling water for about 10 seconds. The directions say exactly ten seconds. I have XL eggs so a gave it one-two more seconds.

Remove the egg from the boiling water and turn the water down to a simmer.

Break the egg and carefully place in the water.

Remove from the water when the egg white is cooked. The directions say 3-4 minutes but on my stove with my pot I got it that way in less than 2 minutes and dried the egg off on a clean paper towel.

Then use as you please.

 

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Julia's Child's Poached Egg Trick

Julia’s Child’s Poached Egg Trick

This was so forking easy and quick. What a great trick!

Julia Child’s Easy Poached Egg Trick

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

WTFork is VPN Certified Neapolitan Pizza?

Pizia la forno Glendale AZ

La Piazza Al Forno Glendale AZ

VPN certified Pizza is Verace Pizza Napoletana that translates to True Neapolitan Pizza.

This kind of pizza is certified by the Italian Government to be made a certain way with certified ingredients in a certified oven. The result is an unique smaller pizza that has a puffy crust ends and has a very tender soft crust. These pizzas usually have more sauce than cheese and are usually soft and wet in the middle so they are impossible to eat by the slice and you have to eat them with a knife and fork.

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There are three styles of VPN Certified Neapolitan Pizzas.

The Margarita – Tomato, Fresh Sliced Mozzarella, Fresh Basil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The Marinara – Tomato, Garlic, Oregano, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The Margarita Extra – Tomato, Mozzarella di Bufala, Fresh Basil, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The Certified Ingredients are –

Italian Type 0 or 00 Flour, Brewers Yeast, Water,Salt, Raw pureed San Marzano Tomatoes, Mozzarella Cheese made from Cow’s Milk, Mozzarella di Bufala made from Water Buffalo Milk, Fresh Basil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Water and Salt.

The ingredients are hand kneaded or slow mixed.

Baked only 60-90 seconds in a certified stone oven with an oak wood fire at somewhere around 800 degrees F.

There are only a small amount of restaurants that are VPN Certified in the United States. According to www.FornoBravo.com we only have around 15 VPN Certified Pizzerias across this whole big country. I don’t know how old that information is so I don’t know if it is accurate. We have TWO certified VPN Pizzerias in Metro Phoenix and each pizzeria has more than one location so you have many options if you are looking for VPN Certified Pizza.

The first VPN Certified Pizzeria in Metro Phoenix AZ was Pomo Pizzeria.

Pomo Glendale AZ

Pomo Glendale AZ

I find that the crust more crusty and less pillowy and with a less wet middle than the La Piaza Al Forno. Seems like less cheese than La Piazza Al Forno.

Typical Margherita from La Piazza Al Forno

Typical Margherita from La Piazza Al Forno Glendale AZ

La Piazza Al Forno started out serving Neapolitan Style pizzas for many years and only a few years back changed the recipe and oven to become VPN Certified. I know they have always made their mozzarella in-house. I don’t know if Pomo makes their own cheese.

Non-Typical Margherita from La Piazza Al Forno Glendale AZ

Non-Typical Margherita from La Piazza Al Forno Glendale AZ

Although both are certified VPN Pizzas the La Piazza Al Forno has different tastes and a different texture. La Piazza also is slightly less consistent with the topping and crust bottom.

For more information on Pomo please visit www.PomoPizzeria.com

For more information on La Piazza Al Forno Please visit www.LaPiazzaAlForno.com

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

Sources

www.FornoBravo.com

www.Wikipedia.com

www.Pizza.About.com

White Nectarine Crostata Recipe

 

White Nectarine Crostata

White Nectarine Crostata

Chef Lidia Bastianich made this lovely Rice and Zucchini Crostata on her cooking show that I will make sometime in the near future. It looked FORKING Delicious! I don’t have fresh ricotta cheese today or even Zucchini to make it but I will use her crust recipe for the Crostata. I got 4 pounds of ripe sweet white nectarines today so I thought they’d be great in a Crostata Crust. This really came out FORKING Amazing. The filling is delicious with the right amount of moisture and sweetness. The crust is thin, tender and crisp. This is a great crust recipe too. You will be pleased with this recipe. This certainly is a #CrowdPleaser!

Ingredients for about 12 servings

2 cups flour – plus extra for rolling dough

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup cold water-  plus more if needed

1 teaspoon kosher salt

4 lbs ripe white nectarines – rustically cut into into about 6 pieces a fruit with stone removed

1/4 cup tapioca flour – you can always grind tapioca to make tapioca flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

1/4 cup apricot spread – thinned down with water

1 XL egg – beaten

1/4 cup course sugar

Non-stick spray

Directions

To make the dough get out a large mixing bowl. I used a fork and mixed the flour, 1 teaspoon salt, olive oil and cold water. I do note Lidia’s Recipe suggest using a food processor to mix the mix. It might be better I don’t know? I don’t have a large processor and have no plans to purchase one. When your done with the dough wraps it in plastic wrap and let it rest about 1/2 hour.

Set your oven to 375 degree F. Put a baking stone in your oven.  Spray your pan with non-stick spray.

Cover your rolling mat with some flour and slowly roll out your dough.

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After your dough is rolled out dust it and your rolling pin with some flour. To transfer the dough to your pan….roll the dough around your rolling pin.

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As best as you can unroll the dough over your pan.

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Don’t worry if it’s not perfect because it’s not suppose to be perfect.

In a large bowl add your nectarines, tapioca flour, sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and lightly mix.

Put the nectarine filling into your pan with dough.

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Fold down the ends. (I trimmed off an end and added it to the right)

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Place Crostata on the stone in your pre-heated 375 degree F oven.

After 45 minutes remove the crostata.

Add beaten egg with a pastry brush to the crust.

Add thinned down apricot to the top of nectarines.

Add course sugar to top the crust and put the crostata in the oven for about 15 more minutes.

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15 minutes latter it will look like this.

White Nectarine Crostata

White Nectarine Crostata

You need to let it cool for at least a 1/2 hour before you serve it.

White Nectarine Crostata

White Nectarine Crostata

Absolutely Forking Delicious and Perfect. No need to add whipped cream or ice-cream. The taste is absolutely forking perfection.

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth