For this #marketfriday hosted by @dswigle, I thought I would talk about a couple of items that I occasionally enjoy. Both of them could fall into the category of "Comfort Food" as they can brighten an otherwise dreary day.
Of course, nothing beats the taste of homemade food, carefully crafted from-scratch with ingredients sourced by the person cooking. But when one needs something quick and easy, or when "Comfort Food" is the order of the day, ready-to-eat options from the market can't be beat!
The first item is something I found in the freezer-case one day, quite by accident. It is so good that I have bought it several times since, and often keep a box of it in my freezer for a quick meal when nothing else seems "right" to my tummy.
The Tabatchnick company, in business since 1905, seems committed to producing food products with considerable care given to the ingredients used. Most of their products are kosher, and some are also gluten free, organic, vegan, low-sodium, etc. Many of their items are vegetarian, and their website says that: "Soups labeled as Pareve are Vegan" as well.[source]
Their Tuscany Lentil Soup is quite tasty, and they also have a Vegetarian Chili that is very good. Although I am not vegetarian, I don't mind eating vegetarian cuisine sometimes, and often find that vegetarian offerings have less Saturated Fat than non-vegetarian fare. As an added benefit, I do not have any indigestion issues with the Vegetarian Chili as I sometimes do with traditional chili.
Their soup and chili is packaged in a box in the freezer case. Inside each box are two envelopes that contain a serving, each. Tabatchnick freezes their items so they don't have to use preservatives, making their products fresher than canned soups, and with lower sodium, too. You'll never find bad ingredients, such as the "High Fructose Corn Syrup" that some popular brands add needlessly. To prepare, simply open the envelope, then dump the contents in a bowl (for microwave heating) or a pot (for stovetop heating). In just a few minutes, your meal is ready! I usually eat a few crispy crackers with my soup.
The closest town to me is small, with around 3000 people, so my local market only carries two Tabatchnick products — I am hoping they will add more of them in the future! I'd love to try the Split Pea Soup (one of my favorite soups) and some of their other offerings!
Another item I occasionally enjoy is Pimento Cheese. In its simplest form, it is shredded cheese (usually cheddar) with diced pimentos with just enough mayonnaise to hold it all together. The yellow cheddar coupled with red pimentos gives it a distinctive orange color. It is very cheap and incredibly easy to make, and can be relatively healthy if one uses fat-free or reduced-fat cheese, and Lite Mayo.
My market sells a ready-to-eat version with a wonderful cheesy blend and jalapeño pepper for just the right amount of tingle to one's tongue! It is fitting that they call it "gourmet!" By the way, Southern Living and many other sites on the Internet state that "pimento" is an alternate spelling of the older "pimiento" word. I have only encountered the older spelling in recent years, as everyone in my family and community says "pimento" without the extra "i" included.
😋 Happy Eating! 😁
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13-Aug-2021