Review: Cameron's Coffee - Velvet Moon

Yeah, it seems this is becoming a review of my weekly shopping cart - well too fucking bad! I'm not whipping-up gourmet delights on a daily basis (last night I served hot dogs - they were gourmet, of course). But this morning's cup o' Joe was a little lacking, and I thought you should know about it.

First off, I don't have a coffee grinder at home, so I need to bring home pre-ground coffee. Furthermore, I don't want a grinder at home - no matter how much you coffee snobs out there tell me it makes all the difference. Though, despite my supreme laziness, I still want to enjoy a good cup of coffee in the comfort of my own home.

Usually I'd buy a can of Stewarts, and when that emptied I'd fill it with a bag of Starbuck's dark roast coffee three or four times and then buy another can of Stewarts. I feel the Starbucks is better, but the Stewarts is cheaper. Taking a Stewart's break gives me a gentle palate cleansing - allowing me to further appreciate the high-priced Starbuck coffee.

The usual: a can of Stewart's followed by Starbuck's 3x

Last weekend, in the coffee aisle, I noticed the Cameron's display - oh, it was artful! Not only could I grind my own beans (appealing simultaneously to my do-it-yourself nature and my feeling that fresh ground beans are better than beans ground by 12 year-old laborers in a loathsome factory in China), but a pound of Cameron's coffee was cheaper than a 12 oz. bag of Starbuck's.

Bonus!

I chose Velvet Moon - it said it was a dark roast coffee, and the clever marketers at Cameron's made it nearly impossible to resist. I was hooked. The smell coming from the in-store coffee grinder was good. I pre-congratulated myself on making a shrewd coffee buying decision.

The bag was made of paper - not velvet. WTF?

Taste test
Lame. There's no "back" to this coffee. Like wine, there are a few places you should taste your coffee. The "front" is the initial taste of the coffee - the first thing you notice. The "back" is how that flavor fills your throat - does it linger and offer something a little more than taste. Sure, there's a decent "front," but there's no richness that apparently I crave.

Sadly, It'll take me nearly two weeks to jam-through this pound of coffee - no labor of love. And when it's complete, I'll probably go-back to my previous buying schedule: a few bags of Starbuck's and then a palate cleansing can of Stewart's. Pity me, and my unfulfilling home coffee brewing experience.

Review: Spicy Blue Corn Tortilla Chips

Yeah, it's a niche product. Actually, the wife said something like, "Hey, honored husband, we should start eating healthier." To me that means a trip through the health food aisle in the grocery store. Lo and behold, I found some "healthy" chips:

Red Hot Blues

I didn't know what to expect. Actually, I had a few ideas what to expect:

• A bag costing well over $4.00 for a paltry amount (eg. Terra Chips - total rip off!)
• A crunchy twig-like texture

Thankfully, neither of those outcomes was experienced. The 9 oz. bag was $2.59 ($0.287 per oz) which compares favorably to the also-purchased Fritos at $3.69 for 14 oz ($0.263 per oz).

As for taste, sure, the texture's a little rustic, but there's a subtle blast of heat that makes them good. I'm not sayin' that I'm going to add them to the cart every week, but it was nice to be surprised by some "health" food for once.

Ingredients: Organic blue corn, expeller pressed oleic safflower and/or sunflower oil, dehydrated tomato, rice flour, salt, paprika, spices, smoked torula yeast, dehydrated onion, natural flavor.

Expeller pressed?!? WTF?

Review: Spanish Rice from a Box

Sounds a little low-rent for such an elegant site, but even I can't be expected to craft a homemade Spanish rice dish every time the family gets the craving for some tacos. Can there be a workable alternative to a Chicago-Polish version of this "south of the border" favorite?

Sure.

Two rices enter - one rice leaves...

The perennial standby has been the La Preferida brand Spanish rice. It's easy to make and always comes-out right. There's more than enough for my family of four (the kids avoid rice like the plague), and it successfully accompanies tacos and refried beans.

Yesterday, the store was out of La Preferida Spanish Rice... Just below was the Old El Paso Spanish Rice - could it substitute? Would the family notice? Let's find out.

Success! In fact, I like the Old El Paso brand Spanish rice better than La Preferida. The grains of rice were "plumper" and the overall dish was "wetter" than the La Preferida version. My wife thought it was too watery, but I don't place much stock in her opinion. So, in the rusrus house, there's a new boxed Spanish rice champion: Old El Paso!

Note: before there was boxed Spanish rice there was canned Spanish rice. It's good (for a can), but the boxed rices are better...