Random Fact

I loooove cook books. I especially love cook books that have great food photography in it and even better when said cook book has many recipes that are super easy. I have been slowly collecting cook books and to my chagrin I rarely use them to cook.

Foodies R Us

Yay! Another blogger is into T's Sandwiches at the Nac Mall. He gives the Vietnamese Pho an 8 out of 10 and raves about the spring/summer rolls.

Here is Hooligan Youth's Food Review:

http://hooliganyouthreviews.blogspot.com/2009/01/ts-sandwiches-pho-in-nacogdoches.html

T's Sandwiches Food Review

T Sandwiches, Food to Go Review

We ate the pho last night for dinner. It's been years since I've last had pho so for K and I...it was delicious!!

They don't offer bean sprouts to dump into your soup but they did offer cilantro, onions, freshly sliced jalepenos, hosein sauce, and sriracha chili sauce). I made my soup red with the sriracha sauce and along with the fresh jalepenos K and I were sweating by the time we were done with our noodle soups.

Damn, it was good.

Now, the owner of the place is very concerned about his customers and how well they like their meals. So don't be surprised if he comes around while you are eating to ask if you like it and maybe speak to you a bit. He even likes to open the take out boxes of food you order to show you exactly what is in the box so that you will leave satisfied.

K left with an Asian Coffee Boba Tea and I guess because he's a round eye the guy just assumed he didn't want the tapioca balls. K actually doesn't mind the boba balls but oh well the asian coffee boba was good! There is actually brewed chickory coffee in the coffee boba drink so it took a little while for the owner to make it.

The summer rolls we had there were pretty excellent. They were freshly made for me before getting them to go. A lot of the times summer rolls seem dry but these were moist and good. They were also pretty big and very filled. The peanut dipping sauce was super flavorful and sweet which is how I like it.

The owner I guess enjoyed speaking with us because he also gave us complimentary spring rolls, which at this place is a fried eggroll. They were delicious and super heat hot since we got them so fresh.

**We did break from our vegetarian diet at this place. I counted this as a special occasion for myself when it came to the pho. Unfortunately, vegetarian fare is sparse here unless you are willing to eat shrimp. The vegan fare is even more sparse.

Please try out T's Sandwiches at the mall. I even heard from a friend that they were floored by how awesome the pork sandwiches were.

(they do take out so give them a call at 569-0464 after you get familiar with their menu)

Nac News!

I went to the Nac Mall or the Hall today to check out a store or two and guess what I spied??

I walked by a small food place (T Sandwiches, Food to Go: Mon - Sat 10 am - 8 pm; Sun ClosedOPEN!) and I looked up to see their lit up photo menu and then I did a double take. I stared at a photo of boba teas (aka pearl tea, bubble tea, thai milk tea) that were available!!!!

WHAT???

OMG! I'm in heaven! Boba tea in NAC?? AAAAAND...VIETNAMESE PHO!!!!!!!!

The boba tea was decent...not the best...but shit I'm not going to be picky. I didn't have to drive to Houston to sip this delight. Their summer/spring rolls were delicious.

And I think I'm planning on eating pho tonight for dinner.

Oh please let this place stay in business.

Thank you. You can now return to what you were doing.

peanut butter jelly time!

K and I have been trying to become healthier in our food choices and so far we've been doing pretty well. Thank goodness for products like Morning Star and Fantastic Foods.

We've also been buying more organic products but there have been some things that I wasn't willing to change just for the sake of knowing a brand forever and sticking to it.

However, I've gone towards an organic ketchup and really the taste isn't overly different. I like that it doesn't have all the junk in it that non-organic ketchup does have. I don't eat ketchup regularly but it's good to know that I can smear it on fries and not worry about the high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) that I'd be consuming in one sitting. Some would argue that HFCS is the same as table sugar and isn't harmful but I'd rather eat organic. I like being able to read the label and recognize the majority of the ingredients for the most part. I'm not anal about this though since I am still able to sit down and nosh on prepackaged products like Oreos, for instance. Doh!

I finally caved in on something that I didn't think I would have...peanut butter. I have eaten Jif forever and whenever I taste other peanut butters I'm just like...enh...I'd rather have Jif. I've gotten Jif's reduced fat peanut butter for probably over ten years.

Last weekend I told K to look for an organic peanut butter and as it came out of my mouth I was cringing and wondered if I should call after him and tell him I changed my mind. Instead, I bit my tongue and watched as he pulled out of the driveway feeling regretful that I didn't just go with my known and beloved product.

K brought home two small glass jars of Better 'n Peanut Butter. I looked them over with no excitement. The color was a deeper brown than I was used to seeing and I was sure it would have some weird gross oil sitting on top when I'd get around to opening a jar. It would also have to stay in the fridge after opening the jar. Great. Cold peanut butter. *barf*

I put the jars in the pantry until my beloved Jif container was finally empty. I made oatmeal this morning for breakfast and decided it would be a good time to try the peanut butter. The taste would be a bit more diluted in oatmeal compared to a sandwich. I opened the jar and was surprised to not see a film of oil on top and the texture looked a bit more goopy than Jif's pb. I swiped my finger thru the pb that was under the jar's lid and tasted it.

As the Better 'n PB hit my tongue I was disappointed that it wasn't as sweet as Jif's pb, but as I swirled it over my tongue and palette the taste developed into a rich creaminess. Hey! Not bad! I do believe I smiled because I was pleasantly shocked that I liked the all natural pb. Yes! Success!

So, y'all...I found a new pb and am pleased.