More Tales from the Grocery Store: The Produce Department

Who wouldn't want to work in this space?

I've always had my eye on working in the produce department. So when the produce manager went on vacation and the store manager asked if I'd help out while he was gone, I was more than eager to oblige.

Many employees loathe produce. They find it particualry boring with a captial B. Not me.

As an avid gardener, I felt right at home instantly. Everyday was a harvest without any work of tilling, weeding or fertilizing. Truckloads of boxes from all over the world. What could be more exciting? I even had a hose with a nozzle for watering down the plants to keep them fresh, green and crisp.

As an artist, produce creates the best palette. It's all about color and shape and design. When I was a teacher, I often had students bring in a fruit or vegetable and we spent the entire period studying that single object. Just as no person has a "single personality," no fruit or vegetable has a single color. An apple is not merely red or green. It is composed of different shades and hues, especially when sliced in two. Even in a display of dozens, each is a unique face.

And, of course, from a mere Freudian point of view, produce is just sexy. Everything in the department can be reduced to the shape of a penis or a breast. Really. It is the only department where the merchandise is "fondled." Now you know why. Most fruits are breasts. Most vegetables a penis. But there are always exceptions, such as the banana.

The banana is the single most purchased item in any grocery store. The banana cart is filled several times a day. And I did get the obligatory comment about finding large poisonous spiders in the boxes. But I was ready with a response: "Nope. No spiders. But sometimes we find alien midgets trying to smuggle their way illegally into the country."

Banana boxes are the most sought-after boxes in a grocery store. We are forever saving them for customers. They are great for moving because they have a slide-on top, side 
handles and are sturdy. Apple boxes are also great, but most people don't know about them.

The produce department is pretty much the Zen Center of a grocery store. It appeals to the contemplative nature of a person's personality. There'a reason most entrances to a grocery store begin with produce. People have to slow down. One can't just zip through the produce aisles grabbing items from shelves to throw into a cart. One has to pause and observe. Check things out. Compare. It's quiet shopping. Almost like being in your own backyard. Items are slipped into their own bags and lovingly placed into a safe part of the cart to avoid the violence of canned-good grenades and crushing bruises from 50-lb. bags of animal feed. In produce, all items are revered and pampered. Like babies. In many ways, the produce department resembles a hospital nursery, all the newborns tucked away in cribs.

Customers in the produce department are usually subdued and hushed. Low-key. Even when they talk, their tone is usually softer. It's sacred territory, like a church. A spiritual space. Each display is an altar and it even has flowers! It's not uncommon to hear people hum or whistle amongst bins of grapes and peaches as they find their inner OM and re-center their unbalanced lives after a hectic day. They leave happy and blessed.

Whatever you buy in the produce department will make you healthy. It's great for one's ego. And body. What's not to like? You enter it feeling good about yourself and you leave feeling even better. That won't happen in the frozen food aisles of ice cream and frozen pizza. There is no cholesterol in the produce dept.

Our produce department isn't the largest. But everything is wonderfully organized, clean and fresh. Our department outsells all the others in our district. All of our leafy vegetables are pre-washed and picked over. The celery is washed, scrubbed and trimmed. All are baptized. And in the case of onions, circumcised. I hate loose onion skins, so I remove all the papery outer shells before displaying any of them. 

What customers never see is the back-room cooler. When you open its heavy, insulated steel door, you're immediately welcomed by a rush of spring air that is at once cool and green and alive. A modern-day root cellar, for sure. The temperature is automatically controlled so that it is never summer or winter. It is always inviting. Produce is safely packaged and washed and sometimes encased in ice to keep it fresh as possible for as long as possible. All that's missing is a rainbow.

I was fortunate and didn't have to work the morning shifts. As I've said before, there is no easy job in a grocery store. Produce involves a lot of lifting and stacking, most of which occurs early in the day when trucks arrive with their deliveries. A box of apples isn't light fare, nor a box of bananas.

After two days, I was on my own and had the entire department to myself. I felt like a monk in a cloistered garden. A holy space.

On Monday, I was awarded "Associate of the Quarter." I was thrilled all my hard work was recognized and I love the people I work with. My brief stint in the produce department was mentioned. I hope they ask me back.

Lazy Baked Shrimp

Succulent shrimp seasoned with a rosemary/thyme infusion of olive oil. And it's easy!

You know the feeling. You want something good for dinner. But you don't want a lot of prep. And you especially don't want a mess to clean up. That's how I felt when I made this dish. I was going to have it with a side of rice, but even that was too complicated for the mood I was in. I boiled some garlic/parsley dried pasta, instead. Perfect. 

This recipe gave me a reason to begin using my fresh herbs before they're hit by frost. And I was (finally) able to use my old Fire King, 10" x 6" ecru dish I bought at a flea market. It was the perfect size. I purchased two pounds of frozen shrimp on sale for five dollars!!! They were smaller than I would have liked, but they worked out just fine. The herbs were free! So, all-in-all, this was pretty inexpensive but elegant fare. Serve with a cold, white wine, and a bit of bread to sop up the extra oil.

This makes for a great appetizer. Place several on a plate with crusty piece of bread and lemon wedge.

• 3/4 lb. fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 3 fresh rosemary sprigs
• 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Fresh-ground black pepper
• Red pepper flakes--just a pinch (optional)
• Kosher salt
• Fresh lemon

Place all ingredients but the shrimp, salt and lemon in a baking dish. Turn to coat the rosemary. Roast for about 10 minutes in a 400 F. degree oven. About halfway, turn the herbs.

My rosemary sprigs were the last of the season and pretty sparse.
 I should have added a bit more.

Remove dish from oven. The oil will have absorbed the essence of the herbs. Add shrimp in an even layer.

Return dish to oven and bake for about 10 minutes or so, depending on size of shrimp, turning once halfway through the cooking process. (Once shrimp begin to turn pink and coral, they're pretty much done, so don't overcook.)

Remove from oven. Sprinkle with salt and squeeze some lemon juice over it. Give it a stir.

Serve with a side of pasta/Parmesan, being sure to drizzle the flavorful oil over all.

Beautiful!

Notes: Next time I'll use a bit more olive oil because I really loved the taste of the herb-infused oil. I wasn't crazy about the little pieces of rosemary left behind, but that's just part of the recipe and my own peccadillo. I was really, really, really tempted to add garlic to this dish. But I'm glad I didn't. It may have overpowered the subtle rosemary/thyme-infused oil.

Easy Ham and Bean Soup

Loaded with savory, smoky broth and filled with beans, ham and veggies.

Bean soup (like most homemade soups) is a labor of love. And time. First, there is the all-important ham bone which is one reason people don't make bean soup more often and usually only around the holidays. It's not like we all have meaty ham bones laying around the refrigerator. And then there's the soaking of the beans. And rinsing. And soaking some more. And chopping. Scraping the bone of meat, etc.

There has to be an easier way, I thought. And this recipe is it. Begin with a meaty ham shank and a can of cannellini beans. Throw is some canned chicken stock and veggies and you have great, wonderful tasting soup in two hours. Really. Trust me on this.

If you follow KB, you know how much I love ham shanks. A ham shank is NOT the same as a ham hock. A ham hock is the the pig's ankle. It's bony without much meat, but it's great for flavoring stews and soups. The shank, on the other hand, is like a mini-ham. It's kind of like the pig's "calf" (that's funny--pig and calf). Both are wonderfully smoked, but the shank yields a lot more meat. Unlike ham, the meat is more gelatinous, so it's great for stews and soups and can take long simmering or braising. And they're inexpensive.

Smoked ham shanks are meaty and gelatinous. Perfect for soup and stews.
These were about three dollars, total.

Pork hocks are usually easier to find than shanks. When I lived in Michigan, my local grocer carried large, meaty shanks wonderfully smoked. Ironically, here in the South, they are difficult to find. Even more ironic, the only place that sells them is my local Target Super Store under the brand name "Cooks."

•  1-lb. meaty, smoked ham shank
• 1 whole clove
• 1, 19 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (I use Progresso)
• 3 1/2 cups low-sodium canned chicken stock
• 1/3 cup chopped onion or leeks (or a combination)
• 1/3 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 1 clove garlic, pressed or finely minced
• 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme or a few pinches dried, whole thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (do not omit)

Place all ingredients but the smoked paprika into a 10-cup pot or Dutch oven with lid. Bring just to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for two hours.

Remove thyme stems, clove and ham shank. When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the shank and dice. Discard bones and fat. Return meat to soup and mix in. Add the 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika. Stir. Taste for seasonings. Ladle into bowls and serve.

Notes: Paprika and smoked paprika are not the same, so don't substitute. If you really want to make this easy, buy carrots, celery and onions already cut and diced for you in the produce dept. of your local grocery store. Had I a fresh Roma tomato or two, I would have cut them up to add along with the veggies. But the smoked paprika gives a nice color to the soup.

Garlicky Pimento Cheese

Failure really does breed success, especially in cooking. This recipe is the perfect example.

Pimento cheese (P.C.) is a culinary staple here in the South. I recently viewed a short video for a pimento cheese recipe via Saveur and thought I'd give it a try. It was okay. But since it's not something I grew up with, I really didn't have a "past experience" to compare it. I almost threw it out. But ingredients these days are dearly priced.

I put it in the fridge and went to bed thinking about it. (Yes, food bloggers are always thinking of food, ingredients and recipes.) The next day I tweaked it some. Then some more. Then some more. Finally, I realized I was in a no-man's zone and had no idea what I was looking for or tasting. And I was stuck on that bloody ingredient "pimento." I was tempted to add even more, but why??? Finally, I returned to the roots of my tastebuds: more garlic. But that didn't seem to work either. Disgusted, I covered it and thrust it back in the fridge.

The next day I thought I'd have one last taste before it hit the garbage. WOW! Time was all it needed. One night in the fridge and all the ingredients got their act together and put on one taste show. Is it a standard, southern pimento cheese spread? Probably not. Purists would guffaw at the addition of cream cheese. But it's good. Hot-damn good. And that's all that matters for this Yankee.

I LOVE the little jars!

• 15 ounces sharp white cheddar, divided
• 3, 4-oz. jars diced pimentos, drained (save some of the brine)
• 1/2 - 3/4 habanero pepper, seeded*
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1, 8-oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco Sauce and/or to taste
• 2 medium gloves garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce, but no more than 1/2 teaspoon
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

Using the large holes of a box grater, grate 10 ounces of cheese and add to a bowl. Grate remaining five ounces and set aside.

Using gloves, remove seeds and rib from 1/2 habanero pepper. Dice as finely as possible.  Add to a small bowl. Add drained, diced pimentos to bowl and mix. Using a micro-plane or the smallest holes on a box grater, grate the garlic and add to pepper mixture. Stir. Mix in the mayonnaise and then add to grated cheese and mix through. If needed, add a bit of the pimento brine, but no more than one tablespoon.

Place softened cream cheese in a mini food processor and pulse until smooth. Remove and add to cheese and pepper mixture. Add Tabasco and Worcestershire. Mix. Salt to taste. Return about 3/4 of mixture to processor and pulse on and off several times to mix well. Return to bowl and add remaining five ounces of grated cheese.

Cover and refrigerate for at least one day. Taste and re-adjust seasonings as needed.

Notes: This spread is not over-powering in its heat. If you like it insanely hot, add more peppers or hot sauce. Also, purchase name-brand pimentos. Some of the generic brands lack taste.

*Each pepper differs in heat. Be careful of hot peppers and use plastic gloves when dealing with them. Be sure to rinse cutting surfaces that come into contact with them. Avoid touching your face, especially eyes, when dealing with any hot pepper.