Dear Tesco Grocery, again? really?

For the past ten months, every fourth time I have been in your store, something, or several things have been moved. I am not exaggerating when I write that the milk my husband likes has now been located in no less than eight places. The items in your produce department have been moved around at least four times, and the bread, I won’t even mention that part of store. I know I’m not alone in the frustration I experience during my shopping trips. Products disappearing, the constant rearranging. What’s up?

While shopping a few days ago, I noticed that you were gearing up for another big 'let’s frustrate the customer', I mean, 'rearrange our fine products'. However, what I saw the other day could not have prepared me for what I witnessed this morning.

Just a few observations that left me a bit perplexed:
flour and baking products in three areas of the store, including next to the canned anchovies and tuna
dvds and cds across from the cereal
cookies across from the nappies and baby food
pet products in three different places
several brands of juice so high that my almost 6’ tall husband could barely reach them
canned soup in three areas, including in the refrigerated section, next to the crackers and cereal

Now that is just weird. Canned soup, cereal, and crackers now need to be refrigerated? Aren’t you worried that they will become soggy?

We enjoy shopping at your store as it’s the only large grocery near our home and your employees are always friendly and helpful. I certainly hope that you are not done rearranging the store, because what I saw this morning is just bizarre.

Sincerely,
A loyal customer

PS- thank you for leaving the alcohol alone. By the time I’m done shopping, I need that bottle of wine.

To those of you who live here and know me IRL, go to Tesco if you need a good laugh. Nothing makes one giggle like a box of Corn Flakes in need of refrigeration.

recipe 6: honey and ginger-glazed salmon

From the Nordstrom Flavors cookbook


This recipe is excellent and I will definitely make it again. YUM!

honey and ginger-glazed salmon

½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
4 skinless salmon fillets
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons honey
1 ½ tablespoons peeled and finely minced ginger
6 green onions, white and light green parts only, finely chopped

Pour the soy sauce into a dish. Add salmon. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove the salmon from the soy sauce and pat dry. Discard the soy sauce.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

Season the salmon with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together the ginger and honey. Evenly spread the honey mixture on the marinated side of the salmon. Evenly sprinkle the green onions over the honey, press to adhere to the salmon.

Heat oil in a large, nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the salmon, green onion side down. Cook until the undersides are seared, about 1½ minutes. Transfer the salmon, onion side up, to the baking sheet. Bake the salmon about 10 minutes, or until it flakes easily.

Transfer to warm plates. Serve immediately.

We had it with boiled potatoes and steamed broccoli.

I wish I could be in Washington DC today

Resolve Advocacy Day is today, June 25. Resolve is The National Infertility Association; an organization that is working to bring awareness to this disease and get health insurance coverage for infertility. Currently only 15 states have mandated insurance coverage. The rest of us pay out of pocket for everything. Every appointment, every ultrasound, every blood draw, every test, every injection, every operation, and every medication, we pay for.

It angers me that my health insurance covers medical care for conditions and diseases that typically occur when people make poor lifestyle choices. Yet through no fault of my own, I’m infertile and have to pay for my health care out of pocket. It’s absurd.

I’m particularly bitter and disappointed that the federal government only provides two insurance options for employees overseas, neither of which covers fertility treatment. Give us more companies to choose from or give us more comprehensive health care through the two available.

Infertility is a medical condition and we deserve health insurance coverage.

To those of you who are attending Advocacy Day, good luck and thank you for being our voice.

For more information, please visit the Resolve website. www.resolve.org

The Lobster Pot

The Lobster Pot has an extraordinary reputation in Dublin; well known for excellent food, an intimate atmosphere, and remarkable service. The experience begins with ringing the bell on the ground level. This brings the owner down to personally escort guests upstairs to the dining room. The dining room is charming and everything one would expect from an upscale restaurant.

Upon sitting down, a platter containing fish, shellfish, meat, poultry, and a variety of appetizers was brought to the table. Each dish was thoroughly explained, including a variety of options for preparation. The wine list was superb and we were very pleased with the bottle a member of our group selected.

I chose the crab salad as a starter and grilled salmon with béarnaise sauce as the main course. I also had potatoes and creamed spinach. The crab salad was among the best I’ve had. The salmon was also very good. Toward the end of the meal, a dessert trolley was brought to the table with a nice selection of sweets.

The Lobster Pot is rather expensive, though I just discovered that they have an “early bird set menu”, so we will likely check that out next time. The bill for our party of four was €380, including starters, main courses, side dishes, desserts, and drinks.

Overall our group was pleased with our experience at The Lobster Pot. I can see why this is considered a neighborhood favorite. We will be back!

restaurant


dinner


Irish coffee

a couple of ciders and a couple of questions

There’s no better time for a pear cider over ice than a sunny evening in Dublin. After leaving the Street Performance World Championship, our group headed over to a favorite place for a few pear ciders. It was a lovely time of good conversation, nice drinks, and beautiful weather.

As we were drinking our cider and spending a pleasant afternoon together, a man approached our table and began to make small talk. While I’m sure his intentions were pure, nobody at our table is comfortable sharing personal information with strangers, particularly overseas. So, to the overly eager gentleman who interrupted our conversation, I guarantee that you did not get truthful answers to such questions as where are you from, why are you here, where are you staying, and how long will you be here.

Getting back to the evening… We had planned to have dinner where we were having cider, but one member of our party had the grand idea to have dinner at The Lobster Pot. Though I’ve not tried before, I’ve heard that this restaurant can be notoriously difficult to get into. Luck was on our side, one phone call later and we had a reservation. I’ll post a review of it, and more Saturday night fun, tomorrow.

Street Performance World Championship

Saturday afternoon we stopped by the Street Performance World Championship. All four people in our party were very disappointed. The stages weren’t raised platforms, but instead designated areas of grass. It was impossible to see the performers because the surrounding crowds were all at least eight people deep.



Upon entering the park, the first “performer” we tried to watch was obnoxious and using a lot of potty humor while interacting with children. I was immediately turned off. Some of the other performers may have been decent, but again, the crowds. We wandered around for 30 minutes or so, then decided that there are much better ways to spend a sunny afternoon in Dublin.

If this seems a little harsh, please know that I’m not a fan of most street performers in the first place, I’m definitely not a fan of crowds, and I’m really, really not a fan of spending time in a place with thousands of little kids and strollers.

So, off we went…

Edited to add: according to the Metro paper, there were more than 180,000 people in attendance. The winners are the USA break-dancing team.

it is June, right?

We've had such strange weather. It's been cold enough that nearly every night for the past ten days we've had the fire on. Guinness and Bella love to relax on their scratchers in front of it.


Hopefully the sun will make an appearance this weekend.