Quickie

Fresh n’ Easy (Manhattan Beach location off Rosecrans) sells pre-made burger patties…but not just any regular burger patties.  BBQ Bacon Cheese!!!

The Husband grilled these up last night and they were pretty good.  They cook quite nicely – moist and flavorful.  There’s bits of bacon and cheese mixed in.

They come in 2-patty packs and aren’t very expensive.    Perfect for a couple who is enjoying the lingering summer…

Fresh n’ Easy visit #3

Ah…more love for this grocery store.

On yet another visit, I picked up 2 items which are fantabulous.
– Lemon cilantro hummus
– Moroccan couscous

This hummus is very refreshing. The lemon is strong but not sour nor is it sweet. The cilantro adds a nice compliment to it. I’m sure this would be a hit at a party as an alternative dip. Call me weird but I like to use it as a dip for apples.

The Moroccan couscous is one of their “already-made” entrees. This mix involved couscous, some sort of spicy sauce and dried fruits (cranberries, apricots). This was extremely tasty. It had rich flavor, a nice mixture of textures and a fantastic bite to it. When they said spicy, they really meant it, definitely not for those who can’t tolerate the hot stuff.

I also picked up a Stilton cheese with blueberries. Mmmmm…

Fresh n’ Easy – sushi

Manhattan Beach just had a Fresh n’ Easy open up so I headed down there again for groceries. The first time I went, I came away with some goodies, including a basil plant for $3! Some of their items are cheaper than the grocery stores and I like their variety of organic alternatives and mainstream name-brands.

Since I was on my lunch break, I decided to try some of their already-made meals. I picked up an egg-salad sandwich ($2 + some change) and a spicy tuna roll with 2 pieces of nigiri ($4.99). I scarfed down the sandwich as I was -starving-. The bread was a white bread, thickly sliced. Given that it was cold, the bread was a little firm and on the verge of starting to dry out. The egg-salad was more like potato-salad and I think I even had a piece of potato in there. Definitely relish-y, more than I prefer. The filling to bread ratio was great, however. I never experienced a bite where it was too bready or too egg-salad-y. And the wrapper was recyclable.

When I got home, I cracked open the sushi. The spicy tuna was good though a little heavy on the rice. The little bit of cucumber was a nice touch as was the sesame seeds sprinkled on the outside of the roll. However, it wasn’t as spicy as I would have preferred. The tuna nigiri had a nice deep red color and was fresh. A lot of times, supermarket sushi isn’t the freshest and the fish will have that fishy flavor that is a huge no-no. The rice however, was inedible. It was hard and sour.

What was nifty about the sushi box though, was the chopsticks. Half wood, half plastic, they expanded out into full-length chopsticks. Brilliant!

I might opt to try the sushi again, maybe a different box as they had several to choose from.  They also have a large variety of other meals – salads, noodle dishes, Mexican fare like enchiladas and Japanese dishes like beef teriyaki.  That’s something I want to try next.