Thursday, October 10, 2013

Plants and Vegetables - they're good for you

Plants, and in my case vegetables make life better for me. I read this article, which like many praises plants and how they make one feel – fantastic!

Besides vegetable plants, which I grow in my 2 gardens, I like planting flowers, although I must admit most are store-purchased in May or June and then replanted. Living in north New Jersey, I’m a fan of Corrados. If you haven’t been, but live near Clifton, you MUST set aside half a day and visit this phenomenal ethnic supermarket. I say ethnic, but this should be plural, although there is no such word as ‘ethnics’.
I’ve been coming to Corrados for as long as I can remember, sometimes alone, other times with my husband or my parents, it’s a fabulous shopping experience, one you won’t soon forget. I think for those who live locally, to them it’s like my going to Shop Rite, but for me it’s an experience I look forward to every time I go.

The Clifton/Passaic/Paterson area in Passaic County, New Jersey is a melting pot of many ethnic groups. And this is reflected in the products at Corrados, not just in the shelf-life foods, but also the fresh foods. Where else can you buy any kind of fruit or vegetable you can imagine, including aloe, coconut and different squash varieties. In addition, there is an olive and cheese bar that puts Whole Foods to shame! And, you can have a taste before you buy as well. Different varieties of perogies, not just the traditional cheese and potato, but also spinach, mushroom and meat, but tortellini, ravioli, different frozen prepared foods, a fantastic bakery and wine store as well and the bread department is phenomenal! When I go to Corrados, I always have my list of foods, but end up leaving with so many more items, because they’re just there! It’s an experience you won’t want to miss.

A hint from me – if you are able to go to Corrados during the week – DO, because on weekends, it’s hard to find parking and inside it’s hard to maneuver your cart.


Now, back to the flowers – come spring, sometimes as early as April, Corrados sells vegetable plants, which are ready to go into your garden. In addition to those plants, you can buy fresh garlic and small potatoes and plop those into the soil for a nice abundant harvest later in the summer. If you’re lucky enough to go to Corrados and the area around it to buy flowers before Memorial Day, you’ll have your pick of flowers and vegetables, as well as trees and shrubs. Happy shopping!

Saturday, October 5, 2013

HEALTHY & unique

I've been writing a blog on wordpress, but find that this site is visited more often by my friends, so I'm copying my former wordpress links from my food blog - called HEALTHY and unique and will continue posting here from now on:

ZUCCHINI - http://healthynunique.wordpress.com/2013/07/18/crustless-zucchini-pie-with-in-season-mint-and-zucchini/

TOMATOES -  http://healthynunique.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/got-fresh-tomatoes-in-your-garden-heres-a-great-recipe-to-enjoy-them/

SCALLIONS & GARLIC - http://healthynunique.wordpress.com/2013/07/26/scallions-garlic-fresh-from-the-garden/

CUCUMBERS - http://wp.me/p3KJLu-C

BASIL - http://healthynunique.wordpress.com/2013/09/06/best-basil-bounty/

TOMATOES, again -   http://wp.me/p3KJLu-1l

POTATOES -  http://healthynunique.wordpress.com/2013/09/09/garden-potatoes-theres-nothing-quite-like-it/

CORN - http://wp.me/p3KJLu-1X

GRAINS - http://healthynunique.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/yummy-grains/

SMOOTHIES - http://wp.me/p3KJLu-24

APPLES - http://healthynunique.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/its-apple-picking-time/

CHICKPEAS - http://healthynunique.wordpress.com/2013/10/04/chickpeas-theyre-good-for-you-tasty-too/


A little more info here - we own two homes, one in northern NJ and the other in the Catskills. During the spring and summer months, we have two amazing gardens and grown everything from herbs to corn and broccoli. In past years, we've grown so many zucchini, tomatoes and cucumbers that we could open up our own vegetable stand in the country, which of course we don't. Instead we try different recipes, make up our own and share our bounty with family and friends.