Grocery Life June 12, 2014

Grocery Life June 12, 2014

By Tom Butler

Good afternoon from Butler and Bailey Market. I hope everyone is having a good week! We are finally getting some rain this week. Unfortunately most of the rain has been accompanied by damaging winds. Tuesday’s storms knocked the power out here at the store right at rush hour. It stayed off for two hours which forced us to close. It also forced us to postpone our cooking class that everyone had just been seated for. When the power did come back on, Keith and a repairman had to spend several hours making sure all the equipment was back on and running properly. We have had a run of bad luck the last few days which I hope means good things are coming?

On a brighter note, Dylan is back to work. He was in a bad car accident several weeks ago and has finally healed up enough to get back to work. He says he has learned his lesson about driving 70 mph on back-roads. I hope so, he is lucky to get a second chance. Another one of our employees, Adam, is on the cover of the June 5^th Metro Pulse magazine. Metro Pulse has done a feature story on Adam and three other high school students called the “Gang of 4.0.” These four students have become national figures in the debate over school reform. They also all carry grade point averages above 4.0. As you might imagine, Adam has been a good employee for us. He doesn’t get to work many shifts because of his extracurricular activities but that’s okay. Most all of the students that work her are involved in a lot of things. We keep a box up in the front office for them to put their schedule requests in. It always stays full. When we make out the schedule every week it is like putting together a jig-saw puzzle. Most of the notes are the students asking off for ball practice, music recitals, or family activities. Adam’s notes are usually asking off to meet with the school board, interview the governor, or change the world. While Adam’s accomplishments have been well publicized, all of the young people that work here are very impressive in their own right. I am glad the store gets to play a part in their lives. I hope you get a chance to read the article. You can find it by clicking here.

I mentioned in a previous blog that we have been talking to a company in Chattanooga about their gluten-free products. We got our first shipment from them yesterday. We put all of their products on an end-cap in the store so if you are looking for more gluten-free options you can find them in one place. So far, my favorite thing from them is the sea salt and vinegar kale chips. My wife’s favorite thing is the cranberry nut crunch. We also got in several varieties of gluten free pastas from them.

Speaking of gluten-free, one of our friends introduced Erica and me to some gluten-free cookies she makes. The cookie’s official name is “Pecan Crisps” but we all call them “Crack Cookies” because they are highly addictive. They are easy to make. Here is the recipe:

Click on Picture to Enlarge

Nancy and Melody, in the bakery, are making Oreo cakes this week. I haven’t tried one yet, but they look delicious. You might want to add one to your Father’s Day menu.

The meat department will stay busy the rest of the week cutting steaks. Father’s Day weekend is always one of the busiest for steaks. I am a New York Strip guy myself, but I think I will do the Prime Ribeyes this weekend. They are on sale and they look great. If you are not sure what kind of steaks you want, let the guys in the meat department help you. They always do a great job of picking out the perfect steak.

Have a great weekend!

Thanks for letting us be a part of your community,

Tom Butler