Grocery Life May 5, 2014

Grocery Life May 5, 2014

By Tom Butler

Good Monday afternoon from Butler & Bailey Market,

I hope everyone had a great weekend. We sure could not have asked for better weather. For those that celebrate
Cinco de Mayo, I guess your weekend will continue through today. If you still need last minute supplies for Cinco; our deli/bakery department has plenty of their famous guacamole dip. Nancy also made a black bean mango salsa and a great looking strawberry margarita cake.

Our produce manager, Brent, told me this morning that he should be getting homegrown local strawberries tomorrow. The season is very short for local strawberries so make sure you take advantage of them while they last. They are usually about 17 times better than shipped in strawberries.

I get asked quite frequently when our Cruze Farm milk and ice cream delivery is. They deliver to us
every Friday, usually about lunch time. If you are not familiar with Cruze Farm, they are a local, family owned dairy farm located in East Knoxville on the banks of the French Broad River. Their milk is a little different in that it is pasteurized but not homogenized. So it needs to be shaken before it poured. They also make some delicious ice cream. Coleen Cruze makes the ice cream and bases her flavors on what is in season locally. I bet she will be coming out with a new strawberry ice cream soon. Coleen also suggested that we carry eggs from Tickiwoo Farm. They are a local producer of eggs from humanly raised, pastured hens. We now carry them in the store so give them a try. These are the only eggs Coleen will use in her ice cream.

Friday, we tested out some more fried chicken recipes. We can’t seem to get a consensus on a favorite breading so I will probably pull rank and pick the one I like.

My weekend was busy as usual. Right after work Friday, my son and I went on a father/son campout that our church organized. One of the families owns about thirty acres with woods, pasture, and a creek so the boys had a great time running around the property. All was well until we decided to start the campfire. Boys and fires are usually not a good combination. They want to throw everything they can get their hands on in, including each other.
Luckily, everyone survived just some minor cuts and bruises. We had a great time and hope our family gets the chance to do some more camping this summer.

My daughter had her piano recital Saturday. My wife and I marvel at how much she enjoys performing in front of a crowd and how well she does it. We are certainly proud of her. Neither one of us have ever been comfortable in front of a crowd performing.

Well, time to get back to work. I hope everyone has a great day!

Thanks for letting us be a part of your community,

Tom Butler