Lightning Fast Dinners
Take Minutes to Prepare-And Taste Homemade
Avoiding weeknight drudgery sometimes calls for a little sleight of hand. We offer three great-tasting, dinners that take almost no time in the kitchen, so you can add them to your repertoire. 
Tamales with Avocado, Cucumber and Tomato SaladPrimavera makes a delicious, traditional tamale with a variety of fillings. They heat well in a microwave, and make an exciting meal alongside of (or underneath) a salad of equal parts diced tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocado. Finish the salad with olive oil, a squeeze of lime, chopped cilantro and sea salt. 
Grilled Ahi Tuna Steak with Mango-Papaya SalsaMango Papaya Salsa from Chef's Delight can be found in the cold box of our produce department. It's great with blue tortilla chips but even better on grilled seafood. Rub a thick Ahi Tuna steak with a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place it over a hot grill and sear the fish for a couple of minutes per side. Cook a little longer if you prefer it less pink. Top the grilled fish with the Mango-Papaya salsa. To complete the meal, steamed rice on the side. 
Fresh Butternut Squash Ravioli with Alfredo Sauce and HazelnutsThree Bridges Butternut Squash Ravioli makes a fantastic and speedy dinner. We love it with Stonewall Kitchen's Alfredo sauce (in the pasta section). The addition of toasted hazelnuts and crispy, saut�ed, fresh sage leaves makes the dish. Hazelnuts can easily be toasted on a sheet in the toaster oven...just keep a close eye on them! Another riff on this recipe is to use the Genova Gnocchi we have in the freezer section. Add your favorite bagged salad.
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Recommended Reading:
Slow Cooker Revolution
From America's Test Kitchen
This book demystifies how a slow cooker works, and and if you tweak certain steps, like microwaving the aromatics first to bloom flavors, or build flavors by using umami-type ingredients like soy sauce in tomato paste, you can achieve unforgettable results.
One staff go-to recipe is White Chicken Chili. It uses hominy as a thickener, and two kinds of jalape�os. This delicious, weeknight favorite makes plenty to freezing for future meals.
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Piedmont Grocery Awarded Best Of Oakland!
Oakland Magazine has honored us with the title of
Best Grocery Store-Reader's Choice!
Wow. We love our customers, and are thrilled by the praise. Pick up a copy of the July issue. (We're on page 41.) It is full of fantastic recommendations for local businesses and restaurants that you've just got to try. Thanks, guys!
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Vendor of the Month
Honeymoon Ice Cream
Ice cream like you've never
had it before. Each Honeymoon Ice Cream pint is handcrafted in their Tiburon kitchen using farm-raised, grass-fed Jersey milk, and it's packaged in a quaint, freezer safe mason jar. They use fresh local ingredients, so the flavors change seasonally. We can tell it's summertime with flavors like Strawberry Tarragon, Southern Pecan, White Chocolate Mint, Chocolate Laurel, Almond Toffee and an exquisitely simple Vanilla. Learn why Jersey Cow Milk tastes like springtime...
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Taste great. Not too sugary. No fake stuff.Just one sip and you'll be hooked forever. Their secret is the just-right blend of teas and fruit juices. They contain less than half the sugar of other lunch box juices, and are made without high-fructose corn syrup. These pouches come in delicious flavors with great names like: Appley Ever After, Berry Berry Good Lemonade, Goodness Grapeness, Super Fruit Punch, and Tropical Tango Punch. Plus the bright package adds a welcome splash of color to any kid's school day. Read More...
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Gut Check
My sister is on a mission to convince the people in her sphere of influence to eat better, and to think about what we are putting in our bodies. Normally this would just affect her immediate family. Since we were all together up at Tahoe last week, her quest now includes my family. This is not a bad thing. My husband and I definitely need to make some changes in our diets-as do the kids, and paying attention to what exactly we are putting into our bodies is always a good idea.
The thing is, I hate diets. They are too restrictive and before you say "No kidding Genius. That's the point." I would like to say that It's not the smaller amounts of food that get to me, rather I am not the kind of person who can eat the same thing over and over. That is what I mean by restrictive. I can eat more veggies. I have no problem swapping creamy mashed potatoes for the fiber of roasted sweet ones. (Okay it might be kinda painful.) I can even handle the occasional salad for lunch...if I must. I just require variety in my meals.
With that in mind, I have decided to make some of the changes that my sister is suggesting-minus the cleanse. No way is that happening. However, I'm doing it my way. More yogurt for gut health. (She's all about the gut.) More veggies and fruits. Leaner meats, and way less red meat. Whole grains. Basically the obvious stuff. The key is that I am going to try to do it by eating the way people used to eat, and not buy the pre-packaged stuff. We're going to eat REAL food.
It might be difficult at first, and certainly painful for me as the cook, but I think it will be a good thing all around. Once it becomes habit my kids will reach for a carrot rather than the crackers. I'll let you know how it goes. School starts next week and I am sure there will be some discontent when the kids see their "new lunches".
Of course, that doesn't mean it has to all be bad, especially with the following recipe from Love and Lemons. If you make your own yogurt (which is incredibly easy by the way) so much the better...
Read the rest of the article and get the recipe...
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