Aberdeen Hail and Cheese

“You have to be a romantic to invest yourself, your money, and your time in cheese.”
- Anthony Bourdain -

It has been sleeting/snowing for a couple of days now. Nothing is really staying on the ground. I call it sleet. Here they say it is hail. I say... hail is something that causes damage. This looks and floats around like little balls of Styrofoam.

Aberdeen hail. That shadow at the bottom left is my phone and my thumb shadow, just to give you a point of reference.

I played Mahjong again on Friday, and I actually won a round! Mahjong is really fun if you like strategy games. That evening there was a happy hour planned with some of Steve's coworkers. Falene called to see if I wanted to go early with her. I was going to actually skip it completely and stay inside, but I decided to go, and I'm glad that I did. I had a really nice time sitting there with just the two of us getting to chat. I love hanging out with groups, but it's also nice to just hang out with one person sometimes. I feel like I can be myself more easily.

Let's talk about some more grocery shopping! I'm such a foodie, I know. Now, going to the grocery store in Texas was...okay. It was always so crowded though. I actually really like shopping here. Yesterday I walked to the top of the hill on Rosemount St. to start my shopping. I first went to the butcher. I asked for smoked bacon, eggs (free range and local!), and two steak fillets. I got to watch as he sliced each one for me. So exciting! From there I walked down the hill to the Fishmonger. I picked up some properly smoked haddock and a sea bass. Then, I walked down to the Cheesemonger. Oh my goodness there was so much cheese. He even let me taste things before I bought it. I almost melted. I told him that I was in Heaven. The best one was this creamy cheese made from ewe's milk. It had the consistency of caramel, and a light, very yummy flavor. As I was tasting it, he told me that it was his favorite. He said, "You are right. It's like Heaven." I can't wait to eat it! Here is a picture just to give you an idea of all the cheeses they had. Sorry that it's blurry. I was trying to sneak it while he was packing the cheese I wanted. I didn't want him to think I'm nuts (And you may not comment on this sentence....hehe).

This is my walk through the "grocery store"

I really do enjoy grocery shopping more like this than at the big supermarkets. I don't even mind that I have to go more often. Also, I mapped my route with that app. on my phone and found that my walk was about 1.26 miles, so I'm getting some exercise too!

Today I filleted my first fish (I know, strange for a fisheries biologist). I seriously need a fillet knife. Anyway, I used the meat to make ceviche, and I threw the rest of the fish parts into a pot with some vegetables (tops of celery and chopped onions), lime juice (just a few drops), and herbs (bay leaves and crushed parsley) to make fish broth. I let it simmer about 2 hours. It is super yummy, and it will be good for a month or so to use in other dishes.