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Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Wegmans Loves Coquitos

I think that the obvious thing that must be done when getting acquainted with a new area, is visit the grocery store.  

Okay, maybe that's just me, but regardless, Cherry Hill has been an adventure because there are about a million grocery stores.  Alright, not a million, but in less than a week I've already been to three.  Acme?  Meh.  Shop Rite?  The Shop Rite near my parents' house was amazing, so this one couldn't really compare, but it was decent.  Wegmans?  Love.  Seriously.  I might leave my husband for Wegmans.

I really REALLY wanted to take pictures, but I thought that would look SUPER creepy.  Instead, you are left with my narrative.  

First, off, I didn't really *need* anything per se, I just wanted to check it out.  But I was immediately assaulted by pints of local strawberries.  They smelled delicious, they were red and juicy, and they were even in cardboard containers like when we used to go to the strawberry farm and pick our own (there has been a bit of sarcasm in this post so far, so I feel like I should tell that I did actually do that).  The rest of the produce section was amaaazing.  Three different kinds of eggplant, more types of mushrooms (fresh and dried) than I bothered to count, fresh herbs, dried chilis, huge heads of cauliflower, sprouted beans, organic berries.....et cetera.  The only thing that was lacking was...the avocado.  I actually went back to produce to buy one as I was leaving, and they were all quite overripe.  There may have been one or two that would have been okay if I was using it today, but I wanted it for tomorrow.  I went with a bright shiny red pepper instead.

Then I went into the specialty foods section.  They had a whole Asian section, not only with different sauces and noodles and whatnot, but Asian snacks and candy too.  Other ethnic food followed, and I sadly just passed it all by, because we are pretty much living in a shoebox and I don't have room for... anything.  

Moving on, I went into what I thought was the bulk of the store, the "normal" section.  So happy was I to see so many products that are so familiar to me.  Look!  Puffins!  Look!  Laura's Junk Food!  Look!  Sweet Riot!  You get the point.  There was a gluten free section, a baby section, a bulk food section.  In a word:  Freakingawesome.  

When I got past that, I went through the frozen/refrigerated section, found the tofurky, coconut milk yogurt, and baked soyboy tofu, and then...I was on the "other side".  I honestly hadn't realized that I was in the natural food section because it was so big that I just assumed it was the regular store.  Look at that.  A soda aisle.  Chips.  A candy store?  Yeah, there was an entire bulk-style candy store in the middle of the store.  Coming from a former candy-a-holic this was amazing and horrifying at the same time.  I didn't spend a lot of time on the "other side" of the store, although it still looked like they had a lot of higher quality stuff.  

So, I signed up for my Wegmans card, and skipped out of the store (not literally, that would have bruised my strawberries).  

Gosh if you read that, then you shall be rewarded with pictures!  

First, the strawberries.  Heavenly.  


The first one literally exploded in my mouth (in a good way).  It reminded me of this picture I have of me and a girl my mom used to babysit, sitting on the front porch of our house, with a pint of strawberries we had just picked between us, and strawberry juice all over our faces.  If I had the picture, I'd scan it.  But I don't.  Story over.  

Next, microwavable baby squash.  Hm?  What is baby squash?  

This is baby squash.  I also got some mixed veggies.  

I got these little bags of veggies because..well, I needed veggies.  They're the kind that you cook in the bag because I needed them to be easy.  To give you an idea of why, this is where we are currently staying:


Yes, I can fit the whole room in one picture.  And yes we are messy.  We got a sublet for the next three months though.  We move in this weekend.  We are very excited.

In case you were wondering (which I doubt, its random), Zoe is here with us!  


She is not very happy.  There are lots of young children running around outside, and she spends most of her time under the bed.  When I'm here, she comes out sometimes, but some kids just scared her back under there.  

One last thing.  Coquitos.  Cowhatos?  Even the cashier was intrigued.  


I had to do some research.  The package said they are:
Yes, baby coconuts.  The website claims the same thing:  Coquitos.  I am here to report that you can indeed eat them whole, although they are a *tad* difficult to bite into.    

But they sure are delicious.  They really do taste just like a very small coconut.  They suggest putting them on salads, or grating them as a dessert topping.  If you haven't seen them in a store near you, I hope you do soon, they're good.  If not, just feel comfort in knowing that they are listed under "amazon oddities" on Amazon.com, so most people probably don't have them in their local grocery store either.  

And if you're googling, there is also a Puerto Rican beverage called the Coquito, which is pretty unvegan, and similar to eggnog.  

As a short aside, today is graduation!!  I'm not walking, but I'm still graduated now, yay!  We are going to Candle 79 for my graduation dinner this Saturday.  I'm excited.  Any idea on the dress code?  I know a lot of you have been there before.  

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I have yet to hit up Whole Foods, or Pathmark...not to mention the many other Shop Rites in the area.  Also, I skipped an entire section of Wegmans, they have a whole prepared food section that I literally did not even step foot in yet.  Exciting!         

13 comments:

  1. Congratulations on graduating!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that's so exciting! You'll love Candle 79- dress is not super formal, just your typical going out to dinner outfit, i guess :)
    OMG THOSE COQUITOS ARE SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!! i have to find them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i just can't get over their adorable-ness!!
    Have a great dinner!

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  2. I want one of those baby coconuts. That is the cutest thing I've ever seen Gina!

    Oh, and I think I might even leave CD for Wegman's...just kidding CD. You know I love ya. :)

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  3. i'm still questing for a vegan coquito recipe - yum!

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  4. Man, I wish we had a Wegmans here. It sounds awesome!

    As for Zoe, have you tried Bach's Rescue Remedy for pets? VKO (a vegan blogger) kindly gifted me a bottle when I last moved and I put a few drops on the pet's noses and in their water and THEY ALL STOPPED FREAKING OUT! I have 6 cats and a dog by the way, so you can imagine the stress they were under. You should give it a shot to help Zoe with the rest of the move.

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  5. That grocery store sounds amazing. I am so insanely jealous! And those baby coconuts are freaking adorable.

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  6. Wasn't strawberry picking fun!! I remember the picture you're talking about. Zoe looks so sad. Maybe you should give the Rescue Remedy a try. The online vet had suggested it for Marco too.

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  7. Gina - I love Wegman's. The closest one to Morristown is in Bridgewater, but I get there when I can.
    And congrats on your graduation - and your move to your new sublet. Aunt Mary Ann

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  8. :O coquito! haha, in spanish Coconut is said just Coco, and the diminutive for almost everything its made by "ito" sufix (i believe is sufix i havent been in an english class like ages ago) so Coco +" ito" (add some gramatical rules) and you end with Coquito! hahaha ...well that said... i want to taste them! im in Mexico and we dont have those here :P ill buy some in amazon next time i go to the states...cheers! :)

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  9. Dude I used to go to Wegmans on my east coast road trips all the time.

    And stereotypically, I suppose we're not. I just know the majority of my female lady loving friends don't take as much satisfaction in tidiness as I :)

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  10. okay i'm prob too late and you're prob done with din as i am typing this but smart casual for the dress code. What did you order????

    And the baby coconuts are too cute!!!!!

    Congrats Miss Graduate!
    xoxoxo

    Rainbows from here on out young lady;)

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  11. Those baby coconuts are so cute! I didn't know coconut could have flesh while still so young. They must be a different variety 'coz I did have coconut trees in my garden (when I was in Mauritius) and they usually don't have any flesh until big. I would love to taste one, what a great snack!

    And those strawberries made me die and go to heaven; I came back to comment! Hmmmm!

    Congrats on your graduation!

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  12. Wegmans = serious LOVE!!!! I wish we had one here. Soooo jealous! That's awesome that your hubby is going to try going vegan for you. My hubs has done the same with gluten free. True love, right?! :-)

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  13. Gotta get some of those coquitos. Loves me some coconut! And Cherry Hill! My best friend from grad school is from there. Spent a good amount of time there and in Philly :) Miss the days of Wawa.

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