A Crisp Fall Day

I had the day off work today and after paying bills and doing some stuff around the house, I decided to go grocery shopping. After the recent discussion on the Cooking Light Bulletin Board about Aldi Foods, I decided to check them out again. The last time I did any real shopping at Aldi was probably ten years ago.

Aldi is a no-frills market with mostly their own brand of products with a few national brands occasionally up for sale. First, you pay a quarter to "rent" your grocery cart which you then get back when you plug the cart back into the cart stall. There is very little shelving, most items are still in the boxes they were packed in, you bag your own groceries (and pay a nickel for the bags or bring your own), and there is no one to take the groceries to your car. They have the basics plus now carry fresh meat, wine, beer, and some gourmet items.

Aldi is owned by the same parent company that owns Trader Joe's and I will have to say they are starting to look more like them. The store was cleaner than it has been in the past and despite it being Friday and being busy, I was in and out pretty quickly. I got some great bargains (like a pound of frozen salmon fillets for $3.99) and was impressed with my visit today. I will keep you posted on the quality of the food I purchased.

After all the time I spent in and out running errands on a beautiful fall day, I was in the mood for a fall like dessert to serve with dinner tonight. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com for a Pumpkin Bundt Cake and decided to give it a try. I followed the recipe but I think it could be lightened successfully by substituting some applesauce for some of the oil. This baked up beautifully and was very moist. After dusting with some powdered sugar, the family wanted some fresh whipped cream to garnish it with ($1.79 for a pint of heavy whipping cream at Aldi). This will be a repeater for sure. I may have to make one to take into work next week!

Recipes
Pumpkin Bundt Cake