# Aw, nuts. I messed up my lunch. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 27, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-nuts-i-messed-up-my-lunch/151228 "2003-01-27T13:54:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-nuts-i-messed-up-my-lunch/151228/1 "2003-01-27T13:54:33Z")
I made some collard greens with hamhock earlier this month. Since I made a lot, I froze what I didn’t eat. I thought it would be good for lunch today, so I took it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge. I just opened the container and discovered the dolmas I didn’t finish a while ago. I guess it’ll have to be a salami sandwhich then. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-nuts-i-messed-up-my-lunch/151228/2 "2003-01-27T14:08:49Z")
Collard greens? Hamhock? Dolmas? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-nuts-i-messed-up-my-lunch/151228/3 "2003-01-27T14:16:23Z")
Collard greens: leaves of the collard (kale) plant. Hamhock: pig’s ankle (or knee – I don’t remember). Used to flavour greens or beans (especially blackeyed peas). Dolmas: grape leaves stuffed with seasoned rice and soaked in olive oil. Salami sandwich: slices of cured sausage, sometimes with provalone cheese, between two slices of bread, with mayonaise. (Oh. You didn’t ask about that one.) Hamhocks and collard greens is a dish from the Southern U.S. “Soul food”. I’m a native Californian, but I like soul food. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-nuts-i-messed-up-my-lunch/151228/4 "2003-01-27T14:21:17Z")
Thanks for the education. So was the dolmas moldy or something? Shouldn’t the oil preserve it/them? ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-nuts-i-messed-up-my-lunch/151228/5 "2003-01-27T15:57:20Z")
He thawed the wrong thing. He thawed the dolmas instead of the greens. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-nuts-i-messed-up-my-lunch/151228/6 "2003-01-27T16:40:44Z")
Right. I was all ready to have hamhocks and collard greens for lunch, but I defrosted the dolmas instead. I’ve made a salami-and-provalone on oat-nut bread, with a dried papaya spear for dessert. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-nuts-i-messed-up-my-lunch/151228/7 "2003-01-27T17:17:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > \*\*Right. I was all ready to have hamhocks and collard greens for lunch, but I defrosted the dolmas instead. \*\* Don’t you like dolmas, then? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-nuts-i-messed-up-my-lunch/151228/8 "2003-01-27T17:33:10Z")
Oh, yes! But they’re more of a snack than a meal. (For west-coast Dopers: Try the dolmas from Trader Joe’s!) ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-nuts-i-messed-up-my-lunch/151228/9 "2003-01-27T18:08:42Z")
We gots Trader Joe’s here on the East Coast, too now. Yay! I’m so happy Trader Joe’s expanded! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-nuts-i-messed-up-my-lunch/151228/10 "2003-01-27T19:10:53Z")
I wish there were a Trader Joe’s in Bellingham. The town’s big enough to support one, has a university (TJs is popular with the college crowd!), and Seattle is too far to go. Maybe they’ll have one by the time I move up? I’d hate to be without my French Roast and my Cocoa Almonds! Pardon me, whilst I reach into my filing cabinet for a Triple Ginger Snap cookie… …Mmmm. ---
**Author:** ![pendgwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@pendgwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pendgwen)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-nuts-i-messed-up-my-lunch/151228/11 "2003-01-27T19:40:06Z")
I just went to get my leftover teriyaki out of the company fridge and someone had eaten half of it. Now I have to figure out something else for lunch. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-nuts-i-messed-up-my-lunch/151228/12 "2003-01-27T23:20:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > \*\*I’ve made a salami-and-provalone on oat-nut bread, with a dried papaya spear for dessert. \*\* I look with sorrow on the ham-and-cheese on white I’ve got for dinner. Even my _lunch_ is dorky. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-nuts-i-messed-up-my-lunch/151228/13 "2003-01-28T00:02:54Z")
_hands **Johnny L.A.** a permanent magic marker_ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-nuts-i-messed-up-my-lunch/151228/14 "2003-01-28T00:20:18Z")
I was at Trader Joe’s this afternoon and didn’t find the dolmas. What does the packaging look like? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aw-nuts-i-messed-up-my-lunch/151228/15 "2003-01-28T01:32:46Z")
The dolmas are in a clear plastic, square container in the refrigerated section – probably by the ready-made salads. There should be four of them, and they look like stubby green cigars. (The tinned ones I have are not as good as TJ’s, but they aren’t bad and they were cheap so I had to give them a try.)