August 2009
20 posts
DiBruno Bros. French Fry Bar
Rik and I went over to the Comcast Center check out the $200 Sony eReaders today. While he made his purchase, I went scouting for lunch at the food court.
Ah, french fries! The ultimate lunch. Jenn and I ate the fry, fry, hummus lunch at Reading Terminal Market many times before the Sandwich Stand and their sweet potato fries went to that giant market in the sky.
For today’s lunch,...
Greensgrow CSA Week 15
Peaches - Three Springs Farm, Lancaster, PA
Heirloom Tomatoes - Linvilla Orchards, Media, PA
Collard Greens - Flaim Farms, Vineland, NJ
Corn - Ed Gaventa and Sons, Swedesboro, NJ
Cucumbers - Linvilla Orchards, Media, PA
Leeks - Flaim Farms, Vineland, NJ
Monterey Jack- Hometown Provisions, Lancaster, PA
1 dozen Free-Range Eggs
Nitrate-Free Beef Hot Dogs- Hendricks Farms, Telford, PA
...
1 tag
Sang Kee heals the sick.
When I get sick, I immediately begin my sick food regimen, which I truly believe makes me better faster. Some people crave their mother’s chicken noodle soup. I crave wonton.
I live in Chinatown, and I get sick regularly, so I’ve tried all the options. There is only one spot with the magical power to make me feel better.
Sang Kee Peking Duck House is my favorite wonton soup,...
1 tag
Jalapeño Corn Salad
Summer foods should be easy, fast and highlight the incredible flavors of the season. This salad, which Albert Yee of Messy and Picky brought to the Philly food blogger potluck, is all 3. It keeps nicely in the fridge for several days, and I ate it as a side or a main dish on a hot night. Thanks to Albert for the recipe.
Jalapeño Corn Salad
4 ears corn
1 lime
1 jalapeño
1 scallion
4...
4 tags
Tarte Tatin
Photo by Ivan Makarov.
As anyone who has ever eaten with me at a restaurant can tell you, I heart apple desserts. I find them glorious, wonderful, autumnal, and something that I long for all year long, but they seem a damned nuisance to make at home. You have to buy pounds of apples which must be peeled, cored, and cut. There’s the crusts which appear finicky, or the crumbles which I...
1 tag
Blueberry bake-off
The blueberry boy bait was a snap to make, and served as my breakfast for a week. But I wanted something even more blueberry-y, so I set off in search of the ultimate blueberry treat.
First, I made a blueberry cake.
It was awesome. It has 2 cups of blueberries (twice as many blueberries as the boy bait!), and, with the addition of half a teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter, a very similar...
2 tags
Goat cheese onion puffs
Nick and Mariah moved to New Hampshire, and stuck me with their phyllo dough. (Thanks, guys. Your present is in the mail.) I knew how much work phyllo was, and had never had the urge to work with it before, but I hated to let it go to waste all the same.
Puffs
20 sheets phyllo (half package)
2 sticks of butter
Goat cheese and caramelized onion filling
4 ounces fresh chevre
3 tablespoons...
2 tags
Caramelizing onions
I hate prepping food. One of the fastest ways to get me to throw away a recipe is to include the words “hours in advance”. But if I’m already cooking, an empty burner is a wasted resource, if I could just be letting something simmer away. So, the last time I made carnitas, I caramelized some onions, too.
The pan of onions at 8 pm. That’s about 3 large onions,...
Brunch at the Memphis Taproom
Brunch. It’s a great meal, and there are many, many great places to get it in Philly. Clearly, not enough places, since a half-hour wait seems standard these days….
Enter the Memphis Taproom. This Port Fishington gastropub is down the street from Greensgrow, so I’ve been hitting them up every few weeks. There is no wait for tables. We have never waited. This blew my...
2 tags
Make your own butter!
A few years back, the New York Times magazine ran a recipe for butter. If you’ve ever overwhipped your whipped cream, you already know the recipe. It had one ingredient, one instruction. I had to make it.
After the first attempt, butter became a popular request from Jenn, so tonight, I “showed her” how to make it. That is, I stood around and took pictures while she did the...
2 tags
Greensgrow CSA Week 13
This week’s basket is:
Corn - “Silver King” Lancaster County, PA
Basil - Spring Thyme Herbs, Hockessin, DE
Mushrooms - Bo-ka Specialties, Kennett Square, PA
Tomatoes - Lancaster County, PA
summer potatoes were subbed for squash
Mixed Bell Peppers- Lancaster County, PA
Watermelon - Lancaster County, PA
Onions - Lancaster County, PA
Cheese - ‘Daisy’ (French...
2 tags
Best Candy: Sea Salt Caramels @ Capogiro
After the Cupcake Truck’s visit, I decided to highlight some of my other favorite treats in and around the city. Today, candy!
I hope when Michelle, Sasha and Malia visited Capogiro, they remembered to grab something for Dad. Obama’s love of sea salt caramels has been known for some time, so they had no excuse to not grab a bag of Little Flower Candy Company’s sea salt caramels off...
2 tags
Life Hands Paul Lemons
You might not know it, but I am married to Paul, cook extraordinaire. I like to play at baking, occasionally popping out a nice pavlova or a delicious crumb cake, but Paul really cooks. He makes dinners, breakfasts, breads, and ice cream. And, occasionally, he makes me my favorite drink ever — lemonade.
See, I’m obsessed with lemonade, and very very particular about it. If you...
1 tag
Goat cheese and olive bread
I have this dream of being a bread maker. Actually, it’s a dream of dating a bread maker. (I love baguettes. I hate waiting.) Hence, quick breads!
Last week’s CSA basket included a huge log of fresh chevre, and I already had some on my cheese plate, so my thoughts turned to cooking with it. But a few short days later, gas•tron•o•my offered up goat cheese and olive bread, and...
2 tags
Best brownies: Whole Foods two-bites
After the Cupcake Truck’s visit, I decided to highlight some of my other favorite baked goods in and around the city. Today, brownies!
I am a cheap date when it comes to brownies. I’ve had some absolutely lovely homemade brownies, from someone who has devoted far more time than I ever would to getting that nice crust on top, and still, I’d probably go for box brownies every time. ...
1 tag
Making Peach Jam
The CSA peaches were beginning to go by the time I came back from Boston. Rather than hurry to choke them down, I decided to bite the bullet, stop just reading Food in Jars, and try to make some jam. A mini batch, because you’re looking at all my peaches.
Peel and chop the peaches? Check.
Boil with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon? Check.
Here, in the missing step, I may have...
2 tags
Best doughnuts: Amish festival doughnuts
After the Cupcake Truck’s visit, I decided to highlight some of my other favorite treats in and around the city. Today, doughnuts!
I don’t know how they do it, but if something is Amish (actually, Pennsylvania Dutch; no one at the market is actually Amish), it’s twice as delicious as any other variant of the same product. Electricity must be leeching the goodness out of our...
1 tag
Norroway Pond corn chowder
After my plea for what to do with more corn, Greensgrow responded by leaving corn out of this week’s share, and Anna responded with her great-grandmother’s corn chowder recipe!
Norroway Pond Corn Chowder
1 stick butter
1 large sweet onion, chopped fine
4 ears of corn
4 lbs. new firm potatoes, like Yukon Gold, peeled and cut into 1” cubes (not Russet or baking potatoes,...
1 tag
Edamame hummus
I love hummus. It’s insanely easy to make. You don’t need anything fresh, except a lemon. Yet, as much as I inwardly groan every time I buy it, I still buy it. Oh, right. You need to have a food processor, and I didn’t.
Then Rik told me about some edamame hummus that Gloria had ordered, and I was fixated on the idea of making some. Enough to get me to fetch a food...
1 tag
Summer Salatim at Zahav
In this summer of burgers, sometimes you’re looking for the exact opposite. On those days, get yourself to Zahav for their salatim and hummus. The room-temperature, all-veggie options are just what you want on a summer night, without spending the day at the farmer’s market, and your evening chopping and prepping.
There are 8 choices in the salatim, so there’s plenty to sample...