159 replies to this topic

[nolnacs]

One of the purchases I made yesterday at John Yi was a bag of salmon bits for Terry. I spread the bits out onto a sheet pan to freeze before putting them into a bag. That way I can easily get out one piece of Salmon for him.

[heidih]

Hope your overheated hand is not a serious burn.

On the peach compote - are you going solely with the fruit or adding anything?

[nolnacs]

Looks like you took pictures at every vendor in RTM . Good Job.

Agree about Xiaolongbao at Dim Sum Garden.

I love bread pudding and will have to pack a flask of bourbon and head down to becks

My wife actually took most of the pictures while I was shopping which certainly helped with capturing a lot of the different stalls.

[nolnacs]

Did you rub Philbert's nose and make a wish while you dropped money in his mouth?? Legend has it your wish will come true if you do that. I never leave RTM without paying homage to Philbert and helping support The Food Trust. One must curry favor with the pig regarding their wishes...

Not this week, but then my wishes have not come true before.... I wonder if the Food Trust is the origin of that legend.

[nolnacs]

Hope your overheated hand is not a serious burn.

On the peach compote - are you going solely with the fruit or adding anything?

It's not too bad, just some small blisters. Rather painful though and I am reduced to typing lefthanded.

The compote is just peaches with a little bit of water to start it off. Hmm... is that still considered a compote?

[nolnacs]

As I mentioned earlier, dinner tonight was roast pork sandwiches. I've already shown making the bread so here is the pork.

Smashing fennel seeds


Rosemary and thyme harvested from my potted plants


Butterflied pork shoulder spread with garlic, fennel, rosemary, thyme, parsley and red pepper flakes


All rolled up. I only lost a bit of the filling out of the end


More herbs all over the outside


Pork coming out of the oven slightly browned.


Added onions, stock, wine & pureed tomatoes as we move into the braising phase. This is when I burned my hand.

Edited by nolnacs, 11 September 2011 - 07:20 PM.

[KatieLoeb]

So your peach compote has:

1) no added sugar?

2) or even a pinch of tartaric acid or a bit of lemon juice to retard spoilage?

Interesting. You said you'd be freezing a lot of this. Does it defrost well or does the texture suffer? Might it be better to do it canning style? Or puree it into a syrup texture and then can or bottle it in sterilized jars/bottles? Curious how this keeps. I never have enough room in my freezer to keep this sort of stuff in any quantities. My refrigerator is so crammed with bottles of homemade cocktail paraphernalia that I'd have to find a way to make it shelf stable or get a DBR - Dedicated Beverage Refrigerator - for stuff like this.

I can't believe they sold you that entire CRATE of peaches for $10!! That's just crazy. I had one of the white peaches I bought from the same vendor as a snack earlier. They're unbelievably perfectly ripe and delicious right now. I'll definitely be enjoying them for breakfast the rest of the week...

[nolnacs]

Meat is done!


Braising liquid


Blending braising liquid into smooth sauce


Pork ready to slice


Sliced


And back in the pot

[nolnacs]

Finally, time to eat.



It was pretty good but not quite up to the standards of John's or DiNics. For one I think I needed to slice the meat thinner and get more of the sauce into the sandwich.

For dessert we had some brown sugar peach ice cream. I kind of eyeballed this one and left it a bit short on sugar. It was still well worth eating.




That's it's for me tonight. Hopefully my hand feels better tomorrow.

[nolnacs]

So your peach compote has:

1) no added sugar?

2) or even a pinch of tartaric acid or a bit of lemon juice to retard spoilage?

Interesting. You said you'd be freezing a lot of this. Does it defrost well or does the texture suffer? Might it be better to do it canning style? Or puree it into a syrup texture and then can or bottle it in sterilized jars/bottles? Curious how this keeps. I never have enough room in my freezer to keep this sort of stuff in any quantities. My refrigerator is so crammed with bottles of homemade cocktail paraphernalia that I'd have to find a way to make it shelf stable or get a DBR - Dedicated Beverage Refrigerator - for stuff like this.

I can't believe they sold you that entire CRATE of peaches for $10!! That's just crazy. I had one of the white peaches I bought from the same vendor as a snack earlier. They're unbelievably perfectly ripe and delicious right now. I'll definitely be enjoying them for breakfast the rest of the week...

Oh, actually, yes there is some lemon juice in there. Adding it to peaches is so automatic for me that I didn't even think about it.

I have a chest freezer so it is actually easier for me to freeze things than to take up my very limited shelf space with canned goods.

Yeah, the peaches are a great deal and that is the normal price for seconds from them. You can order off their website and pick up at that market.

[KatieLoeb]

Thanks for the info on the peaches. I might have to consider getting some less than perfect peaches from them for making peach syrup to get me through the winter. That's a bargain for all that fruit!

Hope your hand is better tomorrow. I keep a bottle of aloe vera gel with anesthetic in it (the kind for sunburn) in my refrigerator door. It's always at the ready if I burn myself in the kitchen and feels awesome going on cold if I do accidentally get a sunburn.

[gfweb]

Looks fabulous. Think I'd do broccoli rabe instead of spinach though.

[Shelby]

Ow. That was dumb.

If you put a pan in the oven and then put it on the stovetop, the handle does not magically cool down to a tolerable temperature.

I can't tell you how many times I've done that.

[Shelby]

I don't typically shop at the Fair Food Farmstand during the summer since I go to the local farmers market, but it is a regular stop for me during the winter for raw milk and fruit. This stall at the Terminal Market sources all their products from local farmers.











I don't have an image of it, but they also have a case of frozen meats.

Are those fresh figs up there by the cheese???? I've never ever seen a fresh fig. Before I die, I swear I am going to find, hold and eat a fresh fig.

I have a strange bucket list.

[nolnacs]

Ow. That was dumb.

If you put a pan in the oven and then put it on the stovetop, the handle does not magically cool down to a tolerable temperature.

I can't tell you how many times I've done that.

Sadly, this is not the first time I have done it either. You would think that I would have learned by now.

[nolnacs]

I don't typically shop at the Fair Food Farmstand during the summer since I go to the local farmers market, but it is a regular stop for me during the winter for raw milk and fruit. This stall at the Terminal Market sources all their products from local farmers.











I don't have an image of it, but they also have a case of frozen meats.

Are those fresh figs up there by the cheese???? I've never ever seen a fresh fig. Before I die, I swear I am going to find, hold and eat a fresh fig.

I have a strange bucket list.

They are indeed. You might be able to grow figs depending on your location. I think some varieties are cold hardy down to about 10 degrees so as long as you have some shelter for it, it should be able to be okay. The easiest way to do it would be to keep the (small) tree in a large pot and put it inside the garage/barn for winter. I had one when I was in Chicago and I even got a few figs that first summer.

[nolnacs]

On Sunday afternoon, my wife and I met up with Katie Loeb at the Headhouse Farmers Market. Our mission was to get tacos al pastor from Los Taquitos de Puebla but they were not there. I think that they were frightened away by the forecast of rain.

Our failure to procure tacos weighed heavily on us, but we continued through the market in search of other tasty things.

A view of the market from the north


Some of the delicious things available




As you can see from the above image, Headhouse is a covered market with brick pillars. Most of the vendors have their tables in front of the pillars which means that the aisle is narrow and often crowded. You have to very careful as you walk through the market lest you become overly distracted by a beautiful tomato and fail to notice the small child or dog (of which there are many) scrambling around underfoot.

Our first stop of the day was at Beechwood Orchards as Katie was interested in picking up some of their asian pears.


I purchased some of the red table grapes. Very tasty but lots of seeds.

[nolnacs]

Our next stop is my favorite vendor at Headhouse, Three Springs.



Next week is last week for peaches. Sad.


Gala apples and Cresthaven yellow peaches


My wife loves the apple cider


Some of their vegetable selection


It's somewhat hard to tell from this shot, but unlike the other vendors, Three Springs forms a little alcove away from the rest of the market. This makes browsing their selection much easier.


Katie and I were discussing what to do with tiny little eggplants. Our conclusion was that a cater could make really cute tiny stuffed eggplants with them.


Farmer Ben - I always enjoy his witty weekly market updates



Three Springs is where I picked up my crate of peaches on Sunday morning. I actually buy quite a bit from them in bulk. So far this year I have purchased strawberries, sour cherries, peaches (multiple times) and tomatoes leaving my freezer well stocked with fruity goodness. I also picked up some white peaches for my wife as she prefers them to the yellow and some apple cider. Katie picked up some white peaches as well.

Edited by nolnacs, 12 September 2011 - 08:59 AM.

[Jenni]

I don't know if you were joking, but those aubergines would be awesome stuffed btw...

[nolnacs]

Time for lunch. Unfortunately, weekday lunches for me are not that exciting as they almost always consist of leftovers. When I woke up this morning, I decided to go with some quinoa salad as I was not hungry from over-consumption of pork the night before. That being said, I kind of wish I had a pork sandwich now. I usually also bring two pieces of fruit with me. One to eat with my lunch and one for an afternoon snack.




Some of my coworkers were telling me this morning that there is a outstanding sandwich shop nearby called Ioannoni's that has better roast pork than in Philadelphia. I think I might have to examine this bold claim later this week. Have any of you ever heard of this place?

[nolnacs]

I don't know if you were joking, but those aubergines would be awesome stuffed btw...

Not joking, but it would be quite the time commitment to stuff all those little eggplants.

[ScottyBoy]

I am just amazed by the depth of that market, way to go Philly!

[nolnacs]

Right next to Three Springs is Queens Farm which offers, among other produce, Asian greens that are not commonly seen in stores.





Long beans look neat, but I don't find them particularly tasty




Oyster and shiitake mushrooms


Gigantic oyster mushroom clusters


The proprietor of this stand. My wife likes to chat with him in Mandarin. I'm never quite sure what they are talking about.

[nolnacs]

The last regular stop for me at Headhouse is Hillacres Pride which is my source for raw milk and eggs.





They have some tasty cheeses as well




I like to end my market shopping with a little something sweet so we stopped by Market Day for some caneles.





I picked up a pack of two large caneles for my wife and I to split. So, so, so good. The contrast between the soft, eggy interior and the caramelized, almost crispy exterior is incredible. They are rather pricey at 2/$5 but well worth it in my mind. They also have the packs of mini caneles which are also good, but I like the ratio of crust to interior on the large ones better.

A warty pumpkin! Fall is coming

[Genkinaonna]

I love love love caneles! I'm so jealous of that market. I'm thinking I might have to try my hand at that pork, it looked so great, although my dad claims pork gives him "crazy dreams" and so I limit the amount I make at home ...

Really interesting blog so far, sorry about the hand!

[nolnacs]

I love love love caneles! I'm so jealous of that market. I'm thinking I might have to try my hand at that pork, it looked so great, although my dad claims pork gives him "crazy dreams" and so I limit the amount I make at home ...

Really interesting blog so far, sorry about the hand!

I'm glad you're enjoying it.

I've never attributed "crazy dreams" to a particular foodstuff before. Work, movies & books - sure, but never food. Strange.

I think you should go ahead and make the pork anyway. Your dad can always have a spinach and provolone sandwich.

Edited by nolnacs, 12 September 2011 - 11:54 AM.

[nolnacs]

Dinner tonight was a lot simpler, but before I started making dinner I finished up my giardiniera. I drained the vegetables then added some spices, olive oil, and vinegar.





I put the giardiniera in canning jars, but I am not going to can them due to issues with canning garlic. Instead they will go into the refrigerator.

For dinner, I made a simple carrot soup.

Sautéed onions in butter


Added 2 pounds of sliced carrots and 3 stalks of celery


Then 3 cups of chicken stock


While the carrot soup cooked (~30 minutes), I put a loaf of semolina bread in the oven. I made the bread a few weeks ago and froze the extra loaves.

Still wrapped in its protective foil


Warm and tasty


Blendtec annihilates carrots


Smooth, creamy carrot soup

[Trev]

Yum, that soup looks delish! I love the shots of the produce, especially the mushrooms.

Following right along here....

Edited by Trev, 12 September 2011 - 06:08 PM.

[nolnacs]

While the carrot soup was cooking, I busied myself with making pie. Yes, PIE!

400 g flour, 1/4 t baking powder & 1 t salt


Added 1 C of lard


Lard is mostly cut into the flour. I did just a bit more after this picture.


Added liquid ingredients: 1/3 C cold water, 1 egg & 1 T vinegar


Mixed all together

[nolnacs]

I should mention that I sliced up the peaches for this pie yesterday and mixed them with the brown sugar. This causes the peaches to release some of their juices which I then reduced.

Reducing


Reduced


Rolled out. This pie crust is very forgiving. I rarely have problems rolling it out. Of course, tonight it didn't want to cooperate


I like to use the rolling pin to help transfer the crust


For a double crust pie, slice away the excess dough to the edge of the pie plate


Like so


I poured the reduced liquid back into the peaches, added thickeners (1 1/2 T cornstarch and tapioca), 1/4 t cinnamon and about half a cup of toasted pecans


Top crust on. Sorry there are no pictures of putting the top crust on, but you want to trim the crust so that there is about 1 inch overhang and then fold that overhang back under the bottom crust.


This is how I like to flute the crust. It is a technique that my mom taught me but I haven't seen many other people use.




I like to use a milk wash on my pies and then sprinkle with sugar. Don't forget to cut vent holes.