rlibkind

North Star Orchards, which made its seasonal debut at area farmers’ markets this week, including today at Headhouse Square, offers a wonderful guide to ripening and storing its fruit at its web site. You can find it here.

Butcher Joe Rabutino at Martin’s Quality Meats & Sausage works on a blue-ribbon steer. Owner Martin Giunta, a long-time supporter of 4-H clubs in South Jersey, purchased this winner at the Salem County Fair in Woodstown earlier this month. Giunta also made hog purchases from the Gloucester County 4-H fair this year. I asked Joe and fellow butcher Ben Ambrosini if they could cut me a nice rib steak from the prize steer, but they said Martin had already taken that cut home for his own consumption. When I mentioned that to Charles Giunta of Giunta’s Prime Shop, he said he’d have to call his brother and get invited to dinner. Martin’s also displayed some very meaty pork belly today — identified as Fresh Pork Bacon, City Dressed — for $2.99, pricier than I’d pay at one of the Asian supermarkets, but considerably meatier. Lamb ribs (breast) were $3.29, leg on the bone $4.59. Brother Charles had a full range of steaks for the grill today. Porterhouse and Delmonico steaks were $9.95, T-bone, New York strips and skirts $8.95, flat irons $7.99, hangers $6.99, boneless sirloins $4.95. Big hunks of boneless leg of lamb were $6,99. If red meat isn’t your thing, you could wander over to John Yi’s where Spanish mackeral was $2.99 whole, bluefish $2.99, sea bass $5.99. Porgies were $3.99; if you called porgies by the name of their European cousins, bream or dorade, they’d be much more expensive. Among the fileted white fish, haddock was $7.99, fluke $11.99, flounder $.8.99, halibut $16.99, cod $9.99. Tomato Blight Doesn't Bite Consumer The late tomato blight of 2009 in the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast is real, but it does not appear to have impacted availability and prices, at least so far. Prices for local field tomatoes at the Reading Terminal Market range from 99-cents to $3.00 a pound, in line with last year. According to the most recent (Aug. 11) report from Penn State, the blight has yet to hit home gardens in Philadelphia, Bucks, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh, Northampton, York and Adams counties in Southeast Pennsylvania, nor commercial growers in Adams, York, Delaware, Lebanon, and Northampton. Iovine Brothers Produce, as normal, had the least expensive tomatoes, 99-cents a pound for Jerseys. Fair Food wanted $3 a pound for organically grown field tomatoes, $4.95 for yellows. Red and yellow ield tomatoes at Kauffman’s Lancaster County Produce were $2.59, heirloom cherry tomatoes $4.95 pint; conventional red and orange cherries $2.95 or two for $9. Fair Food’s red and sun gold cherry tomatoes were $5/pint. I used some red cherry tomatoes earlier this week, halved, atop a crustless quiche and as a pasta sauce. Peaches, nectarines and plums continue to be juicy, tasty and abundant. Fair Food’s Saturn (donut) peaches were $2/pound, both the yellow and green varieties, green in this case meaning their color, not state of ripeness. Yellow and white peaches were $1.75, nectarines $2, plums $2.50, and pluots $2.75. Kauffman’s was selling peaches and nectarines for $1.99. All the stone fruits at L. Halteman’s were $2.19, or $1.99 in five-pound lots. Iovine’s continues to sell Jersey and Maryland peaches for 99 cents and pluots and plums from afar for $1.49. I didn’t see any local stone fruit at OK Lee. Apples are appearing in greater variety and Bartlett pears are solidly here. Kauffman’s offerd Sanza, Gala and Ginger Golds for $1.95, while Rambos and Ginger Golds at Fair Foods commanded $1.50. Iovine’s had a selection of commercial apples from further afield from 79 to 99-cents a pound. Bartletts were $1.50 at Fair Food, $1.99 at Kauffmans. Pints of blackberries are still available at Kauffman’s for $4.95/pint, two for $9. The first of the winter squashes are appearing. Fair Foods had beautiful buttercups today for $2/pound. They also had leaks for $1.50 each. Eggplants continue to be plentiful. Iovine’s string beans were 99-cents, while OK Lee charged $1.49 for string beans, $2,89 for favas and $2.69 for crnberry beans. Back at Iovine’s, limes and lemons were four for a buck, and seedless grapes in all colors 99-cents. Ark: Fair Food's, Not Noah's I learned a new definition of the word “ark” recently: a shelf for holding produce. Whether it derives from Noah’s vessel I know not, but I do know that they arrived from the woodshop recently and have been moved onto Fair Food’s new premises at the Reading Terminal Market. The unfinished wood shelving is but one step before Fair Food can open. Refrigeration units may (or may not) arrive next week, then all the equipment has to be hooked up. Fair Food’s goal is to open before Labor Day weekend, just two weeks from now. S&B Meats and Barb & Suzy’s Sausage still has next Wednesday, Aug. 26, as its target date for opening. Work continues at Old City Coffee’s second location, which means I had to get my iced coffee this morning at the main location. No construction yet at Beck’s Cajun Cafe, but they reportedly have finally got a contractor.

I'm sure your quite right that there's not a huge local supply outside Door County, but that doesn't mean you can't find them in season at one of the farmers' markets. Some vendors at the Dane County market do have them in season. It's certainly worth trying if you haven't already.

Clearly it's too late for this season, but next June, try a farmers' market. The Dane County market in Madison is an obvious first choice if you're anywhere near there, but there are other farmers' markets. Heck, the one time I visited the one in Racine I was pleasantly surprised . . . one orchardist even had Cox Orange apples! While sweet cherries may not be a local cash crop, I have no doubt that plenty of small farmers have both sweet and sour cherry trees and bring the fruit to market.

During the doldrums of summer, Matyson perked me up when I spied this week's tasting menu: "Lobster Love" through Thursday: Ceviche Mango mustard, avocado, coconut foam Consommé Shell beans, tiny heirloom tomatoes, chervil Smoked Mexican style grilled corn, salsa verde, peach BBQ Butter Poached Seared foie gras, crispy polenta, fresh fig & red wine reduction Apple-Walnut Gallette Vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce $45 Prix Fixe (does not include tax, beverage, or gratuity) I discovered the menu when She Who Must Be Obeyed and I stopped by lunch. She devoured the flat iron steak with parmesan-truffle frites and a side of spinach. I started with the summer veggie soup: a broth of cherry tomato juice, with crisp-tender shell beans (looked like small limas), corn, chard and assorted other summer veggies with thin shavings of parmesan on top. It was delicately herbed so as not to overwhelm the vegetal flavors. Then I went with the sandwich special, ss crab on brioche bun . . . yum.

I haven't tried it, but Bellwether says they use traditional European cider apples, as well as Upstate NY varieties, in their ciders.

It's difficult to keep up with all the varieties of stuff Tom has! Tom's definitely into the infinite variety of varieties, and bless him for that.

Dick, Where are you located and where do you buy your cherries, i.e., supermarket, farmers' market, etc.? I'm located in Center City Philadelphia and regularly shop at the Reading Terminal Market, a public market, and farmers' markets in the heart of the city. Although the cherries have been better some years, the sweet cherries this year (mostly Bing, though there are some other varieties) from local orchards in southeast Pennsylvania were pretty good (the season ended by early July). Though it's slightly off topic, the pie cherries were excellent this year.

Some say he's mellowed.

Jack McDavid wants to renovate his Down Home Diner to break out of his walls and become more intimate with the Reading Terminal Market. RTM GM Paul Steinke says that in lease negotations, McDavid indicated he wants to tear down the walls that separate his eatery from the rest of the market. He also will be seeking a liquor license, making the restaurant a more viable option for convention-goers who’d like a drink with their meal but don’t want to deal with a state store. If he gets the license, odds are the Down Home Diner’s hours will be expanded to 8 or 9 p.m., maybe beyond. Right now it stays open until 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday (only until 5 p.m. Sundays). When the market’s closed (6 p.m. weekdays) the diner has its own entrance along Filbert Street. McDavid took over what had been the Market Diner in the mid-1980s. The original, a freestanding diner that would look at home on a North Jersey highway, stood where Amy’s Place and La Cucina at the Market now do business. After the RTM was renovated with the construction of the convention center, McDavid moved to the current location. In subsequent years McDavid expanded to two other restaurants in town: one at Fairmount and 18th, now closed, another, Jack’s Firehouse, at Fairmount near 22nd. The latter is now owned by Fairmount resident and ex-Twenty Twenty-One manager Mick Houston, though Jack still has a say in the kitchen. Old City Coffee is nearing completion of the renovation of its second stall, on the Arch Street side of the market across from Blue Mountain Winery and the Pennsylvania General Store. The conversion of the stall from a temporary to a permanet outlet should be finished this week. There wasn’t much visible progress at Fair Food’s new stall, but Sarah Cain, manager, said carpentry work is progressing off-site and refrigerated cases should start to arrive this week. They’re keeping their fingers crossed for opening the weekend of Sept. 4-5, the weekend before labor day. No work yet at Beck’s Cajun Cafe, which has got its permits but is still lining up contractors. S&B Meats and Barb & Suzie’s Kitchen still optimistic they can open by August 26. Can’t wait to try those bacon fries, whatever they are!

Two sure signs of the pending seasonal switch could be found at the Reading Terminal Market: pears and celery root. While we tend to think of pears as a fall fruit, some varieties appear in late summer, including Bartlett and all of its varieties. Iovine Brothers Produce had western Bartletts for 99 cents a pound, and there were also quart boxes of small Bartletts at Kauffman’s Lancaster County Produce. The celery root, a.k.a. celeriac, could be found at Fair Food. A single one, with stalk and tops (even though it’s the root that’s desireable) were $2.95 apiece. Also attracting my attention at Fair Food were the Poblano peppers, $5/pound; maybe it’s time for some homemade chile relenos. But let’s remember it’s still summer. Tomatoes, standard field varieties and heirlooms alike, are plentiful and, despite the Northeast fungus scare, prices seem in line with last year. Apricots are just about gone, but blueberries can still be found (at least this week) and we’re awash in plums, nectarines, peaches, blackberries (though these seem to be priced dearly at $4-$8 a pint), and second crop raspberries. Summer squashes are proliferating, as are eggplants. It’s also the height of lima bean season. I made peach ice cream earlier this past week, but failed to add enough sugar. When I sprinkled a little granulated sugar on top and mixed it in, however, the strong peach flavor jumped out. But the idea of sprinkling sugar on top of ice cream is just a tad weird. So I bought two pints of blackberries from Livengood’s Saturday ($4/pint) and put them through my Foley food mill at home, then sieved them to make sure I got out all those pesky little seeds (which are fine to eat in fresh berries, but awful in sauces), combined the resulting juice with a very ripe peach I put through the same mill, added about a cup of sugar to a pan and briefly cooked it all until the sugar melted and it came just barely to a boil. After cooling and sitting in the fridge for a few hours the syrup was pleasingly thickened. That peach ice cream was even better with this on top! (I use the Cuisinart model with the insert you pre-freeze; it works quite well so long as you’ve got room in your freezer for the insert. It sells for $50 at Fante’s.) Back at Iovine’s, New Jerey salad cucumbers were four for a buck. Various eggplants, including the common purple and rounder Sicilians, were two pounds for a buck. Jersey tomatoes were 50 cents, New Jersey and Maryland peaches 99 cents, and white and black seedless grapes (presumably from California) were 99 cents. Local corn was still three ears for a buck, but limes had climbed back to four for a buck. Pepper survey: green bells from New Jersey 99 cents, red bells $1.99, orange and yellows $2.99, but frying peppers were down to 79 cents. If you really wanted to splurge, little boxes with pieces of truffle could be found in a refrigerator case for $399.99/pound; most pieces were marked at $20-$25. Sardines at Golden Fish were $3.99 whole. They were about four inches long apiece. I went to Jonathan’s Best looking for Maldon salt (they didn’t have it), but was impressed by their selection of products from Bob’s Red Mill, which distributes all types of flours and grains. Saves a trip to Whole Foods next time I need chick pea (a.k.a. garbanzo beans, ceci) flour. Joe Nicolosi, son of the proprietor of Tommy DiNic’s, reports he fried up some pancetta the other day and added it to a pork sandwich for himself. He loved it, but at $5/pound wholesale they won’t be adding it to the menu in these recessionary times. Sounds like a good idea to try at home, though. BTW, DiNic’s will prepare large meat platters (including gravy) for your office or home party. Be sure to order in advance, though, especially as the holidays approach.

One of the oddities I’ve noticed in shopping at farmers’ markets (and the Reading Terminal Market) is that although the produce season is going great guns, patronage is down. While the RTM can lure in the tourist traffic that increases this time of year, traffic seems slower at Headhouse Square. Obviously, a lot of city dwellers take their two or three weeks of vacation in August, so it’s natural for headcounts to be reduced, and I suspect when the weather turns frightful (90-degrees, high-humidity), that also cuts down on the casual shopper. Rain also plays havoc with traffic at farmers’ markets. Just ask Tom Coulton, who drove to Headhouse with 900 pounds of tomatoes a week ago. But with heavy rains he decided not even to unload and head back home to can the tomatoes. There just wouldn’t be enough buyers, he concluded. Tom didn’t turn around today, as you can see from the photos at the top of this entry. Tom’s chalk slate proclaims he’s got 120 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, and he just have had at least 15 or them there today. He’s also got Mirai corn, which I reported earlier would be impossible to find unless you made a trip out to Pete’s Produce. Tom’s been growing it for three years and he planted his crop so that he’ll have it for at least another two weeks. This sweet, tender Japanese hybrid is worth seeking out. Tom was selling his ears for 75 cents apiece. I walked away with four ears and a half pint of red cherry tomatoes (3/4 inch diameter: small!) for $7. Beechwood Orchards, in addition to offering a profusion of plums, peaches, nectarines, berries, tomatoes and early apples, had the season’s first local grapes available today. The red-ish seedless variety (Dave couldn’t say what they were) were firm with a nice bite balanced by just enough sugar. I limited myself to a half-pint of what may be the last blueberries of the season for tomorrow morning’s yogurt ($2.50). Beechwood’s blackberry prices were particularly dear, $4 for a half-pint, vs. $5 for a full pint at Three Springs Fruit Farm. (As noted in previous post, they were $4/pint at Livengood’s at the RTM Saturday.)

I like to braise them first, then finish under the broiler or the grill for crispness. Bittman has a good recipe for tabak maaz, in which after braising the ribs are browned in the pan. Bittmans Tabak Maaz recipe BTW, $2 for two pounds is a great price. I usually pay $2.39 a pound at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. If you can separate the meat from the bone, you can make lamb bacon.

Wonderful discussion here, folks, I've learned a lot. I'm a fan of both Calvados and Laird's bonded, and alternate snorts day-to-day in the cooler months. Both are eminently enjoyable. I haven't had a chance to try the older Laird's products, but what I enjoy is the fact that I can tate apples in the brandies.

A correction to my August 8 post regarding the price of crayfish at Golden at the RTM. It's $4.99/pound, considerably less than the $11.99 I reported (I apparently read the price for an adjacent seafood). Still, that's still almost four times more than what Ikea charges ($5.99 for 4.4 pounds).

I met cousins from North Jersey who were in the Northeast calling on a client. Based on a recommendation of my cousin's client, we went to Toscana 52 on Street Road in Feasterville, near the PA Turnpike. I wouldn't recommend it. Not bad, mind you, but I'd rather head to a South Philly red gravy establishment, like Villa di Roma. If you're in the area, hungry and not too picky it is adequate. I had a bowl of pasta fagioli which was tasty but not quite what I expected. It had an almost creamy appearance and mouth-feel, which I guess was because they might have pureed some of the beans. The beans and pasta seemed interchangeable in texture. The soup was much better than the fried calamari, which were rather large tubes plus, to their credit, some crunchy tentcles. But the tentacles were the only crunchy part; the tubes were cut bit too large and the semolina coating just didn't fry up nicely. Not too greasy, though. The plate also featured some fried zucchini sticks. The marinara served as a dip was pleasant, though because of the lack of pepper taste in the batter I would have liked more spice in the sauce. Although it's not a chain and they claim to make everything from scratch, the menu and quality seemed like a better-quality chain, like Maggiano's. The decor is faux Tuscan, though I enjoyed the classic photo in the men's room of a beautiful young woman dressed in black walking by an Italian city street corner and the eyes of about two dozen men are fixed on her. As for the clientele, at least at lunch, although everyone in our party of four are in the low to mid 60s, I think we brought the average age of the room down. Quite a number of birthday celebrations for this crowd during hour 90-minute visit. Must be a high-end eatery for this part of lower Bucks. I thought our server was a bit over solicitious in tenor, but he handled the required duties well enough. Though he thought the French Fries my wife ordered were steak fries, and they weren't. Larger than shoestrings, just regularly sized fries. My cousin had the chicken parm, which he liked. His wife did the crab cheesecake, an appetizer, which she enjoyed. She Who Must Be Obeyed went with an angus burger. She didn't rave, but she didn't complain. Our lunch (no drinks or dessert) was $51 before gratuity.

thanks. We would up at Toscana 52 on Street Road near the PA Turnpike, since the customer my cousin was calling upon recommended it. I've posted a review separately but, bottom line, not worth a special trip for sure. Adequate if you're in the immediate neighborhood and are hungry and not too picky. Here's the review.

I'm meeting cousins from North Jersey (who just called) in the Northeast for lunch today. They'd like to go to a diner. Are there any good diners in the Northest? I gave up on the Country Club a few years ago, and the Mayfair's main attraction is its design, not its food. A good Jewish deli could work, too. The Stein Boys Famous Deli on Krewstown is the only one I know.

I was at Wegman's Cherry Hill yesterday and saw the Hartmann's dogs. The only factors that stopped me from buying them were (1) a freezer full of brats from Usinger's and natural casing dogs from Best of Newrk, and (2) the fact that when my supply is depleted I can always go back to Wegman's.

Thanks for the info, John. When I saw the brief article online last night I wondered who was the "Austrian" supplier.

This past winter I made the best shepherd's pie ever, but given the work and cost involved I'm not sure I'll repeat it. The secret is pinnekjott, which is mutton or lamb ribs (breast of said beast not the rib chops) which have been salted and dried, much like dried, salted cod. (Since pinnekjott is a specialty from the west of Norway, this should not be a surprise. It's traditionally served at Chritmas.) The first step is to find the pinnekjott, which is not easy in the U.S. I made the two-hour trip from Philadelphia to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to Nordic Delicacies, a Norwegian specialty grocer with many wonderful products; iirc, was priced about $15/pound. Then you've got to soak it; I found it took 36 hours in cold, running water to sufficiently remove the excess salt. Then, the dish is steamed (traditionally over birch twigs) with no additional seasonings. If it's being prepared as a Christmas dish, you then serve it with rutabagas. It's an acquired taste, given the large amount of fat. I enjoyed it. The next step in preparing it for use in shepherd's pie is to trim away much, but not all, of the fat. This is the extremely tedious part of the prep. Then you mince the meat. After that, prepare as you would a normal shepherd's pie, though since the meat as been cooked you don't brown it. Simply combine with the other cooked ingredients (carrots, onions, etc.), seasonings, gravy, etc., top with potatoes and bake. Because of the intense lamb flavor, it's definitely only for those who enjoy a very gamey lamb. If all you like is a lean lamb chop or leg of lamb, you may not appreciate this dish. But for those who crave real lamb flavor, it's a winner.

Re: the crayfish cited above. It's the thawed Chinese crayfish that cost $11.99/pound at the RTM vs. the $5.99 for a 2 kg box of still frozen crayfish at Ikea.

15 Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberry sauce, $4.99. Half a rack of ribs with cornbread and fries, $7.99 (Wednesdays after 4 pm). Pasta in veggie tomato sauce, $1.99. Scrambled eggs, bacon and home fries, $0.99. Hot dogs, $0.50. Really, does anyone do cheap, industrial food better than Ikea? Sure, it's virtually all factory-made, and those meatballs are the same ones you can buy bagged in the Swedish Food Mart at the exit. But it's nutritious, tasty and cheap. Even the Swedish food mart for prepping at home excels. The dethawed Chinese crayfish that I'd pay $11.99 a pound for cooked at the Reading Terminal Market are $5.99 for a 2 kg box (4.4 pounds). The local Swedish American Chamber of Commerce holds its annual crayfish fest at Ikea's restaurant. The savings are nearly as dramatic on the smoked salmon and gravlax. And if Russ & Daughter or any Eastern European ethnic store isn't easily available, it's hard to find a better herring selection, even if its jarred rather than prepared in the back room.

That is a classic. It's even better when you briefly fry dried Chinese red peppers (be careful and quick, the noxious odors emitted when they start to blacken are overpowering) first, then stir-fry those with the ground pork. Bring on the beer!

No donut is any good the next day. Nor should it be. Donuts are meant to be eaten fresh. Those wonderful donuts of my childhood would pass the heavenly stage by an hour later! You had to get them hot out of the fryer, cooled just enough to enable handling without burns. It probably helped that the donuts were sold out of a war surplus bus, painted beige and brown, driven by "the donut man" to the same location every day. The fryer was in the back of the bus, and he had two varieties: plain and sugared, the latter simply being showered with confectioner's sugar after coming out of the fryer and cooling just slightly. Oh, and if you were a kid, a dozen was always 13.