rlibkind

Sockeye always has a deeper, richer color than king. That's why another name for sockeye is "red" salmon. An alternate name for king salmon is "chinook".

Beard is a great place to start. My first seafood cookbook was his "Fish Cookery," an earlier version of the "New Fish Cookery," though the differences (other than the addition of the Canadian system) are not major. The next fish cookbook I acquired was Howard Mitcham's "Provincetown Seafood Cookbook". Basic and good. I frequently refer to my dog-eared copy of Alan Davidson's "North Atlantic Seafood". Though more a reference than a cookbook, with excellent guidance on the various species and fascinating history, the recipes from various European and North American cultures are fascinating. Try the Bergen Fish Soup.

Local cherries made their seasonal debut Saturday at Earl Livengood, who offered both pie and sweet cherries. Benuel Kaufman also offered sweet cherries. The pie cherries were small, but nicely tart. Today I'm turning a mix of the two types into sorbet. Earl also had had red raspberries this past week. Salad season has begun, and both Livengood and Fair Food Project are selling beautiful heads of lettuce. If a starchier salad is your thing, go for Livengood's fresh dug new potatoes. This week I added sliced French radishes and Vidalia onion to the potatoes and tossed with a mayo-vinegar-sugar-pepper-mustard dressing. If you want fresh local goat cheese, the only place to acquire it at the RTM is the Fair Food Project. Neither Downtown Cheese nor Salumeria sell any goat cheese that's remotely local: most of their offerings come from France or California. Over at Iovine Brothers Produce the California stone fruits have arrived: peaches, nectarines, apricots. If you're making a fruit salsa or chutney, the under-ripe California fruit works just fine; but for eating out of hand, I'll wait another month or so for our local produce. OK Lee displayed mammoth artichokes priced at three for a buck. Over at Lancaster County Dairy that Trickling Springs Creamery heavy cream in glass bottles I kvelled about last week is now joined by whole and 2 percent milk in glass, as well as cultured buttermik. The whole and 2 percent sell for $2.25, plus $2 bottle deposit. The heavy cream and half-and-half is also available in conventional containers. Everyday Gourmet Market figures to open Monday, June 18. It's located in the space formerly occupied by Andros and is similar in concept: Variety of dishes to take home to reheat and eat. Their brochure lists a six-week rotating menu, with each week featuring four different entrees (a red meat, a poultry, a fish and usually, but not always, a vegetarian offering), as well as a regular roster of sandwiches, salads, soups, and casseroles. As an example, this week's entrees are Expresso Rubbed Flank Steak, Turkey Meatloaf with Spicy Ketchup, Baked Tilapia with Balsamic Cucumbers, and BBQ Chicken with Firecracker Stuffing. Most of the dinners-to-go, priced at $9.50 ($7.75 for vegetarian fare, like the Stuffed Portobello or the Polenta and Roasted Vegetable Napolean to be offered in future weeks) includes a starch and vegetable. The website is www.everydaygurmetmarket.com, but as of this writing nothing was posted there. Thursday afternoon I stopped by the Fairmount & 22nd Street Market, where Earl Livengood was joined by three or four other vendors, including Griggstown Quail Farm. Today I'll be cooking the two poussin I purchased Thursday. We have already, however, consumed, Griggstown's cherry pie: delicious. We enjoyed four small cuts from one $5.50 pie. On this week's menu: Poussin served with potato salad, asparagus. Cherry sorbet Composed salad of roasted beets, goat cheese, walnuts with raspberry vinaigrette. Green salad with leftover meats, cheese. Herring salad. Bratwurst and kraut Here's my RTM shopping list for the Saturday: EARL LIVENGOOD ($27.35) Lettuce Asparagus Strawberries Pie cherries Sweet cherries IOVINE BROTHERS PRODUCE ($5.60) Bananas Garlic Lemon Walnuts FAIR FOOD PROJECT ($7.50) Goat cheese HARRY OCHS ($4.95) Turkey bacon DOWN HOME CHEESE ($3.99) Pumpernickel, party-sized OLD CITY COFFEE ($6.90) Coffee HERSHEL'S EAST SIDE DELI ($4.73) Lox

The Philadelphia Coca Cola Bottling Co. late this spring launched an all-out assault to brand the Reading Terminal Market market as a Coca Cola fiefdom. It may well be the biggest threat to the market since the bankrupt Reading Railroad sought to shut down the city's historic market nearly 30 years ago. Here's what RTM Manager Paul Steinke wrote in a June 9 update to market tenants: That's strong language. And for good reason: plastering the market with the Coke label beyond the usual fountain dispensers and refrigerated cases would turn the market into one gigantic billboard. I urge all who care about the market to let Philadelphia Coca Cola Bottling Co. and it's corporate parent, Coca Cola Enterprises, know that such a campaign is unwelcome and unwanted: Philadelphia Coca Cola Bottling Co. info@phillycoke.com Phone: 888.551.6800 Coca Cola Enterprises Corporate Offices Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. 2500 Windy Ridge Parkway Atlanta, GA 30339 USA 770-989-3000 Ombudsman Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. 2300 Windy Ridge Parkway, Suite 145 South Atlanta, GA 30339-5677 888-272-COKE (2653) or

Thanks for posting that Sandy. As info, in addition to the markets organized/sponsored by the Food Trust, there are additional ones under the auspices of Farm To City, including the Tuesday afternoon South & Passyunk market.

From the context, I'll assume you are not talking about the hot dog purveyor in Elizabeth. Please add location clarification, it helps.

The Whole Foods stores in Philadelphia sell them, along with Bubbie's kraut. I've had the latter, and while it isn't as good as the new barrel kraut I used to get in my childhood (and is still sold in a very few locations, but exceedingly hard to find), it comes closer than any other widely distributed kraut I've tried.

So there's no canning, but they're left unrefrigerated? And then once they achieve the right doneness, you toss them in the fridge? And all it takes is 3 days? ← Yep! And after about 24-36 hours, they are "new" pickles. So you don't even have to wait three days. And at three days they are verrrry pickle-y, so I think most folks would prefer them pickled at about 36-48 hours. But just taste them every 12 or 18 hours and stick them in the fridge when they are to your taste. I got this recipe years ago from the NY Times. But it's essentially the same as the one in Bittman's HTCE. Also, I urge anyone who has a copy or can visit the library or borrow one to read the very informative pickling section in Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen

A very timely topic, Pam. Last Saturday I spied at the Reading Terminal Market (Philadelphia) some new, garden fresh kirby cucumbers of a not-too-large size, about an inch in diameter and about four inches long. I couldn't resist so I brought home about a pound and used a brine-dill-garlic recipe. For the pound of pickles I dissolved a quarter cup of Diamond kosher salt in a cup of boiling water, then chilled it down by adding about 8 or 9 ice cubes. I sliced each cuke lengthwise into halves (if they are larger you can slice them again into quarters -- just make sure they are always sliced longitudinally, not cross-cut), added a small handful of fresh dill, crushed four or five cloves of garlic, added water to generously cover, then topped the non-reactive container with a plate small enough to hold the cukes underwater, placing a heavy jar to weight them atop the plate. (When I remember, I also throw in some coriander and/or mustard seeds.) After a day they were lightly picked; two days they were half sour; by the third day, when I placed them in the fridge to slow fermentation, they were all the way. Although I have more than half of those pickles still in the fridge, I found even smaller kirbys, almost gherkin sized, at a farmers market in town Tuesday, so those are now into their second day of pickling. While I sliced the larger ones, I left the smaller ones unsliced and whole; we'll see how they turn out. Since I'm the only one in the house that eats them, I've decided it's better for me to make them in smaller batches when I see suitable kirby cukes than pickling a couple acres at a time.

This Saturday I picked up a pint of Trickling Springs Heavy Cream, used it in making scones and as sweetened whipped cream atop the split scones made marginally healthy by the presence of strawberries. OMG! I've had other pasteurized heavy creams before, preferring them to the ultra-pasteurized long-lived version found in most supermarkets. But this heavy cream stands out. Maybe it's the glass bottles rather than plastic or waxed paper containers. Maybe it's the grass fed cows. Maybe it's their short-time, high temperature pasteurization. But no matter the reason, this is absolutely the best heavy cream I've ever tasted. If you like whipped cream (silly question), I urge you to seek out this product. I bought mine at Lancaster County Dairy in the Reading Terminal Market. The price is $3.25 plus $2 deposit on the bottle. I imagine it's available at a few other stores, though not necessarily in the glass container. According to the Trickling Springs Creamery website, it's also available at Fresh Grocers in the Philadelphia area, some coops, as well as in the suburban Washington DC area.

Since it's impossible to find rolled beef any more, my current fav is rollepolse, a Danish concoction (available in Racine, Wisconsin, and some other heavily Danish populated towns). It's usually lamb breast (though it can be any combination of lamb-veal-pork-beef) which has been rolled with seasonings (allspice usually dominates), tied, brined, then pressed. Slice it about 1/8-inch thick and serve on Danish rye. Yum.

Got back to the RTM today after a three week hiatus, mostly spent in Wisconsin. (Here's a report of my beer and brat haul.) We left town as the early local strawberries were starting to come in, and returned just in time for the tail end of the season. As we neared home this past Tuesday, we made our last rest stop of the trip at the Pa. Pike's Allentown service plaza where one vendor was selling delicious berries as well as sugar snaps and lots of other stuff. (Only one vendor is there weekdays; additional vendors sell their produce on weekends when highway traffic is busier.) On Thursday afternoon I visited my neighborhood farmers' market at 22nd & South where I picked up spinach and a couple of greenhouse tomatoes from Earl Livengood; radishes and eggs from a new vendor whose name I didn't get; and a baguette from Baker Street. Back to the RTM . . . Everyday Gourmet, in the former location of Andros, getting closer to opening. The new take-away vendor is shooting for a June 19 opening. No word yet on an occupant for Foster's, which will be shutting down its RTM operation by the end of the month and opening at it's new consolidated store at 4th & Market about mid-July. As it is, stock is pretty thin as Foster's winds down. Someone named Chef Harry (Harry Schwartz) will be at the RTM Wednesday, June 13,11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. He's a PBS chef touring the country in his "Watermelon Bus" to promote awareness of childhood obesity. He'll be making watermelon salsa at center court. Other events coming up: Ice Cream Festival July 28, Pennsylvania Dutch Festival Aug. 9-11. The RTM Corporation board has once again extended the Sunday "experiment" through Sept. 30. Apparently it's beyond their ken to just acknowledge that Sundays have been a measurable success and make it permanent. According to RTM Manager Paul Steinke's monthly merchant newsletter, Sundays are the fourth busiest day of the week, which is quite an achievement considering center city offices are closed and about half the merchants don't open. However, there will be added competition for the summer, beginning July 1, when the Food Trust opens a Sunday farmers market at Headhouse Square. Here are the RTM's average hourly counts: 1,570 weekly average 2,203 Saturday 1.799 Friday 1.528 Thursday 1.498 Sunday 1,477 Wednesday 1.308 Tuesday 1,183 Monday Now, onto the food... Over at John Yi "Copper River Salmon" was selling at $14.99 vs. $10.99 for non-geographically identified king salmon. At that price, it's got to be sockeye, not king. Fitting to its alternate name of "red" samon, the sockeye was a beautiful deep red color. Over at Iovine the price of limes has retreated a bit since I last visited -- five for a buck (four for a buck at OK Lee). Hass avocadoes were $1.49 each, vs. 99-cents at OKL. Also at Iovine, Atulful mangoes a dollar apiece. Strawberries from Iovines contract grower in Bucks County, Shady Brook, were $1.99/pint. Benuel Kaufman was selling his for $5.99/quart, while Earl Livengood's organic berries were $6.25/quart. Benuel also had beautiful kirby cucumbers, ideal for pickling. New at Lancaster County Dairy is heavy cream in glass bottles from Trickling Springs Creamery. The cream (not ultra-pasterized, thank heavens) is $3.25 plus a $2 deposit on the shapely bottle. This week's shopping list: IOVINE BROTHERS ($3.68) Bananas Vidalia onion Dill Garlic FAIR FOOD PROJECT ($14.38) Ham Sugar snap peas EARL LIVENGOOD ($6.25) Strawberries KAUFFMAN'S LANCASTER COUNTY PRODUCE ($2.74) Cucumbers LANCASTER COUNTY DAIRY ($5.25) Cream HERSHEL'S EAST SIDE DELI ($4.35) Lox HARRY OCHS ($9.90) Bacon Turkey bacon SALUMERIA ($4.71) Olives

If you think the sockeye's good (and it is), wait 'til you taste a Copper River King!

For that reason alone, consider a road trip next time! I love IPAs. I'll look for it! The liquor store in Racine (Times) actually had Dogfish Head 90-minute, iirc, as well as some Victory product, two highly-regarded Delaware-Pennslvania producers I did not expect to find in a Racine, Wisconsin, store. Quite a nice selection overall, in fact, at this store. But then again, Wisconsin is a beer-centric place.

I didn't see Bell's, but I tried one of the Capitol's products, Wisco Amber. It was okay, nothing special. Nor have I tried any of New Glarus's other brews. When I see Spotted Cow on tap, I go for that without hesitation.

Ya sure. I usually drop the 'r' sound and pronounce it OO-sa, similarly to "OOF-duh". But I still like the way it's spelled.

Being fond of Scandinavian foodstuffs (well, almost everything; I can't abide lutefiske) I tried to find Aase beer, but the store where I used to buy it in Racine no longer carries the stuff. Worth it for the name alone. The beer itself is only so-so.

Hmm. Brats or beer? Beer or brats? Maybe a reefer semi-trailer instead of a bigger car, eh?

Tim: Ya sure youbetcha, Siebken's. Rich: Alas, only had room in the car on the way home for a six-pack of Spotted Cow and a six-pack of Leinie's. The latter was purchased at the insistence of my Wisconsin-bred and educated spouse, even though it's an SABMiller product, because of the fond memories of UW wasted weekends it rekindled. The other reason we couldn't fit more beer in the trunk was because most of the space was occupied by a dry-ice filled cooler brimming with brats and other sausages from Miesfeld and Brockman's of Sheboygan, Usingers angus beef franks from Milwaukee, and, from Racine (the city with the largest population of Danes, at one time, after Copenhagen), rollepolse (an incredible cooked and pressed roll of various brined meats, usually any combination of veal/lamb/pork), two dozen sweet poppy and nut rolls and a raspberry kringle from O&H Bakery and two pecan and one almond macaroon kringle from Racine's best kringle-maker, Bendtsen's. Da sausages an' rollepolse go wit da beer, but not da kringle. Wit dem ya godda trink kafe.

I love dat dere spotted cow. Been drinking it for at least two or three years during my once or twice annual trips to Wisconsin. In da words of my Norske in-laws: it's not so bad! Thanks for the brief history of New Glarus!

So I walk into this bar in Elkhart Lake Wisconsin to order up a Spotted Cow from New Glarus Brewing, and affixed to the wall, among many other bumper stickers, is the following from the aforementioned brewer: Buy Local, Drink Yokel So I did.

The June 2 Wall Street Journal gives a nice review to a book by member Daniel Rogov, "Rogues, Writers & Whores," (Toby Press, 335 pages, $24.95).

See Daniel Rogov's Jerusalem Grill recipe referenced in my earlier post.

Goes well with cabbage and potato, Rich?

IMHO, landing, handling and distribution is at least as important as the geographic home, i.e., Copper River, Columbia river, Bristol Bay, etc. So, Marketing, since it encompasses landing, handling and distribution as well as pricing, sales, advertising and pr, is important. Last Saturday's Wall Street Journal article on Copper River Salmon and Tom Colicchio's thoughts and technique, provided a bit of history of how CRS came to be so revered. The writer, Katy McLaughlin, recounts how a former fisherman, Jon Rowley, convinced one Cordova AK fisherman he could sell his salmon for considerably more money if he would gut them, bleed them and chill them on board immediately upon catching rather than transport the fish to a landside processor. That, coupled with quick air delivery to Seattle restaurants, would earn the super premium price. It started with the one fisherman in 1983, but when the others saw the price their colleague was getting, many more followed suit. By 1988, when I first tried Copper River King at Ray's Boathouse in Seattle, the supremacy of this fish had been established. By the following year, at the latest, Cutter's in Philadelphia was serving it. (At the time, Cutter's was owned by a medium-sized quality restaurant group based in Seattle that also owned Ray's Boathouse.) Bottom line: it's no just the fish, it's how it gets to you. I'd love to conduct the experiment in which salmon from various river runs are processed and transported identically and then taste-tested. I'm sure Copper River would do well, but I'd imagine other Kings would be its match.