So last Tuesday I woke up and had another smoothie. Still snow.

For lunch I made the golden beets I got at the farmers market and some more socca, Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of the beets after roasting. They were teeny tiny golden beets, though. I cut the rough parts off and roasted them with their skins on, with olive oil and salt and pepper. I was interested to see how they would taste with skins on. They were delicious. Very naturally sweet and earthy and delicious.

For the socca, I decided to add some off the kalamata olives I had left over from the puttanesca sauce I made.

Also parsley, salt and pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and some fresh sage.

And the result above looks like a giant papa john's pistachio cookie. Troy Aikman wants to dip it in the garlic butter. But seriously....it was great. Nice and salty from the olives, which I really like.

And then I was on my way into the heart of darkness, to watch my sister and her team compete in the Olde English dart league playoffs. I love this stupid fake snow:

After riding in on the wonderful Septa R5 line, I ended up at a place called Mckenna's in South Philly. I can only describe this as an establishment for the discriminating gentleman. No glassware. Jameson in plastic cups with a bottle of Bud for $6. Any money I saved on drinks was spent on the jukebox. Winning hearts and minds with El Scorcho, Into the Mystic, Why Can't This Be Love, and Cannonball.

Not a place to get too many pics. My sister in her most comfortable cold weather dart throwing attire:

Get something newer!

No pictures of what I ate later that night. Just wonderful memories of a delicious Wawa hoagie, as only they can do.

Titled Even More Farmers Market Stuff and Other Things

I forgot to post a picture of the desert I had after the lamb:

A delicious baked apple, with dates, pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon inside. All while looking for the hottest deals in the latest issue of Clipper Magazine. Don't be a rag doll, go see Jersey Boys at the Forrest Theater in a limited engagement! Act Now!

I've really fallen behind taking pictures of my smoothies in various locations, so take my word for it, I've been eating them. If I had a picture of an empty chia seed bag, I'd post it.

Here's a picture of tuna fish:

It's seen the light. It's on a mission from God to save the orphanage it was raised in.

For dinner, I made burgers with beef from Lindenhof Farm (http://lindenhoffarm.net/) and kale and japanese parsnips from Two Gander Farm (http://twoganderfarm.com/). Not good picture to follow:

Hands down the worst food photograph I've taken. But it tasted really good. It's the first time I've tried farm raised beef. It was delicious, especially with grilled onions and mushrooms. Normally I saute kale with olive oil and garlic, but I didn't want to with this meal, so I just steamed it? I dunno, I put it in a skillet with a little bit of vegetable stock, put a lid on it, pumped the heat and waited til the kale was tender. Plain? Maybe with your regular average ordinary every day kale, but not this stuff. It was really flavorful.

 The fun new veggies I tried, though, were the japanese parsnips. They're smaller than regular parsnips, and even sweeter. They went really well with the burgers and greens, especially how I prepared them. I roasted them and then tossed them in a home made honey mustard dressing. Terrific.

The next day, the first of two snowfalls came to Downingtown. Some lovely pictures, w/ and w/out smoothie:

I helped my mother make Spaghetti and Meatballs. My favorite food. Just one picture:

Desert?

Until next time! Socca! Darts!

 

The Lamb Neck Post


I'm behind on posting, so let's get caught up. I purchased Lamb Necks from Canter Hill Farm at last Thursday's farmers market.

Here's their site: http://www.canterhillfarm.org/

Let's get some history and context going to build up to the lamb neck event:

I started shopping at the Downingtown farmers market this past September. I was able to be there for a month straight into the first week of October. I also made a side trip to the market in Malvern during that time, and I just returned to the Downingtown market the first week of December. On one of the first or second trips, I stopped at the Canter Hill stall and struck up a conversation with one of the owners of the farm, Wayne. After conversing, I decided to buy some South African Boerewors sausage. He's from Rhodesia, and the sausage recipe is one of his favorites to use with the animals they raise on the farm.

It was delicious. More than delicious. I think I discovered how meat was supposed to taste. Their site does a better job than I could explaining why I tasted what I tasted. They farm, I just eat.

The products they sell also cost more money than supermarket...meat. Which might put people off at first. But I read something that rang true regarding this...conundrum. The question to ask yourself is not why this farm meat I'm buying is so expensive, but why supermarket....stuff...is so cheap. And the answer to the second question is gross.

But back to the sausage. It was great. I got adventurous and ordered pork jowls and chicken livers. I don't have photos of the pork jowls, as the thought of this blog hadn't taken enough hold in my mind. But, surprise, they were incredible. And the chicken livers. Yum. Some crude pictures of the pate I made following Jacques Pepin's recipe, if I remember correctly.

The above was turned into:

It tasted a lot better than that picture looks.

So, one of the things I was looking forward to most upon my return to Downingtown was the farmers market and some delicious Canter Hill. I emailed the farm asking for some lamb neck, as the description on their web site made it sound both appetizing and economical. I had looked up some recipes online, but the one I used is the one I got from Wayne when I went to pick up the necks. With an addition of my own.

There are the ingredients. A 3 pound lamb neck, salt, pepper, carrots, onions, potatoes, and olive oil for browning. Not pictured is flour, chicken stock, 5 sprigs of thyme, and polenta.

I floured and browned the lamb:

Put it in a big pot with the stock, onions, and thyme.

 Bring to a boil, then simmer, adding carrots and potatoes as you wait. This took 3 hours. But it smelled delicious and was worth the wait. After 3 hours, this happens:

All the meat and marrow is in the pot. Only the neck bones are left.

Looking at this picture is making me hungry. The lamb, I can only describe it as, intense lamb. Lamb concentrate, how 'bout that? The broth is marrow delicious, and the polenta went really well with it (good job, me). Of anything that sticks out the most about this dish is how incredible the depth of flavor was for how little I seasoned it. Salt, pepper, and thyme. And it had at least 5 levels to it. Really simple, and just out of this damn world

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Next time more market haul. Yum.

The Downingtown Farmers Market Post.

So every Thursday in lovely Downingtown Pennsylvania there is a wonderful farmers market. (http://growingrootspartners.com/downingtown-farmers-market/) It is usually held in Kerr Park in the heart of the town. For the winter it has moved indoors to the basement of a masonic lodge. I had to learn the secret handshake to enter. 

I can't say enough about the market and the quality of the produce and variety of products and the friendliness of the vendors. I've been to some sad farmers markets, where I was told the best place to get eggs was a King Cullen down the road. Nothing like that here. Besides quality, there's a wonderful variety, of all kinds of cauliflower and apples and potatoes and kale and and and....

So, I went this past Thursday to the first winter market:

Pictured is spinach, arugala, golden beets, japanese parsnips, kale, ground beef and two lamb necks. Yes, lamb necks. Not pictured are a delicious farmer made turkey pot pie and a baguette from a lady that makes the most consistently delicious bread I've ever eaten. 

Oh wait, I do have a picture of the baguette:

The market is 4pm to 6 pm, so the bread and pie were for dinner that night. First a delicious spinach and arugala salad, piled high, with simple olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing, shaved parmesan, bread on the side...and wine:

Next? Turkey pie...and wine:

My hunger was getting the best of me, thus the crooked pic. The aroma was heavenly. This pot pie was intense turkey city. With peas, and corn, and fresh made crust. My mother described it as "earthy". 

The results:

All gone.

I'm going to break up my posts and give everything I made from the market haul its proper due. Next time...it's lamb necks. 

Phase 2, in which Doris gets her oats.

We get less healthy then healthier with the following meals. Smoothie, breakfast, again. But dinner?

Taking pictures to post to a blog, even if I'm the only one reading, is forcing me to be aware of what I eat. Even more than writing a food diary. I like that. It also means I put pictures of hot dogs and beans and fries and beer up. I've eaten this meal since I was 4. I have never gotten sick of it. It has never failed to satisfy and taste delicious.

On to more....smoothie! I make these every morning. When the recipe I'm using changes I will show a picture of the ingredients.

Now the fun stuff, some cooking. Below, the ingredients for Pasta Alla Puttenesca.

Pictured is spaghetti, canned tomatoes, anchovies, kalamata olives, garli, lemon, capers, and parsley. Not pictured: Red Pepper flakes, olive oil, and parmesan cheese.

This is ridiculously easy and one of my favorites. It's salty and spicy and savory and big and bold and great. Throwing the anchovies in oil to melt, and the aroma, mixed with a head of garlic, and pepper flakes is intense. I love it.

I try to avoid shots like this, but I was so excited to eat, I messed up my dish for a proper photo. So this is the wonderful vibrant sauce after simmering for 20 minutes.

That's my half-hearted attempt at a more camera pleasing plate on the left. Also a spinach and arugala salad in a simple oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. And the bottom of a wine glass...which had wine in it.

In Rio Bravo, all Ricky Nelson and Dean Martin need is their rifle and pony:

All I need is my wine, my puttanesca, and me.

Until next time, when I have Downingtown Farmers Market photos, I remain the Falconer.

This is the first post on my attempted food blog. Why am I doing this? Is it worth the annoying set up through google blogger that yields the ridiculous image of kohlrabi in space? I don't know. I'm doing this to document food I've prepared. I love cooking food. I also do not enjoy documenting those meals, and then I regret not documenting them because I forget what I've made. And that, it seems to me, is a real shame. Because I want to remember what I've made and eaten. Enough with this palaver. Let's get the show on the road.

I ate this the other day, It's a smoothie.

I purchased a nutribullet a couple months ago, late at night, over the phone. It was worth it. The thing does everything the commercials say it does. That's chia seeds on the left, suspended in lovely chia gel, along with delicious strawberry kefir, baby spinach and a banana. The result???

A delicious smoothie. As you can see I got a little artistic with the second photo. What can I say? I refuse to take crappy food photos. Well, let me put that another way, since I do take crappy food photos no matter what I do. I just think food should be photographed to show its best possible side! And that's hard to do. But I'm going to try...and fail. I think the real key to that picture is the lovely sofa/pullout bed behind the smoothie, available at Boscov's this holiday season at only $399.99!

And now for a lovely dinner. After meat filled holidays, among other heavy foods, I had a real hankering for delicious vegetables. But what to make with them?!? I'm staying with my parents for the holidays, and its a bit of a challenge trying to come up with food to eat for dinner. They are very open to new and wonderful things. But they also want to feel satisfied. Aha! Socca! And because this is my blog I will post two videos to what pops in my head when I think/hear/read Socca:

And for even more minutia that lives in my brain, while I was making Socca I was humming this song to myself. It's not related in any way except for the sounds of the words. Let's go back to 1985 and enjoy some fine music from Berry Gordy's The :Last Dragon:

Suki? Saki? Socca? Socca to me, I'll Socca to you.

The ingredients.

Pictured are peppers, onion, eggplant, squash, asparagus, and white mushrooms. Not pictured? Some leftover fennel. I didn't follow any particular recipe in terms of what veggies go best with socca. I just made a bunch and figured I'd find out which ones match.

I don't have any pictures of the cooking process. But it's roasting vegetables then mixing batter. I sauteed the mushrooms then added a cup of marsala wine and sauteed some more until the wine disappeared.

Dinner:

I don't have natural light where I sit to eat, so I went to the parsley mill to try to spruce this up. For as drippy as it looks, it was stupendous. The socca was delicious, as I put a lot of flat parsley and some sage and rosemary in, along with lots of pepper. The thing about socca that I find incredible is, fresh hot out of the oven, it tastes almost exactly like my fathers turkey stuffing. This was confirmed by my mother. That is a very very good thing, and why I love socca. Also, a little odd, because its just chickpea flour and water and herbs, while my fathers stuffing is milk, eggs, saltines, chestnuts, mirepoix, sausage, livers, and turkey juice.

In vegetable news, the marsala mushrooms were hands down the winner in complementing the socca. Asparagus also complemented it perfectly. Runners up were onions and peppers.

My father chose to use balsamic vinegar as a dipping sauce for his socca and veggies. Good Good.


For dessert? 2 parts svedka clementine, one part triple sec, 1/2 a part fresh lemon juice. Cinnamon and sugar mix on the rim.

 
Wonderful. The tissues really make the picture, don't they?

Until next time.