Lancaster County Farmers Market at 6:00am

Let the traditions begin!

One of my more favorite ones is getting up right before the butt-crack of dawn and heading down to the Lancaster County Farmers Market a few blocks from home to pick up my pre-ordered 30+ pound Thanksgiving Turkey. That's right... 30+ pounds!

The farmer's market at 6:15am was a typical mob-scene. It may be the only time I actually don't mind the chaos and confusion of shopping. There's just something about the throngs of people - mostly in good humor - all shopping for food that makes me smile.

The system at Rittenhouse Poultry, where I've bought our turkey since moving here, is organized confusion. A score of people are in front of the counter, with even more folks behind it. There's no real "line." Someone shouts out for tickets, a throng presses forward and hands tickets over. Turkeys are found, names are called. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. It takes less than 5 minutes to get your bird. These folks are good.

One woman behind me asked if I was in line. I explained the system to her and she started bitching and moaning, calling it "unacceptable." An older woman in front of me turned to her and said "These people are working their asses off. This is our tradition and we like it. if you don't, go to Acme and get a frozen bird."

The first woman's jaw dropped. Several folks heartily agreed with her, laughing and generally making a good time out of the chaos. Everyone was complimenting the folks behind the counter. Honest, heartfelt "Thank you's" and "Happy Thanksgiving" was heard everywhere. The complaining woman quickly understood she was outnumbered and shut up.

And then there was the woman who said she didn't have a ticket, but she had ordered her turkey last week. The woman behind the counter said they don't take orders without giving a ticket. (They don't.) The woman insisted she had ordered a turkey, but was not given a ticket. This was going nowhere, so the counter woman then said. "Okay. We lost your order, what size turkey do you want?" She was much nicer than I would have been.

I got and paid for my 31.5 pounder and took it out to the car. No way could I carry that thing and still shop!

Back in, I headed to the bakery section. 2 Italian baguettes, a half dozen bagels, and a couple of kaiser rolls were all I needed. (I'll be making pumpkin rolls tomorrow.)

Then off to the produce section for some leeks and the multi-colored mixed cauliflower and broccoli. It shall make a lovely gratin. I bought some cold cuts (we have to eat today, too!) and walked around a bit to see if anything else struck my fancy. With all the food we're already planning, I figured I had enough.

Other than a couple of typical Main Line "I'm more important than you" folks, the people were upbeat and in good moods. You really could tell the regulars from the once-a-year shoppers, though. The regulars were relaxed and having fun. The once-a-year folks were harried and confused.

I ran into several folks I know from work, and we chatted and shared what we're cooking, and for how many.

And I was home by 7:00am.


Scallops with Lentils

Now THIS was a fun dinner! I had some scallops in the freezer just waiting for an interesting recipe, and boy, did I find one. I was perusing my final issue of Bon Appetit (no more magazines - I've had enough of them!) and came across "Pan-Seared Sea Scallops with Lentils, Bacon, and Cider Reduction." The recipe comes from the Blue Heron Restaurant in Massachusetts.

Surprisingly (or, not surprisingly, I guess...) I had everything I needed for the recipe in the house. (It helps to have a well-stocked pantry.) Anyway... Today was Victor's last day at his old job (he starts a new one on Monday) so a bit of a gastronomic celebration was in order. And, I had all of the ingredients...

Lightly seared scallops on a bed of French lentils mixed with bacon, a sauce of apple cider drizzld over, and another sauce of cream and mascarpone cheese drizzled over that. Can we say absolutely fabulous, boys and girls?!?

While the recipe took 4 pots and pans, it was actually really easy to do. Mostly, it's making reductions - and ya can't get much easier than that. Thyme and a couple of bay leaves are the only seasonings, shallots the only thing that needs chopping... Super easy. And super good!

Every flavor stands out on its own, yet compliments everything else. And while the scallops were perfect in the dish, it could easily be made with just about anything, from chicken to pork loin to any fish or seafood imaginable.

This is one I shall definitely be making again.

Here's the recipe direct from Bon Appetit:

PAN-SEARED SEA SCALLOPS WITH LENTILS, BACON, AND CIDER REDUCTION

Lentilles du Puy are lighter than other lentils and hold their shape especially well during cooking.

Mascarpone Cream

  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 2 tablespoons chopped shallots
  • 1/4 cup whipping cream
  • 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh chives

Cider reduction

  • 2 cups apple cider
  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup chopped shallots

Lentils

  • 6 whole cloves
  • 1 medium onion, peeled
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups French green lentils (lentilles du Puy; about 12 ounces)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 6 slices thick-cut applewood-smoked bacon, cut crosswise ÿ inch thick
  • 1/4 cup chopped shallots
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

Scallops

  • 6 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 18 sea scallops, patted dry
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

For mascarpone cream:
Place wine and shallots in heavy small saucepan. Boil until almost dry, about 6 minutes. Add cream. Boil until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Stir in mascarpone, lemon peel, and chives. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Transfer to small bowl; cover and chill. Rewarm before serving.

For cider reduction:
Place cider, vinegar, and shallots in heavy medium saucepan. Boil until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 15 minutes. Strain; discard solids in strainer. Return cider mixture to pan. DO AHEAD: Cider reduction can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

For lentils: Press thin end of cloves into peeled onion. Place onion in heavy large saucepan. Add 6 cups water, lentils, and bay leaves. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels. Pour all but 3 tablespoons fat from skillet. Add shallots to skillet and sauté over medium heat until golden, about 2 minutes.

Drain lentils, discarding onion and bay leaves. Add reserved bacon, lentils, and thyme to shallots. DO AHEAD: Lentils can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring often.

For scallops:
Bring cider reduction to simmer. Whisk in 5 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Keep warm.

Season scallops with salt and pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon butter with oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallops and cook until brown, about 2 minutes per side.

Divide lentils among 6 plates. Arrange 3 scallops atop lentils on each plate. Drizzle cider reduction over scallops and around lentils. Drizzle warm mascarpone cream over.

Makes 6 servings.

Bon Appétit
September 2006
Deborah Snow
Blue Heron Restaurant


Hannaford Brothers

Copied from the New York Times...

 

November 6, 2006
The Package May Say Healthy, but This Grocer Begs to Differ
By ANDREW MARTIN
For many grocery shoppers, the feeling is familiar: that slight swell of virtue that comes from dropping a seemingly healthful product into a shopping cart.

But at one New England grocery chain, choosing some of those products may induce guilt instead.

The chain, Hannaford Brothers, developed a system called Guiding Stars that rated the nutritional value of nearly all the food and drinks at its stores from zero to three stars. Of the 27,000 products that were plugged into Hannaford’s formula, 77 percent received no stars, including many, if not most, of the processed foods that advertise themselves as good for you.

These included V8 vegetable juice (too much sodium), Campbell’s Healthy Request Tomato soup (ditto), most Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice frozen dinners (ditto) and nearly all yogurt with fruit (too much sugar). Whole milk? Too much fat — no stars. Predictably, most fruits and vegetables did earn three stars, as did things like salmon and Post Grape-Nuts cereal.

At a time when more and more products are being marketed as healthy, the fact that so many items seemed to flunk Hannaford’s inspection raises questions about the integrity of the nutrition claims, which are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration — or possibly about whether Hannaford made its standards too prissy or draconian. Either way, the results do seem to confirm the nagging feeling that the benefits promoted by many products have a lot more to do with marketing than nutrition.

Furthermore, the rating system, introduced in September, puts the grocery store in the awkward position of judging the very products it is trying to sell, not to mention the companies that supply the foods. In fact, most of Hannaford’s own store-branded products did not get stars.

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Pumpkin Soup

Two weeks ago, when our friend Paige was visiting, I bought a sugar pumpkin. I thought I'd cook it up somehow. I didn't have anything particular in mind, but I thought a fresh pumpkin something would be nice...

We all ate nonstop for two days, and I never cooked the pumpkin. It's been sitting on the kitchen counter ever since. A nice fall decoration for sure, but this is an eating pumpkin, not a carving pumpkin or decoration.

Today, with our glorious 70 degree weather, I decided to make soup!

I sliced and seeded the pumpkin and set in in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, I cut up:

  • 3 carrots
  • 3 celery stalks
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 sweet potato and
  • 2 pears

and placed them all in a pot with a bit of olive oil. I cooked everything until it was all mushy and gooey and starting to stick to the bottom of the pan. I added some cinnamon, fresh nutmeg, a pinch of cardamom, and a pinch of sage, salt & pepper and then added 2 quarts of chicken stock. (I'm not a vegetarian. Substitute veg broth, if desired...)

I cooked the vegetables a bit more, and then added the pumpkin and let it all simmer about 30 minutes.

While the soup was simmering, I cooked a large handful of barley in another pot.

I used my immersion blender and pureed the whole pot of soup to a rich, creamy consistency. Then, I added about 2 cups of heavy cream and blended it some more. I did a taste-test and added a bit more of all the spices. I then stirred in the barley, and added a handful of dried cranberries!

It was really good!