Victor has been itching to get into town with his camera. I have been itching to get back to Reading Terminal Market.

A plan was hatched…

Victor would take pictures and I would shop. What a fun concept, eh?!? We got our Nonna-Sitter to come over at 8:15am and to the train station we went.

Victor got off at 30th Street Station and started roaming the city. I continued on to Jefferson and The Market.

It was just a few minutes after 9 when I got there, but the place was already bustling.

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The breakfast places and coffee counters were doing a brisk business.

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My first stop was Old City Coffee for a cup and a couple pounds of beans – San Francisco Blend (naturally) and a Vienna Roast Sumatra. Vienna roast coffee is a step below French and a couple steps below a good Italian roast – and one of the more difficult roasts to master. Old City does a good job of it.

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Next stop was Downtown Cheese.

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I wanted to see if Adam was working. He wasn’t, but his wife, Rachael was. I haven’t seen either of them in a while, so it was fun to catch up – and get some cheese!

There were too many cheeses to choose from, so I asked Rachael what her favorite Italian cheese of the moment was. She brought out a Moliterno that was outstanding.

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A pecorino-style cheese with thick veins of black truffle. I was in gastronomic heaven and immediately bought some. I let her get back to work and off I went to explore some more, dreaming of dishes I could create with it.

I roamed the aisles, back and forth, just taking everything in. The place is gastronomic overload. There is so many great things – and a lot of really great prices. There are also a couple of really over-priced tourist traps selling “gourmet” products you can get at the local Acme for half the price. Caveat emptor, and all that. Besides the coffee and cheese, I brought home 5 different varieties of sausage. Goat milk soaps, rice and grains, a huge hunk of guanciale – I see some great pasta dishes coming up – more cheese, nut butter, a loaf of Metropolitan Bakery bread, and a host of other things… My 99¢ muslin shopping bags from Sicily were getting full…

Victor met me at the market, we had a leisurely lunch, and then headed home. Full, and full of goodies.

I really wanted to use that cheese, so the first meal I made was stuffed shells with chunks of cod, red peppers, and olives.

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I used a jar of Victor’s pasta sauce and poured a bit into the casserole, added the shells, chunks of cod, two types of olives and some red pepper strips. Covered and into the oven for about an hour.

When it came out, I shaved pieces of the cheese on top. It was excellent.

We all cleaned our plates.

I am now planning a monthly trek to Reading Terminal Market. I need to get down there a lot more often.