Charity Begins at Home

The Market is a vital source of fresh produce for city-dwellers

Everyone knows the old adage "Charity begins at home."  It's quoted frequently enough!  But what's this got to do with Food, you might ask? 

Well, in the aftermath of the feasting and plenty of Mardi Gras comes Lent, the Christian period of self-examination and the doing of good deeds.   So it seems fitting at this time to be talking about Charity.  Feeding the hungry, is, after all, one of the corporal works of mercy prescribed by the Church.  In this week's blog posts, therefore we are running with charity as our foodie theme and focusing on the March Saints: Joseph and Patrick. 

Other faiths, of course, embrace traditions of charity.  There is an ancient Jewish tradition outlined in The Torah recommending that the corners of fields remain unharvested so that "Gleaners" (i.e. the needy) could gather the leftovers after hours.   Islam enumerates charity as the Third Pillar of Faith (there are five in all).    It is considered compulsory for financially stable Muslims to help the needy with generous monetary support.  Holi is the beginning of spring for Hindus, which marks a time of charity and celebration, and during the Hindu New Year (Bikrami Samvat) which kicks in on the 4th of April, the devout give thanks for their blessings and give charity and help to the less fortunate.  (Thanks to Farah for this background info!)

Speaking of charity, the recent Valentine to the Market Gala springs to mind. You may well be wondering what is going to happen to the money raised at the enormously successful benefit.  Find entertaining, beautifully written pieces in both The Inquirer and uwishunu, which detail the Market's plans, literally explaining how the money will be spent on upgrading the bathrooms and delivery areas.   These may be essential, but they are hardly glamorous; the more exciting news is that the Market will be expanding, increasing the number of merchants, and building a new test kitchen center stage at the Market.

In terms of helping those less fortunate,  Reading Terminal Market is the largest redeemer of food stamps for low-income households in PA.  Considering that fact,  it is of particular importance that the Market be preserved to ensure access to healthy, fresh food for all members of our community. 

We were thrilled that the Market decided to spend money upgrading its space and facilities in order to enhance the shopping experience for all of its visitors.  Of course, we thought it was pretty darn near perfect before, so the upgrades are simply the icing on the cake!

Plans are already afoot for the 2012 Gala.  Follow http://www.phillyfoodlovers.com/ for the latest scoop

Amanda's Mississipi Cornbread

Elvis came to Jackson, MI to perform at a fundraiser to help tornado victims in the area.  Our Southern neighbor Amanda was lucky enough to see him at this concert, one of his last ever live performances.  She remembers it vividly, and she gets the photo credit, too, taken by her 7 -year old self with her Kodak Instamatic and carefully lifted from her childhood scrapbook for our use.  Thanks, Amanda!

Mississippi. 

The name is evocative of fragrance, sounds and textures; sweet Magnolias, sticky Pecan Pie, cornbread and biscuits baking.  It also brings to mind that distinctive drawl, y'all, and traditions of southern hospitality.  It's the birthplace of many a famous writer -- Tennessee Williams and William Faulkner come straight to mind.  And of course it's the birthplace of the late, great King of Rock 'n' Roll, Elvis.

We persuaded one Southern Belle from Jackson, Mississippi,  now a Philadelphia transplant, to share her foodie recollections about life in the South.  We asked our neighbor, Amanda, about the truth behind a few Southern cliches:

• that everything is fried (it's true she confesses, her fave fried dish is a fried dill pickle);
• that Southern Ladies favor BIG HAIR.  (Also true, they are prone to over-zealous use of the curlers, but with good reason..the humidity wreaks havoc on the tresses);
• and, that food is central to all large, noisy Southern family gatherings, (Amanda's mama was one of ten children - six girls and four boys so her Grandma's kitchen was always filled with busy bee Aunts!)

Sweetcorn in every shape and form was always on the menu.  It popped up for breakfast (cornbread cut into cubes and boiled up with milk to an oatmeal like consistency, was her Dad's ritual); creamed sweetcorn was a staple side for dinner (roasted or boiled, scraped off the husk then boiled up with oodles of cream, butter and salt and pepper) and then there's the ubiquitous cornbread -- we're all familiar with cornbread, only difference with true cornbread is that in the South, cornbread is made in a skillet. 

According to Amanda: "The secret's in the skillet.  Every house in the South owns at least one heavy cast iron skillet.  The trick I remember was heating the oil in the skillet, in the oven, while mixing the ingredients. Then when you poured in the batter you kind of had a fried crust already."




So here's the recipe to make Buttermilk cornbread Southern-style...

No  skillet on hand? 
Run to the Down Home Diner, Beck's Cajun Cafe or Delilah's
at the Reading Terminal Market for your fix instead!

Bountiful Breakfasts at the Market

"Breakfast like a King; Lunch like a Prince and Dine like a Pauper," runs the oft quoted wisdom about how to stay fit 'n' healthy, with the idea being that you front-load your day and eat progressively smaller meals then onwards.  We're all in favor of that -- especially if it means we can enjoy breakfast at that food mecca, the Reading Terminal Market.  The Market is a destination both for locals and for anyone visiting Philly because so many cuisines and cultures are represented under its hallowed roof.  And breakfast is no exception. With so many breakfast options, it can sometimes be difficult to choose.  We recently came across another blog featuring top ten places to breakfast in Philly, and were shocked to see that our favorite place to have breakfast was conspicuously absent. 

Truthfully, the Market isn't really one place.  In terms of breakfast, well, I guess the Market warrants its own top ten list.  Here are our ten fave spots to "Breakfast like a King"...

Down Home Diner's Spinach Omelet, turkey bacon, pigs in blankets, and grilled tomatoes. 

1.  Down Home Diner--Jack McDavid has a gift for getting his patrons' day off to a great start. This feast--spinach and cheddar omelet, grilled tomato, sauteed greens, ham, bacon and--wait for it--DHD's own version of pigs in blankets (turkey sausage wrapped in buckwheat pancakes) makes me happy all day.
2. Barb and Suzy's Kitchen--the Famous Smucker's Breakfast Sandwiches will keep you going all morning.

Smucker's Breakfast of Champions

3.  Beck's Cajun Cafe--If you can't make it to Cafe Du Monde in the French Quarter, try the beignets at Beck's.  If you close your eyes while taking your first bite, you really will feel like you've been transported to N'Awlins.  Seriously.  If you're seeking something heartier, Beck's Bourbon St. Breakfast will fill you up:  Red beans and rice topped with a fried egg.

Beck's Beignets

4.  Le Bus.  When a grab-and-go muffin or scone is the order of the day,

Le Bus will provide.

LeBus Muffins and Rolls

Metropolitan Croissants

5.  Metropolitan Bakery.  See #4.  Different selection, equally delicious.

6.  Profi's Creperie.  I have thus far sampled the Nutella/ strawberry/blackberry/banana filled crepe, and the egg/cheese/ham filled crepe.  Not at one sitting.   Both were divine. Looking forward to trying their vast assortment of other combos.  

Merci, Profi!




8.  Dutch Eating Place--From open 'til close there is a line here--starting with the epic breakfasts, and finishing with the famous apple dumplings--which, on particularly bad days may serve as breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner.  Don't forget the cream!

9 & 10.  Once you're done, stop by Tootsie's for a healthy lunch-to-go, Old City Coffee for a quick coffee, or one of the fresh produce merchants to grab some fresh fruit for a mid-morning snack!

Pancakes bursting with blueberries, or

...is it too early to sample an Apple Dumpling...?

Beck's Cajun Cafe Says, "Happy Mardi Gras!"

Beck's King Cake--Where's the Baby?

Mardi Gras is the festive season celebrated in New Orleans that  marks the end of Christmas and runs through the start of Lent.  From January 6 (Epiphany) through Fat Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday, March 8 this year) New Orleans is bursting with parades, feasts, parties, jazz music and loads of fun.  In anticipation of the fasting and deprivation of the Lenten season, Mardi Gras offers revelers the chance to feast and indulge.  (Candidly, though, I have spent time in New Orleans outside of Mardi Gras and I have yet to see Lenten fasting and deprivation.  Definitely my kind of place.)

One particularly unique Mardi Gras tradition is the King Cake.   The ring-shaped cakes, which are comprised of a yeast dough filled with cinnamon, cream cheese, nuts or fruit, are generally braided, decorated with the traditional Mardi  Gras colors of purple, gold and green, and always contain a tiny plastic baby.  The baby symbolizes the Christ child; when the cake is served, whomever gets the piece containing the baby is guaranteed good luck for the next year, and is obliged to host the next king cake party.  Becks Cajun Cafe will be offering authentic King Cakes from now through Mardi Gras.  While you're there, don't miss their other Cajun delights:

Beck's Shrimp Creole

"Cajunista" with a menu favorite

I highly recommend a visit to New Orleans.  But if the plan does not fit into your immediate future, Beck's can certainly transport you there culinarily.  Laissez les bons temps roulez!

Top Tips for Handling 'Gators

One of the delights we tasted at this year's Valentine to the Market Gala fundraiser at the Reading Terminal Market was Beck's 'Gator Gumbo.  Now everyone knows that a gumbo is a tradition of the New Orleans -- a spicy chicken or fish soup, transformed into a dense stew by the addition of a starchy thickening agent such as okra or rice. What you might not know, however, is that you can also make a gumbo using Alligator meat - unfortunately there isn't much demand for 'gator in Philly - yet! - so you can't currently buy this at any of the butchers at the Market...

Bill Beck flies in Andouille sausage, Crawfish and Alligator fresh from N'awlins for Beck's Cajun Cafe, his restaurant in the Reading Terminal Market.  In the run up to Mardi Gras he orders provisions sooper-dooper early because there's always a run on these traditional foodstuffs.  His alligator is farm-raised with the choicest cut harvested from the area between the hind quarter down to the tail.  Beck prefers to use alligator in sausage form, because it is already tenderized, and good to go for their DE-licious 'Gator Gumbo. 

For those who have not yet savored alligator, Bill describes 'gator  as having "the flavor profile of Italian sausage, but with a depth and sweetness that's unique.."  (You sure you're not talking about fine wine now..?)  In addition to his 'Gator Gumbo, Beck's also serves 'Gator Sausage on a Stick.  Bill confides that one of his fave recipes is a scallopini of alligator, flash-fried.

Bill shares his views on the choicest cuts...

Future plans include a 'Gator Cheesesteak.  Hmm.  Like the sound of that. Now that really would put Philly on the map.   We wonder what Ben Franklin would say to that?

He might well approve of the following excerpt from How to Wrestle Alligators: The Art of Manliness.  This useful article tells you everything you need to know to capture - and thus secure - your alligator steak.

"Step One: Getting on the Alligator’s Back

Possibly the most dangerous part of wrestling an alligator is getting on its back. Never attempt to jump an alligator from the side or from the front. Doing so is the easiest way to get bit. You want to approach the alligator from behind. If possible, have someone distract the animal so it doesn’t turn to keep an eye on you. However, if that’s not possible, take off your shirt and use it as a blindfold (or use a towel). Throw your shirt on the top of the gator’s head, making sure to cover its eyes. Without sight, the alligator is much slower to react."

Ok.  Perhaps it's safer to just settle for the Gumbo at the Market :)

Southern vs Cajun, Yes, There Is a Difference

Since teaming up with a Brit on this food blogging adventure, I am occasionally called upon to serve as translator.  For example, Claire refers to the state store as the 'off license'.  An eggplant to me is an aubergine to her.  My 'to-MAY-to' is her 'to-MAH-to'.  Today while talking about Mardi Gras, we charted new terrain:  the difference between 'southern' and 'cajun'.  To the uninitiated, i.e. those living above the Mason Dixon line, this distinction may not be apparent.  Louisiana is in The South, right?  Well, yes and no.

To understand this fully, we need to go back to the 1700s (briefly, I promise.).  When the Brits won the French and Indian War way back in 1763, they took Canada from the French.  The folks living in the former French colonies (Nova Scotia and the other Canadian Maritime Provinces), known as "Acadians," fled their new regime for Frencher pastures, i.e. Louisiana.  Over time, the name 'Acadian' devolved, through the local patois and linguistic blends into the term 'Cajun'.

So that explains the name.  As to the food (you knew we'd get there eventually), most of the American South was colonized by British Protestants whose traditions and cuisines grew from their English roots.  (Thankfully, they have evolved over time into something more palatable--sorry, Claire.)  These recipes differed widely from those of the French Catholics who migrated to Louisiana.  They took culinary traditions from their native France, and, upon arriving in Louisiana, integrated ingredients and techniques from the various peoples that passed through New Orleans:  Spanish; Italian; Caribbean and African to name a few.

The good new for us is that both of these cuisines, in their best selves, are alive, well, and delicious at Reading Terminal Market.  For traditional southern food--fried chicken, ribs, biscuits, collard greens and real home cooking, there's no place like the Down Home Diner.  I had breakfast there this morning and it was the high point of my day.  For authentic Cajun dishes--red beans and rice, jambalaya, etouffe, gumbo and po'boys you can't beat Beck's Cajun Cafe.  The Muffaletta I took home for lunch today rivaled anything I've ever eaten in the Crescent City.  (Yes, there is a significant occupational hazard to this job.  Five pounds and counting.)

I never thought I would see the day where I'd quote Hannah Montana, but in this case, she was right.  In terms of Cajun and Southern, We Have The Best of Both Worlds.

What a Party!

Philly Chit Chat did a great job capturing the evening.  A good time was had by all.

Stay tuned for next year's Valentine to the Market date--trust us, you won't want to miss it.

And here are your Philly Food Lovers hard at work.....