I bought some English muffins from Green Aisle the other day. Ric’s Fruit English Muffins to be exact. I took them home and tried them. The muffins are soft to the touch and will give a little when squeezed. They’re also qute dense. I think they must weigh 24lbs or something.
These went in my belly.
This morning, Andrew and I were hungry. I know, kinda unbelievable. Unfortunately, our fridge is pretty empty at the mo. I scanned it – lots of condiments, bulk nuts, a bratwurst, a green pepper, a white potato, shallots and onions, red potatoes HOLD UP. Hashed browns and leftover brat.
That's some mustard and a piece of Doe Run Hummingbird.
Yum. It’s really really simple, but it was tasty. Here’s what Andrew put together.
Get this:
3 red potatoes, 1 white potato
1 green pepper
2 shallots, ½ onion
Dice the potatoes and put in ice water for half an hour. The water keeps them from turning brown on the outside and also washes off any excess starch. The ice is to keep them crisp. While the potatoes are in the water, chop the vegetables.
Drain the potatoes in a strainer and warm some butter or vegetable oil in a large skillet. Add the vegetables to the skillet and let them sweat. After 2-3 minutes, add the potatoes. Sautee the potatoes and veggies until the potatoes are brown on the outside. The time will vary but we cooked them for about 15-20 minutes.
/brat'd
You can have them with eggs, bacon, or (like us) leftover bratwurst. You can also add a red pepper, we just didn’t have one (boooo). You can also switch to all red potatoes or all white potatoes, all shallots or all yellow onions. Gotta love flexible foods.
And for dinner…shrimp and pasta and bacon. Ima make it work. Ok, fine, Andrew will make it work, but I’ll make the brownies later.
Esther
My boyfriend makes the tastiest French toast. Before him, I only knew one kind: my dads awesome Challah French toast. He used to make it every Sunday morning for us. It’s also the only dish he knows how to cook. I’ll never be able to make it the same way he does, no matter how many times I’ve seen him make it.
When Andrew (my boyfriend) and I moved into our own apartment, he expanded my French toast knowledge. I had no idea you didn’t need fresh bread to make French toast. In fact, that’s why it was invented – so the French had a way to use the leftover bread that had gone stale so there was no waste.
Over the last two years, Andrew has been perfecting his own French toast recipe. Whenever he makes it he always adjusts it a little depending on the feel of the morning or which ingredient he’d like to be most prominent, but it always uses the same stuff. This morning I finally got him to help me figure out an approximate recipe for his French toast so I could share it with you all. It’s nothing like my dads but, just like my dads, I’ll never be able to make it the same way he does.
In case you missed it, our girl Marina at Better Butter wrote up a nice little recap of our last night’s tasting session.
…yet these shoppers make it a priority to buy the best and local. Walking into Green Aisle and starting a conversation with “Did the bacon come?” followed with “Just moved into the new apartment I told you about” is par for the course. To those living in South Philly, you are lucky!
And we’re luck to have Better Butter in our line-up of local goodies. Pick up a jar today!
mighty butter!
Today we welcome Better Butter to our shelves. These sexy, spreadable nut butters are made right here in two-one-five, are totally vegan and come in two flavors: a Nutella-ish nutty chocolate chip and honey banana made with honey from our friends at Two Gander Farm. Stop by tomorrow from 5 to 8; butter babe Marina will be here spooning samples of this dope new addition. / $6.50 a jar
That sounded kind of more leprechaun-y.
We love Stumptown Coffee so much, we wish we could carry every roast the Portland and Brooklyn boys make. Alas, square footage limits us to their flagship Hairbender, plus two or three seasonally rotating varieties. So we’re instituting special ordering for our Stumptown customers. Order by Tuesday, and your coffee will be roasted Wednesday, shipped Thursday and ready for you to pick up at Green Aisle Friday. Check out the offerings after the jump. For tasting notes visit Stumptown’s website. Bolded offerings are currently in stock.
Can you pick the factory egg?
This is the egg test. Two bowls. Two eggs. One was purchased from a supermarket. The other purchased from a local farm. One came from a chicken that lived in a crowded coop with no access to the outdoors. The other from a chicken that lived on pasture. One came from a chicken that ate cheap commercial feed likely composed of soybean and corn. The other from a chicken that ate insects and flora. Can you tell which egg is which?
Lox, Stock and Two Smoking Bagels
Welcome to the weekend, shoppers, and from the sun breaking just outside, it looks like it’s gonna be a lovely one. Right now, we’re sipping Stumptown, watching the spring breeze spin spent cherry blossoms into pink-petaled cyclone. Our snow pea seeds are sprouting. We have a new Soda Stream to play with. Moyer takes the mound tonight. It’s gonna be a good Saturday, and we’re starting it off right with eggs and Bagel Spice.
Philly is going to be well-represented at the James Beard Awards this year, and how ’bout these apples, we stock goodies from two local nominees!
Photo: Jason Varney for Philadelphia Magazine
There’s heavenly pumpkin bread from Bibou, nominated in the category of Best New Restaurant, and
Photo: Mike Persico for Grub Street Philadelphia
from the Best Chef Mid-Atlantic category, Mike Solomonov, whose za’atar-dusted hummus tahina is so addictive you need serious willpower not to scarf the entire container in one sitting.
Congrats to all the local nominees!
