ficelle

Lucky Ride on BART

After exiting the train this evening, we saw an empty bench with a wad of cash.  I was fumbling with my bag to get my BART ticket out, so the crowd cleared.  The money did not belong to anyone, so we picked it up.  $14 bucks!!  We decided that we had to spend it on treats this evening, which required some budgeting and careful planning. 

On the way home from the station, we stopped at 7 Eleven.  So, we started our feast with two coconut popsicles priced at two for a dollar.  We immediately ate these, so they are not included in the photo below.  For the rest of our shopping spree, we headed over to the Berkeley Bowl.  We ended up with some Sake for $1.69, a baguette for $1.99, some Humboldt Fog cheese for $4.90, a mango for $1.69 and a slice of cake for $2.95.  Not a bad haul.  The cake was surprisingly good.  It was sponge cake with white frosting and lemon curd.  Yum.  The cheese never disappoints and the sake was tasty.  Yay for free money.

Alien Fish

Today, we hit Reading Terminal Market for fish.  The crowds of tourists and local shoppers make it difficult to navigate, but with at least three fish vendors, comparison shopping is easy.  Observation of the day:  People get pushy around fresh produce.

The whiting looked surprisingly like the star of Aliens.  Those teeth are frightening.  I haven't done much fishing, but I did catch a huge catfish.  That bottom dweller was mean!  He tried to bite me when was attempting to set him free.  If it had been this whiting, I would have been in serious trouble.  Fish aren't as jolly and nice as those Goldfish cracker ads may have you think. Although it is difficult to see in this photo, the skate wing lived up to its name, an odd cross between fish and bird.  I did some research about skates and their featherless wings.  Relatives to sharks (huh?), skates and sting rays contain neurotoxins.  According to CHOP, the stings from these fish can be deadly.  I know about the death of the beloved Crocodile Hunter from a sting ray, but I didn't realize skates could pack the same punch.  Apparently, proper handling and preparation makes skate wing safe and tasty to eat, but I am still scared.  Next time I am at Reading Terminal, I will visit it in the display case.  Perhaps prolonged and repeated exposure to it, behind glass, will desensitize me. 

The sea bass stood out from the sea of pure white fillets. striking.  The contrast between black and white caught my eye.     

We chose croaker for dinner.  I was thrilled to see our fish scaled and filleted while we waited.  I plan to go back with a better camera and document the process.  I may have the beginnings of a friendship with the fishmongers.  They were so entertained by my enthusiasm for their fish handling skills.  The scaling process looks messy and fun.  Also, the quick fillet and deboning deserved applause.  (Without the right knife and technique, one can quickly ruin a fish... speaking from personal experience, here.)  Previously, I would have been reluctant to go with so-called lesser fish, but M. proved me wrong.  A few weeks ago, he came home with two cheap and stinky mackerel, which quickly became a delicious dinner.  His hands still smelled the next day, but at least we had our Omega-3's for the week.  Note to self: We need to source less smelly mackerel. 

Reading Terminal Market

I had some free time today, so I stopped by Reading Terminal Market. The highlight _by far_ was Iovine Brothers Produce.  I did like my sandwich from Salumeria and my orange brownie from Flying Monkey.  Yum.  

   

Olive Oil

From Claudio Specialty Foods.  This place was incredibly crowded and popular.  The cheese and meat counter had people lined up four deep, trying to place their orders.  The Italian Market is worth visiting.  There are a number of different ethnic groups represented both in terms of the stores and shoppers.  The produce was the best I had seen in Philadelphia.