BROKEN FLOUR
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Local
  • Recipe Index
  • Chicken and Garden
  • Goats
  • Health

Ted's Delikatessen

3/11/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
There is a Polish deli in the unlikeliest of places: Concord. This deli is impeccably clean and carries everything you could possible need for Eastern European cooking. Maybe you don't think you need a Polish deli yet, but the day may come when you decide to cook your way through a collection of Hungarian or Polish or German recipes. It happened to me. 
Picture
Poppy seed rings, maybe to go with coffee?
Picture
I never buy instant pudding mix, but my daughter begged me. I had a weak moment.
Picture
I don't actually know what any of those meats are. I'm guessing ham. I will come prepared with a list next time and try to be more adventurous.
Picture
Look at the top shelf. Poppy seed rolls!!!
Picture
The Swiss bread was perfect.
Picture
So there you have it. 1984 Monument Boulevard in Concord. Swing by next time you feel the urge for smoked paprika sausage or frozen piroshki. Buy the perfect bread to accompany your borscht. Gorge on poppy seed rolls with your coffee. I know I'll be back. 
Picture
This tastes like cardboard- it's the same as a sugar-free ice cream cone. However, you are supposed to layer them with jam or nutella and slice it up like a cake. I can't wait.
Picture
The pudding was fun.
0 Comments

Indian Groceries at Bottles

1/12/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
It's a liquor store and an Indian Market. Beer, wine, bar, alcohol, and every spice known to man. It is an odd marriage, and probably strangest for the people who come for their booze and are greeted by chanting, incense, and enormous sacks of onions. 

Be that as it may, if you go through a lot of spices or do any Indian cooking, this place will thrill you. I found black salt, rose petals, ayurvedic herbs, fennel powder, bentonite clay, and even supplies to make my own lip gloss that I have always had to order online. There are exotic flavors of ice cream and other syrupy sweets, samosas both fresh and frozen, and fenugreek in every possible form: fresh, the seeds, the dried leaves, powdered. The only thing they do not offer is meat. 

It doesn't look like much on the outside, but it's worth a trip. It's in El Sobrante on San Pablo Dam Road. Here is the address on their yelp page. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

Not Your Average Farmer's Market

10/19/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
$23
I don't believe that farmer's markets were intended to be this bizarrely over-priced, elitist monster that they have become, but when the pluots (plum-apricot hybrids) I found at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market in San Francisco were $7 a pound I knew I'd never go back. I had gone with the intention of buying produce for the week but left instead with a cup of coffee. I still get a little worked up over it. 

At the Pinole farmer's market I found that the more I bought from one buyer, the more they were willing to throw things in for free and lower the prices a little bit here and there. This is pretty good, but the most exciting find for me came in the unlikeliest of places... Richmond. Their farmer's market is on Fridays from 8-5 on Barrett and 24th by the Civic Center. Richmond may not provide the prettiest of farmer's markets, but it has become my favorite. 
Picture
Sinfully ugly.
Picture
$6
Look at the picture above, and then go to Raley's and see how much $6 buys you. 
Picture
$8.50
Picture
Some time after noon, much of the produce is thrown into $1 bags
One of my favorite growers there usually reminds me of an angry Santa, but today he was very friendly. At a little after noon he goes around and throws the produce into $1 bags. The prices are unbeatable and the quality is better than what you can buy in the supermarket. I had dismissed it at first because it isn't organic, but took notice when a friend mentioned how good the tomatoes in our sandwiches were. She was right. Then I made zucchini with sour cream recently with zucchini I bought from this farm, and made it again with supermarket zucchini. The ones from the farm were much, much better. 
Another great farm sells on the far corner. They have a 45 acre farm and don't spray. Everything is picked the night before and never refrigerated. They sell all kinds of exotic vegetables and are happy to tell you what to do with it all. I have tried a few greens I don't have names for, young pumpkin, lemongrass, jujubes, peanuts, okra, and young jicama from there. I also bought what might have been sweet potato leaves. 

If you need lettuce, cauliflower, or broccoli this might not be the place for you. But if you are willing to cook with what you find and experiment a little, I cannot recommend this more highly. I think it's a well kept secret. 
Picture
the really helpful guy who can tell you how to cook it all
Picture
Picture
young jicama
Picture
$3 for peanuts, lemongrass, jujubes, young jicama, green beans, and okra
I'm sorry I can't give you names of farms- every time I go I have two children with me and it was hard to research this while chasing them and digging around for spare change. But you should go. 
Picture
pomegranate for $1, grapes and persimmons $1.50/pound
Picture
3 baskets of unsprayed strawberries for $6- they will only be there for a few more weeks
1 Comment

Richmond Halal Market

9/8/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
I grew up blocks away from Indian markets and halal butcher shops in Berkeley and I was thrilled to find something similar close by in Richmond. I may not need halal meat specifically, but I do shop for lamb and goat regularly. If you are local, here is the link to the address and some pictures of the store. The picture above shows a sampling of things I bought recently. You can buy spices, meats, Turkish coffee, and Middle Eastern desserts at much better prices than you'd find elsewhere.  This is where I bought the spices, rice, and lamb for maqloubeh. Whether you check out this market or a similar one in your neighborhood, here are some things you shouldn't miss. 
  • Labne (a delicious cross between yogurt and cheese)
  • Enormous bags of basmati rice
  • Spice mixes 
  • Olive oil in huge jugs
  • Goat, lamb, beef and chicken
  • Baklava 
  • Halva
  • Beans and spices
  • Pita, lavash, and other breads

Turkish Coffee

Picture
Picture
Picture
Here is how you make Turkish coffee, right off of the package of Edna's Mediterranean style coffee. Thank you, Edna.

1. Measure one teaspoon of Edna's coffee per cup into a coffee pot. 
2. Add one teaspoon of sugar per cup.
3. Pour one "demitasse" cup of water for each cup into the pot.
4. Stir and allow coffee to rise.
5. Remove coffee pot before boiling and serve. 

Oddly enough, the instructions never mention heating the coffee pot at all, but clearly you must or you will be waiting a long time for that coffee! 

Alternatively, my sister brings it to a froth three times. She knows what she's talking about; her Turkish coffee is always thick and sweet. 
0 Comments

The Old Apple Orchard in El Sobrante

9/4/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Maybe I am the last person to know this, but there is an apple orchard in El Sobrante!! The Old Apple Orchard is right by the library at 4165 Garden Lane, within shouting distance of where I lived for six years. The orchard is nestled in against the creek on a 1/2 acre lot. They do school tours there, and on weekends you can come by and pick your own organic apples for $1/pound. They accept cash only. 

Most of the trees date back from the '60s. The owner described the varieties as "vintage". I don't know if that is a synonym for "heirloom" or something else entirely, but all the apples are crisp and sweet. The trees all came from Stark Bro's Nurseries, a company that has sold plants since 1816. Apparently this is a good time to plant fruit trees. I love picking fruit, and now thanks to my enthusiastic children I have 29 pounds of apples. You can bet I'll be writing about apples a lot for the next month. Apple pie, apple jam, caramelized apples, brandied apple rings, baked apples, apple crisps, and applesauce. I'll be trying it all!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
With so many apples, I was thinking about either buying an apple peeler for $20 or trying a method I saw on youtube using a vegetable peeler and a battery operated drill. I'll let you know what works. 
0 Comments

    Author

    I love trying new foods, cooking, and gardening. I hope to share these experiences on this site. Thanks for taking a look! 
            -Megan

    Categories

    All
    Afghani
    Apple
    Applesauce
    Artichoke
    Backyard
    Bacon
    Banana
    Beans
    Bean Sprouts
    Beef
    Beets
    Bell Peppers
    Big Batch
    Borage
    Bread
    Breakfast
    Burger
    Butternut Squash
    Cake
    California
    Cat
    Cauliflower
    Cherries
    Cherry
    Chicken
    Chinese
    Chocolate
    Chowder
    Clams
    Cod
    Coffee
    Colombian
    Cookie
    Cream
    Curry
    Custard
    Dessert
    Dinner
    Drink
    Early Summer
    Eggplant
    Eggs
    Fall
    Fennel
    Fenugreek
    Fruit
    Garden
    Goat
    Greek
    Green Beans
    Green Onion
    Greens
    Horror
    Hungarian
    Ice Cream
    Indian
    Iraqi
    Italian
    June
    Kids
    Korean
    Lamb
    Lebanese
    Liver
    Local
    Long Beans
    Lunch
    Mango
    Marinade
    May
    Meal Plan
    Menu Plan
    Milk
    Molokhia
    Muffins
    Mushroom
    Mushrooms
    Nagaimo
    Noodles
    North African
    Nose To Tail
    Okra
    Onigiri
    Orange
    Palestinian
    Pancake
    Pasta
    Peach
    Pea Shoots
    Pepperoncini
    Persian
    Pesto/sauce
    Pickles
    Pig
    Pizza
    Pomegranate
    Popsicles
    Pork
    Portuguese
    Potatoes
    Potluck
    Pumpkin
    Purslane
    Quick Lunch Ideas
    Radish
    Rice
    Salad
    Salmon
    Sandwich
    Sardines
    Sausage
    Shrimp
    Simmer Sauce
    Sindhi
    Slow Cooker
    Smoothie
    Snack
    Snap Peas
    Soup
    Spice Blend
    Spinach
    Spring
    Steak
    Stew
    Strawberries
    Strawberry
    Summer
    Tangerine
    Tea
    Thoughts
    Tomato
    Tortillas
    Tuna
    Vegetable Side
    Vegetarian
    Vinaigrette
    Walking Onion
    Walnuts
    Weekend Meal
    Weeknight Meal
    Whining
    Winter
    With Rice
    Wonton
    Yugoslavian
    Zombie Apocalypse
    Zucchini

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    May 2020
    April 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    June 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from Mechanoid Dolly, Mechanoid Dolly, fidber, Ken_Mayer, eflon, Dendroica cerulea, Urban_Integration
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Local
  • Recipe Index
  • Chicken and Garden
  • Goats
  • Health