The gala apples were gorgeous, firm, and authentically natural with the blemishes and deformities of being produced both locally and sustainably: ideal for my consumption! I had to buy a mini pumpkin-styled squash, since it's about time for me to get into the fall mood, and what better way to do so than to put this squash on my desk in my room and eventually include it in a pilaf or a soup or a stew that I eventually craft in my rice cooker?
As we continued down Baltimore Ave, we came into contact with countless ethnic markets that provided Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Thai, and other culinary goods for the home cook at pretty competitive prices. They literally lined the streets and were perched on several intersections along the hippie avenue. We also scouted out some places that were mentioned to us at a recent PVS meeting and acquired menus from all of the ones we wanted to come back to in the future. They included the Vietnam Cafe, a pan-Indian restaurant focused mainly on northern Indian cuisine, another Vietnamese food establishment, several Ethiopian eateries, one of which was closed, and an African breakfast/lunch place that specialized in having a blackboard and menu full of both vegan and raw items for those who choose to follow such strict eating habits. I personally do not consume dairy or eggs unless they are unsubstituted in baked goods which I do not produce myself (I use alternatives), but I just can't give up my love of fish in order to be a vegan: it's not worth it to me at this point.
We decided to end our westward voyage after finding and barging into the Mariposa Food Co-op, which was accurately described to us as the most peace-loving, tree-hugging, organic, earthbound, and hippie-frequented joint in all of the wild world of Philadelphia. I kid you not; this place was off the hippie chart! Without describing their easily-fulfilled requirements for membership and ridiculously cheap prices for members of the co-op, dirt-poor earth-dwellers can easily scrounge up the spare change to become members and work off their debts to the store behind the register and the operation as a whole. Their prices are insanely low, and I benefited in buying a bag of dried black mission figs - one of my absolute favorite fruits/snack foods both moist and dry. I will be going back as a proxy shopper for a friend and may have to reap the benefits of direct membership myself. Who wouldn't like to work in such an incredibly satisfying and simultaneously comical environment. Just remember...they have a no-cash policy. Yes, that's right: a no cash policy, even though most places won't let you use a credit card for less than a ten dollar purchase. It just goes to show you that these lovely people with their clipboard of members' accounts really just try to make everything work for everyone. Check out the awesome refrigerated section and the sketchy yet totally organic jars of spices sitting on the shelves that you open up and write down what you got from a crooked label fitted onto the side of the jar with a price-per-pound haphazardly stuck on...nothing beats this food co-op!
Beautiful Artisanal Loaves at a Corner Bakery
