Just about once a year, Scott makes a batch of eggplant parm (here’s the 2010 edition). He cuts the eggplant very thin rounds, lightly coats each slice in egg and bread crumbs and then bakes each one into a tasty, crunchy chip. Once they’re nicely browned, they are layered with ricotta, tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese into a oozy casserole. It’s good. I propose making it a twice-yearly occasion!

I did a canning demonstration out at the Phoenixville Farmers’ Market today. When I was done making up a batch of Honey Lemon Apple Jam (which some folks loved and others hated), I did a bit of shopping for myself. I bought some gorgeous celery (thinking of doing this with the leaves), two quarts of multi-colored okra (pickles!) and a lovely yellow tomato.

Sue from Birchrun Hills Farm gave me a wedge of her Birchrun Blue (I adore her, and not just for her cheese) and the folks from Saint Peter’s Bakery wouldn’t let me pay for a loaf of their multigrain bread (holy heck, is it good!). What a generous, kind and welcoming group of people at that market. It was something of a stark reminder of how harsh the city can be at times.

A bit of the preserving I’ve done recently. On the left is blueberry maple jam (inspired by a recipe on Well Preserved). In the middle is five pints of gingery pickled beets (it’s a recipe in the cookbook). On the right are three jars of roasted and marinated peppers (Kaela was my inspiration for these).

Nine jams that I’ve put up an incentive to get people to make donations to the Bloggers Without Borders fundraiser for Jennie Perillo. More details here.

Beets in the only Pyrex bowl I bought this trip. They became five pints of gingery pickles.

I am not a big doughnut eater. Most of the time they’re not nearly as good as you want them to be. However, once in a while, when you’re in Lancaster County (that’s doughnut country) where people know how to make a good one, it’s better than you thought possible.

Here are a few more photos from that trip to Root’s Market, where they know what they’re doing when it comes to doughnuts.

Rearranging, in order to make space for all the new jars I bought this week.

We got caught in a thunderstorm on the way home from Lancaster and spent an hour crawling or fully stopped on the Schuylkill Expressway. Though I was antsy to get home, it was oddly beautiful.

Anyone need a vintage fondue pot? If so, I recommend paying a visit to the thrift shop in New Holland, PA that is not the Reuzit Shop (sadly, I cannot remember the name. We went to a lot of thrift stores this trip). They were $5 a piece.

Shady Maple. It’s a gigantic smorgasbord, with steam table after steam table full of classics like mashed potatoes, house-smoked sausages and shreds of tender pot roast. I feel a little bit like an ugly American when I go there, but not enough to stay away. We went twice this trip, once for breakfast and once for dinner.