Last Saturday Bryn Mawr celebrated institutions, organizations and businesses that have been doing business for 100 years. Bryn Mawr is part of the Main Line, which lies west of Philadelphia and was named in 1869 by William H. Wilson, railroad agent, after he purchased the tract of land on behalf of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
It was fun and a beautiful day at the Bryn Mawr Farmers’ Market too! My friend Lorraine Ranalli, author of Gravy Wars, joined me and personalized copies of her book.
We began our stroll at Earl Livingood’s Farmstead and he suggested his red leaf butter lettuce, sweet peppers, watermelon and heirloom tomatoes. I could not resist the lettuce; it was crisp and the watermelon was so sweet. Next we stopped at Shelbark Hollow for their fresh chevre goat cheese…hmmm maybe pair up with the watermelon….yum, salty and sweet! Maureen from Davidson’s Exotic Mushrooms had the most plump and firm cremini mushrooms.
I rushed back to my tent and decided on 3 items: a watermelon and chevre salad, red leaf lettuce salad with chevre and Raspberry Vinaigrette and sliced cremini mushrooms with lemon juice and olive oil. Lots of people stopped by my stand and I must say it tickled my heart to see so many children wanting to sample everything. My community is filling up with children; I guess my picky eater tips are working. Do you have a picky eater?
The hit of the day was the Raspberry Vinaigrette, the secret is the French Raspberry Vinegar. The first time I tried Vinaigre de Framboise was when I was studying abroad in France. It took me years to find authentic Vinaigre de Framboise. What makes this vinegar different is the 6% acidity level, which is stronger than American vinegars.
