Ham and Cannellini Bean Stew

This was one of those thrown together dinners that I really had no intention of photographing- but it turned out to be a great surprise. Take some leftover ham steaks cut into chunks, add a can of cannellini beans, a chopped onion, and a diced tomato, toss them in a pot, add a little salt and pepper to season, and enough water to cover everything. Let it simmer for two (or more) hours. At the end, you will have a thin broth- thicken it up with a slurry of warm water with a little dissolved flour, and serve it over a bed of rice. As simple as it sounds, it is greater than the sum of its parts- all the meatiness of the ham permeates the dish, and plays really well with the beans. I love the fact that it's a dish that can take leftovers, add a few new items, and transform them into something great. I'll be keeping this one in my bag of tricks for a while.

Bouillabaisse - Harbor Lights, Norwalk CT

Western Connecticut is one of the wealthiest areas in the country. It should come as no surprise that there is a fairly high concentration of quality restaurants in the area. I had heard some of my coworkers thought highly of a certain seafood restaurant on the bay in Norwalk called Harbor Lights- so naturally I made sure to urge the team to give the place a try the next time a business trip took us to the area.

Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia's foodie paradise



Any self-proclaimed "foodie" worth their salt should feel compelled to visit the Reading Terminal Market if they are in Philadelphia. It is a place out of an earlier time, when refrigeration was rare, and produce had to be sold as close to the transportation bringing it into a young and rapidly expanding city center. This market occupies an entire city block underneath the Reading rail terminal (now the Market East rail station). It's location in the heart of a hungry city, and arms length from the trains that brought in supplies and produce made it a natural place for a market to develop and thrive. Now that food can easily be stored and preserved anywhere, such a market is no longer a necessity, but Philadelphia's has been preserved out of tradition, and is now part marketplace, and part food court- a center of activity, and a place to go for high-quality food and produce still made with artisan-level care and skill. Below you will find a series of photos I snapped, along with the meal I enjoyed there.