truth in labeling at the Vietnamese grocery store

Various kinds of cans

more braising

This time with happy meat from Rineer family farms from the Rittenhouse Square weekly Saturday farmer's market.

chuck roast, $6/lb (normally $7/lb)

with some yellow and red tomatoes

ok so the citrus didn't really add anything 

Zento

Attractive but unremarkable sushi at Zento in Old City.

margarita

Somewhere in the Bay area.

soup dumplings at Sakura Mandarin

Sakura Mandarin
1038 Race St
Philadelphia, PA 19107-2306
(215) 873-8338

Scallion pancakes on the left and mango shrimp 

(deliciously deep fried, in  terrible goopy sweet sauce)

Soup dumplings nomnomnom

 shu mai dumplings that are filled with glutinous rice

banana cake

From Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible.
I managed to remember both the sour cream and the lemon zest this time.

potato pancakes

Peel raw potatoes, shred on the big side of a box grater, add salt + pepper. Squish out liquid, shallow fry in vegetable oil (add butter/bacon/onions for fun).