We went looking for ice flows.
It's SERIOUSLY cold. When we drove between the Churchville Nature Center reservoir, the water was almost 100% ice - hundreds & hundreds of Canada Geese & ducks were on & around the small patch of open water.
We were headed for the Delaware.
On Thursday, when John & I went to Fred's for breakfast, the river was running briskly, carrying along great patches of ice.
When my grannie client & I crossed from New Hope to Lambertville, the ice flows weren't going anywhere, they were stationery on the water - on the frozen water. It gave me pause to realize it's been so cold, the Delaware is frozen over. Brrrrrrrr....
Well, it's frozen over at Lambertville. Up the river just a few miles, at Stockton, the Delaware flows freely, only its edges trimmed in ice.
I'd taken my client to Stockton to check out the farm market, and upscale experience that features artisan food producers.
We talked to the graphic designer who changed his career path after 9/11, developing a highly acclaimed, much-sought range of French macaroons, as well as beyond the beyond hand-made dark chocolates. Although the Dark Bark & the oversized, gluten-free deep chocolate cookie beckoned, I settled on two very small chocolate bars - Mayan Chocolate and Orange Peel. Will sample them tomorrow evening with John, as we settle on the living room couch with some of his delectable coffee, listening to Prairie Home Companion, then The Tobolowsky Files - the joys of radio & NPR! My client was tempted, but kept waving herself off with mumblings about calories & be careful not to gain weight.
She was still trying to ignore the siren call of the chocolate bars when we struck up a conversation with two charming young women, selling gorgeous baguettes of French bread, quiche, fruit pies & granola. Both gals underscored my point that dark chocolate is health food, to no avail. More mumblings about calories & taking care not to pack on the pounds.
The olive oil merchant was next up. The olives for his extra virgin olive oil are grown on his family's farm in Tunisia. I sampled a cube of bread dipped in what tasted like peppery elixir; my client mumbled. The fellow picked up on her self-admonishments about calories & unwanted pounds. "Oh," he said, all smiles & informatin, "Olive oil are the calories you SHOULD be eating. They are clean calories." My client was intrigued, giving a keen ear to his mini-lesson on olive oil & your health. "Olive oil is good for you, like dark chocolate." "Oh," she asked, "Chocolate really is good for you?" "Yes," he replied, "They provide the type of calories that help your body be its healthiest." She immediately started looking back toward the chocolates.
After assuring the olive oil vendor that I'd be back for a bottle on my birthday visit, it was back to the chocolates. She looked & wondered which would be best, but could not bring herself to plunking down so much for what looked like so little. So I took the buying decision out of her hands - I bought one for her. Yes, it was a very small bar for a very big price, but the yield I received on my $2.75 (including tax - this is NJ) was worth every penny. She was delighted, finally settling on the chocolate bar that includes ground up coffee beans. She held the piece of chocolate, slipped into a plastic sleeve, like it was a $100 box of Godivas. Opening it, she broke of a shard of chocolate to taste. The look on her face could have sold out the entire case!
Although Stockton made a perfect destination for our afternoon ramble, giving us plenty of country roads to admire the fresh snow, she'd thought it odd, going to a food market. To her, food is food. In my family, food is on par with artwork. We went to Balducci's & Zabar's, Fante's & the Chestnut Hill Cheese Shop much like other friends go to MOMA or the Philadephia Art Museum. A good farm market is always a lot of fun; a great one, like the Stockton Farm Market, is a delight for the senses.
It was, I must admit, special fun for me. I remember when Half-Pint Ice Cream set up its wares on a folding table & packed its incredible ice creams in ice chests; now, they have a permanent spot, right by the back door to the parking lot, perfect for a spur-of-the-moment purchase as you head home. When the place looked like it could be a good idea if someone put some inspired energy & hard work into it. Someone did & Stockton Farm Market is a splendid experience to share with anyone. My client would agree.
On the drive home, across the frigid waters of the Delaware, back to Pennsylvania, my client admitted she thought I'd lost my mind, taking her to a food store. She'd spent the first 15 minutes of our visit looking for a way to get us OUT, but by the time we stopped at Half-Pint so she could sample a spoonful of locally made, full-fat ice cream, she was ready to linger.
She learned several important lessons today ~ olive oil & chocolate are health foods; sometimes you get a better buy when you spend a little more; and farm markets are as much about the sights, the sounds, the smells, the little kids sticking close to Mom & Dad, as it is about the glorious mushrooms or pulled pork or locally raised chickens. There are good calories & unrepentant calories & sometimes either could be the right way to go.
We went looking for ice flows today. We found them, and so much more.
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