I just had to renew my Washington state Food Handlers Permit yesterday. So, I’m cruising my bloglines and was intrigued with an article in Slate today about glove wearing in restaurants, and how chefs shouldn’t have to wear them. It bugged me. She made some great points about glove misuse. But it still bugged me. […]

Maybe you’ve been distracted by a Bonny Doon label before, not your usual gold-edged, flanged and waxed grocery store trash. They are……cool. Wha? In this business? Tattooed ladies, flying saucers, and monkeys in fezes. Every label practically giggles, Buy me or don’t. I don’t care. I’ll have a good time without your ass.
These are […]

The first time I ever seriously bought wine on my own, I was laughed at by the wine steward. No, not just laughed at–humiliated. One of my top 10 most embarassing moments, easy. All I wanted was a Pinot Noir with my black-n-blue steak. But I don’t see what’s so fucking funny about that, do […]

Oh, hellooooooo!
No, I haven’t posted since Sunday. And yes, I was working. Well, helping my husband with a set. Those who no longer bring home bacon have obligations to help when they can. And while I love what being gainfully unemployed has done for my complexion, nothing is more gratifying than manual labor.
I have attended […]

A thin film of anxiety starts to settle on me every time I notice the first smell of Fall. I didn’t get to go camping very much. Shit, that’s right, the pool closed on Labor Day. I must be outside every second of every day from now on….et cetera, et cetera…
Seattle does that to you. […]

Halvah is one of those deli staples, the square log in the refrigerator everybody walks by, scrunching up a face. To put this Middle Eastern dessert in western terms: a sweet made of ground sesame seeds and honey, sometimes with added pistachios, that has the texture of a very dry nougat and is light as […]

When I was in Oregon earlier this summer, it was clear that vineyard managers were going to have to dig into their bag of tricks for this harvest. The light green palor of the vines was evidence of a lack of sun and heat at a pretty critical time of ripening. Some tiny berries had […]

In a perfect world, we’d all have time to raise our own fowl, hand feed them dried corn, collect their eggs in the morning, and let them roam free in the back yard all before we humanely decapitate and pluck them for food. A good life for a chicken that was destined for dinner.
Then we’d […]

Yesterday, after the West Seattle Farmers Market, the NFMA held their first An Incredible Feast benefit. Judging by the turn out, this will be an annual event. Twenty local farms were paired with some of my favorite restaurants, whose mission was to creat a signature dish showcasing the farmers’ kick ass wares. I was able […]

As obesity reaches epidemic proportions in America, and affordable health care coverage becomes scarcer and scarcer…..a recent report concludes that an obese worker can cost a business as much as $2500 extra per year.
The study, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, showed that as BMI (body mass index) increases so too do medical […]