Biscuits, Big Johns and Broccoli in Black Bean Sauce (A Very Fine Morning)

Fridays I often have some time alone with Mini-Me. Today we seem to have had an all food morning. This is good, we're getting her up to speed young! First thing after she woke up, we made our favorite biscuits. Properly nourished and ready for adventure we headed off to Big John's (aka Pacific Food Importers). If you are anywhere near Seattle and you don't know about PFI, you should run, don't walk. They have a tremendous selection of food from Europe and the Middle East, in bulk, frozen, and jarred, and a phenomenal cheese selection, knowledgeable staff, and great prices. They supply many of the best restaurants in the city. Above is a picture of today's ill-gotten gain: Preserved lemons, Adjvar, Beemster XO Aged Gouda, the house brand Marca Croce olive oil, unbelievably fragagrant sumac powder, Guittard chocolate, and more. Kiddo had a fun time talking to everyone and sampling the chocolate. And here's a cell phone pic inside the store, to give you the general warehouse flavor. Needless to say, after all that hard work shopping it was time for a lunch, so we went to....

Shanghai Garden! There may be some debate but most folks I've talked to put Shanghai in their top couple of Chinese restaurants in the city. We ordered their signature hand-shave barleygreen noodles and crispy tofu with broccoli in black bean sauce, and Mini-Me ate everything and went back for seconds. I thought it was interesting that there was Thai basil in the tofu dish. Shanghai is a straight ahead Chinese place, so I'm curious how that influence is present. If anyone can clue me in, please do. Here's one more cel-phone snap, full, happy, and a great morning.

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Published on August 10, 2007.

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Cookie commented on Quinoa Cakes With A Farmer's Market Riot - Recipe:

Healthy and delicious! What a beautiful dish too!

zoe commented on Quinoa Cakes With A Farmer's Market Riot - Recipe:

Yum, looks awesome!

Michael Natkin commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

Anne - Well said. I really appreciate that perspective. I'm not able to quite look out the window and see chickens, but I'm sure trying to buy more and more from farmer's that are that gentle.

Anne commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

I think a piece of the puzzle that some of the vegan arguments are missing, is that not all farming is factory farming.

My neighbors in our two-family house just built a beautiful, comfortable coop for their three chickens directly below my bedroom. I know the birds by name and personality. In a few weeks, they'll start laying eggs each day, a normal, natural process with no pain or suffering involved; and since the chickens have no need for the unfertilized eggs, my neighbors will eat them. In exchange for that, the birds get free room, board, medical care, and safety from predators, plus lots of petting and treats from our two families. I think that's a pretty sweet deal for a chicken.

I also buy vegetables, herbs, and goat cheese from a local farm where the goats are treated like members of the family, and each goat has her own glamour shot and bio on the farm's Web site. When a goat has kids, the kids stay with her and she's taken out of the milking rotation. They don't sell any of their animals to buyers who are planning to slaughter them. Again, it's a pretty nice life for a goat, in exchange for a little gentle milking.

Factory farming is a horror, and I do my best not to contribute to it - but I don't feel at all guilty about enjoying surplus eggs and milk from well-cared-for animals. If I want to, I can even personally thank them by name.

Gwen McCauley commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

Hiya Saw your posting on the ProBlogger site and I have an opinion about why you got such fabulous response to this posting. I think it is because you shared yourself with the world! I'm not a vegetarian, but your recipes look great as does your website. But recipes don't invite people to share deeply. This post that reveals you and what makes you tick is a huge invitation for people to interact with you. Way to go!

In my coaching practice I spend huge amounts of time and energy with folks helping them to realize that people don't buy products or services ...they buy people! So the more you reveal yourself, the more attractive a sales proposition you become. ...and that revealing process is terrifying more most people. We've all been pretty well trained to protect ourselves by shielding our 'true' self, our authentic self. It is so much easier to say "see, look at this great product I can offer you" than to say "here I am world, how do you like me?"

I encourage you to do more of these 'philosophical' postings. I bet your clients will love it.

Cheers

Gwen McCauley
http://www.ouicoach.com
follow me at www.twitter.com/gwenmccauley

Bill commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

I'm sorry we can't all do the right thing 100% of the time. By not buying meat products, fur, or leather, I feel that I'm doing a significant amount to keep animals from being exploited on my behalf. By comparison, I don't think that the small amounts of dairy products I eat are going to support a huge, evil industry. I'd just as soon go vegan, but my housemates (an ovo-lacto vegetarian, and an omnivore) would make that very difficult. We take turns planning and preparing meals, and while there are never any meat products included, it would be awkward to expect them to limit their cooking to my preferences. We very much enjoy cooking and eating together, so I'm not sure what the answer is. I suppose I could make my own vegan meal every night, but that would sort of take the fun out of our dinner nights. On a related note, do you feel that it's right to force your beliefs on other people via financial means? I've always let people make their own choices, even if I'm buying dinner at a restaurant. I don't eat meat myself, but if they choose to, is it right for me to refuse to pay for it, especially knowing that they can't afford to eat out if I don't? If you can put aside your hostility for a moment, I'd like to know what you would suggest.

Jim Fowler commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

Thanks for honest and thoughtful writing on this subject. I am very like you but not as eloquent... Jim

renato commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

When I say umans, I'm meaning HUMANS.

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