Special K

So, I was at Chefshop.com on 15th Ave. in Seattle yesterday. Nice place. Friendly, knowledgeable staff, a cookbook collection to die for (unfortunately not for sale), and lots and lots of goodies (no price tags, though). Anyway, there was this little, little jar with two whole preserved lemons . . . the label listed only lemons, water (water?) and salt. I was intrigued. Since I work right across the street from one of the world's (well, Seattle's) best produce shops, Jimmy Wild's Top Banana, and since the lemons there today were absolutely gorgeous, AND since my husband just tossed out (and I grabbed) a bunch of big old glass lab jars with nice tight lids . . . My first thought was eGullet! So generous of Ms Wolfert to have contributed so much to this thread. 30 days from today! And Ms Wolfert's book is on order. We may have a Morrocan themed Thanksgiving!

Sure they would, but when the inspector is there, the gloves go on!

And why all restaurant employees are not required to take the Hep A vaccine is just beyond me. Of course, I still want them to wash their hands properly, and I do think gloves should be mandatory. They are in Seattle - the food service permit class all food workers have to take here emphasizes over and over again, "No bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food!" Of course, I see this rule being broken all the time. So since there is a vaccine, why not require it?

Well, sure, just get the big one. But you won't be able to use it for a small job and a bigger job at the same time!

Here you go: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~comm/haccp4e.html

And again today! Value Village, totalling $13: Food, Drink, and the Female Sleuth, by The Sisters Wells (This one is great! Food scenes from mystery novels with female detectives) Reckless Appetites, by Jacqueline Deval ("An unusual blend of fiction, literary biography, letters, and memoirs") and three more, travel memoirs which always contain food writing. I don't know when I'm ever going to read all the hundreds of books I already have, much less these, but I'm happy to have them.

A half-dozen books at the used book store (Epilogue Books in Ballard): The Edomae: Sushi & Sake The Eaten Word, by Jay Jacobs M.F.K. Fisher and Me, by Jeannette Ferrary Off the Hook: Reflections and Recipes from an Old Salt, by Roger Fitzgerald Setting the Table, by Danny Meyer and Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Love in Italy, by Michael Tucker All for under $40. I'm a happy camper! I found all of these in about ten minutes and then made myself leave.

Good news! I just got an email from Amazon - Bakewise should be in my hot little hands next week!

Yep, me too. I keep mine in an old Pernod bottle with a pouring spout. Very handy.

Ooh, just what I've been looking for! Just ordered it and now I'm ready for Christmas cookie time! Thanks!

My Mom's freezer is full of stuff Dad liked (he died three years ago) that she'd never touch. Her refrigerator is full of leftovers from lunches out in restaurants, most of which she never touches. She doesn't cook at all, except for bacon (she cooks seven slices on Saturday morning and eats one slice a day, saving the rest wrapped in a paper towel in the fridge) and toast. She puts instant coffee in the Mr Coffee maker and it sits there all day long until she has the final cup in the evening. There's so much stuff on the counters (bottles of vitamin pills, jewelry, knick-knacks (nothing that has gone into that house in the last 40 years has left it, I swear!) that there's only about one square foot of actual working room. No cutting board in sight, one seriously dull chef's knife that she doesn't use (an old serrated steak knife is an all-purpose tool). I tend to think of my kitchen as small, but I always am shocked to realize just how tiny hers is (and she raised four kids in that house). I can get past all that. I was one of those kids, and I learned to cook under these conditions. I can find pots and pans (they may be in the garage, but that's OK) and an old serving spoon will do the job . . . but the saddest part is that no matter what I cook, she'll only eat two bites and then says, "Let's save the rest for later," and in it goes with the restaurant leftovers. She exercises and is in pretty good shape (I'm sure she could beat me around the block in a footrace), but she just doesn't eat!

From the same folks who brought us BaconSalt. Should be at QFCs in Seattle and at Pike Place Market soon, new website up by October 11th (in the Seattle Times this morning).

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It's cookies and cakes for me. I make them all the time for other people, but I almost never eat even one. Don't really like sweet things that much. Apple pie I'll eat, but not if it's overly sweetened. Another movie like that, where the actor cooks elaborate food and then eats a Lean Cuisine, is "Last Holiday," with Queen Latifah. It's cute.

I buy iodized, for the iodine , because it's needed by the thyroid to prevent goiter. (It's in a lot of prepared foods, but I avoid those.) The trouble is I rarely use it, except in baking (and the amounts are so tiny I don't know if it does any good) and in the egg-boiling water (supposedly it (salt, not necessarily iodized salt) keeps the eggs from cracking and sort of seals them if they do crack) and spaghetti water. If I'm seasoning food, I use sea salt.

I would add any of the sides at LunchBox Laboratory in Ballard. One order would do for two or three people.

Rosemary ice cream, topped with a reduced Balsamic vinegar syrup, is divine!

According to good old Wikipedia: "Crystalized invert sugar solutions may be restored to their liquid state by gently heating."

So, use a bigger pan, swirl the egg around (or pull a bit of the cooked egg back with a spatula and let the wet egg run under it onto the pan). Add your fillings (not too much) to one side while the egg mixture is still wet and fold onto your plate. And for goodness sake, top it with some Frank's Hot Sauce! K

Apparently no wall is even necessary!

Hi Alan, Be sure you go to the Ferry Building Market, at the foot of Market Street along the Embarcadero (www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com). On Tuesdays and Saturdays there's a farmer's market, but if you can't go then, there's plenty to see (and buy!) inside on the other days. Have a great trip! K

OK, then, it's not just me. I do like the idea of the mint on the headrest, though! Thanks, everyone. K

So my husband and I and another couple who were also celebrating their anniversary (our 36th and their 23rd ) went to Daniel's Broiler-Leschi last night and had a wonderful time. Great food, great service, great free show - all the boaters, a very good, free "celebration cake," the works. We'd used the valet parking. As we were leaving, our server said, "I've put your take-home boxes in your car; have a nice evening!" This was . . . nice, but for some reason feels kind of creepy. Is this something new I just don't know about? (We really don't get out much! ) Thanks. K

Oh. Good point. I think you just saved me a hundred bucks!

"I doubt I'll be able to talk anyone into storing my remains in it, although I certainly think that would be appropriate. It would just look strange on a mantel, you know?" I've seen stranger requests - I have a friend who seriously wants her ashes to be kept in a shoebox high on a shelf in the shoe department at Nordstrom's. If we can't talk them into that, then we're to walk through the store sprinkling them around the place (holes in the pockets, a la The Great Escape). And I happen to like the old Cuisinart Automatic Grind 'n Brew coffeemaker. They wear out after about a year, so I keep one or two backups - they started out at $200; the last one I bought for about $45, I think. I don't keep the old ones for sentimental value, but I do keep an extra carafe. I'd advise keeping your old friend - perhaps turning it into a fishbowl -- but disable the motor so nothing terrible happens!!!