Cats

i really like long's meat market and capella market. capella has a nice deli and meat selection, and longs has many, many wonderful meats and cheeses. i like both sunrise asian market and king's asian market. sunrise has a prepared foods section that's fun. sunrise, capella, and long's are all fairly close to each other. sundance and the kiva are more hippie/health food storish, and i like them both too. sundance has a fair bit of vegetarian/vegan prepared foods. i've heard good things about pomegranates from some friends, but i haven't been there yet. there's a wonderful farmer's market that will be starting up again in april. there's also market of choice with a pretty good bulk section, deli, and produce.

that's how oregon is too: http://www.oregon.gov/BOLI/TA/T_FAQ_Min-wage2008.shtml our minimum wage just went up to 7.95/hour the beginning of this year. i've only ever lived in calif and oregon (and not travelled), and i just dont get how it can be legal for employers to steal from their employees like that in other states. it does not seem like prices in oregon are higher than the sf bay area was -- lower, if anything, even though the minimum wage here is higher. do the businesses in other states get to just pocket the money they take from their employees? is that why they dont want to pay a fair wage? i grew up with tips being rewards for good service. i usually do about 15 for good service, more for very small checks or specially good service, less if the service isn't good. i think in 30 years there's only been 2 times i didn't leave any tip, but there's been a handful where the server just got whatever loose change i had and a handful that were double the check.

it is very easy to make your own. start with 1 bottle of plain gts. put it in a white mouth jar, cover with a papertowel or piece of cloth and a rubber band and let it sit someplace out of the sun that is warm and clean and undisturbed. avoid places with smoke, incense, mold, etc., because they can mess up the culture. in 1-2 weeks a nice culture will grow. it is usually a sort of creamy white. when it's 1/4 to 1/2" thick you can start brewing. make just under 1 gallon of tea. most ppl use green tea, but i love using a mix of decaf green and herb teas, especially hibiscus. strain the tea, add one cup of sugar. i use raw sugar and it works fine. when the tea has cooled to luke warm add the culture and the leftover gts. cover with a papertowel or cloth and set in a warm undisturbed place for 7-14 days. within 24-48 hours there should be little bubbles forming, showing it is fermenting. i use a sun tea jar so i can check the taste without disturbing the culture. start checking after 7 days to see how it tastes. when the balance of tart and sweet is where you like it take out the culture and 1-2 cups of the tea to start a new batch and put the done batch covered airtight in the icebox. mine seems to get fizzy after it's been chilled and covered about 24 hours. if it stays flat i add a spoonful of sugar and stir well, and it gets fizzy in a day or 2. i love making it. i haven't noticed health benefits aside from not getting as cold at night when i drink it, but it tastes wonderful. i love it when it's tart and fizzy and glowing red (from the hibiscus). one of my friends calls it fairy tea. when your culture gets too thick just peel off a layer and use that. sometimes the old culture will sink and a new one will form. you can pass along your extras to someone who needs one (it will still work fine) or store them in some kombucha in a covered container in the icebox as a backup. (if you use hibiscus in your tea, your cultures will be pink, but they work just the same.)

i like all the different picutres here coffeetime.ru but it doesn't show how to make them, just the finished pictures.

Terry Pratchett describes the Archchancellor of Unseen University in Reaper Man as "a shameless autocondimentor*." *"Someone who will put certainly salt and probably pepper on any meal you put in front of them whatever it is and regardless of how much it’s got on it already and regardless of how it tastes."