Who Let The Dogs Out?

In Seattle we love our pets. And in loving our pets we like to take them with us where we go. Now there is a list of restaurants where dogs are welcome and an article this week about dogs in bars. So what do you think? Do you want to take your dog to a restaurant or bar? And how do you feel about dogs in restaurants and bars? If you're not a dog lover does that mean you'll cross that establishment off of your list? 

Places To Visit

I can't believe that it's almost May and now I'm thinking about places that I want to visit this summer.

I just found a very cool list about some great ice cream stops in the eastern part of the state. While I'm dreaming about summer, I just might make a trip east of the mountains to visit some wonderful sounding ice cream stores in Spokane, Pullman, Yakima and even in Ellensburg. In fact a trip to Ellensburg makes a great day trip. Here is a link so you too can read all about these yummy sounding places. The Ice Cream Trail.

Thinking About The Garden

I hear people talking and thinking about the garden they are planning this year. Yes, it's almost the end of January and here in the northwest we are dreaming about spring and planting gardens.

There are some things that you can do if this is part of your plan for 2017. As you're thumbing through gardening journals and ordering from the seed catalogues you can also:

1. start tomato and vegetable seeds in peat pots.
2. Grow salad greens and herbs indoors with seed starting trays.
3. If you can get outside, you can apply pre-emergent to prevent weeds in your lawns.

As it gets closer to March you can:

1. Build raised garden bed.
2. Cultivate vegetable gardens.
3. Plan spring flowering shrubs like azaleas.
4. Apply lawn fertilizer and repair and seed bare patches.

This will keep me busy and thinking about the growing season again. What about you? Do you have garden plans for spring?

Honey for my honey

As a child I loved it when my mother served us honey. As an adult I'm learning more about honey and like what I see and really appreciate the fact that you increase many vitamins and minerals when you add honey to your diet. According to the USDA Agricultural Research Service, one tablespoon of honey contains 64 calories, 17 grams of carbohydrates, plus trace amounts of vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, iron, zinc and selenium. It's also a benefit to the plants because the bees pollinate the plants when they collect nectar from the flowers.

Raw honey can contain pollen which may not be good for folks with pollen allergies but when honey is processed a team of researchers from Utah found that in the processing, nutrients were not removed from the honey but it actually increased the mineral content and the antioxidant qualities of the honey. 

Now honey can have a regional flavor and that flavor will depend on the flowers that have been used for the nectar collection. It never occurred to me however that honey is an animal product and is not considered vegan. 

I think I'm going to buy some different types of honey the next time I venture out to the local farmers market. I wonder which one will be my favorite kind? If you have a favorite, let me know and I'll try to find it also. 

Whats new at the Pike Place Market

Read about the expansion:























http://pikeup.org/

Urban Farms

My neighbor in Ballard has an urban farm. Goats, chickens and rabbits are her animals of choice. It's a meeting place for neighbors and the local kids (human children) have a good time stopping by, because the alley is open for them to wander in to see the creatures.  She says she is teaching her children the circle of life.

New Trend: Calming Drinks

Did you know there are companies putting fragrance and flavor in our food? Perfume, yes, but the food we eat, the beverages we drink, even pumped into rooms and...am I the only person who thinks this is super creepy?

Chemicals, not the real deal.

Here is a article about the latest trend in drinks, calming drinks...

Dandelion Greens Again

I see them and I want to take them out! Then I recall this great recipe from Mark Bittman I read a year or so ago, and want to keep them, harvest them (need only scissors), and eat great mashed potatoes, with dandelion greens. I add gluten free bread crumbs to mine....

Making Pickles

Secret family recipe (mom's) for dill pickles.

Here we are, stuffing the jars and getting a batch ready.

We make them once a year.

Several Hours later, 24 quarts of pickles. Yum.

Murketing

Rob Walker writes for the New York Times. He writes about marketing that works now. You can hear him interviewed here on a radio show...



Consumers. Identifying with ads, identifying with what we own, buy, desire...interesting thoughts.

dandelions

Now here is a yard full of weeds, or is it? I finally ate the great mashed potato recipe from Mark Bittman, which you can find here:

So this yard looks like a field of possibilities, although not harvested quickly enough. The green mashed potatoes were very tasty, and easy to make. All you need are potatoes, olive oil, and dandelion greens.

World Hunger

I drive past the Ballard food bank every day. I see the lines. What can be done? Here is a link to the world hunger education service. • Even in the United States, 46 percent of African-American children and 49 percent of Latino children are considered chronically hungry. Heifer International has asked bloggers to speak up about this today. Here is a link to that.

Great Meat

Hide your eyes, vegetarians and vegans...



This meat was so terrific, and delivered to the door. They also make gourmet meals, ready to cook.

Soup's On

Lect's Soup Stop in Georgetown has the best soup! Only $5.00 fabulous homemade soups made daily. Take out only, no space to eat, although I have been known to eat it in my car after buying it. Comes in an ecofriendly paper box, with a roll, a pat of butter, utensils, and salt and pepper.

Green and Local in Ballard

I stumbled into the foodie heaven of fast food today after dropping my car at Carter VW. I walked past the car dealer and toward my friend at the local acupuncture office. I saw an a-board on a corner mentioning green food...I thought what ? Grass fed beef burgers, local produce and "food with a conscience". I then found this place: GreenGo Food. I had the salmon sandwich. Coleslaw, homemade pickles...yum. Excellent food, and they say they'll come out and deliver if you call them on the phone, while you drive by in your car or on your bike.

They have a blog: http://www.greengofood.blogspot.com/