Simple Meatless Supper: Local and Fresh

"A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins." - Laurie Colwin

My simple supper monday- a tomato with Muenster. This is how I choose to use my first tomato of the year- Vine ripened and fresh. This is a take of on the Tomato W/ Provolone recipe I posted here. I didn't have any provolone, but had some muenster. A little bit of Rosemary and some pepper and a dab of olive oil, 5 minute under the broiler and I had supper! Top that off with a slice of homemade bread and I was in bidness!

Agave Chocolate!!!

I have found it. And it is Good. My Eat Local store now stocks Woodring Agave Chocolate sauce. Chocolate a diabetic can use!!! Better than bitter sugar free Hershey's syrup, I made some fake crepes and used it in place of Nutella. Sniff, at last. You need to warm it first for ice cream, but it is so good. Rich and Fudge-like, great stuff. The gal at Eat Local told me they use it as chocolate syrup for espresso at their Queen Anne store! The Nelson family has been making great preserves, marmalades, chutneys and pickles for 40 years and just recently added their Agave sweet line of Chocolate Sauce , Apple Butter , Marionberry Fruit Spread , Pumpkin Butter And Red Raspberry Fruit Spread All sweetened with agave nectar! They also sell regular sweetened products as well. Read more about Agave Nectar here.

Endorsement Disclaimer- Woodring Northwest did not pay me for this endorsement, and while I would welcome samples I bought my own. I use this product and believe in it.

If it is good enough for Mr. President....

Remember President Obama was visiting Seattle last Thursday? He ate a The Grand Central Bakery in Pioneer Square and later he was talking about small business driving the new economy... and that Grand Central would be opening a new store on Friday. Well Here it is!
The Grand Central Bakery In Burien! I went in and ordered the same thing as Mr. President- a turkey sandwich which was tasty- I was impressed with the fact that they didn't seem to feel the need to package it in a big old clamshell- simply wrapped in paper.

Compostable paper. Here is to a long and prosperous tenure for the Grand Central in Burien... My fair city.

No 'poo before No 'poo Was Cool!

Going bald at a young age gave me some advantages- 1- I can and do cut my own hair which simply involves a hair clipper and extremely short cut and saves me at least $10 a pop per haircut(the going rate last time I visited a barber- You get no discounts for having less hair!) . And you know, I have been all about "No Poo" since my hair fell out. Never made sense to spend alot of money on shampoo, conditioner since I didn't have hair- so I started using the same soap I would shower with. Recently it dawned on me... "I was no poo before no poo was cool!" Never thought going bald would give me an eco-advantage! But I listen to everyone talk about the shampoo issue... "Have you tried baking soda for shampoo?... What about my hair... Does Vinegar as a rinse make you smell like a salad bar... What's in my shampoo???...WHat the hell are Parabins??? AAAGH"... Blah Blah Blah.

Well anyone who reads this blog should know I am a believer in Dr. Bronner's Magic Pure Castile Classic Soaps. You can use this stuff for everything. I use it to wash my body, my hair, my dishes, my dog. Recently I made the transition from the liquid soap to the Bar version. It doesn't last as long but I didn't have to worry about that pesky plastic bottle either. Recently I have discovered locally made bar soaps that are hand made and good for the skin. The skin, you know, is the largest sex organ on your body. You should treat it nice! Anyway I digress! The two products are Ballard Organics, made in the Ballard area of Seattle, and Lilie De Vallee, made in Samamish, Wa. I get the Ballard Organics at the Eat Local store here in Burien, and found Lilie De Valle at the Burien Farmers' Market. The list of ingredients in Lilie De Vallee are simple: Oils of olive, Coconut, Vegetable Palm and Castor, Grapefruit Seed, Extract, Jojoba, Shea Butter, Herbal Ingredients, Distilled Water. And the ingredients in Ballard Organics is similar: Saponified Organic Palm, Coconut, Olive and Castor Oils, Organic Cocoa Butter, Essential Oils, non-GMO Tocopherol (Vitamin -E). I have not tried any as shaving soap yet, but those ingredients sound better than the Colonel Conk's shaving soap I use now for shaving, and at least they are wrapped in paper.

Don't read me wrong- I am not giving up on Dr. Bronner. I am just giving Ballard and Samamish a shot.