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.
A bit of the sumac spilled in the stroller on our way home landing in the holes of bambino’s crocs. He developed a terribly itchy rash on his foot, a low grade fever, had trouble breathing, and a bloody nose. Do you think we should have taken him to the doctor? Ach we decided just to put him down for a nap from which he woke up not too long after he went down. We mixed some Tom’s whitening toothpaste with some ultrapasturized Organic Safeway Milk and rubbed it all over the rash (which by that time had spread up his legs). A miracle happened! Is that how miracle whip was named? His fever went down, the rash disappeared, his breathing returned to normal, and his nose stopped bleeding. What is that sumac stuff? Is there an over the counter antidote? I can’t wait to try it in a salad.
Hmm, that is interesting because I just rubbed some sumac under my armpits and now a rabid dog is chasing me!
QUICK find yourself some ultrapasturized organic milk and Tom’s tooth whitening toothpaste. Mix it up in a cuisinart. Remove and add to blender. Whip for 3 minutes or until frothy. Put mixture in freezer safe glass container. Freeze concoction for 10 hours. Bring it to room temp for 30 minutes. Add a dash of aleppo pepper. Sprinkle with peyote. Microwave on defrost for 3 seconds. Find green spatula (preferably chef’n brand) and spread slowly (to ensure full penetration under armpit skin). Invite dog to lick. Within 5 minutes dog will be cured of rabies.