Ballard Farmers Market

The Ballard Farmers Market is my new fave Sunday destination. Not too big, but plenty of goodies to taste and purchase.

There was an artisanal pasta maker there who fashioned gnocchi and handmade ravioli that were just gorgeous. I had some last night - Nettle Ricotta Ravioli. Each one was about the size of your average Post-It, and the pasta itself was lovely - durham wheat, nice texture (not overly chewy), and delicious. The filling was fairly light on the ricotta (which I admit I love, and will happily eat by the spoonful if given the chance), and stuffed with nettles and herbs. They had a nice spinach-y, minty flavor, and good ratio of filling to pasta. Overall, very tasty, and a perfect early-spring treat. I'll definitely try his other varieties in coming weeks.

To market, to market...

Proof I live here now! Yours truly, standing next to Rachel, the famous pig at the Pike Place Market. (Please note the Taste Cafe & Marketplace t-shirt. I am nothing if not loyal.)

Fried Chicken!!!

Typically, I mock the Cult of Oprah. However, Ms Winfrey is a big gal from the south, so while I don't care what she thinks about home decor or new novels about women's struggles, I do care what she thinks about food.

And Ezell's fried chicken is her favorite. She apparently has it Fed-Exed to her homes on a semi-regular basis.

I had a 2 piece dark (I always get dark meat - much yummier and juicier than white), with mashed potatoes and gravy and cole slaw. The chicken was nothing short of perfect - crispy-shattery exterior, totally moist meat. Just awesome. The potatoes were not great; gummy and lumpen, with too much mediocre gravy. The slaw was inoffensive. But oh, the chicken!

If I had Oprah money, I'd have it shipped to myself too. You go, girl.

Horsing Around

Please note: The following post is graphic and not intended for the easily offended. If you are easily offended, a Republican, or from South Dakota, read no further. Oh, and go to hell.

Toad, you may ask, why did you move back to Seattle?

Was it culinary school? The weather? The food?
Nope.


It was the fact that the top story in Washington last year was about a man who had been consensually buggered to death by a horse.

On March 1st, lawmakers passed (with a vote of 98 - 0) Senate Bill 6417, making sex with an animal, alive or dead, a class C felony.

How great is it that they needed to include the clause "alive or dead" ?!? You know, just so the necrophiliacs in the bestiality world are held to the same legal standard. If you scroll down to page 12 of the bill (link provided above), you'll see they apply the same exacting standards to the definition of human/animal sexual contact.

Insert your own My Friend Flicka joke here.

Sunny in Seattle

Believe it or not, Saturday was a beautiful day.

First, I went to the Japanese Garden at the Washington Park Arboretum. It is called Shoseiari - The Arbor of the Murmuring Pines. Just amazing. The pond is filled with huge koi, and there are lots of very chubby ducks wandering and swimming about. Unfortunately, the Sakura (cherry trees) were not yet in bloom - very strange, as virtually every other cherry tree in the greater Seattle area is already in full blossom. Go figure.




Next, I went to Volunteer Park and visited the conservatory. It was packed with people, but even in the cramped space it was impossible not to be awestruck by the plants. Especially the orchids - like creatures from another planet.

The Roadtrip Scorecard

• Largest number of “adult emporiums” in one state: 5 (Iowa wins with 4 Lion’s Dens and 1 Romantix)
• Most times I heard the Led Zeppelin classic Whole Lotta Love in one day: 4
• Number of Pro-fur billboards on I90: 3 (all in S Dakota)
• Total ounces of bad gas station coffee consumed: 96
• Number of mental breakdowns that dissolved into hysterical, uncontrolled laughter: 1 (in Montana)

The 5 Stages of South Dakota

The Kübler-Ross model describes, in five stages, the process by which people deal with grief and tragedy.

I humbly submit the Vargo model of the 5 stages of driving through South Dakota:

1. Denial – “There is no possible way I can still be in South Dakota.”

2. Anger – “If I ever go on a killing spree, it's gonna be in fucking South Dakota.”

3. Bargaining – “I vow to make straight A's, volunteer my time to needy children, and donate a kidney if I can just get the hell out of South Dakota.”

4. Depression – “I swear I’m going to kill myself in South Dakota.”

5. Acceptance – Now entering Wyoming

Lulu the Wonder Car

I love my car!

Lulu, my beloved VW Beetle, carried me safely 2500 miles from Indianapolis to Seattle.

The only hitch I encountered was due to pilot error: a speeding ticket near Spokane, WA. (83 mph in a 70mph zone = $122). Damn those helicopters!