Food oddems: breast milk, meat hats, virgin sturgeons, matsutakes, canlis dessert glut; huckleberries, michael medved bombed, sarah palin 86

~~ The breast is best! Suffering from lactose tedia? we are... so here's a way to kick the dairy blahs, help the earth and protect the cows from the factory farmers who squeeze the very life out of them so cruelly. In another poignant, and efficacious attempt to win the hearts and minds of America, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) sent a letter to Ben & Jerry last month urging them to replace cow's milk in their ice cream with human breast milk. A spokeswoman said: "PETA's request comes in the wake of news reports that a Swiss restaurant owner will begin purchasing breast milk from nursing mothers and substituting breast milk for 75 percent of the cow's milk in the food he serves." PETA officials say a move to human breast milk would lessen the suffering of dairy cows and their babies on factory farms and benefit human health. B & J are expected to make the change-over in early 2010.

~~ BlatherMunch may be the kiss of death. A scant two weeks after we glowingly reviewed Villa Victoria, Naomi Smith posted this on her website: There is no graceful way to close the doors of the take-out that I conceived, created and nurtured. The cute little out-of-the-way Mexican Deli I opened a year ago was just that, cute and out-of-the-way. Whether it was arrogance, hubris, or no market research, the out-of-the-way part did not work... I plan to sell directly from my catering kitchen at 4116 Rainier Ave. S. where I will install the neon 'TAMALES' sign." Check her website for weekly specials:  Expect emails announcing what  will be featured that week -- bulk items: tamales, chilaquiles, guacamole, chiles rellenos, orange wedding cookies, coffee, etc. She's booking fall and winter caterings.

~~ BlatherMunch is meat fashion, and fashion meat. This from Hats of Meat

THE PORKPIE - Modeled after the classic porkpie hat, this sharp number is made of genuine Louisiana pork.

~~ we went to Canlis recently, (remember Canlis?) the lovely Seattle classic restaurant that hikes out from Aurora Avenue to hover over Lake Union. It's struggling into the 21st century in many ways, and that's how they and their clientele wants it. A squadron of waitstaff, brushing crumbs, grokking whims, picking noses, helping with salt and pepper decisions delivered a service level not often seen in these eat it & beat it days. The food is good enough, but there are plenty of other places with lower prix point that do better (and that's how they, and their clientele wants it). But for service and view and the presumption of presumptiousness, you can't equal it in this town. We were with food writer Lorna Yee (see right) who'd recently written a piece on desserts for the November edition of Seattle magazine and her old man, Henry Lo, who designs restaurants, and eats food. We ordered every dessert on the menu -- because Canlis has Neil Robertson, an up & coming pastry chef who's knocking them dead around town, (in fact... I had a stroke!). Neal went to Chicago's French Pastry School, and worked in the kitchens and pantries of Trio and Charlie Trotter's. The Lil Architect wrote down the desserts we ate while the paramedics got my heart re-booted. A wonderful marionberry cake with chevre ice cream and lemon verbena soup; a decadent warm chocolate cake with a chocolate ice cream lollipop; a concord grape sorbet served with a pine nut cake; a sundae served with fudge, caramel, and coconut sauce - the "banana" was a tuile filled with banana cream, a lemon creme brulée, and an indescribable and excellent fresh raspberry confection with stark white cream and a tuile.

~~ It's sturgeon season. Actually it's one of the many sturgeon seasons, but I always think of that fat, beefy fish this time of year because they were always brought in this time of year with the river run salmon. They're real, real big, they're real, real ugly, and are tightly regulated because they're endangered because those damn caviar pirates pull them out of the water with winches, slice open their bellies, scoop out the roe, and throw the meat back in the river. I marinate the steaks (I can't afford the filets) for an hour or two in olive oil; a teapoon of berebere, a tablespoon or so of World Spice Singapore Curry, salt, fresh garlic pressed, then flop them into a blazing cast iron pan and throw it in a 450°oven for 10 minutes for each inch of thickness. No more, no less.

~~ Schlammasseltov! Here's Michael Medved (KTTH m-f, 12-3p) the world's only vegan conservative talk host cavorting drunkenly on his recent 60th birthday with 0/8 Seafood Grill owner/radio Chef Dan Thiessen (KTTH Saturdays, 11a to noon).

~~ Besides sturgeon, and huckleberries, matsutake mushrooms are Fall. They seem to be about $25 a pound this year which isn't the worst price. Slice one thin, throw it in a very hot skillet at the same time with some olive oil, (hot wok, cold oil) salt and pepper. When the aroma dominates the airspace, throw in a handful of sliced grocery store mushrooms, cook until tender and finish with butter. The matsutakes will make all the cheap mushrooms taste like matsutakes, which is a good thing.

~~ The breast is best! Suffering from lactose tedia? we are... so here's a way to kick the dairy blahs, help the earth and protect the cows from the factory farmers who squeeze the very life out of them so cruelly. In another poignant, and efficacious attempt to win the hearts and minds of America, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) sent a letter to Ben & Jerry last month urging them to replace cow's milk in their ice cream with human breast milk. A spokeswoman said: "PETA's request comes in the wake of news reports that a Swiss restaurant owner will begin purchasing breast milk from nursing mothers and substituting breast milk for 75 percent of the cow's milk in the food he serves." PETA officials say a move to human breast milk would lessen the suffering of dairy cows and their babies on factory farms and benefit human health. B & J are expected to make the change-over in early 2010.

~~ BlatherMunch may be the kiss of death. A scant two weeks after we glowingly reviewed Villa Victoria, Naomi Smith posted this on her website: There is no graceful way to close the doors of the take-out that I conceived, created and nurtured. The cute little out-of-the-way Mexican Deli I opened a year ago was just that, cute and out-of-the-way. Whether it was arrogance, hubris, or no market research, the out-of-the-way part did not work... I plan to sell directly from my catering kitchen at 4116 Rainier Ave. S. where I will install the neon 'TAMALES' sign." Check her website for weekly specials:  Expect emails announcing what  will be featured that week -- bulk items: tamales, chilaquiles, guacamole, chiles rellenos, orange wedding cookies, coffee, etc. She's booking fall and winter caterings.

~~ BlatherMunch is meat fashion, and fashion meat. This from Hats of Meat

THE PORKPIE - Modeled after the classic porkpie hat, this sharp number is made of genuine Louisiana pork.

~~ we went to Canlis recently, (remember Canlis?) the lovely Seattle classic restaurant that hikes out from Aurora Avenue to hover over Lake Union. It's struggling into the 21st century in many ways, and that's how they and their clientele wants it. A squadron of waitstaff, brushing crumbs, grokking whims, picking noses, helping with salt and pepper decisions delivered a service level not often seen in these eat it & beat it days. The food is good enough, but there are plenty of other places with lower prix point that do better (and that's how they, and their clientele wants it). But for service and view and the presumption of presumptiousness, you can't equal it in this town. We were with food writer Lorna Yee (see right) who'd recently written a piece on desserts for the November edition of Seattle magazine and her old man, Henry Lo, who designs restaurants, and eats food. We ordered every dessert on the menu -- because Canlis has Neil Robertson, an up & coming pastry chef who's knocking them dead around town, (in fact... I had a stroke!). Neal went to Chicago's French Pastry School, and worked in the kitchens and pantries of Trio and Charlie Trotter's. The Lil Architect wrote down the desserts we ate while the paramedics got my heart re-booted. A wonderful marionberry cake with chevre ice cream and lemon verbena soup; a decadent warm chocolate cake with a chocolate ice cream lollipop; a concord grape sorbet served with a pine nut cake; a sundae served with fudge, caramel, and coconut sauce - the "banana" was a tuile filled with banana cream, a lemon creme brulée, and an indescribable and excellent fresh raspberry confection with stark white cream and a tuile.

~~ It's sturgeon season. Actually it's one of the many sturgeon seasons, but I always think of that fat, beefy fish this time of year because they were always brought in this time of year with the river run salmon. They're real, real big, they're real, real ugly, and are tightly regulated because they're endangered because those damn caviar pirates pull them out of the water with winches, slice open their bellies, scoop out the roe, and throw the meat back in the river. I marinate the steaks (I can't afford the filets) for an hour or two in olive oil; a teapoon of berebere, a tablespoon or so of World Spice Singapore Curry, salt, fresh garlic pressed, then flop them into a blazing cast iron pan and throw it in a 450°oven for 10 minutes for each inch of thickness. No more, no less.

~~ Schlammasseltov! Here's Michael Medved (KTTH m-f, 12-3p) the world's only vegan conservative talk host cavorting drunkenly on his recent 60th birthday with 0/8 Seafood Grill owner/radio Chef Dan Thiessen (KTTH Saturdays, 11a to noon).

~~ Besides sturgeon, and huckleberries, matsutake mushrooms are Fall. They seem to be about $25 a pound this year which isn't the worst price. Slice one thin, throw it in a very hot skillet at the same time with some olive oil, (hot wok, cold oil) salt and pepper. When the aroma dominates the airspace, throw in a handful of sliced grocery store mushrooms, cook until tender and finish with butter. The matsutakes will make all the cheap mushrooms taste like matsutakes, which is a good thing.