Being that I needed to justify the buying of Walker’s BOB Jogger 5 months ago I spent much of the spring, the cooler parts of summer and now the chilly September days out walking with him, or as I prefer to call it ‘stroller walking’. It is one of our semi-daily routines and keeps my legs in hiking shape – especially considering pushing it isn’t light. Fully loaded I push 50 to 60 lbs around. A good all body workout!

But one thing I have been focused on late is having the ability to shed the use of our truck in the cooler months (call me a wuss but I don’t like anything above 70°). I wanted to be able to run errands, or well…walk the errands. What I found in spring when Walker was tiny was that our town blows. It blows to be a pedestrian. It is designed for vehicles. So pedestrian un-friendly that half the town is out of reach unless one wants to walk on the side of 3 major roads. No sidewalks. So much for finding out that our housing community we live in is on the ‘wrong side’ of town. Well…actually over half of the town’s houses have no clear way to get where they want or need to go. The town only incorporated in 1997, yet in the past 10 years has grown by 63%. We are what once was a backwoods bump in the 2 lane highway to Rainier, a place Seattle folks came to in summer for its affordable deep lakes. I love where I live but when I think about I hate it at the same time. We cannot walk safely to the post office or the library or to any of the public schools.

I think what has gotten me the most over the past 5 months is the blocks against people walking (or biking) safely. While we have an incredible rail to trail that runs through town, connecting the two shopping areas and of which connect to another rail to trail that will take you to many other rail to trails…well to get on that trail you must live near it. By GPS we live 1 3/4 miles and must cross one of the major roads without a cross walk. Hmmmm. Ain’t so easy.

But armed with observant eyes, a GPS and Google Maps, Walker and I are often plotting new adventures. Mission accomplished this morning when I found a route to the local Safeway and Starbucks that only had one semi-scary crossing each way and was on 25 mph roads (though as I have always noticed on these walks how many cars plow through residential streets doing 40 or more….). We had lights to cross the major highway (5 lanes) and a baby in a stroller usually means you don’t get flipped off and or yelled at when you are in the crosswalk. Usually that is. It never ceases to amaze me how some people have such a bloated freaking view of their self importance. Gasp, how dare I walk across a public street in a marked path? (Insert rolling of eyes) My favorite is when they honk, flip you off and scream at you all at the same time, bonus points for them doing this while on the phone.

But while our walk went well overall what I noticed was the lack of caring, no deep planning. Sidewalks to nowhere, that end with no slope. Sidewalks with slopes that would knock a wheelchair to its side. Homeowners who cannot be bothered to come out and trim their trees (hey, how about cutting the trees up to say 5’5″, OK?). The city allowing blackberry vines and shrubs to grown over the sidewalks. Just a general ‘we-don’t-care’ feeling. But I think what bugs me most is this:

To do a 1 1/2 mile walk to the grocery store to be safe I must walk over 2 1/2 miles each way. Over a mile extra simply for safety. The Long Way indeed. But what choice is there? The main highway has no shoulder, no bike lane and no sidewalks for most of the way.

So we take the lesser traveled route and hey, maybe that mile + each way isn’t a bad thing afterall. It is quiet as I walk through suburbia in the morning. I look down into the retention ponds full of run-off and I saw ducks and geese. The neighbor cats peek out and the curious ones follow us. Off the main road the air is clear, it is quiet. Retired people out working say hello. We pass a tiny pocket park the city built, Walker will love that when he is older. It has a tiny picnic table even. We cross the rail to trail and take it into town.

Maybe someday my town will take it seriously and change it. And build the missing areas. Currently the city puts in sidewalks to nowhere whenever the two highways are rebuilt and new housing developments are required to build them. At the same time I dream of how great it must to be live in a town built on the safety and health of its residents. Ah well.

Walk your town!

~Sarah

Each week, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here’s what they’ve got cooking this week:

• A taste of the tropics in your kitchen — palm trees, not included.
• Take a culinary cruise through Maui.
• Is duck fetus egg an edible treat?
• Wind down tomato season with this tart.
• Crashing waves pair well with coastal comestibles like grilled sardines.
• While working on that tan, match these LA chefs with their restaurants.

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The whisky world has been chattering like mad about designer and researcher James Gilpin’s student project – showcased at London’s Royal College of Art’s Show 2010, Design Interactions — which turns the sugar-rich urine of diabetics into a high-end single malt whisky.

The inspiration for Gilpin Family Whisky came from his own life as a type 1 diabetic. His type 2 diabetic grandmother was his first candidate. His project states, “Old people’s urine becomes an exportable whisky of high economic value.” Large amounts of sugar are excreted on a daily basis by type 2 diabetic patients, especially among older people, and Gilpin thinks we should consider using that sugar creatively.

Continue reading Wee Whisky

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As a bartender, I respect folks who are responsible enough to not imbibe alcohol when he or she is the designated driver. I respect folks even more who have conquered alcoholism but still want to share an evening out with friends that may be drinking. Which is why every respectable gathering should have non-alcoholic beverage options.

In order to be called “non alcoholic” under federal laws, a beverage can contain up to half a percent of alcohol by volume. Non-alcoholic beer probably tops out as the favorite non-drinkers drink. During Prohibition, these “cereal beverages” became commonly known as “near beers,” it’s how many local and regional breweries stayed in business.

Miller beer added Sharp’s to its portfolio around 1989. Anheuser-Busch introduced O’Doul’s in 1990. The success of O’Doul’s led them to release an amber style in 1997. Soon everyone seemed to have a non-alcoholic beer in their portfolio.

Now not only can you buy a cheaper beer like Old Milwaukee in a non-alcoholic version, but you can also find many more expensive brands to choose from. Guinness has a premium alcohol-free lager called Kaliber on the market that goes for about $7 a six pack. German beer brewers offer several decent brands (you may see “alkoholfrei” on German labels) — some of the most popular are St. Pauli Girl, Beck’s, and Clausthaler, and also fall in the $7 to $8 per six pack range. Schneider Weisse and Erdinger are both more expensive German wheat beer brands that now offer non-alcohol versions; they can be difficult to find in the U.S., but are definitely worth the effort.

The two big players in the U.S. non-alcoholic wine market are California wineries J. Lohr with Ariel and Sutter Home with Fre $6 to $8 a bottle. You’ll find Chardonnay, white Zinfandel, Merlot, and even sparkling variations under both Ariel and Fre labels.

The Liquid Muse and author Natalie Bovis paired up with Fre at the New Orleans’ event Tales of the Cocktail to offer this refreshing non-alcoholic punch that serves 10-12 people.

Self-Imposed Prohibition Punch
1/4 cup demerara (raw) sugar
1 1/2 cups green tea
2 cups Fre Alcohol-Removed Chardonnay
1/2 cup peach juice
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Freshly grated nutmeg
Sliced lemons (for garnish)

Pour the sugar into a large heat proof pitcher; slowly add the hot green tea. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Set aside and let cool. Meanwhile, pour the Fre Chardonnay, peach juice and lemon juice into a punchbowl. Add the sweetened tea mixture. Stir. Add a grating of nutmeg over the surface of the punch. Serve over ice-filled punch cups or wine glasses. Garnish with a slice of lemon on the rim of the glass or surface of the drink.

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Mario Batali has been busy lately.

In recent weeks he opened his Italian food emporium Eataly in Manhattan and launched the inaugural issue of his new promotional magazine Viaggio. He’s also working on a new online cookbook project, The Celebrity Pasta Lovers Cookbook, created with actress Julianne Moore and sponsored by Barilla pasta (through it’s Share the Table project, featuring pasta recipes from film and television stars like Jimmy Fallon and Meryl Streep).

So we felt very lucky (and knew we had to talk fast) when Batali took the time to sit down with Slashfood in New York City to chat about pasta, pizza and all things Italian.

Continue reading Mario Batali Talks About All Things Italian

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Vermonters are rightly proud of their signature export: rich, sweet, sticky, 100% maple syrup. Imitators have never quite been able to replicate it. But one purveyor of imitation syrup has a new product on the shelves that’s creating an extra-sticky situation in the Green Mountains. (Full disclosure: I’m a Vermonter born and raised. That’s right, this is personal.)

Called Log Cabin All Natural Syrup, the new product is indeed a kind of syrup, and it may technically be “all natural” — there are no artificial ingredients or preservatives in the stuff. It’s also in a new container — one that just so happens to look exactly like the jugs Vermont farmers have used for decades. But that’s where the resemblance ends.

Continue reading Vermont vs New Log Cabin “Syrup”

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Back in July, we reported on supermarkets using solar panels, something Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market was early to adopt; now they’ve got yet another cool tool up their green sleeves: CO2 refrigeration. We know, CO2 hardly screams “good for the ozone,” but the technology actually earned the chain a GreenChill certification from The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Here’s why: Compared to standard refrigeration units, the system is estimated to drastically reduce the store’s carbon footprint. That’s because standard units are made with a potent greenhouse gas, hydrofluorocarbons (HCFC) — 1,400 times more damaging to the environment that naturally occurring CO2. The EPA says that most refrigeration units in the U.S. use HCFCs in “direct expansion systems,” which are typically “charged with 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of refrigerant and can leak in excess of 20 percent each year.”

Continue reading Green Refrigeration for Supermarkets

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You’ve seen the “dirty dozen” list for produce — fruits and vegetables that are laden with pesticides, making it worth the cost of buying organic. But did you know there’s also a dirty dozen list for fish? Food & Water Watch — a non-profit group that works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainably produced — publishes an annual “do not eat” list.

Why is it noteworthy? As Barry Estabrook, writer at The Atlantic, explains in a recent article, “Seafood guides tend to focus either on species that should be avoided for reasons related to environmental health (overfishing) or species that should be avoided for reasons related to human health (their flesh is contaminated with chemicals). Food and Water Watch publishes a useful guide that takes both concerns into account.”

The below fish fail at least two of their criteria for safe and sustainable seafood. The five criteria are: contaminants; status of the stock; catch method or farming method; economic/social/cultural significance (a community predominantly fishes for this species and depends on it); and key species (it’s a primary food source for other wildlife or does it create critical habitat for other wildlife).

o. Imported catfish
o. Caviar from wild-caught sturgeon
o. Atlantic cod
o. American eel
o. Atlantic flounder, sole, and halibut
o. Imported king crab
o. Imported shrimp
o. Farmed salmon
o. Chilean seabass
o. Shark
o. Atlantic bluefin tuna

The good news? Food & Water Watch offers a downloadable wallet-size guide to “smart” seafood, and also has resources on the site to help you find sustainable alternatives based on your fish tastes (mild, thick and flavorful, etc.).

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• The specialty at Koreatown’s newest soondae restaurants? Soondae, of course. (That would be blood sausage.)
• A paradise bar is what you might want for your last dessert. (Hence the name?)
• The wine of the week is “lively and fresh and absolutely lovely at this moment.” Go for it.
• At Xino, you’ll want the salt-and-pepper prawns — and an outdoor table.

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Hot dog fans, take this out to the ball game. Next time you’re about to slather pickle relish on a perfectly grilled burger or frank, switch it up and top it with this relish of corn, onions, and roasted jalapeños and sweet peppers. It’s a fairly simple canning project, as you can simply make the relish and pop it in the refrigerator for up to three months. And when you make a pot of chowder this fall, a dose of this stuff will give it some heft.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool for a shot of having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

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