Rachael Ray is under fire for wearing a black-and-white checkered scarf, known in some regions as a keffiyeh and in other regions as a checkered scarf.

The Butter Bitch and I have been on hiatus for the past few months, due to our day jobs and ongoing projects. The Seattle Times’ Pacific Northwest Sunday Magazine devotes most of this week’s issue to an overview of Washington’s locavorean movement and the promotion of sustainability in the wine.
The Bounty Around Us looks at […]

A while ago, I mentioned Food and Wine’s feature on eating locally, and noted that I had sent a few recipes of my own for their consideration. I’ve not heard back from them, and with winter drawing to a close, I decided to share one or two that can be enjoyed through much of the […]

While Nosher of the North hunkers down under a blizzard that has been called brutal and pummeling, and while our California and Texas friends bask in warm weather, the Butter Bitch and I are waiting for spring.
The weather in Seattle has been bad this year, but far better than winters from our youths in the […]

Seattle is cold, clear, and dry today, the kind of weather that makes my thoughts turn to bicycling. Instead of venturing out, I cook a heavy brunch that will give me a lot of energy for a walk planned this evening, downhill to the post office and back.
We have a pack of four sweet […]

Cascadia Girl over at has a nice write-up of weekending in Methow Valley, including where to stay and what to do. Why the interest here? Methow is where the Butter Bitch and I source much of our beef, through a meat CSA, and lamb through direct purchase.  We knew that the Crown […]

Two weeks ago, during a rosemary-filled day of cooking, I picked and chopped more rosemary than was needed. The rosemary came from the smaller bush outside our back door.
I like fresh herbs over dried herbs, and I didn’t want to dry the already chopped leaves or throw them away. Fortunately, we have a small, airtight […]

Last week I asked readers how they eat locally in winter. A few MidWesterners responded, and I decided to call Mom of La Muncha, who lives in Northern New Mexico, to see what local options are like in in the high country. Also, check out our guest post from Montreal.
Meanwhile, here in Seattle […]

Over the past two Thanksgiving holidays, the Butter Bitch and I have found ourselves in the Oregon wine country, sampling a number of excellent wines and enjoying the scenery.
Our tour of wineries has exposed us to a number of top-flight wines and a few clunkers, reinforced our opinions of much-loved favorites, and occasionally surprised us.
Oregon’s […]

The fine folks at Fork & Bottle are hosting this months’ Wine Blogging Wednesday, in which people drink wine and blog about it. We can get behind that.
This month’s focus is on biodynamic wines. I’m still uncertain what to think about biodynamics, even after the Butter Bitch read and wrote about biodynamics. […]

One of our readers piped up - imagine! - and suggested that even more interesting tales of locavorean cooking would be found in places like Minnesota or New Hampshire.
At issue was my comment on Food and Wine’s article on eating like a locavore. I suggested that California is too easy, and that Washington and […]

Food and Wine Magazine has an article in the February 2007 issue about eating like a locavore, featuring several locavorean recipes. It’s great to see a mainstream food magazine like this one highlighting something like eating locally, which takes into account more than just how an ingredient tastes.
The article discusses varying degrees of locavoreanism, […]

The discovery that my grandparents raised beans as a cash crop gave me new interest in the “magical fruit,” and I was pleased to discover someone selling great white northern beans at our local farmers’ market. I bought a small amount - probably a cup in measurement - and that sat on our counter […]

I wish these were the amusing muppet offspring of Kermit and Miss Piggy, but instead these little porkers are the product of genetic manipulation.
Scientists in Taiwan and in the People’s Republic of China say that they have bred fluorescent green pigs, by injecting them with genetic material from jellyfish. Taiwan’s announcement came at the […]

The recent pig news has been grim, with more to follow. One humorist anticipates a new problem farmers will face from their GMO corn crops. One wonders if the left ears of Smithfield and Sysco are burning.