...about a whole lotta stuff. Some highlights; followed by, as always, things that warm the cockles of my heart.

WHAT BUGS ME

All the cars in enviro-conscious Seattle toodling around with deteriorating exhaust systems. Don't own a car if you can't replace a corroded muffler or exhaust pipe. You're a no-class act, playing all over town. The city ordinance is weak: the enforceable muffler noise limit is an excruciatingly lax 95 db.

As long as we're on the subject of municipal ordinances, good citizenship and respect for your fellow man, in Seattle: dog owners, obey the law! No off-leash dogs allowed in parks, unless where noted; and no dogs on playgrounds, period. Interesting that they have the sign, with the ordinance number, at some playgrounds (i.e. Alki School's), but not many others. How about one at each playground, Seattle Parks and Rec. Dept.?

And no dogs on beaches, OK, people? That's a city law that's broken daily, many warning signs notwithstanding - because enforcement is absolutely nil. I understand that there are more pressing police priorities. So, City Council and Mayor: how about empowering trained, uniformed volunteer canine enforcement officers - with portable police radios - to issue official citations for dogs illegally on city beaches and at playgrounds, and for unleashed dogs in leash-only city parks? The dogs and their owners are usually easily enough identified by the dog's licensing tags. Owners could appeal fines at the neighborhood city service centers where administrative judges already handle traffic fine appeals. It's counter-productive to have laws that aren't EVER enforced. Breeds disrespect for government. As if we needed any more of that.

On the upside: Big props to the dog owner who today parked their very mellow canine at one of those semi-circular concrete hubs adjoining the steps down to Alki Beach. And kisses to the sweet pooch.

But boos and hisses for the guy with the John Lennon granny glasses and long, pointy goatee, who freqents my neighborhood coffee shop, and sits right outside the front door in one of the chairs provided, smoking a big, fat 'ol cigar. Your fumes are not only a gauntlet my children and I must pass on the way in; but they fill the main room every time someone opens the door. Cigarettes right outside the front door MIGHT be tolerable, but cigars, definitely not. Take a brisk walk along the shoreline when you must indulge, stogie-man. Or do it in the privacy of your own home. And store managers, get a clue! It's such a BIG help that the city bans cigars in pollng places, which are open once or twice a year, at most, but not right outside coffee shops.

Seattle Lib Losers still sporting Kerry-Edwards bumper stickers. Uh, it's over. And you lost. And so sorry, but your "Don't Blame Me, I Voted for The Democrats," shtick seems pretty damned bereft. Got any new ideas? Or any new bumper stickers? (That last query is because, sadly, for y'all, they're usually the same thing).

City businesses with the word "urban " in their name. D'oh: you're IN the city, homes, so you're already frickin' "urban." Capiche? I mean, really - "Urban Nails" (a nail salon), or "Urban Wares," a.k.a. "plus-sizes for women?"

IMHO, WTF? This is "urban?" As opposed to........what? "Rural Nails" and "Suburban Nails"? Or "Rural Plus-Sizes" and "Suburban Plus-Sizes"?

Feh. Highly Judgemental Conclusion, Bound To Damage Somebody's Self-Esteem: use of the word "urban" in a city-based business is actually damningly.......provincial.

TO BE SAVORED, OR APPRECIATED

The Heifer Project. My idea of a great, humanitarian non-profit. God (yeah, um, G-O-D) Bless 'Em. And their extremely generous donors; and all those whom they help.

Great neighborhood specialty shops, such as Seattle Fish Company, 4435 California Ave. SW, in West Seattle. This retail emporium opened about a year ago, at the far north end of the "West Seattle Junction," the main neighborhood business district for this city quadrant that's home to about 90,000 folk, including some of Seattle's saner denizens, frankly.

We're sorta grounded here, at least compared to the fruit-bat habitats elsewhere in Seattle. Maybe that's partly because West Seattle is a place with a small-town feel, and it's separated from the rest of the city by a waterway and bridge. Anyhew, in West Seattle, you bump into friends, neighbors and acquaintances all the time. It's a place where it usually turns out that that little girl at the next table in the bakery, who's looking at your little girl and whispering to her mom, goes to the same school as your kid, and so you meet some more nice folks. That happened just yesterday, again.

But what we'd been missing in West Seattle is stuff like a specialty butcher shop; and a great fish & seafood store. Now at least we've got the latter.

Great help, plus crab, shrimp, mussels, clams, oysters, squid, salmon, halibut, corvina (a sweet, snapper-like fish) and much, much more. West Seattle: keep supporting these guys!

Blueberries. Their health benefits are quite substantial, as you'll see in this Seattle Times guest op-ed (yes, an op-ed about blueberries, and rightly so). Blueberry season comes in summer, but in the meantime, try Trader Joe's dried blueberries, outstanding on cereal, and especially in pancakes.

Ice caves and huckleberries. The latter are a Great Northwest treat. Late August, early September, high elevations. These smallish, wild blueberries are sorta tart, a bit sweet, and just....really, really special. I've picked 'em on hiking trails around Mount Rainier (southeast of Seattle), and on the way to Mount Forgotten Meadows....(pic here) northeast of Seattle, off Mountain Loop Highway.

And....if you're vacationing along the Columbia River Gorge in August or early September, there's a great produce store just a bit west of the town of White Salmon, Washington, and just a minute's drive north of the Gorge; which sells quart bags of fresh-picked huckleberries from Washington state's majestic, and little-known Mount Adams (12K-plus feet high, BTW). Ain't real cheap, but ooh-eee, they're good! Especially on ice cream, or in Brown Cow vanilla or maple yogurt.

Ronzoni Oven Ready Lasagna pasta sheets. No boil; you just lay it in with all the other ingredients, and it turns out perfect. No reason to ever do it the old-fangled way ever again. Pre-grated cheese is also a big help; I really like the Sargento Italian blend. You still want to make your own Bolgonese Sauce, maybe substituting ground veal for beef if you're not a PETA member, and using some canned San Marzano tomatoes. You'll also want to mix some store-bought artichoke-lemon pesto, or chopped chives, or fresh thyme, or finely-grated lemon rind into your Ricotta (maybe a combination of two of those things). The basic recipe (including layering instructions), and the essential, time-saving no-boil Lasagna sheets, is here.

My approach to cooking various cuisines has always been: Learn the blues scales, THEN you can play jazz. IOW, a recipe is a good guide, but once you've mastered the basics, improvise - as the spirit moves you.

Blog likewise. Some previous "What Bugs Me"/"What I Like" Rosenblog posts, here, and here. Tay stuned.

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at April 28, 2005 06:28 AM

---

---

---

---

---

---

---