Cafe Cesura

Tried Cesura in Bellevue again since we have been having such bad luck with coffee lately. Either the coffee is too lightly or darkly roasted, or the coffee is made so poorly that it tastes bitter or burnt.
Today when we went in my husband bought his uncustomary latte to go since we don't like our coffee in a tumbler and it was a good cup of coffee. However, my hazelnut cappuccino was not so great. The coffee had started out well enough;  the milk was nice and frothy, the shots had been pulled in good time and the latte art was pretty good. Normally, one would be able to say that it was bitter or the milk was scalded and tasted sour but not this time.
This time the only thing that I can say is that the taste just wasn't there. I mean the hazelnut was over done and the coffee was bitter, tepid and had a lack luster quality that leaves you only being able to state that it just fell flat.
Guess I am going to need a good recommendation for a local independent coffee shop. Anybody have any suggestions for me?

What About The Farmers Who Can't Afford The Organic Label?

Organic vs. Natural. I was on the Environmental Working Group (EWG) website as I'm a huge supporter of our farmers and ranchers and I realized that I see only support for the organic farmers. But what about those farmers and ranchers that can't afford to have the USDA stamp even though they are exactly the same? Don't they deserve our support and assistance in keeping our food sources going and nontoxic to our kids?

As a previous working Buckaroo (Yes, that is what it is called when you work as a ranch hand in the style of the old Vaqueros of Spain.), I have worked on some of the largest and all natural beef ranches on in the continental US and while they might have the capital to ensure that their beef has he USDA stamp of organic approval their neighbors, the mom and pop farmers, don't. 

Back in the '70s there was a kind of experiment that the farmers and ranchers were trying out. Hormones to promote calf growth after conception was a brief and was soon nixed by the majority of the ranchers due to the mother cows' over stress during calving. It wasn't long after that agriculture went into a recession so traumatic that when the global recession hit they didn't even feel it. With this being the case, coming up with the capital to have hay, fields, equipment and butchers inspected by the USDA inspectors and put into use is severely costly for this vastly shrinking population. 

The question now is, even with the overall agreement to ban the hormones and the antibiotics, aside from penicillin, within the beef ranching community wouldn't you still buy your meat from these farms? Wouldn't you want to not only support your local rancher but also gain all of the nutritional benefit of a USDA certified organic product without the higher cost? Just in beef alone buying meat from a small naturally produced beef ranch would be considerably less costly since it is the rancher that absorbs the USDA seal of approval until it reaches us the consumer.

Now I'm sure that there are several other types of farming where this same situation would apply but as my background is only in beef ranching I can only speak from my point of view. But even if there are other types of farms like these ranches, wouldn't you still or even prefer to buy from someone from a small American ranch the same exact product only it was cheaper because it didn't have a seal? Wouldn't that just make more sense?

Antibiotics On The Farm

To treat or not to treat? I just read the blog from NPRFood, Are Antibiotics On The Farm Risky Business? and I know I'm controversial on the subject. (On a side note: my husband and I don't argue politics, we argue food topics, such as this.) 

Like the majority of the population, I'm sure, I don't want to see any living thing suffer from any sort of an illness, however, I also don't want to have the side effects of the animal antibiotics. As someone who has worked on cattle ranches for several years, I'm familiar with quite a few ranches on the west coast. I'm not saying all, but at least the ones I've been to or have worked on do not use hormones or antibiotics outside of penicillin.

For the USDA to consider a beef organic there has to be certified fields, hay, and no hormones or antibiotics, among other things. Now, there isn't a whole lot of difference between one field and another, grass is grass, especially if people leave it alone, but do you think penicillin should be on that antibiotic list? You can find penicillin on your bread if it's a week or so old. Plus, on the ranches I'm familiar with a low dose of penicillin treats debilitating illnesses like pink eye, which if left untreated will cause cataracts and eventually blindness. So the question still remains...to treat or not to treat? 

If treated, penicillin will run through a bovine in the matter of a couple of weeks and it takes longer than that for that specific animal to be transported to the butcher for slaughter, typically. Once that bovine has been treated though it can no longer be classified as organic, ever. It can still be termed natural but because the animal needed this "antibiotic" it is now a lower in price food source due to a consumer deterrent.

All of the farmers and ranchers that I have spoken to in recent years don't want to use anything that would increase growth either as then it would put the mama cow in jeopardy during her birthing and she is worth a lot more than a few more bucks at the time of slaughter.

So now that I have rambled on with all of this information, what do you think? Would you still eat a steak if the animal had been treated with penicillin at some point in its life? Or would you pay more for the USDA certified organic even though both animals had the same quality of feed, the same living conditions in the same area, but one was just treated so it would no longer be in pain? Could I go so far to even ask, after knowing all of this, is organic beef still even worth it?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/07/11/200870193/are-antibiotics-on-the-farm-risky-business?ft=1&f=1053&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

A Dollar Value Meal

Fast food. There really is no such thing when you find out what they put in your so called meal deal. I just watched a segment on the news about how there are several fast food chains that are now competing with each other for the around a Dollar Value Meals. What a joke. Time Magazine even stated that cooking at home is cheaper and faster than buying fast food at places like McDonald's. Most people didn't even know that McDonald's put a pink slim in their meat to preserve it.

In Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore Dilemma, he states that there are 38 ingredients in the Chicken McNugget! Now I don't know about you, but there weren't 38 ingredients in the fresh, seasonal and organic meal my husband/chef just made me and our toddler for dinner. Knowing this, ask yourself: Would you want your child eating a Chicken McNugget or something that comes from a similar establishment? We won't even touch on the cleanliness of the kitchens these chemically altered so called meals were derived from. (That's for another day.) But knowing these things are enough to make a person, a parent, never want to eat out again.

And don't get me wrong. I completely understand the argument of convenience. However, did you know that you could make something else like a fruit/yogurt smoothie to take with you for your kids so not only are they actually eating something healthy but easy, convenient and less expensive? It's so much easier to buy a travel cup of their choice and put in it for the road something like mango, peaches, pears, strawberries, raspberries, kiwi, banana and yogurt blended together. As we come into summer the options for fruit and vegetables are so much more variable that the choice between a McNugget and a fruit/yogurt smoothie seems obvious to me. Does it to you?

Newspaper Food Section

I was just searching the web for any thing on food that I could find and came across several city newspapers in various states. They all have a food, wine or dining section especially if they are considered a food town, like Portland, Oregon or  San Francisco,  California. Now why is it the Seattle Times doesn't have this section if we are such a big foodie town? Are we really or do we just think we are but don't realize the key ingredients that are missing from our social scenes to make Seattlites true foodies? If the latter is the case, what can we do to get Seattle there?

Public Houses

Mommy and me. Do you (Moms) ever go out with your kids to get a pint of Guinness or a glass of wine because if you didn't then you never would go out? That's where I'm at in our daily routine. My daughter gets tired of being in the house and, rain or shine, she still has to get out to a different location of almost any kind. And that's what public houses are for; or pubs if you like.

My husband is always joking that one of the very first places our daughter was taken out to was a pub. It's the only place that will serve me, back then a new mom, a pint of Guinness, let anyone I'm with have a drink and something to eat and not bat an eye about my baby being there with me. It's great! I can meet other moms and tots there, just have a family outing or, when circumstances allow, I can even go there for a bit of alone time.

American bars and taverns don't let you do this. To be in their establishment you have to be 21 or older and without your kids. A place like Kells on Post Alley or Wilde Rover's in Kirkland are great places to go when Mommy needs a drink but has the kid with her too. The Guinness will be served too cold but the two places I mentioned before do know how to pour and that's very important too.

It's a shame there aren't more places for moms to go with their kids than just these designated places. But leave it to the NW Islanders to know how to help a girl out; even if it is unintentional.

Pike Place Market

The Market. This morning we went with Daddy/Chef and dropped him off at work so that way we could use his parking space and go to Pike for a walk. Our little girl loves to walk around with me and wave at everyone as she passes by to see if they are nice and will wave back. She's so cute that nearly everyone has to stop to wave at her and give her a smile. 

The best time to go to the Market is first thing in the morning on a weekday, especially if you have a stroller, as then nobody is around. There are no tourists out this early and all of the vendors are fresh and getting ready to start the day. And today everyone that is at the Market is much happier for seeing some much needed sun, which also makes the tulips that much more attractive.

After we were done walking through the Market, chatting with the vendors, and watching a fish monger pull a string behind the counter to mysteriously make a fish flop around on the ice, we went and had a croissant at Le Panier as it is one of our more favorite stops for pastries in Seattle. Their coffee isn't so good but their pastries and baked goods are some of the best in the city and other than their croissants we also love bringing home a baguette for dinner. As we leave the Market to go home, we hear the fish mongers start their "Flying Fish" routine, which makes my little one lean forward to look and point at the amazing spectacle she doesn't normally get to see. What a great way to start our day as a local; by saying "Good morning" to a sunny Seattle.

Michael Pollan

Today we heard a great quote from Michael Pollan on the radio: "Cooking is the nursery of democracy." Pollan then went on to explain that everything starts in the kitchen at home at a young age. The time to connect with your kids is while you cook and they do their homework and then while the whole family sits down to eat the same foods. Or there is the scenario, every family member in the house (who is old enough) assisted in the development in the family meal that is then shared and passed around. It is during this time that we have the most impact on our children. And, of course, let's not forget the fact that it's those family meal times together that we "cook up" some of our fondest memories. You never know how these times together over our food tonight could impact tomorrow's future.

With Kids

There are so many "family friendly" activities in Seattle. But are they really? When you go to some place that claims "It's for the whole family" are there still aspects that are difficult because of a lack of something, like a diaper changing area? There may be a good menu and both mom and baby/toddler can get something to enjoy but if you've been there for more than, say an hour and a half, and you need to change a diaper or they've spilt something all over themselves do you feel there is usually a place for you there where you are a patron or do you go to the car and then leave afterwards? And thereby ending your outing. Is this an issue for some or just something we deal with and shrug off?