Hippo Birdies, Too, Me!

Have you ever seen such beautiful artichokes in your life? These were at the West Side farmers market on Saturday morning, at Betty Van Dyke's booth. The dark purple ones with the very long thorns are called Kiss of Burgundy—two will be on my dinner table tonight. My daughter is home for a brief visit to celebrate my birthday (tomorrow, April 30)...we're going to have hamburgers made from a grass-fed steer at TLC Ranch. I'd post a picture of him (George, brother of Weezy) but it might be too poignant.

A deadline at my office job created a serious shortage of time this week, but I hope to find time soon to post more about NAIS, a Slow Food dinner that I attended at River Cafe & Cheese Shop at the beginning of the month, and the realizations and consequences that I had at that dinner. Chief among them was realizing that I did not want to work with Outstanding in the Field any more, ever, because of the qualitative contrast between the dinner at River Cafe and the sum total of my experience with OitF...which is an eight-year relationship.

I am celebrating my birthday by investing in another tool necessary for my business: I bought a Mac Book Pro today. This means I can travel again, and keep up with my clients while I'm on the road.

An article I came across recently in Midwifery Today contained this quote by writer Peggy Sawyer:

“Let's not underestimate the power of salt to create major change. The British Empire controlled colonial India, forcing the Indians to buy expensive British goods, including salt, even though oceans surrounded the country. Mohandas Gandhi lead the nonviolent resistance that brought down British colonial rule and helped bring about Indian independence in part by defying this constraint and asserting every Indian's right to walk to the ocean and make her or his own salt.”

I thought immediately of NAIS and Big Ag, and how they're trying to do the same thing to the American consumer: by making it impossible to raise even a few chickens in your backyard, so you have a clean alternative to their filthy factory meat. I imagine if NAIS's forced voluntary (an oxymoron designed by morons) compliance comes to pass, and there are no clean alternatives to the toxic meat and dairy in supermarkets, I guess PETA will have a lot of new candidates for membership. Isn't that a sad thought? (Are we all aware that PETA kills animals?)

Everybody at the farmers market yesterday was thrilled to see Geoff Palla, aka "Elle Hunky Farmer"—he said he was too lazy to pick his own fava beans, and he didn't want to ruin his "fresh new manicure." (He was joking about being a famous male model now.) Quite the metrosexual farmer, our Geoff. Speaking of the farmers market—Stella at the Dirty Girl Produce gave me a sample of the new Albion strawberry Joe's growing, and I bought three baskets on the spot. About half didn't make it home because I was handing them out to every kid I saw, and that included the grown-up kids-at-heart who agreed with me that this berry tastes like the first strawberry you ever ate when you were little. Powerful stuff.

And off I go to shop for hamburger buns and ice cream.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: "Our birthdays are feathers in the broad wing of time.” — Jean Paul

Jean Paul WHO?

Thanks for visiting.

Comments

[Sarah]

This website is lovely! I'm new to the blogosphere and really admire the message you are sending (I'm completely on board!)

Although I must say, looking at these beautiful photos makes me miss my home back in Maine!

[Jenna]

Keep writing about this issue, please! Every word makes a difference.

Happy Birthday! Hope it's lovely.

[kiki]

I just had the best artichokes-I made a wasabi aoli out of rice bran oil-very easy to make...delicious. Happy Birthday to you!!!

[Jennifer Jeffrey]

Happy Birthday, Tana!! I hope your dinner was deeelicious (provided that you were actually eating with your family and not sneaking away to play with your new MacBook... ha).

To a wonderful year!

[Lydia]

Happy (somewhat belated) birthday!

[Ms. Glaze]

Happy Birthday and I hope those artichokes were delicious. They look divine. Damn, I miss California! Bisous, Ms. Glaze

[Cher Fayter Fayter Farms]

Good evening: Walking thru the web and came across your site showing the variety of Artichokes designed by my husband and I here in Lockwood, California The "KISS OF BURGUNDY" globe artichoke. Just wondering where you found these chokes.