A Bellingham Foodie Blog Restaurant Reviews Bellingham Washington 98225

August 2, 2009

Co-op to Co-op Bike Ride

Filed under: Bellingham local,Bellingham Restaurants,local,Pacific Northwest,restaurants — Bellinghamster @ 10:53 pm

This Sunday, August 9th, from 11-1, you can participate in a self-guided Co-op to Co-op Bike Ride. Check in at the downtown store during that time to receive your packet and route map. Plan for an 11:30am departure if you want to ride with a group. Courtesy of the Co-op staff and the HUB, there will be a fix-it station available for you to pump up your tires and do minor repairs before you pedal. When you get to the Cordata store check in to claim your REWARD and partake of the last Cordata BBQ of the summer. Bike home or WTA #232. I will be chauffer (for MY team) because the youngest isn’t ready for this ride.

AND BBQ at the Cordata store from noon-3pm. $5 BBQ, $3 for 10 years and under with $1 donated to Animals as Natural Therapy. Bison or portebello mushroom burgers with deli sides. Live music, bike info courtesy REI and Everybody Bike, llamas bunnies horses and assistance dogs. My advice:  get there early for good seats and eats.

Food, Inc.

Filed under: Bellingham local,local,Pacific Northwest,Seattle — Bellinghamster @ 10:53 pm

The Pickford Cinema was showing Food, Inc. last week. I was satisfied when I walked out. Satisfied? Yes. I have travelled down many a food lane in my life. I was raised on traditional Hungarian fare (see: Food fried in LARD). I graduated to double big macs and fries. The kids even got McD stock at birth from the my parents! I was satisfied because I knew about most everything in the movie. I was ignorant about Monsanto trademark’s impacting US farmers.

And guess what? According to Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, the golden arches is responsible for the industrialization of the food served in their restaurants. McDonald’s makes Walmart look good! But, I don’t want to be a spoiler. It was informative about factory farming, animal slaughter and processing. My favorite part was the comparison between the Shenandoah Valley organic farmer’s practices vs. the industrial factory farms. It’s not pretty to watch. But, I ask you: is ignorance bliss?

PS I WON another free pint from Mallard! Everyone wants to rub my arm and catch some of THAT luck! Cherry ice. TO DIE FOR!

July 24, 2009

Meals You Can Count On

Filed under: Bellingham local,local,Pacific Northwest — Tags: — Bellinghamster @ 4:11 pm

Everyone is busy during a Pacific Northwest Summer. It makes the Thanksgiving and Christmas season look low key. You have to live here to understand. When the sun comes out and begins to warm Bellingham, it’s like we’re all drugged. We just CANNOT stay inside! There is a mania gripping one and all to get OUT OUT OUT while you can. And we sure do. Climb a mountain, kayak the sea, bike the trails, run the paths, swim the lakes. It’s MARVELOUS!

One thing is also for sure. With all the activity there is a constant need for fuel. See FOOD. I don’t want to be prepping in the kitchen while there is a water balloon fight happening outside my window! I want to pop off the kids and spouse – it feels great! But, we need to eat at least 5 meals. You think that’s nuts? 2 adults, 2 teens and one approaching her age of reason. We eat a lot.

My weekly standbys:

2  4 lb chickens, roasted
1-2 lbs wild salmon, broiled
1/2 lb deli RB from the Co-op
3 dozen eggs
1 pizza

Add a denizen of fresh and freshly frozen fruits and Joe’s Garden/Rabbit Field’s Farm produce and we’re pretty much set.

Now, GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY!

July 14, 2009

Robert Fong @ the Community Food Co-op BBQ

Filed under: Bellingham local,Bellingham Restaurants,local,Pacific Northwest,restaurants — Bellinghamster @ 12:49 am

Futo Maki Sushi translates to fat rolled sushi. Robert Fong and his daughter prepared this for us at the Community Food Co-op’s BBQ today. It was a delicious and informative demo. He showed how to assemble and roll futo maki sushi. It was filled with chopstick size cucumber, carrot, omelet, spinach, tuna, wasabi paste and rice. Now you know why it is FAT sushi. Once this baby is rolled its diameter is 2 inches: OPEN WIDE! And no dipping necessary because your ingredients are seasoned before assembly. This sushi comes from an Okinawan village in Japan. It is also a Hawaiian classic.

Robert Fong and daughter demonstrate Futomaki sushi rolling

Robert Fong and daughter demonstrate Futomaki sushi rolling

TIP: For a more pungent wasabi paste, prepare the paste, place in a bowl and then cover tightly or invert the bowl on a flat surface.

And if his sushi wasn’t filling enough, there was the BBQ to indulge in. We ate BBQ bison and portabello mushroom burgers and fixings with generous sides of fresh potato salad, cole slaw and baked beans. Now at this point, we were FULL, but right next to our table volunteers were serving raspberry shortcake! Regular or gluten free cake with fresh raspberry sauce and freshly whipped heavy cream! I went gluten free with raspberries. I can’t wait til the next BBQ!!

There was 100% all natural cotton candy by Sweet Nothings made with organic sugar cane and organic maple sugar. They have a Saturday booth at the Bellingham Farmer’s Market. It was sweet enough even to slow down my 6 year old daughter’s consumption. When she wasn’t eating the cotton candy, she was milking Twister the cow from Whatcom Farm Friends (it’s a model – same as the one at the Fair). She only got a little sprayed until she got the hang of it. She has sticktoitiveness.

All in all, a gastroBBQ afternoon. I love Bellingham!

PS There were several food demos going on IN the Co-op store. Local, the theme of the BBQ, chocolate milk, fish oil, honey, designer oils. And they were good, too…

July 13, 2009

Bellingham ♥ NY

Filed under: Bellingham local,Bellingham Restaurants,Britich Columbia,local,Pacific Northwest,restaurants,Seattle — Bellinghamster @ 5:01 pm

Gandolfo’s NY Deli is opening in the Fall on Stuart off Meridian.
NY Pizza & Bar opened last month on State (old Bargainica space).
Cicchitti’s (on Railroad) tags itself as ‘real’ NY style pizza (which it is).
The Bagelry is real NY style bagels, spreads and sandwiches.
Old World Deli makes phenomenal sandwiches (see Little Italy, NYC).

What is it with this addiction to food stuffs from 3000 miles away? What about Chicago style pizza? Chicago is only 2100 miles away.  When Chicago Deep Dish Pizza was introduced to NY in the ’80’s, no one in NY wanted NY style pizza anymore!

I will tell you what Bellingham needs. Some real Korean food. No one is making Korean food to touch what comes out of NJ. But now we’re talking 3000 miles away again. Do you know why? No competition. To sample something different, I have to drive to Seattle or Vancouver. Move, you say? But, I would miss you, my fellow Whatcomer’s!

So, purely for self-interest, could the BTC Culinary Institute try to teach more ethnic based cooking for those of us raised in more diverse climes? I know BTC is the reason why some of Bellingham’s restaurants are cutting edge.

And, really, how many pizza places does a town need? I have an idea! How about Pizza & Java? THAT would be Bellingham! I give you permission – Go run with it.

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