The honor system

We stopped for some honey recently at a local farm, Sailing “S” Orchards and Apiary. Our out-of-town visitors were amazed: take your honey and put the payment through a slot in the wall. Simple as that. From my experience as a former urbanite, I can assure you that this wasn’t common where I come from in California.

The experience was sweet. . .and the honey is delicious.

Let me take you down. . .

. . .’cause I’m going to. . .strawberry fields. . .

Cameron’s Strawberries has opened for the season and the faithful are making the most of it.

Even now, early in the season and after a rainy day, the scent of strawberries was irresistible. Half of these people were probably just innocently driving by when their noses took over. Strawberries take no prisoners.

Goodbye, 3 Crabs

It’s a mixture of bad news, good news.

The 3 Crabs Restaurant, a Sequim institution for decades, is being sold and will likely be closing after this summer. The purchaser is the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the nearly 52 acres of land and tidelands at the property will be restored and improved for public access.

This is the marshland west of the restaurant. There is also marshland to the restaurant’s south. I’m not sure what the boundaries of the parcel are, but the location is wonderful. The parking lot fronts a beach on Dungeness Bay and has a great view of the New Dungeness Lighthouse to the north and Mount Baker and the Cascades to the east. Beach access now requires climbing over boulders and can be tricky for aging knees.

We are what we eat

I admit that oddities catch my eye. And I classify this as somewhere in the “food history” realm.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen a recipe that calls for lard, solid or semisolid rendered fat of a hog. I’ve seen it used in some ethnic foods I’m familiar with. But this “ideal shortening” certainly doesn’t seem to be front and center in a typical grocery store.

People used to eat more saturated fats. Now we eat processed foods and consume sugar in all forms, in foods where you wouldn’t expect sweeteners. It’s hard to control what we eat unless we make food “from scratch.”

Do you have time to make what you eat?

Breakfast out

Sometimes breakfast out can feel like a real celebration. When it’s with good friends it’s even better. This one at the Oak Table Cafe was both. This is Dianne’s eggs benedict, served with potato pancakes.

I wasn’t very hungry and thought a couple of pancakes would do just fine. It didn’t occur to me that I’d get enough to feed me and my new friends at the next table. I don’t get pancakes often. Now I remember why.