Monday, August 01, 2005

Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho!

It's off to the salt mines we go! Well, not mines, actually. We're headed over to Bolinas to scoop up sea water. Bolinas, for those of you outside the Bay Area, is a strange little coastside town in Marin County inhabited by leftover hippies and at least one peculiar resident who likes to decorate her skin with chocolate. Lots of dogs, lots of nature worship, lots of resentment toward outsiders. (They're known for consistently tearing down the road sign that points to town; word has it the government has given up trying to replace it.)
This adventure of ours is an attempt to do without commercial salt for a week. I'll boil the water to sterilize it, and then use it for cooking. Probably have to dilute it a bit: sea water is salty! I think I'm going to try evaporating a tray of it too, but I have no idea what to expect.
Why am I doing this? Go visit Jen; she has the story.
So. We started the day with cups of Twinings tea, as usual, the one item I decided not to give up (though I might make some homegrown mint tea later). Instead of sugar, we used honey, and it tasted wonderful! I thought I wouldn't like the intrusive flavor of honey, but it was almost alive in my mouth. The milk was from Straus Family Creamery in Marshall, CA (Marin County). The honey was -- you won't believe me, so see for yourself:

9 comments:

Sam said...

I used honey to sweeten my almonds for breakfast. I traditionally HATE honey and well - you know what - it wasn't so bad after all.
Eating local honey to where you live is meant to lessen allergies too. SO living in Marin and eating Marin honey might so you some extra good.

cookiecrumb said...

Sam: Your breakfast looked gorgeous. Meant to drop a note. Sounds like we have similar taste buds (regarding tea and honey).
Yes, I've heard about the supposed health benefits of local honey. I'll be lifting Volkswagens by the end of the month! (And I don't even have a sweet tooth. Which reminds me to remind you: perhaps you could bake cookies with almond flour.)

Guy said...

Oh criminy, Bolinas. A friend and I went out there to look at a used Jeep. When you mention, LOTS of resentment towards outsiders, that's an understatement. Depending upon the time of day, you could get choice items chucked at you from anyone hanging around the bar. We had a nice lunch at a local cafe, it was really good. I've met the owner, he visits our glue store here in Richmond to buy fancy coatings for his wooden tables. What he does is mostly swear loudly, gesticulate and make large whining sounds while swearing.
Doesn't Newark, down near the bay have a lot of salt evaporation ponds? I wonder where that salt goes?

cookiecrumb said...

Bigs: It's a Cargill company, and some folks (Jen, in particular) are avoiding it because of its -- I don't know -- corporateness? I gather Cargill tries to be nice to the environment and its employees (and I use Diamond kosher salt, which they make). Our silly plan is just to use Marin products for a week and then relax the rules a bit.

Guy said...

I only eat what I buy from local grocery stores, this is my plan.

Sam said...

btw - I have never had a bad welcome in Bollinas.
I love the little saloon bar there.
It's good for 'interesting people watching'

cookiecrumb said...

Ditto. Smiley's bar, right? They're even dog-friendly.
Also, almost everyone on the beach is super friendly.

Guy said...

Eeek! Really? I still ain't going back, my loss I suppose. I don't miss it, though. Not even a wince.

Anonymous said...

You got it wrong about roux and okra being non-Kosher. It is file' and okra that is not Kosher.