Fresh Connections – The Parfitt Way Blog

At around seven o’clock on Thursday nights, Pegasus Coffee Shop undergoes a transformation: the small tables, previously occupied by laptops and foamy lattes, are rearranged and used as placeholders for cocktails, tall beer, and sheets of music at the dawning of Biscuits & Gravy, a three-hour jam session hosted by local musician Ethan Joseph Perry. Folks flood in through both entrances with instruments in tow, greeting each other with nods, hugs, and playful banter between old friends.

Incoming musicians strategically dance across the coffee shop, raising instruments above their heads and shuffling through the maze of chairs, tables, guitar cases, and people in order to grab a spot in the large circle materializing around the front fireplace. Non-musicians also take their place around the bar, ready for the pickin’ party to begin. People walking past the front windows often stop and smile, curious and warmed by the sight of community collaboration. A few welcoming waves from the jam circle urges them to come inside and join; they laugh, shaking their heads as if to say, “I couldn’t do that!” and walk away with a smile equal to ours.

Then, with a one, two, a one, two, three, four, the atmosphere ignites into a frenzy of string instruments and vocals as the group begins the ascent. Laughter and side conversations at the bar are drowned out by the fifteen or more new and veteran musicians encouraging each other to play loud, sing out, take it away, and bring it back. The choice of song is determined by a clockwise rotation around the circle, with each musician bringing a different flavor to the group. An old Grateful Dead tune may be replaced by a John Prine sing-a-long followed by a little Neil Young, and so it goes. The keeper of the song also passes along jam solos to various members of the group. Courageously and at a moment’s notice, the soloist takes the song to a new level. You’d think they’ve been playing together for years—and, in many cases, you’d be right.

I sit high on a stool behind the circle’s inner layer of musicians waiting for a song I know, a wave I can catch and ride straight on home with the rest of the crew. As soon as it hits—that old familiar tune—I sing out in harmony with the women and men around me, and our voices blend with the fiddle, guitars, mandolin, banjo, stand-up bass, harmonicas, and impromptu table drums, swirling in a vortex around the circle and reverberating off of the tiny coffee shop’s walls. Every Thursday, the energy is palpable, the happiness contagious, and the feeling of community undeniable. At the stroke of ten o’clock, the session comes to an end with Pete Seeger’s “Goodnight Irene,” and the musicians part ways, ready to do it all again next week. Join in!

Set aside Saturday August 24th for the wine, food and music event of the summer. What can make a better summer day than sipping the fine wines of all seven of Bainbridge Island’s wines, eating one’s way through a festival all the while listening to the great musical talents playing from noon to 6:00 PM on the streets of Winslow?

Music includes artist Zach Fleury who is well known locally for his vocals and guitar playing accompaniment. He’ll be at the Harbor Square Wine Shop and Tasting Room with Lean Davidson from 12 to 2 pm. Taste the pressings from Rolling Bay Winery as well as Result of a Crush Winery by former Islanders Amanda and Angela Reynvaan. Get current details here.

From 2:30 to 4 Bainbridge Island Radio and Benjamin Doerr rock the Winslow Mall so come and taste the offerings by Sleight of Hand and Balboa Wineries.

From 1 to 3 Beads of Bainbridge will be offering instruction of creating your own wine accessories. Be creative, sip fine wine and enjoy learning a new craft. Cost of materials only.

From 2 to 4 pm join  Soup’ r Burger and sample local beers with your burger or pair a meal with your favorite wine at several locations in downtown. Follow your nose and your appetite for great food and adult beverages.

The day winds up with the Bainbridge Island History Museum Charity Gala ($75). Starting at 6 pm. Rub elbows, and bend a few, with winemakers, musicians and islanders while sampling the best wines, live music and tales from the Island.

The event is just a short walk, drive or cycle from the Seattle ferry and is an annual event for wine, music, food and summer lovers from everywhere.

A recent book review in YES! Magazine took the food and restaurant industry to task for poor wages and terrible working conditions as alleged in the book Behind the Kitchen Door by Saru Jayaraman. See it here. They present as facts that restaurant workers are paid only $2.13 per hour and haven’t had a pay increase in a generation. In Yes! Magazine’s home state of Washington, the minimum wage for all workers is $9.19 per hour (currently, and tied to an ever-increasing, annual cost of living adjustment) and employer’s may not include tips towards that total. This information is readily available on the Washington State Department of Labor website.

The review/book quotes extensively from the Restaurants Opportunities Centers United which is attempting to organize food service workers nationwide for better pay and conditions. The article states this organization has 26 chapters in 23 states none apparently here in Washington State.

Many full-time restaurant workers claim $35,000 to $40,000 per year, with an additional undisclosed amount made in cash tips. Full time is described as 30 hours per week or more. Also, according to the Washington State Restaurant Association (WSRA) which compiles statistics on the the industry, most full-time salaried employees are offered medical insurance and many offer it to their hourly employees. The review claims that such benefits are nonexistent. A former teacher who works in the industry has been overheard stating, “I can’t afford to go back to teaching since I get paid much more at waiting tables.” For many who choose the industry it becomes a lucrative profession.

Another example is a friend of mine who now works in the financial service industry who took a significant cut when he left his work as a food server. In fact, several of his friends now work for some elite steakhouses in the Seattle area and get paid close to $80,000 a year.

There are great opportunities available for those who are willing to commit to the restaurant business. It’s good and honorable work and provides a living wage for the workers as well as considerable pleasure for the diners. Are there poorly treated employees out there? Surely.  Is the industry as a whole corruptly taking advantage of the workforce? Not here in Washington. As in any situation talk with the people with whom you interact in restaurants. If they are being treated poorly then take your dollars elsewhere… no bad business deserves to or should thrive for long if the employees are being exploited. By that same token do support local restaurants, pubs and coffee houses which do provide not only a quality dining experience but a quality working environment for your friends and neighbors.

It’s that time again. The Bainbridge Island Farmer’s Market is back! Opening this Saturday, April 13th at the Town Square from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Come to meet, greet and enjoy the fresh produce available in a fun and family friendly setting.

Old favorites who are returning this year include  Butler Green Farms, Persephone Farm, Farmhouse Organics, Baywater Shellfish, Paulson Farms, Tani Creek Farm and Laughing Crow Farm. These and many other locally sourced organic growers are here to provide the freshest meats and produce possible. For a full listing of the vendors click here This details who and what will be available.

Another outstanding resource for natural and organic farm producers, nationally, not just for the Northwest is here This is an easily navigated site where one can explore the bounty of organics to choose the healthiest and freshest in produce. There are also links to purchase on line from a large number of members as well as the ability to subscribe for CSA’s.

CSA? Community Supported Agriculture. The idea is for the producer to offer a certain number of “shares”, to the public. This may be in the form of a box of vegetables or other farm products, honey, fresh organic meat, or herbs and flowers. Each subscriber will receive a box of the fresh products weekly through the farming season. The advantages work both for the farmer and consumer.

For the farmer they get to spend time marketing their products before moving into 16 hour days in the fields. They receive payment early in the season which helps with the cash flow and most importantly they get to meet and know the people who will consume their produce.

The subscriber gets ultra fresh produce and exposure to new vegetables and ways of cooking. Typically you will visit the farm at least once a season to witness the process in the fields. This also allows the consumer to develop a relationship with the grower. Many kids are found to favor, “Their” farm and will be more open to trying new foods from there that would be perhaps unknown to them otherwise.

With the spring and summer upon us it’s time to get out, explore what’s new and organic at the farmer’s market. Meet the producers try something new, fresh and healthy.

In the United Kingdom (UK), many pubs have a Sunday menu that features a Sunday roast. The Sunday roast is a traditional British main meal served on Sundays (usually in the early afternoon for lunch), consisting of roasted meat, roast potato or mashed potato, with accompaniments such as Yorkshire pudding, stuffing, vegetables and gravy.

There are (at least) two opinions on the origins of the Sunday Roast. One holds that, during the industrial revolution, Yorkshire families left a cut of meat in the oven before going to church on a Sunday morning, which was then ready to eat by the time they arrived home at lunchtime. The second opinion holds that the Sunday Roast dates back to medieval times, when the village serfs served the squire for six days a week. Then on the Sunday, after the morning church service, serfs would assemble in a field and practice their battle techniques and were rewarded with a feast of oxen roasted on a spit.

Try our version of roast lamb, pork or beef at the pub on most Sundays – with beef we’ll often serve Yorkshire pudding.

Chocolate & Wine Tour Weekend

Feb. 16 & 17, 2013

What could be more fitting for a Valentine’s Day outing than the Bainbridge Island Wine and Chocolate Weekend?  If that sounds good, you might want to delay your declaration of love for a couple of days and come to the Island for this Winery Alliance of Bainbridge Island event the weekend of Feb. 16 – 17th.  The tour features 5 Bainbridge Island wineries and a handful of artisanal chocolatiers.

Wine making on the Island goes back as far as the 1970’s, but the 6 wineries that belong to the Winery Alliance of Bainbridge Island have all gotten their start since 2003.  Most of the wineries began in someone’s garage or shed – and have grown up to create “The Northwest’s new wine destination” according to Sunset Magazine in November of 2010.  While each winery is independent, the Alliance has created a community of wine makers who work together, sharing experience, volunteers and even equipment, to build an award winning collection of wines.  Because they are making wine on such a small scale – by the 10s of barrels rather than the thousands of barrels, the wines produced harken back to the way wine has always been made – rather than the mass-produced ‘industrialized’ wine from the giant vintners.

Five of the six Alliance wineries will be participating in the Wine and Chocolate tour.  The sixth, Fletcher Bay Winery’s tasting room is closed until late February when they will open their new Tasting Room.  The five wineries (and their chocolate partners for the weekend) are listed below.

• Amelia Wynn Wine:   Named for his twin 5 year old grandchildren – Amelia and Wynn – owner and vintner Paul Bianchi has been winning awards since 2009 when he won the Double Gold in the Seattle Wine Awards for his Bordeaux Blend.  For the Wine and Chocolate tour, Paul will be hand selecting artisanal chocolates to go with his excellent wine.
• Eagle Harbor Winery:   Originally from Poland, Winemaker Hugh Remash sources his grapes from the Walla Walla AVA.  His wines are served at a number of Bainbridge Island restaurants – including the Harbour Public House. (In fact Hugh specially kegs his a unique Bordeaux blend, Pubordeuax exclusively for the Pub.) For the tour he will be pairing his wine with handmade chocolates from a Pasticceria of the Scuola di Arte Culinaria Cordon Bleu (which is Italian for pastry chef from the school of Cordon Bleu).
• Eleven Winery:  The winery is run by husband and wife Matt and Sarah Albee.  Also on staff is their son Cole, who holds the position of Chief Hinderer (he is 6).  Assistant Chief Hinderer is little brother Cameron.  The Albee’s family goal is great wine and great fun.  Their plans for the Chocolate tour have been kept super-secret.
• Rolling Bay Winery:  Located on a hillside, overlooking Murden Cove, this winery is a destination for excellent wines – and a great photo-op.  The Tasting Room (which is also the fermentation room) is fronted by a handmade rock wall and antique doors from a Mongolian monastery.  For the Chocolate tour, they will feature a delectable line-up of Theo Chocolates.
• Perennial Vintners:  Mike Lempriere of Perennial Vintners is one of the few winemakers who grows his own grapes on Bainbridge Island.  PV specializes in the delicately nuanced white wine made from cool-climate grapes such as Melon de Bourgogne, Siegerrebe, Madeleine Angevine and Muller Thurgau.  For the Wine and Chocolate tour PV will be featuring chocolatier Keith Jackson of Yukon Jackson’s chocolates.

Bainbridge Island is just a short ferry ride from downtown Seattle.  Whether rain or shine – the Wine and Chocolate tour will make for a memorable (and delicious) day trip!

Restaurant owners across the country are gearing up for the implementation of a little known aspect of the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 – part of what is known as ObamaCare.  These regulations require chain restaurants with over 20 stores having the same menu to post the caloric values for items on their menu.  It also requires that the restaurants display the recommended daily caloric intake and to provide additional nutritional information (fat, protein, salt, carbohydrates, etc.) upon request.  These FDA requirements are meant to standardize menu labeling across the country.  Many state and municipal laws requiring nutritional information to be posted have been enacted since 2006 – including in King County. Exemptions provided by the federal regulations include:

• Specials
• Condiments
• Limited time offers
• Custom orders
• Test market items
• Individual alcoholic beverages

While the law allows time for the food industry to implement these regulations, a bill introduced this year (Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2012) seeks to reform the rules.  Proponents of this legislation hope to mitigate the cost and burden of the law as written (which according to President Obama’s own Office of Management and Budget ranks as the third most burdensome statutory constraints enacted that year).  Especially vocal in this effort is the pizza industry.  According to the Legislative director of Domino’s Pizza, the estimated costs of the new menus would be $5,000 per store.  This is particularly frustrating to them, considering that over 90% of Domino’s customers call in (or order on-line) and would therefore never even see the wall menus.

Nutritional labeling of food is not a new issue in the United States.  In 1990 the FDA required labeling on packaged foods.  Studies in 2008 show that 54% of consumers reported reading food label information when purchasing and of that 49% changed their minds about a potential purchase.  However, labeling itself is just one factor people consider in their food choices. In 1999 a Washington State study drew a strong correlation between a consumer’s understanding of the effect of nutrition on diseases such as cancer, diabetes and hypertension and the likelihood that food label information would be utilized.

Along with providing information for consumers, one objective of the 1990 labeling law was to encourage manufacturers to produce healthier options.  In the years since, we have seen a significant increase of fat modified food in the grocery stores, but it often does not mean a caloric decrease – less fat but more sugar.

The 1990 law was enacted in response to the alarming increase in obesity in the United States. And it has continued to rise.  By 2010, studies show that 68% of adults and 32% of children are either overweight or obese – a dramatic rise in two decades.  So – it begs the question:  if obesity rates have continued to rise – does nutritional labeling really make a difference?

An important factor to be considered in this question is that during those two decades restaurant dining also increased from 18% to 32% of daily calorie intake.  Adding restaurants to the labeling requirements is in many ways a response to this change in the nation’s eating habits.  As obesity rates climb, healthcare costs also climb.  Healthcare reform advocates expect that implementing these reforms will save 26 billion dollars over the next 20 years.  And we do have some empirical data to support that.  Since Los Angeles County began requiring nutritional labeling in restaurants, Starbucks has reported a 6% calorie reduction per sales transaction.  The LA County impact assessment claims that this could decrease the annual weight gain of residents by 4%.

The National Restaurant Association (the other NRA), while supporting the passage of the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2012 in hopes of lessening the regulatory burden on their members, has statistics that show an increase of consumer interest in making good nutritional choices.  The number 3 trend in restaurant food this year is the addition of healthful menu choices on kid’s menus (the number 1 trend is locally sourced food).  90% of adults responding to an NRA survey report that restaurants are offering more healthful items than 2 years ago.  The survey also reports that 30% of all adults and 45% of adults aged 18 – 44 have gone online to find nutritional data.

Most people agree that we have the right to know exactly what we are eating.  It seems that more and more people are interested in exercising that right.  However, the still rising rate of obesity calls into question whether knowledge alone is enough to make a difference.  In today’s age of information, the knowledge is as close as the menu in front of your face.  Using that knowledge to make good choices is a little harder to legislate.

There is something going on in the Oyster Beds of Puget Sound – and it isn’t good.  As this year’s oyster season commenced – the absence of mature oysters continues to alarm oyster farmers, retailers and restaurants.  The microscopic oyster larvae at hatcheries in Dabob Bay and other places in the Puget Sound were dying before they ever had a chance.  As the larvae developed tiny oyster shells, they began to crumble faster than they can grow.  This has been observed all over the northern Pacific coast and has been going on for years.  In fact, there has not been a viable larvae generation since 2005.

Scientists and farmers first looked into whether bacteria were causing the devastation.  But further investigation pointed to something much more serious and difficult to resolve: the undisputed increase in the CO2 levels in the atmosphere and the oceans.  One outcome noticeable to most has been the rising of the average temperatures here in the Puget Sound area.  This past July was the 36th consecutive July and 329th consecutive month in which global temperatures have been above the 20th century average. In addition, seven of the 10 hottest summers recorded in the United States have occurred since 2000.  While the arguments continue about the cause of global warming, the increase in CO2 levels has been well documented by the entire science community.  The scientific term is ocean acidification; as the CO2 level rises, the pH level falls.  A liquid’s pH measures the acidity or alkalinity on a 14 point scale – the lower the number, the more acidic the liquid.  Shellfish in particular have a narrow pH spectrum in which they can survive.  A normal sea water pH is 8.1 to 8.2 on the alkaline side.  On a sample day last spring, the pH level at 100 feet deep measured at 7.5, reflecting high acid levels, causing the inability of the larvae to maintain shell growth.

A natural occurrence in the Pacific Ocean (but not found in the Atlantic) is upwelling.  As the north winds blow over the water, a circulation process is set in motion in which nutrients from the bottom of the ocean are pushed slowly upward.  Unfortunately along with nutrients the upwelling is carrying increasingly high CO2 levels.  This is a very long term problem, with no short-term solution in sight.  According to NOAA scientists, the water that is upwelling on our coast today is at least 50 years old.  CO2 levels have been increasing since the Industrial Revolution – about 250 years ago.  At that time the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide content was roughly 280 parts per million (ppm).  Today we measure in at about 390 ppm.  So even if we were able to drastically limit our CO2 output immediately, the problem is going to get much worse for a long time, before it starts getting better.  As part of the natural cycle of upwelling, it takes over 50 years for CO2 to go from the atmosphere to the ocean’s floor.  And because of Puget Sound’s unique geography – it is believed that the impact of increased acidity levels occurs here before the rest of the world.  So – it’s not just about the oysters.

All of these issues are being examined by a blue ribbon panel convened last March by Gov. Chris Gregoire.  The panel is made up of scientists, local and tribal leaders and industry representatives.  Along with surveying the latest science and setting priorities for additional research and monitoring, the panel was tasked with creating a set of practical, affordable policy recommendations to address the root causes of acidification.  They also hope to come up with ways to help businesses and communities adapt.

During the coming year’s legislative session beginning in January, lawmakers will introduce a new bill in an effort to implement some of the action items that the panel believes need to be addressed.  The 28 member panel has come up with a 43 item list, 20 of which are deemed top priority measures.  Panel member Sen. Kevin Ranker (D-Orcas Island) has urged the panel to narrow down the list to its top 3 – 5 priorities.  According to Ranker, the potential top priorities should be:

• Reducing air emissions that are linked to ocean acidity
• Overhauling sewage treatment plans to reduce the amount of flow into local sea water (high nitrogen levels being another cause of acidification)
• Exploring the idea of using salt water vegetation to combat the impact of ocean acidification
• Improving and expanding the monitoring of ocean acidification

The state faces huge challenges.  State funding, regulation burdens for the business community and maintaining momentum over not just years – but decades might all seem to make this an insurmountable problem.  Adding to the pessimism is the fact that ocean water does not respond to state boundaries.  So we cannot solve this problem by ourselves.  Still – Washington is one of the first states to meaningfully address the challenges ahead.  Ranker has also made the very important point that the potential bill has both Democrat and Republican support and that both gubernatorial candidates have been kept in the loop on the findings of the panel and are on board to do what we can to address the issue.
For more information, see these websites:
University of Washington
BiologicalDiversity.org
Yale University

In the meantime we are hoping for cold winds and rain to cool off the oyster beds quickly so that we can get back to eating our favorite bi-valves.

This article was co-written by Elizabeth and Michael Fagin

Absinthe Green Hour at Pegasus Coffee House

3 pm – close.

For those of us who saw the movie “Midnight in Paris” and have dreamed about time travel to the Paris of old, sharing aperitifs with the like of Hemingway, Oscar Wilde, and Vincent Van Gogh, the Pegasus is offering an experience that just may get us there!  In starting an Absinthe Green Hour, Pegasus is introducing a drinking custom that has had a very colorful history.

Absinthe, a distilled and highly alcoholic beverage, was developed in Switzerland in the late 18th century.  It became popular in the late 19th and early 20th century, particularly among the Parisian bohemian culture of artists and writers.  It is derived from botanicals, mainly grande wormwood, green anise and sweet fennel.  It has a natural green color (but can also sometimes be clear).  It is both the green color and the colored history of the beverage that gives it the nickname “The Green Fairy”.

Absinthe first became known as an all-purpose patent remedy, created by a French doctor in Couvet Switzerland around 1792.  The healing properties are said to come from the botanical grande wormwood, which has a long history of use for stomach, and nervous disorders, along with use as a malaria preventative.  It is a component of wormwood (thujone) that was blamed (or credited) for the alleged psychotropic qualities of absinthe.  In the 19th century, as absinthe was becoming very popular, a French psychiatrist claimed that those who drank absinthe in excess suffered far worse effects than those who over-consumed other alcoholic beverages, including rapid-onset hallucinations.  This idea was immediately and cheerfully embraced by such artists and authors as Toulouse Lautrec, Vincent van Gogh, Hemingway and Oscar Wilde.  Other proponents of the drink included Mark Twain and Aleister Crowley.

While the imbibing of absinthe was rapidly rising, the temperance movement and the winemaker’s associations were pushing their point that absinthe was dangerous.  (Which could well be the only time those two entities were in bed together!)  Claims of its association with violent crimes and social disorder were supported by a grisly murder by a Swiss farmer.  In 1905 Jean Lanfray murdered his family and attempted to take his own life.  The blame for the murders was placed solely on the two glasses of absinthe that the farmer consumed just prior to the murders.  Seems the vast quantities of wine and brandy that farmer Lanfray drank before the absinthe allegedly had no effect on this tragic outcome.

By 1914 absinthe was banned in the United States (1912 – 8 years prior to Prohibition), Belgium, Brazil, Congo, the Netherlands and Switzerland and much of the rest of the world, with the exception of Great Britain.  In the 1990’s a British importer began the revival of absinthe that we are seeing today.  As it gained in popularity most of the bans were being lifted.  In the United States, the absinthe ban was lifted in 2007 (79 years after Prohibition was lifted), with the following guidelines:  the thujone levels must be less than 10 ppm, the word “absinthe” cannot be the brand name and the packaging cannot “project images of hallucinogenic, psychotropic or mind-altering effects”.

As the popularity of absinthe is again growing, so are the customs and ritual around it.  In Paris in the 1860’s the hour of 5 p.m. was known as “l’heure verte” – the Green Hour.  Café’s and pubs around the world are re-introducing the Green Hour.  The ritual of drinking absinthe is something that really sets it aside of other drinking experiences.  A shot of absinthe is placed in a special glass with a reservoir in the stem to measure the correct amount of absinthe.  Then a sugar cube is placed on a specially slotted spoon which is laid across the top of the glass.  As ice water is slowly poured over the sugar cube and combines with the clear green liquid, it interacts with the anise and fennel to change the clear liquid to a cloudy, opalescent white. The predominate flavor of absinthe is anise (licorice) and can be bitter – hence the sugar cube.  For more information about the history and customs of absinthe visit The Absinthe Buyers Guide website.

And – to experience the Green Hour yourself, visit Pegasus during the month of October.  They will be serving various kinds of authentic absinthe on a rotating basis.  You’ll have the opportunity to experience the entire ritual, the slowly dripping ice water, sugar cubes and slotted spoons.  And – just maybe, the ghost of Hemmingway will drop in for a visit.

http://county.wsu.edu/kitsap/Pages/default.aspx