Persian Sweets, Allergy Cards, and Virtual Carnivals

There are three unrelated things I want to talk about today. My challenge as an utterly unprofessional writer: segue between them so that you as innocent reader feel as if they are intimately connected.

Have you ever had Persian (aka Iranian) bakery treats? The Seattle area is home to the delightful Minoo Bakery at 12518 Lake City Way NE. I neglected to bring my camera, but there is a nice picture of some of the sweets at Nerd's Eye View. Owners Rashid Ramzani and Ezzat Ghaderi clearly put a lot of love into their pastries. Everything in the case looks neat and precise, and the baking area in back is very clean and well organized, both of which I've found are strong indications of delicious baked goods to come. I had a couple of shortbread-like cookies made from chickpea flour, and a wonderful rolled phyllo and nut item similar to baklava.

Like many desserts from the Middle East and India, the Persian pastries are on the very sweet side, which makes them perfect for enjoying with coffee or tea. And also like many foods from that part of the world, they contain a lot of nuts. Which I dearly love, but Snacky Pants is severely allergic to. Now I don't mean it gives her a tummyache allergic. I mean hit her with the Epipen and off we go to the ER allergic. So we were delighted to learn about Select Wisely. They make laminated, wallet sized cards that describe your specific allergy or other dietary needs in many languages. Need to tell the Finns that you are a vegetarian? Headed to Croatia and lactose intolerant? They've got you covered. And if they don't have one in stock for your particular issue, they'll have it custom made.

And you know, when I'm traveling, I like to get in on local events and celebrations. When I'm hiking the blogosphere, I'm always on the lookout for a good carnival. Hey look! Is that our name in lights?

Find related articles in: Miscellany | Restaurants | Seattle | Weblogs
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Published on August 15, 2007.

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frantic foodie commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

Michael, love the way you wrote this one, was a vegetarian for 5 years. You should print this and wear it on your forehead, that way people won't even have to ask

Amber commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

I've been a vegetarian for 4 years. I'm only 17, so I seem to get more flack from meat-eaters about my decision. It's always pretty hard for me to get my point across to people who ask because I tend to get angry or flustered and I just drop the subject before I start crying or yelling. This article explains exactly why I made my decision and continue to live by it. So, when people ask me from now on, I do believe I will tell them the URL to this article. Thank you, and I will also be checking out this website from now on.

Gigi commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

Vegetarian is such a loose term, you're all just picky, and you use the term vegetarian so you don't sound rude when you don't want to eat something that someone makes for you. It's not that you CANT eat it because of your food allergies, diet or personal beliefs, it's that you DO NOT WANT TO. Stop causing trouble for everyone else and just eat your side dishes and shut the hell up.

Trish commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

First of all, I love your post!

But I am concerned about the dairy. I hope you choose dairy products carefully, because very sadly supporting the dairy industry is supporting the veal industry. Cows can only lactate for so long, and once they dry up, they are inseminated and the calf is usually used for veal.

Catherine commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

I'm totally on the same page with you. Great post!

Alison commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

Great article. Environmental factors were my main motivation to stop eating meat, but I definitely understand how you feel about the animals' welfare. It has never made sense to me that someone can look at a piglet or a chick or a calf and say, "Look how cute it is!" Then, suddenly, that same animal is on their plate and they're saying, "It tastes so good!" It just seems sort of twisted.
I won't go into my biggest reason for becoming vegetarian because it tends to confuse and embroil people when I get them started on it.

Terry commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

My sentiments EXACTLY!

Relation K commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

I got question regarding vegetarianism - could you eat milk , cheese and etc ? I mean the products of the animals ?

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