I’m weighing in on this beyond the statute of limitations, but I assume everyone saw the internal memo from Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO, that was leaked to the media last week. First of all, for a good laugh, look at the comments from all the people saying, “There’s no way this could be real.”

To me, it sounds like Schultz wrote this memo on his laptop at Victrola. I am waiting for his next memo, written after he pulls out of the drive-through at McDonald’s, suggesting that Starbucks should sell fries. Actually, it would be awesome if Starbucks sold fries. I still don’t understand why they sell Starbucks brand ice cream at supermarkets but don’t sell milkshakes at Starbucks. I would like to form a personal connection with that milkshake. I would like to see baristas scooping and blending with all their hearts.

* raw pork coke
* i made you a cookie but i eat it cat
* mackerel health
* what kind of milk is good for monkeys

In today’s Seattle Times:

King Clam: Innuendo aside, geoduck is the stuff of regal repasts

Innuendo aside? Maybe the headline writer didn’t see the part about Moby Dick.

At some point I’m planning to work up a home version of Seis’s Korean chowder, sans geoduck. It’s a spicy, brilliant soup.

There are plenty of tips on how to clean pastry brushes. Dip them in a bowl of salt. Wash with soap and lemon juice. “Lather, rinse, repeat,” offered one message board posting. I tried various things and then gave up and bought silicone brushes.

Silicone has been insinuating itself into all sorts of kitchen gear, and lately I’ve seen various articles debating the merits of particular pieces, including a treatise by Marian Burros in the New York Times. The brushes I’d been using were almost great. Their only fault is that they just don’t hold liquid like the natural-hair brushes too–especially if the liquid is water- rather than oil-based.

Good Grips to the rescue. The Good Grips silicone brushes, which are available in two sizes, have these hole-punched flaps in the middle that pick up liquid. They work about 95 percent as well as the non-silicone, and they’re dishwasher safe or easy to hand wash.

While brushing some butter onto Iris’s waffle the other day, I realized that this isn’t the first time I’ve been delighted to dump an all-too-natural utensil. It’s been years since I replaced my wooden spoons with Matfer Exoglass spoons, and I’ve never missed the wood. Pretty soon I’ll be preparing seasonal organic produce using nothing but synthetic tools created by eggheads in lab coats.

I love packaging redesigns. I’m sure Laurie has lost count of the number of times I’ve come home and said, “Hey, look, Doritos redesign.” Actually, the most recent one I can think of is Fritos, which Laurie pronounced “retro but not retro enough,” and I concurred.

But I have never seen so radical a redesign as this one. On the left is the old Safeway Select potsticker package, and on the right is the new one. It’s awesome.