Martha, Gingerbread, and a Gift for Foodies

Martha Stewart is Coming to Your Costco!

Issaquah-based Costco, wholesaler to the masses, is partnering with Martha Stewart Living

Omnimedia, inspiring visions of three-pack prison ponchos. Turns out their in-store brand, Kirkland Signature, which sells everything from pants to frozen pizzas, is going to start a Martha Stewart line of prepared meals.

So Martha's do-it-yourself spirit meets Costco's save-yourself-from-the-apocalypse-with-a-year’s-supply-of-batteries-and-a-giant-flat-screen spirit. Because really, who wants to go into their nuclear-winter bunker without her.

— Laura Onstot

A Timely, Responsible Holiday Gift for Foodies

I wholeheartedly believe that if you're going to eat meat, you should have to visit a slaughterhouse. And if you live in one of the richest industrialized nations in the world, you should have to read this book:

Hungry Planet, What the World Eats, by Peter Menzel and his wife Faith D'Luisio is at once remarkable, revolting, and riveting. Primarily a photo essay of different families from around the world standing amongst a week's worth of their food, Hungry Planet forces you to confront the agony and the ecstasy of all that is fit for the pie hole. The sweet side of the book is an intimate look into the simple, everyday food rituals of the world. The bitter side of this book shows just what fast and junk food have wrought.

You'll just come away 1.) thinking that you don't eat adequate servings of fruits and vegetables; 2.) feeling like a glutton; and 3.) knowing that if there is a devil, he has high-fructose corn syrup coursing through his veins. Yes, Mireille, even French people are getting fat, or at least less healthy. They eat more processed food than ever, including beaucoup de Royales with cheese.

What surprised me the most? Daaaaamn, Kuwait has put on the pounds, neck and neck (and neck) with America and Australia, with 70 percent of the population overweight and almost half the women obese. But at least they're free, right? All in all, the beautiful moments of the book prevail, thanks to Menzel and D'Luisio's empathy and considerate framing.

— Maggie Dutton

Gingerbread Workshop at Macrina

This weekend, Macrina Bakery is holding a series of hour-long gingerbread homebuilding workshops, and all proceeds from the event will go to the Seattle Children's Home. Twenty bucks gets you a kit (something a little simpler than the house above, I believe) and guidance from the gingerbread construction crew. Prefab architecture is all the rage.

The dates:

Location: Macrina's McGraw cafe

Saturday, December 15

Workshops at 3:30, 4:30, and 5:30 p.m.

Location:Macrina's Belltown cafe

Workshops at 3:30, 4:30, and 5:30 p.m.

To reserve a space, call 448-4089. Side note — having just tasted one of Macrina's gingerbread cookies, I can say: It's good stuff.

— Jonathan Kauffman