Pam,I've always marveled at all the trial and error suffered by all species in finding suitable food and how to store it or gather it. Think of the consequences for the failures. How did man discover to cook meat? Who figured out drying it kept it preserved? How many people died before people knew which fungi/plants/berries were edible? How do animals know? I doubt I have ever eaten abalone, who knows? I've eaten foods in countries where I didn't even know what I was eating. Given it is a rare delicacy, chances are slim. I do know about the coastlines though. Lived by them on the Atlantic and the pacific and respected tides and currents very much, having had close calls myself. There were oyster beds on the shore in front of my house in france. It was a rocky beach and you could walk out very far at low tide on the slippery stones. When the tide came in, it came in faster than you could walk back. Got caught out in it once and it scared me sensible. As for dying from hunting mollusk? No different than parachute accidents, glider accidents, climbing accidents, kayaking rapids, riding cycles, or backpacking remote trails. I wouldn't consider harvesting wild ones as much to do with food as rarity and the hunt. Sort of like the wild morel mushroom game I play when I can break away to the wilds in spring. It's the hunt.

We had baked tilapia with panko coating. I've been feeling side dish-challenged a lot lately, so I figured this salad had enough veggies in it to count for 2 sides. Oh yeah - we had lemon meringue pie, too. The recipe said "makes 6 cups of slaw" - didn't say what a serving size would be, but I would think one cup. To be honest, I'm not a very good judge of weight measurements when it comes to cabbage and bok choy, so I probably made more than 6 cups. Shredded chicken does sound good. I'm thinking that ramen noodles would be good, too,instead of cooked pasta, as the recipe suggests.

Without reading thru the comments I wanted to give my thoughts as a decorative finish artist for anyone who finds this thread (I apologize if someones already mentioned these things).. The OP has a great eye! She knew the green undertone would be required to offset her countertops (vs a cooler blue tone). This is very important on large scale installs (like cabinets) & her requested finish IS possible. Wood can be finished to almost any color/type finish with the right products and/or combination of such. Wood toner can be used as the base coat to set the tone & a grey pigmented stain or lacquer applied over top. Its similar to the way color correction is done with makeup; the correction color is applyed before concealer or foundation and virtually disappears but the undertone works to cancel problem areas...same principal applies here! The type of wood used is just as important as the undertone. Every wood has natural coloring that develops over time w/ exposure to air & UV rays. If popular or ash is used the green tone will become stronger as the cabinets age and darken, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing..depends on personal taste’s. If your cabinet maker doesn’t have a speciality finisher in house you can contract finishing to someone who works in the fine woodworking, finish carpentry, or decorativing painting industry. Basically- anyone who knows color theory AND various wood qualities.

Igloochic - I'm certainly not an expert on ranges, just know that money is no object for my sister and she and her husband do a lot of cooking for her NJ church shelter program, cooking meals once a week for the homeless. The Viking is large enough, with it's two ovens and the third oven one she has, to accommodate the large pans they use to bake up tremendous quantities of food for this purpose. When I've visited her I've enjoyed using the Viking and having enough burners to and ovens to prepare an entire holiday meal all at once. I was satisfied with my 5 burner Dacor gas cooktop at home until I used her Viking, but we just don't have the income to justify purchasing an Aga, or even a Viking, at this stage of our lives, sigh. I've heard that the Aga's are the professional's choice - but that's a luxury that we just can't afford or need this close to retirement. Would have loved to have one when I was younger and had a houseful of family at home to cook for! Heidi