First TV Episode Airs

The first episode of Bite-Size Green, the TV show, begins airing this Friday at 4pm, PST.

If you don't live in the Community Media Center 's viewing area (mainly Palo Alto, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto and Atherton in California) and have cable service, you can view the show online while it is being aired. To use the live streaming option:

1. Check the program schedule for times and channels.


2. Pick one airing that fits your schedule.


3. Log onto the webcast page a few minutes before the show begins.


4. Click the Watch Now button for the channel airing the show at your time choice.


5. Give your computer's media player a moment to bring up the video window.


6. Watch and send your comments!

The first episode features guest Laura Stec, slow food chef and co-author of Cool Cuisine.

Packing for the NW Flower and Garden Show

I'll be heading north soon, to catch what hopefully will not be the last NW Flower and Garden Show. It's been an annual tradition for so long; and it's such a remarkably good show (one the best in the US, possibly the world) - I hate to think it might not return.

But I look forward to seeing how the 'greening' of the show is carried out, what crossovers from landscape decoration to victory garden are featured in the demonstration gardens, and what the speakers have to say about everything from planting natives in the Puget Sound area to manage the volume of seasonal rain the region receives. I have been reading an Anne Lovejoy book in preparation (though she's not a scheduled speaker this year); and I'm already in the NW groove. Seattle, here I come!

Julie & Julia

I knew I was turning into a Californian the first time a little rain deterred me from venturing outside.  When I was a hardy Northwesterner - an intrepid Seattle-ite - a water-repellant coat and crushable felt hat made me impervious to the wet (if not the gloom) from October through May.  But now, after only a few days of rain I should be grateful for, curling up with a good book seems like a necessity rather than a luxury.  Rather than cowboy up with my foulies and head to the Sunday farmers market as planned, I read the entire second half of Julie & Julia.

Julie Powell spent a year cooking and writing in the little time around the edges of her full-time government job.  Her blog, the Julie/Julia Project, garnered a loyal following and eventually a book deal.  The book is painfully funny, the sort that annoys anyone trying to get something done near you while you read it.  If they don't ask why you're laughing, you feel compelled to interrupt their labors to tell them anyway.

As enjoyable and well-written as the story is, much of the food prep imagery is vividly appetite-killing.  J & J did not inspire me to get a copy of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, the legendary cookbook Julie Powell works her way through in the 365-day marathon.  But it did reassure me that food and humor go brilliantly together, so long as laughing at yourself, and being able to hold the kitchen disaster of the moment in one hand and the knowledge that you will recognize the absurdity of it eventually in the other, are two life skills you possess.  

Art- Book - Food

Over 140 exhibitors from a dozen countries and as many US states, and which books were my favorites at the Codex International Bookfair?  The ones that tell a story with food, of course.  Someday perhaps there will be an art niche within the book arts world, just as there are niches within the wide realm of jazz.

My perennial favorites, 'Meatball Math' and 'Milk Butter Eggs' by Alice Austin were on display (hard to believe there are still a few of the limited edition prints available).  And right next to her table was Emily Martin's work, a delightful new discovery for me.  'More Slices of Pie' captivated me; and in retrospect I wish I had taken an edition home.  Each slice contains a story, and a recipe.  If I had had a shot at the original 'Eight Slices of Pie' before that sold out, I'm sure I would have wanted both (As in, "pecan or pumpkin?  apple or blackberry?" When faced with these dilemmas, always choose both.)

It's easy to see why the two artists get along famously.  Their work shows a similar sense of humor, storytelling, and playfulness even when dealing with serious themes.  Both also employ a range of book art forms, well-executed: flexagons of various complexities, the triangular and more standard accordians, carousel, Jacob's ladder, intricate map-folds, and more.  The print-making and binding techniques also vary by book, always enhancing the finished feel.

Perhaps someday if I'm lucky and plan well I'll manage to find them together again in one place (Alice being from Philadelphia, Emily from Iowa).  And to record a few moments of 'kitchen table talk' about their work.  Over pie, of course.

Travels with Alice

Artist Alice Austin visited last weekend for the Codex 2009 Bookshow.

Every jam-packed and fun-filled day included memorable meals, with the obligatory documentation. (Alice's photo albums all include notable food, from donuts to holiday feasts).  

We invested our eating-out budget at places known for their local, seasonal, sustainably raised ingredients (ie, slow food).  From Half Moon Bay to Point Reyes Station to Berkeley, we covered a lot of terrain with sights and events first on the list.  But the great food finds in every direction prove that slow food is not restricted to one small locale, or even to large cities.  The Bay Area has enough dedicated eaters (I refuse to be a 'foodie') to support high-quality, independently owned restaurants even in out-of-the-way corners, out of tourist season, and during a recession.  Each one deserves at least one post of its own (check Alice Austin tags to all from this trip).

If we'd had more time, and not spent it in the kitchen, I would also have loved to take Alice to Jack's Prime for a good burger and any one of JZ Cool's eateries.