For Kicks: Leon Russel "Jumpin' Jack Flash/Young Blood" Medley

I heard this on the radio recently, and fell in love! The talent on the stage for Bangladesh is awesome. Enjoy!

Week 1: Sunday Breakfast

Today I made my first official breakfast on The Kind Diet, "Quick Date-Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal", taken from a recipe off Alicia Silverstone's vegan list. Technically, this was only Quick Apple-Cinnamon oatmeal as I didn't have any dates on hand. Now, I am a long-time lover of oatmeal, but this was particularly delicious and super easy to make. Usually I boil two cups water, add in a cup of oats, turn off the heat and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then I add in some cinnamon, and that's usually it. Since I've been staying away from milk lately, it hasn't had the douse of milk I used to add.

However, today's oatmeal was quicker and tastier, and Alicia-approved! Yay! I boiled some water in a saucepan, and meanwhile combined the following in a stainless steel mixing bowl:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup (more like 1... I was at the bottle of the bottle)
• 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (I used a handful and broke them into pieces)
• 1/3 crisp apple, cut in cubes
• some ground up sea salt
• 3 shakes ground cinnamon
• a drizzle of flaxseed oil

Once I'd combined those, I got the pot of water, turned off the stove, and poured the water over the mixture so that the oats were just barely covered. I put a lid on the bowl, and let it sit for 2 minutes or so, and it was ready! It was sooo yummy and very filling. I have a nice warm feeling in my belly now, and I feel very relaxed.

The Kind Diet

I bought Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Diet after discovering her great online community The Kind Life, and am totally on board. I've been "flirting" with going vegan for a few years now, but am ready to take the plunge for real. Today I'm starting 4 weeks of plant-only eating. The things that I usually succumb to are butter, cheese, chocolate, and bread. I'm going to simply seek out vegan alternatives instead of totally depriving myself, because that's not what this "diet" is about. It's about embracing all the wonderful gifts nature provides, celebrating life's blessings, being happy, taking care of myself and doing my part to make the world better for everyone and everything in it by making informed decisions.

After four weeks, I'll see where I'm at and throw myself a little party! I don't rely on too many processed foods, so hopefully the jump to full on "superhero" will be easy and gradual after that. I have no problem eating lots of whole grains and beans, but I need to try to eat more veggies than I already do, and keep fruits as occasional snacks rather than a big basis for my diet. What will be new for me is all the sea vegetables and exotic-sounding foods that are commonly used in eastern cuisine. I'm an adventurous eater, though, so this should be fun!

I plan to post what I eat for breakfast everyday with pictures so that I can 1) remind myself of my commitment daily, 2) start each day off on the right foot, 3) share that healthy, "kind" eating can be easy and delicious, and 4) track my progress! I hope this will be beneficial to others as well, since making small changes, even if only at breakfast, is a great way for us all to make a positive impact. I will of course use the same principles that inform my breakfast choices for the rest of my meals, but I don't want food to completely take over my blog!

Malibu Cooks Tour Mini Recap

Check out my Tweets for a brief look at yesterday's Cooks Tour. Full write up later today!

My live Tweet starts here. You can also check out the hashtag #MalibuCooksTour for related Tweets.

HLife Interview of Annie Jubb

I just read a fascinating interview of Annie Jubb, founder of LifeFood Organic, on the Los Angeles-based blog HLife. HLife stands for "Holistic Health for Humanity" and it's mission is "To empower you to take control of your well-being by understanding and maintaining a lifestyle of optimum physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health."

This statement of purpose really resonates with me, especially because it very closely relates to the mission of The Wellness Community, the non-profit where I work. TWC's mission is "To ensure that all people impacted by cancer are empowered by knowledge, strengthened by action, and sustained by community."

The interview, conducted by Sylvie and Maryl Celiz, co-founders of HLife, touched on many areas of health, and Jubb's anecdotal, poetic, frank way of speaking about the subject matter is so refreshing!

Here is one of my favorite passages:

SC: How important is lifestyle in health?

APJ: Very important. There were some studies of two islands in which populations lived to be very old. And what they found is that, basically, there are conditions of longevity that need to be met. One of them is laughter and community, that they recognize you for your contribution. The other is partnership with family. Also, dancing. Some sort of purpose, whatever it may be, even if it’s “I grow grains, that’s what I do and do it well,”. And a couple of other factors. The other thing in both of these two little islands is that the water was very highly alkaline. And that’s the basis of Secrets of an Alkaline Body, is that if we create a perfect pH balance – 80% alkaline, 20% acidic – you can live very long lives. Anything from pH 7 and above is alkaline and actually rinses the cells clean of acid. So, what is cancer. Cancer can only be met with two conditions: It has to be an extremely acidic environment – about 4 something – and there has to be an anaerobic environment as well, not much oxygen, the blood has to be very viscous, very slowly moving through the body, lots of artifacts, red blood cells that are really weird shapes (they should be really round and bright). But all of it is completely reversible. I’ve seen people with the worst blood and couple months or a year later, beautiful blood.

I love how how Jubb personifies on the cellular level - calling blood 'beautiful' and earlier in the interview, she calls cancer cells 'fat' and 'dopey'. She's got such a great perspective.

I am really encouraged and heartened to learn of such dialogues going on out there, especially right here in Los Angeles! From my quick perusal of HLife, I can already tell I'm going to be a loyal reader. Finding kindred spirits is always such a joy!

Raw Food Expert Annie Jubb

Annie Jubb's new store/cafe LifeFood Organic on Cahuenga will be featured in the Cook's Tour this Saturday in Malibu. (See previous post). Here, Annie introduces some of the ways she gets nutrients from her raw food diet. Everything sounds so amazing!

24th Annual Cook's Tour

So apparently my house is going to be part of the Cook's Tour, which is happening this Saturday, May 8th. The Cook's Tour is a progressive dinner benefit for the Malibu Methodist Nursery School's scholarship program. Tra di Noi will be serving food at our home. Here's the scoop, according to The Malibu Times:

The Malibu Cook's Tour is a long-standing tradition in the Malibu community and is limited to 300 passports. The tour begins at Malibu Methodist Nursery School, 30128 Morning View Drive. Passport tickets are $65 per person. Reservations can be obtained by calling 310.457.5144.

The official website from the school says there are 350 spaces, and it's a self-guided tour of "magnificent Malibu homes" featuring "a gourmet traveling tasting menu prepared by local prominent chefs."

The print version of the Times' article included vignettes of three of the four homes, along with photographs. The descriptions appear re-printed below. (Only the first house's photograph appeared in the online version).

"This home called 'Whitesands House' is one of four homes to be seen on the Malibu Cook's Tour May 8. Laurel Anderson of LifeFood Organic will serve her organic and raw food treats here." (photo above)

"The Tuscan style Villa Sancti di Bella Vista will be one of the four homes seen on the Malibu Cook's Tour on May 8. Tra di Noi will serve Italian treats at this home."

"The 14,000 square foot Villa Cascata (House of the Waterfall), situated on 20 acres of land, with view of Paradise Cove, Little Dume and beyond, will be catered by Chef David Price of Terra restaurant."

I hadn't heard of LifeFood Organic before today, but I am totally intrigued! I'll hopefully head out to Cahuenga soon, so I can try something at at the raw, organic, gluten-free new restaurant!

The Black Keys Are Hollywood Bound

My whirlwind weekend of Black Keys delights has reached its zenith: Jason Bentley announced this morning on KCRW (89.9 FM) that Dan and Pat will play at the Hollywood Palladium September 27th. Tickets go on sale Friday on Ticketmaster. Wonder if there is a fan pre-sale? The list of recently added shows just went up on their website. San Diego show at Soma on September 25th. Scenestar also reports.

Perfect Red Lips

Just discovered Lisa Eldridge, and I love her refined take on the Youtube makeup How-To. I had had a bit of trouble with my Ruby Woo lipstick, mainly due to a careless lack of lip balm or liner, and sought out the best technique online. Here it is:

Isn't she gorgeous? Her prettiness supercedes any imperfections. That's the beauty of well-applied makeup!

Can You OD on a Good Time?

Because that's what this feels like, and it feels good.

And here's why you should brave the sweaty, hot masses of music festivals:

What an absolute DREAM. See Florence + The Machine live if you get the chance. She is so powerful! And man, Cold War Kids... "Audience" is my favorite song of 2010 so far. So happy it's actually getting airtime! (Even if it is only on the obscure stations). Music makes me happy.

INCOGNITO With Jason Bentley

After I graduated college, I was an intern at the Santa Monica Museum of Art. Every now and then I'll stop by GRACIE to check out the funky jewelry and merchandise or help out at an event. Last night I volunteered for SMMoA's annual exhibit and benefit sale INCOGNITO, which features what is definitely the coolest way to sell original artwork (made specifically for this event). Over 700 artists - big name, emerging, local, and international - submitted an 8" by 10" two dimensional piece and signed the back. The fun part is, the identity of the artist isn't revealed until after the piece has been purchased! The whole point is to "trust your instincts" and just buy what you like. Most of the pieces, which were selling for $300 plus tax, sold, and there is a sale of the few leftovers going on at SMMoA today with $10 admission.

Anyway, I was working near the DJ booth, which was manned by none other than KCRW's Jason Bentley, he of the melted-butter voice on "Morning Becomes Eclectic". I geeked out a bit when he arrived and actually did a double hand wave to greet him. (I KNOW.) He said "Hi" and quietly set up his Macbook, while I regained my composure. A couple times throughout the evening I chatted with him a little about some of the songs, and it was so great to talk to somebody who knew way more about music than I did. At one point, though, the thrill of his presence was eclipsed by the sound of a familiar voice streaming out of the speakers...

I hadn't heard this song before. But I could distinguish "howlin'" in the lyrics. OH MY GOODNESS, was it the B side track of the new Black Keys single that had just arrived in the mail that very afternoon? (As I mentioned previously, I love The Black Keys' music so much that I bought the 45 so I could hear it in all it's glorious vinyl goodness. I still need to get a record player...).

Sans record player, I have't gotten to play it yet. I had seen the unofficial video for "Tighten Up", but I hadn't even heard a bootleg of the B side track, "Howlin' for You." Barely containing my excitement, I asked Mr. Bentley if this was indeed that song, and of course....IT WAS. The best part of the story is that this song is UN-EFFING-BELIEVABLE! What a great night. :)

Here's a nice review here of the 12" single for "Tighten Up"/"Howlin' for You". I'll see if I can find a decent version of it online. UPDATE: The Deluxe version of their new album Brothers, out May 18th, is available for order here. Oh yeah, see you on the road.

In Search of Wheat-Free, Organic Bread

Man, life must be hard for people with wheat allergies. I am not one of them, but I am trying to avoid wheat as an experiment to see if my skin clears up. (It always seems a bit inflamed). I am a devout Ralph's shopper because usually I can find most things I need. However, I'm beginning to really wish there were a Whole Foods in Malibu. PC Greens, which I've blogged about before, is great for hard-to-find health food, but their selection isn't very big and it's pretty expensive. These are the main grocery stores in Malibu: PC Greens, which is south (though technically east) of the pier; Ralphs, which is in the center across from the country mart; Vons, only a few years old, in the Point Dume center; and How's, further north by Zuma. There used to be Cook's, but that is now gone. Sometimes on my way home from work I'll stop by the Whole Foods in Santa Monica, where there are ALWAYS cute guys picking up dinner from the gigantic salad bar. That's where I discovered Rudi's Organic bread. To be honest, it was hard even at WF to find bread that didn't contain wheat. What gives? The documentary Food, Inc. stressed how prevalent corn is in America, but what about the preponderance of wheat? Most cereals, breads, and baked goods have it as one of the first ingredients. And now I'm on a mission to seek out tasty alternatives. I'll keep you posted! Let me know if anyone has any recommendations to try.

Eco-Friendly Swimwear

I recently discovered the clothing line LOYALE, and am so excited to have found it! It's ecologically-conscious clothing that is actually chic. I so applaud its designer Jenny Hwa for her philosophy and community-outreach. Did I mention that this line includes swimwear? I am not talking generic bikinis here; the Hermosa suit is so cute, eco or not, I want it! It has a flirty, retro vibe without looking like a costume. According to the website, the S and M sizes have sold out, (no word on larger sizes), so all that is currently available is size XS. Also, after having seen $100+ swim suits set the standard for years, I'm happy to report that this one retails for $84. What a steal!

I also love that the collection galleries are preceded by a blurb about the inspiration for the look, and followed by the mood soundtrack. Happy to see Goldfrapp's Seventh Tree featured in the Fall 2009 gallery.

Addendum: Apparently I don't keep well enough tabs on Vogue, because this very suit was featured in the March 2009 issue. That was a year ago! Oh, well.

Oh, so apparently I'm REALLY not alone on this one. Wow, I'm usually not so aligned with other fashion weighers-in. Here LUCKY magazine declares it their "obsession":

'Wow-ness'

Here is the sequel to "Morgan M. Morgansen's Date With Destiny", posted previously. I can't express how much this delights me! (Channing Tatum is pricklishly foppish; Joseph Gordon-Levitt is as charming as ever).

Kings of Leon announce their tourmates

So... if you check some of my previous posts, you will see that I am a bit of a superfan when it comes to the brothers Followill. My poor roommates in college had to put up with me blasting "Trani" and "On Call" and "Milk" on repeat, when everybody was into Beyonce and Fergie. Yes, they are good-looking and sure, they have an interesting story, but I just can't get enough of their sound. The blood in my veins pulses to a rock 'n' roll beat. I can't be cured.

Thus afflicted, I naturally have tickets to see them this summer at the Hollywood Bowl. I'm very excited, as I couldn't think of a better venue to see them. The point of this post, though, is to underscore the momentous event that I've just learned, which, in fact, proves that a better scenario DOES exist: KoL has just announced that throughout the month of September, The Black Keys will be opening for them. Now, allow me to elucidate the significance of this revelation: Last week I bought the Key's new single "Tighten Up". On vinyl. Yeah... I don't even own a record player. At least not yet. They are my second favorite band. Yep, just let that all sink in. Get cozy with that.

The Kings of Leon and The Black Keys will be touring together from September 3rd (Indianapolis) through September 24th (Dallas). Unfortunately the Keys won't be in California at all this summer, but no matter, I WILL be at one of these shows.

Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention that today is the last day to enter the "King of the Lawn" ticket giveaway sweepstakes. Enter here.

A review of the as yet unplayable record is available here. You can add to your record collection, too: Click here. In the meantime, here's something to tickle your ears and wallop your soul: