Monthly Archives: April 2010

Mar Vista Farmer’s Market Wrap-Up 4/18/10

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Today I ran into my old friends Sandy Kroopf and Lisa Bromwell at the market. They’re going to make a couple of delicious things: Cannelini beans with Tuscan kale and swiss chard (soak the beans, then cook with carrot and onion, then chop kale and chard and add to the bean mixture, wilting it all together)Plus braised baby artichokes (cook with some orange zest, garlic, saffron until soft, then toss with pasta and top with oil-cured olives and chopped almonds — and of course, chopped parsley as well — Lisa’s favorite garnish). Sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing your meal ideas with us!

Then I ran into Valerie D., the Plastic Bag Monster, Vanity G., and Fernando A. from Venice High’s CASAA program (Culinary Arts and Sustainable Agriculture Academy) and you can learn more about their program through the Venice High Learning Garden’s website. They were at the market to promote awareness of the evils of plastic bags (they are monstrous!) and to offer an alternative: the ChicoBag, which is reusable and which they are selling to raise money for their school programs. They’ll be at the market every 2nd Sunday if you’d like to stop by and support them.

Teachers from Grand View Elementary School were on hand to spread the word that the school will be holding a Community Open House this Wednesday, April 21st from 8:30am – 10am to promote the Dual Language Spanish Immersion program and all the other great programs available there.

New at the market today: Kazimir Klossowski and Reisha Fryzer of Vital Zuman, a backyard fruit and vegetable co-op.

And in the Green Booth today, Christopher McKinnon and Jeanne Kuntz were on hand promoting next week’s Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase. If you see a garden with this banner flying, then it’s on the tour and you can feel free to stop and check it out! Don’t forget: it’s next Sunday, April 25th, from 2 – 6pm.

Mar Vista’s Gone Green Community Sing-A-Long 5/2

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Mar Vista’s Gone Green. You know the song, now be a part of the music video! Deborah Poppink Hirshland (aka Didi Pop), Mar Vista’s own Green Songwriter is calling on us all to submit photos of ourselves and our green-ness: Show off those solar panels,

those rain barrels, those drought-tolerant lawns!

And let us hear you sing, too!

Videotape yourself singing or turn out on May 2nd at 10am at the Mar Vista Farmer’s Market — and/or at 4pm at Mar Vista Park — and we’ll videotape for you! You’ve heard of We Are The World? Well, We Are Mar Vista, And We Are Green!!

You can find the lyrics to the song on this very site and all the details about how to submit your videos and photos on Didi Pop’s website. So start practicing, Mar Vista!

Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase Next Sunday 4/25

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Sunday, April 25th, from 2 – 6pm, enjoy a free, self-guided tour of Mar Vista’s Greenest Gardens. The Mar Vista Community Council’s Green Committee has put together this 2nd Annual Green Garden Showcase and it’s even bigger than last year, with nearly 80 gardens this time! The gardens have been divided into 6 tours that make sense by bike or foot, but of course, if there are specific gardens you’d like to see, you can go directly to them. All 6 tour maps can be found on the MVCC Green Committee’s website, where there’s also a photo and description of each garden.

Some have California native plants, some are drought tolerant, some have vegetable gardens; they’re all a little different, but they’re all Green. Take a moment to search out what you’re looking for and then plan out your route. It was lovely afternoon last year and I’m sure it will be again this year. Happy Earth Day!

Bryan Hawkins Kenpo Karate

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The Bryan Hawkins Kenpo Karate dojo has been a Mar Vista fixture for nearly 10 years. Located in what used to be a Rexall Drug store, classes are offered for kids ages 4 and up, yes, including adults, and they’re offered every day after school and on Saturdays. They also have a summer camp, PS. Brian Hawkins studied karate for many years and also has a dojo in Granada Hills. Rumor has it he was a stunt double in a few movies, but I can’t swear to it. Self-discipline is emphasized, and I can tell you from experience that the kids get a workout! (My kids attend classes (which we pay full price for) at the dojo.) Contact the studio for tuition.Plus did I mention there are these nice chairs for parents and siblings to sit on while watching that classes? Oh — and? There’s free wi-fi courtesy of Open Mar Vista. Thanks Open Mar Vista!

Bryan Hawkins Kenpo Karate, 12243 Venice Blvd., Mar Vista 90066 (310) 313-3883.

Mar Vista Farmer’s Market Wrap-up 4-11-10

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Here’s what’s new at the market today: Organic Blueberries and FireHook, a Korean BBQ taco truck. I sampled the blueberries and they are sweet and delicious. I also tried the tacos — mighty tasty. Today in the Green Booth, Paul Herzog from Surfrider’s Ocean Friendly Gardens was on hand, helping to inspire green gardens.

Speaking of which, please don’t forget about the 2nd Annual Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase, coming up this year in two weeks — April 25th, from 2 – 6pm. You can read more about the tour and see maps of the different routes on the Mar Vista Community Council Green Committee’s website.

Caroline Donahue Changed My Workflow For The Better

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It’s been about 2 months since Caroline Donahue came and brought her Remabulous self over to my office to do productivity bootcamp on my butt and I thought I’d take a little look back at my progress. I have to start by saying, my desk is still a mess.

But somehow it works for me.

When I called Caroline I was drowning in emails and it’s not like the tide has slowed, but it’s more of an attitude shift on my part and a few new strategies Caroline gave me. First of all, she reset the time interval when my email gets downloaded onto my computer; instead of instantly, it only shows up every 30 minutes. Of course she wants me to reset that interval to once an hour, but I’ve taken baby steps. Because of course beyond that, there’s turning the darn thing off all together, but that’s just crazy talk. So I have learned to live with 30 minutes.

Next, I sort them as they come in — if it doesn’t fit in a category it goes in the trash. And Caroline’s rule was to set a time to check emails, and during that time, answer ones that can be done in 2 minutes or less and file the rest away. Then you have to have time planned to go through those files, but we assume that you will. Or that I will. Which I have most days.

And the result: an empty inbox. Yes, it even drew hatred on Twitter this week, but I can live with that kind of hatred, because I have an empty inbox for the 2nd time this week.

Got Milk?

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I’m a sucker for anybody giving free things to people who need them, and the Got Milk people are giving money to hungry families for every “virtual’ gallon of milk passed on their facebook page. They even made a video with some very famous people, including yours truly *ahem*, passing some ceremonial milk. Have a look and then please consider clicking over and helping them give more to Feeding America.