Please vote!

I am reaching out to anyone who is reading my blog these days. A restaurant in LA called Forage started a program a while back to have urban farmers give their harvest to the restaurant in exchange for a meal. The program was shutdown and now they are starting a group called The Homegrowers Circle. With the help of a grant, they are subsidizing the nominal certification fee so that those involved can grow and legally sell their product to this restaurant and others in LA. Along with this opportunity they are asking the circle to blog about their experiences growing and getting certified.

But before we can join this great group we need your help. I wrote a small blurb about us and now need your vote to be chosen. Click here and scroll down to vote for Malika + Donny.

Thanks!

Living Locally Spotlight In the News

If you have been keeping tabs on tv or on the newsstands lately, "living locally" has shown up in a few of my favorite places.

Last week's episode of Top Chef focused on local produce & protein from Napa Valley, CA. The contestants were challenged to create a menu use only local ingredients, except for a bit of salt & pepper. Top Chef is a perfect venue to get the word out for living locally. Check out Bravo for a repeat of the episode if you missed it.

And if you find yourself at a local bookstore, pick up a copy of Los Angeles Magazine. December's issue features local vendors in Los Angeles. Not all products are made with materials grown or produced in So-cal, but this is a good start in promoting local businesses and handmade goods.

RIP Julius Shulman 1910 - 2009

Here is an excerpt from the LA Times obituary of legendary photgrapher Julius Shulman who passed away yesterday. In my opinion, Shulman made one of the greatest impacts on Los Angeles architecture and lifestyle (through photography, no less) to date:

Julius Shulman, whose luminous photographs of homes and buildings brought fame to a number of mid-20th century Modernist architects and made him a household name in the architectural world, died Wednesday night. He was 98.

Starting with Richard Neutra in 1936, Shulman's roster of clients read like a who's who of pioneering contemporary architecture: Rudolf M. Schindler, Gregory Ain, Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles Eames, Raphael S. Soriano, John Lautner, Eero Saarinen, Albert Frey, Pierre Koenig, Harwell Harris and many others. His work was contained in virtually every book published on Modernist architects.

After the Depression, Shulman's studio was one of three in the U.S. to which Arts & Architecture, Architectural Forum and other magazines turned to document the exciting new work being done in architecture. The others were Ezra Stoller's firm in New York and the Hedrich Blessing firm in Chicago.

Shulman's 1960 photograph of Koenig's Case Study House #22 -- a glass-walled, cantilevered structure hovering above the lights of

Los Angeles, became one of the most famous architectural pictures ever taken in the U.S. It was, as architecture critic Paul Goldberger wrote in the New York Times, "one of those singular images that sum up an entire city at a moment in time."

But Shulman's work went well beyond merely taking beautiful pictures of houses and buildings. His mission was to use his photography to build the reputation of the architects who were bringing innovative design to the West. Indeed, his photographs were, by and large, all that most

people would ever see of noted architects' works, many of which were later destroyed.

Shulman's photographs were not without controversy. Some believed he made the structures look too beautiful.

He rearranged furniture to suit his perspective, brought in props and posed models in the frame. Sometimes he used filters or infrared film to make his photos look more dramatic and full of contrast. He also would shoot through cut branches or pots of nursery plants to give the impression that a newly completed home was more fully landscaped.

Shulman was unapologetic about these tactics, saying he wasn't just taking pictures, he was "selling Modernism."

Shulman is survived by a daughter, Judy McKee, and a grandson, Timothy, both of Santa Barbara.

Click here for the complete article.

West Los Angeles Subway??

It almost doesn't seem real that I am blogging about a subway in LA that would potentially get me from Venice to Downtown Los Angeles. The rumors of a "Subway to the Sea" have been floating around for the 9 years I've lived in LA and I'm sure they were around decades before that. The biggest rumor of the stalled planning is that Beverly Hills is against having a subway under their quiet little bubble of a city. (see map of the dream route). According to the LA Times, soil samples were collected today as part of a study to begin planning this monstrosity construction. The samples were conducted in not only Hollywood, Century City and Miracle Mile, but also in Beverly Hills.

The proposed transit system would thankfully connect to the existing subways / railways that run through Koreatown, Downtown and up to Pasadena & the Valley.

There is a light rail sytem called the Expo Train that is already in the works by the MTA. Construction began on this project in 2006. Phase 1 would go from Downtown LA to Culver City and is expected to start running by summer 2010, while Phase 2 would expand the route to the Santa Monica beach and wouldn't open until 2015. While this is a huge step for public transportation in LA and an above ground system would increase public conciousness, I believe an underground option is just more effective. The biggest issue people face is the cost and time of being in their cars. I am concerned that the Expo Train could increase traffic and not be quicker.

While writing this post friends have questioned where the line would run and how fast they could get from Point A to Point B. One friend wanted to get from Hollywood to the beach, but most of these potential lines don't have that option, which means making multiple stops or drive & park. That drive/park idea isn't an option if you want to use the train instead of taking a cab on a night out. Another friend who lives in Hollywood and already takes the Metro Downtown said it takes her 45 min. - 1 hr., which is twice the drive time if she took a car. According to the Expo Train website the average trip from Culver City to Downtown (on the Expo Train) will be less than 30 minutes, which is the same as if you were in your car. Of course you always need to take parking & unforseen traffic into consideration as well, depending on where/when you are going. Take a look at some of the renderings I've posted of the potential Expo Train. I have to say, it looks pretty cool!

I appreciate the bike lane additions. They are going past the idea of public transportation and allowing people to have access and safety in all forms of transport.

If your coffee can't be local...can your coffeeshop?

Something has gone terribly wrong in Venice. And it's called Intelligentsia Coffee. One of these "coffeebars" landed on Abbot Kinney this past Monday in the old Scentiments (flower shop) plot. Donny and I walked in there last weekend and were not sure if we were still in Venice; in that bad way.

The coffee was good. And the pistachio scone was yummy. But the interior decoration and overall design went way too far. I love modern and I love to try new concepts, but this was too much and not Venice. Every espresso machine was see-thru, as in you could see the mechanics. There were at least 4-5 espresso coffee stations. Every countertop that wasn't glass or stainless was some sort of wood looking material. It definitely didn't look like reclaimed wood, compared to the tables at Gjelina. And it didn't even come close to the simple, minimalist style at Axe. The baristas were all wearing uniforms, which was a big red flag that this meant corporate. It felt contrived and overly commercial. I'm there to get a cup of coffee, not feel like I'm in a commercial for coffee AND all of its machines, beans, cups, accessories, etc. There were more things to buy than flavors of coffee.

And the clientele. For having been open not even one weekend prior the place was buzzing. I felt as though I was on a TV set filled with happy, trendy people sipping lattes and having just the Most Amazing Weekend! That maybe real for some people in LA, but its not my neighborhood.

My house has a stoner who lives in his car and several cats that roam the streets like they own it.

I never thought we "needed" another coffee shop on Abbot Kinney. I think we have done just fine with Abbot's Habit, 3 Square, Groundwork and the Dola newsstand (see photo), which incidentally sells Intelligentsia coffee. Now, I already know that the owner of the otheroom has plans for a cafe/market of his own so that you can buy snacks and drink beer next door to the bar. Somehow even though I know he has at least 5 bars between NY, LA and Miami - it still feels like a local joint. Maybe its the interior design, maybe because I've met the owner and he's a cool guy or maybe because its just a fun place to hang out and there are only 2 other bars on Abbot Kinney.

Something has to change and I'm not sure what that something is. I am worried that my lovely hippie, arty, often wealthy, yet weird neighborhood has gone too far and raised the real estate prices too much. No one else can afford to own a shop. A good friend of mine opened up a lovely shoe boutique just down the street. They sold designer shoes. Both she & her partner live in Venice. They were open for about 2 years and just closed because they couldn't sell enough to cover the rent. Within a year I fear that twice the number of stores will have valet, t-shirts will cost more than $200 and Abbot's Pizza will be a distant memory. Venice has a lot of history & heart. I didn't sign up to live in Beverly Hills or 3rd Street or even Santa Monica. Venice is my home.

In closing, here is a little taste of Intelligentsia's mission in creating the Venice coffeebar:

...another re-imagining of what a coffee experience can be...guests are not met with the standard experience of waiting in line. After passing through the iron gates facing the bustling boulevard, visitors walk down an ivy-covered hall open to the sky where they are greeted at a butcher block “concierge desk.” From this point, they are taken to one of four custom-fabricated espresso machines where their espresso drink or coffee-by-the-cup is prepared. The idea is for a barista to stay with one person throughout the interaction to create an individualized experience for every customer, regardless of how many are being served.

Intelligentsia hired Ana Henton of MASS Architecture & Design to execute the Venice coffeebar. Henton created a space that contains very little in the way of defined seating, and there is no counter or register, which will create a more communal sense of setting.

Local Q&A: Canning et plus

Q: So my girl and I wanna figure out the best, cheapest setup to can some vegetables over the summer. Mostly tomatoes, if that makes a difference. We don't have too big a garden. 10 tomato plants, 4 pepper plants, some beets and onions. We're not preparing for a zombie apocalypse. Just wanna avoid tossing what we don't eat fresh. Also, how are you?

A: Canning is a lot of fun if you make a day or evening of it. Open a bottle of wine and crank some good tunes...it is time consuming, and has to be done all at once. There are two main methods to canning. One is the "water bath" method. This can be done in a large pot (sometimes I use my biggest soup pot.) This method can be used for jams, pickles and other food items with lots of preservatives (salt, sugar, vinegar) Basically you put the goods in the clean jars, submerge them in water and let them boil. Tomatoes are high in acid and are not usually prepared in those preservatives and therefore need to be prepared with the pressure cooker method. I bought a canning pressure cooker at OSH for 40 or 50 bucks. This method increases the temps. Pressure cookers can be a little nerve wrecking since they can explode at any minute. But todays pressure cookers are pretty safe, as long as you use them wisely. I wouldn't trust the one my grandma used to use. The other really important thing to know is that EVERYTHING must be sterilized. Jars, lids, and canning tools should be clean and sterilized. I use a couple of other pots of boiling water. I also use clean towels so I don't have to touch the jars. There is plenty of info online about cooking times for various items. It really depends on the recipe. I recommend "Preserving the Harvest" by Costenbader and "Pickles and Relishes" (if you are into that sort of thing) by Chesman for good recipes. Both books also have chapters on methods and cooking times. Good luck man. That is awesome that you are growing some food.

I'm not sure when the last time we spoke, but we moved into a new house in Highland Park. We're renting, but the landlord is a friend and let's us do whatever we want to the yard. We've removed most of the grass in the back yard and are working on turning it into a large garden. We also just got 3 chickens. Should be sweet once [they] start laying eggs. Their names are Edith (black) Mildred (brown) and Prudence (blonde). We wanted to name them good Depression Era names. Here are a few pics. (see above) You can see how fast they have grown in only three and a half weeks. Hope all is well with you.

Local Aphid Resurgence

Donny checks the tomato plants every day. He waters them, makes sure the leaves are growing above the ladder rungs and if they're not he trains them to.

He is also on the lookout for aphids. Last season we had a bountiful amount of fruit, but just as many leaves covered in the green slimy suckers. Aphids can not only prevent your fruit from growing, but it can quickly kill your plant. Next to rodents and lack of sun, aphids are a burden to all gardeners.

Donny learned from the head gardener at our local nursery, that when you find aphids you can clip the leaves and put them in a plastic bag. These leaves should go in your trash and not in your compost, which risks infesting all future fertilizer.

And last night, Donny found that the aphids had returned, so he made an emergency run to Anawalt

for a container full of adorable little red ladybugs. The directions advise you to present the ladybugs in colder weather and that if you do not have aphids, the ladybugs will just leave. If the aphids have taken over, then the ladybugs will sit on the leaves and eat the slimy suckers.

Ladybugs are a great non-toxic option to chemical repellents. It also doesn't hurt that they are pretty adorable to look at and see roaming around your garden. They definitely can't hurt your plants, so I suggest giving them a try.

All photos featured here - by Donny Martino Jr.

1st sign of Summer Flowers

In my mind the best kind of summer flowers are that which turn into tomatoes. In the past week almost all of our tomato plants in the rooftop garden have begun to produce fruits. I've seen maybe a half dozen of the tiniest tomatoes you could imagine. The rest of them are little flowers that almost look like marigolds. Any day now they will all be that gorgeous red color. It is very uplifting to know this year's crop is likely to do really well. We are already looking into canning options.

Beet Holiday Harvest

This past weekend we excitedly harvested and consumed the 1st of the season beets. See their 2 month story.

Quick Beet Salad

Trim the greens and add to your compost. (I have seen some beet green recipes online, but haven't tried them myself.) Rinse the beets and use a potato scrubber to get the dirt off and clean them up. Cut them in half and toss them in a pot of salted water. Boil the water and let them simmer for about 30 minutes or until tender. Drain and cut into smaller pieces or whatever you choose. The skin should easily peel off. Compost the remaining waste.

I chilled the beets and added toasted almonds, blue cheese and a quick dressing (1 part olive oil, 1 part orange juice, 1 part balsamic vinegar wisked together).

We just planted some more seeds and may try pickling them next time.

Taking stock of our Local Urban Garden

Last weekend Donny and I spent a good chunk of Saturday & Sunday planting more and cleaning up our garden.  We are preparing for a light spring harvest and a plentiful summer feast!  See down below for a taste of whats to come AND here is what we have growing:  

FRONT GARDEN

BLUE BERRY BUSH Ω

DILL *

LEMON TREE Ω²

MINT ^

(9) WHITE ONIONS °

(2) PARSLEY PLANTS

(2) ROYESTA TOMATO PLANTS **

(2) SAN FRANCISCO TOMATO PLANTS ** 

(tomatoes & onions in raised bed / everything else planted right into the ground)

ROOFTOP GARDEN

(2) ASPARAGUS PLANTS ^ 

(2) SPICY BASIL / SWEET BASIL Ω 

(8) BEETS *

BUNCHING ONIONS Ω

(4) WHITE ONIONS ° 

(2) PEPPERONCINI PLANTS *

(2) SALSA HYBRID PEPPER PLANTS *

(2) ROSEMARY * 

(2) CELEBRITY TOMATO PLANTS ***

CHERRY GRANDE TOMATO PLANT ***

(2) ROMA TOMATO PLANTS ***

SPRITE TOMATO PLANT ***

(2) "VOLUNTEER" TOMATO PLANTS ▲

(containers only)

KEY: 

 ° from bulb

* from seed

** indeterminate / from seed

*** determinate / from seed

² transplanted from last apartment

^ continuing to grow from last summer

Ω started as seedling from nursery / farmer's market

▲aka "the others" / unknown plants that sprouted in other pots

Beets soon to be harvested.

Local Voting

Yesterday was Election Day for many of you, including those in Los Angeles.  The two hot topics on the table were the race for Mayor and Measure B (Solar Energy).  Here are some numbers comparing registered voters to actual turnout.  It's pretty depressing considering the people who came out in November.

                 Registered Ballots Cast % Reporting

City of Los Angeles 1,596,165  239,374     0.15

On a better note, a few weeks ago Venice had a local vote through the Venice Neighborhood Council.  The subject of said vote was on Overnight Parking Districts.  Although the outcome was not what I wanted, an overwhelming 1506 people came out.  (See picture below I took of Venice democracy at work.) This surpasses the 1189 voters who came out in 2005 for a different issue. Donny and I personally stood in line for over an hour at the Venice library just to cast our vote. Now it has come to some attention that the ballot counting process may have been flawed and could turn into a re-vote.  We will wait and see.

 

And one last note, even though it's not about my local community.  My good friend Katie Wilson won her race in Vermont as Brattleboro Town Rep for District 2.  Congrats!

Bread

Donny has a favorite bread called Black Pepper Parmesan that is made by Manhattan Bread & Bagel.  He will often ride his bike down on Tuesdays to the Manhattan Beach Farmers' Market to pick up a loaf or two.  Even though he likes to make that ride a couple times a week for exercise, its a long way to go just for bread.  Twenty-four miles roundtrip to be exact. Last time he was at the market, the guy told Donny MB&B will start selling products at the Venice Farmers' Market. Wonderful!  So this morning we rode the 1/2 mile and scoured the small, but plentiful market and found MB&B around the corner at the end.  Much to our surprise we walked up to a dozen plastic containers full of...bagels.  Donny nicely asked the guy if he had any bread.  The man replied simply, but with some anger and resentment, that he is only allowed to sell bagels and he can't sell anything else.  So I bought a bagel (and it was really tasty!).  

Disappointed, Donny found Jim who is the guy that runs the Venice Farmers' Market. Jim decided to give us a little lesson in big business.  His speil was basically about how The Breadman has been here for 14 years and MB&B has been here for 2 weeks.  He contests that MB&B is actually a bakery and has too much inventory.  Not sure why that's a bad thing.  He went on to say that if MB&B can sell anything they want then the Bread Man will be out of business.  And then an even larger company will come along and push out MB&B.  The moral of the story, according to Jim, is that soon we'll just have only big businesses at the farmers' market.  Yet oddly, the Rockenwagner stand sells anything they want (including bread) - they are not only a bakery, but a cafe too!  With 3 locations!  That seems to be a much larger establishment than MB&B.  I think a little competition is good and it also gives people options.  There isn't just one stand that sells orange juice or just one stand that sells berries, so why can't we have more than 2 stands selling bread?

Here is one of the rules from the Venice Farmers' Market Operating Rulebook: 8. Producers are admitted into the market based on the following considerations: consumer demand, product mix or competition at the VFM, and/or seniority on the waiting list.

I tend to think we're pretty knowledgeable about our local bread and we weren't there just to give Jim or the Venice Farmers' Market a hard time. We've had at least a dozen experiences with The Bread Man bread going stale in a matter of days. We've tried so many things, including putting it in the bread box, a plastic bag, a paper bag, a plastic bag in a paper bag. And though Rockenwagner has amazing challah, the normal bread loaves are extremely dense and dry that it is often impossible to cut or bite down. All we want is our Black Pepper Parmesan bread.  Isn't that enough consumer demand?

Living Locally returns to Los Angeles

I am not ashamed to say that at the core, Donny and I are lazy when it comes to cooking and preparing food.  While we do like to make our own food and create homemade dishes our natural instinct is to go out to a restaurant or get something delivered.  Last night was no different.  We had not "thought" about what to make for dinner, which translates to "we think" there is nothing to eat.  Of course there is a small mountain of local chicken, bison, turkey and beef in the freezer, but that would need to be thawed and thawing takes time.  Time that you don't have when you want food that second.  For a moment I unknowingly mislead Donny into thinking that we had salad mix.  When he found out that we didn't (my mistake), he was briefly let down and then realized, wait, we have our own salad mix!  Donny went up to the rooftop garden.  In barefeet and pajama pants he went grocery shopping for fresh lettuce.  

Los Angeles Trash Part 1: GREEN

I've put together a 3 part post that will help you figure out what trash items you can put in each of your 3 Los Angeles bins: black, blue and green.  If you do not have a home composting system yet or want to know more about where to throw out your trash, here are some answers.  And the more we know about what we can recycle or compost, the less waste will clog up our landfills.  

What can you put in the GREEN bin?

- Food scraps: fruits, veggies and grains 

Basically the bin is vegan - so no scraps that contain animal products, even milk, cheese or eggs.

- Grass, leaves, old flowers, weeds, palm frawns/tree branches, clean wood

Make sure that these items do not contain metal like nails in wood or wire wrapped around the flowers.

And it's interesting to note that compostable food containers, bags and silverware cannot go in the green bin.  These items should go in the black bin, unless of course you do have a composting system at home.  The LA Department of Public Works tells the LA Times that the city is looking to change that in the future.

Now if you live in Santa Monica (or have a friend there) it's a different story.  The green bins act as a composting bin, so feel free to throw in all your food scraps (even the non-vegan ones) and compostable food containers & silverware.  I think you can even throw pizza boxes in the green bin, but you might want to talk to the city and confirm that one first.

LA's cutest weed killers

The Community Redevelopment Agency for the City of Los Angeles (aka CRA/LA) helps to revitalize older communities and attracts building homes for all income levels.  This particular property near Bunker Hill in Downtown Los Angeles has been overgrown with weeds.  Normally the city would hire workers to remove them with weed wackers that project smoke and toxic emmissions into our air.  Instead they hired billy goats. The local goats, from Chino, graised our land for about 2 weeks.  It was a pretty amazing sight.  The goats are cheaper, release no emissions and their poop is a fertilizer for the land.  If the land needs more help the goats will be asked back, but in the meantime they have a lot of work to do.  

Eat.Shop

In my unprecedented amount of free time, I have been reading books & magazines about 250% more. Fancy that. (See new GoodReads widget sidebar.) In this quest for information, I have been re-introduced to my favorite travel guide series – there is a new edition out for Los Angeles. I first found the eat.shop guides last year when I was preparing for a trip to Europe. I had already found my hotels and I knew the major museums to peruse, but I really wanted a guide to just tell me the raddest, hippest, cutest shops and restaurants in Paris. Because there is seriously nothing I love to do more (aside from helping the environment, of course!) than to Eat and Shop. Each listing is paired with wonderful color photographs of literally just food and stuff. The great part about these photos is that they are mostly close-ups and are so crisp and colorful that they just pop out of the page and make you want to buy or eat it immediately.

Anyway – back to the new Los Angeles guide. I was in my new favorite boutique in Venice called Firefly, which is basically one of those all-purpose shops for women who love adorable things. Usually I don’t love adorable things, but they have great recycled stationary, plenty of goodies made with recycled materials, and just all around cute stuff for your home and body. Firefly is featured in this second edition of eat.shop, so they are naturally selling the guide. Just by flipping through it I found many shops featured sell recycled or vintage clothes – many of which I have never heard of, which is exciting. In a city like LA where there are so many big chain options, you really want to know about the hard to find, totally unique shops.

In the preface the writer talks about the different listings being homegrown, distinctive, posh or street-style. I kind of love that because so many of us are all of those things on different days. It is also nice how many different areas this guide manages to cover. The writer refers to LA as being sprawling and that is exactly true. How many guides feature 12 shops in the Venice area alone?!?

As you know, this website is all about locally-grown products, but supporting local vendors is just as important too. That’s not to say you shouldn’t take into consideration where they get their ingredients or products from, but most locally owned restaurants take pride in showcasing what our local farms have to offer. I often find that a locally owned shop is more welcoming and they tend to remember you after repeat visits, which just makes me feel good. The eat.shop guide is definitely for a traveler seeking a special visit to Los Angeles or an Angeleno who wants to find the best shops around. If for some reason the adorable 4x4 square book is too daunting or you just want to save paper, you can buy PDF’s of the guide on their website for almost 35% off.

Stay tuned as I visit & review some of the shops highlighted in
eat.shop los angeles: second edition.