Monday, August 31, 2009 

Thank you, Sheila

for making the 80's so delicious with the Silver Palate cookbook adventures.

Sheila Lukins, who co-wrote "The Silver Palate" cookbooks and who was co-owner of the influential Upper West Side food shop of the same name, died Sunday at the age of 66. She'd been diagnosed with brain cancer three months ago. - Epicurious.

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the station fire


Los Angeles Fire over the San Fernando Valley
Originally uploaded by jburnap.

in all it's destructive glory.

Sunday, August 30, 2009 

Say a little prayer today


La Cañada fire
Originally uploaded by McDeez.

Firefighters will need all the help they can get.


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Saturday, August 29, 2009 

Say some prayers for the Vedanta Temple


Vedanta Temple - La Crescenta, CA
Originally uploaded by santa barbarian.

serving the La Crescenta / La Canada-Flintridge area.

The area is ablaze and the temple is located in the foothills just west of the major portion of the Station Fire burning uncontrolled in the San Gabriel mountains.

Say some prayers for the residents of the 210 corridor...it's not looking good.

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4 years ago


HURRICANE KATRINA New Orleans
Originally uploaded by greenmannowar.

Hurricane Katrina decided to visit The Big Easy

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Thursday, August 27, 2009 

Maybe I don't have to worry


Another day, another brush fire in SoCal ...
Originally uploaded by lapie.

about getting the remainder of my things out of storage. Things just might, well, be taken out in a different way.

 

Santa Barbara is Foodie Festival Central

So much food...so many venues...so much delicious news to digest.
Get your palates primed for October in Santa Barbara, set to become taste-bud heaven when epicure.sb rolls in. The monthlong series of over 90 events throughout the region will feature food-and-wine-related festivals, cooking classes, special dinners, art exhibits and more.Here are samples to note from the smorgasbord: the California Avocado Festival (Oct. 2-4) and the Harbor & Seafood Festival (Oct. 10). The Santa Barbara Beer Festival is scheduled for Oct. 17, and, happening on the same day are a Global Gardens festival in Los Olivos and a Lemon Festival in a Santa Barbara park.

On Tuesdays throughout the month, top dining establishments will take turns hosting the Santa Barbara Chefs & Winemakers Dinner Series. From Oct. 24-25, wineries in downtown Santa Barbara invite you to an Urban Wine Trail Weekend. And insatiable bookworms might be interested in the Book Den’s “Santa Barbara Writes About Food” evenings. See the Santa Barbara tourism bureau’s calendar of events for more details on these and other events. - Latte Times

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Tuesday, August 25, 2009 

Mad City Chickens

arriving tonight at the Faulkner Gallery! 7:00 p.m.

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Heart attack waiting to happen

KFC's "Double Down"...perhaps they should name it the double bypass.
We were dubious when we first read that Kentucky Fried Chicken was coming out with a new sandwich that does away with the bread in favor of two fried fillets. And that the "sandwich" part of the sandwich involved was made of cheese, something called Colonel's sauce .. and bacon? - Latte Times
KFC doesn't offer official nutritional information on their website to tell potential Double Downers what they might be doing to their internal system, so we here at The Vancouver Sun have taken out our chemistry set and rebuilt the Double Down in our underground lab with a view to figuring out how it works.

The results show this one menu item can be estimated to supply more than the daily recommended allowance in fat (124%), saturated fat (117%), cholesterol (105%), sodium (125%) and protein (194%), as well as 61% of your daily recommended calorie intake. - The Ottawa Citizen




The Double Down YouTube provided by the fine folks at FoodGeekery who investigated this new entry into "why you are fat" inventions.

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Friday, August 21, 2009 

Happy Big 5-0, Hawai'i!

and one of your famous "sons" wishes you a wonderful day of Statehood, too...
President Barack Obama commemorated Hawaii’s 50th Statehood anniversary today with a proclamation lauding “the extensive and rich contributions of native Hawaiian culture to our national character.” - Honolulu star bulletin
Aloha! hau'oli la hanau....



Get some delicious Aloha spirit at Edible Hawaiian Islands, Big Island Bees and Big Island Candies.

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The Morgan Horse Show is in town


Leadline Class
Originally uploaded by santa barbarian.

if you want to see some great, family friendly horses, head on down to Earl Warren Showgrounds and watch some classes and visit the stables.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009 

Happy Birthday, Big Dog



A Votre Sante, William Jefferson (Blythe III) Clinton!

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Do you know where your bag is?

There are a few folks in town who want to know and have some suggestions on how to remember.

The City of Santa Barbara, Channelkeeper, Choose to Reuse, and the California Grocers Association have joined together to create the Where’s Your Bag? campaign. The goal of the campaign is to educate the public about the negative environmental effects of plastic and paper single-use bags, and to promote the use of reusable shopping bags. This campaign is part of a community-wide effort to provide a solutions-based approach to this important environmental issue.

The average person uses over 500 bags per year and we’d like to see that number reduced dramatically. Plastic bags are causing huge problems in our oceans: animals like sea turtles die when they mistake them for food, and the plastic breaks down into small bits that end up in the fish we eat. Paper bag production is extremely energy intensive - far more so than plastic bags. Only a small percentage of each type of bag is recycled. Where’s Your Bag? aims to educate the general public about the problems associated with single use bags and the easy way to fix them by bringing their own reusable bags whenever they shop. - City of Santa Barbara

Stop by the Kick-Off Event

When: August 28, 2009, 2pm to 5pm
Where: De La Guerra Plaza
The Where’s Your Bag? campaign kick-off is a public event. Join us for this fun event featuring the Banana Slug String Band from Santa Cruz, reusable bag giveaways, a plastic bag collection site (help us see how many plastic bags we can collect by bringing and trading them for a reusable bag), an interactive “Trashy Fashion Show” (there will be prizes!), and information tables to learn more about the subject. This will be a fun, family-friendly educational event.

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Tuesday, August 18, 2009 

Some terrifying thoughts

from commentors on EdHat a local news hub regarding yet another homeless persons death.

RANGER61
2009-08-18 01:05 AM
I ceratinly don't give a rats ass how many homeless people die in this city. If they ALL die, isn't that a GOOD thing???

BUFFALOGUY
2009-08-18 07:56 AM
...They live disgusting lives and are a burden to tax payers and businesses here in SB. I won't go so far to say they all deserve to die, but I wouldn't be sad if our homeless population in Santa Barbara decimated.

Apparently these folks have no clue about homelessness and the causes but their thoughts they so freely express show a hostility that is unnerving...and scary.

Mrs. Child, a Santa Barbara local hero, is turning in her grave.

Mrs. Child was a strong-willed New England woman. She had been a gracious hostess at the social galas for which Vegamar was famous, and she became an equally gracious hostess to a community of "knights on the road," homeless pensioners who lived in shacks on her property. Around 1935 a few men, victims of the Depression, stopped for awhile on Mrs. Child's property. To the chagrin of local authorities she didn't drive them off, but instead allowed them to settle there and eventually to build a permanent, self policed community. She insisted on order and neatness, occasionally visiting them to inspect the premises, hand out advice, and on holidays, half dollars. - The former Child's Estate...the Santa Barbara Zoo.

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Monday, August 17, 2009 

Ultimate Bagels moving into old Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Ultimate Bagels has "visually" announced they are moving into the old space long ago vacated by Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at 1226 State Street.

Follow their progress on their Facebook page and on Twitter.

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I love using spices....

and so do organic farmers.
Mention rosemary, thyme, clove, and mint and most people think of a delicious meal. Think bigger…acres bigger. These well-known spices are now becoming organic agriculture's key weapons against insect pests as the industry tries to satisfy demands for fruits and veggies among the growing portion of consumers who want food produced in more natural ways. - Science Daily

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Sunday, August 16, 2009 

Has Mel's finally found a new home?


Leaving Mel's
Originally uploaded by santa barbarian.

Signage up at 209 West Carrillo state that a Mel's Lounge is moving in.

(for those with a short memory...Quantum was the last occupant of this portion of the building)

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Fabio is coming back to Santa Barbara


Fabio Viviani
Originally uploaded by emckinley89.


for another booksigning of his self published cookbook. If you missed him at Borders the other week, you can catch his goofy sense of humour at Barnes & Noble. (He really is hysterically funny...there's a reason he was chosen Fan Favorite on Top Chef)

August 23, 2009 - 2:00 p.m. at
Barnes & Noble (829 State Street)

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August 16, 1977

Remembering Elvis this day.

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Saturday, August 15, 2009 

Happy Birthday Julia Child!

I know that there is a big kitchen where ever you are. Thanks for sharing your passions with us!

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Friday, August 14, 2009 

The Coundown begins

for the return of Don Draper, et al. I'm going Mad...

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Yeah....


300_3887
Originally uploaded by firegrounddave.

We're still on fire....

 

2 Restaurant spaces still available

at 424 State Street. The old Pep Boys building
This high profile building has undergone an extensive remodel and will offer two restaurant locations each with 3,000 sq.ft of frontage space on lower State Street. This new plaza will offer the "Best Of" restaurants for patrons to satisfy their appetite. - LoopNet


View Larger Map

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Thursday, August 13, 2009 

Get your rush on....

quick!
It could get a lot easier to reduce the amount of sugar in your diet, if some of America's biggest food companies are to be believed.

Several giant food producers sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warning that the U.S. might "virtually run out of sugar" of the country didn't reduce import restrictions on the increasingly expensive commodity, according to a Wall Street Journal report Thursday. - CBS

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More Beef Recalls

At least it hit the wires on Thursday instead of Friday evening.
A City of Commerce-based meat processing company is recalling 3,515 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today.

The federal agency’s Food Safety and Inspection Service discovered the problem during a review of Sterling Meat Co.’s records. The recalled beef patties, which were produced May 18, were distributed to food service companies that then sent the meat to restaurants in California and Arizona. - Latte Times

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Richard Sanford to speak at SpiritLand's BYOB Wine & Dine

SpiritLand Bistro's BYOB Wine & Dine events take place the last Wednesday of each month at 6:30pm at 230 East Victoria Street, Santa Barbara. Enjoy an evening of food, wine tasting and sharing, in a social and energizing atmosphere. SpiritLand will pair a gourmet organic four-course meal with the wine theme of the month.

For this month's event, the evening of August 26th, the "theme" will be Pinot. Well, actually three Pinots....Gris, Grigio and Blanc. Richard Sanford from Alma Rosa will be the featured presenter and will give some background on the wine theme and food pairing between courses.

Be prepared to bring a nice bottle of wine (no corkage fee) to share with everyone else during the first 45 minutes, complemented by the cheese course from C'est Cheese. Getting a small taste of many wines side-by-side is a unique opportunity and makes for great mingling.

Attendees sit at large tables to encourage interaction. Additional bottles may be brought (no corkage) or purchased (10% discount every Wednesday of the month), to share with the table.

First course
Assorted gourmet cheeses
Second course
Crab Cakes on a bed of radish slaw
Third course
Nut-Crusted Sea bass in a lemon-caper sauce with summer vegetables & potato gratin
(Vegetarian Option Available)
Fourth course
Chilled Melon Soup

Cost is only $45 including tax and tip. Since seating is limited, advance reservations by credit card are required - 966-7759.

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Wednesday, August 12, 2009 

John Mackey, Whole Foods CEO

is selling Americans a bunch of junk.
Health care is a service that we all need, but just like food and shelter it is best provided through voluntary and mutually beneficial market exchanges. A careful reading of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will not reveal any intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter. That's because there isn't any. This "right" has never existed in America. - WSJ
Apparently you didn't look at the Constitution very carefully, you didn't get past the Preamble. "Promote the general welfare." Promote the general welfare....e.g., the wellbeing of Americans.

There are other things that contribute to disease and illness, it is NOT JUST DIET as you claim.

Some chemicals in our environment are carcinoginic. Are we personally to be blamed for getting a cancer that is caused by a carcinogen that we had no idea we were being exposed to? Pesticides contribute to birth defects...yeah, pesticides used on some foods found in stores such as Whole Foods. Should the child be blamed for being born with defects? Should you punish the mother or father for not having a better job than working in the fields to provide our society with foods that are found in stores such as yours?


Tiny residues of toxic synthetic chemicals released from plastic food and beverage containers have been shown to increase the risk of diabetes and obesity. In a recent report co-authored by Dr. Angel Nadal, it was stated that widespread use of plastics in beverage and food containers might (at least partially) explain the epidemic of diabetes and obesity. How many people know that by purchasing some products available at stores, including Whole Foods, they could be contributing to their obesity simply from the packaging? Should they then be blamed for their illnesses from something you provided?

Obesity has also been shown to be linked to poverty. Many call your store Whole Paycheck, because, well, it is pricey. Will you now lower your prices because it could be construed that you are the problem of unhealthiness in America?
Obesity in the United States is in part an economic issue, according to a review paper on the relationship between poverty and obesity published in the January 2004 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The article suggests that the very low cost of energy-dense foods may be linked to rising obesity rates.

“It’s a question of money,” Drewnowski said. “The reason healthier diets are beyond the reach of many people is that such diets cost more. On a per calorie basis, diets composed of whole grains, fish, and fresh vegetables and fruit are far more expensive than refined grains, added sugars and added fats. It’s not a question of being sensible or silly when it comes to food choices, it’s about being limited to those foods that you can afford.” - ScienceDaily
Healthcare is NOT an "entitlement" as you claim...it is an investment...an investment in Americans...an investment in our communities....an investment in our Country. The only entitlements that folks seem to be forgetting are the entitlements claimed by the CEO's of Healthcare Insurance Companies. They feel they are entitled to deny healthcare to those who are ill so they can get their entitled $102,000 an hour. Yeah...that's right...$102,000 an hour.

BTW....How much do you entitle your employees with? It is said that it costs approximately $15/hr to afford to live in Santa Barbara. That the going pay rate?

You say you provide HIGH DEDUCTIBLE healthcare plans for your employees working 30 hours or more...what happens if they can't afford the high deductible? what about those working 29 1/2 hours? What do they do if they are sick? What about those shopping who are ill with hepititis or TB? I once overheard a waiter say he couldn't afford to stay home from work with his hepititis because he needed rent money and he didn't have health insurance.

Yeah...I'm pissed off. Big time. I'm just sorry that you have swallowed the Koolaid. Oh, You might want to check the ingredients. I'm pretty high fructose corn syrup is involved. Did you know it's been shown to contain mercury. If you got mercury poisoning, should you be financially penalized for getting ill on something you had no idea you were eating?

I understand that you are a Libertarian, but the reality is we are not in this life alone. We are not in this country alone. We are not in this community alone. We are dependent upon each other, unless you pave your own roads, build your own buildings, take your own MRI, etc. We are only as strong as our weakest link, whether that link be on the food chain or otherwise.

General welfare of the people. That's investing in the future of our country. Sorry to hear that's not a "investment" you want to tout on Yahoo Financial Chat Boards.

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A delicious way to help the community

Hungry to help a good cause? Satisfy your craving this week—by eating ice cream!

On Wed., Aug. 19, all Baskin Robbins ice cream shops in the County of S.B. will be hosting a special fundraising event for a major area nonprofit health care organization. Proceeds from 20 percent of all sales between 6 p.m. and store closing time will be donated to S.B. Cottage Children’s Hospital. Call 879-8986 for more info. - SB Independent


A double scoop of Baskin Robbins chocolate fudge and cake and frosting ice cream!


Originally uploaded by beastandbean.

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Good Magazine offers up some homework

How can better design ensure that food grown by local farmers is delivered and distributed to urban residents?

A contest sponsored by GOOD, The Architect’s Newspaper, The Urban & Environmental Policy Institute, and The Los Angeles Good Food Network.

the OBJECTIVE
We want designers, architects, farmers, chefs, vendors, and farmers’ market shoppers to think about how good design can improve upon the modern farmers’ market experience.

the ASSIGNMENT
Design a new venue, product, distribution method, or marketing mechanism that increases both financial returns to farmers and access to healthy foods for consumers of all scales—from the home cook to food service chefs. Innovations should help small family farmers bring good food to market and/or provide consumers access to good food.

the REQUIREMENTS
By September 1, 2009, send us an email at projects[at]goodinc[dot]com with the following:
—At least one image: sketches, drawings, three dimensional renderings, scaled technical drawings, photographs, altered photographs. Your images do not need to be high res to submit to GOOD, but you must have high res images ready for printing and/or publication should we want to publish and print yours.
—A brief narrative, up to 500 words, that explains how the design enables food production and/or delivery methods that support both the needs of small- to mid-sized family farmers and/or distribution to urban residents.
—Your name, city, and local farm or farmers’ markets.

More at GOOD.

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Tuesday, August 11, 2009 

We're on fire....


300_4025
Originally uploaded by firegrounddave.

again.



300_3934
Originally uploaded by firegrounddave.

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Monday, August 10, 2009 

Mad City Chickens


Ginger the injured chicken
Originally uploaded by santa barbarian.

Coming to the Faulkner Gallery on the 25th. 7:00 p.m.

Talk about a "chick flick!

"Mad City Chickens is a sometimes serious, sometimes whimsical look at the people who keep urban chickens in their backyards. From chicken experts and authors to a rescued landfill hen or an inexperienced family that decides to take the poultry plunge—and even a mad scientist and giant hen taking to the streets—it’s a humorous and heartfelt trip through the world of backyard chickendom.

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Happy National S'Mores Day!


The greatest smore ever!
Originally uploaded by Mark Griffith.

The first recorded version of a recipe for s'mores can be found in the Girl Scout Handbook of 1927. The recipe is credited to Loretta Scott Crew, who reportedly made them by the campfire for the scouts.

But, please, do not run up to the La Brea Brushfire with chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers in hand.

 

The loss of horse sense


Nosey
Originally uploaded by santa barbarian.

This past week was Old Spanish Days (Fiesta) Week here in Santa Bar-B-Que. During the parade there were a couple of accidents involving spooked horses and there is some clamouring about the dangerousness of the horses in the parade and how the handlers/riders are at fault. But, I think the questioning should be as to why we no longer are aware of how to act around horses and how we can regain "horse sense" again.

Perhaps the most obvious point is that we are no longer an agricultural society as a whole. We have no grasp on "the natural" because we are not around nature anymore. Our point of reference to animals is mainly through zoos, movies, tv and as stuffed playtoys. Most of us do not have interaction with animals such as horses on a daily basis. Our perception of animals has been "disneyfied"...cute, cuddly, possessing of human traits, habits and desires. This simply is not the reality. Animals do not see the world through human eyes. They see the world much differently, because, well, they have different visual ability. Apparently this basic scientific fact is lost on so many.

Other basic facts that seem to have been lacking with the parade crowd from what I saw:
  1. Loud noises can spook horses. When you are around horses don't yell, scream, set off noise makers.
  2. Unknown and/or strange movements can spook horses. Don't go throwing things at horses, don't take off shirts and whirl them around over your head whooping it up. Don't zig zag down the street on a skateboard. Don't start blaring your boombox. Don't run across the street right in front of an oncoming horse. Don't make sudden, quick motions toward horses.
  3. Horses, like humans, have a natural fear of fire and when they smell smoke...it raises a red flag. So...duh...don't smoke around horses.
  4. Horses have a different visual of their surroundings than we humans do. They can't see a portion right in front of them and a portion right in back of them. If you make sudden sounds or movements that come from a part of their "blind spot", you just might spook them.
  5. Horses can "talk" but with body language. They will let you know if they are jittery, calm, angry, curious...etc. You just have to know how to read their language. Don't expect to walk up to a horse and pet them when they have their ears pinned to the back of their head. Ask the rider or handler if you can "pet" them, preferably not on the face.
  6. Crowds can be stressful for both horses and humans and their actions may be ampliefied due to stress.
It really is all about respecting and honoring a fellow sentient being on this big blue marble of ours. Perhaps when we learn how to treat horses we can take transfer those lessons and treat our fellow human beings better, too.

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Dasani

Water....and then some.
Coca-Cola uses tap water from local municipal water supplies, filters it using the process of reverse osmosis and adds trace amounts of minerals, including magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt), potassium chloride and table salt (sodium chloride). - Wikipedia
Potassium chloride? Really? Potassium chloride is used for making fertilizer. What's it doing in bottled water?

Eeww.

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America's Favorite Farmers Market votes are in

and the winners are:

Large -Davis Farmers Market (Davis, CA) - Votes: 3032
Medium- Williamsburg Farmers Market (Williamsburg, VA) - Votes: 725
Small - Collingswood Farmers Market (Collingswood, NJ) - Votes: 1027

Santa Barbarians didn't come out and vote in storm - our market only received 101 votes. Dang.
But, I have enjoyed the Davis Farmer's Market when I lived up in that area. So congrats.

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Thursday, August 06, 2009 

Viva la Fiesta!

Viva La Fiestaware!


Fiestaware Rainbow
Originally uploaded by Miss Anthropology.

Yes...Fiesta Dinnerware (a.k.a Fiestaware.) The colorful plates produced by the Homer Laughlin China Company of Newell, West Virginia were developed by a one-time Santa Barbarian, Frederick Hurten Rhead, perhaps inspired by the color and spirit of the Santa Barbara Fiesta!

Frederick Hurten Rhead (1880-1942) was born in England to an artistic/potter family but he spent most of his working career in the United States. He emigrated to the States in 1902 and found work in various pottery studios and universities, eventually landing in California at the Arequipa Tuberculosis Sanitarium in Marin County where he instructed patients in the art of pottery.

Rhead moved down the coast in 1913 and started his own pottery studio, The Read Pottery Studio, in Santa Barbara in 1914. He kept the studio open until 1917.

In 1927, Rhead was hired as art director of the Homer Laughlin China Company in Newell, West Virginia. And, in the 1930s, Rhead designed an extremely popular line of glazed dinnerware for the company he named Fiesta. He based his design on an Art Deco style and it originally came in five vivid colors (including a very radioactive red.) He wanted the consumer to have the ability to use pieces of different colors to mix and match according to their taste. Rhead, perhaps with a nod to his studio pottery roots, also wanted it to look handcrafted and designed concentric circles inside and out as if they were thrown on a potters wheel.

Looking for a little colorful addition to your Fiesta soiree? Stop by Macy's and pick up a new piece of Fiestaware! or look for some vintage pieces up on eBay

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Got “EST 31913” ?

Well there is a major beef recall (825,769lbs) on bearing that code number. And, hmm...can't say the exact brand name of the beef because "these products were repackaged and sold under different retail brand names."

A Fresno-based beef company is recalling hundreds of thousands of ground beef products that may be linked to a salmonella outbreak, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.

The 825,769 pounds of ground beef products, produced by Beef Packers Inc. from June 5 through June 23, bear the code “EST 31913” and were distributed to Arizona, California, Colorado and Utah, USDA officials said in their recall statement. - Latte Times

It's up to the consumer to find out whether they have that beef or not.

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Fabio Viviani is at Borders Goleta tonight!

Pack your knives and GO...to Borders, anyway, where Fabio (the Italian scallion) will be signing his book and, well, being fabulously Fabio. 5:30 p.m - 7:00 p.m.



View Larger Map

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Tuesday, August 04, 2009 

Days of Wine and Horses


Like My Silly Face?
Originally uploaded by wendyu.

Rachel Alexandra (whose co-owners own Kendall-Jackson winery) gets her own line of wine.

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Happy Birthday, Mr. President!


Tastes Like Hope
Originally uploaded by Katford.

Monday, August 03, 2009 

August 2 - 8 National Farmer's Market Week


Berrymania
Originally uploaded by santa barbarian.

The US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has declared that "farmers markets are important nationwide outlets for agricultural producers," and that thousands of markets "across the country offer consumers affordable, convenient, and healthful products sold directly from the farm in their freshest possible state, and so...." August 2-8 is National Farmer's Market Week!


Which Santa Bar-B-Que Farmer's Market do you frequent?

Stop by and wish them a "Happy National Farmer's Market Week" and give a nod to the Santa Barbara Farmers Market Association folks, too. (805) 962-5354.

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Keeping track of what you eat

and where it came from.
At a farm in Manteca, in San Joaquin County, workers smack labels onto watermelons freshly cut from the vine, each sticker bearing a unique string of letters and numbers that identifies where they were harvested.

"With food safety as big as it is, we can give each watermelon its own code so a consumer can check on the Internet to see where it is grown," said Ryan Van Groningen of Van Groningen & Sons Farms, which sells watermelons under the Yosemite Fresh brand.

This new code, called the HarvestMark, is being developed by the Redwood City startup YottaMark Inc. at a time when Congress is considering food-safety legislation that could make some type of tracking system mandatory.

...The tracking system is not unprecedented. For example, premium San Francisco chocolatemaker Original Beans prints similar locator codes on its wrappers to show where the cacao beans in an individual bar were grown. - SFGate

GottaLove it

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Sunday, August 02, 2009 

Celebrate Julia Child - August 9 at Cafe Shell

With A Dinner, Auction and Julie & Julia Movie watching sponsored by the The Santa Barbara chapter of the American Institute of Food & Wine

The Santa Barbara chapter of the American Institute of Food & Wine — which Child co-founded in 1981— which Child co-founded in 1981 with vintner Robert Mondavi, among others — is planning a dinner, screening and show-and-tell session of Julia Child memorabilia.

The event will start around 5 p.m. Aug. 9 at Café Shell in Santa Barbara, where chef Michael Hutchings will prepare a multicourse meal of Child’s favorite recipes from “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”

Reservations are required - $75, or $65 for AIWF members
Please send an e-mail to Terrie Bugay at obvious@cox.net or the local chapter of the www.aiwf.org. - Ventura County Star

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The Canary Hotel here in town is named after the Canary Islands

Seems that Santa Barbara has another Canary Island coincidence....one of the Islands, La Palma, is battling an out of control wildfire...the type of fire we know all too well here.
A wildfire is raging out of control on the Canary Island of La Palma a day after it forced 4,000 people to flee their homes and stranded dozens of tourists.

...Fanned by strong winds the fire had by Sunday morning devastated some 5,000 acres of pine forest and destroyed dozens of homes in the town of Fuencaliente on the south of the volcanic island.

The fires threatened to engulf the village of Tigalate and the resort of Mazo and there were fears the flames could spread to an observatory housing the world's largest telescope. - The Telegraph UK

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Saturday, August 01, 2009 

The Drapers are having a little get together


don & betty draper
Originally uploaded by MedicOne.

on August 16th....will you be attending?

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Sacramento is robbing Santa Barbara

According to the Sacramento Bee's Database, you can look up the amount being taken from various agencies and counties.
  • Santa Barbara County Government will lose $12,604,228
  • The City of Santa Barbara will lose $2,200,425
  • The Redevelopment Agency of the City of Santa Barbara will lose $6,818,255
Thanks California Yacht Party.




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  • From Santa Barbara, California, United States
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