“Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises.” ~ Pedro Calderon de la Barca
via Chapman Cultural Center
Feeling winter weary and color starved?
I think I’ve had my fill of brown, grey and white. I know too well the bare bones of the trees, how they cast long shadows across our snow-blanketed yard. I’ve had lots of time to ponder the individuality of snowflakes and marvel at the magic of icicles. But enough with the bark and rocks and dry stalks.
I want green. And pink, yellow, lavender, teal. Drench me in indigo, lime, scarlet, magenta, emerald, fuschia, and orange. Read me a sweet poem that will transport me from my cozy armchair to a place of sheer delight. Let me feast on color.
She believes food should be healthy, tasty and fun. Most of the breakfast plates featured in her book take between 5-15 minutes to prepare, require simple equipment and available ingredients, and all are meant to be eaten. What started on a whim one morning has turned into a great food adventure (100,000+ followers, international media coverage, columns in newspapers and magazines, special projects).
I love that her first ever creations were a bear and a fox. She also includes a few tips and recipes for pancakes, hot cereal, granola, scones, and nut butter. Check out her blog for behind-the-scenes pics and background on her Instagram features. Fun for all ages!
BIG APPETITES: Tiny People in a World of Big Food by Christopher Boffoli (Workman Publishing, 2013). This is a collection of Boffoli’s internationally-known series of photographs featuring tiny people posing in real food environments. Amusing, outlandish, snarky, and handily skewing our sense of perspective, Boffoli’s photos tease the imagination, whet the appetite for worlds beyond our own, and enable us to see common food items as never before — for their beauty, intense color, and wonderful textures. Readers of all ages will be drawn to these fascinating scenes, but the tongue-in-cheek captions will likely go over the heads of most kids. Have you ever dreamed of playing golf on a split papaya, mowing an orange peel, bathing in blue Jell-O? Feast your eyes!
“When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.” ~ Jimi Hendrix
photo by Sharon Auberle
Syria. Shootings. Shutdown. Stand-off.
What to do when your government is broken and the world has gone mad? While everyone duked it out in public this week, our neighbor Jack quietly battled for his life in the privacy of his own home.
Jack was a writer and a recluse. Fourteen years living next door and I may have spoken to him three times. Amidst the din of discord and crazy agendas, foreign wars we’ll never understand, and a brand of racism and intolerance that continues to rear its ugly head, we all have our personal battles. Sickness and suffering aside, what saddened us the most was that Jack died alone.
Looking for solace, I was happy to discover new-to-me Ohio poet and photographer Sharon Auberle. Her poem offered comfort, and her wonderful photos captured the tangible beauty in the world, reminding me how important it is to hold onto yourself by simply doing what you know and what you can, and being present in each moment.
This gorgeous photo essay features an adorable, diverse group of kids reveling in the pleasures of growing, preparing and eating healthful foods. They’re shown in a variety of everyday settings (kitchen, playground, grocery store, garden) stirring oatmeal, pouring milk, devouring fruits, sandwiches, pizza, yogurt, and soup (!), picking fresh veggies, assembling tacos and green salads, making fruit shakes and freezer pops, even reading package labels in the supermarket. Just look at those happy, eager faces on the cover — who wouldn’t want to eat exactly what they’re eating?
Of course since it’s actually parents and caregivers who buy and cook the food, Shelley and Sheila have also included helpful tips for them, all in accordance with the new USDA MyPlate Guidelines. Additional photos showing kids engaged in active play illustrates the importance of daily exercise along with a healthy diet, reinforcing the overall theme of “Good Food Makes Me Strong!”
I’m happy to welcome Shelley and Sheila, who are here today to tell us about how they created Yummy! You’ll be inspired to share this delectable book and eat some feel-good food with your favorite munchkin(s) very soon!
Note: Because of copyright restrictions, the photos used in this post are close facsimiles rather than actual photos from Yummy!.
It’s all Andy Warhol’s fault that I’m hooked on soupy pop art stuff. The iconic Campbell’s soup cans continue to appear on jewelry, accessories, even fishing lures, and they just keep calling my name. (Click on each image for more info at Etsy.)
“Here Comes the Soup” print by JuanjezKitsch Soup Earrings by Gin Atomique
Jama's Alphabet Soup 