Keep the Doctor Away the Whole Foods Way!

Ivy and Andy Larson, authors of the Whole Foods Diet Cookbook, are featured for the cover story in the current issue of The Doctors' Prescription for Healthy Living. The staff of The Doctors' Prescription for Healthy Living said, "This month Healthy Living covers one of the most inspiring pieces of nutrition reporting! Read how Ivy Larson used omega-3 fatty acids from Barlean’s Highest Lignan Flax Oil to overcome multiple sclerosis."

To hear their story, pick up your copy of the magazine and the book today!

Experiencing Southern Farmers Markets

Have you ever read a book and wondered how the author became so knowledgeable on the subject? What kind of experiences did the author have in preparing to write the book? In her own words, Holly Herrick, author of Southern Farmers Market Cookbook, does just that in an article published by Edible Metro & Mountains in their Summer 2009 issue. Read about it here!

Sam Weller and Gibbs Smith

With Tuesday’s sad passing of long-time Utah bookseller Sam Weller, Gibbs Smith wanted to share his childhood reflections on such a great literary example.

Sam Weller, who ran his bookstore for years, in his Avenues home, surrounded by books, in 2006. Weller died Tuesday. He was 88.(Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune)

“When I was about ten years old, my family moved to Utah and I gradually became aware of my own preferences and interests apart from my parents’, such as which writers I personally liked, some of whom were Ernest Hemingway and Jack London. My father, a dentist who also loved literature, took me to Salt Lake City to Sam Weller’s Book Store and purchased for me copies of For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Sun Also Rises, along with a collection of Jack London stories. I remember this very clearly, especially how Sam Weller himself took a personal interest in me as a young customer and helped me find the right books…

“At Sam Weller’s, I made a lifelong friend in both Sam and the store. Through my college years at the University of Utah I would frequently visit Sam’s store and have many discussions with him about the book world. He was on the board of the American Bookseller’s Association and knew many in the business. I liked to ask him about publishers, and he said that over the years most publishers had come into his store and visited, some on a regular basis. Alfred Knopf would come fairly often. Bennett Cerf had been there, and many more. I began to get the feeling that the book business was a community of people who knew each other and whose main goal in life was to create and sell books. This way of life appealed to me. Over the years, I’ve reflected on the nature of this industry, and I think it truly was, and to some degree still is, a cottage industry. It’s unlike any other business.”
--Gibbs Smith, Layton book publisher for the past 40 years

These words can be found in the upcoming book, The Art of the Bookstore, along with a painting of Sam Weller’s Salt Lake City bookstore created by Smith. The book, which publishes in October, features 40 paintings of independent bookstores throughout the country and the words of many of these booksellers. Another lovely tribute can be found in the June 25 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune.

Tasty Thursday

It's time to treat yourself like the princess you really are! One hot day this summer, cool down with this refreshing fruit smoothie from Spa Princess Cookbook by Barbara Beery. And if your lips are feeling a little parched, the spa treatment lip gloss will really make them shine!

Magical Fruit Burst

1 banana, sliced and frozen

1/2 cup peeled and chopped pear or apple

1/2 cup vanilla soymilk

1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 orange or tangerine slices

1/4 cup granola

Place banana slices and chopped pear or apple into a blender. Add soymilk and blend. Add orange juice and vanilla and blend once more until frothy and smooth. Serve with an orange or tangerine slice on the rim of the glass and a sprinkle of granola on top.

Makes 2 servings

Pink Lemonade Lip Shimmer

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

1 tablespoon presweetened pink lemonade drink mix

Stir shortening and drink mix together in a small microwave-safe container until smooth. Place container in microwave and heat for 15–20 seconds. Stir and heat another 10–15 seconds until mixture turns to liquid. Remove from microwave and whisk with a fork to combine. Cool 5 minutes. Pour into 2 small jars. Chill in refrigerator at least 30 minutes to solidify. Apply to lips. (Do not eat!) Will keep for 1 week.

'Harmonica' wedding bells

"How to Play the Harmonica" author Sam Barry wed his long-time girlfriend Kathi Kamen Goldmark earlier this month.

Here's Shelf Awareness's report of the nuptials:

Last weekend the hottest invite in San Francisco was to the wedding of Kathi Kamen Goldmark and Sam Barry--authors and members of the Rock Bottom Remainders (Kathi founded the band).

As their band member and officiant, newly minted minister of the United Church of Life Scott Turow, said, they have seen "three times seven in the rearview" at least a few years ago, so why get married now? Answering the question, Turow said that they married for each other and to show all the guests who love them that they are in it for the long haul.

As is often the way with anything involving Kathi and Sam, the event was musical, and everyone got involved. A chorus of their nieces and nephews started by leading the several hundred guests in "Going to the Chapel" as the attendants--Amy Tan and Dave Barry among them--and the happy couple took the stage at the Swedish American Hall (which is actually a lot classier than the name sounds). Sam's teenage daughter Laura sang an inspired song she composed
that asked the question on everyone's minds, "Have You Ever Seen a Love Like This?"

Although the vows were relatively traditional, the service combined elements of Christian, Buddhist and Jewish marriage ceremonies--punctuated by a bride and groom fist-bump. Then it was outside and downstairs to the bar for a rockin' reception featuring Train Wreck (Kathi and Sam's regular band), who were joined on occasion by the bride and groom and several guests.

Nothing, not even parking provided by a funeral home up the street, could darken the pure happiness that permeated the whole event. "In some cultures, that's considered good luck," said Dave Barry in a toast to his baby brother and the bride.

As Chronicle Books owner Nion McEvoy pointed out, the wedding was more like a great night out with everyone you want to hang out with from the literary, publishing and rock worlds. Through their music, but also in their day jobs--Kathi as a former literary escort and now producer of West Coast Live (among many hats she wears) and Sam at HarperOne, and as authors themselves—the couple pretty much are one degree of separation from just about everyone in Bay Area books and music. (Kathi and Sam also write the Author Enabler column on
BookPage, where they advise others about the biz. They are currently collaborating on a book about the same subject due out next summer.) There were too many authors, agents and booksellers to name names. Somehow it was as if we all were part of the ceremony.

Tasty Thursday

This week's feature is from What We Eat When We Eat Alone by Deborah Madison. This recipe is both easy and refreshing. What do you eat when no one else is around?

Avocado and Grapefruit Salad with Greens and Walnuts

3 walnuts, freshly cracked, or 1/4 cup walnut pieces

1 pink grapefruit

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

salt and pepper

1 small shallot or 2 scallions, the white parts, finely diced

4 teaspoons walnut oil or extra virgin olive oil

a large handful of arugula, mixed greens, or the hearts of butter lettuce

1 small avocado

1. Toast the walnuts in a toaster oven until they begin to smell good, about 5 to 7 minutes,  then remove.

2. Using a sharp knife, cut a slice off the top and bottom of the grapefruit. Stand the grapefruit on a cutting board and slice away the peel, following the contours of the fruit and removing all the white membrane as well. Holding the fruit in one hand over a bowl, cut along both sides of each segment to free them. Let them fall into the bowl, along with the juice.

3. Combine 2 teaspoons of the grapefruit juice, vinegar, 2 pinches of salt, and shallot in a small bowl. Let stand while you prepare the greens, then whisk in the walnut oil with a fork.

4. Wash and dry the greens. Gently tear butter lettuce leaves into large pieces, if using, or leave them whole. Toss the greens with the dressing, then arrange them on your dinner plate. Sprinkle grapefruit sections over top. Halve, pit, and peel the avocado, then slice and tuck the pieces among the leaves so that they intermingle with the grapefruit sections. Finally add the walnuts and some freshly ground pepper. (Be sure to drink the rest of the grapefruit juice!)

Tasty Thursday

Take a culinary trip to the Iberian Peninsula and savor the experience! This week's feature recipe is from The Spanish Table by Steve Winston. Absolutely amazing!

Amontillado and Chicken Paella with Chorizo
1/4 cup Spanish olive oil

4 chicken thighs

1 large onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 links Spanish-style cooking chorizo

2 cups Spanish short-grain Valencian rice, preferably bomba

1 cup medium dry Amontillado sherry

3 cups chicken stock

Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch paella pan and brown the chicken. Stir in the onions, sautéing until wilted, and then add the garlic, cooking another minute or two. Add the chorizo and cook until the fat is released. Then stir in the rice to coat and add the sherry. Bring to a boil. When the sherry is absorbed by the rice, add the stock, reduce the heat, and simmer until the rice is done, about 20–25 minutes.

Serves 4

Fantastic endorsement by Alice Waters

The following is a lovely endorsement by best-selling author Alice Waters for the book "The Brazilian Table." Congrats to Yara and Richard for a job well done!

"I haven't been to Brazil yet. But when I take the journey to Yara Castro Robert's Brazilian Table, I feel I have. The regions, the ingredients, the history, the farmers, the simplicity, hospitality and elegance of her table all draw me there. Yara is a cook, a storyteller, an environmentalist. She feels the deep links of culture and agriculture in this vast and complicated country and reveals its history and traditions through the beautiful dishes she creates and presents. Her approach is beautiful and basic: Fresh, simple, local, delicious, welcoming."

Prefab Green in USA Today

Michelle Kaufmann was featured June 4 in a great USA Today article on green prefab homes.

Check out the story here.

Tasty Thursday

This week's Tasty Thursday recipe comes from Whole Foods Diet Cookbook by Ivy Ingram Larson & Andrew Larson, MD. Try out this healthy and delicious recipe!

Gorgonzola and Walnut Crostini

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup gorgonzola

2 tablespoons organic ricotta

1/4 cup chopped parsley

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 teaspoon raw honey

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

8 slices sprouted whole-grain bread, crusts removed, cut in half diagonally

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Using a mini food processor, process walnuts into fine crumbs. Add the gorgonzola, ricotta, parsley, 2 tablespoons oil, honey, lemon juice, and Parmesan cheese. Process ingredients until thoroughly blended. Set mixture aside.

Arrange the sixteen bread triangles on a cookie sheet. Brush bread with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Toast bread for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Spread toast with the gorgonzola-walnut mixture, return to oven and bake for an additional 3 minutes. Remove toasts from oven and serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 4