Thoughts on Eat Real

Well, I went to Eat Real yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Out of all the foods I tried, there were only two disappointments, and coincidentally, they were the two things I was most excited about trying.  So much for unrealistic expectations.

The crowds were great and very into what was being presented, which was wonderful to see.  So many times, when an event is held in Oakland, there's something "off" about it, but that curse was suspended for this event.

First dishes tried and I must say most disappointing were the Seoul On Wheels Korean Tacos.  The overwhelming flavor was the corn tortilla, which told me that the ingredients were bland!!!  Not something you'd want to have in Korean cooking.  There was a big line most of the day at the Seoul on Wheels truck so perhaps I just got a bad batch or something.  I wanted to really like it!

Next dishes we tried were Lobster Rolls and Clam Chowder from Sam's Chowder Truck.  Both were excellent.  My daughter particularly liked the Chowder.  We then tried barbeque from Shuga Catering Company.  The ribs were fall off the bone tasty and the potato salad and collard greens were tasty too!!!  We then tried the Creme Brulee Cart which my daughter liked more than I did.  I thought the brulee was too light and the crust too thin.  We also had pork from the Chop Shop which was juicy and tasty, served with two sauces!!  We then went to Joe's Street Eats and had two winning dishes, their BLAT roll which was very good and their corn on the cob which is slatered with lime aioli, chili flakes and parmesano reggiano.  The combination works great and was a real winning dish for the Thompson's.  The last dish we tried were the home made S'mores which were just ok, cold and the cookies tasted store bought.  This was the other dish I was so excited to have and was disappointing.

There was so much food that we didn't try, one because we were full but also because I was blowing out my diet and I had to be careful to not go too crazy.

In the new Market Hall, there were alot of interesting food purveyors, making pickles, and other unique products.  

All in all it was a fabulous day and fabulous experience.  Kudos to the organizers of the event.

Peace,

Sunday and it's time for Real Food

After spending a quiet day, consuming more and more fruits and vegetables, and spending an even quieter evening at home, today I'm off the Real Food Festival at Jack London Square in Oakland.  Will report back on what I saw, ate and thought.  I fully expect to blow off my diet today as it would be about impossible to eat anything and stay on it given the choices.  

Wish me luck!!

Peace,

Quiet and the Giants

Well another quiet night at home. Watching the Giants and rooting for a victory over the Rockies. Tim Lincecum is pitching tonight, so chances are as good as could be for the Giants.
Great way to start the weekend, peaceful, quiet and baseball!!
Peace,

Another Great Day

Spent most of the day down on the Peninsula yesterday doing marketing and meeting with architects/real estate people. Ended up having lunch at a pretty good Thai place in north sunnyvale that did a good vegan dish for me.
With all the great fruits available right now, i've been making smoothies in the morning with fresh melons and other fruits, very tasty.
Not sure what awaits this weekend, lots of free time, but whatever happens it'll be wonderful and magical nonetheless. I'm going to take a walk down to the Ferry Building for lunch today. Haven't been able to do that for a while.
Here's hoping you have a great weekend.
Peace,

Howard Roberts

Well I didn't do so great on my diet today, I need a mulligan. I had a meeting today and the client chose a hamburger place to go to. I had small things but still none of it was really on my diet allowance, well ok, the bun wasn't and the meat wasn't....hahaha....but the tomato and onion was ok. So I'm going to take a break about talking about food for a bit and write about my other passion which is music.
When I was 20 I got it in my mind that I could be pretty good playing the guitar. I'd started a few years earlier, inspired by none other than Peter Frampton and then countless trips to Winterland with a high school friend, Bill Coutts, to see various rock acts of the day. I started taking lessons when I was 18 with a great guitarist named Robert Graves. Robert turned me on to Joe Pass and other jazz and fusion players and that was it, I was hooked. In 1978 I heard about this new school called the Guitar Institute of Technology. It had been started by this well known studio guitarist Howard Roberts and had some other well known jazz guys teaching theree. I applied, was accepted and went to GIT to study in September of 1979 embarking on one of the greatest experiences of my life.
Howard Roberts was not at the school every day, in fact he had moved to Seattle, Washington, but periodically he was down and when he was he would give a seminar and chat with students. I got to see what an amazing teacher this guy was and how accomplished he was on the guitar. His heydey was when i was a little kid in terms of albums and awareness amongst my age group. So being exposed to him as I was thru his columns in Guitar Player and at school were a revelation to me. Howard had theories about the psychology of learning and subscribed to Psycho-Cybernetics. He also believed that everyone had alot of music in them, they just had to get it out.
In this new digital world, most of his albums from the late 50's and 60's are available on cd and you can hear what an amazing player this guy was. Even the albums he put out later, The Real Howard Roberts, being the first one I had heard, like Equinox Express Elevator and Antelope Freeway, are now get-able via digital format. While the overall sounds are often dated due to the instrumentation used at the time, the guitar playing is still stellar and creative and chance taking.
I highly recommend you check Howard out. He left us in1992 a victim of prostate cancer, but his legacy lives on and it's a hell of a legacy.
The small school of 40 students that I attended in 1979 has now grown to a larger school that teaches most music disciplines and has a student body in the hundreds. Each year more people are exposed to Howard's theories and passions and even 17 years after his passing, the influence of his work still resonates and impacts many people.

Peace,

Forgiveness and Diet

In the second week of the diet and things are going well. Clothes are fitting better, feeling lighter and having more energy. This diet is really helping me to move forward in life in the best possible way. As I've alluded before, the last year has been pretty rough for me, both emotionally and health wise. All of that seems to be past me now and the road ahead, whatever it is, seems clear of the energy that was in my life. I made a lot of mistakes, both in judgement and in action in how I lived my life, who I was with, and how I treated not only others but also myself. I've been able to make amends with most people and I'll have to accept the fact that I can't make amends to everyone. What I will be able to do is to go forward in life with a clear conscience. Each day is a new day to make a big difference and it sure makes each day wonderful. I remember how bad I used to feel each day and it was all about my outlook and what I then invited into my life, the people, the situations, the relationship. Angry people don't have a place in my life, thank god. They are all around but they're also easy to spot.

I've found out that I have many friends who truly care about me and want to help and support me in the best possible ways. This revelation has been a godsend and has helped me to progress through the difficulties presented.

Which brings me to forgiveness. I could be really bitter and hold a grudge for some of the things that happened to me over the last year but I don't. I can and do forgive. I'm not going to live my life bitter and angry and holding grudges against those who I perceive to have done me wrong. My life has brought me to where I am today and it's been the result of many forces, one major one is my decisions. There were also acts of randomness, impacts of others and plain serendipity. In the last 7 years especially, there has been joy, pain and frustration never known before to me. I'm still thankful for what happened and as was told to me, numerous times. "you are going to be better for the next person". Well I don't know if I am better or not, but I'm doing my best to make good decisions each day and to be good to everyone I encounter.

Each day I deal with amazing people at the highest levels in life and I get to be a part of that. These people seem to find me through recommendations/referrals and that says alot to me. It keeps me going through these hard times. Secondly, my kids have been there through this period loving me without condition and helping me at all times. From my daughter Ellissa being my little "nurse" when i was recovering from surgery, to Elliott and Miles helping me out in other ways, it's been great to know that they are there for me. There are times when you can feel so alone in life and thankfully, those times were minized through the actions of loved ones.

You see, most people are good and deserve forgiveness. No hard feelings, no bitter reprisals......life is too short. We're all getting older and as we age, our time here becomes even more precious as the 'finite' nature of it, becomes more pronounced. No good reason to be bitter and angry to the point of serious impact to your daily life. If you're holding a grudge, try on a little forgiveness and see how you feel. Hope it fits you well.

Peace,

Great time for fruits and Locavore

Tuning into the quality of fruits available at this time of year can be such a revelation. Finding wonderful organic peaches that taste so clean and fresh and sweet!! Beautiful squash of all kinds, again, so flavorful and beautiful. Lettuce mix with edible flowers, not only tastes good but looks great on the plate!!
Have you ever checked out an iphone app called Locavore? It's pretty interesting in that it keeps you posted on what is fresh in your area and what is being grown and harvested. Helps you to be prepared when you go to the Farmer's Market.
Today I'm enjoying some small, almost wine like, Thompson Seedless Grapes, some avocado's, banana, yummy!!

Peace,