Something to Check: Edible Skinny's Goddess Giveaway!

We interrupt the Natural Products Expo West Best of Fest review for a Something to Check out Goddess Giveaway!

It seemed the Universe wanted to show another example of the power of manifestation as yesterday we were just thinking we should do another giveaway on Edible Skinny and low and behold there was an email in our mailbox this morning filling that exact order!!!  For the next 3 days we will be giving away a ticket each day to Goddess On the Go's Los Angeles event to be held at Naam Yoga in Santa Monica on this Sunday March 30th from 10:30AM-5:30PM (a $100 value per ticket)!!!

For today's contest all you have to do is like Edible Skinny on Facebook and post your best secret to channeling your inner Goddess by Midnight tonight! 

Goddess On the Go reconnects women to their essential needs, so they can experience life with a full “tank” of gratitude and glow.  As featured in Elle and Lucy Magazine, their workshops bring women together to reconnect to their pure and perfect pleasure, spice up their sensual sides, and bask in the power of sisterhood.  Led by a compelling group of experts on wellness, spirituality, and beauty, participants dive into all that’s divine about being a woman.

As GOTG explains, "Too often, women are busy running from place to place, forgetting to take care of ourselves first (if at all).  We get disconnected from our bodies, our needs, and our intuition, forgetting what makes us happy—or that we even deserve to feel happiness at all.  At Goddess On The Go workshops, women connect, move their bodies, and uncover their bombshell beauty, in a fun space designed to heal and create lasting fulfillment.  It’s a serene celebration of life, goddess style!"

At this round of their Los Angeles workshops seminars will include: Rebalancing Your Spirit with Joy Jayson of Expressions of The Goddess, Know Your Numbers Jumpstart Your Life with the Practical Numeroligist/Author Felicia Bender, Let Go Of Your Money Fears: 3 Keys To Owning Your Value, Charging What Your Worth and Receiving the Income You Deserve!, and Qoya-led by Krissy Oakes.

Plus Pam Dawson of Pam’s Petite Pies will be preparing a delectable, nourishing lunch fit for Goddesses’ pleasure loving palettes!

So get your inner goddess booty over to FB and post away (or if you would like to purchase tickets instead feel free at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/goddess-on-the-go-la-march-30-2014-tickets-8973954339?aff=erelexporg)!!! 

(PS Due to the nature of this event only the XX Chromosome can apply, sorry Ys!)
   

Something to Check Out: Coolio Live to Benefit Food Forward

Los Angeles based non-profit organization Society of Young Philanthropists (SYP) is holding their next fundraising event this Saturday, January 18th at Bardot in Hollywood. Over three hundred young professionals and entrepreneurs will be attending, including the tech power players of the wildly popular app, Tinder that will also be sponsoring this event.

Guests will enjoy a live performance of the musical hip-hop styling of Coolio (unfortunately the author of Cookin’ with Coolio with chapters that include: “SaladEatin’ Bitches”; “Appetizers for That Ass”; and “It’s Hard Out Here For A Shrimp” won't be in the kitchen also!) followed by DJ Touchtones spinning all night.  The event will also feature an open bar sponsored by Infuse Vodka and Anheuser-Busch, as well as a Cult Gaia photo booth known for celebrating grace, glory, and good times.  All proceeds raised will be donated to Food Forward, a volunteer powered grassroots group of Angelenos making change around urban hunger.

SYP is dedicated to contributing to organizations and causes that focus on building the strength of local and global communities through social, education and volunteer events.  For this event, SYP sought to make a difference in the fight against hunger.  They believe that Food Forward does exactly that.  SYP and Food Forward wish to emphasize the importance of sharing food abundance.  By gathering from those who have excess and giving to those who are in need, they hope to promote a sustainable solution to the problem of urban hunger.

Food Forward is a volunteer powered grassroots group of Angelenos who care about reconnecting to our food system and making change around urban hunger.  Food Forward rescues fresh local produce that would otherwise go to waste, connecting this abundance with people in need, and inspiring others to do the same.  They convene at properties they have been invited to and harvest their excess fruits and vegetables, donating 100% to local food pantries across southern California. Combined, their numerous distribution partners provide food to over 40,000 clients a month across Southern California.

The Society of Young Philanthropists (SYP) is a 501(c)3 organization headquartered in Los Angeles.  They are a creative consortium of like-minded young professionals driven by tireless collaboration to build and sustain positive change.  They believe problems of our local and global communities are best solved when the best minds come together.  They recognize that people love celebrating for a cause.  Since their 2004 establishment, they have raised nearly $300,000, hosting 12 fundraising events and 20 community service projects, which has supported needs in areas such as human rights, hunger, domestic violence, and education.

To purchase tickets click HERE.  For more information on SYP click THIS ONE.

Something To Check Out: Pavan Liqueur's Sangria-Off

This Sunday, from 4-6 pm Santa Monica’s 41 Ocean Club hosts what might be the world’s coolest event: a Sangria-off!
 

Hosted by France’s Pavan Liqueur, a select group of international bartenders will compete for the title in the Pavan Sangria Challenge. This battle of creative mixology asks participants to create original Pavan sangria recipes inspired by the dream escape destination of their choice. The Challenge’s winner will receive, you guessed it, an all expense paid to vacation to the desired destination of their choosing. And if that’s not enough, the public gets to join in the fun with FREE samplings of each carefully crafted concoction from 4-6pm.

Pavan Liqueur by www.jennifermitchellphotography.com

The Los Angeles’ round of this international competition will chose semifinalists by a panel of expert judges, including cocktail writer, author and spirits industry legend Gaz Regan; and Pavan Master Blender Pascal Ribes.

Participants will prepare their flavor-forward batches for industry professionals and consumer guests. Judges will evaluate these lucky five contestants based on: quality and taste, visual presentation, and creativity and representation of dream destination. In LA, the panel of judges includes: Aidan Demarest, owner of Neat spirits bar in Glendale, board member of the Sporting Life LA and judge at the San Francisco World Spirits competition; and cocktail blogger Caroline on Crack, winner of the 2012 LA Weekly Web Award for Best Bar Blogger and cocktail blogger for Los Angeles Magazine.

However these industry standouts are not the only ones who get a say. After sampling each sweet and sassy sangria, the public will also be asked to cast their ballot to determine who will move on to the Finals. While choosing a favorite might be hard, we’re sure the people of Santa Monica are up to the challenge!

In the final round five finalists will advance to New York on February 8, 2014 to present their prized sangria creations. While one entrant from each event will progress to the finals, an additional wildcard will also be chosen to compete in the People’s Choice round on Pavan’s Facebook page: Facebook.com/PavanLiqueur.  The wildcard with the most votes will proceed to the Pavan Sangria Challenge finals.  Consumers who vote on Facebook for their favorite wildcard semifinalist are also entered to win a trip for two to the finals in New York. The Facebook People’s Choice voting will be held from January 6 – 20.

The Los Angeles Semifinal for the Pavan Sangria Challenge will be held this Sunday from 4-6 at 41Ocean Club. The club will also serve their own featured Pavan cocktail and some of their signature dishes.  The Edible Skinny would love to see you all there and as always, hopes life is delicious!

Something to Check Out: Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show

Food and Travel (absolutely two of my favorite things!) and if you're looking for knowledge on both of them then maybe you might want to check out the 7th Annual Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show (I will be!).

The largest travel show in the West, will take place this weekend on January 14th and 15th, 2012 at the Long Beach Convention Center and feature talks from beloved Travel Channel personalities Samantha Brown and Andrew Zimmer, valuable insider tips from industry experts, hands-on activities, cultural performances, and access to domestic and international exhibitors offering show-only specials.

The five-acre show floor will be chocked full of exhibitors providing expert advice on visiting destinations as near as Palm Springs and as far as Taiwan. Tour operators and travel experts representing locations around the globe, various modes of transportation and recreation, and related products and services will be on hand all weekend, offering information and show specials for consumers. Popular destinations that will be featured at the show include Germany, Tanzania, Indonesia, Maui, Costa Rica and more.

The new Culinary Stage will showcase culinary experiences through unique cuisine from different destinations around the globe. Two events that I'll be checking out on Sunday are Farm to Table – Luscious Lemon and Avocado Taste Sensations from 120 Year Old, Sustainable Limoneira Ranch (@ 1:00) and Travel for Foodies – Tips, Trends, and Tools for the Culinary Traveler (@2:30).
Along with learning about travel and food (again two of my favorite things!) you can participate in a variety of activities including the scuba lessons from Beadiver.com, climbing on a 25’ rock wall provided by Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite, and an infamous zip line riding high above the show floor. Fun! (Another one of my favorite things!)

The Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show will take place at the Long Beach Convention Center Saturday, January 14th and Sunday, January 15th, 2012, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door or $7 online in advance with Promo Code: LAPR; children age 16 and below admitted free with paid adult.
Ticket purchase information, a current schedule of speakers and more details are available at www.latravelshow.com.

Something to Check Out: STARS of Santa Barbara Wine

If your New Year’s resolutions for this year included learning about Santa Barbara wine (which is a great great resolution!) then look no further than the Learn About Wine‘s "9th Annual STARS of Santa Barbara Wine.” Without actually driving to Santa Barbara, you’ll have the pleasure of tasting over 100 established and up-and-coming wines of the region, while learning about them from the owners, winemakers and winery executives themselves.

As someone who checked out Santa Barbara and the wineries a couple of months ago I will say that this list is really Ch-oice!: Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards, Bien Nacido, Bonaccorsi Wine Company, Brewer-Clifton, Brophy Clark Cellars, Buttonwood, Byron, Cambria, Coquelicot Estate Vineyard, D'Alfonso-Curran Wines, Dragonette Cellars, Fontes & Phillips Wines, Foxen, Gioia, La Fenetre, Liquid Farms, Martian Ranch & Vineyard, Palmina, Reeves Ranch Vineyard, Riverbench, Silver Wines, Tercero Wines, Thorne Wine, William James Cellars, Zaca Mesa and they’re still adding more.

I have to say one of my absolute favorite’s (Foxen, hence the pict) is on that list and in my opinion the event is totally worth it just to sip they’re Chards and Chenin Blancs (which I did in November at their tasting room in the Santa Maria Valley during the day and then again at illustrious Seagrass Restaurant in Santa Barbara that night).

I’ve been to a couple of events hosted by Learn About Wine’s founder Ian Blackburn and he’s awesome about teaching you about wine in a way that doesn’t overwhelm you or make you feel like an idiot (which a lot of wine people do and can be such a turn off!). The last Learn About Wine event I attended opened my eyes to French varietals like a kid who gets the 128 box of Crayola crayons after working with the 4 pack for a year straight.

The discounted rate of $139 it isn’t cheap, but truthfully you get what you pay for, which is why the good stuff (like the stuff that comes from Santa Barabara) never is!

So if you’re in need of a Santa Barbara wine education look now further than the STARS of Santa Barbara!

To buy tix click HERE.
And the Deets:
9th Annual STARS of Santa Barbara
January 26th, 2012
Los Angeles
Peninsula Hotel
9882 S. Santa Monica Blvd Beverly Hills, California 90212
7:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Something to Check Out: Art @ Casa del Mar

Checked out Ken Solomon’s new exhibit at Hotel Casa del Mar on Wednesday. The Santa Monica hotel has collaborated with curator Cynthia Greenwald to stage the show as part of their Live Well Again Artist Series. From January 26th through mid April this New York artist’s creations will be featured with this exhibit focusing on issues of identity and appropriation on the canvas of the internet.

The hotel proclaims that Solomon’s new paintings are detailed, reconstructed snapshots of the ever-changing internet in an attempt to slow down the constant flow of information on the web. When asked why he paints web pages, Solomon explains, "... if it's done by hand, they're going to look at it from a different perspective."

A group of Google Portraits are fossils of digital information, as they translate the results of Google image searches into watercolor (like the above Campbell Soup can first immortalized by Warhol now Post-Modernly mixed by Solomon). "I feel like the Google image search is sort of our contemporary dictionary," he adds. So if it’s a fun little jaunt if you’re looking for with a heap of culture topped onto your Santa Monica sunset drink than Casa del Mar is the place to go.

Something to Check Out: The Garden School Workday

Hey Guys, Unfortunately this got canceled. But check out the info b/c they'll have another work party in December! --Kat

Let's Get Dirty!

The Garden School is having their Saturday Workday this Saturday (duh!) November 13th from 9-12. What's the Garden School, you ask? It's an organization created to combat the Los Angeles Food Desert issue. Wait, what's a Food Desert? I am glad you asked...

A Food Desert is a location in a city where there are no access to healthy "real" food and is instead populated with with unhealthy "fake" food. In layman's terms: Whole Foods Ain't going to low income areas... these are areas where the only place to buy your food is at a fast food joint or a liquor store. So in certain parts of the city, probably not where you live Yuppie if you're reading my "food blog," kids don't know what a fresh vegetable looks like.

But luckily some Foodie-types got together to do some do-gooder work, Hooray! They built a garden at the 24th Street Elementary School so that kids can learn what a tomato is (and have a great outdoor space to run around)!
And once a month you're welcome to show up to help plant seeds, turn beds, and generally just play the outdoors and get nice and dirty while earning some good Karma.
Check it out. Below are the Deets!

GARDEN SCHOOL WORKDAY
Saturday, November 13th, 9am-12pm.
Bring your shovels, gloves, sunscreen (Mos Def!), water and your favorite gardening tools.
Address: 24th Street Elementary School 2055 W 24th Street Los Angeles, 90018
Directions: From the I-10 Freeway: take the "Western Avenue" exit (3 miles west of downtown) and head south on Western. Take a right turn on 24th Street. The school is one block down on the right, and the parking lot entrance is just beyond the school. There is plenty of street parking as well.
If you want bring anything or if you have questions you can contact Julia at: julia@gardenschoolfoundation.org

Something to Check Out: Santa Monica Farmers Market Quaterly Library Panel Series Tonight!

It's time for another Santa Monica Farmers Market Quarterly Library Panel Series tonight. The last couple of I've attended have been totally packed so get there early. I recommend a lot of events, but the Library Panel Series definitely my favorite. Free, fun, super educational, and great food at the end of it (also free)! Deets are below!

Is It Organic?

Organic Growers - who "CERTIFIES," who doesn't, and why. Meet three farmers: one certified organic, one formerly certified organic, one not certified organic and a chef who are asked this question on a regular basis and learn why all their answers are correct.

On the panel tonight are:
-Chris Cadwell - Tutti Frutti Farm - Certified Organic
-Alex Weiser - Weiser Family Farm - Formerly Certified Organic
-Molly Gean - Harry's Berries - Not Certified Organic
Neal Fraser - Chef/Owner - Grace and BLD
Moderator - Laura Avery - Farmers Market Supervisor

November 4th · 7:00pm - 9:00pm (these events are first come first serve and always fill up some get there 15-20 minutes early!)
Santa Monica Main Library MLK Jr. Auditorium 601 Santa Monica Blvd. (310) 458-8600 www.smpl.org

Something to Check Out: Toast of the Coast "Fall Finds" hosted by LGO

LGO (or La Grande Orange for those who don't live within walking distance of the Santa Monica local) is hosting a "Fall Finds" edition of their monthly Monday night Toast of the Coast event.
The math is really simple:

$25 = 25 (unlimited) Wine Tastings + Signature LGO Hors D'oeuvres

The "Fall Finds," happening this Monday the 18th @ 6:30PM, will have imbibers tasters an assortment of fall varietals from Santa Barbara straight up the west coast to Oregon and Washington (without even having to put on a raincoat, and believe me I was in Portland last week, you need to). Plus for those who like equation wine + education (which, Nerdling that I am, includes me) there will be wine connoisseurs on hand from different vineyards to chat about each varietal (allegedly to divulge the alchemy of each boutique varietal).
So if your interested Sushi and Slider, along with a heck of a lot of wine options check it out. The Deets are below.
Toast of the Coast "Fall Finds" @ La Grande Orange October 18 @ 6:30 2000 Main Street.

Hey Guys, if you’re looking for a fun time involving food and wine (and who isn’t) you’ll get both (and an amazing amazing view) at the Saddlerock Ranch in the hills of Malibu on Sunday, October 24 from 1-4 pm so look no further than LA Magazine's 5th Annual "The Food Event: From the Vine". The day features unlimited food and alcoholic beverage from more restaurants and wineries then I can type (although there’s a Short List below). It also includes Chef Demos by Philippe Chow (Philippe), Mark Gold (Eva), Rory Hermann (Bouchon), Walter Manzke (formerly of Church and State), Mark Peel (Campanile), and Laurent Quenioux (Bistro LQ) in the Snyder Diamond Sub-Zero/Wolf Kitchen (one of the sponsors). There’s also panel discussions all day long with topics including: TOP CHEF MASTERS moderated by Los Angeles Magazine Dine Editor Lesley Bargar Suter and WINE AND CHEESE PAIRING with learnaboutwine.com’s Ian Blackburn and Andrew’s Cheese Shop’s Andrew Steiner.

Oh and did I mention they have horses, llamas, and zebras (Hello! The ultimate date events always includes Zebras.) Below is the Short List of Food and Wine offerings and the Deets on how to check it all out:

FOOD: Akasha Restaurant Bar & Bakery, Beso Hollywood, Bulgarini Gelato Artigianale, Coast Restaurant & Bar, Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village, Kate Mantíliní, ¡Lotería! Grill, Malo Cantina Suavecita, Michael’s Restaurant, Noir Food And Wine, Palate Food + Wine, Rosa Mexicana At L.A. Live, Susan Feniger’s Street, Sweetsalt Food Shop, The Foundry On Melrose, The Penthouse At Huntley Hotel, Tra Di Noi, Barbix, Bread Basket, Cake Company, Café Habana Malibu, Eva Restaurant, Gotta Have S’more, La Mill Coffee, Magnolia Bakery, Matteo’s La, Mo-Chica, Onsunset Restaurant, Public Kitchen & Bar, Rosti Tuscan Kitchen, Sweet Rose Creamery, Takami Sushi & Robata Restaurant, The Lobster, Tierra Sur At Hertzog Wine Cellars, and Westside Tavern

WINE: (Ian Blackburn & learnaboutwine.com is the winery curator for the Food Event.) Aldelaida Cellars, Ampelos Cellars And Vineyard, Cantara Cellars, Cellers Melis, Coho, Coquelicot Estate Vineyard, D’anbino Vineyards & Cellars, Dutcher Crossing Winery, Farella-Park Vineyards, Fontes & Phillips, Hope Family Wines, J&J Cellars, Millesime Cellars, Quady Winery, Rosenthal-The Malibu Estate, Semler, Star Lane Vineyard, Sweeney Canyon Vineyard, The Malibu Vineyard, Zaca Mesa, Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards, Ahnfeldt Wines, Casa Dumetz, Cielo Malibu Estate Wineyards, Colcanyon Estate Wines, Malibu Cornell Winery And Tasting Room, Dierberg Estate Vineyard, Écluse Wines, Flying Goat Cellars/Ynot, Herzog Wine Cellars, Hoyt Family Vineyards Malibu, Jaffe Estate, Niner Wine Estates, Qupé/Verdad, Saddlerock Solsticio, Surfrider Wines, Tercero Wines,The Paring

THE HOW TO: Tickets are $95, $100 with a L.A. Mag subscription, and $110 at the door (this includes all demonstrations, food, beverages, parking.) It’s 21+ with absolutely no infants, children, or pets (Ah, you gotta love LA, that they even had to say that you can't bring your Rhinestone wearing Chihuahua… ) allowed.

To purchase tickets and for more information: www.lamag.com/thefoodevent