A Canceled Book Signing = Good Food and New Friends

Last night was supposed to be an exciting night. My friend Carl Mindling and I were going to attend a book lecture and signing by John Robbins, author of "The Food Revolution" and "Diet for a New America." So, imagine our disappointment when an hour and ten minutes before we needed to arrive at the venue, I received a call informing me the event had been canceled. Mr. Robbins wasn't feeling well. I hope he is feeling better today.

I just took this echinacea picture on Sunday. Because it's a healing plant I think it's very appropriate to use on a get well card.

Carl had just arrived on my doorstep after driving over the hill from Santa Cruz so we decided to make the best of the situation and headed over to the Naglee Park Garage for a nice, leisurely dinner.

I had the "Carrot Salad" with apple, almonds, raisins and sweet potatoes in lemon dressing. It was really tasty! I'd definitely order this again.

Next up were Brussels sprouts. The menu only says "Brussels Sprouts" but they come loaded with chunks of bacon. We simply requested no bacon. The sprouts were delicious! Tender and cooked all the way through which seems like a given but so often I've had them where they're still raw and tough in the center.

The "Sweet Potato Fries" weren't really like fries at all but more like chunky wedges of oven roasted, white, sweet potatoes. Nom, nom, nom!

Carl ordered the "Veggie Burger" w/ portobello, tomato, spinach, caramelized onion & swiss cheese on onion poppy seed bun & home fries. OK, so initially I ordered the same thing but without the mushroom since I don't like mushrooms only to be informed that the mushroom was the burger. I thought there was a veggie patty with strips of mushroom so don't be confused when you read the menu.

And for dessert "Vanilla Bread Pudding" with whip cream & pecans. It was so good. Sadly, we forgot to take a picture before we ate the whole thing. If you'd like to see a pic CLICK HERE for my previous post about the Naglee Park Garage.

Next we headed over to Safeway because Carl needed to pick up some canned pumpkin and chocolate chips for some future baking taking place at his house. Since we weren't in a rush we walked up and down each aisle and he pointed out favorite brands and ingredients. I'm trying out his favorite RAO'S pasta sauce and he's going to send me a recipe for a delicious, vegetarian, hominy soup made with his favorite organic vegetable broth.

Our final stop, just around the corner from Safeway, was the venue of the canceled event. We hopped out of the car to take this quick picture of Carl looking sad. Security was eyeballing us from inside so we jumped back in the car and took off.

We got to the intersection when I realized that we forgot to have Carl hold one of John Robbins' books he'd brought with him to be signed. LOL so when the light turned green we made a u-turn and headed back for one more picture....

We had just taken this new picture of Carl with his book and were getting back into his car when he struck up a conversation with a couple who had just exited the building. We commiserated over our disappointment that the event was canceled.

Turns out Brennan and Michael had driven all the way down to San Jose from Berkeley, which is about an hour away. They were so sad.

But then we all became friends right there in the parking so they were happy!

Using the soft glow of a landscaping light Carl was showing them that one of the books he brought with him still had the receipt in it because he'd used it as a bookmark. He'd bought it in 1991! We were all impressed.

As we chatted with Michael (combined with what I found on Google last night when I got home) I learned that as the visionary, Associate Producer and Bay Area Coordinator, he was the driving force in creating and continues to promote Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days. The movie features 6 people who suffer from Type 2 Diabetes, used insulin, had no familiarity with the raw food movement and all had diets that consisted of a lot of fast food. After 30 days of going raw with no meat, dairy, sugar, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, soda, junk food, fast food, processed food, packaged food, and even cooked food for 30 days many were able to stop taking their Diabetes medications (including insulin) and all lost at least 20 lbs. They all completed the experience healthier both physically and mentally.

As we talked in the dark we learned that Michael's company, Environ-Mental Productions, is focused on making films that address and combine issues like sustainable agriculture, healthy living and environmental concerns. So right there in the parking lot he treated us to his first ever parking lot screening of the trailer to "Simply Raw."

I'm looking forward to seeing the movie in it's entirety. As I said to Michael last night, it seems kind of like "The Biggest Loser" reality tv show but much more doable for the average person.

Even if you don't go 100% raw as the participants did in the movie, simply integrating more healthful foods (dish by dish or meal by meal) will help stop the progression of diet related diseases and conditions and can move us in a new direction towards better health.

You can watch the "Simply Raw" trailer embedded above.

Last night I posted on Facebook:

"Every now and then disappointment turns into a wonderful adventure. Tonight was one of those nights :)"