Nonplussed tourists wait for a sunset in Oia, Santorini. Photo by Rhea.
My piece on visiting one of the most popular Greek islands without all the bustle appears in today’s Washington Post Travel section. This is my first story for Post Travel and I’m thrilled to see it! Reporting the story wasn’t so bad, either.
Last month, Michael Pollan released his seventh food book, Cooked, and I wrote about it for The Jewish Daily Forward. The book is based on the epiphany that many of his tortured foodie questions had the same answer: Cook. This simple, inherantly communal idea embodies a theme that has been in my life a lot lately.
Pollan’s book is an homage and philosophical journey to home cooking. Much of Pollan’s research, however, did not take place in his house in the Bay Area. Instead, he entered the far-flung realms of barbecue pit men, artisanal bakers, and fermentos — communities that run thick with tradition and passion.
That theme of deep community continued as I attended the Do Good Summit on May 3 to see the likes of Our Black Year author Maggie Anderson, local B Corp founder Raj Aggarwal, and DC Brau‘s Jeff Hancock. As I wandered the brand new, sunny corridors of the Anacostia Arts Center, I received a tweet:
Of course. Soupergirl, one of my favorite local businesses, had saved a loaf of challah and was going to make sure I got it. I’d come in a couple of days before to request it, without even giving my name. That request went onto a sticky note, which turned into a Twitter ping, which found me as I went about my day. I’d like to see Safeway do that!
At that time, I was gearing up for the DC State Fair Seedling Swap. It took place two days later. While the Do Good Summit was the inaugural conference of the new art gallery and community space, the crowd at the swap packed northeast DC’s Center for Green Urbanism for its last event before it moved out. The rush of community concern over the closing touched my heart just as much as the love of green things percolating through the rooms. The Center is currently searching for a new home.
Right now, those tomato and marigold and peanut seedlings are growing on front stoops and window sills and raised beds around the District. But the frost is coming tonight. I hope we can keep this all going.
Filed under DC, Events, Gardening, Jewish community
The socially conscious pet food I buy at The Big Bad Woof in Takoma, D.C. is just the tip of an iceberg, and the organization Think Local First is plunging in to reveal more of a growing trend. A Woof franchise was the first certified Benefit Corporation (AKA B Corp) in the country and both locations are part of a growing number of do-good businesses in the Washington area.
Looking into such businesses and an upcoming event organized by TLF (while I simultaneously mixed water metaphors), I recently wrote an article for Elevation DC called “Do Good Summit rides wave of triple bottom line business.”
Filed under DC, Events, Sustainability
Recent mailings leading up to the special election in D.C. Photo by Rhea.
It’s Earth Day, a celebration and cultivation all things green and growing. But in the past week, the country’s biggest crop was fear. First came the Boston Marathon bombings on Monday, followed soon after by the ricin in President Obama’s mail and deadly explosions of West, Tex.
Usually slow to internalize threats, figuring I could die any minute regardless of where I am, this time I felt a pinball of worry start to ricochet around my chest. I live just a few miles from the White House, the Pentagon, and the National Mall with its surge of tourists (one of whom, you have to remember, recently turned up dead — and wasn’t the first). These could each be the next place to shatter. Continue reading
Filed under DC, International
The Mid-Atlantic winter may not have produced a Snowquester, but it’s still spitting out frosty nights. Soon, even those will become a threat of the past, bringing in — to my delight and dread — a new gardening season. Just like the one depicted above. Continue reading
Four speakers. Two Jewish foods. One magical night.
D.C.-area Jews, foodies, and lovers of hilarious arguments, this one’s for you. Experience the Latke-Hamentasch Debate and nosh on “research materials” Wednesday, February 13 at 7 p.m. at Adas Israel (Cleveland Park Metro – Red Line). There will be ASL interpretation!
Click to enlarge the flier and read more.
Filed under DC, Events, Jewish community
My second post on my 31 days of eating in is up at The Jew and the Carrot. Check it out.
Filed under DC, Jewish community
A crowd of Inauguration-goers waits to get into the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station. Photo by Rhea.
President Obama’s second public inauguration this week sparkled with great musical talent and a glinting promise in the president’s address to the nation.
Or so they tell me.
I failed to see any of it live, instead traipsing around the perimeters of a sealed off National Mall with a couple of friends. Eventually, we gave up and headed home.
In the spirit of taking a break from my eat-in posts, I’m going to tell you a story of what I did see that day (and show you in a video if you keep reading).
As I joined the crowd outside one of the jammed Metro stations following my surrender, I encountered two ad hoc entrepreneurs.
“Get your Obama hats!” One of them called. “Only five dollars!”
“Hand warmers!” Said another. “Just two dollars!”
The difference between these guys and the hawkers of oversized buttons or fragrant soft pretzels in the streets was that the former had a captive audience. Up and down the staircase to our left, their patter tumbled over the would-be Metro riders and sometimes turned into a conversation. Continue reading
Finally, in this series of kids’ poetry, I’ve posted Sophia Diggs-Galligan’s “The Farmer.” You can find her poem and a video of the writer’s delivery (and impressive composure given what was going on) over at the DC State Fair.
Next in the procession of kids’ poetry, I’ve posted Rachel Epstein-Shuman’s “In My Garden.” Catch both her poem and a video of the writer’s delivery over at the DC State Fair.
Rhea Kennedy Morgenstern, writer 