A Love Letter to CicLAvia

My love for Ciclavia is a passionate love that defies words. I feel a bit like the people who were at Woodstock and now say things like, “You just had to be there.” That sounds like hyperbole, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Ciclavia is a spiritual experience. You not only experience your own familiar city in a completely new way, but you have that experience side by side with thousands of fellow Angelenos from all walks of life. Whatever stereotypes you might have about what a typical “bike rider” looks like – put them fully and completely aside. Ciclavia is, quite simply, LA on a bike. Imagine driving on the 10 freeway or the 5 – but everyone is on a bike instead of in a car. There are no barriers between us.

Cruising peacefully for a Sunday afternoon earlier this month took on a special poignancy in the wake of the bombings in Boston. I believe in my head that most people in this world are good, loving, caring people – when I participate in Ciclavia, I feel it in my heart.

See what Ciclavia feels like in my short video (overlook shakiness at start). And yes, it really was that quiet.

Scenes from Ciclavia to the Sea, April 2013:

• Three old guys sit drinking beer in their garage, watching the bikes go by. When I bike past them again three hours later, they’re still there. Just another Sunday afternoon.
• The sounds of praise drifts out of corner Iglesia Pentecostal – a man in black pants and tie steps out with a bemused expression.
• The sound of a young child’s voice belting out karaoke floats through the windows of a corner apartment building.
• Two bikers go rogue and cut off the route – a middle-aged black man in full biking regalia complete with neon orange shirt and a middle-aged white mom in beach shorts. “I’m riding with my home boy,” she comments. He grins as they as they disappear into the neighborhood.
• A girl and guy hipster with shades, skinny pants and ironic t-shirts blast some old-school Snoop Dog from a huge stereo affixed to the back of their bicycle built for two.
• A 5-foot man on a makeshift stage blasts cumbia and salsa from giant speakers in front of a Salvadoran restaraunt pushing pupusas. According to his neon sign, he’s El Tremendo.
• Two Rastafarians sing along to Bob Marley outside their pan-African thrift store calling to passerby to check out their wares.
• A chubby 8-year-old Latino boy runs to catch up with his dad, carrying a white trash bag as big as he is. They’re collecting cans and bottles along the route.
• A paletero with a huge straw hat strolls between several ladies grilling hot dogs on small carts next to the bike repair tent. The air smells of pork and jalapenos and the onions make your eyes smart.
• A transvestite in coveralls is perched on top of a double-decker bicycle. “How do you do that?” someone exclaims.
• A low-rider bicycle club hangs out by a gas station. I’m envious of their shiny bikes with their twisted chrome handlebars.
• A fit man outfitted entirely in spandex is pulling a neon yellow cart for kids behind his bike – a small gray dog pops its head out, its ears blowing back in the wind.
• A little boy pedals past sporting a fuzzy pink mustache.

“Gifted Students Have Special Needs Too”

I’ve never heard anyone say this ever except for my mom. That is until I recently read an op-ed with exactly that title which got me reflecting on my experiences as a “GATE student” in California’s public schools. I’m writing this post specifically for teachers and principals and parents as food for thought – this is my story, draw your own conclusions. Hopefully something I’ve written here reminds you of some of the kids at your school and could be applied right now to feed that student’s life-long love of learning and to better set him or her up for both academic and personal success down the road.

I could easily be negative and whiny about some of my experiences as a K-12 student, but that is like complaining about everything I hate about horse-drawn buggies when they’ve already been replaced by cars. That is how much technology has changed since I was in kindergarten. I constantly look at what is happening in some of California’s most innovative schools and say, “Gee, I wish they had THAT when I was a kid!”

A Tale of Two Teachers

I want to start with a tale of two teachers that illustrates pretty darn well what needs to end and what can be. First off, I’m no genius. I’m a very curious person and I love learning. School always came easily to me, so in a class of 30 kids, if the lesson was at the exact right level for 20 kids and five were completely lost, I was one of the five who were bored. My point? There are lots and lots of kids out there just like me – enough that I ask you not to say or think things like: “Liza is bright, so she’ll be fine no matter what we do,” and just leave it at that.

As a sixth-grader, I was in a unique school within a school at our big, overcrowded middle school. We had traditional English and math classes, then every afternoon, we had a block period for project-based learning integrating science and social studies with a mix of 6th, 7th and 8th graders. We would work on a project for six weeks, then start a new one. For every assignment, we had seven options for completing it based on the seven multiple intelligences, and a lot of the projects were group work where they would put together a strong student, a struggling student and two average students (Teachers: don’t think we weren’t on to you!).

My math teacher hated me. I was always bored out of my mind in her class because she went super slow through the material, most of which I already knew, then if she gave us an in-class assignment, I’d finish quickly and ask her what to do next. She would snap at me and tell me to just sit there for the remaining 20 minutes of class or, another favorite approach of teachers, make me help other students. I have more sympathy now – after all, she had 35 kids with widely varying abilities and she was supposed to get all of us ready for algebra the following year. However, at the time, I was so bored at school that I was actually getting depressed and, being a goody two-shoes, I was distressed that my teacher hated me.

Fortunately, I had an amazing teacher for our project-based class in the afternoon. He made me feel special – I felt like he took all of us seriously and listened patiently to our concerns. In response to my complaints of boredom, he devised a special project for me – rather than just writing an essay or whatever else we were supposed to do – he had me create a Hypercard presentation. He showed me a little bit, then basically set me off on my own to figure out the program. I’d work away at the one classroom computer while he worked with the rest of the class. Most importantly, he didn’t give me an A based on how my work compared to that of my classmates. He compared me only to myself and pushed me to the edge of my abilities. Now THAT’S differentiated instruction!

I had many, many teachers like these two during my years in school – those who found me annoying and those who saw me as an opportunity to try out something new. In high school, I was much happier than I was in middle school for a couple of reasons:

1. They tracked us. There is a lot of rightful criticism around tracking and I am still bothered by the few Latino and low-income students in honors classes at my old high school. However, I personally thrived by having challenging material and being surrounded by bright students who loved learning.
2. My mom. I was one lucky kid because my mom is a fighter. She was an advocate for me – she worked with my teachers to make sure I was challenged. She found opportunities outside of school for me to develop myself.  And through a combination of volunteering for everything at the school and cajoling/harassing the principal, she would ensure I was always assigned to the toughest teachers for any given subject and the ones that loved teaching kids like me. Unfortunately, most kids aren’t as lucky as I was.

The op-ed that sparked this post  summarizes very well why gifted students often don’t get much attention – not from the principals and teachers entrusted with educating them nor from policymakers or education reformers. This includes worries about elitism, the idea that equity only matters for income, minority status and handicapping conditions, the belief that high-ability students will do just fine no matter what….not to mention there’s no clear definition for “gifted” nor clear research on what works. I went through school before No Child Left Behind, so I’m guessing if anything, there’s now even less focus on gifted students.

To me, it’s very simple – all students have special needs and that absolutely includes gifted students. In the same way that you take it upon yourself to help a struggling student – “intervention”, take it upon yourself to reach a student who is bored or who is coasting, not pushing herself to the best of her abilities. Every student needs more than a mom and dad – they need a whole community of diverse adults who care about them.

Coming next week: My Dream School and reflections on how we can truly have awesome 21st century schools…

And a plug for the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance - mentor a kid!

This post is dedicated to my mom, Bobbie Jenkins.

Best Letter to the Editor EVER

My blog post “Please stop making 4th graders build models of the California missions” recently ran in my hometown newspaper, the Sonoma Index-Tribune. One 4th grader wrote this response and officially became my hero. Thank you to everyone else who also wrote a thoughtful response in the blog comments or elsewhere!

Fourth grader revolts against ‘mission madness’

Jan 31, 2013 – 05:04 PM

Editor, Index-Tribune:

I am a fourth grader and read the article, “End the mission madness” (Index-Tribune Our Schools page, Jan. 29). I loved it because I feel that Native Americans were treated brutally and horribly by the padres.

Right now in my class, we are doing a unit on the missions and I believe that the subject of the Native Americans and their share of the mission period has been completely glossed over. When I brought up the subject to my teacher, she said that people can have different opinions, but I’ve heard her talk and I know she really means the missions are always right.

Thank you editor, and writer Sierra Jenkins, for publishing this article in the newspaper and showing people you don’t have to always believe what people want you to believe in.

Natalie Sandoval

Yummy + Healthy + Easy Recipes from Foodie Cleanse 2013

I love trying new recipes, but half of them don’t make it into my binder of standbys. They must pass three tests: 1) Be outrageously good; 2) Be very to fairly easy; 3) Not result in me having to clean every dish I own.

This was the second year that I have done Bon Appetit Magazine’s Foodie Cleanse. It’s fun, it resets me after the holidays and it pushes me to try dishes that I wouldn’t otherwise make. Last year, just seven recipes made the cut. Many others were unduly complicated and had ingredients that I struggled to find, even here in Los Angeles!!! Crossroads of the world!

This year, they kept it simpler and I certainly appreciated that. Here are all the recipes and foods that I’ll definitely continue munching on through 2013:

This was the pair of recipes that really knocked my socks off – and they’re vegetarian!

• Tunisian-Style Poached Eggs in Red Pepper Sauce – Harira has such a unique flavor…I need to experiment more with it. It does have a bit of a kick, so go light if you don’t like spice. This would be great served in small portions to complement a meat or fish dish.
  
• Chickpeas with Leeks, Spinach, and Smoked Paprika – WOW.

Cod + Greens: It seems that you can season cod any old way and pair it with bok choy or chard or collard greens and you simply can’t go wrong. Plus cod makes the very short list of recommended/approved seafoods on the Seafood Watch list! Download their free app or order the pocket guide.

• Cod w/olives, lemon, cumin and coriander

Smoked paprika: A spice that packs a wallop. I got it for one recipe, then started sprinkling it on my deviled eggs.

Black rice - It is exactly what it says it is. It’s easy and a good trick to have up your sleeve for a dinner party. I easily found a bag at Ranch 99.

• With apricot and almonds
• Coconut risotto – An exciting breakfast bowl

Clams - Clams are really easy!

Sake steamed clams – Totally different flavors that my typical cooking. Served w/ Bok Choy w/Chili-Black Bean paste – Wow, does that stuff pack a wallop! If you don’t like spicy, don’t use this sauce. Very tasty.

Salmon + Lentils – A classic combo for a reason

Confetti lentils - I did all the veggies in the food processor and made this using Trader Joe’s cooked lentils and it was a snap.

Squash – The tomato and squash soup was pretty good, but ultimately I like both separately so you can fully enjoy the tomato or fully enjoy the squash. However, I did like the cooking method used – putting a few cloves of garlic under the squash half, then baking it. Smelled and tasted delicious!

Salad + Fruit + Nuts + Goat Cheese – You can’t go wrong. So delicious, so fancy looking.

Radicchio and Persimmon Salad with Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese – Looks super fancy!

Toss 4 cups radicchio and 1 Fuyu persimmon (the flat variety), peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks, with 1½ Tbsp. Sherry Vinaigrette. Top with ½ oz. crumbled goat cheese and 2 Tbsp. toasted hazelnuts. You can substitute arugula, spinach, or a good dark salad mix for the radicchio, and use walnuts, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds in place of the hazelnuts.

Curry – This was already a standby for me, as it should be for every working mom in America. A can of coconut milk, a dollop of curry paste and any mix of veggies or meats. You can’t go wrong!! I often put in potatoes, but had never tried sweet potatoes…not bad.

• Thai-Flavored Green Curry with Sweet Potato, Green Beans, and Chicken

To take to the office

Smoked salmon on rye crisps with avocado - The avocado actually tastes better than cream cheese…go figure.

Winter Citrus Salad - I eviscerated a grapefruit and mixed the chunks with halves of orange slices. A great mid-morning snack.

And a bonus recipe: Ahi or cod or halibut with Bok Choy (Serves 2)

The back story: I accidentally bought ahi tuna instead of cod. I love seared ahi, but my boyfriend does not, so I had to devise a way to prepare this. I found this recipe, which happened to have a very simple, but very delicious sauce that I plan to use for years to come. I also had a recipe that I had been meaning to try for a while – Miso-glazed halibut. I did the two different meals and this is the best of both:

Ingredients

• Enough fish for two people – fillets, medium thickness
• 1 lb. of baby bok choy – the smallest you can find (then you don’t have to cut it up)
• 1 bunch of green onions (scallions)
• Fresh ginger – piece the size of your hand
• Garlic
• 1 lime
• White miso (you can get this anywhere, even Safeway, just ask – it’s usually near the refrigerator with the tofu)
• Rice wine vinegar
• Sesame oil
• Soy sauce

Miso Glaze – Whisk together.

• 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 4 teaspoons sesame oil
• 4 tablespoons white miso
• 2 tablespoon bottled or fresh minced ginger

Spread the glaze over the fish, both sides. Then put the fish on tin foil and broil in the oven for 7-8 minutes. Keep an eye on it and flip it when you think you should – when its just turning brown around the edges.

Bok Choy

Mix together:

• 2 Tbsp dark sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce (or 2 teaspoons of wheat-free tamari for gluten-free option)
• 1 Tbsp of grated fresh ginger
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon lime juice

Cut up 5 green onions, split the white part and the green part. Use a pot with a lid. Bring 1/4 c. of water to a boil, toss in the bok choy, turn down the heat to medium, cover and steam for 3 minutes. After that, take the lid off, toss in the white part of the green onions and keep cooking for a few more minutes, until all the water boils off. Add the sauce and serve immediately with the fish on top and rice on the side. Garnish with sesame seeds and the green part of the green onions.

And if you are interested in food and nutrition, I’ll just put in a plug here for all Michael Pollan books, starting with “Food Rules.”

Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Both elegant and useful in its simplicity. I’ve read reams of books and articles on nutrition over the years and it sometimes feels like the more you know, the more confused you get. This small guide takes us directly to the heart of eating well: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” I would absolutely put this in my friend’s X-mas stockings.

View all my reviews

Sometimes the book isn’t better: Game of Thrones, I’m talking to you

Have you read “Game of Thrones”? Don’t bother. Unless you like reading screenplays. The book is so clearly written to have been picked up for production that as I read it, I often thought to myself – “Wow, this would be great with some striking visuals and an epic score to sweep me away on a wave of emotion.”

Let’s do a little compare and contrast. Here’s how the scene reads where Daenerys jumps into a fire, then emerges unscathed surrounded by baby dragons.

Book vs. Movie

“When the fired died at last and the ground became cool enough to walk upon, Ser Jorah Mormont found her amidst the ashes, surrounded by blackened logs and bits of glowing ember and the burnt bones of man and woman and stallion. She was naked, covered with soot, her clothes turned to ash, her beautiful hair all crisped way…yet she was unhurt…As Daenerys Targaryen rose to her feet, her black hissed, pale smoke venting from its mouth and nostrils. The other two pulled away from her breasts and added their voices to the call, translucent wings stirring unfolding and stirring the air, and for the first time in hundreds of years, the night came alive with the music of dragons.”

Click through to see the video - apparently not appropriate for all audiences due to female nudity…

See what I mean? Even though the book came first, it feels like something you’d pick up at the airport gift shop that says “The new book based on the hit movie!” rather than the other way around.

I don’t have a problem with that – but I’m not going to read any more. I’ll just see the TV show, thank you very much. I just hope the nudity is limited to the most attractive male characters.

In contrast, I recently saw the movie “Cloud Atlas,” which joins the elite club of movies that are as good as the books they are based upon, which to date only includes “The English Patient,” “Adaptation,” and perhaps “Harry Potter,” though that’s a longer conversation.

Among the literati, it has long been taken as eternal truth that “the book is always better.” That is no longer true. More so, that’s a pointless conversation to have. It is possible for the same story to make an excellent book, an excellent movie – heck, I would love to see the same story also become a graphic novel, an immersive online game, a radio play…whatever. Take full advantage of whatever format in which you’re working. All I care about is whether it’s a good story well told.

A Cleanse for People Who Hate Cleanses

I am very, very anti-cleanse. I know – that’s practically un-American. When people gush to me about their amazing, soul-cleansing juice cleanse or bizarre cabbage soup colonics, I just bite my tongue. I love to eat and I ascribe to the Michael Pollan approach to diet: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants” so I consider cleanses to be just another form of extreme, whacked out eating.

That is, until I spotted Bon Appetit’s “Foodie Cleanse.” The rules were not unreasonable (avoid dairy, caffeine, alcohol and sugar) and the food looked…like food. Rather than a strict regimen, it looked like a food adventure – a chance to reset myself after the holidays and try some recipes I’d never otherwise do.

Mmmm…Day 1.

I was not let down. Some of the recipes had ingredients that seemed impossible to track down within 10 miles of my house, which says a lot considering I live in the heart of LA. Some were needlessly complicated and time-consuming. But many were amazing and the whole endeavor was quite fun.

The only part missing was the social aspect so this year, I’m going full bore – following the recipes (for the most part) and writing about it each day whether just a few comments on the Bon Appetit page, posting some pics to my Facebook and doing a wrap-up right here. Join me!

Recipes from Foodie Cleanse 2011

Here’s the dishes from the cleanse I did last year that I would make again.

Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa

A great alternative when you’re getting bored of oatmeal – 101 Cookbooks is a fantastic blog.

Salmon in a Bengali Mustard Sauce  with Black-Eyed Pea Curry

WOW. Enough said.

Edamame Hummus

Different, but tasty.

Crudités

I need to remember to cut up veggies at the start of each week and put them in containers ready to go. Something about calling them “crudites” just makes them that much tastier and makes me that much classier.

Rye crisp crackers

SO good! A bit elusive, but definitely make my Top 10 list since they are tasty, healthy and don’t go stale very quickly.

Tuscan Kale Chips

Can’t believe this actually worked. Definitely not transportable, but definitely yummy.

Smoked salmon

This is on the approved list? My new favorite lunch.

The Challenge: Photograph the Rain with Just an iPhone

I love my Canon DSLRs. I love my 85 mm lens. I love my telephoto lens. Love, love, love ‘em all.

However, I can’t carry them everywhere with me – case in point: The only “camera” I brought home to Sonoma for the holidays is my iPhone. Furthermore, it has not been drizzling here- it has been outright pouring so even if I had my DSLR, I would leave it bundled up inside, not subject it to these conditions. So I decided to put a challenge to myself. Rather than whining about the lack of manual focus and the depth of field , could I turn the iPhone’s limitations into assets and take good photos of the rain? You be the judge.

Over an afternoon, I came to appreciate several unique attributes of the iPhone camera – it can handle adverse weather conditions, you can put it lower to the ground than you can put a DSLR (or your own head), because it can’t handle backlighting and lens flare very well, you can end up with results that aren’t alwaystrue to life but artsy and unexpected. Enjoy my walk in the rain!

Sonoma Rain Walk (as interpreted on my iPhone)