Yesterday I worked on making a new image to represent the Food Font project.
I attended a picnic over the weekend and I found lots of people who were willing to get a picture taken of their hand holding a piece of food.
I think the image gives the message of food + creativity + community which equals Food Font!
Links:
Back Alley Brawl or The Smelly Closets Civics Game: Educational Games made by Grade School Students
What would an educational computer gams be like if a group of gradeschool students created them? Globaloria is a curriculum and learning system program where students create games. While doing so, they are part of a social learning network where they learn science, technology, engineering, and math. They also develop digital literacies and gain global citizenship skills. In the program, students work in teams to create games while working with their teacher gaming professionals, and other students online.
For the program the students follow the real-world design process and practice planning, prototyping, building, publishing, testing, and playing games.
This past year students participated in Globaloria and were from California, Florida, West Virginia, Texas, and New York. At the end of the year, students participate in a game design competition. The program is supported by government leaders, school systems, public, private, and corporate foundations.
Want to play Back Alley Brawl, The Golden Apple Civics Game, Elemental Elegance or the Smelly Closets Civics Game? These and other games made by students in the program are available to play at the Globaloria website.
I just spent some time trying out the game Gulf Coast Bird Rescue which was made in New York. I had to control the Commander of the Rescue Team (who looked like an octopus) and avoid the evil oil spills while trying to save birds. The graphics were crude but I enjoyed the idea of the game. I was able to easily move around using the arrow keys on my keyboard to pick up the birds. In the end – the oil slick got me. Good thing about games is that I can just play again.
Image Source:
www.globaloria.org
Links:
I have not written too many (or any) food reviews on my blog. I recently ate dinner at SPICE kitchen for my birthday and it was so good I wanted to write about the experience.
SPICE Kitchen and Bar was “born” out of Spice of Life Catering Co, which is a well-respected seasonal upscale catering company here in Cleveland. For all food that they prepare, at least 80% of all ingredients come from small family farms practicing sustainable forms of agriculture within a 100-mile radius of Cleveland. The owners and chefs behind SPICE see using local food a way to support independent growers who they see as “strong stewards of our land.”
The restaurant opened up earlier this year and is located near the Gordon Square Arts District on Detroit Ave. All of the fresh herbs used in their are grown at Spice Acres, three primary gardening properties that are owned and operated by Spice of Life farmers and chefs both in and outside of the city. The gardens also serve as way for Spice staff members who are interested to learn more about gardening.
When I went to SPICE last weekend, the menu was printed on paper, which makes sense since the dishes are always changing. As an appetizer we had the polenta chickpea fries with spicy remoulade. The fries served in a glass and were perfectly shaped like longer and slightly thicker French fries. They had the texture and flavor of polenta mixed with a earthiness flavor of chickpeas with a fresh rosemary. They were lightly salted and the sauce complemented the flavors of the fries.
We also had the bibb lettuce salad with pickled onions, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, cayenne pecans and buttermilk dressing. The pickled onions were a treat. They were slightly sweet and sour and the buttermilk dressing reminded me of what a homemade ranch dressing would be like.
Since I don’t eat meat – I am a cheap date and I usually only have a few dishes I can eat for an entrée. I ordered the Summer Risotto with radish and snow pea salad with parmesan. The risotto was bright green and had a Springlike flavor of sprouts and snow peas that was complemented by the wide pieces of grated parmeson. I savored each bite which had the lightness of the fresh vegetables mixed with the heartiness of the rice and parmeson. It was a generous portion, and I ended up taking it home.
The restaurant has a classic “farm and family” feel. Water was served in mason jars. A single flower was in a simple vase. Brown paper was on top of the table. The service was very helpful and was able to answer all our questions about the food.
The food is always changing at SPICE. I look forward to seeing what is on the menu next time and I have a feeling it will be sooner than later.
Image Source:
Kristen Baumlier and spicekitchenandbar.com
Each month the website and magazine GOOD has a series of monthly challenges that are posted where anyone can submit solutions and ideas. The community then votes on the idea that they believe meets the challenge best and the winner is given an award to activate their idea into a real-world solution.
One of the challenges for the month of July is to submit an idea for a fun, creative, or unusual workshop. Until July 23rd you can send in an idea of what skill you could teach to your community. The winner gets $1000 to support doing the workshop.
When I last checked, there were only 4 ideas that have been submitted. These include workshops on making spreadsheets, growing plants, building a DIY solar cooker, and making quick and easy healthy meals. I just submitted a Food Font workshop – so now there are more than 5 entries for the challenge.
What kind of workshop could you do in your community?
Links:
It’s been a busy week here in the studio. I have been working on project components for Food Font and I also spent time updating the portfolio section on kristenbaumlier.com. It is so easy to get wrapped up in new projects that all of a sudden you check your site and there are 3-4 projects that are not listed.
So, I spent some time getting the site updated. (I always say when I am done that it feels like my shirt is tucked in nicely.)
I added some of the projects that I did this year and am currently working on.
I also added some new slide image to the main page.
Check out the slideshow – or the selected work sections on the site to see what is new!