Getting juiced
Now we have a clue as to where prolific local cookbook author Robin Asbell gets her energy. Her latest book is "Juice It! Energizing Blends for Today's Juicers" (Chronicle, $18.95) is out this month. Asbell, who specializes in natural foods, walks the novice juicer through the nutritional benefits of juicing, while inspiring old hands with combinations such as lemon, apple and jalapeño for Skinny Hot Lemonade or papaya, raspberry, flaxseed and turmeric for a Brain Booster. She also shares what the savvy shopper needs to know about buying one of these contraptions, and what to do with leftover pulp. (See calendar below for events.)
Cook the movie
Anyone who's watched a movie about food often leaves feeling famished, and the new movie "Chef," which opens Friday, is no exception. Now there's a solution. Open Road Films has teamed with BakeSpace.com to create "The Official Chef Movie Cookbook: Recipes From El Jefe," which can be downloaded for free as a Web-based e-book and/or iPad app. It includes all of the film's recipes, each of which is part of the plot of turning a grungy food truck into a gastronomic sensation, as guided by the chef played by Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan in the "Iron Man" movies). And never fear: The recipes have been tested. All of the food made in the film was eaten by the cast and crew as soon as the cameras stopped rolling. For the Web-based cookbook, visit http://bakespace.com/cookbooks/CHEFmovie. The iPad app version of the cookbook can be downloaded on iTunes (for iPad) at bit.ly/1mYn3JR and search for "chef."
Brews & Canoes
Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness (FBWW) is seeking entrants for Brews & Canoes, a craft beer competition to honor the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, which led to legislation protecting the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Minnesota craft brewers are invited to dedicate an existing beer or create a new one that connects to wilderness themes reflected in the act: untrammeled nature, tranquility, rugged adventure and camaraderie. A panel of celebrity judges will name champion beers in categories including: best northern lights, best night skies, most pioneering, best representation of the BWCA and star of the north. Interested breweries can visit www.friends-bwca.org/programs/brewsandcanoes for details. Entry deadline is June 2, with beers judged by Aug. 1. FBWW and its brewery partners will cap off Brews & Canoes at a ticketed tasting event in early September.
Getting your meal's "Wirth"
The remodeling of the Theodore Wirth picnic pavilion, 3275 Glenwood Av. (on the hill above the beach), right down to the kitchen, led to its hosting cooking classes last year. They're back this summer, with instruction on healthy eating, vegetarian cooking, smoothies and snacks with kids in mind. If you're into spontaneity, consider tonight's class about cooking with burdock, a vitamin-packed root. Class begins with a 6 p.m. hike into the J.D. Rivers Children's Garden, where you'll learn to identify and gather burdock, then learn to cook it. To see if spaces still are available, and to check out other classes, visit bit.ly/1g91bIE.
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