WEV Founder, South Coast Author to be Honored
The Association of Women in Communications, Santa Barbara, will present its 2013 Women of Achievement Awards to Marsha Bailey, founder and CEO at Women’s Economic Ventures, and author Kathleen Sharp at a luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. June 5 at the Montecito Country Club, 920 Summit Road, Santa Barbara.

Admission to the luncheon is $45 for AWC-SB members and $60 for non-members. For more information on AWC, see www.awcsb.org.

Mistress of ceremonies will be KCLU radio station General Manager Mary Olson. An original poem crafted for the event by Perie Longo, AWC-SB poet laureate, will be read.

Bailey started Women’s Economic Ventures, or WEV, in Santa Barbara 22 years ago to help women and men start of accelerate their enterprises with training and financial loans. The nonprofit organization now also serves entrepreneurs in Ventura County.

South Coast-based author Sharp is the author of “Blood Medicine,” currently being developed into a feature film by New Regency, and “Mr. & Mrs. Hollywood” and is a former business writer at the Santa Barbara News-Press.

‘Film Night’ Cookbook Signing Set June 1
South Coast author and business coach Dr. Kyre Adept will take orders for her new cookbook, “Cooking for Film Night,” from 3 to 5 p.m. June 1 at the Tecolote Book Shop, 1470 East Valley Road, Montecito.

A 13-year Central Coast resident, Dr. Adept is the principal at the Art of Integration as well as the founder of the Church of Chocolate. She worked as a chef in a French restaurant in Cambridge, England.

“Although I started with savory dishes, cooking for film night also offers wonderful opportunities to bake sweet dishes that I dare not make just for myself, at home. I specialize in chocolate desserts, and find they are very well received by the group,” Dr. Adept said. “However, film night has also enabled me to brush up non-chocolate recipes such as Sour Cherry Cheesecake. Another factor has been to find dishes that reheat well, that retain their heat, taste just as good lukewarm, or that can receive their final finish in someone else’s kitchen.”

“As with potlucks, film night does not lend itself to delicacies of timing,” she said. “Recipes that end up in one dish, with sauce, tend to work best. To this end, I have a wonderful set of Le Creuset casseroles. (In case you are not familiar with Le Creuset, this is a French firm that manufactures first-class enameled cast-iron cookware in a range of colors.”

After years of using their casseroles in deep blue, she said, “I recently indulged in an entire set in light aqua – lovely! These heavy round and oval pans can be used on the stovetop and in the oven; they retain heat for half an hour or more, allowing one to carry a cooked dish to a friend’s house, and then serve it, still warm, to the assembled viewers.”

Finally, she said, “I had to find dishes that were flexible as to ingredients. One regular at film nights cannot eat onions, so at times I had to do without. Another is allergic to garlic (a much more serious problem), and one of the hosts doesn’t care for fish. I myself am allergic to crustaceans and bivalves, so although I offer fish from time to time, shellfish is out.”

Many people also find wheat and dairy products difficult to digest, she said, “And my cooking uses many ingenious substitutes for flour, cream, and cheese. In any case, I encourage you to make your own experiments with ingredients that suit your palate (and your diet).Like many people these days, I do better with lots of protein and vegetables, and minimal carbohydrates.”

Father Larry to Bless Granada Book Store
The Rev. Larry Gosselin will read from his new poetry book “Hidden Sweetness” at 5:30 p.m. May 23 at the Marquee Lounge, 1212 State St., followed by the blessing of the soon-to-open Granada Book Store at 1224 State St.

Store founders Emmett McDonough and Sharon Hoshida have partnered to make the opening of Granada Books a community event and an opportunity for an independent bookstore in downtown Santa Barbara in the heart of the arts district.

Granada Books and its nonprofit arm, Pomegranate Arts will host drinks and light snacks for the community at the Marquee, which will be the finale in a series of “First Edition” events before the book store officially opens June 20.

Walking tours from the Marquee to Granada Books will occur throughout the Thursday night event.

Father Larry is a Franciscan priest has become popular among parishioners of the Old Mission Santa Barbara and around the Central California Coast. Known for his spirit and tender care, Father Larry opens the hearts and minds of fellow seekers with his inspirational literary voice.