The Mill Valley Film Festival once again reminds us of film’s boundless capacity to surprise, challenge, and move us.
Author Archives: garyedf
Food Set Chef Melissa King Free
By Noma Faingold (Updated October 2, 2025)
Chef Melissa King was not like the other kids growing up in Whittier, a small city in Los Angeles County. While her peers watched Saturday morning cartoons, she was glued to Julie Child shows, Martin Yan’s “Yan Can Cook” and other television cooking programs.
“I was always very interested in food and I liked to eat,” King said.
Melissa King’s Lemongrass Cioppino Recipe
Lemongrass Cioppino
Melissa shares her recipe for Lemongrass Ciopinno
I had to pay homage to my city’s iconic seafood stew, cioppino. Italian immigrant fishermen working on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf in the late nineteenth century created this quick, one-pot dish from a base of simmered tomatoes, garlic, and white wine with contributions from the local catch—halibut, Dungeness crab, shrimp, and mussels. I bring in Asian aromatics like lemongrass, ginger, and lime leaves for an even more complex flavor. You can make the base the night before. The next day, bring it to a simmer before adding the freshest seafood available from your fishmonger. Level it up: Cooked Dungeness or king crab legs combined with the shrimp and fish make a delicious addition. Continue reading
SPICE UP YOUR FOOD:Recipes for Strawberry and Tomato Season — and more
Recipes by Erica Perez and John Beaver unless otherwise noted.
Curated and adapted by Gary Meyer
(updated August 30, 2025)
Spices from the Oaktown Spice Shop can take a very good dish to new levels.
C.J. Hirschfield wrote about Oaktown as they have adapted during the pandemic to provide their goods to home chefs around the world. EatDrinkFilms has chosen some recipes and comments from their website (plus one of our own) to get you started.
There is a full meal starting with Bloody Mary cocktails, a zucchini salad, strawberry spaghetti, and chewy molasses cookies for dessert; plus great popcorn idea to eat while watching an after-dinner movie.
Artist Rose B. Simpson Transforms Classic Cars While Healing Herself
By Noma Faingold (Updated September 10, 2025)
Artist Rose B. Simpson is more than a little preoccupied with vessels. She views pottery, cars, her figurative sculptures, the womb and clay, a material she most often uses in her creations, as vessels.
Courtesy of Rose B. Simpson
“I think in clay. Clay was the earth that grew our food, was the house we lived in, was the pottery we ate out of and prayed with,” Simpson told a de Young Museum audience at a very personal lecture she delivered earlier this year. “My relationship to clay is ancestral and it has a deep genetic memory. It’s like a family member for us.” Continue reading
‘Reflections’ of Diana Ross: Through the Mirror of My Mind
By Noma Faingold (August 13, 2025)
Diane Ross will be appearing at San Francisco’s Stern Grove on Sunday, August 17, 2025 in a free afternoon concert. While sold out, 1000 tickets will be given away Friday at 5pm. See bottom of this article for details.
The family hi-fi set-up, anchored by two giant hidden speakers, was located in the dining room. We never ate there unless we had company. No one who came to the house knew where the speakers were because the beige tweed fabric covering them matched the adjacent drapes.
The first Diana Ross album I bought was simply titled, “Diana Ross.” The 1970 release was her debut solo record. I was in second grade and my musical taste was already firmly established. I gravitated to the slick soul of Motown – artists like The Jackson 5, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder and especially Ross, as opposed to popular hardcore rock bands of the time, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti-Painter & Poet for All Generations
By Noma Faingold (August 1, 2025)
“I never wanted to be a poet. It chose me. I didn’t choose it. One becomes a poet almost against one’s will, certainly against one’s better judgement. I wanted to be a painter, but from the age of 10, these damn poems kept coming. Perhaps one of these days they will leave me alone and I can get back to painting.”
– Lawrence Ferlinghetti, poet laureate, publisher, activist, playwright, novelist and painter
The poet and artist Lawrence Ferlinghetti in his San Francisco studio. (Photo courtesy of Brian Flaherty for The New York Times)
Calling someone an “icon” is annoyingly overused these days. However, when it comes to the late multi-hyphenate Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021), the moniker is appropriate, especially in San Francisco, where he thrived artistically and socially since his arrival in 1951. Continue reading
‘The Floaters’ Delivers Unfiltered Jewish Identity in Summer Camp Comedy
By Noma Faingold
(July 31, 2025)
The summer camp movie has become its own genre. By now, what audiences have come to expect is low-brow comedy (balanced by a poignant lesson), with hits like, “Wet Hot American Summer” (2001) and “Meatballs” (1979). Continue reading
Nous: A new Alsatian Restaurant to Complement the Ashland Shakespeare Festival
By Julie Lindow (June 16, 2025)
Are you planning to attend a play at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival this summer? It is a terrific season with classic works like Julius Caesar, The Importance of Being Earnest, As You Like It, and The Merry Wives of Windsor to contemporary shows including August Wilson’s Jitney, Shane, Fat Ham, Quixote Nuevo, and Sondheim’s Into the Woods. The season runs through October 26. If you don’t have plans yet, I highly recommend you make them and along with a reservation at the dreamy new restaurant, Nous (pronounced new).
Nous revisits the cuisine of the Alsace region of France with a blend of Germanic and French culinary traditions and an outstanding selection of wines and that are stunningly paired with the dishes.
The Life of an Independent Film Producer
By Noma Faingold (June 13, 2025)
Prolific, award-winning independent film producer Marc Smolowitz has more than 60 credits in his three-decade career. He’s raised at least $30 million for projects in every genre. At any given time, he is the driving force behind 10 films in various stages of production, including at this very moment.
Photo by Noma Faingold
He doesn’t shy away from declaring why he’s had consistent success and longevity in the ever-changing indie film industry. “I’m fearless and relentless,” Smolowitz said. “I know how to do this job very, very well.”
It’s a Noir, Noir, Noir, Noir World
By Meredith Brody (June 13, 2025)
There’s always room for more noir in my life.
“In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City” will help out this summer at BAMPFA.
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