Jake was wheeling and dealing last Wednesday, and it wasn't Soul Cycle, but food and that for Jake it is where his soul is-food, along with friends, and family and.... farming
Jake dusted off the fanciest duds he has for his East Coast adventure
and did his best Rumplejakeskin for an evening event to raise money for the Edible Schoolyard program in NYC.
The host was fashion designer Lela Rose and her husband Brandon Jones 
who opened their TriBeCa loft to chef Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune restaurant (a Jake fav) and guests who each contributed a $1000 to the schoolyard program.
Jake's childhood friend designer Sophie Buhai was there as well.
With a table that wowed the crowd, it almost compete with the food for the main attraction.
Starting off with radishes dipped in butter, the dinner moved on to Spanish mackerel poached in kalamata olive oil and braised duck legs with lentils, black chickpeas and chanterelles.
Jake took a few minutes to speak to the gathering that raised $120,000 and spoke to a couple of columnist inthe fashion world. What about? Food, family, friends and farming.
He spoke about how family dinners around the table were especially important to him, how they grew food in their garden and shopped at the Farmers Market.
"I got involved because the dinner table was always a place, since I was a young child, where we got to get together, and I actually got to know my family there more than any other place in the world. I grew up growing my own food in our family garden."
And while it was a little upscale in menu selections Jake brought back down to earth with talks about pizza.
"I love going to these schools and making kale pizza with the kids."
Jake talked about how important home gardens and farmers market played in his life and how he was a part of the slow food movement growing up without even knowing it.
"I didn't realize that I grew up in the slow food movement. I see children who didn't know any of these things—that they can grow their own food and learn about vegetables when they are at a primary level. It was everything to me, so I wanted to be involved. Since knowing about this organization, I've done everything I can."
Talking more about ESY, he said:
“To me, this is a fiercely political topic, even though it seems like an easy one to actually put into practice. Even though an event like tonight’s might seem elitist, it is about incorporating one of the least expensive things you can do. It just takes time, attention and love, which oddly is an incredibly difficult thing for people to do in this world.”
A fashion reporter got a little one on one time with Jake and got a few more insights of the "the sexiest farmer alive". (Like maybe why he makes kale pizza with kids)
"I got involved because the dinner table was always a place, since I was a young child, where we got to get together, and I actually got to know my family there more than any other place in the world. I grew up growing my own food in our family garden. One of my best friends is a farmer. It's been a primary focus of my life. "
And the kale?
Asked what his favorite veggie is, he picks an Italian kale that some may know as black leaf kale.
"I'd say right now, after an extensive search over the years and living the wonderful life that I've had so far, and after tasting many, many vegetables...cavolo nero. It's like a really soft kale. You can eat it any form: cooked, raw..."
And going Green Acres from there it's about farming and one of his best buds Chris.
"I was raised in Los Angeles, but I spent my summers, since I was born, in Martha's Vineyard. My best friend, since we were little kids, lives there, and he's a farmer. His whole family farms. I know it might seem odd, but it's what I love more than anything. Being in gardens have been some of the most wonderful times of my life. Washing lettuce and watching things grow...you feel connected to the world. You'd be hard-pressed to find anything that connects you to the universe in the same way that planting a seed does." 
And their follow up for the friend of farmers:
That's so sweet! And now you've got a beard like a real farmer.
Seeds of growth!
A programming note:
See Jake go au natural in a whole different way tonight at 8pm EDT when Love and Other Drugs premieres on HBO.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
...Farm living is the life for me....
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27 comments:
Wheweeee, love that last picture, Special.
Now as for those first FIVE...lol. Good gosh. You know, Jake will think nothing of spending $75 or whatever for a single entree but he can't keep more than two pairs of pants and one shirt in his East Coast closet? LOL, that was funny, Special. It really does show that Jake has dramatically, and I do mean DRAMATICALLY changed his dressing habits since he went deep into the closet in 2007. I believe another blogger by the name of Jason also pointed this out, as have most of us at one time or another.
It's when you see pictures like these (now granted the last 2 or 3 are taken at the same event, but still) posted one after the other, that it just really stands out.
And look at how the ladies and that other guy are all dressed up and there stands Jake. I don't know, maybe he was trying to look non-elitest.
And you know, I love the guy to death, but he is not identifiable to me. He and I are on two entirely different ends of the spectrum of realism.
I'm sorry but kale pizza? No.
Pizza, good ol' American pizza is: Cheese pizza
Sausage
Pepperoni
Canadian bacon
Hey, even Spinach or Taco
But you know, I'm just an admin from Midwest Kansas who shops at Aldi and Wal Mart. I will never know mackerel "poached in kalamata olive oil" and kale pizza nor will I ever be able to pluck down $1000 for a charity dinner.
And what I don't get is why he always talks about farming and cooking but yet the guy is constantly at Colombo coffee houses and going to Alice in Chains Restaurant.
I'm sorry but I am not seeing someone right now who cooks for his kids. Sure, he's getting home in time for dinner and possibly lunch sometimes. He apparently is there hopefully to fix their breakfast. But there is no way, no way he is cooking other meals because he is not there in time to do the preparing. The nannies are doing it.
And he has been in NYC for several months. What happened to the garden in California? Who's pulling the weeds and watering it? Who's picking the produce? What is the point of having the garden in California if you're not going to be there to tend to it faithfully? Gardens are a lot of work; I know this because I watched my dad tend to his every day.
And now I watch my brother & his family tend to theirs every day this past summer.
I'm not mad; I just would like to hear something that I can believe or identify with. And I cannot identify with duck and whatnot. And I just cannot buy this farming stuff. His lifestyle does not support credence to my buying it. I'm sure he has done gardening in his much younger years when he had more time but not now.
Not only that, but look at the guy's pristine fingernails. Those fingers do not get in the dirt.
lol. Really. I'm not mad or picking on him. I'm just pointing out my reasons for what I'm saying.
I love his pristine fingers.
;D
All right, enough said. I'm out of here for the evening!
I think Jake has a lot of say what gets eaten in his house whether he makes or not.
And if I am not mistaken Jake likes to cook the basics and likes comfort food along with his love of Italian cooking. Peter and Maggie have talked about his pot roast. Jake's talked about his post roast. And Jake and Austin would go to Jar, which does modern American classics.
So I think he can be a simple kind of guy with food too.
I love radishes and butter, and the duck sounds good too. But mackerel is bit too strong of a taste for me.
And hey I would try kale on pizza. Some of pizzas that I've had and ended up loving included one with pork 4 ways, sauerkraut and roasted potatoes, and one with fig jam, goat cheese, prosciutto and caramelized onion that just typing makes me want to crave it. Then again I love the little pepperoni bar pizzas that are down the street just as much too.
I remember reading an article where he said one thing he learned from parents was to invest money in good food.
Gawker talked about Jake's rumpled look when he went to Michelle's screening.
Check it out:
Gawkerazzi - Fashion
It amazes me that even now my father still has the ability of knowing exactly when people are up to no good. (preacher's instinct I guess)
So I had to laugh when he called tonight during Jake naked hijinks in LaOD. Guess it works for the movies too.
LOL, Special, on your dad. tsk, tsk, tsk!
Okay, one more point on the gardening and I do take note of all your points, Special.
Now, one thing that ought to be pointed out, though. These kids who the Edible Schoolyards are geared towards are underprivileged, am I not right? Especially when Jake went to go visit their school up in the San Fran area.
What the administrators of Edible ought to remember is that a lot of these kids have not been exposed to all these exotic vegetables and other foods. And it's awesome that they be exposed to them; hey, education is power.
But at the present time in their lives, these kids' parents are not shopping at Whole Foods or Green Acres. These kids' parents are shopping at Aldi, Wally World, Dollar General, Family Dollar, etc. Heck, maybe even at Food Banks and other warehouses. They do not carry kale at Aldi. There's nothing wrong with learning to grow your basic carrots, leaf lettuce, green beans and corn.
Teach them about these most basic of vegetables and how to prepare them in tasteful ways without having to buy expensive oils, seasonings and cheeses. Because those kinds of things are not in their families' budget.
And you want these kids to be able to take what they have learned and be able to actually use their new knowledge and apply it at home. And they can't do that if they have to go home and ask their mom to spend umpteen dollars on fancy oils and well, you have to saute this and use a food processor for that.
Do you see what I'm saying? You can educate and expose people to all the exotic, wonderful foods out there but you need to also show people, who cannot afford these finer things in life, that there are fun & tasteful things you can do with the most basic, least expensive veggies and fruits available to everyone and that includes these kids who come from families on limited budgets.
I think what the ESY provides is at least two healthy meals a day at school, from gardens tended by the students, knowing that a lot of the kids come from disadvantaged backgrounds. It's a start.
I was in a naggy, nitpicking mood last night, wasn't I? lol, well those things happen sometimes. Doesn't mean I take back what I said, just means I could have restrained myself if I so desired. Which obviously I couldn't.
:D
Thank you, Special!
Good mooooorning, everyone!!! Hope all our east coasters have thus far made it through the snowy weather.
I saw a tweet from Al Roker this morning that said NYC was warning people to stay out of Central Park because of the trees? Falling branches or the entire tree falling down? He also tweeted that he saw trees down. That's so sad.
Thanks ESY for that information.
I think one of the goals in the program is to expose kids to a lot of different kinds of veggies and good nutritious foods, they can love, that they can grow at their school or at home. And foods that they can ask for their grocery stores to carry.
For countless people living in the inner cities there are no grocery stores, or what the store has is limited options, low quality and high prices. It is cheaper and easier for people to rely on fast food.
This has been an increasing problem over the years as more small independent stores that use to be in the inner cities are closing and national food chains do not want to invest their money in this areas. Twenty one of America's largest cities have "urban grocery gap". Michell Obama is trying to address this problem as well. Teaching kids to garden and giving good nutritious meals is one way to make change.
PG, kale is being more and more popular for is all the nutritional value it has, it's a dark leafy green, high in antioxidants, omega-3, glucosinolates (for cancer prevention), fiber, and iron. It is a super food.
It is catching on more and ore here in the US after people discover all the benefits it provides.
I'm with Special on all the food stuff.
Kale is sold in all the markets and at the farmer's market here in New York and is pretty common, although it probably is a harder sell to kids, as are a lot of healthy veggies.
Also, this dinner was a fundraiser for the organization, not a dinner for the kids, so with all the foodies and wealthy people you have to go all out with the meal.
Pizza with sauerkraut and roasted potatoes? You're killing me here, that sounds heavenly, although I'll take mine without the pork. I love good sauerkraut, and it is so hard to find in restaurants. A place I loved that had it plus the best smoked trout I've ever eaten just closed after only a year in business, still very sad about it.
Agree about Jake's clothes, he just sticks out like a sore thumb in those pictures. Now I like that outfit on him, it looks nice, but it seems like he should made more of an effort for the event. It sort of looks like he just stumbled in off the street.
Hey, I can be on the kale bandwagon. I eat romaine, lol.
Can I just say one last thing?
I am not, repeat - I am not - saying Edible is bad, it's dumb, it's worthless, etc. I am not saying Jake is a bad guy; this project ought to be trashed!
(**sigh**)
I am not saying that these kids aren't getting a terrific education. After all, home economics is one of the subjects that has been getting trimmed from our public schools. Where else can these kids get this kind of education? I think it is awesome that Jake spends hands-on time with these kids. If anything, the social interaction is just as valuable & beneficial to the kids as what they are learning about the vegetables/farming.
I LIKE Edible Schoolyards!! I LIKE the fact that Jake is involved with it and it's a unique charity. I would financially support such a program if it were in my own community.
What I am saying. My only point I was trying to express is that maybe, just maybe, the Board could think about how this education can also include inexpensive, practical, yet nutritious & beneficial ways of preparing veggies/fruits that these kids are presently eating at home and that their moms or dads can prepare right away and not 20 years down the road when they are earning $45,000 and can afford to shop at higher end grocers where you can buy good olive oil and duck legs.
In addition to broadening their horizons, give them something that their families can immediately buy and apply the preparation at home. And then they can be proud that they contributed to dinner. Isn't that what you want?
I love Edible Schoolyards. I love Jake. I love that Jake works with Edible Schoolyards. I think it is a worthwhile and valuable project. I think this is a beautiful world and I love vegetables and fruits. Thank you.
Actually, I really appreciate ESY's comment. It was simple and concise and wasn't a gang-pile. And after reading ESY's comment, I can totally agree with "Okay." Good enough for me.
But now after my buddies Special & Dest, I can now say I know more about kale than I ever could have imagined.
lol
Gee whiz, you guys.
And might I add you guys just keep giving me more KB's to add to my Avatar folder.
LOLLLLLL!!! Lookit that hand waving the white flag. That is a killer. You have to admit, huh? This avatar is a keeper. I may need it again.
I can be obnoxious, can't I? Even on a Sunday.
Teaching them to grow their own veggies is the least expensive way for them to get veggies and get them in their diets. I remember one of the kids on the Today Show mentioned he had never had veggie that I thought everyone had at least heard of (I think it was a raddish).
It cost pennies for seeds and water, the hardest part is the time involved in growing them.
I heard someone say they had this approach with their kids and veggies, they gave them both it prepared in some way and just as it is raw for them to try, and the kids found some they liked and some they didn't.
And seriously I think you could get kids to eat brussel sprouts if you put on a pizza.
Hmmm some sprouts, olive oil, cracked black pepper, Parmesan cheese and some bacon -you can leave off the sauce and yum.
If Jake would have answered the question about what his favorite vegetable was with the simple response of kale, that would have been more accessible to the general population. But, notice what he says, "I'd say right now, after an extensive search over the years and living the wonderful life that I've had so far, and after tasting many, many vegetables...cavolo nero".
I grew up with kale as a staple food, my dad grew in our gardens every year, and I love it in soups, salads, egg dishes, etc. I even know there are different varieties, some more tender than others, but a simple "black kale" would have been a sufficient answer. Using the Italian term is a bit pretentious, which Jake can definitely be, particularly when he's hanging out with the hipster crowds that he does.
My niece and nephew could never be fooled. When they were little, it was cheese pizza for my niece, pepperoni for my neph. You could not disguise anything else in there, believe me, they would've found it. And it would've been a raising of the arm for Mom to please come and remove it.
I guess we're just not as refined here in Kansas. I know, I'm a duncehead and uncultured. Hey, it's who I am - blue collar and very simple. Take me warts and all, guys.
Aw, I'll leave you alone. Time for a day with the maternal parental unit, my Osceala aunt and my Vegas aunt. They're always a hoot.
Hey as much as I love funky pizzas and foodie stuff, I love Wonder Bread, and Marshmallow Fluff, and Velveeta, and Pop Tarts, and Kraft Mac & Cheese just as much as ever.
Jake looking like a regular at riding the train.
Commuter Jake
All this talk about school yard gardens, reminded of me of when Austin was at the Global Green awards a year before Sophia jumped on the Global Green bandwagon.
He was talking about greening schools.
Austin Nichols of One Tree Hill commented at the Global Green USA annual Millennium Awards how he would like to make videos and put them on YouTube and fire up the youth to make them "environmental revolutionaries." He's all about greening the schools and getting kids into environments more conducive to learning - such as natural daylight, fresh air, and school yard gardens. Speaking of gardens, a must read for any aspiring gardener is this Space Of Love Magazine.
Huffington Post - June 1, 2009
LOL the white flag PG.
Good point M and M about Jake's answer. That's the die-hard foodie in him coming out.
You know what it is PG, in this part of the country there are so many people from Africa, the Caribbean,Asia, etc., and then stuff like the influence of Southern cooking in Harlem, etc. that vegetables that may be unusual in the Midwest are the norm here and not seen as exotic.
Love all the healthy vegetables, but yeah, love stuff like Marshmallow Fluff, french fries, grilled cheese and a whole host of unhealthy foods.
Hi, all. Had some trouble getting on this AM and lost my comment but here is a repeat.
I think its pretty obvious that when Jake dresses up, its in studio provided suits or a tux designed for movie publicity. On his own, its the same old shirts and pants for weeks on end, until they are rags. Remember the jeans and postal shirt? I do think it was rude of him to not dress appropriately for that event. You can get away with that at 20, but at 30, almost 31 the expectations are different.
I don't think his attire was rude. I noticed several other guys wearing plaid shirts and chinos. At least Jake were a white button down.
Jake is the Natitonal Ambassador to Edible Schoolyards. One might have good reason to expect he would have dressed accordingly, instead of like he just pulled his clothes out of his backpack and threw them on. Jake knows that the public image one projects is part of the gig. However, the signal he's sending with those rumbled clothes is that I can't be bothered.
Mr. Wrinkles
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