Donda’ Environment,” Says Lakshmi

ARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 NEWS/FEATURES 13 People & Places Books ‘Autobiographical book’ Lakshmi cooks up a book with message NEW YORK, Aug 31, (AP): Neela is a young girl who loves cooking with her mom. Saturday is her favorite day of the week. That’s the day they go to the green market. So begins Padma Lakshmi’s charming entry into the world of children’s book, “Tomatoes For Neela,” which mixes the author’s memories of family cooking with practical food advice, a nod to farmworkers and even a pair of recipes. “It is just a very small personal story that centers around a young single mother who also is a recipe writer like me,” says Lakshmi, the host of Bravo’s “Top Chef” and “Taste the Nation” on Hulu. “It’s just really about teaching children how to cook from an early age, respecting Mother Nature and eating when things are in season.” Neela and her mom make a sauce using tomatoes bought from the green market and create enough to jar some for winter, saving it to share with grandmother when she next visits from India. In the Lakshmi meantime, the grandmother gazes down from framed photos, present in spirt. Neela carefully writes down all the recipes. There’s also a lesson in tomato history, with Neela discussing the fruit’s origin in Latin Amer- Jason Isbell performs at the Railbird Music Festival on Sunday, Aug. 29, in Lexington, Ky. (AP) ica and that some cultures actually feared them. She learns that different types — like heirlooms or cherry — are good for various dishes. She uses plum tomatoes to make her sauce because they have less seeds. Music “Through food, my grandmother and my mother taught me so much about life and culture and being a person in the world. And so I’m hoping that, through this book, I can encourage families Personal divorce album full of introspection to actively cook together, to value the recipes that they’ve been making for their family get togethers and also to remember all of the different people who bring us our food and to be mindful of our A revival for West on ‘Donda’ environment,” says Lakshmi. Artwork By Ryan Pearson somehow wrangles a surprisingly lyrics “I live on the Titanic, I can cohesive collection, his best album rock your boat.” While the many The words are brought to life with beautiful art- onda’ by Kanye West (Def work by Juana Martinez-Neal, who was awarded a since 2010’s “My Beautiful Dark guests deliver career-best verses, ‘DJam/UMG) Twisted Fantasy.” There’s a vague particularly Fivio Foreign’s “Off Caldecott Honor for “Alma and How She Got Her Kanye West donned a full face Name.” Lakshmi shared an online folder of family Kanye West arrives at the Vanity Fair narrative arc, from sinning to sal- the Grid” tale of restarting after mask to host three livestreamed vation, that’s refl ected in dark son- jail, they can meander off-topic and photos to help make Neela and her mom resemble Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, Calif., on listening parties for his 10th stu- the author and her daughter, while Martinez-Neal Feb. 9, 2020. West’s latest release is ic beauty. Wobbly synth stabs on distract from West’s throughline. tapped into her own memories of going to markets ‘Donda.’ (AP) dio album. Beyond that, he didn’t openers “Jail” and “God Breathed” Still, “Donda” represents a reviv- in Peru for fresh produce to recreate a bustling say a word, or even tweet. After jangle nerves, “Yeezus”-style, al, in every sense of the word, for green market. years of alienating longtime fans while long, refl ective chords bring one of pop’s most singular talents. with forays into conservative Her images are full of life and textures and a feeling of ecstatic ascension to the Also: movement, giving the reader a sense of a busy politics and sometimes exhaust- gorgeous closing pair of “Come to kitchen full of love, with warm smells and mom’s ing media spectacle, pop’s King Life” and “No Child Left Behind.” LOS ANGELES: AEG Presents, a ma- bangles creating a gentle rhythm as she slices. of All Controversy mostly let the West leans into pain throughout, jor tour and festival promoter, an- “It could feel like something very fl at and two music speak for him when unveil- refl ecting on his mother Donda’s nounced that COVID-19 vaccines dimensional, but we tried to bring it to a full, sen- ing “Donda.” 2007 death and marital failures. would be required for concertgoers sory experience — we have sound, we have taste. In the tradition of Marvin Gaye’s The searing and bright “Believe at its clubs, theaters and festivals. We have the feel of everything,” says Martinez- “Here, My Dear” or Phil Collins’ What I Say” fi nds him rapping over The vaccine requirement is set Neal. “Face Value,” it’s a prickly, per- a Lauryn Hill sample to directly to go into full effect no later than The idea of adding farmworkers to the book sonal divorce album full of intro- address Kim Kardashian West and Oct. 1, the company said in a news came from a suggestion by Martinez-Neal. “It’s so Kelly Perry spection, confl icting emotions and “celebrity drama that only Brad release on Thursday. The deci- easy to forget who is doing that work,” she says. bursts of musical innovation. It’s will know. sion comes as coronavirus cases Lakshmi loved the idea and added context and ref- also a nearly-overbooked showcase are surging throughout the United erence material about farmworkers at the end of Variety for of-the-moment talent, some Secrets States. the book. half West’s age: Shenseea, Fivio Too many family secrets.” AEG is either an owner or a part- “We often don’t consider the many hands that Foreign, Baby Keem, The Weeknd, Rocker Marilyn Manson is cred- ner in Webster Hall and Brooklyn have an impact on our diets, on our daily lives. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: Jamaican Lil Yachty, Roddy Ricch. There’s ited as a songwriter on “Jail” and Steel in New York, The Roxy in And what the pandemic has shown us is how valu- singer and record producer “Lee Scratch” drill music alongside church or- was on hand at the Chicago listen- Los Angeles, The New Orleans able everyone in the food chain is and how they Perry, considered one of reggae’s founding gans — so many organs! ing party, a classic West provoca- Jazz & Heritage Festival and should be valued,” says Lakshmi. fathers, died on Sunday. He was 85. There’s New Kanye earnest tion that many fans won’t forgive Coachella Music & Arts Festival. The germ of the book was triggered when Lak- Perry, whose real name is Rainford praise of God — “he’s done mir- shmi’s real-life daughter, Krishna, came home sev- Hugh Perry, died at a hospital in Montego after Manson was dropped by his The company said the policy eral years ago craving a pomegranate. It was sum- Bay, Jamaica, according to a statement acles on me” — mingling with own record label in February amid would also apply to event staff and mer and her mother explained that pomegranates issued by Prime Minister Andrew Holness. Old Kanye jokey self-awareness: sexual abuse accusations. anyone who enters their venues He noted that Perry was a pioneer of dub “I’ll be honest, we all liars,” “I re- It “gets the people going,” yes, or festivals. Leading up to Oct. 1, grow in the fall. Now was the season for tomatoes. music in the 1970s and produced more than “I wanted to talk about when fruits and vegeta- pent for everything that I’mma do and West seems to intend Manson’s AEG said it would implement a 1,000 recordings over 60 years that earned again.” There’s reggae legend Buju bles grew in season because, if you’re a kid and him various nicknames, including “Upset- inclusion as part of his broader policy of showing proof of vac- everything is available to you all the time, you ter” and “Mad Scientist.” Banton, rap legends JAY-Z, The exploration of duality, morality, cination or a negative test taken have no way of knowing why we should eat certain “His innovative nature led him to LOX and Jay Electronica, multi- mortality, legacy. “Pure Souls,” a within 72 hours of a show date. things at certain time,” she says. “Mother Nature become one of the greatest remixing and ple jabs at longtime foil Drake. Its standout, has a chanted chorus Jay Marciano, chief operating has a plan that we should live in harmony with.” studio effects guru,” Holness said, adding 27 tracks clock in at one hour, 49 that transforms halfway from the offi cer and chairman, cited the del- On the last page, Lakshmi dedicated the book to that people have described Perry as an “ec- minutes. Trumpian aphorism “The truth is ta variant and vaccine hesitancy as centric character” who was loved by many. her daughter “who gives meaning to everything,” In a 2010 interview with Rolling Stone It turns out it may not be a di- only what you get away with” to the reasons for the policy. a fi tting thanks for a work from two female artists magazine, musician Keith Richards vorce album after all: At the fi nal existential “The truth the only thing “We also are aware that there who are celebrating their families through food.

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