TUE 11/30
A lack of little ones couldn't stop Rachael Ray from writing a new cookbook for children. She's an aunt and her baby is a pitbull named Boo, who has a starring role in Cooking Rocks! Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals for Kids. A cartoon Boo sneaks nibbles throughout the book. Spiral-bound and stain-resistant, Cooking Rocks! contains creatively cool recipes suitable for preschoolers to young adults, "from your first bite to your first date," jokes Ray. The spunky chef grew up cooking beside her mother and wants to inspire kids to be creative in the kitchen. Teaching children to cook "boosts self-confidence and promotes healthy, not picky, eating." Grouped by age, the recipes, like Italian Alphabet Soup and Spicy Shrimp Burgers, are easy to follow and cool enough for the sassiest seven-year-old or the hippest teenager. "With the rise of obesity and diabetes in children, it's important to get kids into the kitchen early to make them more well-rounded," in a good way. Rachael Ray will be at Burdines-Macy's at Dadeland Mall (7303 N. Kendall Dr.) for a demo and book signing tonight from 7:00 to 9:00 and tomorrow afternoon at Aventura Mall, 19535 Biscayne Blvd., from 1:00-3:00. Call 305-662-3400 or 305-682-3300. -- Lyssa Oberkreser
Tree Wheeling
Architects build indoor forest
WED 12/1
When South Florida designers put together holiday trees, they start from scratch. Rather than using fresh, fragrant versions that nature provides, teams in the annual Festival of the Trees design event build stylish versions using whatever objects spark their artistic interests. "Sometimes they make a social statement. Sometimes they don't look like trees at all,'' says Florida International University's interior design program director Janine King. "It's like an art show." Previous events included trees fashioned with broomsticks, fabric, neon, and a 20-foot-tall structure featuring balls: Ping-Pong, soccer, and basketballs. The team from Tsao Design Group in Miami is fashioning an abstract glass creation. The display is in the lobby at 801 Brickell Ave., and is free to the public 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., December 2 through 26. Tickets for tonight's kickoff party, starting at 5:30, are $40 to $50 and benefit the Florida International University scholarship fund. Call 305-348-6101. -- Patti Roth
Math is Art
MAM's hip to be square
SAT 11/27
The blockbuster exhibit at Miami Art Museum (101 W. Flagler St.) would have had Euclid, ancient Greek father of geometry, turning cartwheels. Beyond Geometry: Experiments in Form, 1940s -- 1970s, featuring works by 85 artists from 20 countries, is a landmark reappraisal of how a significant number of the post-World War II avant-garde turned to geometric abstraction as a means for experimentation. Some of the stellar names in the exhibit include: Josef Albers, Carl Andre, Lygia Clark, Donald Judd, Ad Reinhardt, and Victor Vasarely. These artists, who reflected and informed the socially and politically turbulent times they were living in through radical new forms of design, are on exhibit through April 24. Call 305-375-1724 or visit www.miamiartmuseum.org. -- Carlos Suarez de Jesus
Schoolgirl Blush
FRI 11/26
During their torrid romance, Roger Vadim made Brigitte Bardot a screen icon with the risqué film ...And God Created Woman. But before that, there was Mademoiselle Striptease, 99 minutes of loose plot and bare flesh. See it tonight at 8:30 at the Miami Beach Cinematheque (512 Espanola Way, Miami Beach), and then drink in Natasha Tsakos's performance art. Tickets cost ten dollars. For another ten dollars, you can enjoy A La Folie's delicious French picnic. Call 305-673-4567 or visit www.mbcinema.com. -- Patrice Elizabeth Grell Yursik
