Today's the Day!

My first ever blog about anything!

For over a year, I’ve been thinking about, talking about, and have been gently prodded by mentors and friends to start a blog, mostly about food and all it encompasses.  They thought this would help me start writing and move forward in my dream of writing a cookbook.  I’ve procrastinated and thought of any reason not to start….until last night.

There was an event going on in Santa Rosa, CA, Sept. 13-15^th, 2011, called The National Heirloom Exposition, http://theheirloomexpo.com/.  It was held at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds.  It was coined as being the “World’s Fair” of the heirloom industry.  As far as I could tell, all the participating farms, speakers, vendors and such, use organic or biodynamic farming practices.  I even learned the basic difference between the two.  Organic farming is how the soil is treated – by not using chemicals, but organic (made-by-nature-herself) substances.  Biodynamic farming takes organics a step further and is about the healing of the soil using a homeopathic approach.  Amazing!  This reminds me of another passion I have identified, and that is the use of alternative forms of health care for managing many dis-ease, specifically those where traditional western medicine is only treating the symptoms, not the cause.  The idea of looking at an entire organism, whether it is a plant, a soil system, a human being, a relationship, a financial condition, an economy, a government, a planet or pretty much anything, and thinking it can be fixed with money, or chemicals, or changing parties seems rather arrogant and short-sited to me.  Don’t get me wrong, money, chemicals and changing parties all have their place, and I’ve even tried using the first two to solve my own problems.  They may appear to work for a time, but at what cost? (remember that question when you watch the documentary The Yes Men)  What I’ve seen happen however, is that if the systemic dysfunction is not addressed and healed from the inside out, we are not only kidding ourselves that a healing is taking place, we are all too swiftly eroding the foundation even more than anyone could’ve imagined.  In my opinion, we are fortunate that Mother Nature is forgiving, but how much can any Mother take before she stands firm, fists raised and revolts?  Hmmm…is anyone else thinking earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, fires where?

This was a “not-for-profit” event and funds generated were donated back to school gardens and food programs.  I’ve never seen such an extensive array of heirloom produce in one place before.  It was purported to contain over 2000 varieties of heirlooms (we’re not just talking about tomatoes here), brought from all over the country, with many from local farms.  Many seed companies, farmers and schools participated in growing and bringing exhibits.  The vendors and exhibitors included:  seed companies, produce companies, farmers, organic and gourmet food companies, tool companies, farm, garden and cooking accessory companies, beekeepers – talk to Randy at Organic Beekeeping 101 for great information as this is another BIG topic of concern and demonstration of love, flower and bulb growers/sellers, a Japanese maple tree farmer (Thank You Sachi, from Momiji Nursery for all your help concerning my potted maple!), a wonderful organic rice farmer from California’s Central Valley – Koda Farms (their organic Kokuho Rose varietal ROCKS!), book publishers and sellers, and so many more.

Films were shown every couple hours, with a Q&A with experts and filmmakers afterwards.  There are people doing great things to contribute to our awareness of issues that are waiting to be addressed about our food supply, and many of them were at this event.  Until I moved to Sonoma County, I took very little interest in where our food comes from.  Do you know where it comes from?  I’ve heard stories of children who don’t know where the chicken on their plate or the meat in their sandwiches, or the vegetables in their salad come from!  Do your children know? About 5 years ago, everything started changing.  I started going to farmers markets to buy produce.  I won’t kid you, I first went to socialize and listen to sometimes great, local, and free live music, then I started to buy produce.  The vendors give away samples and I was hooked.  Every week I would go for lettuce, string beans and lemon cucumbers.  I started listening to the farmers talk about the issues they were dealing with.  Then I started watching documentaries.  I watched movies.  I watched Food Inc. and got so angry.  I watched The Yes Men (not the Jim Carey movie).  I was incensed!  I watched several Michael Moore movies.  I watched and at the same time was consumed with the events of my life, my own self-destruction.  How could I make any difference or help anyone else when my life was teetering on the edge of disaster (later…)?  There was and always is so much happening in the world and I found that it was easier to do what most people do.  We see the craziness, we see the lying, the cheating, the destruction and blatant disrespect for each other, for self, for the earth, for life itself, and we feel helpless and say there is nothing that we can do.

This event was the natural next step in my life education, and I am so excited and nervous to be sharing it with you in this format!  Expo events included workshops every hour, on all kinds of different topics such as: use of organic pest control, seeds, tomatoes and more tomatoes (I absolutely love summer tomatoes!), composting, bulb planting, edible gardens and landscapes, and my newest adventures – herbal medicines, and seed saving!  If you have no idea what “SEED-saving” is all about, I hope you’ll take notice and keep reading and when you’re done, google “seedsaving or GMO crops.  Somehow educated yourself about these topics!  This is really important stuff!  I knew a teeny, tiny bit before, today I know a teeny, tiny bit more and I can feel a life-changing even has just happened to me!

My friend’s Dixie and Rose, both told me about The Heirloom Expo and I am so grateful to them for including me.  Both are gardeners and women who love playing in the dirt in efforts to create beauty all around.  I thank them for sharing their love with me and I hope to become a women who loves to play in the dirt too!  I recall talking to a woman at the expo, Suzie Gruber, http://suziegruber.com/ , about herbs and my upcoming Herbal class with Kami McBride, http://livingawareness.com/.  Kami studied with legendary herbalist Rosemary Gladstar.  Suzie is a healer and an herbalist.  She is teaching a class on Saturday, yes, tomorrow 9/16/11, in Sebastopol, titled, Herbs for Healing Stress.  You can find more information on her website.  Suzie was wearing a cap with the header Dirty Girl.  A Dirty Girl cap may be in my future! 

I’m so glad I made the decision to attend the expo.  Often, when something like this comes up, I would talk myself out of going if I couldn’t get someone to go with me, and since most of my friends work (another later story), it was doubtful I’d find anyone to go along.  I knew Dixie would be helping out at a booth and another friend, Randy the Beekeeper would be there, and I’d get to visit with them.  I’m so glad I listened to my intuition, didn’t even try to get someone to go with me, and just went!  I went on line and bought a 3-day pass, which assured a seat at the keynote speaker events held each evening.  I couldn’t make it to the first day of the event, so I can’t speak about that, but Wednesday and Thursday were so inspiring to me, I might just about have exploded if I’d attended on Tuesday too!  I know there was so much more happening, but this girl can only fit so much in her brain on a given day.  Going on my own helped me to step outside my comfort zone and talk to anyone and everyone who wanted to engage with me.  I can’t tell you how much great information I received and how friendly every person I spoke to was to me.  I never for one minute felt like I was alone…..hint, hint!

Everything I heard, saw, smelled, touched, tasted ,and felt on the inside, was beyond inspiring!  It was educational to a beginning gardener, with almost no land to till (I mean l-i-t-t-l-e, we’re talking a 3’ x 7’ section that’s barely 6” deep), like me.  Almost everything is in pots.  I am growing some heirloom tomatoes and herbs and lots of flowers in pots.  I am forever appreciative to the original occupant for planting a yellow rose bush.  It is constantly yielding beautiful, buttery hued, and slightly scented flowers, which remind me that very little is needed for this process of life to expand, with or without much help from me!   And this will be the first time ever, that I will venture into the world of fall/winter gardening.  I’m thinking lettuce, kale, spinach, broccoli, garlic, and more herbs. 

I go into my “garden” each morning to water, have my tea and sit amongst God’s creation, watching ever so closely.  I feel like a child, curious and excited as I sit staring, almost as if I’m waiting to see what will happen next right before my eyes!  The expo shared the fruits of what could and often does happen, with an abundance of locally grown, fresh, beautiful produce; many varieties we would never find in the big chain groceries and some not even in the specialty stores.  There were tomatoes as far as the eye could see, cucumbers, garlic, melons, and a pumpkin contest to see who could grow the weightiest Cucurbita.  The winning pumpkin weighed in at 1051 lbs!  I’ll try to post a picture I took.  I smelled a melon that was the most glorious thing I’ve smelled maybe ever!  It reminded me of my first taste of Navarro Vineyards (Anderson Valley) http://www.navarrowine.com/main.php,

2006 Gewurztraminer Late Harvest.  WOW!  The friend who introduced it to me called it “liquid gold”.  The excitement he exuded sharing this luscious dessert wine with me, is how I feel sharing this mystery melon with you.  It smelled sweet, like a ripe honeydew, with the emphasis on the “honey” and not on the “dew”.   I imagined the inside would be a perfect mix of soft, fleshy, coral-colored sunshine, with spoonfuls of honey bursting out of the middle.

I’ve been to conferences, heard motivational speaker and recently went on my most faraway adventure to date!  I’ll post about Bali soon.  Take a look at http://baliadvisor.com/ for information on this most mystical place and Jim Cramer and his son, Tim.  They are the supreme and most highly respected tour company traveling to Bali.  All of these activities have and do inspire me.  My passion for cooking started young, and I believe has always been a part of my make-up, but my excitement in the area of possible or eventual jobs and career choices has just not even come close to exciting me as much as this event has.  I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with my life for at least 43, of my almost 50 years.  Some would say I’m a late bloomer.  Read my old friend Jamie Greene’s blog on Late Blooming (http://jamiegreene.la) .  I recall when I was about 19 years old, my uncle giving me a copy of “What Color is your Parachute”, and what I remember most, and what was most frustrating, and I believe accurate, was its message to find what works for you, figure out what you love, and find a way to do that for a living.  By the way, my uncle said he wanted the book back and somehow we didn’t connect much after that.  If you’re reading this Uncle Mano (short for Emanual), I still have your book on my bookshelf, waiting for the day I can return it in person.  I should probably read it again before I return it.  You should also know that when I read the excerpts from your new book this past week, I was excited to see that we share an interest in writing.  This was another event this week that led me to start writing.  I wish you all the best and always have.  To see what my uncle has written, go to http://www.ejsimon.com/.   I believe that the Universe (yes, all of them) conspires to bring us our deepest desires.  We only need to have faith (remember the mustard seed?), be a little clear about what that means and then PAY ATTENTION!  I remind myself of this as often as I can remember it.  At 19 yrs. old I couldn’t love cooking.  Even though I loved it earlier on and I was always good at it, I couldn’t pay attention to all that.  Cooking was a “responsibility” in my life and food was something that I used to be self-destructive to hide from the pain that I saw and felt all around me.  I didn’t want any responsibility and I had to try to control food.  It would take at least another 10 years to get my passion for cooking back.  Now, as I type these words, I am just beginning to see that healing my relationship with food so it is not a self-destructive force in my life, is leading me on my exploration.  I AM paying attention, and I can see that the food I eat, how it is grown and raised, my love and care for myself and the earth, my participation in that process no matter how small I am able to do today, my appreciation for all of it, and my acknowledgement and forgiveness for what has come to pass ~ these are the ways to heal and grow in ways that feed and nourish not only me, but the world.

There is still so much more to say about the expo and I will have to save it for my next entry.  I’m pretty surprised about what has flowed already, so for now I have only to say thank you for reading my blog and I hope you’ll come along for the ride. 

Blessings of Love and Peace to All~

--Marissa