A couple of books to check out! Chris Guillebeau's website is here. Articles about Tama Matsuoka Wong are here and here.

I want to succ(ulent) your blood!

I lived in Los Angeles for a few months and these succulents grow everywhere. The terrarium fad is super trendy right now too. I finally transplanted them yesterday. What is better than a plant that you only have to water once a week? These little babies make me smile every time I look a them!

Rant from a citizen

Citizen’s Rant

11/22/11

Nobody has snow and Thanksgiving day is going to be 70 degrees. Snow is falling at higher elevations but soon even that will stop. People are left wondering where the snow is at. The snow? You want to know where the snow is? It’s gone and in our lifetime it is not coming back. Not coming back??! No. My generation’s kids won’t even know what snow is. And you, every citizen of this over consuming country, are not paying attention to this. You are still buying your useless crap that is so cheap because we exploit the resources and people of poorer countries. So how does that make you feel on this Thanksgiving? You know what I am doing this week? I am helping my mother organize her house. Organize the overwhelming amount of things that she has accumulated. The things that make her feel good about herself because the TV tells her, from the words of Annie Leonard, “she sucks”. And this is not just my mom that has these things, it is your mom too, your entire family, you. And you want more?! You want things for Christmas?! You want to make corporations richer? You want to rape the earth of her precious life? These corporations wouldn’t be so rich that the 1% would need to occupy wall street if you stopped shopping, if you took care of the things you did buy, if you demanded companies make things that weren’t supposed to break so quickly. For the love of god stop fucking shopping!

And speaking of god, he is not up in the sky protecting dead humans in heaven and he most certainly is not protecting you here on earth. I’m sorry, as much as I believe in unfair social problems that exist, you have to take responsibility for yourself. Take control of your life! You wonder why you are sick all the time? Why you are tired all the time? Let me tell you why: Our Earth is full of toxins. My generation and the next and likely the next are going to have to deal with a toxic, sick earth. And not only is the earth sick and toxic but so is your body. This is why we have weird food allergies, cancer, diabetes, infertility, and birth defects. It is already difficult to eat well in this country. There are not organic fresh foods everywhere we go with the exception of a few cities. You think it is normal to heat, because you are not cooking, food from cans and boxes? This is not cooking and this is not nutrition. You are poisoning yourself, giving yourself diseases. My mother is in pain all the time; fibromyalgia, migraines, fatigue, stomach aches, indigestions. She had a stroke in one eye and now she needs a biopsy from an abnormal mammogram. She is sick from stress, bad eating habits and an unhealthy lifestyle. Things are out of control for her and for many in this country. We are too busy, consume more than we can afford, work more than we should, and for what?

So this holiday season, I encourage you to truly relax, take good care of yourself, eat quality foods cooked from scratch, look at the stress in your life and take control of it to make positive changes. We can all remember to be empathic and full of gratitude this time of year too. One last thing, think about how you can really, don’t just say it, really make the earth and yourself healthier and better.

And check out this link:
60 Small ways to improve your life in 100 Days

Front Range Foraging

Indian summer/fall is the perfect time to forage for fruits on the Front Range. Not only will a walk along a mountain trail yield wild fruits but so will a walk through most neighborhoods. You are likely to encounter apples, plums, crab apples, rose hips, service berries and chokecherries--even Henry David Thoreau wrote about the history of wild fruits. This is the time of year that plants begin to transfer their sugars to the fruits. Then the fruits ripen and drop to the ground or get eaten and the plant has successfully spread its seed. If you know your wild plants, you can find much more. I am still learning, so I have to stick with the most obvious and easily identifiable plants, this way I don't poison myself. Also, I cannot seem to find one good comprehensive wild edible and medicinal plant guide for the front range (and believe me, I have looked!). If you have suggestions please send them my way. There are a couple of iphone apps for identifying wild edibles too. The next post will be about processing these wild fruits, which are often too tart and/or starchy to eat raw.

Also, check out this link to an article about my hunting adventures...more to come on that later!

Pickle making with Fiona in Santa Cruz

LA oh MY!

This misty morning in LA was the first time I put on my forager hat since Hawaii. I turned the corner and found that a bunch of oranges had fallen on the street. I looked up and lo and behold, a citrus tree rose above me. Dressed in my cycling kit, I pulled over and examined the oranges on the ground. None were edible. For a moment I thought about getting my climbing shoes from the car, scaling this person's concrete barrier of a fence and climbing the tree. My imagination ran wild with sounds of sirens and a ticket in my hand for trespassing. I opted not to get the climbing shoes. I desperately grabbed hold of the tree branches and started shaking. Not an orange would budge. Covered in leaves and tree bark debris, I walked away from the tree Loveless and orangeless--oh well.

I was supposed to stay in Los Angeles for 3 days, already what my friend said was "one day too many." Here I am 8 days later and still trying to talk myself into leaving. The City of Angels has taken me by surprise with the wonderful people I have met, the amazing bike culture and food scene. I was convinced that living here meant you had to drive your car everywhere and eat food that is shipped from every far away place you can imagine--not so. That is probably the case for the majority of people but this city shows promise for a new way.

Jamie Oliver is, admittedly, a guilty online TV watching pleasure of mine. This season he is working his way into the Los Angeles Unified School Disctrict(LAUSD)with a desperate effort to change the foods that kids eat. So far he has not seen a whole lot of success. However, when I picked up the most recent LA Weekly, I was excited to find that they have an extensive article on what public school kids are eating. His voice is being heard. Like Oliver, I see a lot of opportunity in LA to change this immense food system.

With a growing season of 365 days year and organic farms up and down the entire state, I too, am tempted to stay and work with local food economies here. And speaking of local food economies, my friend
recommended the book Plenty: Eating locally on the 100-Mile Diet.The website even has a map that lets you calculate your 100 mile radius. I haven't picked up a copy of the book yet, but with the idea in mind, I hit up the Silverlake Farmers Market last Saturday and spent two hours talking with farmers and making purchases. By the way, the Los Angeles Area has a handful of farmers markets on any given day of the week. The LA Times came up with a list that has served me well no matter where I have stayed throughout the city.

Here's what I found from 130 miles or closer--Organic Avocados, Medjool Dates, turnips, squash, sprouts, greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, mizuno greens, mustard greens, dwarf bok choy, basil and bee pollen. Okay, okay, I know it sounds like a hippie diet but this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are cheeses, and pickled goods and breads and meats to be found locally too.




The farm above is called Beylik farms. They are a semi-hydroponic operation run out of Ventura. They grow all of their produce using a coconut fiber medium, drip irrigation and liquid nutrients. Their platforms are outside under an open-air clear canopy that allows natural light to come in. During colder months they use warm water to keep the plants warmer and producing.

Pedro's Certified Organic Ranch offers hass avocados, turnips and various salad greens.


The guy above, named Cam, runs a 1/2 acre mini-farm right in the heart of LA. He calls himself "hyper-local". Cam grows his goods on slope to get maximum production. Furthermore, in order to make a living off of only 1/2 acre, he turns his produce into pickles, soups and salsas. In this picture, he is sharing a tasty morsel with one of his youngest loyal pickle lovers.


And last but not least (and also not within my hundred mile radius)is Soledad Goat Cheese. They make delicious and varied flavors of goat cheeses--my favorite of which was the lavender honey. LA is full of characters and the guy who runs the Silverlake booth is definitely one of them. I was heckled every time I walked by for not purchasing his cheese which came from just a little too far away.

Taos farmer's market

It says "Just Kidding Farm & Goat Club". This adorable pre-teen boy complete with a cracking voice told me all about buying into a goat share, this way people can buy unpasteurized goat milk products. For sale was cheese, kefir, cream, and baked goods made with raw goat milk-yay!



Sprout Lady



This bee guy says he and his daughter started raising bees and selling honey by accident. He claims they have steered clear of colony collapse because they "baby" their bees--most importantly only letting them pollinate in organic, pesticide-free fields. I bought the wild flower honey--mmm mmm good!



These farmers have a 5 acre farm where they raise turkeys and heirloom varieties of plants. They save the seeds and sell them at market along with the turkey feathers from turkeys they harvest. Because there isn't a processing plant nearby (not that you could trust a USDA processing plant anyway) they invite people to come to the farm and partake in the harvesting process. This way they are able to sell their turkey meat--sort of like the "goat club" above.



And here's what I scored...local honey, turkey feathers and 3 (the white ones) duck eggs--I only had 3 spots to fill.