Churn Babies Churn!

The kids and I just returned from a weekend at the beautiful Sequatchie Valley Institute where I taught several workshops for kids at their 12th annual Food for Life gathering. Anyone who reads my blog musings knows my stance on the sacredness of good, SLOW food. And esssentially that is what the Food for Life gathering is all about.

My first workshop was about making bread and BUTTER! Glorious homemade creamy, to die for butter. So I enlisted the help of my students ranging in age from around 3 to 11 or so to churn the cream into yellowy deliciousness. Half of the butter I left sweet and creamy and the other half we salted. Six pints of cream made 2 pounds of butter and of course some dreamy buttermilk left over. I didn't clabber the cream so the buttermilk was not tart or sour just sort of buttery.

I wish everyone could experience the level of community and sharing and food that we were a part of this past weekend. Perhaps someday we all will.

Farm Markets Open Now!!

No pictures today but I will paint you a visual. All around the country in towns, cities and even suburbs Farmer's Markets are popping up. Ten by ten pop up tents with tables laden with fresh greens, onions, colorful swiss chard, herbs, pasture raised and FINISHED beef in coolers. Real farmers who love what they do are doing this for YOU! Skip the produce section of the not so super supermarket and find out which day your local farmer's market takes place. Meet the people. Sign up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Learn how to cook things you never tried before.
Savor the locally made jams, and bread. Talk to the artists who make clothing and jewelry. Pick up a tomato plant start or some hot peppers. Localharvest.org is a great site for finding farms and farmers and markets. Also, eatwild.com is a great site for finding pasture raised chicken, cow, pig, sheep and goat. Take a day to visit a farm within 50 miles of where you live... I will be at the 12th annual Food for Life gathering in the beautiful Sequatchie Valley of Tennessee June 3-6th teaching workshops to mostly kids but adults to about many different aspects of our food experience. Composting, garden critters, making bread and BUTTER plus some other great stuff that I will be sharing. Try something new...taste something you never tasted before. What if you couldn't get all of the processed food we have available to us today? What would you eat? It's definitely a question we should all be considering. Would you eat dandelion greens from your lawn for salad? Would you try zuccinni? What about kale, radishes or rutabaga? How would that taste? Would you know how to prepare it?

Booya Birthday!

Chocolate glorious chocolate! The aztecs used it for money! I have found a beautiful source of pure dark delicious chocolate from Nicaragua called Booya Cacao fair trade and organic, with all the ingredients grown under a sustainable canopy.

So, I cooked up a fabulous birthday picnic that we had a Sequatchie Cove Farm for my friend using this wonderful chocolate! First, my daughter and I dipped local organic strawberries that we bought at the Chattanooga Main Street Market on Wednesday into the melted Booya Cacao some we dipped into organic chopped hazelnuts too!

Then I made her an amazing birthday cake...yes, all in my tiny RV convection/microwave oven! Using an Arrowhead Mills organic chocolate cake mix, to which I added, organic chocolate chips, raspberries and  melted Booya Cacao. After baking and cooling I spread more melted Booya in between the layers.

I made this icing with:

1 Stick (8 T.) softened organic butter
6 T. organic all vegetable 0 trans fat shortening (I use Spectrum)
2 3/4 C. organic powdered sugar
1/2 C. Melted Booya Cacao
1 T. Cold Brewed  Coffee
2 T. organic cocoa powder

Then I decorated the cake with chopped organic hazelnuts, bits of Booya Cacao and topped it with fresh raspberries right before we presented it to the birthday girl!!

Check out the Booya Cacoa website and feel good about your love of chocolate! You can also 'like' them on facebook.

Making YUM with leftovers...

Wild Salmon, shrimp and scallops...on the grill last night, topped onto organic greens, some chopped tomato and the food of the gods -  
A V A C A D O!
It is definitely not just for guacamole.

Lunch today with leftovers from that plethora of grilled seafood last night became quesadillas. Also had a few black beans to put on them as well.

Brush a little olive oil on a whole wheat organic tortilla.
Spread some cream cheese, farmer's cheese, goat cheese on the other side.
Throw it on the griddle!


Add your leftover seafood, some black beans and a little salsa.
Fold over your tortilla, make sure everything is heated through.
Cut in half and devour!

Seriously some good stuff...

Gypsy Mama is hitting the road again starting tomorrow. Look for some new blog posts on Farmer's Markets, organic farms, local food, traveling and more!

Open Copyright...

Someone told me the other day that there is a certain company that is too big for us 'little' people to do anything about stopping them and their tyranny on food and agriculture. That statement didn't sit well with me because this world is made up of us 'little' people. Folks like me and you who go about our lives living joyfully and sharing information that may have the ability to detract from our joy.

Genetically modified organisms and genetically engineered seeds, plants and foods have been making their way into the very fabric of our lives since the early 1990's and continue to do so. Mainly because we just didn't know about them. This biotechnology was slipped under our radar of general awareness because a small group of people deemed that we didn't 'need' to know. That as consumers we weren't interested in knowing these things. So a few people get to decide what information is needed and what is not?

The audacity of these people to determine our level of intelligence and desire of the very sustenance of life...food has propelled me into becoming a activist. I may only be one person yet I can do some thing...some thing small or something large. I require no compensation for my work. I give it freely to be distributed to anyone and everyone who is willing to consider it's value. A short one act play written for a small or large cast of players. Easy to read and understand this play could be performed at your church or the local farmer's market. Your homeschool or traditional school group could read it out loud. College students could perform it on campuses. It has a message. It is meant to open eyes to what is happening right now to our food source. How can we change it? Do we care? Can one person make a difference?

All interesting and valid questions. Do we choose to work together for the most basic building block of life? If we use vehicles like this one act play to encourage others to work together for change. My hope is to encourage people to research and learn about these things.

So here it is...my first play:  free to copy, distribute and perform

What’s Happening to Food

A Short Play in One Act

By Tricia Baehr



Playwright’s Note:

Here is a play I wrote...anybody is free to produce this:::pass it on! This play’s cast can be adjusted to be larger or smaller depending on how many people are performing.

Setting:

Takes place in a barn in the 21st century

Cast - 12 parts-Can be adjusted to the number of players available.

■Farmer #1

■Farmer #2

■Farm Kid #1

■Farm Kid #2

■Farmer’s Neighbor #1

■Farmer’s Neighbor #2

■Farmer’s Neighbor #3

■Farmer’s Neighbor #4

■Neighbor Kid #1

■Neighbor Kid #2

■Mr. Monty Santo (Corporate Bad Guy)

■Senator Rand Upton Rheady (Government Bad Guy)



(The scene opens with Farmers and the Farm Kids talking about the growing season coming up. They are looking at a piece of paper with their plots drawn up and their plans.)



Farmer #1: (wiping his brow with a bandanna) Whew! Well I guess that’s it then, here’s our plan for this year's crops.



Farmer #2: We’ve done a great job planning and tomorrow it’s time to start working the earth.



Farm Kid #1: I’m excited about using all that rich compost we’ve been working on over the winter, our plants are going to grow great!



Farm Kid #2: I can’t wait for all the fresh organic fruits and vegetables this summer.



Farm Kid #1: My salad greens that I started from seed will be ready to set out soon now that were almost past frost season.



(In walks the 4 neighbors and the 2 neighbor kids ~ talking excitedly amongst themselves, rubbing their tummies, smiling, etc.)



Farmer’s Neighbor #1: We just wanted to come by and thank you for all the hard work you’ve been doing to get ready for this year's growing season.



Farmer’s Neighbor #2: If there’s anything you need, we’d be happy to help!



Farmer’s Neighbor #3: I love buying your fresh organic produce at the farm stand, it tastes so much better than what’s for sale at the super market.



Farmer’s Neighbor #4: You bet! And I feel good knowing my money is staying right here in our neighborhood.



Farmer #1: We are really grateful to have such good neighbors and it’s a joy growing food for such great people.



Farmer #2: (laughing) It sure does make all this farm work easier seeing all these healthy kids running around!



(The 2 Neighbor kids are running around and playing tag with the 2 Farm Kids.)



Farm Kid #1: I’m growing watermelons for this summer!



Neighbor Kid #2: (laughing) And I’m eatin’ em!



Neighbor Kid #1: I sure do love those cucumbers you all grow!



Farm Kid #2: I help with those in the garden, they make great pickles too!



(Farmers and Neighbors are all talking, shaking hands, patting each other on the back hugging etc.)



Farmer #1: Well, I’m sure glad to share our crop plans with you all. Looking forward to trying out some of those new varieties of heirloom vegetables you all suggested and my friend here (indicating Farmer #2) for sharing seeds with me.



Farmer #2: (smiling and looking kindly at Farmer #1) Isn’t that what being a community is all about? When our bean crop failed last year and you shared part of your harvest with us, it made that little problem okay.



Farm Kid #1: …And we have blackberries and you have blueberries! We love to trade AND share!



(All of the sudden a loud, ominous knock is heard on the barn door. Everyone looks around and surprised since no one around those parts knocks.)



Farmer #1: (stuttering, confused) C..C..Come…In?



Mr. Monty Santo: (authoritatively) Are you the farmer for this land?



Farmer #1: Yes, Who’s asking?



Mr. Monty Santo: I am.



Farmer #1: (nervous) And you are?



Mr. Monty Santo: I’m Mr. Monty Santo with The World Conglomerate Seed & Science Company and we took samples of your crop last year and found our patented seeds growing on your farm. We also have evidence that your neighbor (pointing at Farmer #2) saved their seed and shared it with you!



Farmer #1 (looking shocked)



Farmer #2: (indignantly) Now you wait just a pickle flippin’ second! Those seeds were handed down generation after generation from my ancestors! You have no claim to them!



Mr. Monty Santo: (laughing sinisterly) HA! Before long The World Conglomerate Seed & Science Company will own every seed on the planet. (mockingly) Ancestor’s seeds, don’t be ridiculous you foolish people. You have no idea who you are dealing with.



(All of the neighbors and kids begin whispering and look shocked at what is going on, they can’t believe their eyes or ears. About that time another official looking person walks into the barn.)



Senator Rand Upton Rheady: (putting a hand on the Corporate Bad Guy's back) Hello folks! What Mr. Santo is trying to say is we’re just here to help ya’ll. I’m Senator Rand Upton Rheady and with the help of all my colleagues in government and the help of big companies like The World Conglomerate Seed & Science Company we’re making laws and legislation so it won’t be long before we’re helping to make sure you little farmers don’t have to work so hard trying to supply your neighbors with fresh, healthy organic produce. We’re going to pave the way for new science so you can kill all those pesky bugs and weeds on that stuff your growing and the good crop plants will never die.



Farm Kid #1: But wouldn’t all those chemicals be bad for you?



Senator Rand Upton Rheady: (visibly startled that a kid is that smart ) Now, now you little children shouldn’t be worrying about things like that. We’re here to help you people! That’s what us government folks are doing up in Washington.



Farmer’s Neighbor #1: (yelling) NEVER! I’ll never buy genetically mutated produce!



Farmer’s Neighbor #2: (very upset) Me neither…we will start a consumer revolution!



Mr. Monty Santo: (smirking) Are you kidding me? People are too lazy to even prepare fresh food these days. We can mess with it, put chemicals in it, genetically alter it and no one even notices. We even put the information right on the labels and the people still buy it! Look how many kids won’t eat anything but junk food…they think a french fry is a vegetable, bwhaha ha ha ha (sinister laughing)



Senator Rand Upton Rheady: What Mr. Santo is trying to say is…we’re working on pushing laws into place that will make it where small farmers won’t need to work so hard. All the food will be grown on big corporate farms and processed in big factories to make everything easier on all the people. (nodding & thumbs up to the Corporate Bad Guy)



(The Farm Kids and Neighbor Kids are in the corner making faces at the Bad Guys.)



Farmer’s Neighbor #3: Not if we have anything to do with it! There are more people than there are governments and corporate giants!



Farmer’s Neighbor #4: We’ll start fresh food farmer’s markets and have food festivals that teach people about sustainable food sources. We’ll rally behind our local farmers.



Farmer’s Neighbor #1: We’ll teach our little children to eat organic, local, good food!



Farmer’s Neighbor #2: It may take a while but we’ll never let you win this battle!



(The Corporate Bad Guy & The Government Bad Guy walk out shaking their fingers at the farmers and laughing at the neighbors acting all pompous and like big jerks talking amongst themselves, making fun of organic and farmers)



Farmer #1: Whoa! That’s some pretty scary stuff about owning all the seeds.



Farmer #2: I know, I had heard some rumors about some shady stuff like that going on but I didn’t really believe it. I guess we have some research to do, huh?



Farmer’s Neighbor #3: I don’t suppose we’ve seen the last of them. Let’s help other communities start CSA’s Community Supported Agriculture like we have here!



Farmer’s Neighbor #4: We have to do our part by buying local and buying organic non genetically modified ingredients. If the people speak by not buying that’s the only way to get the message across.



Neighbor Kid #1: I’m going to tell all my friends at school, on my soccer team and my grandparents about all of this!



Neighbor Kid #2: Me too! It’s up to us kids to spread the word about what’s happening to food!



Neighbor Kid #1: (together) We can make the difference!

Neighbor Kid #2: (together) We can make the difference!



(The Entire Cast makes a big circle and holds hands.)



Everyone Together: (shouting joyfully) We can ALL make a DIFFERENCE!





CURTAIN





(c) Copyright 2009 Tricia Baehr All Rights Reserved

Co-Creating Can Be Work

I was inspired by my son's quote..."Anything can happen,but first, you must take the steps to achieve the goal.Without doing anything, A dream cannot become reality." He's eleven this son of mine. Perhaps you have wondered why the Gypsy Mama has not been blogging lately? Probably not, but just in case you have I will fill  you in on my activities.

Several months ago a dear friend of mine mentioned a place. A lovely place, with rolling hills and meadows and 100 year old buildings. A place that is empty and lonely and even a bit sad. So we began to envision this place full of love and light. Full of peaceful people working and living together co-creating for the highest good. Living sustainably, growing food, living spiritually and helping others to learn to live this way too.

Then we began to share our vision. And it began to grow...to expand beyond our talking and dreaming. It is becoming concrete and real. Full of things to do, plans to write, things to research, meetings to have, powerpoints to develop. Whoa! this co-creating stuff can be work. I am really good at the dreaming part but when it comes to the doing....well, I can be good at that part too. Mainly, the doing part has to do with being inspired, being authentic and feeling on purpose.

So lately, I have been doing. Although I often tell myself that I am a being...to be is important. Be with the moment, be with the seasons, be with my husband and children (that's why I love gypsying so much!)
And in this very moment, I am procrastinating on the doing. Even though the illusion of time is ticking away towards this time and place where all of this doing will need to be done. I suppose it doesn't hurt to allow myself a bit of indulgence of just being here now with my blog and you.

Food is Love

Unexpectedly my usually very vibrant and active mother in her mid seventies complained of feeling fatigued. After doctor visits and trips to the emergency room she was diagnosed with a rare type of lung cancer and within a matter of less than a month she left our presence for another world.

That's where the food part comes in. When someone dies people bring food. Lots of food. Homemade food and store bought food. It becomes a way of showing love...something people can do to help when they know nothing else to do. After all, even when your grieving you gotta eat.

My mother loved food. My whole family loves food. My niece mentioned that she thought we were one of the only families she knows that the first question we all want to know is, "What'dya eat?"

So what did we eat...
Ham we have eaten lots of ham... I think we've had four hams.
Macaroni and Cheese, lots of pasta...lasagna,spaghetti, pasta salad
Casseroles...chicken casseroles, corn casserole, green bean casserole, potato casserole
Deli meats, chips, sodas, gallons of tea and lemonade
Bread, rolls, cornbread
Pound cake, apple cake, cookies, jello salads

Now, for those that read this blog I'd like to add a disclaimer that when food is made out of love, bought out of love, brought out of love...it takes on a special healing quality. It changes. All of the qualities that I normally would have disdain for...factory farmed meat, genetically modified ingredients, high fructose corn syrup...disappear out of gratitude for the love in the food.

Love that has replaced those negative qualities with a healing energy because the intent behind the food is love, pure and simple. Losing a parent is practically a Universal experience. If you haven't gone through it yet, most likely you will. So for those who have lost someone close whether it be a child, a parent, a spouse or other loved one we understand the paradigm of food is love.

After all it is life sustaining, food. It provides us with our most basic need and I am so grateful to all of the beautiful people who showed us this kind of love. You fed not only our bodies but our souls as well.
And your presence as you filled our home with smells, tastes and textures of your expession of that love. With hugs, smiles and tears and prayers that kept us going through this time in our lives that came all too soon and unexpectedly.

My Mama loved food. Her deep south upbringing required it. Her Mama loved her and all of us with food too. With heaping tables of fried chicken, butter beans, buttermilk cornbread, slaw, collard greens, apple salad, broccoli casserole, crowder peas, jello salad and sugary sweet iced tea.

Food is love...thank you Laura, Jamie, Jackie, Donna, Tracy, Ric, Melba, Mark, Warren, Belinda, Gail, Jessica, Barbara & Mary. Thank you for taking the time to make, bake, buy, bring and love our family through this loss with food.

Ya gotta love a simple model

How to feed the world ? from Denis van Waerebeke on Vimeo.

I say YES to spontaneous!

I remember not too long ago when we still lived a conventional life how exasperated I would get when my parents would invite us out to dinner...spontaneously...on a school night. I explained to my mother that it threw a wrench into our routine and and wreaked havoc on bedtime and dinner time. My how times have changed! Yesterday out of the blue my dear friend, the mother of my nephews and my children's aunt called up and said she and my nephews were coming to visit us. What a wonderful day we had! Grocery shopping, lunch, carousel rides, children playing in the park. Being a gypsy mama lends itself well to living spontaneously...What adventures are we in store for today?!! Stay tuned...

Warming our hands and hearts

It is cold...really cold. I think that even folks who live in regular houses are cold with all of this arctic weather going on. Last night, we returned from visiting a local restaurant and as we stood outside the door of the RV my husband's key wasn't working. Frantically and freezing I am digging through what my son referred to earlier as the bowels of my purse searching for my set of keys, the two layers of clothing don't seem to be helping at all. IT was 17 degrees!! Finally, I find them and try the door, it opens but the inside screen door seems to be frozen shut. All is well, we all file into the RV and huddle around the heater...my daughter is giggling uncontrollably as we are all hugging each other warming our hands and our hearts. Living this life for the last 16 months has brought about so many family moments. Moments that take my breath away in awe for the love we share as a unit. The five of us, living in incredibly close quarters. Our only escape from our togetherness is the great outdoors. There are no bedroom doors to slam shut, there is no place to hide from conflict...it's all here, right in front of us. And with this arctic blast of weather we are all here huddled together figuring out how to make it all work.

I keep presenting this lesson to our kids about how dealing with personalities, differences and emotions within our family is a microcosm for the macro of our relationship with our brothers and sisters of the greater world around us. Learning to love the things that annoy us the most in our siblings and even in our parents is a hard lesson (heck, I'm 42 and just now getting it) but if doing this work within our own family will help us to connect with the world around us easier and on some deeper level then what a great reward. Having that kind of compassion is difficult in so many ways but there it is everyday...right in our faces, over and over again. It wouldn't surprise me if there are those who think living this way is downright cruel to our kids. Togetherness can be too much of a good thing can't it? But my question is how do we stretch, how do we grow,  how do we come to terms that there is always going to be things that exist in others that just rub us the wrong way?

Many times when I can get really present within my own self I realize that what seems to bother me the most is a quality or issue that I myself have within me. Ahhh! The great mirror of truth, how ironic that it shows us so much that there is yet to be seen. Reflecting upon that mirror I see there is much work to be done. On my path these kinds of revelations keep coming up. I see them in my kids too, with all this togetherness. The two that seem to have conflict the most almost always complain and fuss about qualities and actions that they both have within them. I attempt to point this out sometimes and it just makes them angrier with me and with each other. I think it could be a good thing to push ourselves toward understanding. That mirror always reflects some truth. I know this sounds kind of cheesy but lately when the kids have had issues/conflicts with each other I have asked them to stop and to breathe. I ask them if the thought, the action, the words are coming from their heart. In that moment, with my question, they recognize that it is not. Then I ask them, "Where is it coming from then?" I'm not sure if they actually know where it is coming from exactly, but just the recognition that it is not coming from their heart is a start.

Funny also because it encourages me to practice what I preach as well. I think being their teacher inspires me to greater growth as well. Hopefully all of this togetherness will help us continue to grow the warmth in our hearts for our little microcosm and for the macrocosm of it all.

Creative Journaling...Everyone gets an A!!

Having a positive impact on my children is probably one of my deepest desires other than that attempting to change the world in some other small way is also on my list. I wish to be a splinter in the wood bridging heaven and earth.

Working through the little people in my life has been a blessing on some days and a curse on others. As a roadschooling/unschooling Mom, our life is the lesson plan, the curriculm. Everywhere we go there is something new to learn, a new discovery and a lesson. Some kids have the luxury of only having to learn at school-mine on the other hand are required to be present 24/7!

I discovered SARK the other day on-line through Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Life website... I am always inspired by anyone who let's go of fear and truly lives authentically. So while perusing Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy's (hence the name SARK) planet SARK website. I once again became inspired. The kids and I have attempted journaling several times and we stick with it for a few days or weeks, sometimes even for a month or so. I love writing and of course I want the kids to be inspired to write too. Write about anything poems, letters, stories, feelings, dreams, whatever. My kids are pretty creative (imagine that!) they fill notebooks with drawings, maps, imaginary menus, words, etc. but all on their own time and with out any type of regiment. So after discovering SARK and her amazing "juicy journaling" ideas we piled in the truck and found an art store where we all purchased some blank sketch books. Last night we decoupaged the covers. I went to bed leaving two of the kids up still creating. My daughter shared with me her first entry upon waking this morning. She has given me permission to post it here on my blog.

Here goes:

Dreaming is a good thing.

You can see the positive side of yourself and look on the bright side of things.

You can be whatever.

You can do whatever even go where ever.

copyright 2010 Bailey Baehr

Of course it was written is swirly pink and green lettering. With designs in different colors at the bottom of the page. I was pretty blown away to say the least! She asked me why I copyrighted her name at the bottom of the text and I told her that she has some amazing talent and we might want to go ahead and proctect her work now!

So here we are with the beautiful books full of blank pages for us to write, to dream, to drawn, to scribble in whenever and where ever we want. Kinda like life I'd say, a blank book...we don't have to write on the lines in boring pencil or ball point pen. We can use colorful markers, thick & thin. We can paint broad strokes  or skinny ones. We can make your words with curly Q's or swirlies. We can write in our books with clarity and perfect cursive writing or we can develop our own style of print. We can draw pictures in the margins. We can make up our own rules on how to create our lives and we can give ourselves an A or even an A+++++ !!

Give yourself an A+ today. You get to decide what excellent is...even if it's in a failure. Be you. Get your own blank book and fill the pages with whatever you want. After all it's your story, you get to make it up as you go.

Reflections on 2009

As  I was laying in bed this morning on the 2nd morning of 2010 my mind began to wander through the last year. Although I am not one to live in the past the manifestation of our dream of being a family on the road came to fruition in 2009 and the adventures that we had were amazing, beautiful and full of joy and wonder.
I loved Dawna Markova's book,  "I Will Not Die An Unlived Life" and I can say with certainty that in 2009 I did my share of really living. So I have composed the following list of experiences that we had in 2009...

Watched the fireworks over the Gulf of Mexico
Learned everything I need to know about the natural sea sponge
Paddled in a canoe in the Marshes of Glynn
Rode bicycles all day
Reread "To Kill A Mockingbird" with my kids (outloud and with a southern accent)
Saw an art exhibit inspired by the the book mentioned above
Found the Hostel in the Forest
Cooked Chipati's over an open fire
Participated in a Shabbat Friday evening meal
Ate fresh shrimp & crabs
Saw a red headed woodpecker
Picked up litter just to be nice
Learned how to face paint
Was courted then rejected by a reality TV show
Volunteered to paint faces at the Boys & Girls Club
Road a public bus
Watch the 2nd largest St. Patrick's Day Parade in the country (Savannah, GA)
Rode in a bicycle taxi
Saw the fountains in Savannah, GA with green water
Fed a semi-wild bunny out of my hand
Drank mojitos on the beach
Drummed
Danced on a sandbar at sunset
Built many sandcastles
Walked on the beach in the moonlight
Fell in love with a sea turtle named Joey
Volunteered at the humane society
Cooked breakfast on the beach & watched the sunrise
Saw the sunrise and sunset all in the same day
Volunteered on an organic farm
Discovered Athens, GA
Got pulled over by a state trooper & only got a warning (later found out he was wrong)
Met up with a group of old friends and camped for a weekend
Watched our children play and form friendships
Laughed a lot
Drank too much
Sold a business
Went to a hula hoop workshop
Bought a hula hoop
Discovered CSAs & locally grown sustainable agriculture
Fell asleep to the sounds of frogs, crickets and foxes
Taught workshops to kids on composting, sprouting, tea and gardening
Attended Food For Life @ Sequatchie Valley Institute
Learned from Sandor Katz about tempeh, kombucha, sauerkraut & beet kvass
Hooked an RV trailer up to a truck with  just me and a kid
Celebrated my nephews 5th birthday
Got to drive a convertible BMW for a night
Attended a hip sushi restaurant opening in Midtown Atlanta with 5 kids and FREE sushi
Watched a pod of dolphins frolick upclose & personal for 3 hours while paddling in our canoe
Watched two sea turtles get released back into the ocean
Volunteered to face paint for the GA Sea Turtle Center
Cooked dinner at sunset right on the beach
Enjoyed being with good friends and their kids at the beach
Visited one of the oldest art museums in the country
Made art
Made love
Saw living history
Had a tea party
Watched my daughter dance in the rain
Built a fairy village
Learned how to really bake bread
Watched the star Sirius rise just before the sunrise on the beach
Had an amazing 42nd Birthday
Visited my sister
Danced with my son to Gumbo Boogie
Explored St. Augustine
Lost one of our kitty cats
Watched someone die
Saw a fox
Attended a Thresheree
Cleansed the currency
Prayed for peace
Participated in a Sweat Lodge (3x)
Tailgated with friends for a TN Volunteers Game
Went to a Greek Festival
Walked on the Natchez Trace
Met Joel Salatin
Visited "The Farm" in Summertown, TN
Shopped at Farmer's Markets
Supported LOCAL restaurants and businesses
Watched an old friend perform in TWO theatrical productions
Went to a public school's fall carnival
Cooked food I never cooked before
Watched my high school alma mater play football as the away team
Had fun with friends
Recycled almost everything
Went to the top of the Arch in St. Louis
Ate Kansas City, MO BBQ
Visited a living history museum for the Old West
Saw the documentary film, "Enlighted Up" with my son
Visited the original "Little House on the Prairie" site
Watched my daughter get her ears pierced
Took the kids to Nashville, TN Parthenon and had them teach me about classic mythology
Read many, many, many books
Read the entire "A Course in Miracles" text
Saw the film, "Food Inc."
Heard cookbook author, Mark Bittman speak
Helped build a haunted house in my friend's kitchen
Celebrated Halloween with a dear friend & her family
Celebrated my husband's birthday with wings, beer and football
Helped out on another local organic farm
Saw two shooting stars
Saw a bald eagle
Purchased two new tires
Baked organic cookies with a 97 yr. old taste tester
Discovered Booya Cacao
Saw live music
Stood atop Lookout Mountain
Helped others
Healed relationships
Enjoyed the artwork of amazing artists
Reconnected with old friends and made many, many new ones
Felt gratitude and appreciation
Experienced the immense hospitality of incredible friends and family
Fell in love with my husband over and over again
Allowed my children to learn anything and everything
Drank lots of really good coffee
Cooked incredible meals
Celebrated the change of seasons
Loved myself and others
Became forgiving and accepting
Gave birth to another dream
Visited 11 different states
Chanted
Enchanted
kissed
hugged
meditated
let go of things that no longer served me

I am sure there are things that I have left out but all in all I believe that 2009 was one of my best years yet. I know that 2010 has much to offer as well. Stay tuned!!

Traveling and Gypsying like Crazy!

Wow...it's been a hectic few weeks since Thanksgiving and beyond. We have been on the road to Georgia to visit friends and family. My best friend since we were like eleven years old had a baby in October and I visited her and my kids got to see their cousins. Then back to middle TN and we traveled to Wichita, KS for Thanksgiving for my husband's work. Then back to southeastern TN for more work then we popped up to our old hometown for a visit in the TN valley and now back in southeastern TN again!
Whew!
It can be difficult to eat locally and organically when we travel without the RV but we manage pretty well...we are always sharing the slow food movement with our friends, old and new and family members. It's hard with my oldest son because he's pretty stringent on his organic food standards. It's hard for Grandma to make what she considers comfort food for the grandkidlets and for him to refuse to eat it. He showed the film, Food Inc. to his grandparents but I don't think they got it. I realize that we are only one family just trying to do our best and do our part in the whole scheme of things. Plow on! Plow on!

Sisters....

This week and the past few weeks have been a time of sisterhood for me. Not just with my biological sister who I love deeply and profoundly but sisters who I have known for many years and some newly rediscovered sisters. Sisters that may look or even sound different than me but my sisters none the less.

One sister who has been my sister since we were 11 years old has brought a new soul into this world. A tiny baby, a new life, a million possibilities. Another sister who is watching her child, her beautiful vibrant young daughter who she birthed into this world transition into another world. Joy...Pain. Connection...Separation. Smiles...tears. My own heart burst with joy for one and breaks for the other. One sister a part of my life since before I knew what it was to be a woman, mother and even a lover. Before I understood concepts like life and death and God and the true meaning of love. The other a newer sister, surprisingly enough, one who our original connection began on the internet. Who our connection began with our mutual desire to bring more light into the world through our spirits.

I celebrate the life of her daughter of whom she was so proud. I celebrate her daughter's light and acknowledge that what we perceive as physical death is merely a transition of spirit. My sister and I know these truths and together this will help in the healing days to come. My other sister with the new life that she always wanted but after forty thought that perhaps her chances for becoming a mother where through cuddles and coos over this baby and all of the mysteries that accompany new motherhood.

Then there is my former sister-in-law who I have been staying with this week. My brother's former wife who will always be my sister. My children's aunt and the mother of my nephews. This sister who experiences the struggles of single parenthood but loves her children fiercely and wants the best for them. This sister who opens her home to my children and I who cooks for us and watches my children so I can go and be with the new mother and the grieving mother. She too is my sister.

I have two new sisters whom I connected with via another through the internet and I watch as they come into my circle of influence and comfort that we as sisters give one another. Over the past year or so I have reconnected with a sister, I had lost...a sister who was my roommate. Now as we sit and chat while our children form their own bonds with one another and make friendships that we hope will last their lifetimes. She too is my sister.

As I write this I realize how many sisters I have...so many on so many different levels. The beautiful young women who worked in my bakery while in college and  now are my sisters. Growing up, getting married, becoming mothers. I am so full of love and appreciation for all of these incredible woman to who I rely on for support and who I try to support in my own way. I honor you all...my sisters for your inner beauty, your strength, your resilience, your inner light and the unconditional love that you give me. It is through our ability to love one another, to acknowledge our differences and our commonalities to interconnect ourselves in ways that assist us on our paths. I am laughing thinking about when the words,"So many men, so little time." might have passed through my lips. Now I'm thinking, "So many sisters, so little time." would be something I would say instead. Through our experiences we laugh, we cry, we celebrate, we talk, we hug, we keep in our hearts the sacred space of sisterhood that has no beginning and no end. It is birthless, deathless these bonds we form perhaps in a place before we knew this place. Like we were always together.
Always...sisters.

A day at the Farm and Taking Back the F-Word

So here I am always talking about the local food, where it comes from who grows it, how we get it and all of that fascinating stuff. My friend Bo and I were talking the other day about how everything is energy and when the energy put into food, the growing of it, the stewardship of the animals is negative or just a job to the people who touch our food before we get it... that the energy somehow attaches itself to the food. Then we ingest the food. Taking all of that energy with it and perhaps that energy attaches itself to our energy. Now What? Dis-ease, depression a whole laundry list of crazy things could possibly happen to one's body.

Today the kids and I drove to meet another friend named Tricia to work for the day at a local organic farm in the Sequatchie Valley of Tennessee called Sequatchie Cove Farm. What an incredibly gorgeous November day in Tennessee! The sky was such an amazing shade of blue with absolutely not a cloud in the sky. Many of the trees still have their leaves on them as we drove down I-24 early this morning I appreciated all the different shades of dark brown, golden yellow and deep red as we passed. I had heard many wonderful stories about this farm but had not had the opportunity to visit there until today. Our GPS took us down some little winding country roads until we found a handmade sign with the street name we were searching for and another hand made sign that said, "Please DO NOT drop off DOGS here!"

We pulled up and found a place to park and walked over to a field to find some folks working. There were two adults and two kids. The kids are local homeschooled kids who work every thursday on the farm. I actually knew one of the adults a really wonderful guy my husband and I had met at SVI back in May of 2008 before we became a Family on the Road and the other adult was Padgett from the farm. Everyone was pulling up dead plant material and making a pile. Much to my children's pleasure there were many farm dogs already present. We all worked together, talking laughing and as the sun warmed up we found ourselves shedding our jackets and sweaters. My friend, Tricia was working in another field picking arugula with two other ladies. 

When we finished in the areas we were working, we all met up at the trading post part of the farm. Arugula was being washed and dried. In the area where we had been doing fall clean up work so a cover crop could be planted there had been some sorghum stalks that were beautiful purply green and pale yellow. We had cut the sorghum and tied it up on poles of  the porch of the trading post for decoration. Everyone was talking and sharing recipes and ideas about food. The kids were learning all of the names of all of the dogs running around. And it struck me in a place deep down in my soul...this is the kind of place where everyone's food should come from. Not some sterile flourescently lit showcase of psuedo food that's made up of 59 different configurations of genetically modified corn products. But a place like this where folks in the community work together, where people smile, laugh and sweat together. Where people put passion into what is grown and sold.

Later all of us jumped on the back of the truck with several dogs and all the kids and rode out to a field still basking in the serenity of the intensely blue sky. Padgett the super cool and really nice farm lady who was thrilled to have so many helping hands gave us all tasks to do. Everyone worked together taking down the trellises for the pepper plants. My gypsy daughter delighted in picking peppers and filling up her skirt as she danced down the garden rows to place them into the baskets. One of my 10 yr. old sons was relishing every moment and every little new thing he was being shown how to do out in that field today. The other one was devising ways to turn his hoodie backwards to provide him with a place to put picked produce.

 And again it struck me in a place deep down in my soul...places like this are where and how food is suppose to be cultivated. Places where people WANT to be there, places where joy abounds! Because it's all energy and that energy is attached to that food. And Oh! God! Yes! I want to eat JOY! I don't want to eat "I hate my job" or "I'm treated like a slave" food. I mean I'm not even gonna address chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, overprocessed, GMO, antibiotic, hormone added, plastic wrapped, flourescent lit, mass produced, shipped 1K mile food. I'm just talking about the pure energy and intent behind the food. Is food handled by a beautiful human that has joy in their heart going to nourish and heal me or is food handled by metal, machines and slave labor going to nourish me body and soul?

As a gypsy mama I can tell you that these little local sustainable farmers are EVERYWHERE. You just have to open your eyes and look, it might take a little planning or effort but what in life that's worth something doesn't require a little effort. Every growing season more and more of them are popping up to fill the need where our bodies and our souls are screaming out for this kind of real food. Real farmers. Real families.
Cooking, eating, bowing our heads and blessing and showing thanks for something so visceral, so basic that we can't live without it...the thing that nourishes us. So we left today with some fantastic farm food and a new bumpersticker for our truck that says, "Take Back the F-Word...Real Food, Real Farms, Real People" Thank you Bill Keener of Sequatchie Cove Farm for that...thank you for caring about Food, about Farms, and about Family these are some F-Words I can get behind!. 

I want to end this with the blessing my future organic farmer 10 yr.old son read as we bowed our heads in thanksgiving tonight:

Ghandi once said, "What I am concerned with is my readiness to obey the call of Truth, my God, from moment to moment, no matter how inconsistent it may appear. My commitment is to Truth, not to consistency." May we, like Ghandi, see our lives as a series of experiments with the truth and make every effort to align our choices with the deeper truths of the universe.

I was so into enjoying every moment of this delicious day that I forgot to take pictures with my regular camera but did capture a few pics on my cell phone that are on my http://twitpic.com/photos/5bearsgousa if you want to see!

Farm Market Food Shopping for Everyone!!

Although it's late in the growing season the local farmers are still producing some great late season veggies. If your local farm market hasn't closed yet or your CSA has a winter CSA it's a great lesson in eating seasonally. Fall greens, root  vegetables and squashes are full of dark green, oranges and reds. The darker the color the more nutrition you are getting. I think it also opens us up to trying new and different varieties of foods that we might not try otherwise. When you are a gypsy mama it can be difficult to belong to a  CSA because we are usually never in  one place long enough to join one. That however doesn't deter us from seeking our homegrown, locally produced food. The food movement is on! And we haven't traveled to a place yet that didn't have a way for us to seek out and find the best of what this country has to offer. Industrial farming in unnatural and even the organics found in supermarkets and big box stores are shipped from far far away from where you buy them. Imagine purchasing fresh vegetables that were grown, nutured and  picked with loving care only hours before you receive them, instead of days and thousands of miles possibly from their source. These real food farm markets we are finding are carrying all of the things we purchase on a weekly basis...dairy (including milk, cream, eggs & cheese), animal meats that are raised and fed the way nature intended, fruits, vegetables, canned and preserved goods (jams, jellies, pickles, relishes) and many baked goods too. The Franklin Farmer's Market we attended yesterday has all types of artisans too, clothing, knitted items, jewelry, musicians and lots of wonderful people with their dogs walking around shopping supporting local agriculture. This was our second visit to this market as the gyspy husband's company was working in this area before.

This gypsy mama knows that the heartbeat of the communties we visit through our travels are at these farm markets. We make it a point to search for local. For example we wanted pizza Friday night, we wanted it locally owned and operated. I even called a old friend who has lived in the area we are in for years to get a recommendation. Unfortunately, all he could suggest were two chains. I finally found one by googling "Locally Owned Pizza" and the name of the city and state. We found a great little local place and we're very happy with and the pizza was really good, plus we felt good about supporting a local restauranteur.

Here are some photos of our wonderful finds from the farmer's market, I am looking forward to turning all of this beautiful food into some delicious meals. I just know that with ingredients like this not only will our bodies be nourished but our souls as well.

One More Pumpkin Creation

In my little RV refrigerator sat a mason jar with more pureed pumpkin. Another creation waiting to happen.
Some kind of bar cookie with pumpkin was rolling around inside my gypsy mama head just waiting to be birthed into a yummy creation. The gypsy kids are always wanting a treat and I am learning and enjoying eating and cooking more and more seasonally. It is still pumpkin time! So here is what I came up with:

Note: If  you like really sweet stuff this is not super sweet..I suppose you could adjust the amount of sugar but I try to keep the sugar consumption down as much as possible. All ingredients are organic...yes, I know it cost more.

Gypsy Mama Pumpkin Bar Cookies

Crust & Topping
3/4 C. Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1/2 C. Organic Rolled Oats
5 T. Organic Butter/break up into pieces...use substitute if vegan
1/4 C. Organic Brown Sugar
1/2 C. shelled pumpkin seeds/pepitas

Filling
1/3 softened Organic Cream Cheese/could use silken tofu or vegan equivalent
1 1/4 C. of pumpkin puree
1/4 C. of Brown Sugar
1 egg/use any binder for vegan
1/4 tsp. fresh ginger root ground
1/4 tsp. of cinnamon, ground cloves, freshly grated nutmeg
You could use 1 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice...to substitute for the above spices
1 T. Molasses
Pinch of Salt

Combine Crust ingredients,

 using your fingers (or a pastry blender or two knives) work the butter into the flour, oats, sugar until it resembles a crumbly mixture. Reserve 1/4 of the mixture for the topping.

Press the crust mixture into an 8x8 square pan.

Combine filling ingredients and pour on top of crust. Sprinkle remaining crumbly crust mixture on top of filling evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.* Let cool completely before cutting the filling will set up upon cooling.

*All of my baking times and temperatures are suspect because I bake in a tiny microwave/convection oven combo in my RV. If you are using any other type oven probably would be a good idea to watch what you are baking carefully and make adjustments based on your oven.

Pumpkin Creations...as promised!

Remember my post the other day about pumpkin? The Gypsy Mama came up with some pretty great cookies and...PUMPKIN CHILI!! Yep, that's right Pumpkin Chili and it was delicious...I'll share the recipes with you!

Here's the recipes: ALL INGREDIENTS are ORGANIC...yes, we know it costs more.

The gypsy kids named these cookies:

Fall Harvest Cookies~These cookies are dense almost like a thick rich biscuit!!

1 1/2 C. whole wheat organic pastry flour
1 1/2 C. organic all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt.
1/4 tsp. cinnamon, ground cloves, freshly grated nutmeg

6 T. organic butter, softened
1/2 C. organic sugar
1/2 C. organic brown sugar
1/2 C. pureed pumpkin
2 T. milk
1 egg
1/2 tsp. fresh ground ginger
1/2 C. chopped pecans
1/4 - 1/2 C. dried cranberries or golden raisins

Sift your dry ingredients (except sugars) together. Cream butter & sugars, then add pumpkin. Add the milk, egg and ginger. Add dry ingredients in thirds and lastly add fruit and nuts. Dough will be stiff.
Bake 375 degrees for 10-14 minutes. (Keep in mind we have a tiny micro/convection oven  in the RV so you may want to adjust time and temperature for your oven)

Didn't take pictures of the chili but trust me it is really, really good.

Gypsy Mama Pumpkin Spice Chili
1/2 green pepper chopped
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 stalks of celery chopped
2 cups of pumpkin puree (if you used canned make sure it's not pumpkin pie mix-even though that might be good too)
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp. cumin, cinnamon, chili powder
1 tsp. chipolte chile powder
1 16 oz. can of chili beans
1 16 oz. can of red kidney beans
1 16 oz. can of  mixed beans (black, navy, pintos)
1/2 cup vegetable protein granuales (or bulgar wheat, ground beef, tofu crumbles)
I'm now on the fence about that other stuff that has 3 letters starting with T and ending with P because I've discovered it's copyrighted and trademarked by a huge food conglomerate...the grocery store to the world people and is probably all GMO!!

Put in a slow cooker on low for 6 hrs. or high for 4 hours or cook on your stovetop. Enjoy!!

The Gypsy Mama's family loves to say something nice before every meal...we love this book, "A Grateful Heart" edited by MJ Ryan. Blessing our meals with beautiful words always makes everything taste just a little bit better! Here's a sample from the book:

May all things move and be moved in me

and know and be known in me

May all creation

dance for joy within me.

-Chinook Psalter

Revisiting a Classic

I know that I was assigned many classical literature books in high school or college but sometimes a book has to find you before you can find yourself in the book. So over the last year or so…since I became a gypsy mama and gave up the suck your brain out of your head box otherwise known as the television, I have revisited some classics.

I just completed reading John Steinbeck’s, “Grapes of Wrath” and so many things are standing out to me in this book. I have been reading passages out of the book to my children. Not the passages that tell the story of the Joad family but the passages where Steinbeck talks about what is happening with the small family farms during the 1930’s. The passages where Steinbeck comments on the farming industry. While reading these passages and rereading them I am coming to the realization that this is the time period when the concept of “factory farms” starts. This is when it all began….and now we are coming full circle and starting to see the impact of what has been happening over the last eighty years or more.


This book was a pretty big hit when it was published and a lot of folks were pretty upset with Steinbeck’s commentary. This is a story about the great depression that took place in the 1930’s but it’s also about the beginning of factory farming, the beginning of the disconnect between man and earth and food. Did anyone else get this then? Have all the people that have been reading this great piece of literature taken note of this? And if we did notice why has it taken us so long to do something about it?


The food movement that is happening in this country is one of  the most important issues we face today. Food is what sustains us, food is what nourishes us, food brings us together when we celebrate and when we mourn. The energy that goes into how food is grown comes to us when we eat it and through us. No wonder so many people are on anti-depressants.  The attitude and the intent behind the growing of the food all the way to the preparation and the serving of the food is some powerful stuff.

I want to put a passage from the book here for you to read:


From "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck






He loved the land no more than the bank loved the land. He could admire the tractor - its machined surfaces, its surge of power, the roar of its detonating cylinders; but it was not his tractor. Behind the tractor rolled the shining disks, cutting the earth with blades -- not plowing but surgery, pushing the cut earth to the right where the second row of disks cut it and pushed it to the left; slicing blades shining, polished by the cut earth. And pulled behind the disks, the harrows combing with iron teeth so that the little clods broke up and the earth lay smooth. Behind the harrows, the long seeders -- twelve curved iron penes erected in the foundry, orgasms set by gears, raping methodically, raping without passion. The driver sat in his iron seat and he was proud of the straight lines he did not will, proud of the tractor he did not own or love, proud of the power he could not control. And when that crop grew, and was harvested, no man had crumbled a hot clod in his fingers and let the earth sift past his fingertips. No man had touched the seed, or lusted for the growth. Men ate what they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had no prayers or curses.


Passionless. Loveless. Factory farms are not about love or passion. They are only about profits...the bottom line, regardless of the true costs.  Local small farmers are passionate about what they do…sure they want to make a profit, after all they must generate an income too but they do it with thought to the land, thought for the sustenance they provide. It is done with intent and reverence. Talk to a local producer at the farm market…they have passion in their eyes, in their voice and in their hearts. Over the past year or so we have met many local, sustainable agriculture farmers. Real farmers…from Joel Salatin to Jason Mann and I am telling you these are the people we want growing our food!


Folks who care about the kind of food they help to co-create. Personally this gypsy mama & her brood went from being a conventional processed food family to basically 100% organic. Always searching for local sustainable agriculture while we're on the road. We went from eating at the arches to vowing never to eat fast food again…ever.


At this time of Thanksgiving when we are all poised to gather for a meal that has so much thought and intent that goes into the planning and the preparation, I pause to reflect the gratitiude that I have for the food. Consider the passion, consider the love, consider the intent.

I LOVE Pumpkins!!

I love pumpkins because they are orange, round and happy! I love their different shapes and sizes…even the white ones out on the market now are really cool. I love them because they remind me of autumn ~ my favorite season. A time when the colors of nature are so bright and colorful, when sweaters and jeans and boots come out. When it’s cool outside and on a sunny day everything seems to sparkle and a cloudy overcast day looks like snow even though it really isn’t cold enough yet. I also love the way that pumpkins taste, they are so versatile you can make pies, cookies, cakes, bread and soups. Pumpkin is good roasted and mashed just like potatoes even the seeds are tasty when roasted in the shell with butter, tamari and seasonings. Pumpkin is full of vitamins and nutrients and right now is prime time pumpkin time! In anticipation of the pumpkin harvest I purchased a can of organic pumpkin a few weeks back but yesterday I finally found some nice organic pie pumpkins for a really great price.



I cut my pumpkin in half and scooped out the seeds…which I will roast later. While I am typing this, the pumpkin is cooking in my tiny little RV oven. I placed each half with an inch or so of water into a cake pan and now they are roasting at 410 degrees for about an hour.

When finished the skin will just pull off and all that will be left is the beautiful orange pumpkin flesh! Cooked and ready for our use. What will we create?

Pumpkin raisin muffins? A traditional pumpkin pie? Pumpkin bread with walnuts and cranberries? Pumpkin pancakes topped with toasted pecans and maple whipped cream? Pumpkin ginger cookies? A pumpkin smoothie? Roasted pumpkin soup? The possibilities seem endless don’t they?






Just like life, you can get a hold of little something that you love and appreciate. Then from that you have the power to create so many different possibilities. I know that Our Creator is always working through us to allow all of these possibilities. If I didn’t love and appreciate pumpkins so much then none of the possibilities would exist for me, would they? They would all exist but just not for me. So, with that in mind, the way I see it is if I am able to expand and maximize all that I love and appreciate in the world around me then naturally all my possibilities will expand as a result of my love and appreciation. Find a way to love more in what is around you and watch your possibilities expand.


And on the pumpkin roasting in my oven…well, I let you know what all I end up co-creating!