Last weekend Lee and I spent Saturday night watching two documentaries back to back on The Green Channel.
The Last Beekeeper and Split Estate – both about how the need for more is affecting all creatures on the planet from Bees to humans; our push to take and create more than nature can give is catching up with us. Scientist believe that by the year 2035 (20yrs) there will no longer be bees in North America – this means no more almonds, peaches, strawberries, cherries, flowers & many other foods and plants. Already in parts of China there are NO bees and the humans are hand pollinating the trees to produce pears – this is a big deal – it is almost impossible to do.
Split Estate means that we as Americans only own the right to the top layer of soil of our property; the government owns the mineral right below where we live. In Colorado and New Mexico there are close to 60,000 natural gas and oil mines located on peoples private property. The government sells or leases the rights to corporations and they go in and drill – NOTHING can stop this. The chemicals used to fracture the earth are so incredibly toxic and deadly that 1,000’s of people are sick now from chemical inhalation and being physically sprayed on a daily basis. These corporations don’t have to clean up their HUGE messes. The real scary deal is that the Colorado River flows through this area, delivering drinking water to 1 in 12 Americans – the water that flows into the Colorado has been tested and is through the roof toxic. It is the MAIN source of water for the Southwest including Los Angeles and San Diego. Water treatment plants have not yet mastered how to remove most chemicals & pharmaceutical from the water, natural bacteria’s yes.
We turned off the TV with that hopeless, grumbling feeling, muttering between each other “There is nothing anyone can do, this is a choice our government has made based on our need for oil and gas and mass amounts of food that most of us throw away.”
However I heard a voice, one of RESILIENCE that comes from my heart – you see I believe that this is where all of our personal angels live, “Girl what you can do is cook and feed your body and teach other people the same.”
You see if the outside world is feeding us toxicity than what I can do is feed me and the people I love medicine – FOOD – provided by creation.
On Tuesday night I went to Corinthian Baptist Church to speak to members of the congregation. I was nervous and of course wondering if what I had to share would resonate and if these folks were ready to be their own champions. I started out with my story and then a break down of why we eat to clean our blood and support our immune systems.
Fo’sho my ego thought that these folks “needed” what I have to give, however after spending a few hours with them I realized I NEED them just as much. You see I’ve spent the past two years in my Convent office writing; my mornings and evenings cooking and any other time has been taken up with healing my body and tending to my family. My human connection outside of my tiny bubble has been almost non-existent. I now know that I’m well enough to go into the world and participate – I’m ready for friendship, and the folks at Corinthian Baptist opened their arms and I fell in.
They are so very ready to take back their power and health with food.
We now have a plan of action; we will host our first cooking class with 11 of the parishioners, they will learn a five course meal from soup to dessert, then I’m going to send them each home with one of the recipes that I’ve taught and the ingredients to prepare it.
The first few classes will be at my house, ‘cause we need to get Corinthian Baptist Churches kitchen rockin’ and rollin’ – meaning new stainless or cast iron pots & pans, wooden spoons etc.
I’m gonna call on you all – the PKIA community to help me. You don’t have to give me a dime, just send me an old pot or mixing bowl that you no longer use (NO toxic plastic or Teflon/nonstick), a head of cabbage, a bag of beans OR the connection to a farmer who has a little extra to spare; my family taught me something good, whenever it was meal time no matter how little we had we gave up half if there was an extra person around, invited or not. I never heard a single member of my immediate and extended family say to a child or adult, I’m sorry you have to leave it’s OUR dinner time.
My favorite thing that Pastor Fuzz said when I met him was “I’m a doer”, what we have in common (Lee & I) is that we too simply take action and trust that all will work out the way it is meant to – faith and again RESILIENCE.
Next week PKIA will have a wish list put up on the site and drop off places & mailing address. I’m fixin’ on arming these first 11 soldiers with the tools to teach others, we are also going to go on an educational shopping trip as well as introduce these same recipes to the kids at Corinthian – yep, a cooking class for them, you see most of them are just like me when I was a kid…home alone after 5pm and hungry.
We will expand the size of the cooking classes and eventually reach everyone in the congregation & COMMUNITY – ’cause this Noble Food Makeover is for EVERYONE that shows up.
By January their kitchen will be loaded & running and they will themselves produce a “Weekly Sunday Community Meal That Heals”.
This video sums it all up – it just takes action and effort!
