Aug 2006

Novato Farmer's Market   Orange Raspberries   Yellow Raspberries   Ripe Strawberries   Heirloom tomatoes   Heirloom Carrots Heirloom tomatoes   Yellow Watermelon

Greetings all you sun gods and goddesses. Welcome to August! August has started out with me and my partner hanging out at the Novato farmer's market. Summer is farmer's market season and if you are as lucky as I am to live in the S.F. bay area you could go to a farmer's market everyday! I love the amazing finds you find at the markets that you won't find anywhere else. Yellow and orange raspberries, red, not green strawberries, pink, yellow, orange and green ripe tomatoes, yellow and purple carrots, yellow watermelon, and the list goes on. And many times you find these treasures for less money than if you had bought them at a store. Another plus is that you support local farmers and I can guarantee you that what you buy in the farmer's market is fresher than anything you'll find at a super market. Fresher equals more nutrients because food starts loosing it's nutrient value as soon as you pick it.

On Sundays we go to Sebastopol where there is a Whole Foods across from the market. My pet peeve is when I see people buying produce at Whole Foods when they could've gotten the same produce at the market. Maybe people's lives are so busy and they don't want to take the time to stroll through the market and take in the sights. Farmer's markets are such treasures, but if we don't support them they might disappear. Monsanto's goal is to control all the seeds in the world thereby controlling the world food supply. By supporting local farmers or growing your own stuff you are putting a dent in Monsanto's plan. When I see all the variety at the market I am so grateful because I know that the heirloom and unique varieties are not only more beautiful and more delicious but they probably have more nutrients in them. It would be such a loss to loose these unique varieties of fruits and vegetables. Although comic books aren't real, when I think of Monsanto It's hard not to think about a comic book villain trying to control the world. It is up to us to find out inner super hero and save the day by supporting local farmer's who are committed to sustainable agricultural practices.

Speaking of super heroes my partner and I are addicted to the Sci Fi channels new show called: Who wants to be a super hero? They take seemly normal people whose dream it is to be a super hero and put them through a series of tests. The last super hero standing gets to be "immortalized" in an original comic book about them. A fellow raw foodist is on the show. Her name is Tonya Kay and that's why we initially tuned in but surprisingly I really like the show. It really gets you to think about what kind of super hero you want to be in your own life. What type of super powers would you have? and how you would save the world? All fantasy aside, I think we have a lot more super powers than we think, and I also think we have so much more power to change the world than we think. Sometimes all it takes is a small act of kindness. Imagine if everyone did small acts of kindness on a regular basis we'd live in a different world where we were all taking care of each other. I think that a lot of us feel that if we give, we will somehow loose something. The truth is that when we give from our hearts it fills up us beyond wonder. It's so easy to forget that in our dog eat dog world. Sometimes it's so easy to feel alone yet but the truth is we are all in this together. Like I always say, earth is not a vacation planet:) Anyways I'm inspired by the show to find my inner super hero, find my magical gifts, and share them with the world :)

My plan is to write more often, not everyday, but at least a few times a month so stay tuned. Till next time.

C

Hi I'm back again. Last night was our monthly potluck. www.beraw.com. About 13 people showed up and four were new people. Someone made a sauce with dried red bell pepper and tomato and it was really good. We also watched this movie called the GMO Trilogy and it was excellent. There was this inspirational lady in India who was saving all different kinds of seeds to combat the major seed corporations like Monsanto. She said the reason she does it, is because she loves biodiversity. Her face lit up when she talked about all the different varieties of beans and rice. And she showed natural Indian food remedies such as turmeric that are being patented by U.S. corporations! I must've been on the same wavelength as the movie because I was just writing about how important bio diversity is. Speaking of bio diversity tonight is the Cotati farmer's market and they have the best Burmese okra. I'll have to get there early before they run out!

Cotati Farmer's Market   My new favorite food Burmese okra. It tastes great raw as is or chopped up in salads   My favorite apple, pink pearl. It's a beautiful pink color inside.   Squash blossoms   Moon and Stars Watermelon   Baby Roma variety tomatoes. They are sweet and delicate tasting. My new favorite tomato. Fairy Eggplant. They are about as big as your thumb.   Armenian and striped Armenian cucumbers. The striped are my favorite. They are sweet and have a thin skin.

I made it to the market on time and bought Crescent Moon Farms out of all their Burmese Okra! I've been eating a lot of okra lately and find it a really convenient snack because you can eat it as is. I heard they are really nutritious too! I almost bought them out of their Baby Romas and Armenian striped cucumbers as well! Crescent moon farms is a new farm to the Sonoma County farmer's market circuit. I highly recommend them. For those who live in Sonoma County they are at the Santa Rosa Morning Saturday and Wednesday markets; the Cotati evening market on Thursdays; and the Sebastopol market on Sunday mornings. Their tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, and squash are amazing! And sometimes they have special things like okra!

Don't forget that if you go to the Santa Rosa farmer's market check out the Santa Rosa Tea booth. They sale organic culinary herbs as well as teas and the owner said he would give 15% off to anyone who mentions my name. (Cecilia: the raw food teacher) His name is Curtis and he cured himself of cancer by eating a vegan diet!

Apples are starting to come into season  and a vendor at the Cotati market had pink pearls! Pink pearls are apples that are pink on the inside; I have even seen them as pink as the color magenta! My favorite snack used to be to eat pink pearls with almond butter. My partner showed me how to cut them into disks and them cut out the middles so they looked like doughnuts. It really made you feel like you were eating something special:)

I just feel so lucky to live in Sonoma County and to think that the Cotati farmer's market is in walking distance from me. Don't get me wrong I love Hawaii in the winter, but I don't think there is any beating of California in the summer!

Speaking of Hawaii I put some of my trip pictures on my personal photo gallery. It was so fun to reminisce on all the places I've been. I'm really lucky to have traveled so much at a young age. Well I guess it helps if you have half your family in another country and a partner that loves to travel. If I never travel again, I feel satisfied knowing I've seen so much of the world. The only exception being is that I want to travel to Brazil and of course be able to visit my family in Spain again.

Well I hope you make it to one of the wonderful farmer's markets in your area. I'm going to go eat what I bought now:)

C

Today I took a wonderful walk around my neighborhood. I stumbled on a bike path that ran parallel to a small creek. Until today I had no idea it existed. I was just wandering and cam across and because I had my digital camera with me I was able to take some really pretty pictures. When I was walking I felt like I was in the present moment and really enjoying the beautiful surroundings. I had had a talk with a friend of my the day earlier about learning to trust the universe and that everything is going to be okay and taken care of. She wishes she would've have learned this earlier and is encouraging me to really have faith and trust. If you life is anything like mine it's really hard to do this, but I'm humoring her, and trying it. I kept my mind focused on trusting and surrendering while I was walking and felt very peaceful while doing so. Last night I watched 30 days and there was an Atheist who moved into a Christian household for 30 days. She asked her son or daughter if they thought there was a supernatural being who controlled their lives or if they controlled their lives. I'm not an atheist but I thought it was a good question. I think the answer might be both, for me anyways. One of my favorite speakers, Wayne Dyer, says that source is something that you tune into like a radio wave. For me source I guess would mean God and  I guess it is our choice whether we decide to tune in or to be open to it. For me it's more like a feeling, a trusting in a plan greater than I can know or understand at the moment.

The other day I was listening to the best alternative positive radio show website on the internet and there was this show on about dreams. It was fascinating. The guest on the radio show said that our dreams have messages for us and they can be the best diagnostic tool we have. She was told she had cancer in one of her dreams and she was also given a visualization about how to help heal her cancer in a dream as well. She said to keep a dream journal where you write down your dreams every night. I have been doing this religiously for about two weeks now. Ever since I started I have been remembering my dreams vividly. I'm not sure I know what all of them mean, but it's been fun recording them.  Last night I had a dream that I started a raw food candy company. The candies were brightly colored,  like the colors yellow and pink, and it was a very happy dream. I'm not sure exactly what it means. I'm not sure if I should take it literally or symbolically. If anyone is good at analyzing dreams and wants to give it a try let me know. Below are some pictures I took on my walk. I like the morning glories they're very Georgia O'Keeffe:) Beauty is all around! haven't written a poem for awhile. Here's my latest.

Neighborhood Flowers

Beauty is All Around

Beauty is in the small things
the tiny moments
the pause before your next breath
before your next thought
before your next word
Beauty breathes in silence

Beauty is in the fragility
the impermanence of it all
The deliberate appreciation
of the delicate nature of time
and life itself
Beauty comes alive with gratitude

Beauty is in the communion
between two people
the acknowledgement of the
person behind the eyes
the knowing that your heart beats like mine
Your heart breaks
just like mine
we are no different
There are no strangers
Beauty rejoices in kindness

-Cecilia Benjumea

Hi there, just a quick note to say that I made a myspace page. It all started when my partner had one and then my brother told me that two friends from high school were contacting him on his myspace page about me. There is quite a raw food community on myspace. I'm looking forward to being part of it. The truth be told though, I'm a sucker for making web pages pretty. That's the real reason I did it, it was fun:)
-C

P.S. I found another spiritual/healing internet radio website:  http://www.hayhouseradio.com/
I listened to Slyvia Brown's radio show, She's absolutely wonderful.

Woke up this morning to find that I'm featured on www.welikeitraw.com. I feel special:) If you haven't checked out this website I highly recommend it. It keeps you updated with raw food news all the time in a fun, hip, and balanced manner.