viva verde

i just got wind of the “temporary closing” of the Santa Ana Farmers’ Market a few weeks ago, and although i am a little heartbroken about it, i am not surprised.

i am not just saying that as a spectator or person who has visited the struggling market on a monthly basis, but as someone who actually laid the foundation for that market and got it started in the first place. of course you wouldn’t know this unless you did a little research or actually talked to the many people who were an integral part of starting a service like this in the first place.

a little back story: i left the Grain Project, a non-profit i founded with 2 women in 2005 when i found out about a serious conflict-of-interest within the organization that needed to result in rules or codes of conduct so that the organization as a whole could remain intact long after any of the founders were there. to me, rules happen in society when inappropriate things happen, as to ensure it not happening again. i took a stand, and demanded rules (with the counsel of 2 employee attorneys and other board members) to which i was subjected to ridicule and a “witch hunt” for my resignation.

one evening, after several panic attacks and public bashings of character, i was approached by our board of directors with a proposition: either personally resign, or the board was going to terminate the employment of the person in question. i thought long on and hard on this one. even though i had already signed the lease on what was to be The Road Less Traveled, i was not planning to actually build the store for 1 more year. and honestly, The Grain Project still needed more development in order to be a highly effective non-profit…we still needed to work on the “business” aspect of it.

well, i think you know what happened. and what suffered was a business.

non-profs are tricky: you are there to do good, but need to turn the lights on, need to pay the bills. this is a very difficult thing to grasp in this sector because you dont want to be a money-hungry b-/monster. but again, you need to keep the lights on. the rise of “social entrepreneurship” i think is paving the way for non-profs in a business model and will help future thinkers of doing good, really DO good while creating funds for…DOING GOOD. does that make sense?? let me show you in a basic equation:

good service + good business model= successful organization

problem is: people in non-profs (from my experience, not certifiable and there are efficient ones/many out there) want to just do the humanitarian aspect without thinking of protocol, funding, keeping the lights on. and more essential, let those who know more about sustaining revenue/social entrepreneurship do their work. in other words, DO THEIR JOB. The Grain Project is a great example of NOT embracing this. i have the feeling this has to do with above side story.

late at night i think of Santa Ana…i am sad for the closure yet hopeful that a group of people can make change. can they do it the right way now? even though i am not even welcomed at an event, given glares/rumors..i hope that there will be real leadership and business sense so that The Grain Project can create successful programs.

i hope for the best!

on monday, i took a trip to “the first amusement park in in the US”, Knott’s Berry Farm. i haven’t been to an amusement park for the better part of 10 years (maybe more), so i must admit, i have been pretty excited to 1) get out of the store during “daylight hours” and 2) to revisit my youth and simply have some good old-fashioned fun!

we took advantage of the $20 fee with a canned food donation, braved the drizzle and cold weather and set off to the land of Snoopy, the wild west, funnel cake and boysenberry jam. we played Vince Guaraldi to start the mood as images of a lonely x-mas tree and smiling Peanuts faces in the air filled my mind.

as we approached the gate, cans in tow, smiles on faces, we were met with our first many “reality checks” to what would be an interesting day:

reality check #1: i brought 2 canteens (one for cold drinks and one hot) to have filled with tasty (but completely unhealthy beverages!) filled to spare Knott’s a little waste. although they offered large, plastic drink containers for refills, not a single vendor would fill my cups, even if i paid the same amount. the only memorable thing about bringing reusable containers to the park was the question if my beverage upon enter was a “20-80″ drink….i am just now realising what that meant!

reality check #2: the ghost town, that was the “hot ticket” back in the day, not to mention a real slice of the county ala DeadWood, was really a ghost town….the Haunted Cabin is no longer there, the Gold Panning has been remodeled to a long wooden tray (but has 2 gleaming children testing their luck!). have to say that Californians don’t really care about how the state used to be. and what happened to Mystery Cabin, with their tiki-room-ish experience on the Native Americans that was such an integral part of the state? guess no one wants to see that either.

reality check #3: there are no healthy options at Knott’s. if someone was trying to eat right, trying to just have food that wasn’t so heavy before a plunge on a ride…there wasn’t a single thing. i am all for funnel cake, but i cannot spend a day eating that alone, not event real cheese for the cheese fries!

reality check #4: after our day, we decide to ice the cake at Mrs. Knott’s eatery. now mind you, i have been REALLY excited to taste what the whole of Knott’s was founded on…a small berry farm in Buena Park. my mouth salivating as i stood in line, reading of the Knott’s story of creating a small farm and how Mrs. Knott beginning to sell pies and coffee from a road-side stand. As the story goes, she never hired a professional chef, but rather hired neighbors wives and fried her neighbors chickens all while creating preserves from her family’s farm. this woman was the chair of Slow Food for OC people!!! this has got to be great! …

i must say, when you are feasting on corndogs and Coke before, i cannot or should not expect much and i was met with my harshest blow: chicken (that i rarely eat, so this was a treat), from what was probably a far away place, corn from a can that was made in some other place, potaotes from a box and other greens from a whatever Sysco or some other corporate food provider delivered to the back room 3 days ago. not CA agriculture, not Slow. it saddens me to think that this was a great farm loved by so many back-in-the-day.

reality check #5: i am still scared of rollercoasters! i ventured to a montezooma-esque ride called Accelerator, and i have to say, despite the pit-falls, that this alone was worth the $20 (that and the funnel cake with boysenberry jam). this ride lasts about 1 minute, but it begins with a 0-80 mph shoot up a 205ft ramp that leaves you breathless and amazed. i guess i am like so many others going…my heart was pounding out of my chest like a first-time public speaker!

only for the brave…

this week in the CSA basket was kohlrabi?? as the other members came in to pick up their deliveries, i couldn’t help but notice that many of them were really excited over something i can hardly say. however, after a few google tries, i came up with something that looked like this:

what the h- is this thing? and more importantly, why are people talking the socks or stalks off it?!?

well as every veggie goes: it is either a root, shoot or stem..or leaf for that matter, and i decided to give it a try.

based on others telling me, i could eat it raw. so i did…

pretty good. like a mellower radish, but hardier and with a little more substance…ummm, ate our entire basket so i will have to tell you about cooking it for next week. i must say: great for a dip or snack…actually pretty dang good!

so in the part of the long excuses that i will be telling of why i havent been posting for a while is my travels to GreenFest in SF (which, by the way, i LOVED mega-bus! the best mode of transport!)

i have been to GreenFest in the past and i have to say that this year, the green movement has very much taken hold. i usually want to go when it is slow, so i took advantage of the friday opening…Big Mistake! even one of my friends had to leave early because it was too crowded for her! but knowing that i had to leaving the next day, i braved the crowds and went for it.

it is funny, when i went before, i always was so quite….never talked or even knew a soul. it was kind of funny to actually recognize people and give hugs and chat with the amazing vendors there that i so admire for paving the way. One of which i have been wanting to meet: Teresa from Texture Clothing we love her line at the store and her skirts with the “marsupial front pockets” are not only sweet, but the fabric and construction of her clothes give a very feminine feel without being too hippy….heck even my not-so-earthy -niece loves the skirts to death!

ummmm did you check out the pins!! i think i am going to have to borrow that idea!

probably one of the best things about the fest (and it being uber-croweded was NOT one of them, i get a little strange in crowds), was the awesome veggie-fuel powered shuttle that took to from the Green Business Conference to the convention.

hello! this thing needs to be in every city in the nation!! Not only did the (may i say hot!) driver play great music, but the seats line the sides of the bus and there is a “bus lounge” in the back…this is a must for anyone going next year.

number 2 for the great things about the show, as always, the organic beer and wine garden. my new fave people where there: MATEVEZA. this incredible brew i will post about later but they are a gem, delicious and refreshing! a must for the beer drinker. here are me and my gracious friend Kiiana (who allowed me to stay at her place and save loads of cash!) partaking in some of their brew.

see why i havent written in a while!

i am a work-a-holic, but, i have to sleep.

in the past month or so (maybe over a month), i have been, yes shall we say lagging BIG time on the posts. but i am a single person working a retail store during the holidays…which i must say i love and hate.  love that i have business, but hate that i have more work than i ever thought i would (and that is a lot more than the normal human).  PLEASE EMAIL ME if you miss my posts, but i hope to not take too long of a break, i feel now a bit  ashamed that i have been a little idle.

here we go with the past month or so!

Very very interesting article on the rising interest in Freegans: or people who basically live off of discarded, unused items as a way living an anti-capitalism life.

this doesn’t look too bad! and items like these are thrown away at alarming rates in this country.

well, my point is that i was talking to the friend who told me about the article and i am thinking about trying this out at the uber-whole foods! most postings to come.

during the past weekend, my boyfriend and i were guests at an amazing fund raising gala for the Kids of Kilimanjaro, a local non-profit started by George Namkung and his incredible family.

Their mission: “To encourage, promote and foster an in-school meal program for the children of Tanzania”, as well as extracurricular and co-curricular activities for these children. Most, them have to walk for at least one hour to attend school, mostly without breakfast, school-time is where they have a chance at a better meal, and have a hope for a better tomorrow.

this family is simply amazing, running this organization after George, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and witnessed how much the children needed nutrition to stay in school. Since that first visit, 2 years ago, KOK has grown by leaps and bounds!! KUDOS…