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From October 23rd to Thanksgiving, everything that I eat will be from my yard. Fresh eggs from the chickens, amazing medicinal greens and herbs, root veggies like cassava, sweet potato and malanga and so much more will be gracing my table. I try to do this 2-3 times a year. Why? Because it is amazing!
Tomorrow morning, I will wake up, and for the most part I will eat whatever suits my mood. I will consume far too much organic fair trade 85% cocoa chocolate and probably snack more than I need to. October 23rd, I will wake up and the question will not be “what do I feel like eating?” but “what can I make with what I have?” Everything becomes more mindful. There are no empty calories in the garden!
The food I’ll be consuming will be alive, and it will feed me on many levels. The simple, unprocessed flavors will dance over my palate and my body will respond to the pureness of the food by increasing my energy and heightening my senses.
I cook with cast iron, and I’ll use my wonderbag to give the fresh herbs and spices time to infuse the green papaya, black-eyed peas, greens and whatever else I put in a soup/stew. I’ll learn new ways to combine the flavors in my garden, and try out some of the new things growing.
I am self-reliant. If there were interruptions to our city from a disaster, I can thrive nearly indefinitely. I was astounded that people around me were getting frustrated 2-3 days after the hurricane because they expected there to be food on the store shelfs the next day. When I eat from my yard it deepens my security in my own self-sufficiency.
My 1/3-acre urban homestead near Fort Lauderdale demonstrates how much we can do with so little space. We can invite Mother Earth back into our urban spaces, and she will come. Bringing our food system to the local level has so many benefits both to the planet and to our communities. Harmony with our Mother Earth is such a blissful way to live and we’ve lost that. When we get it back, our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health soars. When we get our connection back AND join together with others that have reconnected then anything is possible. 🙂