After the dreaminess wears off and reality sets in- I realize that I am a city girl who is constantly experiencing caffeine withdrawal and am always wishing that a venti mocha loaded will magically appear next to my laptop! I am hoping that my creative visualization skills will be strong enough to make that happen for Pecos some day. For now...I hope that my constant nag and severe addiction to caffeine will be an inspirational driving force.
When I am given the choice of a "roof and shower" or "espresso machine and lattes" - I somehow think life wouldn't be so great without the former, so I'm going to focus my future energy on dream building the latter ....baby steps..baby steps.
With the vision of a coffee shop that makes a great cafe con leche' also comes the dream of being able to find beautiful foods and product-preferably organic.
So in order to appease my constant need for caffeine I have ordered in a bulk an organic shipment of Gen Mai Cha and Gunpowder green tea along with other herbal teas in order to start my cleansing process. Since these product are not available in West Texas, I decided to make them available to all who are striving to achieve maximum wellness. I love teas and hope that having access to them will assist with the constant pull towards a cup of Java. Gunpowder tea has always helped me with the vice, but not having access to it has caused me to fall off the wagon. (well at least that's my excuse for now)
After solving my "tea" shortage, I decided to start focusing on my food issues..I know...I know...i have lots of issues, I'm quite aware of that, but for now lets focus on my "food" ones. :-)
But seriously...FOOD is a topic I do not take lightly. It is said that your "body is your temple", if that's true, as of current, mine should be condemned for slum and blight. In my search for crucial ingredients for a healthy lifestyle I find myself giving up and consequently have become a consumer of way too many burritos. My hips and heart are begging me to stop!
With every aching ascent of my steep stairs my knees are screaming at me to take the excess weight off, which means that I need to get back in groove with my heart song. A perfect day for me is cooking, painting, writing, and spending time with my family. Currently cooking and painting are out, but I need to get that back in focus, I am steadfast about getting back into a healthy groove.
Like I said earlier, I take food very seriuosly. One can always tell about the quality of our family life simply by looking at us. When we eat badly, we look and feel badly. It is as simple as that. Food is Life-Life is Food.
Lucky for us that my favorite hobby in life is cooking- the kind of cooking that means something is ALWAYS on the stove. When I travel internationally I usually order my food and ask if I can help to prepare it. It has been fascinating to learn all the different customs in preparation. I have a tendency to lean towards Asian food...anything with ginger and lemongrass really rocks my world. I am fortunate to be able to find ginger and coconuts here and even with my two burner coil cook top, I have managed to knock out decent coconut chicken ginger curry.
Because of my absolute respect for food, I consider it a privilege to live in a country with an abundance of resources. With these resources comes the responsibility to understand food and the complexity of what it takes to get a meal to the table. I have a tremendous respect for farmers and feel that they are the backbone of our nation and are not compensated nearly enough for their selfless profession. Having said that, I understand the financial pressures they are faced with in order to survive and how difficult it is to produce an Organic product without any GMO's (genetically Modified Organisms). But...I feel that if we as consumer make a stance and buy ONLY organic which is better for our families and our environment, that the cost of doing organic business will help to make resources for our farmers easier to create a pesticide free product. With this principle in mind I always buy organic when possible.To buy organic produce I have to drive 78 miles each way to my nearest health food store. (YIKES) I have been torn between shopping locally and cutting down on my carbon imprint or buying organic and burning more fossil fuels. Shopping locally has won; however, the yearning to buy organic is at the forefront of my mind at each meal. After months of research, I was able to bring organic produce to us, but only in bulk. With that in mind, I decided to host a small farmers market to offer organic produce, grapeseed oils, cheese, range free meats, baguettes, etc and hope to do our part in giving our community another reason to shop locally and reduce the carbon imprint that has become a part of our daily reality.
I am excited about our small market. We will have award winning cheeses available from http://www.bellechevre.com/ - a company that is purposefully small, and each chevre is hand made by its passionate cheese makers. The result is an artisan cheese with a mild and distinct taste and texture that reflects the care with which it was made. Belle Chèvre cheeses have received numerous national awards from the American Cheese Society and the American Dairy Goat Association, and has been featured in many top culinary books and magazines. We are also excited at working directy with Skyler from YT Beef to bring you range free meats that are not only healthier but tastier.
YT Beef cattle have access to all of the fresh air, nutritious grasses, clean water, and the finest mineral supplements that they care to eat. When YT ranchers work their livestock, they take care not to cause undue stress to them. It is in their best interest to have contented cattle, because if they are stressed, they don’t gain weight.
Along with great cheese, meats, oils and organic produce (keeping fingers crossed that our produce get in timely) we will have organic teas, essential oils and various sundries. My goal is to give our community a reason to shop locally. I understand why everyone drives out of town. I do it too (no judgement on my part) and feel that the day that I can sell our vehicle and survive with our bicycles is the day that we have succeeded. Until then I'll keep staring at our gorgeous sky and keep dreaming of the day when I get to order a mocha with a plate of chevre smothered in a gorgeous rasberry vinagrette and walnut dressing under it's vast greatness.
As Ghandi so simply stated "Be the change that you want to see in the world."
Our first farmers market starts March 6th 10am to 4 pm...Spread the word and help to be the change that you want to see.
Along with great cheese, meats, oils and organic produce (keeping fingers crossed that our produce get in timely) we will have organic teas, essential oils and various sundries. My goal is to give our community a reason to shop locally. I understand why everyone drives out of town. I do it too (no judgement on my part) and feel that the day that I can sell our vehicle and survive with our bicycles is the day that we have succeeded. Until then I'll keep staring at our gorgeous sky and keep dreaming of the day when I get to order a mocha with a plate of chevre smothered in a gorgeous rasberry vinagrette and walnut dressing under it's vast greatness.
As Ghandi so simply stated "Be the change that you want to see in the world."
Our first farmers market starts March 6th 10am to 4 pm...Spread the word and help to be the change that you want to see.
