RIP...MJ

Michael Jackson's passing has created a tremendously unexpected emotional reaction in me. I've loved him since he was a wee lad. And then in my teens....songs like Billy Jean, Thriller and Beat it.....

And this was how I rolled......Rest In Heavenly Peace, MJ.

Review in Pictures/Video....Raw Union

DAY 1

The Raw Union Festival was a beautiful experience on every level. Saturday was dedicated to speakers, vendors and blissful pre-marital preparations. (I got henna tattoos!)

Connecting and reuniting with friends (old and new) in the lush, serene atmosphere at Angel's Organic Farm was surreal.

DAY 2

Sunday was a lovely laid back day of bonding, sharing, and anticipation of the sacred reason for which we had all come together.

In the evening, Summer Solstice became one with a fairy tale wedding come to life!

I'm at Raw Union Fest in Oregon!

I arrived in Medford, Oregon this afternoon for The Raw Union Fest. I'll be doing a review of all of the wedding food for the July issue of RawFu Magazine, so this is a really fun trip for me. Traveling made me think of a great blog post that I wanted to share with you from my friend Julie, at Julie's Raw Ambition. If your summer includes any travel plans and your looking for information on traveling healthy and staying on track with your raw food diet, be sure to go check her post out HERE.

This Sunday is not only Father's Day and Summer Solstice, but it is also the main reason I am in Oregon.....to celebrate the marriage of Angela Stokes and Matt Monarch. Raw Food Guru and Essene minister, David Wolfe, will be officiating the ceremony. I'll be sure to gather many photos and video footage from the weekend's festivities.

My travel was pretty wacky today. I made a video for my guinea pigs over in Raw Food Rehab, and I thought you might get a kick out of the craziness of the day. You can watch it HERE. I'm ready to get horizontal and I have no doubt that I'll be out like a light in no time. Be sure to stay tuned to the blog for the behind the scenes/inside scoop at Raw Union Fest!

Get Your Salsa On!

More on Tulsa's Local Foods Week Festivities! If you're a local, you won't want to miss Friday evening's SalsaFest! Jason Ashley Wright of The Tulsa World interviewed me for an article that appeared in this morning's paper that included two of my favorite salsa recipes. You can read the full feature article here.

photo courtsey of The Healthy Cooking Coach

CHERRY SALSA
Although this keeps for several days in your frig.....it won't last that long : - )

1 1/2 cups fresh cherry or grape tomatoes, diced
1 1/2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and diced
1/3 cup sweet onion, minced
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, minced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Blend all ingredients, then cover and refrigerate. Allow the flavors to acquaint themselves for about 1 hour before serving.

PENNI'S PATIO SALSA
Most of these ingredients can easily be grown in pots on your patio!

24 golden, cherry or pear patio tomatoes
2 small heirloom tomatoes
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
3 limes, juiced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
3 spring onions, minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper

Blend all ingredients, then cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour before serving.

SalsaFest will be held in the heart of Tulsa's fashionable & historic downtown:

Festivities include salsa music, salsa dancing lessons, salsa tasting and a salsa-making contest figure into this outdoor festival from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Chapman Centennial Green, Sixth and Main streets.

The festival, which focuses on bringing families downtown and increasing awareness of local foods, also features children’s activities, local art booths and a chili pepper-eating contest to see who can handle the heat.

Salsa contestants are asked to use at least one local ingredient in their salsa. Tulsa World restaurant reviewer Scott Cherry will judge the salsa.

Those attending have the option to buy a tasting kit, which includes one bag of chips, a tasting plate and a ballot. After tasting the salsas, tasters will submit a ballot. When all ballots are submitted, then counted, the Tasters Choice salsa trophy and The Celebrities Choice Award will be given.

All proceeds from the event benefit Sustainable Tulsa, a grassroots, nonprofit organization dedicated to responsible economic growth, environmental stewardship and quality of life for all.

SALSAFEST
What: Festival featuring salsa-making contest, salsa dance lessons and other activities.

When: 4-9 p.m. Friday

Where: Chapman Centennial Green, Sixth and Main streets

Admission is free, and bags of chips for tasting salsa are $5. Beer and non-alchoholic beverages will be sold, and water is free.

Good Day Tulsa - Recipes

This morning Rita Scott of Sustainable Green Country and I were on our local ABC affiliate KTUL TV's Good Day Tulsa promoting Local Foods Week. I'm still hoping to find a clip of our segment but until I do, here is the recipe of what I made:

Local Zucchini Pesto Pasta
One of the great things about this recipe is that it is not only fresh and fabulous for summer dining, but it is also gluten and dairy free.

2 - 3 zucchini or yellow squash
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/3 cup native pecans
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 lime, juiced
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp Celtic Sea Salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
handful cherry tomatoes, chopped
drizzling of White Truffle Oil (Optional)

Put all ingredients into a food processor and blend until well combined. Put the pest into a cover bowl and refrigerate while you make the pasta.

Process your squash through a spiral slicer or use a julienne peeler to create "noodles." Once you have your noodles ready, toss them in the pesto and garnish with chopped tomatoes and a drizzle of white truffle oil.

Since there is a marvelous abundance of fresh squash showing up at our local markets right now, here is another recipe that my husband, Gordon, wanted to share with you!

Sweet & Sour Zucchini

4 small zucchini, thinly sliced in rounds

1/2 cup local honey

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup bell pepper, chopped (color of your choice)

1/4 cup celery, diced

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Combine squash, honey, vinegar, oil, bell pepper, celery, onion, salt & pepper in large glass bowl. Cover and refrigerate over night. Drain and serve chilled or at room temperature.

Do You Buy Local?

Local Foods Week June 14 - 21st

Emily Oakley of Three Springs Farms

Real Food Tulsa, Sustainable Green Country and a host of other groups are encouraging their fellow Oklahomans to join them in celebrating "Local Foods Week” during the week of June 14-21, 2009, pronouncing that local food is a valuable economic asset for the state of Oklahoma. Gov. Brad Henry has made the event official by means of a proclamation, as well as Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor.

Created by Sustainable Green Country’s Buy Fresh Buy Local initiative, Local Foods Week festivities will highlight local family farms and farmers’ markets hosting a variety of events, including community garden tours, a raw & local foods potluck w/ lecture, a farm table dinner, cooking demonstrations, a scavenger hunt for children, a salsa making contest, canning classes, on-the-farm cheese making class with tour, and more. In addition, there will be a special screening of the film, FRESH. FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system.

Farmers’ Markets abound in Green Country-- Tulsa boasts the Pearl District, Cherry Street, Brookside, North Tulsa and Downtown, plus markets in Owasso, Bartlesville, Jenks, Broken Arrow, Muskogee and others listed in the 2009 Farmers' Market Guide to Green Country (available at www.BuyFreshBuyLocalOK.com).

Buying local strengthens the local food and farm economy, improves health and revitalizes rural and urban communities. Tulsa metro-area residents spent $2.2 billion on food in 2004. If just five percent of those dollars were redirected to buying local food, this would mean an additional $110 million dollars stays in the Oklahoma economy.

In 2007, Sustainable Green Country, the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture, the Tulsa County Cooperative extension, local nonprofit agencies, tribes, farmers, farmers' market managers and several volunteers came together to form a Buy Fresh Buy Local chapter. Their goals include promoting the vast array of foods grown in Oklahoma and helping ensure the economic viability of our Oklahoma farmers.

To make it easier for citizens in northeast Oklahoma to find local foods, Buy Fresh Buy Local - Green Country has produced two “local food guides", two farmers’ market guide brochures and other various marketing materials, as well as assisted with development of six new farmers' markets in Green Country.

The farms, farmers’ markets and other venues featuring special events during Local Foods Week include: (SEE ATTACHED SCHEDULE AND EVENT DESCRIPTIONS)

All Oklahomans are encouraged to celebrate Local Foods Week in some simple way -- by shopping a farmers’ market and making a special point to include some locally grown foods in the family’s meals that week. Please come join Real Food Tulsa in our Kick Off Celebration - Sunday, June 14th. Please go here for all the details and to reserve your seat!