back in uber-granola land

Hey there folks,

Yes, I am indeed back in uber-granola land. Depending on people's standards for "granola"-ness, for some, I've been living there for a long time, and for others, I've only ever walked around in the outskirts.

So, 2 things are happening right now:

1) I'm taking the ecological theologies summer course at Vandy right now. It's pretty exciting stuff - if I'd given myself more than a day or so between finals and Peru, Peru and DC, DC and this course, and/or the beginning of this course and starting a new internship, I think I'd feel much more on top of things, but things are as they are, and I'm loving most minutes of my days in spite of it.
Sitting in class doesn't especially make me feel "granola" - we're talking about things on a fairly intellectual level, of course, and we're relating these things to our diverse faith communities and such - it's a fantastic place to be with this stuff, and much of the time we're floating around outside of the box, but hopefully we're coming back to that box on a regular basis, or else we're just going to lose ties to our communities, feel isolated, un-grounded, etc., and then where will we be?
So, the thing about it that's making me feel very "granola" is this local foods potluck project that my group is doing. Diana and I have been investigating menu items, recipes, ingredients, etc. We went to the farmer's market at the Turnip Truck in East Nashville, which is super-cute and very cool - our CSA (community-supported agriculture) farm (Delvin Farms) - ok, Hank, Jr. to be specific - just started the farmer's market there this summer. They've got cheese folks, meat folks, quite a few veggie folks, tea folks, musician folks (last week: bluegrassy stuff, this week: harp - what more can you ask for?), clothing folks, etc. So, we went around, asked questions, wrote down prices, had revelations, etc. - it was good stuff, but the brain energy that went out from me, along with my already-hungry stomach made me about ready to pass out afterward. One of the main questions that we've been exploring and come up against some walls with is the question of bread - there are so many ingredients that go into it that aren't typically local - what's the best solution? Hank, Jr. says he doesn't really know how you can do it - he has a customer that only eats local - so local that he just doesn't do bread at all. Inside the Turnip Truck, we find similar answers. Alrighty - we suppose we're just a little SOL on this one - we'll either go without bread or we'll just tell folks that's where I higher food miles came from. I felt a little granola-y as we made the rounds out in the farmer's market, and more so as we waded through things inside the Turnip Truck store - all of their alternative this's and that's are often fascinating and exciting, but also sometimes hilarious. Ok, so that's some of the granola-ness - it'll tie into the next part in a minute.
2) Second and deeper "granola"-ness: I'm starting this internship with Nashville Urban Harvest, an organization that has a one-acre farm in West Nashville, helps coordinate farmer's markets at Boys & Girls Clubs, and is generally concerned with food security in Nashville. So, the first couple days, I worked on the farm - pretty fun, a taste of the intense heat and dirt that will make up my summer, and a taste of the incredible learning curve and other-ness of the realm I'm entering compared to the realms I've roamed in previous summers. Awesome. In the course of this, I've been gradually getting a feel for the depth of the "granola"-ness, but today, I've been realizing both the connections to our Sojo commune realm, but also how much further this is going than the Sojo realm. So, for example - I saw pee sitting in a toilet for the first time in a long time today - I heart the Sojo house and letting yellow mellow. I also learned a lot about pest management this morning from an extension agent that came out to the farm - that was pretty cool and educational - more about the learning curve bringing further into the realm of agriculture than "granola"-ness - but a part of the process nonetheless. Then, I go by Sarah's sister's Ally's house/organic apparel business, where the NUH folks often go by to use the restroom, hang out, check e-mail, etc. - people are in and out all the time - a very cool place - they do organic dyes, have got a garden going there, there was sun tea out on a tree stump doing its thing, etc. Then, as I'm about to leave, I mention to Sarah our potluck thing, the bread situation, etc. - she says, what about cornbread? James Gardner sells cornmeal, and he's at the East Nashville farmer's market on Wednesdays. I say, ooh - that'd be great. I consult with Diana - we re-think things, look up some recipes, and feel like we're headed in a good direction. Then, I go to a brief meeting of the core NUH folks before a going-away party of some close friends of the NUH folks - good stuff, we get some immediate planning/coordination tied down. Then, the party - folks are talking about home-brewing, buying milk cows off of craigslist, garden/farm stuff, etc., converting the Standard Motor Parts building into lofts/studios/kitchen/every other business or hobby of the interested parties, the hard-core-ness of intentional communities that also farm, etc. - oh my. I ask Steph about a recipe for milk bread that Sarah had mentioned before and explain the local potluck thing to her - and she says we could do sourdough from yeast made right in your own house - I totally didn't realize you could actually make your own yeast at home! Steph and Brett had some sourdough starter going, so they passed some along to me in a jar, so we can make it for class. So, we have a perhaps even better solution for the local bread quandary. I think both the "spoonbread" recipe with cornmeal and the whole wheat sourdough bread recipe that I found will work well for us - the only hanging point on the sourdough is oil. Anyway - more info than necessary - but we've been gradually finding ourselves digging around for more simple, more homemade, more local, more personal relationships with farmers, etc. - a level I wouldn't normally have gotten to if I hadn't been doing this as a class assignment, and was indeed ready to not make the effort to get to even though it is an assignment.
So - there's this whole agricultural depth thing that I'm getting into. Also a new step in conscious shopping/consuming, as well as cooking. And then there's the whole new realm of coolness that I've entered (I'm sure that I'm only in, but not of it - yet, anyway) in terms of the hipster, granola culture.
I feel like I've entered a zone that's an eternal Green Festival, Sojo house (except that you don't enter corporate land each day), The Simple Way, and my dad's garden - all at the same time. The folks I'm becoming friends and acquaintances with through this experience are similar to Hendrix folk and Sojo folk - but I have to admit that I've always only ever had one or two of the uber-eco/earthy folks in my close friend group - now, it's most everyone that I'm around each day. We'll see where things go with this.


And I still hope to get some stuff up here about Peru. It's only been a couple weeks since I got back, right? That shouldn't mean that the stuff I write here will be old news, right? It'll be totally fresh, dynamic reflection and processing. We will all get good things out of it. I will also get some things up here about the DC week. There's so much to be processing right now, and it's hard for my brain and fingers to be actively catching up.

All the peace and love in my tired little body,
Jess