The Vegetarian Guy

The world is huge and we are a small part of it, comparable to small cogs on an immense wheel.  Cooking is a natural part of this mechanism.  Beginning with foraging, every aspect of collecting, preparing and serving food connects us to the cycles of regeneration in this world.  Whether we admit to it or not, our lives are defined by this relationship.

For me, the more I look into the food connection, the greater my sense of fulfillment and nourishment.  Often, many of us search for answers to universal questions in obscure places to discover the secrets of life.  One of the biggest secrets is something we deal with many times a day and is virtually right in front of us:  Our relationship with food is the source of good health and spiritual well being!

As the seasons change, the Hillcrest market transforms to accommodate the wares of the moment and the people who provide them.  The throngs who frequent the bazaar style market are participants in this grand and timeless exercise of humanity. 

This visit did not disappoint.  Jenny, visiting from British Columbia, joined me exploring booths I tend to neglect, but nevertheless find interesting.  The Eye of Buddha booth had singing bowls complimented by colorful clothing and sweet scented incenses from Tibet and Nepal.  They sponsor monthly singing bowl concerts, (www.deepsoundmeditation.com).  We also ran our fingers through French cotton tablecloths and sampled raw Peruvian truffles from Guanni chocolates.  

Jenny bought an Indian stainless steel “tiffin,” which is like a stacking lunchbox or indelible carryout container. Jenny found some wonderful fresh mango juice and I purchased some sugar snap pea plants for the garden.  Of course, we stopped by my usual haunts, such as Koral’s Tropical Fruit Farms where Barry had just returned from a raw foods immersion trip in the Caribbean.  He had 4 kinds of avocados, chermoya, guava, Meyer lemons, Persian limes, kumquats, Paige tangerines and blood oranges. 

Down the aisle, La Milpa Organica was clearly in between harvests, yet provided a variety of beets that turned out tempting and sweet.  Sage Mountain Farms was also somewhat low in stock, but I managed to find some beautiful radicchio, Swiss chard, romaine lettuce and baby bok choy.  We finished this week’s journey buying fresh organic pomegranate juice and Satsuma tangerines.