AfricanKelli

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This weekend a couple of Matt’s friends from home were in town. It’s golf week in Phoenix — which is typically the craziest and best week of the year for fans. The PGA event last week was in Tucson and this week is in Scottsdale. Lots of  of players and caddies — like Woody and Mick — are hanging around between events.

It was such a treat to meet two of Matt’s friends. He’s been immersed in my social scene since he arrived more than a year ago. He and Salty are like “brothers from another mother,” and they spend more time together than I spend with either of them. He’s also one of the family at Sunday dinner and has been overwhelmed by the number of friends here who truly missed him during his latest 5 month adventure into never-neverland. (Australia/Africa/NOT TEMPE)

So, we had dinner a couple times this weekend with his “mates” and oh, how I loved it. Not only did they want to talk golf, which I have a slightly jaded love and respect for, but also Africa, politics and dumb things Matt did in high school. As you can imagine, it was a delight.

In turn, they enjoyed a typical meal from my family cookbook: Mexican meatloaf, roasted sweet potatoes, french bread with rosemary garlic butter and brownies. Of course, brownies.

Without a doubt, I miss Africa.

~K

A friend from Botswana recently visited and brought me a little package of gourd seeds to plant in my garden. Wasn’t that thoughtful of him? I planted these with the giant pumpkins from two weeks ago and the garden is going bananas. The heat + lots of water + a roommate who truly loves being among his green “babies” = a garden that is looking pretty darn good for August in Phoenix.

If I haven’t reminded you in the last 20 minutes, it is disgustingly hot and miserable here right now. There is your reminder. I’ll be back tomorrow.

In the meantime, if you wouldn’t mind — I have a cause for you to support. My dear friend Shelley and her husband Alessandro — two of the kindest people on earth — are trying to raise funds for those left homeless after the earthquake in Italy earlier this year.

Shelley writes: The city of Lucoli, the largest municipality in Abruzzo for territory, was the epicenter of the April 6 quake. Now all the inhabitants (most of whom are elderly) are living in campgrounds located up to 5,000 feet in altitude. With your help it will be possible for them to have a field hospital and the assistance they need, and to save the beautiful village of Lucoli and its monuments dating from the Middle Ages.

To learn more about the earthquake in Lucoli and to make a donation, please visit

www.reliefforthequake.com

By donating even just 1 dollar you will make it possible!

Thank you friends,

K

The Japanese have a tradition called teikei — which means partnership, or cooperation. They have teikei farms where the consumer and the farmer meet; these are farmer’s markets of sort, but it is important for Japaense teikei that the food have a “face.”

The only time I’ve had such an opportunity was in Africa. The markets are a riot of color, textures and scents. In Mozambique, pyramids of rust orange tomatoes teeter next the bundles of tiny citrus and stacks of suspicious greens. Rice dries on ivory sacks, their World Food Programme emblems fading in the tropical sun. In Cameroon, dried fish hang from twine next to bunches of bananas — golden and sweet unlike anything Chiquita could bring to the US. In Malawi, mangoes and papaya compete for the coral crown next to piles of freshly picked tea leaves greener than any emerald.

This week we’ll break ground on 18 vegetable plots in the community garden. Some 15 will go to refugee families nearby who want a chance to work the land. The other three will be distributed to congregants and interested community members. I’m certain I’ll have a spot in there for some spring eggplant and tomatoes. The heat is quickly approaching, so we must get these seeds in the ground sooner than later. The chickens will fill the coop come October. By December, I am hoping the fruit trees will be blooming, the compost bin full, the eggs freshly delivered to the farmer’s market and the vegetables arriving in bounty.

“In a world of growing population and shrinking fertile land, CSAs, even those with relatively unskilled farmers, have proven their capacity to produce enough food for 20 families or more on each acre. As CSA farms mature, their production becomes more intensive, whether on one farm or on several associated farms. Where industrialized agriculture seems to have passed its peak of productivity, and more chemicals no longer means greater output, biological farms with community support offer long-term prospects of unlimited promise.”

While the community garden is far from a CSA, it is a step toward community agriculture. For those interested in developing a similar project, I’ve really enjoyed reading, “Sharing the Harvest.” From this book, I’ve found a “farmer’s pledge” I am going to ask all the participants to sign before taking over their plots. It’s lengthy, but in sum — we will treat every person and every bit of soil with respect, including feeding the hungry first and never using chemicals on the land.

“The goal ever receds from us. Salvation lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.” — Mahatma Gandhi

Fingers crossed,

K

P.S. I had coffee yesterday with my friend Dave, who commented that I NEVER mention him on here and that I’m spending too much time in the garden.

With good reason. The plants don’t complain.

My father jokes that if there is an African in the room, I can find and befriend him in no time flat. It seems whereever I go, I can find a friendly African face. This weekend, for example, I met Abdullah at the Scottsdale Farmer’s Market. If you are guessing that he was the only African in sight — you’d be right. The market is a hubub of pricey (while lovely) organic eats, crafts, cupcakes and Sweet Republic ice cream.

Abdullah imports these baskets from his friends in Ghana and sells them for $30. I’m thinking they’d make pretty stellar Easter baskets. I’ve got to get back there to buy a few before the holiday arrives. It would be sweet to fill one of these with baked goods for my grandparents or books for a sick friend. I’m on a basket kick of late. I’d love a couple of these to use for shopping at the market too!

Or, you know, to carry Toto on my bike.

~K

Gray is one of Mini’s sons and one of my very favorite people on earth. I can’t tell you how much I adore her kids. This one in particular always seems to make me laugh. Today, he says that if you have an extra second, you should check out Mozi Esme’s site. She published one of my essays on Mozambique.

~kelli