Category Archives: Slow Food Prescott

The Road to Diamond, Day 353: Culinary

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Slow Food Prescott, Social, Striving

November 15, 2025- Bean gorditas, topped with Korean radish and cilantro, may not sound like much, in terms of preparation. Here, though, is what we had to do to keep up with a surprisingly heavy demand, over 1 1/2 hours: First, the dough had to be rolled into balls, then flattened into a thin cake, using my index and middle fingers. Then, the cakes were delivered, three or four at a time, to the grill cook. Second, I sliced radish pieces, thinly, using a slivering knife and cut the thin slices in small slivers, bringing to the sous chef as quickly as possible. The cilantro would have been sliced into slivers, as well, but we ran out, before time was up.

I am fair to middling, in terms of actual fine culinary skill. I can prepare well-liked lasagna or meatloaf, a fresh Caesar or fusion salad,tender steaks and so/so chili. My Thanksgiving dinners have gone over well, except for one near disaster, in 1998 ( a year that was full of disasters). This time, though, my hand was steady on the slivering knife’s top and I kept up with the demand. We ended with a bit left over, which went to the Farmers Market staff.

All in all, helping with food preparation, especially under the eye of an accomplished chef, is a fine way to gauge one’s mental and physical acuity. I kept up, and was able to monitor and adjust my work, according to chef’s critiquing. We have worked well together over twelve years, so today came as no surprise.

The Road to Diamond, Day 264: A Primavera Day in Mid-Summer

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Hiking and Nature, Personal Values, service, Slow Food Prescott, Social, Spiritual, Striving

August 19, 2025- There is no shortage of schools in Prescott that are in salubrious settings. One of these is Primavera School, located on the southwest side of town. It is, being in a forest community, geared towards a holistic education in an ecologically-oriented setting. The basics are well-taught, in small groups, and with room made for serendipitous moments. If a “book” lesson is underway, and one of the kindergartners, or third graders, happens to focus on a hummingbird feeding nearby, the class takes time to observe the animal and later discuss the scene-What was in the liquid that the hummingbird was drinking? Are there times of day that the birds prefer to feed? What other foods do hummingbirds take? There is realization that a book lesson is not sacrificed by a 30-minute observational activity.

“Primavera”, of course, is Spanish for “Spring”. Here were a group of us, at this school, in mid-Summer, helping to focus a new year for school gardens. The school’s name hints at an orientation towards every day being a new beginning, in some sense. With the daily awakening and enkindling of knowledge, children-any of us, actually- feel this new beginning. This afternoon, we did a poetic exercise, called “I Am From”, which looks at some of the many factors, past and present, which shape who each of us is.
Like anyone else, I could fill in the blanks in a number of ways, and shared one set of answers in the session. I will share a similar, and equally genuine, rendition of this poem below:

I am from

I am from corn on the cob

From 6 a.m. and cool, crisp air

I am from the cabin, cozy, warm, sweet-scented

I am from oak and bear,

tall and stout, strong and gentle

I am from family reunions and walks in the woods

from the beach and caves

From Kauai and wind-swept, craggy coastal bluffs

I am from Granite Mountain and holding my grandchild

and from “The Earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens”.

This poem is taken and slightly adapted from the website: http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html

It is used at Primavera, in teaching middle school students. Its efficacy with adults is equally apparent.

The Road to Diamond, Day 226: Through A Synchronous Day

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Posted by on in animal and plant life, collaborating, Community, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, service, Slow Food Prescott, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 12, 2025- The cats began and ended my day, letting me know that they were not happy with the heat, even as it is mitigated by their comfy home’s AC. Animals can feel what lies beyond their enclosures. We all will get through the current heat wave, and will enjoy the rains, when they return in the middle of next week.

Two picnics, not far from one another, were planned to be simultaneous. They appealed to two different interest groups-and me. The Red Cross gathering was on the lawn of County Courthouse. The event was graced by the presence of a former President and First Lady of the Navajo Nation, and their two sons. This was auspicious, as RC has been strengthening its partnership with Dineh, supporting the Nation in its handling of a recent wildfire. Dineh handled the sheltering themselves, and we provided logistical support.

After twenty minutes with the Red Cross group, I headed over to a Slow Food gathering, in Granite Creek Park. This event was meant to highlight organic and heirloom foods. I brought spigarello, marinated in lemon lavender juice. Spigarello is an Italian green leafy vegetable, related to the broccoli plant. Its leaves are mild-tasting, lending themselves to being used in place of collards, or mixing nicely with tangy juices.

The Slow Food gathering was also a chance to offer healthful foods to some of the unhoused people, who have learned that many groups who hold events at Granite Creek are concerned for their welfare, and thus will include them in the gatherings. So it was today.

There was scant daylight between the Slow Food event and my regular shift at Farmers Market, so I got to work off the meal, and managed to get most of the tents, furniture and weights put away, before a quick trip to HB and a change of clothes. Our Baha’i Feast took place at 2 p.m., and I was the last one to arrive. No matter, everyone knows of my work at Farmers Market, and the time frame it entails. The Feast of Kalimat (Words) was a full house, and a much-needed break from the activities of earlier in the day. Our fellowship afterwards ran the gamut from a friend’s visit to the Mid-Atlantic region, with some grandchildren, to the inner atmosphere of a nuclear submarine. The foundation of all this, though, is love.

It was that love, flowing towards me and back outwards, that got me through this frenetic day, and will see me through many more.

The Road to Diamond, Day 115: Seed Mania

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Personal Values, service, Slow Food Prescott, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 23, 2025- Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve liked edible seeds-when they have been shelled and especially when they are part of say, a muffin or on a bagel. Seeds in fruit are not so enjoyable, but I see their value, in perpetuating life. So, I have learned to set them aside and let them dry-from apples, pumpkins, squash, even tomatoes and peppers, when there is space on the counter. I have planted them, in season. Some years, they produced lots of tomatoes and peppers. Other years, they have made gophers and javelinas very happy.

This afternoon, Prescott Farmers Market and Slow Food co-sponsored Seed Mania, with several kiosks promoting local farmers and their wares. There were several presentations by still other farmers, reportedly marked by spirited discussion among them, regarding each other’s methodologies. There was also plenty for the kids to do, with school garden displays-which they helped to create and fun educational activities that were seed-related.

My spot was mostly manning the Slow Food table, and encouraging new arrivals in the area to sign up for mentoring, by one or another of the local farmers or garden educators. Fifteen such newcomers signed on, many from areas where the growing season and topography are much different from those of this area. It was a revelation that a local garden center was promoting blueberry cultivation. It was NOT a revelation that the bushes produced small, sour berries-if they produced any at all. Apple trees, I have found, don’t produce much in the way of fruit around here, either.

Plants are fairly fussy, and want certain soil, water, compost nutrients and only certain exposure to sunlight, as well as a degree of temperature control. I guess that makes them like other living things, even a bit like us. We each thrive in different environments.

The Road to Diamond, Day 87: Home Stretch

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Family, Hiking and Nature, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Slow Food Prescott, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

February 23, 2025- “Are you having fun yet?”, asked the random man standing at a corner, as if on guard. “All night long!”, I replied, “Have a nice night”, and kept walking, as someone striking up a conversation in the dark usually wants one of two things-neither of which is good. “Good answer”, he called from behind me. Hearing no footfalls afterward, I continued on to Home Base I, at an unhurried pace.

Days and nights, in general, around here offer a consistency. One accomplishes as much as one wants, with as much, or as little, help from others as is welcomed. That is the measure of a proper Home Base. It is a village that raises children. It is a safe place for those whose only wish is to grow old in peace. It is a forum for Right and Left alike. It is the recipient of my attention, for much of the next six months, as we anticipate a particularly challenging fire season, followed by a monsoon period, the strength of which has yet to be determined.

I will have journeys during this time: Southern California (March 10-13); Nevada (March 25-30), part of which will most likely be spent with Filipino friends who plan on visiting; eastward (May 5-23), to visit with family and friends, in the Midwest, Northeast and South. The rest of the time will be spent with my teammates in Red Cross, Farmers Market, Slow Food-Prescott and my faith community. I will get in more hikes and, given the cutbacks in National Forest personnel, be more given to taking drives to monitor abandoned campsites- shovel and jerry can on hand, to put out any lingering smolders. I will be at Coffee Klatsch most Monday mornings and Soup Kitchen most Monday evenings.

Our national government is, by default, summoning more of us to focus on the well-being of our local communities, and it may be quite surprised at just how many people care deeply-and how much they care. The last time I was this focused on Home Base was in 2020, during the midst of COVID, and I had a lot of company, between here in Prescott and in Alexandria, Louisiana, (the latter due to hurricanes that didn’t care there was a pandemic afoot.)

September will bring the seal to this Home Stretch: Farm-to-Table Dinner is returning on September 6. I will be there as a volunteer, before (world conditions permitting) heading to Europe, and possibly East Africa, for the rest of September and most of October. In the meantime, my focus is as described above.

Eastbound and Back, Day 34: Taking Stock

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Family, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Slow Food Prescott, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

June 1, 2024, Grapevine- The new apartment, Home Base II, is a tad smaller, kitchen and living room-wise, than its predecessor, but my little family is happier-which is all that counts. I am as comfortable here as I was on the other side of Grapevine Mills- a testament to the serenity that Aram and Yunhee have with one another. True to form, we dined in nicely, for all three meals and I joined them on a shopping journey, this evening. Sushi was for dinner and a Korean comedy followed, starring the actor Don Lee (Lee Dong-seok), a bilingual actor who is well-known in both South Korea and Los Angeles, for playing tough guys with hearts of gold. This one had Don as a would-be arm wrestling champion, who has to face down small time mobsters-a piece of cake, this being a comedy.

June has ever been a month of transition for me: It was the month when I got married, went on pilgrimage to the Baha’i Holy Places in Israel, both 42 years ago. It was in June, that my father passed, 38 years ago. I graduated high school this month, 56 years ago, and joined the U.S. Army, a year later. So, June has become my time for taking stock and making whatever adjustments that may need to be made, in life and lifestyle.

In a few days, I will be back in Prescott, Home Base I. There are already appointments and commitments set for several days this month, most intensely the management of a youth camp, in Bellemont, for eight days, starting next Friday. A visit to our Congressman’s office awaits, followed by a visit to my chiropractor- though not because of what might happen that morning. Our Red Cross meeting comes a day later, and I will serve as Blood Ambassador, on June 20, then help with a Slow Food event on June 22.

In the background, though, is a family situation that may trump all of the above. We just take the matter one day at a time. It is the Hands of the Almighty now. Life in the wider world will always go on, regardless of what we face as individuals, or as families.

Perhaps the biggest change, long-term, is in how I am called to serve humanity. I have spent much time on the road, these past thirteen years, feeling that my time was best spent in one place or another. There remain, this year, a road trip to British Columbia, via the Pacific Northwest, and visits with friends, one in particular, and service activities in the Philippines. East Africa had been on the itinerary, until security concerns (relative to a transit stop in west Asia) prompted the airline to scrub the flight.

Extensive solo travel, and solo life, may well be coming to an end, with the above journeys. That’s all I feel it prudent to say for now, but I feel a change in the wind. One day at a time, dear Lord, one day at a time.

No Time to Be Idle

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Slow Food Prescott, Social, Spiritual, Striving

December 2, 2023- It was disconcerting to get news of an earthquake, off the Philippine island of Mindanao, when I arrived back at HB, from a long day of service activities and visits with friends. There are one or two people for whom I care deeply, who are originally from Mindanao, the southernmost large island of the archipelago, and who now live in the Manila area. Hopefully, their family members, and everyone else, are safe.

I admit to a certain restlessness of spirit, mainly because as I look about me, there is so much that needs doing. At Farmers Market, this afternoon, two market administrators and the compost project worker, all friends of mine, were left to break down the apparati, at closing. I was able to free them of this, so they could do their primary tasks. I give thanks to the Creator, for continued strength-for as long as that strength lasts, and I can continue to be physically -as well as mentally,useful.

It was also a good day for visiting-one of my best friends, who has a market stall; the Slow Food-Prescott group, for part of a planning session, and sharing a box of Medjool dates that I had been given; and another friend, whose small restaurant, Rafter Eleven, has been one of the music venues I frequent on Friday or Saturday evenings.


Now I can wind down, and chalk the day up as successful.

“You Are Your Choices”

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Slow Food Prescott, Social, Spiritual, Striving

December 1, 2023- So said a line on the bottom of a rear license plate, offered by the driver of a truck in front of me, as I drove back from Planet Fitness, this afternoon. The situation at the club was a bit chaotic, with two older mother-daughter pairs, and a nervous lady of about the same age, all converging on the massage bed/lounges at about the same time-but without telling the front desk person what they wanted. He ended up having to go back and manually reset the devices. I had signed up for a massage lounge, and was waiting for the gentleman who was on it, to finish his time. The ladies looked like they had been waiting, so they got on first, then the whole manual reset thing was needed.

I chose to use a massage chair, if for no other reason than to save the poor kid’s sanity. We are the results of our choices. I have written on this subject before, and have at least gotten pretty good at living with my choices, by first making them more carefully, then by actually running them by those who might just be affected by them, rather than running over them. The last step is not gloating over them, lest someone else’s heart be hurt. It is best to include an acknowledgment that not everyone has a good experience with certain situations, or areas of life. That’s not patronizing, it’s honouring the one who has faced a different set of outcomes.

It’s a good place to note some choices I’ve made for December. This evening, I chose to attend a dinner that honoured those of us who volunteer for the Homeless Assistance Program, at a local church, rather than attend the annual Christmas Dinner at Post 6. Tomorrow, instead of hanging out downtown, during the Christmas Parade, I am choosing to help break down the Farmers Market, then go up to Chino Valley, for a Slow Food planning session. Tomorrow evening, I will choose to visit a friend I’ve not seen in a while, over watching the Christmas Lighting, for the eighth time. On ten different weekdays, between now and Christmas Break, I am choosing to fill substitute positions. You get the drift. There are days of service and days of self-care; days of honouring friends and days of making now traditional visits to places like Santa Fe and Tucson.

Choices fill our lives, from when one gets up in the morning, to how one fills a day, to how often a friend is contacted, and by what means. Hopefully, as I mentioned above, choices will be made that hurt no one, or are at least made in a way that if a person is hurt, it’s because of how the choice made is taken by that person. We can’t control other people’s experiences, but we can control ourselves.

Most choices are almost automatic, after a while, but they should always have an element of presence, in being made.

The Sandbox

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Posted by on in Assistance, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Service Activities, Slow Food Prescott, Social, Spiritual, Striving

November 18, 2023- So often, the most difficult person is who needs love the most.

When I was a child, my siblings and I had a fine sandbox, with plenty of quality, durable playthings. We shared it with everyone in the neighbourhood. No one was excluded. I knew what it felt like to be shoved to the sidelines, and left out. I was determined to not be that kind of person, in my own dealings with others.

Today,a small team of us went about a city that is 2 1/2 hours west of here, and installed smoke detectors in homes of those who requested them. Fifteen households were visited; fourteen of those who requested the implements were grateful. One household was not-for reasons that are best left unsaid. Chances are, the smoke detectors will end up save the life of our detractor. The most difficult person needs love the most.

This evening, I pulled myself together and went to the concert of a dear friend, at a favourite venue. Someone I know, and fairly trust, as an acquaintance, came in and asked to sit at my table. I was glad to see this person, who is fairly popular and influential in town. After a time, I started to feel discomfort, almost as if I didn’t belong in the situation. I focused on my friends’ music and danced about a bit. The most difficult person needs love the most-but in this case, I am not at all certain that my support and caring would be either welcome or accepted. By the end of the evening, and for the first time since I moved to Prescott, in fact, I feel like my status in the community is very much in jeopardy-and I will have to step back for a while. Red Cross, the Farmers Market (to some extent) and Slow Food are safe spaces-but the places I have visited and treasured, like the venue where my friends performed tonight, don’t feel so safe right now.

The most difficult people need love the most, but they can do a lot of damage along the way-especially when they wield a lot of influence. I can only hang on, the best I can.

Four Farms, Four Approaches

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Posted by on in animal and plant life, Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Personal Values, Slow Food Prescott, Social, Striving

August 20, 2023- “This year has been a doozie.”, the young farmer deadpanned, as she and her husband welcomed our tour group, from Slow Food Prescott.

It certainly seems so, given the cold month of June, followed by a blistering July and first half of August. Each of the farms we visited today experienced the June frost and hail storm in a slightly different way, and each is operated differently, while all use environmentally safe practices.

Vang Farm- This one acre property, at the southern edge of Chino Valley, is in a gated community-one of the few agriculturally-oriented Home Owners’ Associations in our area. Chris and Elaine Vang have, as you might imagine, put every square foot of this property to good use-even the “fallow” section is used for storage. They produce grapes, figs, squash, cilantro, corn, tomatoes, carrots, apples and peaches. Chickens, Muscovy ducks and Mini-Nubian goats keep them company-and well-fed. A large dog, who looked like a Mastiff/ Rottweiler mix, was on hand, when we first arrived, to let us know that we were to wait for Chris and Elaine to come outside. Once we got started, the animals were uniformly happy to have company-as were their humans. The Vangs are full-on into composting, and showed us a small urn that had decaying substance inside. Fortunately, lunch was at least an hour away, after our second stop! Elaine has a Facebook group, called Let’s Grow Together! Any sincere gardener, farmer or aspirant can check out this group. The Vangs also have space for small outdoor weddings and have made the property very welcoming, with benches in various spots and an arbor, near the goat pen.

Beverly Farm- Our tour director, Molly Beverly and her husband, Gary, have a much larger property, on the northeast side of Chino. They’ve been here for nearly five decades and have been forces for sustainability, spearheading Slow Food Prescott (Molly) and Friends of the Verde River (Gary). I first met them at Gary’s computer repair shop, Argosy West, in the early 1990s. When I came up to Prescott, to live, in 2011, Molly’s initial efforts at a Slow Food chapter in Prescott were one of the first community service organizations to draw me in.

I’ve visited this farm several times, usually under the auspices of a Slow Food activity. Today, we saw three varieties of corn: A tall field corn from “the Midwest”, and two varieties from Peru-which were brought in as food corn, and produce nutty, very edible kernels. All are sure to be tasty. There are also figs, apples, peaches, grapes, blackberries, strawberries, tomatoes, foot-long beans (green beans) and potatoes.

After the tour, we enjoyed lunch, with fresh tomatoes, corn and a brick of fresh cheddar/Triscuits to add to our own brown bag items. Not on the menu- grasshoppers, though these were everywhere-at each farm, and have been the most avid “fans” of the farmers efforts. Gary and Molly are making use of some mechanization, in addition to heavy composting, a tack which suits a medium-sized, or larger, operation. They also have a concrete and black plastic lined pond, which has doubled as a swimming site. Their home, which has benefited from Gary’s considerable building skills, is a modified Spanish adobe edifice, with the courtyard around the periphery of the house, rather than the other way around.

Whipstone Farm- Shanti and Cory Rade both entered farming as adults, being drawn by their love of soil and of providing nutrition on an ever-larger scale. Whipstone started small, and has gradually grown to two properties, some four miles apart, in somewhat different areas of Paulden, a vast community eight miles north of Chino Valley. Where Chino sits in an area that was once a lake, Paulden is a series of mountain dales, with forest interspersed by short-grass prairie.

The Rades have become a major presence in the farm community-growing several varieties of flowers, which Shanti offers to selected shops around the Prescott area, as well as event venues There are a full range of fruits and vegetables on offer-green leafy vegetables (Kale, Lettuce, Spinach, Arugula) are plentiful,as are-to the extent the insect foragers allow- apples, plums, peaches, pears, grapes and strawberries. There is field corn produced here and a variety of herbs, especially basil, as well as lots of tomatoes and carrots Garlic is one of Whipstone’s signature crops, as is butternut squash.

Given Whipstone’s scale of operation, a fair amount of mechanization is needed, though the farm’s crew is of a size that allows economical hand-picking and minimal tilling. “Organic” spraying is used on a very limited scale. One of the Rades’ biggest concerns is the effect of any chemicals, even “safe” varieties, on the health of the crew members.

After a brief visit to the “honour system” Farmstand, we thanked Cory and Shanti, then headed to Schaffer Farm. Joseph and Shaunte’ have the honour of farming in one of the coldest and windiest spots in Paulden- and are doing a masterful job. Despite bearing the brunt of this “doozie” of a year, this handsome and diligent couple, and their five children, are producing tomatoes, salad greens (lettuce, arugula, spinach, kale, mizuma and basil), strawberries and blackberries, corn, several varieties of beans, wheat and zucchini. This is all done on 1/4 acre of land, with the rest as living space-for the seven Schaffers, for their peacocks and chickens, and for three kinds of ground-nesting bees, which make use of the short-grass prairie buffer that Joseph set aside between the farm fields and the BNSF rail tracks to the south of the property. The family has some fruit trees, with the most prominent being an apple tree hedge, serving as a windbreak. This is crucial, given that this area , just south of Feather Mountain, is one of the windiest sections of Paulden.

Joseph, Shaunte’ and (sometimes) their three oldest children are the crew, not using machinery, producing organically and by no-till, an at times limited, but always high quality variety of produce. Like each of their fellows, they have plant houses. Their two are of the cold frame variety, whereas those used at the other three farms are greenhouses. For an explanation of the similarities and differences between the two, see: https://www.garden-products.co.uk/news/growhouses-and-mini-greenhouses/cold-frame-vs-greenhouses/

This will not be my last visit to these four establishments-and on the next scheduled visit, (visits to working farms should always be scheduled well in advance), I will bring a notebook and channel my inner Least Heat Moon.