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The Waterfall Cabin

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I’m on a turmeric farm in Hilo. It’s almost a year since my first of four visits to the island. Hawaii feels like a lucid dream. When I’m here I’m so present, aware, relaxed, and open. The air feels especially light and my breath is at ease.

Except that moment I’m waiting for important news about our produce delivery, due to a broken down truck, and my heart starts racing. I start thinking about how I’m stuck on an island and can’t be helpful.

And then, I put the phone down, and walk straight across the grass 20 feet away, past the tiny purple flowers, and down to the waterfall.

I come back to the phone, only after I’ve let go and immersed myself in the safety of the river. The sounds of the mini waterfall, and the lusciousness that surrounds me.

My computer is plugged into the wall, like old times, because it’s an EMF free zone. Maybe it’s one of the ingredients that helps me breathe better here and relax through every intense business moment.

There’s something missing for me though, no matter how much I fully appreciate this. No matter how much I feel supported, safe, and truly healthy in this environment. Not to mention finally able to tan my skin without burning it.

My veggies.

I am so acclimated to our SoCal produce from the best growers. My cells, my breath, my whole body, feels different without those greens. There’s appreciation for them, and then there’s the moment of realization that it’s my life giving energy source. Surely, there’s a solution for this.

Locavore is a cute little store in town, just 20 minutes from the farm, and they have some lovely little bags of kale and bok choy. Abundant life is a block down, and that’s where I pick up fresh hearts of palm for the first time.

Palm to heart, I carry my little ingredients back to the waterfall cabin, then decide to bring everything to the commercial kitchen. I forage some Hawaii spinach on the farm.

The Hawaii spinach isn’t very flavorful, but it has a very interesting element, which is that it resembles okra. The sliminess in the leaf, is not too much but it’s just enough to give the soup a little bit of thickness. Instead of paying for a bag of arrowroot powder, to which I’ll never finish, I got to forage just a few leaves. And since the flavor isn’t amazing, but it’s not bad, pretty neutral, I just used a little bit.

As incredible as these big beautiful leaves are, I still miss my California greens.

The next day, my Garden Gnome magically arrives from California with Spigarello and carrots! We snack on veggies while we watch the sun set on the beach. Aside from the unfortunate cruise ship in the way, the scene was gorgeous! The flavor of the carrots are genuinely, my little essence of heart warming happiness, and he knows it. The next morning, we have breakfast with left over soup, hibiscus kombucha, and some California treats.

The night before, I had danced next to a unicorn, and played with a light up Hoola hoop. Things were looking up. They were already up, but once I have my greens in me, I feel my cells doing their own unicorn hoop dance.

I feel the grass, the turmeric in my blood, the flowers, the spider webs, the chicken that knocks at my door, the gecko hiding in funny places, the waterfall, the smiles, the weight of the world, the lightness, the sun, my breath.

And I helped harvest Kali Haldi Turmeric, or black turmeric. It’s a highly medicinal, rare find, that is actually florescent blue. As vibrant as can be.

In the end of it all with lots of love and rainbows. I shared a shiitake and purple potato soup with red turmeric and kaffir lime, for all of us.

I’ll be back again soon! To be continued…..

Ladies Night

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Misty gently cupped her hands around the dragon fly in my car, who traveled with us from Ojai to Topanga.

“Look we have a friend.” She said.

“The dragonfly wanted a ride to Topanga, it’s out to experience a whole new world.” I said.

She let it go, as she gently opened her hands out the window. A Dragon Fly is symbolic of breaking through illusions and bringing visions of power. We talked about our visions on the way to Ojai. Whether or not we would both move to Hawaii, and other fun ideas.

We had traveled to Ojai to see a beautiful, outdoor dance show, and we made reservations for “The Ranch House”.

To make a reservation, you need to answer a few questions. “Are you coming for business or pleasure?” and “What are your company names?” They most certainly liked our company names.

When we arrived, it resembled the “Inn of the Seventh Ray” in Topanga. It has a little bit of that vibe, and upon stepping in, I felt “The Ranch House” was just as sweet, with more focus on local organic, ingredients. They have a rose garden, a piano, and an all around comforting setting. Every flavor in the dinner was delicious, but I’ll tell you about the soup.

I have strong feelings about soup. This is one of the loveliest restaurants I’ve been to. I have mostly felt that the attention to soups in restaurants are lacking. Though, I can appreciate simplicity, especially when using fresh ingredients from farmers I know, it’s funny to me that there isn’t as much attention to soups as there are desserts. I don’t see that as a criticism. More as an overall, universal truth. It has more to do with the demand of customers and what business are catering to. Much like in super markets, where we’re seeing a tiny portion of what the earth has available to us.

I notice that, many nice restaurants have a baker. They dedicate their time to making the breads, pastries, and treats, to look and taste remarkable. Sugary treats, excite people, and it’s an incredible art. I’m more excited about dressing up a soup. It’s the healthiest thing I can imagine eating. It doesn’t seem to excite people as much as a sugary chocolate flourless cake drizzled with fresh berry sauce, but it’s so worthy of our attention. There are billions of ways to make a soup exciting, and I’ve only made about 800 of them.

If every restaurant had a Soup Sorceress, like they had a baker, the world would be really fun and healthy.

This sugar snap pea soup, tasted fresh, and nice. And with a few little magic touches on top, a crunchy pickled, sugar snap pea, with a dash of freshly cracked pink pepper, or other little crunchy bits of veggies with fresh herbs and spices……It would have been a real experience! Much like the salad was a delightful experience, bursting with various flavors.

One of my soups I sold at Erewhon back in the day, with pickled snap peas, red veined sorrel, and calendula flowers.

If there’s anyone that knows how much work it takes to even just create the base of a soup with only fresh ingredients, much less creating a whole beautiful world on top of the base, it’s me! I’m merely stating my wishes and dreams in the new world, and what I aim to bless it with.

The delicious and gorgeous salad! So fresh!

Though I can understand, why more attention is placed on the crunchy salad with fresh dressing, or the plate of salmon with duck egg sauce and farro. I still imagine the days when soups get as much attention as desserts. The Soup Sorceress in the background, with focus, imagination, and magic, creating something that lights up our hearts.

Stay Healthy Love Bugs,

~Kali

Happy Garden Soup

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I was asked to write an article for Heart and Soil Magazine. I had a week to complete it, and it just so happened I was packing my bag to head up to Petaluma, where I thought I would have a leisurely little NorCal trip. To my delight, I walked into a beautiful farm style kitchen to concoct a new soup to share for the article. By my last night there, I fell backwards on the couch, exhausted, determined, and happy. I finished the article by the late evening, with not a moment to spare.

I had stumbled upon sunchokes and nettles at County Line Harvest Farm, visited a cute kitchen store for a new spoon, and fell to the graces of every little ingredient by way of instinct.

Heart and Soil magazine is an excellent resource to keep up to date on information about soil and food. Check out their magazine, and you’ll see my story in their gardeners edition!

Wishing you wellness always,

Kali Star

Choosing Foods for Abundance and Wellness

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The reason I feel so vibrant and abundant has a lot to do with the produce I enjoy. When we talk about how we need to feel abundance to have abundance, that can be a challenge for some if they’re in a tough position. And I believe that fresh local veggies can help relieve that feeling. 

When I look at a lettuce from a small farm, it has an effect on my body. This lettuce isn’t a $400 abundance course — though you can do that too — it’s just a $3 lettuce. That’s it. Keeping these kinds of fresh vibrant veggies around you can do wonders for your vibration.  Which is why we donate produce through my CSA, Earth Matterz.

I’m speaking specifically to the lettuce that’s grown from small farms that I know. The quality is far beyond the normal grocery store organic produce. 

10 years ago, I didn’t know my farmers. When I got to know them, everything changed! Once I started to eat this way, my vibrancy for life became amplified. If I go a few days without some type of greens from one of our farms, I can feel it in my cells, that something is missing. 

I’ve had the most vibrance and abundance in my life through a real connection with food. 

I don’t buy produce at grocery stores or Amazon — even if they’re labeled organic. There’s a better vibration out there! Though there are some smaller grocery stores that do buy from small farms, it’s still a tight community full of people who feel connected to the spirit of the earth.

Eating in season is a lifestyle. 

Miracles happen everyday, small ones and big ones. When we connect to our food through the seasons, we are in connection with the natural vibration and magic of the earth. Therefore those magical moments happen more often. And it’s as simple as enjoying a vegetable from the garden or an organic small farm.

You can connect to a small farm, or CSA subscription service in your area, and watch the magic unfold in your life. 

I know it did for mine. 

What I’ve really seen change people’s lives is when they try a new vegetable that they haven’t tried before. At first, it seems uncomfortable, but then they acclimate to it. They find a way to enjoy it until it’s normal to them. At this point, they have more variety in their life, which is a cornerstone for how we treat life in general. 

When you try a bright pink watermelon radish for the first time, or pink celery! Maybe some kohlrabi, or speckled romaine lettuce. You’ll certainly know the feeling I’m talking about. 

Magic ✨

“Women are Sacred”

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It’s about 6pm. The sun is coming down. I drive up the canyon and see the trees to my right. The thin branches that wind and curl. There’s something about the vibration of it. The way the sun hits the light on the branches. I imagine them to be purple, as if there’s purple lights of sun rays hitting the tops of the trees. I wind around a few more curves and to my left, I see bushes of magical stars all over the hill; with very sharp points. In a moment, I’ll realize they’re bushes of sage leaves.

And I can breathe. I’ve hit the part of the canyon, coming from the valley that we all recognize as the magic spot. The moment where we take in more air.

When you look at the world like a painting, everything is just as beautiful as it is; intertwined with more imagination.

Our perceptions make magic happen.

The day before……

“Do you want a smoothie?” I asked my Son, before I picked him up for our driving practice. There were people sitting in the courtyard. They looked happy. I thought the day would never come. While I walked in the door of Sunlife, I received the text that my order was ready. To then see two cups on the counter with my name on them.

I stopped. I melted. I breathed. I felt honored. I thanked them in a way I have never thanked a store before. My perception shifted. I didn’t have to do anything to feel this. I didn’t have to say anything. Someone cared to share it. It just is.

I feel recognized and at ease. Of course this happened on my cycle during a mercury retrograde where I lost my cool, literally and figuratively. Sometimes we just need a little love and to be seen.

Why I love to offer soups in small batches, is that I can infuse them with Earthly sacred energy. We feed our cells with healthy food, and we can also feed our cells with healthy feelings.

Have you taken a moment to hold a plant in your hand, or touch the soil in the ground, recently? To feel the Earths Sacred energy, even just for a moment……

Love,

Kali Star

“I’ve Arrived”

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I arrived through the passing of the magic threshold, where I moved through painful memories, amongst dark, twisted branches. That’s how it felt.

I began to awaken from my dream. In the portal from one dimension to the next, I moved through the stories. The stories that still break my heart. That I have spent almost every day crying about this last year. Crying so many tears of devastation in the middle of the night. I told some of the stories with a group of writers, called the Magic Threshold. Some stories I kept to myself. They wondered why I was so silent. There are some things I just can’t share.

The emotions of those memories from years ago had an effect on my body. Middle of last year, I was hitting my fists on the ground, crying because my body was in so much pain. I tried to tell people, it just wasn’t something anyone could understand. They had their own concerns. I found myself in the Doctors office, doing natural IV treatments 3 days a week. I felt so lucky to be there. On one visit, someone sent me a random message, to keep going. I looked up from my phone, to see the words “Star Power”, written on a magazine.

As I moved through this portal, while awakening out of my dream space, it was hard. It was hard like the way it’s hard to scream inside of a dream. You know those dreams? The ones where someone is chasing you, or you are trying to scream to get help, but you can’t because you are in a dream? You just try so hard, so much, and you just can’t.

Then something magical happened in the portal, upon waking.

I got through the stories and spirit showed me a golden gate. I walked through it. “You’ve entered the magic threshold”, it said. Suddenly my body, and spirit were awakened fully. The transmission was clear, that the intention of the magic threshold was complete. Flooded with good feelings, an opening, and great awakening. I got it. It was one story I shared just before this night, that made it clear to me.

We had our closing ceremony the next week. I lit candles. Some Women wore sparkles and flower crowns. I wore my gold ring crown that I graduated to, just days before the ceremony.

Like a spirit in the trees. Candles lit in the background.
(I was much more joyful in the ceremony than how this picture turned out! This is like bitchy resting face. I know all about it cause the girl who invented it worked with me many years ago.)

“That ring looks like…You’ve arrived.” my friend Kandi said at the Kinship Station.

I had an arrow ring that symbolized pointing me in a new direction. A Phoenix ring symbolizing my constant rebirth. And now the golden crown.

The last words said to me, in the closing ceremony, were to put me through the “opening of the mouth ceremony” like they did in Ancient Egypt. Maybe I will open my mouth and share some more. The same way I open my hands with so much light and energy to make soup. The same way, I felt the opening of the gate, into the magic threshold.

I make soups to help people feel better. To soothe their hearts and souls, and provide them with the absolute healthiest food they can find, from the best farms. We are sensitive creatures, deserving of foods that nurture our heart and souls.

To get my recipe for this creamy beet borscht soup, click here! May it soothe your soul like it did for me the night after the magic threshold ceremony.

I think I’ll be telling some more joyful stories soon.

Love,

Kali Star

A Taste of Normal

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I remember that only two months into the pandemic, friends here would say, “things are going back to normal soon.” I knew that they weren’t.

Once Upon a Time, there were characters here that I would meet and write about. I met an Earth Angel while I was doing a demo for my broth. He was reading a book on the inside tables. Since then we’ve taken some twists and turns. We visited each other often here, sharing and mentally working out life. Our last day here was a couple weeks ago before he left LA. I sat down next to him and looked straight ahead into the glass windows. I listened to him for a few minutes, he listened to me times 3. He’s on his way to live in a Yurt up North. I talked his ear off, and without a breath, spontaneously turned around and held him tight, my face hiding over his back. Tears burst out of me. I’m happy and sad when the old times dissolve. “I hoped you wouldn’t come so I could just slip away,” he said as tears dripped down his face. I needed him like I needed a hematite stone, and that’s what I handed him when he left that day.

There was a Dragon here. The kind of Dragon spirit who disappears. I had another Dragon spirit before, so I was prepared. We experienced the most blissful 2 hours once sitting by the bushes with popsicles dripping down our hands on a hot summer day. All the chaos of the world just dissipated for that moment, we were so present. The last I saw him he hugged me better than he ever had, like the way my Grandfather hugged my Son the last we ever saw him. The dragon did what no one else had done when he hugged me. He held my hat at the moment I hoped he would so it wouldn’t fall on the street. No one else cared to do that. He was a challenging character who threw my sensitive nature in a spiral, but I really cared about him. It seemed like he didn’t care so much about honoring sacred things, though he saved my pink hat from falling so that was something. My carefully chosen hats are very sacred and he knew that. He never tried to take it and put it on his head. His silly baseball caps wouldn’t have that anyway. Though, he often joked that my hat was my need for protection. I ran away towards the door from the parking lot, and blew him a kiss when he said, “I love you so much”. I walked in the door with a bearded friend who for years has been one of my top supporters for Soup Sorceress. I turned around to see the Dragon drive away in his speedy Tesla. He was waving goodbye to everyone. Symbolic of all the characters in my realm, I knew in that moment, that: That was all folks.

And there were others. Today, I’m facing a lot of sadness. Maybe the loneliest I’ve ever felt. They all disappeared. 

Now I’m experiencing a taste of normal. And not the kind of normal people keep hoping will come back. It’s not because I took off my mask and talked to someone. Or invited a friend over by the fire and shared my crazy delicious homemade chocolate cashew cream pudding. Or shared my homemade cashew cream pumpkin ice cream w/ shatavari and reishi, sweetened with maple syrup. Or shared my tomato and herb soup with skullcap.

It’s a taste of normal because all the lively spirits that I gave fun character names too are gone. Erewhon is desolate. They removed the tables. The old characters melted away in different types of ways, like cotton candy people. I’ll never remember the title of that kids book. It had a creepy ending of the family next door who was acting normal and suddenly melted at the front door because they were actually cotton candy people. The story really effected me when I was 8, and now.

As I mourned the melting of old characters, I ignored a few new ones. I just couldn’t bring myself to answer their messages.

I had a favorite dress and now I don’t wear it anymore. I have a new dress, and I’m better than ever.

Here’s to normal things, like spinach, and keeping healthy, because that’s always been my goal no matter what story I’m creating, “A Healthy Earth”.

Inspired by questions in a Rumi poem.

I noticed the empty floor.

I heard the sound of nowhere.

I admired the way synchronicities flowed for me here, and I intuitively knew who I would see.

I was astonished when everyone left.

I wish I could see the child who asked to see me.

My tender heart is drinking years of loneliness.

I thought they were ridiculing my every move.

The most wonderful part was creating a new outfit every time I fell down and re-birthed again and again.

Topanga

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Topanga: She’s a vortex of flowing waters and mystical plant medicines, infused in her every cell, which hypnotizes anyone who enters her path, into a realm of magic.

They’re afraid she’s putting a spell on them, and it’s not long before they realize she’s just an innocent creature dancing in the wind, wishing for a healthier, more dynamic world.

I’ve taken so many sips of Topanga. The earth is in my blood. I’m a part of the plants, like a crunchy medicinal miners lettuce salad, with a sage and wild mushroom soup

One day I realized I needed to grow bigger than Topanga. To take the wild stories of my time there, and pack them up, while I explore other nature vortex’s.

Snake Gourd Stew!

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There’s a certain satisfaction that comes with it being the end of a hard day. Especially if we accept it as part of life instead of trying hard to get the law of attraction right and figure out what is wrong with us for hours. Just knowing that we survived that day and its circumstances, and having faith in ourselves going forward is a good moment. Especially with soup and chocolate.

In the middle of the day, I wanted to make the lentil stew I had planned, and finally got it started once my team left for the day to make deliveries. There never seems to be enough time to add the last few ingredients that would blow everyone away, though what I did create was really excellent. I began to simmer the lentils, to start the soup, and set the timer for 20 minutes while I chopped veggies. 10 minutes in, I noticed on my trusty routing software, that one of my drivers was stuck in the canyon for a little while and his phone wasn’t on. Concerned about what might be going on, I turned the heat off and dashed to Topanga to find him. I wasn’t sure what would become of this soup.

The soup wasn’t ruined, in fact when I arrived back, I found the soaking of the lentils for 30 minutes was done just right, and I began to put the rest of the ingredients in the pot.

Here’s some main things that made this recipe so great.

~Snake gourd. This is the best squash I’ve ever had. I’ve seen it nowhere. I asked a farmer to grow it for my company Earth Matterz, and he did.

~French Green Lentils have amazing texture. I get them from Kandarian Farm, which is the best you can get locally in LA. Also available at Earth Matterz.

~Shiso, lemon balm, and lemon thyme are an incredible mix of flavors for this stew.

~If I found my cumin, I would have added 2 teaspoons.

~If I had more time I would have added some rind of orange. I also would have picked the eggplant I had, to add on top of the stew.

This stew is amazing!

Snake Gourd and Lentil Stew

Ingredients

1 cup of french green lentils

4-5 cups of water

Tomatoes (a lb or less is enough)

1 red onion

A few sprigs of shiso, lemon balm, and at least half a bunch of lemon thyme.

Snake gourd (as much as you want, I used half of one that weights about 1.5 lbs.)

1 lb of potatoes

1 banana pepper

1 spicy hanako pepper

Handful of baby spinach

3 or more Passion Fruit

First, simmer the lentils for 20 minutes in 4-5 cups of water.

Stir fry the onions and a sweet pepper on a pan on low heat with olive oil. Once it browns and caramelizes, pour it into the simmering lentils.

After 10 minutes. Add freshly chopped tomatoes. Cut the passion fruit in half and spoon out the juice into the pot. Don’t use the shells of passion fruit. I know that sounds crazy, but I’ve known people to try it. That’s almost like eating fiber glass. Add the hanako pepper or another spicy pepper. Rather than to chop up the pepper, I cut the pepper in half, take the seeds out, and let it simmer in there. Then I take the pepper out when the stew is ready. Chop the fresh herbs and throw them in the pot.

Add the chopped potatoes. I chop them up really small so that they cook faster. After about 5 minutes of the potatoes cooking, I add the chopped squash. Cook until the squash is tender, turn off the heat, and stir in a handful of spinach.

These types of unique flavors and elements, are how I won the chili cook off years ago. It’s about finding unique ingredients, which you can find at Earth Matterz. 🙂

This is my favorite lentil stew today!

Love,

Kali Star

What Would You Do in 5 Minutes?

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Last night I had a lucid dream. I believe I was holding two small balls in my hand, but they represented something I was eating. If you’ve had lucid dreams, that might make sense to you. I was with a Man and there were a lot of people around like it was a city, but we were in some kind of half way enclosed area.

Everyone stopped. They had all recieved a message from the divine.

“They’re all allowed to do whatever they want in 5 minutes. All rules in this earth, concepts, ideas, are all vanished for just that amount of time.” The Man with me said.

“Oh they’re all gonna end up with an STD.” I said. In looking at the people I was surrounded with and what they might be up to, I wasn’t particularly happy about this no rules for 5 minutes idea. I didn’t trust them. Almost like one of those scary vivid dreams where someone is chasing you.

Then the moment began for the 5 minutes, and I was in an energetic space of no rules. In that space I was given permission to completely release and do anything I wanted to do.

My choice in that moment was to throw the balls in the air and on the floor. It’s all I wanted, was to be free of holding onto them, to break the rules we have about not being able to throw something on the ground when you’re done with it. It was the energy behind what happened that gave me so much release. No rule. No guilt. Permission to do what I wanted right then.

Other than seeds and pits of fruits, pieces of veggies, I don’t throw things on the ground. However, I do feel that guilty feeling if I do, even if it’s a cherry seed. Not because I think there’s something wrong with it, because it’s not totally accepted by everyone in society yet. In this picture everyone was given permission not to be concerned about society.

If you had 5 minutes where all Earth rules vanished in space, and you could do anything you wanted, what would you do? What would be let go and released inside of you?

Artwork by Humberto Braga

Expression for our Teens

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Last night I watched the Mr. Rogers movie until 3am. There’s a part where Opera talks to Mr. Rogers and he says as Parents we just need to remember what it was like to be a little one. She asks him why we forget what it’s like to be a little one?

There was something that I never forgot when I was a teenager, and it stayed with me all these years.

When I was 13, I wrote in my journal to make sure that I wouldn’t forget. I since lost the journal but it was such a big moment that writing it kept it in my memory forever. I remember how it felt to be me as a teen, as I cried my eyes out into my journal, feeling unloved and untrusted for my expression.

It was the biggest promise I made to my older self. It was so absolutely important to me.

I promised that when I had kids I would let them express themselves how they wanted to. I would let them wear the clothes they wanted to wear. I would celebrate their originality, and I would trust that they knew their path in life, and that they could safely express their individual style.

I used to wear rainbow tights to school and get yelled at for it. I would sometimes wear a cape, or marker my nose purple. Or see what would happen if I walked into class without shoes. I wore a midriff to celebrate my own body. Having small breasts was unusual and people thought I should get breast surgery later. So my way of celebrating my individual body type was to wear midriffs. Unfortunately, my family was concerned about me wearing midriffs and I was yelled at for it. So I cried into my journal.

The photo above is me after High School. Photo below is me in middle school.

My Journaling worked, and I never forgot that feeling when I was writing it. I have a 16 year old Son today who does just that. Celebrates his original style. With neon green hair, a hello kitty mask, one earring on his ear, and a nose ring. He’s also ultra responsible, very talented, incredibly kind and polite, and very responsible! 🙂

Love,

Kali Star