Day 0

So the day began early, really early but I was so excited to embark upon this journey…
Yesterday’s travel was uneventful and we arrived in NC raring to go. A few of us arrived early and were privileged to tour the grounds of Gaia herbs, the farmland that we are all guests of for the next 2 weeks. We did not have much time so we were only able to sift through the gardens that are open to the employees and guests and pick from any of the organic vegetables/fruits that were in ripe for the picking. We ended up gathering too many to count of numerous different forms of squash, zucchini, cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, hungarian spicy peppers, broccoli, collard greens, beets, green beans, okra, red lettuce, potatoes, raspberries, blueberries, and peaches. The flavors were out of this world. I was thrilled the be participating in such a raw activity, though I must say that I am disheartened because my palate for produce is forever tainted in that NOTHING can taste the way these vegetables did; I seriously did not know that broccoli could explode with flavor this way. We were all astounded by the breathtaking landscape that we were amongst. From the rolling GREEN mountains slightly dusted with remnant mist from the thunderstorm that had just passed to the botanicals and organic produce that were in overabundance.
We headed into town to complete shopping for our homemade meals for the week and proceeded to collectively complete a feast of homemade pasta and pasta sauce, sautéed greens, zucchini bread (and wine of course) – all using all the produce we had collected that day. It was an amazing gathering of people all thankful for sharing this experience.
This is only Day 0 – not technically the beginning of the journey so I do not count it as one of the official days. It is only Day 0 and we cannot wipe the smiles of joy and the thrill of what is to come from our faces. I look forward to what tomorrow, Day 1, will bring… and what I learned from today is that the earth provides magnificent material that are as much vibrant, striking and tasty as they are nutritive. Today we splurged – you’re welcome body.