dear america.

dear america, 

i'm nervous to be writing you as i have so many things to ask, to bullet point, to list, to understand. i am so confused by you. but first, how are you america? how are you feeling? 'oh, yes, i understand that deep exhaustion...oh, rape? oh, i am so sorry to hear it, to see it, to smell it, to live inside so much of your rape.'

i am so sad for you, for us, for everybody. does anyone else know about it? dear america, where are your gentle parts? are there any left? is there anything left of you? i miss a piece of you, many of you, all of you, that i never met before. you are gorgeous in so many places and i have hope for you. maybe that's what keeps you going? everybody's hope? is it working? 

is there enough light to keep you alive? are the wounds sutured? did you get staples? where does stainless steel come from? is it all ok in your skin? dear america, dear america, dear sweet, needle-point pillow with a smoking cabin on it america. can we weave a new quilt with a new mission for you america?

 can we believe in the real things and not kill so much? can we live in an honest, core based truth, where we unfold our bodies like Rilke and listen to what we need? can we trust you again america? 

are you still there? 

you are so young and so sick, too early in your life. what can i do to help america? my heart is oozing out to you with these words. where to begin? how to ask you about all the things that don't make any sense... how are you handling all of our garbage? is our recycling being exported to china on huge barges? what should we do to change it all? 

how can i help america? can i get you a green tea with a three minute egg? it's a really good start. dearest anerica, are you hungry? please, come into my kitchen, allow me the honor, the vital tincture of today is about feeding you. let me roast a butternut squash and puree some mint with zucchini and sweet onion. 

oh and lets warm the ground. lets plant some seeds together and renew our vows america. i would love that...would you dear america? let me tie my apron around you so that you can feel centered in this story. let me put a lavender warmer around your head like a crown. 

let me share (with you) what continues to save my life: look at this cake plate, this deep wood bowl, this deep green cavolo nero kale, this red vained baby chard.....hold on to this persimmon. let it change your life, america. she was grown here. she loves you, we love you. please, enjoy this warm love, digest it and maybe you will feel better. 

i think i feel better. 
do you? 
america? 

-jbdxxxx

lets do this thing called love!

beauties!! the last miracle was amazing! seven hungry women gathered in my kitchen allowing me the absolute honor to nourish & inspire them with BEAUTY from our local & seasonal bounty....we created food that is simple to make, sates the soul & tastes delicious. they were receiving my love in their wood bowls as they fed me their honesty, their laughter, their openness...they opened their pantries of the heart and tried on my medicinal offerings... it's a dance each time we come together, a shape we form, a vital gathering.  i am committed to weaving this beauty food fest into our daily stressed out lives... 
the miracle is a place where we can learn how to meet ourselves in the kitchen, inside a soup, something warm & loving, something we are deeply hungry for..even if the soup starts it's journey in the morning and finally gets pureed in the evening...in between the meetings, the kids, the dog, the job...it's all good. we are in this together & we can do it. we can make food a priority in our lives. we can nourish ourselves & show our kids, our friends, our communities the way to this place. come to my kitchen and lets do this thing called love! see you in the kitchenxxxx 

NEXT MIRACLE: OCTOBER 26

FRIDAY (next week!!)

10ish - 1ish pm

75$ donation

jules kitchen/mt washington/east side

RSVP ASAP (deadline: this friday/october 19)

email me & more info via email to reserve your wood bowl!!!

i miss you.

i say this every time there is a very long & arduous DROUGHT in the RM blog realm and it's true every time: i miss you. i miss me. i miss the the luxury to tap in, to share what's happening in & out of my kitchen, to take a sip from a warm something, write some more & water this fertile ground of feeding each other.

the silence that you are hearing is unfortunately not what i am hearing....my two kid rompus has begun and it's in full force. not to mention my business that needs nourishment to grow, the dreams that need to float down from the 'roam freely' aisle and ground into something that continues to inspire change in america's kitchen culture. 

what culture you ask? exactly... this is what i am talking about! is this thing on? i'm here all night. did i mention self-care? oh, did i miss that? all of this 'me time' i have been experiencing these days is profound. i can hear you laughing and it's feeding the 'me too' part of this party we are experiencing together.

where have i been? right here in my kitchen, cooking for wonderful women & families who are in a time of their lives where they need this love i am cooking up... whether they are here for a week, coming home from a trip or busy forever....this nourishment, this food that i am honored to create with the best ingredients from amazing farmers is a niche situation. i opened up the RM 'private cooking' wing and took a few new clients. in time, i will teach them how to do this on their own (they may not know this yet ;)

we CAN weave food into our day to day (busy, chaotic, insane, no time, american) lives when we are ready to make food important in our lives.  when we touch down into our bodies & allow food to be an emotional, doable & simple experience than we make room for what is possible, even if you have NO idea how it's going to happen. THEN: you call me & we create a kitchen that flows efficiently, with all the right tools & a custom schedule for your life that makes sense for your work, family, you etc.. we cook together, we shop together, we birth this piece into your lives & before you know it.. you are making beautiful, organic, healthy & delicious food! you will feel like new. email me here if your ear is to the door and you want more... no more broccoli & pasta ruts in the RM world. a miracle will fix that right up! 

speaking of....something that i am in desperate need of is A MIRACLE! this is the first one of the fall..if you have never been to my kitchen and you are waiting for the perfect time...it's now!! this fall bounty is gorgeous. please don't wait for this kind of beauty, the feeding each other is so important for all of us... this wonderful gathering of women, food, abundance, laughter... it's 100000% soul satisfaction or your money back. oh! and you will be inspired & empowered with the know how to cook seasonal, healthy & delicious food! come one, come all! 

OCTOBER 5 (FRIDAY)
10ish - 1ishpm
75$
jules kitchen
2 spots left!
RSVP/INFO here 

more dates coming soon! see you in the kitchen soon beautiesxxxxjules

summer miracles & more.

beautiful women!! 
i am missing you inside this summer shift... as the schedule changes, as the sun begins to express her full potential & as we begin to slowly lose our minds!!! (with the kids home & no plan somedays) anyone? it can be really hard to find our way to ourselves, let alone in the KITCHEN! amen sister, me too. it sounds like it's time for a MIRACLE!! 


SATURDAY 
WORKSHOP: 
JULY 14
10 - 3
$150 
RSVP by july 2


THURSDAY
JULY 26 
(birthday miracle ;)
10 - 1
$75
RSVP by july 18


THURSDAY 
AUGUST 16
10 - 1
$75
RSVP by august 8


do you keep missing the miracle b/c of the date? do you want to bring all the women you love? you wanna have a birthday miracle? many of you have asked me about creating a 'custom' miracle. YES, let's do it! summer is a wonderful time for this. email me here to create this kind of love. 


"The Miracle is freedom, empowerment, relief, courage,  homeopathic, re-affirming, grounding,  a touchstone,  a reassuring voice,  kindness,  guidance and grace. What I take away from my time at RM, I leave not only with actual, practical recipes that I can do at home, but I also leave with confidence. When I am back home at my own kitchen I feel free to experiment with the ideas that I was given at RM.  It is practical for my budget and my life.  I feel like a witch in the kitchen and I can conjour up magic in the form of food."

"My husband LOVES when I come back from an RM miracle because he and my daughter eat well.  My daughter loves to see me joyful in my kitchen space, full of excitement to share the spices and ideas I have.  Some of the things that I learn from Jules even apply to life beyond my kitchen.  She is like a mini-kitchen-therapist.  She will give me a loving push to grow and to feel self-love.  All this from just a bit of time with her !!  Always money well spent.  I love Jules because I can see that she believes in what she does and in me.  She is a lovely surprise  and I love RM."  Wiloe Ann Poehlmann

see you in the kitchenxxxxjules

tumblr.

beauties! i wanted you to be the first to know: we have added another wing! check it out: www.renaissancemamas.tumblr.com see you in the kitchenxxxx  miracle & workshop dates for july coming this week!

WORKSHOP.

hello beauties! 

i am excited to invite you to first renaissance mama saturday workshop for women!

i am finding more and more that i am my kitchen. when it's empty, i feel a strong desire to fill it. when i feel off, overwhelmed, all over the map: i go into my kitchen to nurture myself whether it be opening an apricot, warming a tea or watering the flowering basil on my window altar. whatever is happening in my super busy world, the kitchen (over and over again) proves to be the warmth, the ground, the core and the beauty that calls to me amidst the chaos. 

i feel like there are many corners to our kitchens, ourselves & our lives waiting to be explored in this way... with a new kind of compass, a desire to go deeper and the courage to listen to this innate wisdom... we can begin to hear ourselves, what we hunger for & then can we understand the deep need of nourishing & sating this gorgeous hunger... living in a place of abundance, awareness, aliveness instead of starvation.

when we gather together in an intimate way... when we are nourished, loved & heard.. when we allow our expression, our wisdom to have a voice through color, word, canvas, soil, seeds, watering ourselves to create, grow, allowing ourselves to just be & grow... when we give the noise a break and listen to the heart, the belly, our beautiful bodies...something magical happens.... this is the saturday workshop.

MIRACLES, MAGIC & WISDOM

SATURDAY WORKSHOP

JUNE 16

10 - 3 

$150

 includes nourishing food all day

 inspiring recipes & the know how to 

make it happen in your day to day

empowering ideas & basics in the kitchen

 creative supplies & tools

 food offerings, creations & gifts to take home

a safe & sacred space to be nourished on many levels

TIME FOR YOU!

these gatherings are intimate. reserve your space asap.

i am excited to feed each other. see you in the kitchenxxxx

kitchen as life & other magical moments.

gorgeous women!!! look at this dance... this radiance...this blissed out beauty showing up at the farmers market... i am inspired each week as there is always something new to gaze at.. a color i want to wear, a shape i want to hold, smells i want to bathe in & tastes i want to share. it's a motley crew of abundance. it's my church of sorts.. if you ever feel like praying in this way... you know where to find me.


do you remember the conversation about the stories hanging in our kitchens? i picture them as a collage of chandeliers, streamers, a breeze, the way the sun hits the beets.... some are ornate and fancy bright, some are dirty, dusty, invisible & some are painfully quiet UNTIL you open something... in your kitchen, in your life, in your beauty... it could be your heart, your eyes, your oven, shredding some carrots, shredding some of you, spreading butter on warm toast, spreading yourself, the sounds & smells of that wooden spoon, the handle in your hand: everything has a story. 


i am finding that it takes courage, tenderness & a deep desire to do this OPENING UP thing.  the kitchen is life. everything seems to be happening in here: miracles, magic & mayhem. we can birth and burn something in the same moment. it's all a big stew of growth: stretching & sating me while i warm it up.


it IS emotional. it IS intimate. it IS a choice.... in how we want to eat, chew & digest these new and old stories of our beauty, our freedom, our life and how we want to nourish ourselves and our clan in our day to day.


upcoming miracles & a saturday workshop!


may 25 
june 8
june 22


fridays
10:30 - 1
75 dollars
rsvp asap


&... 


***MIRACLES, MAGIC & MAYHEM*** 
saturday workshop: june 16
an exploratory feast of discovering YOUR beauty in & out of the kitchen... we will meet freedom in food & other expressive mediums... more details soon... rsvp asap ... this will also be an intimate group. 


here is a sweet testimonial from the last miracle.....
"Totally inspired, loved every minute. Hungry for more, hope to cross paths with all of you again soon. Thanks a million to Jules and the lovely women I shared a miracle with. xoxo" Nicole 

see you in the kitchenxxxx

beauty mama day.

ode to the mamas

incredible

love

deep

challenge

sweat

tears

my face

intimacy gone

intimacy found

hide and seek

with, for, of ME

hide 

hide 

hide

coerced to seek again

a new, feel old

want so much

have so much

blessed beyond words

challenged to the last cell

inexplicable 

resilience

the mama cape

a ton of bricks

yearning for the feathers

and the milk

milk

milk

the gap tooth smile

singing to adele in the car

watching me, you, us 

GROW

the ultimate teachers

changing patterns

the deepest exhaustion

the deepest gratitude

the deepest of everything 

oceans of beauty 

beauties of ocean

thank you for choosing me

xxxx

weelicious & white shorts.

beauties! it's MAY!!!! how did that happen?!!? time is insane... it really feels like i am in my own room with time. it feels like a room with high windows, like at the gym and i have my own trainer who is holding a stop watch for every single thing i am trying to get done (we might want to call her a babysitter and she really does want the best for me) oh and i see... i am in a feirce game of squash. i am whooping my own toosh. how is that possible? one part of me is getting 'stuff' done and the other part of me has a long way to go... anyone? oh! and i think i am wearing those east coast, harvard vibe, white shorts... oy, that just made the image so much worst. HA!  


how are you? how is the beauty in your world? how is the food coming along? any action in the kitchen? it's getting warmer and the beauty of spring is slowly making her way to the market: stone fruits, cherries, berries, asparagus, spring peas and more.. there are so many gifts to eating seasonally and one of the best feelings is setting my eyes on the first of something in the season. it really feels like a friend i have not seen in a long time (about a year)....i am so happy to hug it with my eyes, kiss it with my lips and bring it home to share with ocean. he gets so excited to see the new, old friend back again. yesterday, he asked that i bring the wood board to the table so we could cut our first peach together. it was a simple moment that was so special. there was ritual around the first of something, the honoring of it being here & then right back to lego's. i loved it.


speaking of friends...i want to send an incredibly grateful shout out to a true renaissance mama in & out of the kitchen, catherine mccord, who created & owns with love: weelicious. she is doing such beautiful work bringing families together in the kitchen to make food that is healthy, easy & good for everyone to enjoy. she is one of my sunday favorites at the hollywood market. i am not quite sure how she does it all with running a successful business, writing books, interviews all over the country, raising her family & the one that stumps me the most: shopping at the market with her entire family following her to every stand. check out weelicious for videos, recipes & various ways to get fun, healthy & love filled food on the table. how do you do it? you are amazing catherine. thank you for sharing my movement with your weelicious family. 


the last post by artist, poet & renaissance mama: jill lurie brought so many sweet words and love from our community. thank you jill! if you didn't get a chance to read it, click here. the next MAY MIRACLE is friday, may 25! please reserve your wood bowl as we have a few more spots left. these miracles are magic in the kitchen. we will explore and discover ourselves, our beauty & reconnect with our needs through a variety of mediums... held by the incredible sustenance of this gorgeous food. things are opening up in here in new ways and the miracles are ripe for the pickens....see you in the kitchenxxxx


***welcome to all the new beauties in the RM community, so happy to have you with us on this journey, discovering all the miracles in and out of the kitchen. i am honored & inspired to feed you in this wayxxx***

your body welcoming a miracle.

happy weekend beauties! i am so deeply blessed by the amazing women in my life who share their gorgeous spirit with me. jill lurie is one of these women. jill is a renaissance mama; an artist, writer, poet, cook, gardener, seeker, totem creator and so much more... her first collection of poems is called ginger roots: plantings of a future dreamer & her blog is a beauty fest of words, ideas, adventures & soul talk. jill has trekked east side to the miracle a few times & writes about her experience below. i am taking a warm gratitude bath with each image. if your hunger is stirring for this kind of love or if something here speaks to you: don't wait to feed yourself in this way. there is a sort of magic stirring in this gathering... i can't seem to explain it just right but jill definitely has her hand on the pulse. 

"She lived at the end of a cobblestone road. In Provence or Tuscany or tucked away in the Americas.  It’s hard to say…it could have been anywhere, anytime, she was a purist: raw materials + love =  food.  But it was so much more. This was her medicine.  She healed herself with the creation of it and healed others with the dispensing of it. The wooden bowls, soft woven napkins, copper kettles – artisans and their wares were her tools.  And the edibles – plucked from the earth, the Great Mother herself. She was an artist, a chemist, a builder…the food her medium.

But it was not really food per se. Yes, it was something to eat on a plate, she knew enough to make it look as though it was from this world…but there were magical properties in there. Things not listed in the recipe.  She’d peer into your soul and see what you needed: nettle tea, kohlrabi, black kale, walnut oil, a blessing said in silence that she’d quietly spread on your thick, crusty bread.

She’d distract you with her beauty – blond tendrils and bright red lips. Always those lips. Less seduction, more a metaphor…a bull’s eye. She saw through her mouth. Some say the third eye is on the forehead, her’s lay just below her nose.  And she really would see you, and know what you needed and add her own particles of love and light.  Then she’d transfer all of that that into your mouth under the guise of, “here honey, you look hungry.” 

She was right, those who came to her, who were brave enough to make the long trek, often without knowing why, were starving. But their bellies ached for more than basic sustenance. She practiced an ancient primal tradition…cookery, alchemy, or perhaps something more primitive and maternal: a mother bird feeding her own young – mouth to mouth. A kiss.

And the experience would kiss you, make love to you, your entire body from head to your barefoot toes.  The aromas, the colors, the light, the beauty.  Your body welcoming – opening to – everything she had to offer.  Because when you arrive, you have no idea what the potion of the day will be.  She doesn’t either.  But you make the trek, you climb the hill, get your heel stuck in the stones, pull it back out again, feel the warm wind pulling you higher, and higher, until you reach the belly of her soul, realizing you’re actually on the path to find union with your own."

-Jill Lurie for Jules Blaine Davis


NEXT MIRACLES DATES:

FRIDAY APRIL 27 (need to know asap..email me: juleslove@mac.com)

FRIDAY MAY 11 (need to know by monday may 7)

10:30 - 1PM

RM KITCHEN/MT WASHINGTON

$75/DONATION OF LOVE, FOOD, MAGIC

madness & miracles.

praying

it doesn't have to be

the blue iris, it could be

weeds in a vacant lot, or a few

small stones; just

pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don't try

to make them elaborate, this isn't a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which

another voice may speak.

Mary Oliver

this is where i am today. trying for the silence, allowing for the weeds or maybe it's more like surrendering to the weeds and being ok with this long pause since last we did this: shared a moment like this, fed myself in this way, a little feast of something special, quiet... words, pictures, thoughts, me time i think they call it. putting everything else (that gynormous list) on hold, to do this and only this, while beauty sleeps. her naps are super short so it really is a moment. can you feel it?

so many whirlwinds since those vegan chocolate chip cookies... they were so good! i loved hearing from those of you that got in there and whipped em' up: yummy pants. since then it's been busy over here: we experienced an exodus out of slavery, a journey into freedom (in process), the sea continues to part with cleaning the house like i am moving (my journey into lightness), finding a place for me in my own house, swimming through some depression, questioning this incredible life & happiness, what i am doing here for the millionth time and spring break with my babes. just to name a few things...

you know what i need? A MIRACLE!!! the next two dates are friday april 27 & may 11. spring miracles are full of beauty & magic. with all this inner work of lightness, happiness & freedom who knows what will happen. lets do it beauties... see you in the kitchenxxxx

best (vegan) chocolate chip cookies: ever.

anyone out there experiencing the non-stop/spring fever/sweet tooth party happening over here lately? i usually take the edge off with a cara cara orange and some really hot tea... and yes, for those of you who are in the know: there are definitely some deficiencies, stresses, life actions that continue to keep this party going but we are going to keep this post light and yummy. this particular day ocean was home from school and wanted to bake with me. so i found this awesome, easy recipe for us to make... some wet, some dry, combine, mix, make balls, flatten, heat, rise, cool and eat! i love that to-do list... oh and it's vegan pants which i tend to not be totally gung ho about (is that how you spell it? where did that phrase come from anyway? write in and tell us) i have been a vegan a lot lately so i thought i would give this recipe a whirl. and..O. M. G (which is ocean's knew phrase now) they were so good!

this is such a transitionary time with the season changing, holidays, spring break, march madness... and this is just one of those simple whip it together with a bowl and spoon type recipes.... no kitchenaid needed or eggs for that matter and did i mention how good they were?

and what is more grounding then a simple chocolate chip cookie dipped in some milk? then a nap. and a movie. oh.. don't get me started! OMG! see you in the kitchenxxxx

put on the oven to 350 bake & here are the ingredients.. i used almond milk & you could switch out the flours or use a whole grain with white too.. add some flax powder or other superfood powders, chia seeds, nuts, etc.. i will experiment next time now that i know the base.

one bowl wet, one bowl dry... mix together, bake on 350 for 7 - 10 minutes (depending) or so and voila! let me know how it goesxxxx