Beyond Measure

A behind-the-scenes peek from TedxAustin 2012. Virtuoso trumpeter, Jeff Lofton, known as the Miles Davis of our day, began the conference with a performance that filled all of Austin Music Hall with its breath-taking resonance.

Beyond Measure was not just the theme of TedxAustin 2012; It was the amount of anticipation that I felt leading up the coordination of Natural Epicurean volunteers to support the lunch service of yesterday's conference. Tedx's Jennie Chen masterfully enrolled six of Austin's most renowned restaurant chefs to each design a unique menu with access to the same 12 locally-sourced ingredients, and it manifested in this amazing lunch experience:


Swift's Attic
Mat Clouser, Zack Northcutt and Callie Speer
Roasted Chicken Bahn Mi, Broccoli Kimchee Spinach & Quick Pickle Salad

Lenoir
Todd Duplechan and Jessica Maher
The Chicken or the Egg - Chicken pot-au-feu with egg ravoili

Carillon
Josh Watkins
Chicken Roulades, bacon, espellete, sherry emulsion
Texmati rice, dried apricots, almonds, celery, black pepper syrup
Carrots, caraway, molasses, pork jus gastrique

Fino/Asti
Jason Donoho
Smoked Vital Farms Chicken & Spinach Morcilla Blanca, Carrot Purée, Broccoli Slaw & Egg Yolk Bottarga

Uchiko
Philip Speer
Vital farms chicken, sweet short grain rice, candied pork belly, crispy garlic
Pickled carrots & broccoli, Spinach oshitaki

Wink/BC Tavern
Matt Taylor
Cachatorrie-Style Braised Chicken with Roasted Carrots and Spinach
Broccoli & Bleu Cheese Macaroni

When not working with the chefs and Natural Epicurean assistants to prep and serve lunch, I was on the balcony soaking in the wisdom emanating from the amazing speakers who graced the stage. Here are some of the messages that stuck with me.

I was struck by how profoundly Tanya Streeter, freedive world record holder and environmentalist, redefines limits in every aspect of her life. As she so eloquently put it, "to redefine limits is to first accept that there are limits. They're just not where you think they are."

Jeremy Courtney, the founder of the Preemptive Love Coalition, a non-profit that sets out to eradicate the backlog of Iraqi children waiting in line for lifesaving heart surgery, spoke about how by "suspending suspicion and extending trust" he has been able to bring together individuals who belong to communities that are declared enemies and support the rebuilding of the war-torn country. I was left in wonderment of how someone who is not an Iraqi and not a surgeon, could garner such compassion and such expertise to make this impactful work possible.

Craig Hella Johnson, the conductor of Austin's multi-Grammy-winning choir, Conspirare, struck me by how effortlessly flowed between song and humble yet prophetic prose about our very existence in one of the most dynamic Ted Talks that I've ever witnessed. He concluded with this excerpt of a poem from Rumi, "What Was Said to the Rose."

What Was Said to the Rose
What Was Said to the Rose
What was said to the rose that made it open
was said to me here in my chest.
What was told the Cypress that made it strong
and straight, what was
whispered the jasmine so it is what it is, whatever made
sugarcane sweet, whatever
was said to the inhabitants of the town of Chigil in
Turkestan that makes them
so handsome, whatever lets the pomegranate flower blush
like a human face, that is
being said to me now. I blush. Whatever put eloquence in
language, that's happening here.
The great warehouse doors open; I fill with gratitude,
chewing a piece of sugarcane,
in love with the one to whom every that belongs!
Poem by Jalaluddin Rumi,
translation ©2005 — Coleman Barks

If you have yet to explore the vast online database of fascinating talks on ted.com, follow this link to see one of my favorites: http://www.ted.com/talks/luis_von_ahn_massive_scale_online_collaboration.html

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When in Drought

Currently, about 95 percent of Texas is in either a severe or exceptional drought status and the past year has been the worst one-year drought in the state's history. This recent drought has devastated farmers and ranchers, and officials have estimated agriculture losses at more than 45.2 billion. This summer, hundreds of wildfires erupted in Texas and burned more than 127,000 acres, the most ever, and lake levels are down as much as 50 feet in some lakes while several West Texas lakes have completely dried up.

In recent statements, Texas State Climatologist, John Nielsen-Gammon explains why he believes that this drought may last another five to fifteen years. For more, visit http://tamutimes.tamu.edu/2011/09/29/terrible-news-texas-drought-could-last-until-2020/

Or perhaps you prefer this explanation:

A cloud which was designed for rain
was home to drops (that should be plain) .
The forecast had announced some showers
thus, in the early morning hours
the signal came from higher up
that all the drops jump off the top.

Two oval shaped good looking drops
took off their speedos and their tops
and slowly went up to the edge
when one of them said 'I do pledge
to never misbehave again',
the other answered 'count to ten.'

They were afraid, that much is clear
and looking down increased their fear.
Little did each tiny rain drop know

How much they're needed for plants to grow
That without their courage and impending rain

Those below would suffer drought and pain.

Well you can guess what happened then
The number ten came and went.
Due to the drops' hesitation and doubt -
Here we are, in the middle of a drought.

Adapted from a poem by Herbert Nehrlich

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A Lesson from a Butterfly

Lately, I've been taking the same walk everyday.

Along the creek

Up the steps

Past the tree where I like to perch

To the shrine

Yesterday I was going through the same motions of walking past these now-familiar landmarks, until suddenly a butterfly fluttered across my path and perched on a blooming flower before me.

And with out saying a word this butterfly shattered my paradigm that anything could stay the same even from one moment to the next. I realized that I this walk was unique from the one I took the day before. Though I had almost overlooked it, my surroundings and I were both different from the day before. With each flap of its paper-thin wings it proclaimed:

Nothing remains constant

From moment

to moment

to moment

Elements collide

You breathe in

You breathe out

The world pulses

When you observe tiny changes

that occur from moment

to moment

within and around you

Then when something dramatic shifts,

your fresh eyes and new heart,

are more prepared to understand and accept

that nothing could have ever remained constant

And then it was gone, to visit another flower, never knowing that it had changed my world.

May many butterflies cross your path. Perhaps one as beautiful as this peacock-patterned butterfly who I came across in Taiwan.

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Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting-
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

- Wild Geese by Mary Olivar

When I get caught up in my life in the day-to-day, I love reading this poem to readjust my focus on just how magnificently large our world is and to let go of frantic energy that impedes me from remembering that I too am a part of nature.

As many of you already know, in just a week I will embark on a year-long culinary apprenticeship in Japan. There have been many loose ends to tie up and items to check off my to-do list, so I've been intentionally setting aside to do things like read poems like this one.

Amidst my preparations for departure, I am also excitedly building an even greater web presence so that I can keep in touch and share my experiences with you. Be The Oak will become my travel journal where I will post frequently about all sorts of experiences, not just things culinary. My new professional website, www.rhymeandseason.com is where I'll direct you for recipes and culinary resources.

More good things to come!

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