we decide.

i wish i could tell you that i have been napping this whole time....waiting for spring like frog. unfortunately, it's not the case. i am missing you though... i think about you all the time... whether i am peeling parsnips, gathering at the market, stirring soup, making tea (to leave it on the counter, sipped once)....i am hoping you are feeling good in your kitchens, that you are feeding yourselves, nurturing your dreams and nourishing your babes and families. are you having any miracles in the kitchen? there are so many amazing things to discover at the market at this time.... and it's such a medicinal food season as well...mama nature provides us with so many nutirent-rich veggies and fruits in winter. isn't it incredible that citrus grows so abundantly when it's cold out? have you tried the cara cara (PINK) oranges or the sweet oro blanco grapefruits.... introduce it to yourself and your friends and family... you can never waste money when you are learning, tasting and creating amazing food... as i drive through the city, i want to climb all the trees and gather bags of bright yellow and orange goodness... the trees seem SO full of vitamin C. have you been seeing them (those of you in LA) ? is it illegal to climb them? i mean... can't we all feed each other in this way?

here are some shots of last weeks' market in santa monica.. the weather has been cookoo pants gorgeous...and there are some other shots of my beauty kin... i have a lot up my apron for this year and i am gathering my thoughts, my dreams, my callings in the kitchen and beyond.... first up, a home for me, our community and all that we can unfold in the kitchen...(i think it's called a website) so, if you know of any amazing people that i need to meet.... please send them my way....

i have been steeping in the mission of my kitchen culture quest... one of the ideas that keeps coming up is how

we decide

.

WE.... as the women, as the mamas, all of us (with mamas inside of us), create this food culture in our homes... we decide what we eat, how we eat, when we eat... we decide if we have beauty, love, intimacy in our food, in our kitchens, in our lives... what i am realizing in so many areas of my life is that the time we have been waiting for, talking about, walking towards....IS NOW! it's as deep or as light or as simple or as free as you want to go... it's up to us. WE DECIDE. so that's the jules tip of the day (another something that is happening up the apron)... want to share about this? please do. i love hearing from you. see you in the kitchenxxxx

MIRACLE ALERT: friday, february 17 & friday, march 2. let me know if you want to be fedX

beauty gifts....

hello beauties...have you seen enough of these beauty baskets?? i know, i feel the same way...i can't get enough of shooting the beauty of this incredible food and nourishment in these baskets! here are a few more recent ones...AND this just in: RM miracle certificates for the intimate & inspiring gatherings in my kitchen! we are getting closer to the holidays and i would be honored to be on your holiday lists with the JOY of nurturing your friends & family this holiday (and really all year long.. i mean we get hungry a lot ;) food is the ultimate offering and when it comes custom and created with love like this.. there is nothing better but to find it at your door or in your kitchen... you can also give the baskets as a housewarming offering for the host etc... i don't need to tell you how many uses food in this gorgeous way can be given... we all know who really deserves one of these every week....YOU! sending love & blessings during this crazy time of year... please, ground & make a soup OR at the very least a tea. it's been really helping me get through... see you in the kitchenxxxx

A MIRACLE.

happy december beauties!!

missing you & me so much... the life of a renaissance mama is forever defining itself in, out and all around me. i have been trying to get this post out for a thousand years.....i can feel you all nodding your heads in understanding and i love you and this gorgeous community for that. please, go make a tea, i'll wait here....i have been returning to the ever spicy and sweet chai latte with a frothy almond milk... i was also turned on to this beautiful pomegranate green tea by a dear renaissance mama...i have been offering that one in the miracles... oh! and get your books, i phones, wall calendars out... this is about making darn sure to nourish YOU this month.... as it's the hardest month to do it!! we have to come together as a community and make it happen or it will not as we all know so well. this is the time WE GIVE TILL OUR BLOOD RUNS DRY (is that dramatic enough?) and then we decide to reconnect to ourselves in the new year (on a gurney..) when most of us truly believe we will be able to see straight again... and we don't stop there.. we decide to make goals, hopes, wishes of ourselves, draw up lists, intentions scrolls, etc... oy, we are a mess! that made me laugh out loud.. i know some of you are really on it and have figured this piece out (taking callers...) and i have pockets of that clarity too (before beauty...) today, i am speaking to the over-scheduled, crazy pants ambitious women & mamas & all of us out there who, like me, want to do it all ALL of the time... especially during the holidays where rituals come to their peak status... and we LOVE those rituals.... so here is a beautiful ritual to begin ane make happen in december: A MIRACLE. i have decided to have only ONE this month (yeah.. i got the memo ;) let us gather, feed off the beauty, celebrate each other, share in this nourishing as we give to all around us this holiday.

HOLIDAY MIRACLE

DECEMBER 15, 2011

10:30 - 1ish

75$/in advance

JULES KITCHEN/MT WASHINTON

*these are intimate gathering, rsvp asap to reserve your wooden bowl

OH! and give the miracle as a gift.... there are RM certificates, custom created, stamped & printed for those you love... you can also get one in a beauty basket with some rustic beauty produce.. more on this very soon!

if i don't see you...have a beautiful holiday and let us continue to inspire, empower and feed each other in this way... see you in the kitchenxxxx

beauty baskets.

this season is just oozing with BEAUTY....the hues of oranges, reds, browns, purples, greens, it's a rainbow of love coming out of the ground to greet us everyday. it's poetry, dance, art in color, texture, taste that continues to inspire me into this deep place of gratitude... all i want to do is SHARE it... it's the only way... our farmers trek to hollywood and ivar, arizona & 3rd, and all over the city to sell us their goods.... and we (ok, i) get up early, drive away from a cozy sunday morning or a wednesday west side drive in back to back traffic to meet our food, to gather the good medicine, to reconnect to my source, the sustenance, the core of life in this way.... to feel the miracle & bring it home to my family.. yes, it's a journey that takes effort, time & priority. it is a lifestyle, no doubt. once you taste what is happening here, there is nothing like it. you can't replace the taste of a weiser watermelon radish, a mcgrath tahitian squash, a peacock farms fuyu persimmon...it's just this way. you might get close, but the best will always be the best. period.

oh and i love the best....

i am launching another branch to the ever blossoming renaissance mama tree: BEAUTY BASKETS!!! custom baskets of seasonal fruits, vegetables & amazing, yummy foods from the market.. passionately and lovingly gathered, inspired by the BEST of the market... they are abundant gifts to give yourself, your family and your friends... i think of them as gratitude gifts...this is the best time to send one as the day of thanks is on its way... who are you thankful for and how can you show them what you mean.....let me deliver beauty in a basket to their door. food is the best gift. we all need it, no matter how much or how little we have.

i am taking just a few more orders for thanksgiving baskets (for the actual day)... bring it as a gift to the host or a centerpiece for your home to nosh on later... i deliver all over the city. i also create & cook meals for those who need cooked foods... new mamas, those in the healing process & everyone that needs food! it really should be called 'skies the limit baskets'..... anything that goes in a basket with food, is what i am up to.... so get your gratitude lists ready and lets go!

if you are just coming aboard the RM train..... my passion is to feed you. mamas, women, all of us. i want you to have the best & i show you how to do it, in your life, right now (no, not when you have 'time')... guiding you back to your beauty, the love of the season while inspiring & empowering you to reconnect to yourself, your kitchen, your family in this intimate way with food & cooking... embracing all that it brings (and doesn't bring) & creating a space that is YOURS. i see it over and over again... if you are nurtured, you want to share the feeling, then you yearn to nourish your family. let me feed you in all the ways.... see you in the kitchenxxxx

crazy.

i am CRAZY for the colors of the fall bounty....the warty skins of the pumpkins and squashes, the sheeny beam of the fuji persimmons and the red ruby pomegranates that radiate abundance. they all scream at me throughout the day! open me up, you are so lucky to have me! be grateful for this beauty, for this lush truth inside me, how amazing i am! i can't help but agree! (and no, this is not when i put on a skirt and start prancing and dancing around the kitchen table and singing songs fiddler on the roof style..but i like the idea of it ;)

the food is so gorgeous right now... and in this season specifically, we love to make our 'food altars'...we adorn our dining room tables with the the variety of rusty to light oranges, forest & celadons greens, browns & yellows too.... something inside of us says YES. it just feels right... we are celebrating the harvest, the season, the gratitude of this food and for many of us, it says HOME.

then....

we wait,

and wait,

and wait some more to cut this BEAUTY open... to see what is inside... to cook it and reap the benefits of this beauty... why do we do this? why do we wait until the bottom begins to rot out onto our table? my feeling is that we don't know what to do with it... yes? no? what do you think? it's a metaphor for so many things in life... so beautiful = don't want to touch it. it looks unmanageable, scary, gorgeous, mysterious.....put it in the oven and that baby is yours... the skin caves into itself and the lush insides are soft, kind, loving, and so good... trust me. so this week...go get a red kuri squash from mcgrath farms, a confection squash from weiser farms and if you can't make it to the farmers market they have yummy delicata, butternut and more at whole foods..

put the oven on 375, convection bake or bake, place it in whole or cut it in half on a casserole dish, massage with olive oil (get the seeds out after it's cooked, it's easier) and put it in for 35 - 45 minutes depending on it's size. check in on it every now and then..'fork it' to see if it's ready.... and done. RM TIP: do this in the morning! keep it on stove top with a pretty towel over it and let it hang there. it can wait till dinner. let me know how it feels. see you in the kitchenxxxx

beauty gathering.

RM GATHERING: lunch with beauty

(MAMA AND ME FOR BABES FROM NB - 18 MONTHS)

allow me the honor to feed, nourish, support, share & connect YOU to YOUR BEAUTY in the kitchen.....

so many of our stories live in the kitchen....patiently waiting inside a wooden spoon, quietly stirring inside that broken tea cup you have been saving in the back of the cabinet, longing to be touched, seen, played with, stories that can change your life, at least for a moment, a meal, a lunch.....

welcome to the renaissance mama kitchen

we will connect to these stories inside a soup, a butternut squash, the best apple you have ever tasted:

*feeding you with locally grown, love filled food,

*empowering you with the tools & the know how,

*inspiring you to nourish this piece in YOU first and then

*to nurture your family in this gorgeous, rustic, organic way

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2011

10:30 - 1:30 pm (open door policy)

$60

RM KITCHEN/MT WASHINGTON

RSVP ASAP (no later than monday/17th)

these are intimate gatherings and they fill up..

email: juleslove@mac.com

RM LOVE for the gatherings.....

"Jules' Kitchen (The Renaissance Mama) was truly an inspiration, a motivation, as well as a warm, delicious experience. I have been cooking up a storm ever since being in her kitchen! Love her!"

tracey groce, mama of harper

"When I've signed up for one of Jules' miracle gatherings, I think about it all week long. I know I will be steeped in beauty and nourished immeasurably. The table she sets, with all the Farmer's Market produce of the season, never ceases to take my breath away. And Jules herself is vibrant and totally down to earth with an incredible sense of humor. We laugh. We cry. We learn to make delicious food. We eat. And we leave full of all good things."

heidi rose robbins, mama of kate & dylan

see you in the kitchenxxxxx

fall love.

this 'fall love' inspires me to make food altars all over the kitchen! the markets are full with all kinds of pears, apples, pomegranates, figs, jerusalem artichokes & SQUASH! i love me some squash... roast em', saute em', make em' in soups all day long.... make sure to try them all! they are beautiful on the table AND cut open, flesh down in a casserole dish on 375 - 400 bake for about 45 minutes depending on your oven and the size of the squash... get that dance happening. don't wait till thanksgiving! try all the different varieties: delicata, red kuri, butternut, acorn, kambocha..... you do not need to know what you are going to make... just turn on the oven! it's such a good feeling to have it in there cooking..... who knows maybe you will make a soup or just scoop it out with a spoon...it also makes a beautiful base for the baby food!

i can't believe it's the middle of october... we celebrated a new year, a 5 year and a yom kippur so far. it's a time for reflection, new & old, tuning into my purpose, what i want to bring in. connecting with that fire in my heart & letting go of what is not serving me. it's hard to go inside those deep and quiet places with the babes these days.... i love to go there. i used to live there, on the canvas, dipping inside the colors of emotion and expressing every little thing. now, it happens inside a black eyed pea soup or cutting open a pomegranate with my son, watching him take the villages of seeds a part and suck the juice out of each and every one. it's still deep, just different. see you in the kitchenxxxx

rumi.

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

-- Jelaluddin Rumi,
translation by Coleman Barks

this came to me from the incredible teachers ana maria & samantha at yogala in echo park.... a cozy, love & beauty filled yoga studio in echo park. definitely check it out if you live in los angeles...