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November 2024 HerbWalks & OjaiHerbal Newsletter
Unique fall workshops and a 2-books-for-the-price-of-1 holiday special. 
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November 2024 HerbWalks & OjaiHerbal Newsletter
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Fall Culinary and Medicinal Mushrooms
with Jess Starwood
Sunday, November 3
ALERT! At the time of this writing there are just 3 spaces left for this workshop.
Jess Starwood is an established author, naturalist, chef, herbalist and mushroom expert. She wrote and photographed
Mushroom Wanderland: A Forager’s Guide to Finding, Identifying and Using More Than 25 Wild Fungi. Jess has been teaching foraging, wild foods and nature education classes for children and adults for over ten years in Southern California. She has been a popular presenter many times for Herb Walks and the Ojai Herbal Symposium. Please join us in Ojai on Sunday, November 3, for a morning mushroom foraging walk and an afternoon cooking demonstration and slideshow talk. Click here or on the photo of Jess holding Chicken of the Woods or read the article down below to learn more about the workshop and sign up. To learn more about her book, click on it.
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The Cook and the Farmer —
A Day with Olivia Chase & Steve Sprinkel
Sunday, November 10
ALERT! At the time of this writing there are just 4 spaces left for this workshop.
Please join me on Sunday, November 10, for a tasty and enlightening day with Olivia Chase and Steve Sprinkel, co-founders of the renowned Farmer and the Cook organic café and grocery store in Meiners Oaks. Olivia will introduce her latest cookbook, Farmer and the Cook: recipes and farm stories from Ojai, California. The book includes organic, Mexican recipes from her popular vegetarian café and a collection of recipes inspired by the farm-fresh vegetables grown by her partner, farmer Steve Sprinkel.
The gathering will begin with a visit to Farmer and the Cook’s 9-acre farm. The farm is located on the grounds of the old Honor Farm, near highway 33 and Old Baldwin Road. At the farm you will have an opportunity to meet Farmer Steve and, dependent on rainfall and weather, help pick the ingredients for the afternoon’s cooking demonstration and food tasting.
Then we will gather in one of the kitchens at Farmer and the Cook café in Meiners Oaks. Olivia will give you a glimpse into the journey taken as she and Steve bootstrapped the popular café — side by side for the past 23 years — and shine a light on a core group of talented cooks and bakers at the heart of the kitchen with whom they co-created the café.
The cooking demonstration and tasting will include you in the preparation of a salad using the ingredients you picked in the morning. The actual salad will be determined based on what is available on November 10. You will get to taste a sampling from the cookbook: Nutloaf with Shiitake Mushroom Gravy and Roasted Kabocha Squash along with the fresh-from-the- farm salad. Afterward, Olivia will have books on hand for sale and signing.
Click here or on the image above for more info and registration.
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Supermoon Sunset Nature Hike
& Pizza Party
Saturday, November 16
Click on the photo montage above or the link below to read more and sign up to join me and Rondia for the last supermoon of 2024. The Supermoon Sunset Nature Hike on Saturday, November 16, starts at 4:00 p.m. and ends at 6:30 p.m. After the sunset/moonrise viewing, we'll have an optional after-party at Ojai Valley Brewery's outdoor patio where we can sample beers crafted with local herbs while watching the moon continue its rise in the eastern sky.
And we're introducing a special collaboration at OVB with Chef Adam Nadel. Coming off 4 years as Executive Chef at an Italian restaurant in New York City, Adam has poured all his talent and experience into his mobile food venture, Tramonto Wood-Fired Pizza. Read the article below for all the details. This is one not to miss!!
Left photo: Full moon rising over Topa Topa Bluffs by Lanny Kaufer. Right photo: Tramonto Wood-Fired Pizza, of course. |
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Nature Education Walk at
Taft Nature Preserve
Saturday, November 23
Please join me to observe the changing seasons on a Nature Education Walk at Taft Preserve on Saturday, November 23, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Click on the photo by Alexandra Nicklin or the link above to learn more and register. See the article below for more info. |
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�� Special Holiday Offer ��
2 Books for the Price of 1!
Today through Monday, November 25, my newsletter readers can take advantage of a special holiday offer. It's my way of giving thanks for your ongoing support and engagement. For every copy of my book
Medicinal Herbs of California that you buy for $26.95 in my online shop you will receive a free copy of Milt McAuley's classic 565-page flora of Southern California,
Wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains.That's a $19.95 value but really worth much more compared to 2024 prices for similar books. Thing is, this is the only book of its kind, so there are no comparisons.
You can start ordering the books by visiting the Herb Walks bookshop at this link or clicking on the book cover montage above. Or you can learn more about each book and start the order process by clicking on its name in the first paragraph above. To order, just add both books to the shopping cart and enter this coupon code in the field where you're prompted to "Apply coupon:" WildFree2024. The McAuley book ⏤ which includes 496 color photos ⏤ is absolutely free; you just have to pay a little extra for the shipping. This offer is for newsletter subscribers only and applies only to these two books as a combined order.
After you've entered the coupon code in the shopping cart, when you reach checkout you can use the “Order notes (optional)” field to request a simple autograph or have my book signed to you or that special person who's receiving it as a gift. This personal touch is something not available when purchasing on Amazon. Thank you and happy holidays!
BTW, if you already own my book or you're considering buying it, click on the following link to check out the free hyperlinked bibliography I created to save you the hassle of copying long URLs from the printed page to your browser to visit the many web sources cited in the book. |
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November
Herb Walks Events |
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This article appeared in the October newsletter. |
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Jess finds a mushroom at a previous workshop in Ojai |
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From Wanderland to Ojai: The Return of Jess Starwood |
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On Sunday, November 3, in Ojai, special guest author-forager-mushroom expert Jess Starwood and I will present a full-day workshop on "Fall Culinary and Medicinal Mushrooms."
We'll begin with a foraging walk on the Ojai Meadows Preserve among the oaks, sycamores, and eucalyptus. This diverse Ojai habitat is home to several species of fungi and numerous edible and medicinal plants. Of course, we can’t guarantee which mushrooms we’ll find; their sudden appearance is dependent on rainfall, weather, and other factors. We will be in search of Chicken of the Woods (
Laetiporus gilbertsonii), a fall season delicacy, for our afternoon snack.
In the afternoon, we'll gather in downtown Ojai for a wild mushroom cooking demo followed by a slideshow talk on medicinal mushrooms known for building immunity as we enter the cold and flu season.
Jess has earned the Integrative Psilocybin Mushroom Specialist certification so she also will discuss
Psilocybe species, including instruction for how to grow them at home.
Afterwards, Jess will have her book
Mushroom Wanderland,on hand for sale and signing. I'll have
Medicinal Herbs of California, too. Click on the hyperlinked workshop title in the first paragraph above or the photo of Jess to read more and register.
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"The Key to Winter Wellness"
© LearningHerbs.com (click to enlarge) |
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The full moon rising as the Topa Topa Bluffs light up with Ojai's iconic "pink moment."
Photo: Lanny Kaufer |
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�� "When the moon hits your eye
like a big pizza pie..."�� |
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On Saturday evening, November 16, from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m., my wife Rondia and I will lead a special collaborative event starting with a Supermoon Sunset Nature Hike to a vista point above the Ojai Valley where we can watch the sun set and the full supermoon rise over the Topa Topa Bluffs. One of the extra special effects of the moonrise this time of year is that it rises over the mountains at sunset, just as Ojai's iconic "pink moment" lights up the Bluffs.
On the way up, we'll meet some valuable edible and medicinal plants including, among others:
- Purple Sage
- California Buckwheat
- Toyon
- Brickellbush and
- Prickly-Pear
After witnessing the setting of the sun and rising of the moon, we’ll return to the trailhead at about 6:30.
Then, the collaboration begins! At 6:45 p.m. you’re invited to join us at Ojai Valley Brewery‘s heated outdoor patio to watch the moon continue its rise in the eastern sky. Brewmasters Jeremy Haffner, Griffin Davis, and their staff will be pouring their amazing local herb-infused beers, ales, and stouts. And now they've added their own Side Street Wine under the OVB umbrella.
Chef Adam Nadel and his Tramonto Wood-Fired Pizza truck will be there. We'll enjoy, among other offerings, two special menu items he created with local herbs and berries as the foundation:
�� The Gary Faulkner: Lamb Sausage, Sumac-braised Onions, Tahini, and Aleppo Pepper
and
�� The Ronnie Cammareri: Local Ojai Purple Sage, Browned Butter, and Ricotta
Click here or on the full moon photo above to read more and register. |
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Summer fire restrictions are still in place throughout the Los Padres National Forest through January 31, 2025. These restrictions will affect the use of campfires, stoves, smoking materials, and internal combustion engines.
For campground reservations at Wheeler Gorge, Rose Valley, Pine Mountain, Reyes Peak, and other sites in the Los Padres National Forest, visit this webpage. |
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Our destination on this hike is the incredible 360º view from this mesa with the stone compass. Click on the image to enlarge it. |
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Experience the changing season at the Taft Nature Preserve |
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Please join me for the monthly Nature Education Walk at Taft Nature Preserve on Saturday, November 23, from 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon. We will explore trails through the wild parts of the property, identify and discuss native plants, and observe birds and animal tracks in the context of local ecology.
This event is a perfect fit with my personal mission to open a space for people to connect with the natural world. The diversity of wildlife, plant communities, and native species make Taft Nature Preserve the ideal place.
Taft Gardens & Nature Preserve was featured in an L.A. Times article on “The 16 Most Beautiful and Inviting Public Gardens in Southern California” and included in the RedBook Magazine list of “The 12 Most Beautiful Botanical Gardens in the United States.”
Registration for this event is through Taft Gardens. Please start here.
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It's acorn dropping time in Ojai! Click on the Patrick McDonnell "Mutts" comic to enlarge it. |
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Mixed conifer forest on Pine Mountain.
Photo: Peter Green |
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The “Fix Our Forests Act” | A Threat in Disguise |
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From Los Padres ForestWatch:
"On September 24, 2024, the House of Representatives passed one of the most problematic and contentious pieces of public lands legislation in decades: the 'Fix Our Forests Act.' We are proud of our advocates in the community who submitted over 500 emails in opposition leading up to the vote." Click here to read the article on the LPFW website. Please become informed about this controversial plan to log Pine Mountain. |
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Other Local Events of Interest |
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