I swear I wasn’t kidnapped.  Normally I send out my little post to the world on Saturday mornings, but since Wednesday, I have been on an extraordinary seminar trip with my husband.  A little background first.  My husband was accepted into an elite fellowship last year called California Agriculture Leadership, or Ag Leadership as they call it.  He is in Class 48, and along with 22 other outstanding fellows, goes through an 18-month program with monthly seminars around the state, a 10 day national and a two and a half week international trip, as well as many assignments to work on along the way, all designed to help them grow personally and professionally as leaders.  It is a program that I literally couldn’t say enough good things about.  Well, this last seminar, the spouses were invited as well.

In addition to not being able to say enough good things about the program, I will probably not be able to fully express with words–at least not right away–this last trip.  It was a deep dive into the criminal justice system, and specifically the death penalty, with presentations, stories, and arguments, including heart-wrenching personal stories on both sides.  It was designed to present a problem where there was not an easy solution to help leaders understand and navigate difficult problems with nuance even in situations that are highly charged with emotions.  It also included a once in a lifetime visit to San Quentin Prison and an eye-opening visit with some of the prisoners held there.  It was, in a word, life-changing and it took me out of my normal routine for a few days.

So after all that build up about why I have been a little M.I.A., I am now going to detour back a bit.  In one of the previous seminars that my husband and his fellows went on, they visited a place called LA Kitchen.  LA Kitchen is an amazing organization that takes food that would not be normally used (think cosmetic seconds from growers) or they buy food at a discount and then they have a training program for ex-convicts, homeless people, and or ex-foster care, who learn the culinary skills to prepare the food and deliver it to seniors and other people needing better nutrition throughout LA.  Wow!  I love this mission!  I love how it is working on all sides of an issue, leaving nothing to waste, not food, not the preparation of the food, or the receiving of the food.  Nothing is exempt from its mission to do good work.  I can’t help but be inspired by the way they squeeze the maximum amount of good out of every step of the process.

This unique organization also has a rather unique fundraising concept.  They ask people to host dinner parties for their friends and charge a ticket price that directly benefits their organization.   So unlike one big gala event, the Shared Plates events take place across the city (and even in Marin County!) in homes and restaurants over one weekend, October 5-7th.   Instead of going to your friend’s house for dinner with a bottle of wine, you purchase a ticket and it goes directly to LA Kitchen.  This is clearly a BIG mission, so when one of Paul’s fellows asked if I would help her with a dinner party the first night of the seminar, 4 hours from our house, where the food would have to be prepped hours before, and we would have about 30 minutes to set up, you can probably guess what my answer would be.  YES!

So, I baked and prepped.  I made focaccia, and I made rosemary raisin bread.  I made apple cakes with salted caramel sauce, I made double chocolate biscotti, and prepared a huge fall kale and sprouts salad, and we packed our car to the brim.  We were lucky in that the art studio where we were going to hold our dinner let us in a bit early and we transformed a downstairs basement room into a wonderful sparkly lit table filled with good food and better intentions.  The other fellow who planned everything, Kelly, was inspiring.  She had totes and bins, and amazing sides and somehow had managed a main dish that was still piping hot (how?!?) and we got to work.  We also had another fellow’s wife (well done Robin!) who put together a raffle of some amazing prizes that raised even more money.  I believe our final count of attendees was 30 and it was a smashing success.  Yes, the logistics were challenging, and there were bumps and hiccups along the way, but I will say it made the payoff, the final result that much more meaningful when we were all gathered together.  We were able to really extend ourselves and do something that provided a tangible benefit for something we believe in.  I don’t think I could ask for a better day’s work than that!