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Peggy Markel

@peggymarkel

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Designer. Director. Traveler. Peggy Markel’s Culinary Adventures 🍴🌏est. 1992 Italy Morocco Spain Scotland India 🐌☀️🍷

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Pema Chödrön just celebrated her 90th birthday. She gave a talk in the hills of Boulder on Aging in the Dharma. What we know and love about Pema is her grounded sense of humor steeped in wisdom. It’s relatable. “A sign of awakening is when our habitual patterns get less and less. We identify with anger and self pity, but it’s not who we are. These propensities are adventitious, they are temporary and removable. The clouds part and there is the sky and the vast mind is revealed, nothing to make up. Always there. How do you want to spend the rest of your life?” Fun in this music means leaning in, letting go so we can connect to our true nature with kindness, respect and warmth. This way, we can help others. These teachings come through her root teacher Trungpa Rinpoche and her present teacher Venerable Dzigar Kongtrol Rinpoche, pictured here. His warmth and wisdom palpable. Photos taken here in the Nyingma Summer Seminar at Phutsok Choling, our annual 9 day retreat. #mangalashribhuti Her books and tapes are numerous and worthy to read and listen to. I recommend. They have been a steady companion on my travels. Happy summer! Are you having any fun? by @peggymarkel

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6 days ago

We are just a few months away with a few spaces available on the gorgeous private island of Eilean Shona in Scotland . Offering this week in the pristine grounds of Neverland- the real one- will fill your soul and lighten your load. Joy will rise to the surface like cream. It’s the kind of vibrational uplift we all need. Elixirs of fresh air on tap, local seafood plucked from the loch, and time.. to rest.. to dream..to write.. to cook.. to get lost. Fireside chats and storytelling galore. Don’t wait..Jump! It’s the medicine we need. Lovely friends.. please come. Spend some lovely days with the legendary Jeremy lee of Quo Vadis London. . www.peggymarkel.com Scotland September 3-10. by @peggymarkel

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22 days ago

The sea is good medicine. A reset for the mind, the body and the soul. Getting away from it all to remember our breath and breathe deeply, is no small thing. Pain and confusion seem to disappear or take a backseat. It’s a natural workout. Minerals, vitamins, love, all seem to seep in. Sleep is easy.. softly rocking. Now I will make my way back to Florence for a few days to wilt at 100 degrees on the 4th floor, but only for a few days. Then to Colorado for the rest of the summer. This is the end of my spring season. 7 trips. Morocco, Spain, Sardinia, Sicily and the sailing off the coast of Napoli. Fantastico. My work is a dream.. and I love it.. and I look forward to a putting my hands in the garden for a change. Thanks to everyone who came this year so far. It was medicine indeed for us all. The world is still a beautiful place. by @peggymarkel

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I like that a sailboat can take you to places that are hard to reach in other ways. The brothers who run this place are all barefoot cooks that know their game. Sweet and savory pirates, dolce-forte in the wild. #culinaryadventures in the Pontine islands. by @peggymarkel

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Beautiful islands, incredible food, delightful company - yes, but also a complete nervous system reset. @peggymarkel offers a vessel to hold deep rest and settling of the soul. Chef @nicolettebres nourished our bodies with whole foods filled with brine and sunshine. Loved swimming and laughing with my cabin mate @daniela_ibarra_howell + Capitan Antonio and crew kept us humming along with the wind. Grazie a tutti for a spirit nourishing week. ⛵️ and if you wanna get in on this sweetness @ashleywick will be co-leading a trip here next summer! by @peggymarkel

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This September we will venture yet once again into the Scottish Highlands for our Neverland retreat. On the private island of Eilean Shona, we will take a breath of fresh air. Find peace. Loosen our grip and remember what it was like not only to breathe in, but to breathe out and have space fire our creative juices to flow. It’s an inspiring week with the landscape and the food and foraging alone, but guest chef @jeremyleeqv will be with us. Hallelujah to have Jeremy in the House. Beloved, admired, a treasure of a storyteller, he is the life blood behind Quo Vadis, one of London’s most loved watering holes for the spirit.. and the food of course. The rest is the luxury of being swaddled in pristine nature. More photos to come on stories and of course there’s the website www.peggymarkel.com scroll down to Scotland. There are a few spots available still for an intimate group of 10 including me. What a week it will be!!one for the books.,if you need an inspiring break.. this offers it on many levels. Please book now for September 3-10! DM for questions . by @peggymarkel

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2 months ago

After 3 weeks of travel through Spain’s Andalucia, Sardinia and Sicily, it was time to return to Florence. Traveling with people as I do is a true pleasure. I’ve met incredible people, some new and some that have become friends. These memories put extra layers in my lasagna of leading so many trips over the years. I come back to Florence to rest. As I walk down the Arno and see the Ponte Vecchio in the distance, it soothes me. Small tables for a tét a tét delight, and the rowing club below the Uffizi gives a sense of place close to my appartamentino. Being at home here is a familiar nest. I’m held and quiet. Noises a plenty come from the streets below, but I’m above it. I don’t love the changes I see happening. Via dei Neri, my local shopping street a block away, has become “meat street”. My favorite local Fruitti Vendolo, the wonderful Base V juicery,,has been turned into another Bistecca restaurant . A few doors down a Smash Burger. There are no less that 5 or 6 fast food sandwich shops every few steps. The streets are greasy from around 700 people a day sitting on the streets dropping the contents. There are cheap leather goods sandwiched between the sandwich shops. I don’t know what to call it other than it all feels transactional and mostly fake, something Florence never felt. I’m watching the world homogeniz. It’s quickly becoming one note, as if the beauty of cultural identity is fading as it’s not what people want. They want what they see on social. But I question if it really feeds the soul. And that is what Florence and the Renaissance was all about. Is it the end of an era? I suppose in an ever-changing world we pivot and keep digging for what has meaning. I still love it however. Maybe I’m the one that needs to change? We have to get big enough to hold it all and yet keep our eyes on what needs to be protected. #slowfood #slowfoodtravel #foodandculture by @peggymarkel

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2 months ago

Sun drenched courtyards, bougainvillea ciocolato, gelato, fruitta, pasta, formaggio, olives, oranges, lemons and lambs, Espresso, macchiato, café latte, Americano, Vino bianco,,rosso, vermouth e rosé ,Anchovies, artichokes, almonds and ricotta,Greeks, Arabs, Normans and Americans,Sicily has been kind to me, scolded me, and loved me. So many folks I’ve ferreted through this land to feel its power and depth of flavor. To know Sicily is to taste Sicily..and discover why the ancients came to her. Parting is such sweet sorrow. Profumo del Mediterraneo opens the heart. 🧡 by @peggymarkel

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I started my business in 1992 wanting to connect people more deeply to food and culture starting with “La Cucina al Focolare”, Cooking by the Fireside, in the Florentine hills. The next year I found myself in Torino at my first Slow Food event. I couldn’t have imagined meeting the voice and the legend that was Carlo Petrini, the founder. I was incredibly inspired by his passion for people who worked the land, and were committed to growing good food, interested in the quality and taste of good food and how it should be protected. I thought, “Petrini for President! “ he was so charismatic. I became a member in 1993. Carlo knew that I was American. He called me into his office one day and said they wanted to expand into America. I said, what can I do for you? He said, Soce! Soce! Members ! Members! I said, ok! He said, tu sei una guercia! ;you’re an oak! I felt more like a foot soldier and Carlo was the general. I better get started, I thought. It was like catching a wave. In 1996 @charlie_papazian and I created one of the first convivium in Boulder. I have taken that inspiration internationally, protecting traditional food and wine culture through Slow travel for the last 35 years. Carlo passed today at 76. The end of an era. He was the real oak. I am just one of many acorns that fell from the tree. Grazie Mille Carlin for a foundation of meaningful work.@carlo.petrini @slowfoodboco @slowfood_international by @peggymarkel

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Sardinia’s introterra is legendary for the flavor of its pecorino sheep’s milk cheese. It was a fairytale to visit Samuel Lai and his family in their home and guesthouse, @domuantiga . Samuel returned to his hometown Gergei after 20 years in the military to pursue his passion for local agriculture and hospitality. He transformed a traditional, abandoned 1800’s farmhouse into a rustic guesthouse that his mother, father and siblings run and take care of while he milks the sheep and makes delectable pecorino. He took over his father-ln-laws care of the sheep after he died and found his livelihood. He said, you don’t appreciate what you have until you leave it. He has seen tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now he is at peace, you can feel it. His small cheese shop, called Sinnos, has a garden in the back as well as a cave to age his cheese. His joy really flourished when he picked up his accordion after our cheese tasting. You could really feel his content and it was contagious.Cheesemaking was one of the reasons I wanted to put together a culinary adventure in Sardinia. Most people are drawn to the vibrant turquoise waters, as am I, but there is something potent about her vast green interior. It’s ancient. I visited my friend @letitia_ann_clark, chef and cookbook writer and we dreamed up a collaboration. This week was our first with invited guest/friends. There’s more to the story.. see what we are up to and come with us next May. by @peggymarkel

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2 months ago

What a pleasure it was to have @cannellevanille join me on my annual culinary adventure in Andalucia. Her gifts are many and I knew returning to her native Spain would be a delight for her and for us. She’s from the Basque region which also gave us a glimpse into the differences between the north and the south of the country. She is the queen of gluten-free baking and her cookbooks reflect her passion and artistry, especially in her latest book « The Art of Gluten-Free baking « which is a must for anyone if you like to bake. Done well, everyone enjoys and that’s the point. She taught us tortilla Español, and a few lovely almond cakes and cookies. I expected her to share a few baking tips and recipes, but it was her warmth and genuine care with everyone that put the icing on the cake, not to mention her photography. It inspired me to take a few photos of her. Thank you Arancia (Aran) for coming along. You made the trip moy especial! Gracias! by @peggymarkel

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One day I saw a photo that really drew me in. It was full of color and texture. I thought, where is this? It was Morocco. Soon after I was on a plane with some friends. While there important connections were made. I came back the following year to collaborate with @jnanetamsna on a culinary adventure connecting food and culture. That was 25 years ago. Morocco is under my skin now. I have come twice a year since then. The accumulation of times brings comfort and knowledge. Friendship and a way of navigating that only experience can give. Leaving today after three weeks. It’s always been good to me. The hello greetings are three deep. The goodbye greetings are more silent with a hand over the heart. See you again, Inshallah. If God wills it.Join us October 25-November 3 peggymarkel.com/adventures/morocco by @peggymarkel

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