Save What You Love with Mark Titus | #42 Ash Rodriguez - Cookbook Author, Co-Creator + Host of Kitchen Unnecessary

Ash Rodriguez is a Seattle-based award winning food writer and photographer. She is the author of three cookbooks; Date Night In, Let’s Stay In, and Rooted Kitchen - which just came out here in the Spring of ‘24. Ash is also the host and co-creator of the James Beard nominated series, Kitchen Unnecessary; an online series which uncovers the world of wild foods through foraging, fishing and regenerative harvesting. Ash and her work have been featured in Outside Magazine, Food & Wine, Saveur, Epicurious, Edible Seattle and many more.

She is a graduate of and guide for Seminary of the Wild Earth through the Center for Wild Spirituality and a certified Nature and Forest Therapy guide through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides.

In today’s episode, Mark and Ash dive into living in the awe of the Pacific Northwest, Ash's early years and trajectory to her current work, raising a family and avoiding burnout, spiritual callings, and why food tastes better cooked over a fire.

Save What You Love with Mark Titus:⁣

Produced: Emilie Firn

Edited: Patrick Troll⁣

Music: Whiskey Class⁣

Instagram: @savewhatyoulovepodcast

Website: savewhatyoulove.evaswild.com

Support wild salmon at evaswild.com

Creators & Guests

Host

Mark Titus

Mark Titus is the creator of Eva’s Wild and director of the award winning films, The Breach and The Wild. He’s currently working on a third film in his salmon trilogy, The Turn. In early 2021, Mark launched his podcast, Save What You Love, interviewing exceptional people devoting their lives in ways big and small to the protection of things they love. Through his storytelling, Mark Titus carries the message that humanity has an inherent need for wilderness and to fulfill that need we have a calling to protect wild places and wild things.

Guest

Ash Rodriguez

What is Save What You Love with Mark Titus?

Wild salmon give their very lives so that life itself can continue. They are the inspiration for each episode asking change-makers in this world what they are doing to save the things they love most. Join filmmaker, Mark Titus as we connect with extraordinary humans saving what they love through radical compassion and meaningful action. Visit evaswild.com for more information.

00:00:00:02 - 00:00:19:16
Mark Titus
Welcome to the Save What You Love podcast. I'm your host, Mark Titus. I should say welcome back. We're in a reboot of the show, and I wanted to take a minute before we get into our first amazing guest, Ash Rodriguez, to just tell you where I've been here for the last year. There's been a lot going on, and it's all been pretty good.

00:00:19:20 - 00:00:48:12
Mark Titus
It's been a lot of growth. It's been a lot of learning, a little bit of grief. To start out, we have been growing as a company. As you may know, Eva's Wild is a salmon business that I founded in 2019. To answer the question, what can I do to help? After every single screening of the Breach in the wild, I'd go out on stage and folks would ask, hey, listen, I want to do something every day with my dollars, my voice and my vote.

00:00:48:13 - 00:01:16:06
Mark Titus
So we came up with, basically a company that says, hey, you can do all that in one place. We sourced wild Bristol Bay sockeye salmon from the most sustainable fishery on the planet. And 10% of the profits that come out of that business go back to the region. Specifically, right now we're giving to the Bristol Bay Foundation, which gives four year college scholarship and trade school scholarships to Bristol Bay's indigenous young people.

00:01:16:08 - 00:01:43:06
Mark Titus
And so we've been building that company up and really focusing on chef relationships throughout the Pacific Northwest and now the West Coast and around the country soon enough. So look for Eva's Wild Bristol Bay sockeye on your favorite award winning restaurateurs menus soon. Also, I've been filming The Turn, which is the third installment in the final chapter in my beach trilogy.

00:01:43:08 - 00:02:20:06
Mark Titus
My original love and impetus for all of this for wild salmon and protecting wild salmon resources, streams, rivers and fire regions for future generations. I'd say we're about 80% filmed, and we're going to be finishing this summer with Principal Photography looking to wrap up the film. Hopefully by the end of the year and move into a festival run and then a tour around the country, knocking on some wood here that, barring another global pandemic, which shut down the 50 city tour of my previous film, The Wild.

00:02:20:08 - 00:02:49:06
Mark Titus
And lastly, my dad passed away in October of 2023. And all of the activity, coming to that point really led me to a place where I needed to take some time to grieve and to be with my family and to reflect on the life of the man that, instilled my love for wild and the wild things in wild places in the first place.

00:02:49:08 - 00:03:13:16
Mark Titus
So, with with a nod to my dad, Gill Titus, I wanted to start up this show again. And we've got a great season ahead, starting with Ash Rodriguez. And I'm gonna tell you a little bit more about her right now. Welcome to the Save What You Love podcast. I'm your host, Mark Titus. Today's guest on our show is Ash Rodriguez.

00:03:13:21 - 00:03:41:11
Mark Titus
Ash is a Seattle based, award winning food writer and photographer and filmmaker. She's the author of three cookbooks, most recently Rooted Kitchen, which has come out here in the spring of 24. And Ash is also the host and co-creator of the James Beard nominated series, Kitchen Unnecessary. Beautiful. Meaningful. Authentic. It's got it all. I can't recommend it enough.

00:03:41:11 - 00:04:06:10
Mark Titus
I'm really excited for you guys to check this out. There's links to that in all of Ash's stuff in this episode show notes. Kitchen Unnecessary is an online series which uncovers the world of wild foods through foraging, fishing, and regenerative harvesting. Ash and her work have been featured in Outside Magazine, Food and Wine, Savoy, Epicurious, Edible Seattle, and many, many more.

00:04:06:12 - 00:04:32:04
Mark Titus
Ashes graduate of and guide for Seminary of the Wild Earth through the center for Wild Spirituality and a certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides. I think we can all use one of those. Me most definitely. Here in the immediate. In this episode, we dive into living in the awe of the Pacific Northwest.

00:04:32:06 - 00:04:59:15
Mark Titus
Ash's early years and trajectory to her current work soul shining through. Ash's, work and kitchen, unnecessary writing, three books, Creating Media, raising a family and avoiding burnout, spiritual callings, descending into ashes why food tastes better cooked over a fire. and more good stuff. So without further ado, I'd like to welcome Ash Rodriguez.

00:04:59:17 - 00:05:36:02
Music
How do you save what you love?
When the world is burning down?
How do you save what you love?
When pushes come to shove.
How do you say what you love?
When things are upside down.
How do you say what you love?
When times are getting tough.

00:05:36:04 - 00:05:40:10
Mark Titus
Ashley Rodriguez, welcome. Where are you today?

00:05:40:12 - 00:05:49:18
Ash Rodriguez
I am in my home in Seattle, Washington, in a quiet little corner of the city, which we love so much.

00:05:49:20 - 00:05:52:20
Mark Titus
What neighbors are you in North Beach?

00:05:52:22 - 00:06:07:07
Ash Rodriguez
No, no, it's like if people only come down this area if you live down here. So, I mean, we've lived in Seattle for years and years and never knew anything about it, but it's via the beach. It's right in between Golden Gardens and Kaki.

00:06:07:08 - 00:06:14:06
Mark Titus
Oh, fantastic. So you're near the the annual salmon migration and Kaki Park in November, which is.

00:06:14:10 - 00:06:31:05
Ash Rodriguez
Oh yeah. Oh my gosh, I went I, I missed it last year but I went two years ago. I would go like almost every day because I would drop my kids off at school and then stop there. And I was just like, oh, I was so giddy. I was that was incredible.

00:06:31:07 - 00:06:46:03
Mark Titus
It is. It's, it's one of the premium parts of living here. And obviously, you know, I'm fully enthralled and involved with that whole world, but, that's cool. You're in that neighborhood.

00:06:46:05 - 00:07:05:22
Ash Rodriguez
Yeah. My husband, actually, there's been a couple mornings were held. Just grab his pole and go down to the beach and, throw it in. But we've got a couple of fishing kayaks, and we'll put them in that charcoal and, I've never had luck catching salmon off the kayak, but, I think it was like three years ago, one of the pink years.

00:07:05:22 - 00:07:10:06
Ash Rodriguez
My husband, just like every time you got there, he would catch something. It was so cool.

00:07:10:08 - 00:07:33:07
Mark Titus
It's it's literally the gift that keeps on giving. And, I have fished I have not successfully fished, caught, I should say of, of khaki. But, I have fish for and seen people catch cutthroat trout. So with like, wow. Yeah. With a five weight and, you know, some, little fry patterns, super fun. If you haven't done that.

00:07:33:07 - 00:07:35:00
Mark Titus
And we can talk about that offline a little bit.

00:07:35:00 - 00:07:52:01
Ash Rodriguez
But yeah. Yeah, I would love I would love to because I actually a couple years ago for his birthday, I got him like a guided trip for, sea run. And I think not even we didn't catch anything on that guided trip, but on like another time he got one like that. That was like that big. But that's the only one he's ever caught.

00:07:52:01 - 00:07:56:10
Ash Rodriguez
And he was so happy with it. So it's fine. We'll talk.

00:07:56:16 - 00:08:08:12
Mark Titus
That's right. It's funny. Right. The perspective of giant fish, when you've got these expectations out in the saltwater. But then getting like a four inch brook trout in a little tiny mountain stream is the same thing.

00:08:08:12 - 00:08:19:17
Ash Rodriguez
Oh, yeah. It's just. Yeah, I totally I have a picture of, like, that very moment in like my arms are up in the air and I'm just like, so, so happy. That's so great. Yeah.

00:08:19:19 - 00:08:27:23
Mark Titus
So, your your handle online is ash, right? Do you go by ash? Ashley. What what what's the inside scoop for? For the cool kids to call you.

00:08:28:00 - 00:08:32:00
Ash Rodriguez
Yeah. I really prefer ash.

00:08:32:02 - 00:08:35:02
Mark Titus
Wonderful. Well, the ash is from this point forward.

00:08:35:07 - 00:08:53:10
Ash Rodriguez
My my grandfather, who, is, Friesian. He used to call me esca, which literally means ash or ashes and Friesian. So it's also, I feel like I've been called ash most of my life, and it feels very fitting, especially considering how much I love cooking the fire.

00:08:53:12 - 00:09:10:04
Mark Titus
I. Okay, so there's a perfect genesis for this conversation. How do you feel about identifying with your name, ash? You just gave me one aspect of that. Is there a deeper meaning to it in, in identifying and really wanting to that? Have that be the expression of yourself?

00:09:10:06 - 00:09:37:13
Ash Rodriguez
Oh, that's such a that's such an incredible question and so timely. it's really funny because like my mom said, she was like, yeah, we were either going to name you Ashley or Marika, and I feel like those different be more opposite just because, like, you know, I was born in the 80s and Ashley was like the it was like Ashley and just that number one names.

00:09:37:15 - 00:10:06:05
Ash Rodriguez
And I don't like being like other people. And so to, to grow up with this, you know, like this desire to be different, but then also then having a name like Ashley, it never fully felt like it fit. and then I remember, you know, like, in, in middle school when you're really just trying to, like, find your identity and it's like, maybe it's partly to do with my name.

00:10:06:05 - 00:10:30:14
Ash Rodriguez
And I remember looking at the, the meaning of my name, and it means, like dweller in the middle of ash trees. And I was like, what does that even mean? I don't know, I don't know. so yeah, I now I'm like, of course it means dweller in the middle of ash trees. Like, that's that's totally fitting. But I think for me, shortening it to everything just feels a little bit.

00:10:30:16 - 00:10:40:11
Ash Rodriguez
It just, you know, it's kind of funny, like, it just. It just sounds more me kind of like to me. And I think only people can know that for themselves.

00:10:40:13 - 00:11:02:14
Mark Titus
That's very true. And, we'll come back to this a little later on. being in in ashes, being in a time of, for real, like in a time of darkness or grief. These are things that we, we tend to, askew as, especially here in the West Western culture. But, it's a really necessary thing.

00:11:02:14 - 00:11:24:04
Mark Titus
And, grief is a great healer. It's a great awakening. And, we'll talk a little bit more about that later, but, Excited. Yeah. So, for now, let's start with the good stuff. Tell us your story. Where'd you grow up and how did you get to do and come to the good work that you're doing now?

00:11:24:06 - 00:12:02:23
Ash Rodriguez
so I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. I grew up in Bellingham. and, you know, I never really realized how much the outdoors were a part of my life until kind of reflecting and then, having these solid core memories of, you know, the woods were in our backyard, and I remember just kind of like, running out with my neighbors and my brothers and, like, tasting huckleberries along the way and just, you know, it's it's it was like the, the natural world was a backdrop that I wasn't super paying attention to.

00:12:02:23 - 00:12:23:22
Ash Rodriguez
But then you kind of come to realize, like, no, it was actually like a star, a major character. And, because growing up with all of these plants and these smells and these associations that have just, like, deeply embedded with me, but then life happens. And I was trying to figure out, you know, like, what do I want to do?

00:12:24:00 - 00:12:47:04
Ash Rodriguez
Do with my career? And, I was studying art and was putting on being a high school art teacher, and then part of my art study brought me to Italy. I lived over there for about half a year and fell in love with food, as you do when you're living in Italy. But even more than than the food.

00:12:47:06 - 00:13:10:11
Ash Rodriguez
well, maybe not more than the food, because the food is just phenomenal. But like, equal to the food was the kind of the lifestyle and the culture that happens around food and the respect for the ingredients, and then also the respect for the time to gather with people and take the time to nourish yourself and to nourish the relationships.

00:13:10:13 - 00:13:37:14
Ash Rodriguez
I fell in love with just this, like the sacredness that would happen around the table and what am I going to do with my career? I realized that people actually make a living in food and how could I do this? And, so I started working in kitchens and my husband and I, newly married, ended up moving to LA, where I worked in a kitchen there.

00:13:37:16 - 00:13:57:16
Ash Rodriguez
and we ended up moving back to the northwest when we found out we were pregnant with our first. And it was kind of like, again, that big pivot of, I thought my life was going this way, and then this happened. And what am I going to do? How am I going to, continue to build on this passion while also building a family?

00:13:57:18 - 00:14:36:11
Ash Rodriguez
And that's when I started blogging. And going back to that original lesson that I learned in Italy, I wanted to tell people about life around the table and not just share recipes and not just, you know, like, because there's incredible resources for recipes, but what a what a what am I bringing to the table? and then cut to three kids later, they're growing up kind of evolve and have been working in food, two cookbooks and, and, my brother and I started a, project we called kitchen unnecessary.

00:14:36:13 - 00:15:06:15
Ash Rodriguez
And it was born around the campfire where 17 of us, my brothers and our families, and my parents would go camping every summer. And I was, you know, we're any any time people are gathered, I'm like, okay, what delicious food are we going to be eating? And I loved challenging myself with what can I create at the campfire, you know, and my brother, who's a filmmaker, we were just dreaming of like, is there a is there something here?

00:15:06:15 - 00:15:36:03
Ash Rodriguez
Can we, you know, can we do this? And we were both kind of starting to dabble in foraged mushroom foraging. And our first episode was, dreamed up around that campfire where we went out foraging for chanterelles with Daniel Winkler. and he showed us, yes, we found some shooting trails, but he just opened up, like, more so many more mushrooms to me than I really realized.

00:15:36:03 - 00:16:08:06
Ash Rodriguez
And then and then that just started this whole thing. And, that was also at the same time I was sort of in this process of like, getting hurt by religion, stepping away from the church and yet still feeling this, like deep, spirituality and, and was finding it more and more like finding peace and just feeling better mentally, physically, spiritually while I was outside.

00:16:08:08 - 00:16:40:00
Ash Rodriguez
and so then I just keep on following these curiosities. And that's sort of like the theme to my life. but that that those questions led me to, eco spirituality and forest therapy and ultimately led me to, creating my third cookbook, which is just out of Cultural Kitchen, which is this using food as a way of deepening your connection to the earth and, and recognizing that how interconnected we all are, and we are indeed a part of nature.

00:16:40:00 - 00:17:02:23
Ash Rodriguez
Because ultimately, I think until we have that relationship with the earth, we aren't really going to make a huge impact on climate change and caring for our planet and one another. And so I think the roots really are born from that shifting that perspective and that relationship.

00:17:03:01 - 00:17:34:20
Mark Titus
Thank you. I identify with so much of what you just said, I and then we're going to dive into all of the things that you talked about. But I want to start with kitchen unnecessary. It is beautifully made. I mean, congratulations on super high production value. It's gorgeous. But I also get real glimpses of that deeper light inside you, like taking nine, nine deep breaths on the shore of a trout stream in Montana.

00:17:34:21 - 00:17:49:00
Mark Titus
Can you tell us about that moment and what's at the core of this series, given that idea about that light within you and your work?

00:17:49:02 - 00:18:21:02
Ash Rodriguez
yeah. So it's so interesting because, I mean, we haven't shot a new episode since prior to the pandemic. We had to shut down, obviously, like so many, productions did. And then life has happened and it was really like, I feel like as you're watching the episodes of kitchen unnecessary, the behind the scenes or you can, you know, you can start to see it like I am changing as a result of these incredible people that we are connecting with and meeting with.

00:18:21:02 - 00:19:02:17
Ash Rodriguez
And, that episode that you mentioned with Ranga, who, is actually like a Reiki, guide and teacher and such an incredible story of his own. And what me something that I was already intuitively feeling when I was out on the river, but brought it to, a level with such intention. And that was this. Yeah. Let's have this mindful moment before we step into the river and again, that that like, that moment of gratitude and taking a deep breath and here we are.

00:19:02:19 - 00:19:28:14
Ash Rodriguez
How incredible we get to do this. and for me, fishing, I, I don't do it as often as I would like, but that moment where I start to like it's all about the catch is when I step away and say no, no, this is not this is not why I'm doing this, you know, or like getting super frustrated and my lines getting tangled and then, you know, it's like, what?

00:19:28:14 - 00:19:28:23
Mark Titus
That never.

00:19:28:23 - 00:19:51:09
Ash Rodriguez
Has. This is not the point. This is. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like, okay, that's when I need to step back. So waking up to that curiosity that I was just talking about because of these great guides and people that we got to connect with and, and the the moose hunt in Alaska was also so incredibly powerful for me.

00:19:51:11 - 00:20:20:20
Ash Rodriguez
because, you know, I love animals and yet I eat them. And how do we reconcile this? and I, I so respect the, the spiritual, teachings and beliefs of the indigenous community. And how do they, you know, so that was that was a profound, profound moment for me as well. And understanding, the honoring and the gratitude for these creatures and,

00:20:20:22 - 00:20:24:21
Mark Titus
And ash, which episode is that? One you're describing?

00:20:24:23 - 00:20:31:18
Ash Rodriguez
Alaska. We did a two part series. I think it's part two, episode four and five. yeah, yeah.

00:20:31:20 - 00:20:32:11
Mark Titus
Great.

00:20:32:13 - 00:20:33:05
Ash Rodriguez
Yeah.

00:20:33:07 - 00:20:51:08
Mark Titus
Yeah. Beautiful. totally. Get that. that challenge of this love for these animals and the need to eat. And certainly going vegan is a is a honorable choice. And I.

00:20:51:08 - 00:20:52:09
Ash Rodriguez
Am absolutely all.

00:20:52:09 - 00:21:16:03
Mark Titus
Over that. you know, for a variety of reasons, protein needs and, that deep and sacred honoring that. That's the place that I met salmon, you know, at the side of a boat with my dad and, you know, bringing that fish over the side of the boat, first encounter was two years old, and then taking it home.

00:21:16:05 - 00:21:41:08
Mark Titus
The whole encounter is a mystery, and it's beautiful and it's sparkling, and you've got all these, you know, things. That little sparkly squid and flashers and dodger and all the things. Same with fly fishing. Same with hunting. There's there's ritual associated with it. But then you get down to the real brass tacks of this is I've taken a life and it's given its life to me, and I'm it's going to sustain life in me.

00:21:41:10 - 00:22:04:11
Mark Titus
I'm it's pretty astonishing that you're able to capture that in your episodes. I mean, what's do you have a favorite episode at this point? Is there is there an episode that has changed you in a way that, the others didn't? Can you speak to that?

00:22:04:13 - 00:22:12:17
Ash Rodriguez
I think they've all changed me in different ways. And,

00:22:12:19 - 00:22:49:09
Ash Rodriguez
I don't have a favorite because I just. I'm, like, replaying them in my head, and each of them brings up these incredible memories and, delights, but I think, Yeah, you mentioned the fishing in Montana and and just meeting Ranga, who continues to be a friend to this day. And that was really, really powerful because I also like, he spoke a language that I understood about or that, like, was, you know, kind of starting to awaken in, in me, but yet I am like, is this am I just being silly?

00:22:49:09 - 00:23:24:13
Ash Rodriguez
What is, you know, like, these insecurities that would come up and again, like, I was kind of, leaving behind organized religion, but like some of the things that were, off limits to me were before were kind of starting to make sense. And while that whole trip was, we went, salmon fishing and, and mushroom foraging and, the moose, you know, and then like, preparing this absolute incredible feast on a glacier.

00:23:24:15 - 00:23:44:08
Ash Rodriguez
it was it was incredibly stunning. And I think that's part of, like, like what almost completes the the cycle of honoring for me is trying to do justice to the ingredients that we've been gifted by the earth. And, that was a really real stunning feast.

00:23:44:10 - 00:24:07:07
Mark Titus
How does it make you feel physically when you harvest cattails or a moose or a salmon and how does it make you feel in two steps? One in the in the preparing of that food and two in the eating in company, in community, in community with their food? What are what are the physical feelings you're going through in those processes?

00:24:07:08 - 00:24:46:15
Ash Rodriguez
I, I feel so many things and. And what I yeah, I love that question because I feel, childlike, particularly on when I'm foraging because it just feels like a treasure hunt. but ultimately, I think a to to forage, to fish, hunt, you have to work for your ingredients. Right? These things don't necessarily come easy. I mean, sometimes on a, you know, this last fall of mushroom hunting, we got into Port Genie and it just it felt it felt easy.

00:24:46:17 - 00:25:23:17
Ash Rodriguez
and that was I still, still feel the absolute delight and immense gratitude, I think is the biggest thing. Like, there was a I think it's Andreas Weber who said something about, feeling or seeing the earth loving you in return or being seen by the earth, and it just hit me and like, is it possible for the for the earth, the trees, the, the animals to be delighting in me in the same way that I'm delighting in them or at or even just a fraction of it.

00:25:23:19 - 00:25:50:17
Ash Rodriguez
And so to be like offered up these gifts of these incredible ingredients, I feel that in my bones, like I feel so deeply loved and cared for. And that is what I talk about in that reciprocal relationship that Robin Wall Kimmerer talks about so beautifully. And Braiding Sweetgrass, which then makes me just want to deeply care for the earth.

00:25:50:19 - 00:26:04:09
Ash Rodriguez
It's this I'm overwhelmed with gratitude, overwhelmed with loving feelings. How can I give that back? And that's what I want to help other people experience.

00:26:04:11 - 00:26:19:07
Mark Titus
Amen to that. It's beautiful. And, you have a new book. You've you've written three books, Date Night in. Let's stay In. And your newest book is called Rooted Kitchen. I confess I haven't read it yet, but I am so intrigued.

00:26:19:09 - 00:26:21:03
Ash Rodriguez
Brand new one. Oh, I can't wait.

00:26:21:03 - 00:26:52:16
Mark Titus
It looks beautiful. and just from the description of it, I definitely feel a calling to shift more toward, and maybe even exclusively a wild food diet at some point. And I know it's not. That's not totally what the book's about, but can you tell me how how this book and that notion of wildness in, in your, seeking of food and, and a lifestyle and even a spirituality around food came to you and was channeled into this book?

00:26:52:18 - 00:27:13:09
Ash Rodriguez
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you talk about, like, you know, on that last question, too, like that. What what feelings to your do I feel, around these ingredients and while eating them and I do feel like, without sounding to woowoo, but I'm not really afraid of that at this point. But, yeah, you're you're in a safe zone.

00:27:13:11 - 00:27:14:06
Mark Titus
It's all. It's all.

00:27:14:06 - 00:27:37:21
Ash Rodriguez
Good. Okay, good. I there is a different energy. I feel like when you're consuming wild ingredients. endless. And I love a good bag of chips, and and I can't fully stay away from some processed things. But there is this, like.

00:27:37:23 - 00:28:06:09
Ash Rodriguez
Yeah, I don't know how to describe it, and I can, so I won't even try to put words to it. So Rooted Kitchen is like I said, it is this my way of using food as a, to help deepen your connection to the Earth? There are some foraged ingredients, including there's several recipes using nettles, which I think is like the foraging gateway because they're really easy to find, easy to identify.

00:28:06:09 - 00:28:37:12
Ash Rodriguez
They grow. So which I love this so much. They grow in places where, people are. And that to me is also just this invitation of like, pick me, consume me, use me. they also come at the end of winter at the very, very start of spring. And they provide our bodies with nutrients that, help us waking up, help our bodies wake up, come out of hibernation.

00:28:37:14 - 00:29:01:20
Ash Rodriguez
which I just think is, is so, so cool. and also for me and, you know, there are studies that have come that have been done on this, but like I have noticed, if I consume a lot of nettles at the at the beginning of spring, then my allergies towards the end of spring are less like, it just keeps going on and on and on about how these, these plants and these ingredients take care of us.

00:29:01:22 - 00:29:27:00
Ash Rodriguez
And, you know, it's also just such a fun excuse to get out and go for a walk. and so there's ingredients like that and maple blossoms. There are some, wild mushroom recipes, of course. And I give each season has different techniques. And so there's a kind of a beginning primer on how to forage. And what's a good way to get started, because I know it's very intimidating for people.

00:29:27:00 - 00:29:50:12
Ash Rodriguez
And we live in a very like fungal phobic culture. but I, you know, it's not I've not been doing this my entire your life. And so I still remember feeling overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge and, and worrying about eating the wrong thing. And so I kind of break down how I got started. Nice, some incredible resources.

00:29:50:14 - 00:30:10:13
Ash Rodriguez
But ultimately, this book is it's rooted in the seasons. And, there's a lot of essays and things to kind of help deepen into how to pay attention, be aware and and be grateful for what we are consuming.

00:30:10:15 - 00:30:37:12
Mark Titus
That's pretty beautiful. can't wait to pick up a copy. We'll have that linked in the show notes half time. Did you know you could have the world's finest wild salmon shipped directly to your door? It's true. Our air is wild. Bristol Bay sockeye salmon is the lowest carbon footprint center plate protein on the planet, and it's packed with heart healthy omega three fatty acids.

00:30:37:13 - 00:31:00:05
Mark Titus
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00:31:00:10 - 00:31:28:20
Mark Titus
That's the place we source the salmon from right now. That looks like supporting the Bristol Bay Foundation, granting Bristol Bay's indigenous young people scholarships to four year colleges, universities and trade schools. Visit Eva's welcome to join our growing community. Doing good by eating right. That's save spelled backwards. wild.com and eat wild to save wild. Now back to the show.

00:31:28:22 - 00:31:55:08
Mark Titus
can you speak a little bit more to that? Go and get over that hump of the, you know, you said it really well, but that that, inability to get going on foraging, just like it seems overwhelming. Like there's no way I'm going to know what to what mushrooms to pack. Like, what's some good first step toe in the pool?

00:31:55:08 - 00:32:05:14
Mark Titus
Advice for folks that want to get going on, enjoying and being a part of the world around them and through a foraged experience.

00:32:05:16 - 00:32:37:14
Ash Rodriguez
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I, I went from not liking eating mushrooms to now I actually have a book coming out in the fall about mushrooms. Like I said, it's been a journey for me because now I, I love mushrooms and not just the edible varieties. I just think they are such an incredible, Testimony to to the, the earth.

00:32:37:14 - 00:33:07:17
Ash Rodriguez
And again, this interconnectedness because literally there is mycelium connecting everything. so just be careful because, you know, you might start down a path where you become a, super passionate about all sorts of mushrooms. Now I'm like, I go out on walks and like, there's a mushroom, there's a mushroom, there's a mushroom. and I think the, the way that I started digging into it is saying, okay, I started with chanterelles.

00:33:07:19 - 00:33:38:13
Ash Rodriguez
I knew that they grew around here. I knew that people would find them. I knew what they looked like. I just wanted to if I could without a doubt identify chanterelles, that would be a major win for me. and so, you know, reading about the dangerous lookalikes, what habitat they typically grow in, chanterelles have what's called, like, a mycorrhizal relationships with, different trees, different plants.

00:33:38:13 - 00:34:05:20
Ash Rodriguez
And so you get to know their surroundings, which I think is also a really cool thing about mushrooms is that, like, I went out with, my friend Langdon Cook one time, and I think we were out looking for, Morales, and he was like, I heard a bird call, and he's like, yeah. Usually when I start to hear that bird singing, I know that the morels are coming, or so you know, it's just like, what an incredible practice of paying attention.

00:34:05:22 - 00:34:31:05
Ash Rodriguez
And there's certain flowers that, you know, when you see these flowers blooming, you know, that this mushroom is about to pop or things like that, which I just think is so, so cool. But basically every season I kind of create my wish list of what do I want to find, what do I want to identify? And, you know, have anywhere from 2 to 5 different species that are like my season bucket list.

00:34:31:07 - 00:34:59:00
Ash Rodriguez
And I go for those. And after a few years, you've got an incredible knowledge. And what happens when you go out, year after year, like, I've gotten to the point where and my husband, does this as well. Now to like, you're walking in the forest and all of a sudden you're like, like you just start sniffing and and whether or not you're actually smelling the mushroom, like, there are times where I'm like, I smell mushrooms.

00:34:59:00 - 00:35:18:16
Ash Rodriguez
And sometimes it's just like, oh, yeah, it's the ones that are in my basket. But sometimes it's this like, oh, I see this type of moss. There's this plant growing, there's this tree like it's and I'm not fully, consciously registering all of this information, but something in my body and my being knows there must be a chanterelle around here.

00:35:18:16 - 00:35:47:14
Ash Rodriguez
And then sure enough, we start looking and it's like, oh, there's one right there. it's a really, really cool thing that happens, but you gotta put in put in the time and don't try and identify every single mushroom your first time out there goes with a couple of specifics that you're looking for, and take pictures of every mushroom you find, and then come back and try and identify those, it's it's a it's a constant treasure hunt.

00:35:47:14 - 00:36:03:07
Ash Rodriguez
And that's the thing that I, you know, like I, I did start off by going like, this is the mushroom that I want and that, you know, that's what that episode with Daniel Winkler very first episode was like, he's like, oh yeah, you can eat this one. And oh, this one is this and that. And then my mind was just like, wait, what?

00:36:03:07 - 00:36:12:14
Ash Rodriguez
Like I went in thinking like, no, I'm just here for the chanterelles. it's an exciting it's an exciting world out there.

00:36:12:16 - 00:36:38:06
Mark Titus
Well, I have to admit, trepidation and, being intimidated myself, I of all of the the natural processes and harvesting, I have no experience with mushrooms. It's been on my list for years, and I am super charged hearing you speak about this to get my butt out there. I know a few people that know a few things, so, it's just a matter of.

00:36:38:06 - 00:36:40:09
Mark Titus
Yeah, you know, and,

00:36:40:11 - 00:36:44:00
Ash Rodriguez
If you take me out salmon fishing, I'll take you out. Mushroom foraging.

00:36:44:02 - 00:36:46:13
Mark Titus
Done. Date?

00:36:46:15 - 00:36:47:09
Ash Rodriguez
I'm not joking.

00:36:47:14 - 00:36:53:11
Mark Titus
No, I'm not. I'm not joking either. Boats in the water May 1st down, down the hill. So we'll talk.

00:36:53:13 - 00:36:54:02
Ash Rodriguez
All right?

00:36:54:04 - 00:37:16:18
Mark Titus
Yeah. Beautiful. I read on your site, when we become more connected to the outdoors through our food, it sparks a deeper connection to ourselves. And obviously, I think to this natural world that sustains us. What I'm hearing from you is a lot about paying attention. And paying attention comes when we slow down when we get quiet.

00:37:16:19 - 00:37:18:02
Ash Rodriguez

00:37:18:04 - 00:37:36:19
Mark Titus
You have a very high output. You can't put out the quality of work that you're putting out at the frequency, you're putting it out without having a very high output and a tremendous amount of energy expended. What keeps you going and how do you avoid burnout?

00:37:36:21 - 00:37:44:03
Ash Rodriguez

00:37:44:05 - 00:38:13:07
Ash Rodriguez
Asking for a I don't think I have. Yeah. I was like, I don't think I have successfully avoided burnout throughout my entire, career. I really I really, slowed down and went deeply in work during the pandemic. as a result, I am quite certain of burnout. And, I, I see creative life as, this sort of cycle.

00:38:13:09 - 00:38:24:21
Ash Rodriguez
I think Brené Brown talks about it as being this kind of inhaling and exhaling, not fully. Rick Rubin talks about it so beautifully in the creative act he does.

00:38:24:21 - 00:38:25:09
Mark Titus
I just read.

00:38:25:09 - 00:39:00:16
Ash Rodriguez
An oh my gosh, it's so it's so good. And I'm and I've had, you know, like and I continue to be in this sort of season of like, what what am I doing? The internet is loud. There's incredible people are putting out incredible content left and right. And, I get, you know, I get stuck in that comparing trap and, and oh, I need to sell this and I need to do this, and I need to be this, and,

00:39:00:18 - 00:39:20:00
Ash Rodriguez
Then I go and stare at my lilac tree, or I go and I work out in the garden and literally ground myself and, what I try and share online are those.

00:39:20:02 - 00:39:57:02
Ash Rodriguez
The result of me living in that way of paying attention and seeking the beauty and the gratitude in that. And that's what I want to share. and for people to experience, it's kind of ironic. And I, You know, I'm sure the algorithm doesn't necessarily favor my content because so much of what my purpose in what I put on Instagram and, and on my social media and my newsletter is to, like, get people to shut down their computer and get outside.

00:39:57:04 - 00:40:21:14
Ash Rodriguez
so however I can do that. so, yeah, I'm not one of those that's like encouraging people to stay online as much as possible. Well, which doesn't. Yeah. Doesn't bode well for any sort of algorithm. But, hmhm those moments that I am caught and, and wonder is what I then try and be like, oh, take a picture of that.

00:40:21:14 - 00:40:43:01
Ash Rodriguez
You know, like, right now I've been doing I speak so much and rooted kitchen of I'm staring literally at her right now, this lilac tree that we've been living in our house now for about eight years, and she was blooming when we moved in. And, so often this is kind of this where I'm sitting right now is my sit spot practice where I just kind of sit and watch.

00:40:43:03 - 00:41:15:17
Ash Rodriguez
And so I've been staring at this lilac tree for years and years and watching her go through the seasons and recognizing that she spent most of the year with bare branches and, we are just about in that, 2 to 3 weeks span where her blooms are just incredible. So I've been doing this lilac watch 2024 on my social, because that is literally me sharing my excitement and enthusiasm for watching these flowers bloom.

00:41:15:19 - 00:41:35:00
Ash Rodriguez
And, but I also get excited watching her in every season. And it's always, you know, a good reminder of, yeah, most of the time she's bare branches and then she has this moment of bloom and it's okay. Then she kind of retreats and, you know, like that says a lot about the creative life, too, right?

00:41:35:02 - 00:41:53:09
Mark Titus
I got nothing to add. I don't really care about the algorithm. You've got my attention. And, you know, for listeners in this community, know know full well. Yeah. I'm a I'm a man in recovery coming up on seven years of, continuous sobriety. And we.

00:41:53:11 - 00:41:54:05
Ash Rodriguez
you're saying.

00:41:54:07 - 00:42:23:09
Mark Titus
Yeah, thanks very much. And, and we talk about in our community about progress, not perfection. And, I measure this progress piece, which is important to do because doers like, I'll just speak for myself. I often keep going in the flow, just keep charging forward and don't take time to celebrate or don't take time to pay attention.

00:42:23:11 - 00:42:51:02
Mark Titus
But one node of that progress is very much in line with what you're talking about. Yesterday took the pups up the street. Everything's in bloom here in Queen. And, the cherries are still some out in some spots, the cherry blossoms. And there's a giant oak tree up near where we are, and it's, it's got to have a nine foot base trunk.

00:42:51:04 - 00:43:10:14
Mark Titus
And, I lost all sense of time and all sense of mission and and busyness standing in the shadow of this tree yesterday. And, you know, the dogs are looking at me like. Dad, let's keep going. Come on. We got stuff to do. We got stuff to sniff and I, that was that moment of progress for me.

00:43:10:20 - 00:43:42:02
Mark Titus
Paying attention, getting quiet. And I think this is something that we all struggle with, people that are attuned to, you know, what's happening in the world and wanting to do something, be a part of something, be a part of something bigger than ourselves, change things. but it seems that the answer many times is in literally doing nothing and pausing, pausing to stop all motion and pay attention as as you are so eloquently describing.

00:43:42:04 - 00:43:43:03
Mark Titus
It's a beautiful thing.

00:43:43:05 - 00:44:10:13
Ash Rodriguez
Yeah, yeah. And so, so often is the case that like the, The teachers are the ones who need that message the most. So that's I am putting this out there not because I've mastered it, but because I need to remind myself on a daily basis to do the same thing. And that's what Rhonda also talked about. You know, the moment that we stepped into the river, he's like, I'm not doing this because I'm some deeply meditative.

00:44:10:13 - 00:44:32:22
Ash Rodriguez
So I'm doing this because I have to I have to remind myself to breathe and to stop. And, you know, so I think we can it's a good reminder, too, of of. You know, also, when we see others on social media in, no one's got it figured out. And so this is not true. I have figured it all out.

00:44:32:22 - 00:44:37:04
Ash Rodriguez
I am saying this because I am reminding myself.

00:44:37:06 - 00:44:55:08
Mark Titus
Well, I am, I'm right there with you. Thanks for the reminder. I'm going to read a couple of quotes for you and then, get into our next piece here. Here's the first quote. You know, both of them. I'm sure at this point the old story is no longer effective. Yet we have not learned the new story.

00:44:55:08 - 00:45:22:02
Mark Titus
We are talking only to ourselves. We are not talking to the rivers. We are not listening to the wind and stars. We have broken the great conversation. That's why Thomas Berry, and the second quote is by Victoria Lures from church of the wild, and she says, more and more of us are listening to the call to repair the great conversation and return to intimacy with the rest of the alive and sacred world.

00:45:22:04 - 00:45:44:06
Mark Titus
This is the foundation for any ecological and spiritual regeneration. Okay, so in that context, I'm making a film called The Turn on One layer. It's fun. It's about salmon, and it's about that mystical turn they make way out in the middle of the Pacific, in the gyres of the North. Some moment they decide, okay, it's time to come home.

00:45:44:08 - 00:46:09:14
Mark Titus
But it's also about us. Are we capable of making that turn as human beings as well, listening to a higher calling, listening to that great conversation again, picking it back up. So with all of that backdrop in mind, tell me about what led you to graduate from and become a guide for seminary of the Wild Earth.

00:46:09:16 - 00:46:37:06
Ash Rodriguez
oh my gosh, I've got goosebumps. okay. So good. I okay, so again, this was during the pandemic. and we had taken a pause on kitchen unnecessary. But I was reveling in the lessons that I've been learning and the people that I've been spending time with and what I was experiencing out in the natural world.

00:46:37:08 - 00:46:56:22
Ash Rodriguez
And an email landed in my inbox from seminary to wild earth, I did something with them. I went on a, a, retreat at, But didn't think anything of it. And I had been getting these emails. And then there was this one time it landed, and I opened it up, and I immediately forwarded it to my husband.

00:46:56:22 - 00:47:20:06
Ash Rodriguez
And I said, I think I need to apply, like, it was this, this moment of like, oh, this is for me right now. so I got on the phone with Victoria and, told her about this crazy mystical experience that I had just had out in the woods my first time camping by myself. That's a whole other story.

00:47:20:08 - 00:47:58:02
Ash Rodriguez
And she was like, I don't tell this to everyone, but this, I believe, is for you. This program is for you. so I went through their year long program, and my hope and intention for that was to sort of add strength to the voice, to the curiosities that were building in me. And that's something that we were talking about earlier of, like, you know, my I was I was like tiptoeing into this because again, of like the my foundation of faith that I was brought up with is this it felt a little dangerous.

00:47:58:02 - 00:48:22:03
Ash Rodriguez
It felt really scary. All my protective parts were like, no, you're, you know, like it's almost, you know, like we are a tribal people. You're leaving the tribe. This is dangerous. So I'm like, okay, can I do this in a safe place on zoom? No one really knew that I was doing this. And it's it's a hard program to describe anyway.

00:48:22:03 - 00:49:08:15
Ash Rodriguez
So even if I did tell people, I couldn't really put it into words. But I was, surrounded by people who had these same curiosities who felt similar. This calling to the natural world, this, wanting to be a part of the the great conversation. we read Thomas Berry under US weather Victoria laws. I'm, Mary Oliver, you know, all the rubber wool camera, of course, like all of these, great, great teachers and, we, the the biggest invitation that would happen on a weekly basis was to spend time outside.

00:49:08:15 - 00:49:50:06
Ash Rodriguez
And so that's when I picked up the practice of a sit spot. And, and I journaled so much and learned the importance of ceremony and ritual, and, I, yeah, just absolutely found community and strengthened that voice. And Victoria then asked me to be a guide and to be a part of that program. and I absolutely was honored and delighted and, so it was and that and it was in the process of going through that program and kind of like, how do I want to share this?

00:49:50:06 - 00:50:09:00
Ash Rodriguez
Because I, I, I find that's the natural part of the creative process to have, like, you have this great, incredible experience and then you just want to tell about it or you, you learn something and you're like, I gotta tell people about this so that to me is this process of, of of art. and so, that was the, the next natural step for me.

00:50:09:00 - 00:50:28:05
Ash Rodriguez
And that's what Rooted Kitchen was born of, like I still was, you know, because I was like, am I, am I leading food? Am I, am I done with that? But like, again, going back to this lilac tree, I found out that lilacs are edible and how do I honor these blooms? One, you know, like I enjoy them.

00:50:28:05 - 00:50:51:10
Ash Rodriguez
I bring them into my house, I smell them, I watch the bees and the birds and enjoy them as well. And also I turn them into sirups and a jam to make this stunning pavlova. And you know, that to me is also a part of the honoring. Like preserving the bloom, preserving, this moment in a season. And I was like, that's it.

00:50:51:10 - 00:51:01:14
Ash Rodriguez
Like that is I can use food as an invitation for deepening my own personal connection to the earth and then telling others about it.

00:51:01:16 - 00:51:44:03
Mark Titus
Beautiful. Thank you. Ash. speaking of, we in the West here want to avoid things that make us feel bad. And so we distract ourselves constantly. But the fact is that, there are there's a dark side of life. Death is a part of life. Loss is a part of life. Grief is a big thing. And, you know, this is a world that has challenges that are not we're not woven into the fabric of my upbringing, you know, as a going on 52 year old guy here.

00:51:44:05 - 00:52:16:16
Mark Titus
and these there are things that are real and are challenging. And in our, our, shadow work, you know, and there most great traditions, as you well know, because you are on your way with this course and you're involved, deeply involved, require a, a dropping into ashes, a, loss of ego in order to transform.

00:52:16:18 - 00:52:44:08
Mark Titus
So given that and given the the work that you have done, you've just described so beautifully in transformation, your mom too, what advice do you have for younger people who are having trouble figuring out how to embrace the, the, the tough things in life and, and also how to figure out how to make their way in this in this challenging world that we're in.

00:52:44:10 - 00:53:11:15
Mark Titus
What what can you tell tell younger folks. And, you know, obviously you've got your own your own brood as well. But, it's hard to find guides in, in I think in our Western culture, unless you get involved in a, program like you have been involved in, interestingly, I'm, I'm on a similar track with another with another group, like that, that really spoke to me.

00:53:11:15 - 00:53:33:20
Mark Titus
So, I'm just curious. What what do you feel like? you're not, you know, without dropping the ego, dropping the rock, you know, no, no presumptions here about being a master or anything like that, but just based on what you've experienced in field. What what what can you offer to younger people?

00:53:33:22 - 00:53:47:15
Ash Rodriguez
This is definitely a question that's on my mind. And I'm like, I don't. I, I feel like I could sit with it and I have been sitting with it. My oldest,

00:53:47:17 - 00:53:52:15
Ash Rodriguez
You know, emotion. my oldest turns 18.

00:53:52:17 - 00:53:53:04
Mark Titus
Wow.

00:53:53:04 - 00:54:24:04
Ash Rodriguez
And a few weeks and, you know, he's he's going to be in the house for a while yet, and we're not kicking him out by any means, but it's a it's a significant age, right? It is this like, That's culturally and we've. Yeah. Like, it's it's a significant milestone. And how are we going to honor this and, and, you know, I found myself frantic, like there's so much more I have to teach you.

00:54:24:04 - 00:54:49:15
Ash Rodriguez
And also reminding myself that I will be a parent. I will be his parent for the rest of his life. and but I just I want to I, I find myself desperate to, like, write down all these, like, Lessons from from the deeply spiritual to the practical. Like, have I taught you the basics of, like, how to make a proper vinaigrette?

00:54:49:16 - 00:55:17:22
Ash Rodriguez
Have I, you know, and also, like, I know how. I know how life works. Like he is on his own journey and he will find his own guides. I guess that's kind of been my my prayer for each of my children is that they like I think community is essential and.

00:55:18:00 - 00:55:48:18
Ash Rodriguez
Trust yourself as your own guide. I think that's one of the biggest lessons, that I have learned deep into my adulthood is that we actually are both our best guides and, and, you know, I also believe that there's divinity within us that is speaking to us. And so there is this partnership with with God, with the universe, whatever you want to call that presence.

00:55:48:18 - 00:56:25:14
Ash Rodriguez
But I definitely think that's a huge part of it. but trusting yourself and I think, in order to hear that message and to, to figure out what you're, experiencing and learning requires that slowing down and paying attention. and I think, you know, you talked so beautifully about our own need to like to like to sit in the the darkness and in the pain and the death and ashes and, what greater teacher than the natural world?

00:56:25:16 - 00:57:01:03
Ash Rodriguez
I mean, we see this cycle every single year, like the beautiful trees and the blooms that I'm staring at. I mean, the beautiful leaves and the blooms that I'm staring at right now. They will fall and they will decompose. And what comes from that process is new life rich soil, nutrients. not to just put a positive spin on, on on death and, but it's a part of the process.

00:57:01:05 - 00:57:03:15
Ash Rodriguez
So yeah.

00:57:03:17 - 00:57:35:05
Mark Titus
It is. That's beautiful. I'm going to, this is a it's something that's been in my world and on my mind as well. But I to cap off this, this chapter of the conversation, just want to, once again notice that, taking that pause and noticing and being, awake and aware is kind of where the magic happens.

00:57:35:07 - 00:57:56:14
Mark Titus
I had an I had a I had a happening a week ago where I was kind of roiled around and there was an event that happened that kind of rattled me a bit much with a with a person with a friend. And I've been sitting in it for a few days. And I was working at, actually at the coffee shop nearby here.

00:57:56:16 - 00:58:16:16
Mark Titus
Lost track of the time. It was, 6:00 in the evening. My wife was away, on business, so I'd had to get home and get the dogs, and I started furiously packing my stuff up. But I was still like, you know, roiling around in my own brain here. And, took a moment to say, look, what's what's what's going on here.

00:58:16:16 - 00:58:46:19
Mark Titus
I don't I don't have this. I clearly don't have the juice to unravel this. Not so I surrender. I'm, I don't I don't got this and this within 30s of when that intention came out of me. This. This girl walked in the door, maybe nine years old, and she, she had her Catholic schoolgirl outfit on and her and wearing a pink helmet with a flower sticking out of it, she walked up to my.

00:58:46:19 - 00:59:04:09
Mark Titus
There was nobody else in the in the coffee shop. She was gone by this point, but she walked right up to my table, unfolded a piece of paper, and there were four flowers drawn on it. And she's like, these are for you. And I'm looking around like, am I actually seeing this right now? Is this happening? And and I'm like, why?

00:59:04:14 - 00:59:24:03
Mark Titus
And she's like, well, I just wanted to see you smile. And I've got, God, I've got these flowers outside for you. And I'm like, you know, reeling. okay. we're we're your parents. What are you doing? What's going on there? Oh, they're up the street. I've got flowers, though, and I said, well, I have to pay you for them.

00:59:24:03 - 00:59:43:08
Mark Titus
She's like, I don't really need money. I just, I do it for the smiles. And so I pack my stuff up. I go to the guy at the counter, I got a $50 bill. I'm like, can you cash this for me? And it's like, cash is gone for the day. And I turn around and I'm like, she's heading outside and I grab a, I had a bookmark in my bag.

00:59:43:08 - 01:00:17:17
Mark Titus
So I'm like, at least I can give her something as a trade here, right? And I walk outside and she's gone. No kid up and down the street. Gone. Take that for what you will. But the way I, the way that I'm looking at it is I could have chosen to be up in my head and still spinning on ego fill, wheel filled, solving of my problems, and instead had this moment of saying, okay, I don't got this.

01:00:17:19 - 01:00:42:09
Mark Titus
And I could have completely ignored this kid or been, you know, like, whatever. But I'm here telling you this story now. So it was it was a moment of that pause noticing. And it was a gift. No matter what, however you interpret it, it was it was a gift to me. It totally, completely opened a door, a different dimensional doorway for me for the rest of the week.

01:00:42:09 - 01:01:08:12
Mark Titus
It was like all the rest of that grinding. I just sort of laughed and said, thank you, and that's it. We're moving on. So gosh, I love I love this conversation about, you know, sometimes we have to descend into into this, this ash or this darkness or this place, but but there's also that door is there and it always seems to open the minute that I say, I don't got this, and I'm going to surrender to something else.

01:01:08:18 - 01:01:12:10
Mark Titus
Do you ever have feeling like that?

01:01:12:12 - 01:01:22:20
Ash Rodriguez
Yeah, and I absolutely. And I will. Choose to believe.

01:01:22:22 - 01:01:55:22
Ash Rodriguez
That there was something mystical and sacred in that experience. And, you know, like I if I'm in it is one of my, like, life philosophies. I'd rather rather on the side of naivete than cynicism. and I. I'm going to choose to believe that there is some greater power working and and mysteries that we are not able to solve that are at play in this.

01:01:55:22 - 01:02:17:14
Ash Rodriguez
And, and again, that's sort of like going back to like trusting yourself as your guide. That's what feels right and true to me. And so in this moment, we shift and we grow. And then, you know, when we learn more, we evolve. And but this is that's what I believe. And in this moment, that's what feels right into your to me.

01:02:17:14 - 01:02:21:05
Ash Rodriguez
And right. I don't need to know more than that.

01:02:21:07 - 01:02:43:03
Mark Titus
That's exactly how I took it to that. Everything you just described. Okay, so we've been down in the ashes here, so to speak, for a few moments. and thank you for taking that journey with me. But I want to come back out to another kind of sort of reference to ash. why? And this is so rad.

01:02:43:04 - 01:02:52:20
Mark Titus
I love, love this about what you do. Why is eating food cooked over a fire just better?

01:02:52:22 - 01:03:23:19
Ash Rodriguez
where where do I begin? I mean, you can talk about it from a flavor standpoint, like we all, I mean, I think smoke is delicious. I think it's also the environment in which you're eating it. Typically, if you're cooking over a fire, you're also eating it outside. I think there's this element of surprise, especially if, you know, you're out, cooking over like a rustic, pit on a campsite, for example.

01:03:23:19 - 01:03:53:08
Ash Rodriguez
And, people don't expect, homemade bread or, you know, pizza from a cast iron pan or, wild mushroom macaroni and cheese or one of my favorite recipes in Rooted Kitchen is this, like ember roasted pumpkin. that is then the vessel for a cheese fondue that's topped with, chanterelles and chorizo. If you want to just get the lily.

01:03:53:10 - 01:04:33:13
Ash Rodriguez
God. you're killing me. Right? And again, you're eating that outside like, and, you know, gathered around a fire. so all of those reasons and also for me, there is, again, this is going back to this. I'm just trusting my own experience that I feel in my body and my soul. There is something that happens that feels so deeply embedded in my DNA when I'm cooking over the fire that like, like it's almost like I can see the ancestors being like, yes, this is how we did it.

01:04:33:13 - 01:05:19:10
Ash Rodriguez
And, I love that it removes, the both, of like, oh, this needs to be cooked in this pan at this exact temperature, and you need this fancy equipment and you need it just breaks it down to the most essential elements, which are, great ingredients and fire, and to me also then it, it it, it does remove me a bit from the process because there's less ways in which I can control it, because when you're cooking over the fire, too, like there's so many there's the elements, right?

01:05:19:10 - 01:05:44:21
Ash Rodriguez
Like there's wind that can shift the flames and the coals can go out, and you have to stay so present and so mindful to the process that I lose myself in it. And it is for me, again, a deep practice of paying attention. and it's a great excuse to hang out around a fire and, gather people.

01:05:44:22 - 01:06:17:02
Mark Titus
It is that I don't think there's much better. ash, I got just a couple of the last things to hit on. we're in this age of AI and algorithms, as we talked about earlier, and sort of a necessary evils right to do, to do the work we do. given that, do you feel like it's possible and maybe even probable to do good work, work that helps save the things that we love?

01:06:17:04 - 01:06:31:10
Mark Titus
in this age of AI and in this age of information, and be a force for good with the work that you do.

01:06:31:11 - 01:07:01:21
Ash Rodriguez
yes, I do believe it. I have to believe it in order to keep doing the work that I want to do. I. I have to root myself in hope, in order to be able to get out of bed every single morning. You know, I have my own struggles with with mental health, and, it can feel so daunting at times.

01:07:01:23 - 01:07:31:02
Ash Rodriguez
And we are constantly bombarded with, the doomsday, the dire ness. really true. But for me, and in my own sanity and and who I am as a person, I need to grind ground myself in the beauty and and the hope of it. And again, this goes back to I'd rather be naive than cynical. And so that is where I need to, stay.

01:07:31:02 - 01:08:01:07
Ash Rodriguez
And I truly do believe that we can move the needle. And I think we are. I think there's this massive awakening that's happening. people have tired of me using this with this reference. But I don't know if you watched the bird moral episode of kitchen. Unnecessary, but man speaking. speaking of ashes, there's a type of moral that grows, after the devastation of forest fire and and and after the like.

01:08:01:09 - 01:08:25:17
Ash Rodriguez
Fires are essential to the health of the forest. Right. And scientists still don't fully understand why and what it is that that occurs that makes these particular morels grow in abundance after fire. But they do. And it is part of this, you know, like the beauty from the ashes. And I, I think that's this place that we're at right now.

01:08:25:17 - 01:08:39:23
Ash Rodriguez
I, I have to believe it. I have to hold on to that hope that it feels so dire and desperate and hopeless at times. But I think that's ultimately where the change in the transition is going to happen.

01:08:40:00 - 01:09:07:03
Mark Titus
Brilliant, I appreciate you. I'm got one last bonus question, in this sort of vein that we're in right now. let's just, kind of and it's it's kind of the world physically we're in too, anymore. but I thought exercise. Just say that, your house was in the line of a wildfire. If you could only take one physical thing, what would that be?

01:09:07:03 - 01:09:17:00
Mark Titus
And if you could only take one metaphysical things. A personality trait about yourself that makes ash. Ash. What would that be?

01:09:17:01 - 01:09:27:03
Ash Rodriguez
Gosh, I'm like, looking around my house and like, oh my God, one physical thing.

01:09:27:05 - 01:09:37:18
Ash Rodriguez
Okay. I mean, the first thing that came up my journal. I think that's yeah, I think I would.

01:09:37:20 - 01:09:43:17
Ash Rodriguez
Oh that's hard because I don't want to leave behind all the photos.

01:09:43:19 - 01:09:44:08
Mark Titus
It's a tough.

01:09:44:08 - 01:10:07:13
Ash Rodriguez
One, but my but maybe my phone is already in my pocket, so it's fine because all of our photos are there, so, But yeah. No, that was the journal was the first thing that came because it. Yeah. it's a toss up between like, my creativity because I just don't feel like I'm myself without it. But then also my curiosity, I think those kind of I mean, they go hand in hand.

01:10:07:15 - 01:10:09:04
Ash Rodriguez

01:10:09:06 - 01:10:25:23
Mark Titus
Yeah. Both self-evidently. They both very evident today. And, I'm grateful for you sharing them with me and with us and, ash, how can people get involved with your work? Where can they find what you're doing?

01:10:26:01 - 01:10:52:09
Ash Rodriguez
you can check out my Instagram. Ash from my website is ashrod.earth. I write a newsletter called fireside. and yeah, so much of what we've been talking about is so evident in my latest book, Rooted Kitchen. So thank you for this. This conversation. Oh my gosh, it's been such a joy in your questions. I've been so thoughtful.

01:10:52:13 - 01:10:56:11
Ash Rodriguez
I've loved the the thread of this conversation for sure.

01:10:56:13 - 01:11:17:18
Mark Titus
Well thank you. Honestly, the pleasure is mine to finally meet you. virtually in person here. And, I hope we can do this again. And, I think we'll probably good chance of seeing ourselves in the real world as well. And, Ash Rodriguez, thank you for being on the Save What You Love podcast. And, we'll see you down the trail.

01:11:17:19 - 01:11:27:11
Ash Rodriguez
Sounds good. Thank you so much.

01:11:27:13 - 01:11:50:05
Music
How do you say what you love?
How do you say what you love?
How do you say what you love?
How do you say what you love?

01:11:50:07 - 01:12:14:07
Mark Titus
Thank you for listening. To save what you love. If you like what you're hearing, you can help keep these conversations coming your way by giving us a rating on whatever platform you're listening from, and leave me a comment on Apple Podcasts. It really helps get the word out. Check out photos on our Instagram feed. We're at Save What You Love podcast, and you can get links from today's featured guest in the show notes of this episode.

01:12:14:09 - 01:12:43:05
Mark Titus
Join our growing community by subscribing to our newsletter at EvasWild.com and then clicking on connect in the upper corner. You'll get exclusive offers on wild salmon shipped to your door, and notifications about upcoming guests and more great content on the way. That's at evaswild.com. The word save spelled backwards, wild dot com. This episode was produced by Emilie Firn and edited by Patrick Troll.

01:12:43:07 - 01:12:49:03
Mark Titus
Original music was created by Whiskey Class. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you all down the trail.