Grounding Root Vegetable Soup

Well, it’s that time of year again in New England…  The days and nights are getting shorter and colder, the leaves are turning brilliant, beautiful colors and falling to the ground, and my body is beginning to crave homemade soups and stews.  According to Ayurvedic medicine, which is a system of traditional medicine that has been around for thousands of years, is native to India and is practiced in other parts of the world as a form of alternative medicine, it is normal for our bodies to want to live in harmony with the seasons, and that means craving certain foods in the spring, summer and winter/fall.  Dr. John Douillard, who is an Ayurvedic practitioner and expert when it comes to Ayurveda, explains what foods are best for the winter season in his Winter Grocery List.  The more of the foods on this list that you can add into your daily diet during the winter season, the more you will be in sync with the season, and the more warm and grounded you will feel.  Dr. Douillard also has several winter wellness tips on his website that he uses to keep himself, his patients and six kids healthy and happy.  I encourage you to check them out.  :0)

So it happens to be cold and raining outside right now as I type this post, and my close friends — and my honey — know that when it rains and it is cold out, I make soup.  Luckily, yesterday my honey took me to a local farmer’s market to buy fresh, local, organic produce.  We naturally stocked up on root vegetables, as that is what is being harvested in our neck of the woods this time of year.  Beets, rutabagas, daikon and black radishes, turnips, carrots, parsnips, garlic, onions and oyster mushrooms are what we stocked up on, and that is exactly what I put into my Grounding Root Vegetable Soup.  These root vegetables are chock full of vitamins, minerals and health-promoting qualities.   To find out what is local and in season for your part of the world, you can visit Local Harvest, type in your zip code, and you will be enlightened by the variety of fruits and vegetables that are freshest and most delicious for you to eat at this time of year.

Now for the soup…  I believe in making a lot of soup at one time so that I have food for several days, or if I choose to, I can freeze some for future meals.  Cook once, eat at least twice, is my motto.  I am hoping you will adopt that motto, too!  The gigantic pot that I use holds several pounds of vegetables, as well as 24 cups of filtered/spring water.  If you don’t have a gigantic pot like me, you can scale down the recipe to suit your needs.  If you are scaling down the recipe, I recommend cutting up your vegetables, adding your grain and beans, then add in the water at the end.  When I am not “inventing” a recipe for my blog or my future book, I don’t usually write down recipes.  I do everything by taste, and I am also recommending that you do, too.  Add it a little bit of this or that (spices, etc.) that you like, and do so a little bit at a time.  It’s much easier to add more of something in then to be bummed out because you added too much and your delicious homemade creation isn’t so delicious anymore!  Yes, yes, yes, I know this from experience…

Ingredients:

Several pounds of fresh, local, organic root vegetables with the green tops intact, chopped

1 red or white onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 pound of oyster mushrooms, chopped

1 cup millet

1 cup adzuki beans

3-inch piece of kelp, chopped or whole

2 bay leaves

2 Tbs dried rosemary

4 fresh sage leaves

2 Tbs Celtic sea salt

2 Tbs toasted sesame oil

1 Tbs umeboshi plum vinegar

2 Tbs agar-agar flakes

24 cups filtered/spring water

***ALWAYS USE ORGANIC OR WILDRAFTED INGREDIENTS WHEN AVAILABLE***

 To Make The Soup:

1.  Chop up all of your root vegetables, the onion, the garlic, the mushrooms and put them into a large pot.  I like to keep things simple when it comes to soup.  In this soup I just sliced everything (as you can see from the pictures) and threw it in the pot.  It saves on time and tastes exactly the same as if you got all fancy with cutting your vegetables;

2.  Add the millet and adzuki beans to the pot with the veggies;

3.  Add in the 24 cups of water;

4.  Add in the kelp, bay leaves, rosemary, sage and Celtic sea salt.  If you like kelp, cut it with scissors into small pieces into the pot.  If you do not care for kelp, throw in the whole 3″ piece of kelp, so that you can take it out before you eat the soup.  Kelp adds minerals to the soup and helps to make it more nutritious;

5.  Bring to a boil, and then immediately turn it to medium low (stirring occasionally and making sure it does not boil over) for approximately an hour;

6.  Turn to low and add in the toasted sesame oil, umeboshi plum vinegar and agar-agar flakes and cook until the beans are cooked well (you do NOT want al dente beans because that equals gas, which is not fun for anyone :0));

7.  After the beans are cooked, your Grounding Root Vegetable Soup is finished.  Enjoy!

Some Helpful Tips:

Choose root vegetables that you love…  Do you like sweet vegetables?  Bitter vegetables?  Creamy vegetables?  Are you attracted to certain colored vegetables?  Do you have absolutely no clue where to begin because you’ve never eaten a beet, a turnip or some celery root in your life?   If all of this is new to you and you’re not used to eating root vegetables, consider asking the farmer(s) at the farmer’s market for a recommendation.  Let’s face it, farmers know what they grow, and they are a fantastic resource when it comes to picking delicious produce.

If you want to cook your soup in less time, soak the adzuki beans for several hours in filtered/spring water, and then use them to make the soup.

I chose Millet, which is a fabulous whole grain, to use in this soup because I’ve been eating a lot of quinoa lately and wanted to mix things up a bit.  Other fantastic options to add into soups are quinoa, amaranth and/or buckwheat.  You could even use a combination of two or more of these whole grains.  FYI, real whole grains (“whole wheat” bread, for example, is not a whole grain) are loaded with B vitamins, folic acid, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium and zinc.  Besides being nutritious, they are delicious!  :0)

As I say with all of my recipes, if you don’t like something, e.g. mushrooms, just omit them from the recipe.  If you can’t get an item that you like, e.g. oyster mushrooms, substitute it with a similar item, e.g. shitake or portabello mushrooms.  The point is to make a homemade recipe that you will love and eat.  You can follow my recipe to the T or use it as a general guideline to create a masterpiece that you can call your own.

I have put links from my Inspired Health & Happiness Market to the kelp, Celtic sea salt, toasted sesame oil, umeboshi plum vinegar and the agar-agar flakes to this recipe.  In the event that you cannot find one of these items at your local grocery store, you can always purchase them by clicking on the links provided.  All of the products listed are organic and/or wildcrafted, and they are brands that I use in my own kitchen.  ;0)

To your health and happiness!

Brazil Nut Cantaloupe Milk

Wow.  This has been a fabulous year for buying fresh, local produce, and the season isn’t even over yet!  This past week I got my hot little hands on a beautiful locally-grown organic cantaloupe, and I was psyched…  A couple years ago I found a recipe to make a version of a cantaloupe nut milk, which was totally delicious.  I looked for the recipe online and have not been able to find it, so I have invented one of my own.  I believe when I made it before the recipe called for raw almonds.  This one is obviously (as you can tell from the name of the recipe) using raw Brazil nuts, which are wonderful, too.

Raw Brazil nuts are loaded with selenium (2550 mcg, to be exact), which is an essential trace mineral that acts as an antioxidant in our bodies.  It works with vitamin E in our bodies to protect cell membranes from damage caused by free radicals.  It also helps assist with normal fetal development during pregnancy, aids in cell growth, helps ensure proper thyroid function, and if that isn’t enough, it helps bind heavy metals and may reduce toxicity from mercury contamination.  Brazil nuts also contain protein (19.0 g), calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese, to name a few.  Basically, they are amazing nutritionally for your body and are an excellent addition to a healthy diet.  My honey and I enjoy a couple of raw Brazil nuts in our lunches every day, and even my dogs love them as a snack. 

(After I originally posted this article/recipe, my wonderful friend and veterinarian, Dr. Kyla Dillard, sent me an email on Facebook.  She let me know that feeding my dogs Brazil nuts occasionally is absolutely fine.  As an aside with regard to nuts and dogs, she informed me that Macadamia nuts can actually kill dogs, and not a lot of people or veterinarians actually know this.  As a HUGE dog and animal lover, I wanted to pass this on, just in case you are not aware of this tidbit of information that could save a dog’s life.)  :0) 

Besides being a delicious melon, cantaloupes contain dietary fiber, niacin, Vitamin B6, folate and are a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C and potassium.  In addition, cantaloupes are mildly anti-inflammatory, which is fantastic news for anyone that has inflammation in their body.  That’s all good stuff right there, and all the more reason to run out and buy a cantaloupe right now!  Plus, you’ll need one to make this amazing and simple recipe.

This easy Brazil Nut Cantaloupe Milk is very filling and delicious.  A full glass of this milk actually fills me up for a couple of hours, which is awesome.  It always amazes me how much nourishing food that feeds your body fills you up, and this is no exception to that rule.  You can enjoy this milk by the glass, use it as a base for a smoothie or even freeze the Brazil Nut Cantaloupe Milk in popsicle molds and enjoy some delicious and sweet popsicles.  However you choose to consume this delicious treat, I truly hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

One side note… When I am making any kind of nut milk, I tend to make a lot at one time.  I do my best to make enough so that it will last myself and my honey for a couple days.  If this recipe is too much for you, you can cut it in half and make half the recipe.  As you will notice in the pictures, I store my nut milk in the refrigerator in large glass containers that I bought years ago online by Googling “large glass containers.”   If you do not have a juicer just yet, try bidding on one on eBay — one of my best friends just bought an only-used-once essentially brand new juicer from a seller on eBay for $35, and she absolutely loves it.  You can purchase a nut milk bag online or at your local health food store.  I have had mine since 2001, and it is still going strong. 

What You Will Need To Make The Milk

Blender, Juicer, Large Bowl, Nut milk bag, Large Glass Container (for storage)

Ingredients:

1 large cantaloupe

14 cups of filtered or spring water

2 cups raw Brazil nuts

2 Tbs vanilla extract

Raw organic agave nectar (to taste) or stevia (to taste)

2 pinches of Celtic sea salt

***USE ORGANIC OR WILDCRAFTED INGREDIENTS, WHEN AVAILABLE***

How To Make the Brazil Nut Cantaloupe Milk:

**You will make the Brazil nut milk in two batches, then add in the fresh juiced cantaloupe.**

1.  Juice the cantaloupe using a juicer and set aside;

2.  Add 7 cups of water and 1 cup of raw Brazil nuts to your blender and blend thoroughly;

3.  Strain the blended nuts and water through your nut milk bag into a large bowl, then pour the strained liquid back into the blender.  Set aside the pulp of the Brazil nuts that is remaining in the nut milk bag (you can use the pulp to make raw cookies and/or the pulp makes a great addition to morning smoothies);

4.  In the blender, add to the strained liquid 1 Tbs of vanilla extract, a pinch of Celtic sea salt and agave/stevia to taste.  Blend thoroughly;

5. Repeat to make another batch of Brazil nut milk;

6.  Now to put it all together:  Add the fresh cantaloupe juice to the two batches of  Brazil nut milk, mix thoroughly and enjoy!

To Your Health & Happiness! 

Berry Cherry Freezer Pops

I have three short words for you:  Hot, hot, hot!  It’s been extremely hot and muggy in my neck of the woods lately, which prompts me to look for fun ways to cool off, and for me, that always includes food.  Last week I purchased a whole bunch of organic strawberries, blueberries and cherries and was contemplating all the ways I could prepare them.  I could eat them whole, put them in my smoothies, make a sorbet, a raw ice cream, a cold berry soup or invent something that I haven’t eaten in years… Popsicles!  Guess which one I picked?  Well, actually, I picked four of my six choices; the Popsicles made it to the blog.  :0)

Last week my honey (and official taste tester of all of my creations), Peter, was away for a couple of days.  I was so excited for him to come home… not only because I missed him, but because I thought the Berry Cherry Freezer Pops would be a nice cool surprise for him after a long drive in this heat.  The people that personally know me know that I can be a bit enthusiastic about things when I am excited about something… hehe  True to my form and enthusiasm, Peter had a Berry Cherry Freezer Pop in his hand within five minutes of him walking in the door.  I watched him carefully as he enjoyed his treat.  When I asked for his ”official” opinion, he said he absolutely loved it!  And that’s truly a good thing, because I made a bunch of pops.  

We’re not big sweet eaters, Peter and I, unless you are counting raw dark chocolate, so the berries alone tasted sweet enough to us.  We decided amongst ourselves that the halved frozen cherries added a fabulous texture to the pops, and the hint of mint and lime is a nice flavor to experience.  Even though we love them just the way they are, I wanted to make sure that everyone would enjoy them.  That’s when we began talking about children.  I always keep in mind my best friend’s son, Dominic, when I am making desserts.  I think, would Dominic love this and gobble up this healthy food if Nancy put it in front of him?  I am thinking he would love these.  Even though I considered the Dominic Factor and thought about leaving the recipe alone, Peter suggested to me that if I was making the pops for kids, I might add a few tablespoons of raw agave nectar to sweeten it up.  That is totally optional and up to you and your family’s taste buds. 

The great thing about these pops is that they’re simple to prepare and are loaded with nutrition, not artificial sweeteners, colors and other nasty unmentionables like most store-bought desserts.  There’s nothing like a homemade dish, and that includes Popsicles…    :0)

Ingredients:

4 cups strawberries

3 cups cherries,pitted and halved

2 cups blueberries

1 cup coconut water or 1 cup filtered/spring water

1 medium lime, juiced

6 fresh mint leaves, roughly sliced

1 small pinch Celtic sea salt

3 Tbs raw agave nectar (optional)

***USE ORGANIC OR WILDCRAFTED INGREDIENTS WHEN AVAILABLE***

Appliances/Special Tools:

Food Processor

Popsicle Molds

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To Make The Pops:

1. Process the strawberries, blueberries, coconut water, lime juice, Celtic sea salt (and optional raw agave nectar) in food processor until smooth into Berry Cherry Soup.

2.  Place the mint leaves on top of each other, roll together, roughly slice and stir into the Berry Cherry Soup.

3.  Halve the cherries and remove the pits, fill your Popsicle molds with the halved cherries, then add the Berry Cherry Soup to each mold containing the cherries (use a butter knife to help you get the Berry Cherry Soup all the way down to the bottom of the Popsicle molds so that you do not end up with air pockets).

4.  Freeze pops.  They are ready when frozen.  Enjoy!

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Useful Information & Helpful Tips:

1.  If you are short on time or you don’t want your hands to look like you got into a scuffle, you can purchase frozen cherries, as it takes a little bit of effort to pit them.

2.  Experiment with using different varieties of fresh mint leaves; for example, spearmint, peppermint, chocolate mint, etc…. Check out your local health food store or farmer’s market if you are not already growing your own fresh mint.  If you do decide to plant mint, make sure you plant it in its own pot.  When planted in the ground, mint tends to expand in size and take over the surrounding area quite quickly.  :0)

3.  Add two tablespoons of raw cacao powder or raw cacao nibs for a chocolately version of the Berry Cherry Freezer Pops! 

Fun Facts About The Ingredients:

“A new University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center study suggests that blueberries may help reduce belly fat and risk factors for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome.”

“Although strawberries can be included in all manner of salads, appetizers, and desserts, to get the best benefit, eat them raw, as they contain a full day’s supply of vitamin C.”

“Emerging evidence links cherries to many important health benefits – from helping to ease the pain of arthritis and gout, to reducing risk factors for heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. Cherries also contain melatonin, which has been found to help regulate the body’s natural sleep patterns, aid with jet lag, prevent memory loss and delay the aging process.”

“Mint is a good appetizer and promotes digestion, due to its typical aroma. It also soothes stomach in cases of indigestion, inflammation etc.  This aroma of mint activates the saliva glands in our mouth as well as glands which secrete digestive enzymes, thereby facilitating digestion.”

Make it a WONDERFUL day! 

Simple Tomato Cucumber Salad

While wandering through one of our local farmer’s markets the other day, I was impressed by the sea of fruits and vegetables that came in all colors of the rainbow.  I was lucky enough to stumble upon a bunch of different types of organic cucumbers at an incredible price; some were shaped a bit funny– like the burpless ones, the pickling cukes looked spectacular, and the regular old cucumbers were crisp and scrumptious.  After I filled my bag with this fabulous produce, the friendly farmer was gracious and said to me, “Thank you for buying organic,” to which I replied, “Always.”  He smiled at me, I smiled at him, and I was on my way home to make something cool for dinner during this heatwave we’ve been experiencing.  I love farmer’s market season… :0)

I am guessing that most people are at least familiar with making or eating a tomato cucumber salad.  The salad that I made with my farm-fresh produce came out so delcious and was so simple to make, I figured that I would post it, in case there is someone out there who hasn’t tried making this sensationally simple salad before.  For those that are familiar with this easy-to-prepare dish, I hope this will inspire you to get into the kitchen and create a tasty meal for you and the ones you love.

Basic Ingredients:

3 large cucumbers, sliced or diced (whichever YOU prefer)

4 roma tomatoes or 3 large vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced or diced (whichever YOU prefer)

1 small red or white onion, diced

1 large avocado, diced

2 garlic scapes, sliced, or 1 clove of garlic, pressed 

A handful of fresh basil, chopped

Extra-virgin olive oil

A large pinch of Celtic sea salt

***USE ORGANIC OR WILDCRAFTED INGREDIENTS, WHEN AVAILABLE***

 To Prepare The Salad:

1.  Slice, dice, chop and/or press the cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, avocado, garlic scapes/garlic and basil; place in a glass or ceramic bowl. 

2.  Drizzle the olive oil over the mixture (use your judgment as to how much olive oil you want in your salad) and throw in a large pinch of Celtic sea salt.

3.  Stir the salad,then it sit and marinate for at least 15 minutes.

4.  Enjoy!

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          *  If you look closely at the picture of my Simple Tomato Cucmber Salad, you will see a few extra ingredients swimming around in the salad.   I happened to have some raw shelling peas in my fridge, and I added those to my salad.  Other ideas would be to add some diced red bell pepper, chopped daikon radish or even some cubed summer squash or zucchini.  Be adventurous and try adding in additional raw veggies.

          *  Another ingredient that makes a fabulous addition to this salad are sprouted mung beans.  Sprouts of any kind are super nutritious, delicious, and some of the freshest food that you can eat!

          *  Try adding in a tiny bit of nama shoyu or umeboshi plum vinegar for a saltier taste.  You could even sprinkle the salad with dulse for some extra nutrition.  If you are adding any of these three ingredients, be sure to omit the Celtic sea salt, as they already contain salt.

          *  Add in a dash of cayenne pepper, a sliced jalepeno pepper or red pepper flakes for a spicy twist.

          *  Drizzle a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar over the salad for a special treat!

Have an inspired and delicious day!

Marvelous Marinated Mushrooms

Do you love mushrooms?  Do you love easy recipes?  If so, this is a match made in heaven:  You + Marvelous Marinated Mushrooms!

I attended Living Light Culinary Arts Institute back in 2002, and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.  I had been vegan for three years and decided to go 100% raw at the time that I attended LLCAI.  Simply put:  I needed to have options in my diet.  In all honesty, I love salad… especially my Laurie’s Special Salad salad (which is spectacular!)… The truth is, salad every day just wasn’t cutting it for me.  I truly desired healthy, nutritious and delicious food to feed my body.  Living Light Culinary Arts Institute provided me with the exciting and diverse training that helped me to accomplish my goals.

While I attended LLCAI’s Associate Chef’s Training program, I learned so much about food (in general), food preparation, presentation, storage and even the effect that our dietary choices have on our bodies and the environment.  I would highly recommend attending any of their programs/classes to anyone…  LLCAI will change your life… Seriously!

With that said, I feel I must share with you the fact that I adore mushrooms… portabello, porcini, chanterelle, shitake, enoki, reishi, maitake and even plain old white button mushrooms!  The only catch is, I don’t care for raw mushrooms.  It was music to my ears when I heard that I could make raw “cooked” mushrooms.  Thank goodness for creative people inventing easy and delicious recipes!

Marvelous Marinated Mushrooms is based on a recipe from Living Light Culinary Arts Institute.  I do not remember the quantities that I learned eight years ago, so I do it my way now…

Ingredients:

A bunch of mushrooms of your choice – one type or a combination of more than one (portabello, porcini, chanterelle, shitake, enoki, white button)

Nama shoyu/tamari

Extra virgin olive oil

***USE ORGANIC OR WILDCRAFTED INGREDIENTS WHEN AVAILABLE***

 Preparation:

1.  Chop the mushrooms into small cubes and put into a glass bowl.

2.  Drizzle olive oil over the mushrooms (make sure the oil coats all of the mushrooms)  and stir.

3.  Drizzle nama shoyu/tamari over the mushrooms (make sure to coat all of the mushrooms) and stir.

4.  Cover and allow to marinate until the mushrooms are tender, stirring once every hour.  The salt in the nama shoyu/tamari is what “cooks” or tenderizes the mushrooms. 

5.  Once the mushrooms are dark, reduced in size and tender, they’re done.

6.  Enjoy!

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One of my favorite things to do with this recipe — besides eating the mushrooms plain out of the bowl — is to use them as a salad topping.  It gives a salad substance and makes it out-of-this-world delicious!

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A Few Interesting Facts About Mushrooms…

There are over 38,000 types of mushrooms on this planet; some are edible and some are highly toxic.

Mushrooms are full of B vitamins, such as riboflavin and niacin, minerals, such as selenium, copper and potassium, and protein.

Mushrooms have been an essential part of Chinese medicine for centuries.

Mushrooms are commonly used in Japanese, Chinese and European cooking.

Make it an AMAZING day!