Simple Beginnings

Photo credit A Well Travelled Woman

I am continually impressed by Nigella Lawson.  I’m not an avid fan of her style of food; cream, butter, endless cakes and more cream would leave me in a coma.  But I am an avid fan of her self-possession, the strong femininity she oozes, her ability to turn the kitchen into a place of worship where the most mundane cooking exploits are transformed into a gastronomical ritual...as well as having a very impressive vocabulary.  Hearing her say things like this...

“The trouble with much modern cooking is not that the food it produces isn’t good, but that the mood it induces in the cook is one of skin-of-the-teeth efficiency, all briskness and little pleasure. Sometimes that’s the best we can manage, but at other times we don’t want to feel like a postmodern, postfeminist, overstretched woman but, rather, a domestic goddess, trailing nutmeggy fumes of baking pie in our languorous wake.”  - Nigella Lawson, How to Be a Domestic Goddess

...I just have to nod my head and grin.  Forth wave feminism I think they call it (or is it third?) where women are embracing domesticity and handcrafte in all its guises as a form of creative expression, meditation, nourishment, wisdom and even wildness.  It has also got me thinking about food as a ritual and how this frame of mind adds a very nourishing whisper to our otherwise fast, loud lives.  

Through all my nutrition studies, I have firmly concluded that good nutrition is far from the clutches of the health food store.  There is a time and place for those sorts of "health" products, but too often simple acts of nourishment are forgotten and overlooked, which really is the backbone of good nutrition...of good health.  The simple things done well coupled with the beauty of ritual will do your body, mind and soul magnitudes more than the most elaborate vitamin and mineral routine.  

Last week on a late night babysitting job I was watching old Nigella episodes on the food channel.  I was captivated for a good three or so minutes of her going through her morning routine of boiling eggs.  I’m either easily entertained, or the woman’s got skill.  I couldn't track down the clip but found the "recipe" which is more like internal dialogue than a formal recipe.  

Inspired, I filled my Sunday morning with a touch of Nigella ritual.  A cup of tea, my favorite radio station (Melbourne's triple R community radio by the way), the Sunday paper and boiled eggs cooked to perfection with purple sage and an autumnal addition: roasted celeriac fingers.  I know if I could start the mornings more or less like this on a regular basis, I would have a lot more smooth flowing days!

Boiled eggs with purple sage and roasted celeriac fingers.

If you wish to include celeriac fingers (which I highly recommend) peel and slice one celeriac cover with a touch of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt.  Roast in a 190C oven for 20 - 30 minutes.  Good sourdough bread toasted, and sliced into fingers is of coarse the traditional option.  Or grilled asparagus if you feel so inclined.  

Boil your eggs just how you like them (4-5 minutes in boiling water for a runny yolk 6 - 7 for a firm one), added some fresh chopped herbs and a decent pinch of the best quality sea salt you can get your mitts on. 

Get your morning ritual on!  I would love to know what other people consider a perfect, nourishing morning breakfast....

Soothe, Nourish, Restore

The tunnel of Elms slowly changing colour for autumn's calling

I know it’s been done time and time again, nevertheless I am writing a health minded blog and my collection of posts would be incomplete without a healing chicken soup recipe.  The seasons are shifting down in Victoria and I have been working in a kindergarten the last few weeks...which translates to being immersed in a cocktail of snotty noses, sore ears, coughs, colds and flus.  It’s a good thing kids are so darn cute.  However, despite their cuteness, I have managed to catch a horrible virus-y thing that has left me wondering what it was like to be healthy.  Ridiculous thinking I know, but I do have a certain amount of anxiety as I’m off adventuring to India next week, and I simply must get better and be in vibrant, sparkly, health to withstand the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual bombardment that is sure to ensue.   

It’s funny, I’m continuously immersed in the world of natural health, yet when I get thumped on the head with a sickness like this, I don’t know where to start.  All that knowledge seems to fade away into a blurry recess of my mind.  Which perhaps is not a bad thing, as the simple things come to the forefront and make themselves known.  Health and healing after-all are not complicated matters at all.  They are in fact exceedingly simple...too often it is expected that they are complicated, which makes only for a self fulfilling prophesy.  The mantra: sleep-water-rest-after those are taken care of chicken soup.  Which is usually when my brain kicks back into gear and can think of some other nourishing naturopathic things to do.  

A couple of my favorite bloggers have put together some really great material on the subject of keeping your immune system strong and healthy, which are always nice to visit when in need of some inspiration.  It’s kind of like listening to advice/healing orders from your mum or one of your friends.  Here, here, here and here. 

Why is chicken soup so revered?  I had previously thought that is was some kind of placebo, born out of collective nostalgia for “Grandma’s Chicken Soup”.  But there really is more to it than that.  Quality organic chicken on the bone, slowly and gently cooked in nutrient dense stock and vegetables,  infused with immune boosting herbs and spices is herbal potion, vitamin pill and nourishing meal in one.  The slow, gentle cooking helps extract deeper flavor and nutrients from the bones and vegetables.    

This chicken soup is based on Jude Blereau’s recipe from her first book “Wholefoods”.  She is a marvelous cook, each of her recipes teeming with goodness and layered with flavor. 

Healing Chicken Soup

Chicken soup and fresh roses are mighty healing partners...

Begin by placing a large saucepan on low heat and add a splash of olive oil and  3 - 4 pieces of organic, free range, pasture fed chicken thigh on the bone.  If your butcher doesn’t have thigh meat on the bone, pick up the thigh meat plus bones, which they should have. The bones give the soup its therapeutic edge with an array of readily absorbable minerals.  Once you have browned the chicken lightly on both sides, add 1 diced leek or onion, and 3 sliced celery stalks.  Allow them to gently sizzle away for a couple of minutes, until the onion is translucent.  

Then add 3 sprigs of fresh thyme, 8 sage leaves, 2 sprigs of rosemary and 100g sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms or 8 dried shiitakes. Shiitakes boost the immune system, and are particularly useful in viral infections as they contain compounds that support the body’s interferon system (a protein released by the body in response to viral infection that inhibits replication).  Continue to cook for another 3 - 4 minutes.  

Now add the kernels from 1 corn cob, added with the cob (which will be removed in the end),1 medium sweet potato diced, 2 finely sliced carrots , 4 - 5 cloves of garlic minced and freshly grated ginger to taste.  The sweet potato and carrots both contain beta carotene, which gets converted to vitamin A in the body, an anti-oxidant and immune boosting vitamin. Cook for a further two minutes, and then add 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (used to help extract mineral content from the chicken bones), 2 bay leaves, freshly ground pepper to taste,  2 tablespoons of pearled barley and 8 - 10 cups of vegetable stock, the stock should only just cover the contents of the pot by an inch. 

Homemade stock is choice, but a good organic variety makes a second best.  Another thing I love to do is omit 2 cups of the stock and replace with 2 cups of strong immune boosting herbal tea, such as echinacea, burdock and/or astragalus, 4 tablespoons of herb in total to 2 cups of  water, brought to the boil for 15 minutes, then strained and added to the soup.   Astragalus is much better suited if you are recovering from an illness rather than in the height of it.  

 If you’re a fan of seaweed add 1 - 2 tablespoons dulse, wakame or arame, these will give the soup a dose of trace minerals and offer a further soothing quality.  1 tablespoon will hardly leave any “seaweedy” taste, so it’s a good way to sneak it in!  Cook covered, still on low heat, for 1 hour.  

After this hour, remove the chicken pieces with tongs, and remove and shred the meat with a fork.  Set the meat aside covered, and return the bones to the soup pot and simmer for a further 30 minutes.  After this time, remove the bones and cobs form the soup.  Have a taste and adjust the flavorings as desired, such as fresh herbs, pepper, sea salt/tamari.  

Return the shredded meat to the pot, stir in a large handful of fresh chopped parsley and a large handful of kale chopped. The kale is optional, but I love the feeling of adding green to the bowl.  Ladle into serving bowls and top with extra fresh parsley and raw minced garlic if you really want to give your cold/flu and punch.  Jude adds that if you find your soup gels as it cools, you know you have a good powerful soup.  

Recovery is much sweeter when you have a furry companion around...

Persian Love Cake with Cardamon Poached Plums

Melbourne is not behaving at all today.  Summer?  Try rain, cold winds and grey skies.  I actually don't mind all too much as I am far too much of a lover of autumn and this changing weather is that little sign that the falling season isn't too far off.  As I was walking Poppy - my loyal canine - through the tunnels of elms and oaks of my park (with a scarf on I must add!), I caught my breath when I saw the yellowing leaves.  The trees beginning to bring their energy back into their bellies.  Summer has come and is almost gone.  

So cake!  Cool winds are blowing and I declare an occasion for cake.  The title sounds quite beguiling doesn't it?  Persian love cake.   I came across it when I was recently during my stay in  Tasmania.  You could call it spiced honey, yogurt, almond cake...but Persian love cake sounds much more mysterious.  First you get hit with the honey, the spices then send an overlay of their aroma and you're left with a divine texture that keeps on sending waves of flavor through.  

First of all, make a cup of tea and turn on some music.  The melodious kind.  These steps are not essential, but recommended.  Preheat your oven to 180C. Prepare a 26 cm - diameter springform pan with baking paper and grease with a little organic butter in waxed paper. 

In a mixing bowl - add 380 g/ 3 generous cups almond meal, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup honey and 1 tsp sea salt - then rub 120g softened unsalted butter into mix until course sand-like crumbs form.  Place half the mixture into pan - press down until evenly covering base. 

Returning to your mixing bowl add 2 lightly beaten eggs, 250g greek-style yoghurt, 1 tbsp freshly grated nutmeg, 1 tsp cardamom and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and mix until creamy.  Pour mix into the pan and place chopped pistachios around edge.  Bake until golden, which will be about 30 - 45 minutes, depending on your oven.   

Let cool in pan before attempting to flip it out.  Serve with yogurt and poached fruit.  I poached a dozen halved blood plums in a couple of cups of water (enough to just cover in a pan) with 6 crushed cardamon pods and a couple of tablespoons of honey, simmered over a medium flame until the fruit were tender, about 20 minutes.  Once cool, I added 2 tsp of rosewater.  These are also divine in the morning with granola and yogurt.  

Also, I thought I'd share a couple of nice things I have stumbled across in the last few days.  Lucinda Dodds always makes me smile with her simplicity and nourishing ways over in her corner.  I never really got the tumblr thing, but when I saw this one I kind of got it...a patchwork of cyber trinkets, odd bits and beauties.  This is a lot of fun to browse through, but a bit too tempting whilst I'm saving for overseas adventures.  And this is my friend Emma's blog who is also studying naturopathy and has been getting ridiculously clever and crafty whilst waiting for her little bub to arrive into the world - check out her done up nursery.    

An Ode to the Zucchini Flower

Why an ode?  Simply because the memory of this meal still makes me salivate and smile that such simplicity often echoes further than the most complicated of meals.  My traveling partner (one of my best pals whose just as crazy over food and herbs as I am) and I popped into the Salamanca markets of Hobart to replenish our stocks before setting off into Alpine country.  Now we’re an earthy duo who relish in roughing it, but when it comes to food, no compromises can be made and the market place is a temple!  So we set off with our delicious coffees in hand (which always taste that little bit more divine when you’re on the road), bought a sourdough spelt loaf to tear off morsels as breakfast and waded through the bustling crowds collecting local earthly delights.  The zucchinis and their flowers intact could not be left behind despite being a slightly impractical choice.  

To out luck, where we decided to put our hat down for the night had a couple of BBQs in a stone hut.  This is all you need to do; cut up small cubes of a cheddar style goat's cheese (feta will not be nearly as good) and pop them into the zucchini flowers.  Gently twirl the flowers in your hand so that you semi-seal it off so cheese won't go everywhere.  On a BBQ/hot plate/grill plate, drizzle extra virgin olive oil, cut a clove of garlic in half and rub in over the surface as it is warming up.  This will impart a really divine hint of flavor.  When hotplate is hot enough, lay out your zucchinis and turn every couple of minutes.  Once they start charring and you can easily poke a fork through the middle (this may take 10 - 20 minutes), they are done.  

These make a great appetizer in and of themselves, or you could make a meal out of them with a side salad and some couscous.  What we did (which I highly recommend),  chop up a couple of handfuls of kale, mince up the garlic clove you rubbed the hotplate down with and add to a bowl with a pinch of sea salt and glug of olive oil.  Then massage throughly.  This seems to tenderize the kale and distribute the flavor evenly.  Distribute between plates and top with your zucchinis.  Have a good loaf of bread and a glass of red handy too!  

You'll be in flavor country I promise.  

It is an Art to Saunter

Some moments had in Tasmania...

"It is an art to saunter" - Henry David Thoreau

Sunburn & Herbal First Aid

The remedy kit - dock leaves, meadowsweet and egg.

Aye!  Well my blisters healed up beautifully, only to be graced with a nasty sunburn.  I couldn’t help but question myself as to whether I am, on some subconscious level, manifesting these injuries so I can play with all the fresh herbs around me.  I don’t think so, but at least I do get to do a bit of experimenting.  I’m a redhead you see, and my skin is so white you can almost see it in the dark.  It’s a bit a joke in Australia for those of European descent.  All our ancestors come from lands where the sun only makes guest appearances, yet we’re all living in the “sun-blessed” country...translating to it feels like the sun is only a couple of meters away.  Because Tasmania is so far south, the ozone layer over here is actually incredibly thin...which I proved remarkably well given that the sun burnt through my cotton shirt.  Alas herbal healing was again called for.  

Juliet de Bairicli Levy was my first lady to consult.  She first of all scolds those who got burnt in the first place reminding them to be like the animals and only venture out in the early hours of the morning and afternoon.  If you must travel/work outside during the daylight hours, she advises to gather “leafy branches or a big leaf, such as a banana one” and carry that around.  I always love this woman’s advice, however this would be a tad awkward working in the gardens.  

For bad burns, Juliet recommends an eggwhite mixed with honey applied to the skin, as it draws out the heat from the deeper tissues and cools.  It’s quite a simple treatment that I found highly effective.  I whisked the two together and applied with a cotton wool bud and allowed to dry.  It almost felt as if the egg was cooking on me.  

To cool and soothe, a poultice (pulped up herbs put directly on the skin) or compress (a strong herbal tea is made and cooled, then a cloth is soaked in it and held against the skin) can being used.  Herbs such as St. John’s wort, calendula, elder blossom, meadowsweet, water lilies, pulped raw cucumber or pulped dock leaves are all very calming, and in the case of St John’s wort and calendula, promote tissue regeneration.  I used dock leaves and meadowsweet leaves, pulped up in my mortar and pestle, and held against my skin with a bandage overnight.  If I had a big enough cloth, a herbal compress would have worked better, but I was still impressed by how it acutely cooled the area.  

Unfortunately, all of this didn’t stop it from blistering and being quite painful, although I’m sure the egg white decreased how much it did blister.  Which lead me onto the wondrous remedy of lavender essential oil used by the family who own the farm.  The oil is simply applied undiluted straight onto the skin.  If the blister were open, I imagine this would have stung a lot, but I was surprised that it instantly calmed the skin.  In my recent post on Blossom Medicine I mentioned lavender’s highly anti-inflammatory and anti-septic properties, but now I can confirm its locally anesthetic and wound healing properties. It noticeably reduced the redness and pain of the burn, and after 2 days the skin appeared unharmed (still a bit red) when normally this would have happened after a week. So the lesson learnt from this round of experimentation, is to reach straight for the lavender oil and if the burn is quite bad a deep, start with the eggwhites and honey to draw all that heat out.    

Hopefully I won’t have too many more injuries to report. Now back out to the garden for a day of yarrow harvesting.  

Blisters & Herbal First Aid

Comfrey & Plantain

Blisters are an absolute pain!  Figuratively and literally.  Two weeks ago I bought a new pair of work boots for the farm & garden work I am to do over the year.  I soaked them, conditioned them, gave them a good belting, eased in, wore proper socks, but no, their introductory present was a set of two nasty heel blisters.  This has been making things around the gardens a bit painful and annoying given that I want to be walking around with zest and vigor.  Yet on the positive side, I’ve been able to do some experimenting with fresh herbs, which is a real treat.  In the spirit of sharing herbal adventures and learning, here’s what has and has not helped so far... 

If the blister is open and positioned on a joint (ie on the side of a toe, on the heel or on your hand), don’t use a strongly astringent lotion.  I went straight to my trusty wound healing duo of distilled witch hazel and dragon’s blood, which has worked wonders on many occasions, yet in this instance it tightened the skin’s surface tension so effectively that when I was walking around the next day I was simply splitting the skin and inducing small tears.  Not helpful.  One step forward, five steps back.  However, this would be appropriate if the blister was on soft tissue in the case of a burn blister - especially if it was weeping.  

Then I turned to my traveling companion, Juliet de Baircali Levy’s “Traveler’s Joy” (a fabulous book by the way) where she recommends applying the green pulp of any of the following herbs to the blister: traveler’s joy, dock, calendula, plantain and marshmallow leaves...all really common plants.  With most of these out in the herb farm’s garden, plan B was sorted.  I gathered one calendula blossom, a small comfrey leaf and a few leaves of plantain, popped them in my mouth, chewed them up to a nice paste, applied it to the blisters and secured with a bandaid and socks.  After just a few hours, the tightened, teared skin had softened, was considerably less red and the edges had started to heal up.  

Marshmallow leaves

Marshmallow poultice

I coupled this with rinsing the blisters with a sea salt and myrrh wash in the evening, and then let my feet air out.  After just a couple of days blisters were healed.  Some other pieces of advice Juliet gives is to wash the feet at the end of the day, dry them, then dust with “soothing herbal powders” which I imagine would include slippery elm, comfrey root, violet leaf, and marshmallow leaf and root powders.  If the blisters are really open, which wasn’t applicable to me in this instance (but would be useful if I was hiking), is to plug with clean cobwebs - what a wonderfully witchy remedy!  Juliet says that to avoid blisters all together, and keep your feet cool and comfortable, line your shoes with dock leaves before setting out on longs days on your feet.  Gypsy remedies have their own kind of magic.  The meadows, street sides and gardens become the first aid kit, making the pharmacy look a tad drear. 

References 

Juliet de Baircali Levy Traveler’s Joy