Goodbye Summer Salad

This salad is so colorful and flavorful it’s worth making with beautiful heirloom tomatoes and local corn while they’re still here. I like to make this with a more substantial green (baby arugula, baby kale, chiffonaded kale) if I plan to dress it all and eat for more than one meal. It is lovely on tender green or red leaf lettuce or butter lettuce and those are best eaten right away. Add some beans and that’s dinner!

Ingredients: 

3 large tomatoes, small diced

3 ears corn, boiled, kernels cut off cob

1/2 C red onion or shallot, small diced

1/4 C packed basil, washed torn

4 C lettuce, baby arugula or kale, cleaned

1/4 C olive oil

2-3 T red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or lemon or lime juice

Sea salt

Black pepper

1 large firm avocado, diced

Optional Ingredients: 

-olives or capers

-dulse flakes for extra umami, iron, and minerals

-more herbs: mint, cilantro, lemon thyme, dill would all mix well

Procedure:

1. Prepare all ingredients- wash, cook, clean, cut. 

2. Combine prepped tomatoes, corn, red onion, basil, and lettuce/greens in a large bowl. 

3. Make dressing with olive oil, acid of choice (see ingredient list), salt and pepper. Adjust acid and salt to taste. The traditional ratio of oil to acid is 2:1 but I prefer more acid to brighten flavors. Start with 2:1 and adjust  to taste, making sure to try the dressing with a piece of the salad not just on its own. 

4. Toss the salad with the dressing. 

5. Divide salad into serving bowls and then top with avocado and any additional toppings. 

Makes 6-8 servings as a side, 3-4 servings as a main

Garlicky White Beans with Tomato

Have you used all those pandemic purchase beans yet? This is a great recipe to make with white beans but many other beans could be substituted. It’s delicious warm by the bowl full, or cold eaten as a side or even a dip for corn chips or veggies. Try it on some crusty bread or as a sandwich spread. Try it as a topping for salads. I wanted to use up some fresh frozen tomatoes from last season, and many types of tomatoes could be used: fresh, frozen, canned. That said, the fresher the tomato, the fresher the taste. For a meal in a bowl, add in more greens: spinach, kale, really any greens of choice. The dish without extra greens is better for a dip or spread. 

Rich in fiber and protein, the simple recipe is big in flavor. Feel free to use less garlic. Eating lots of garlic from late summer into the fall and winter helps support the immune system and the respiratory system. Given that forty degree temperature differences in one day are common to our current weather patterns, especially as the seasons shift, getting in the habit of eating whole, nourishing foods now to create stability within your individual ecosystem is the best medicine. 

Ingredients:

2 medium onions, small diced

4 heads garlic

10 cups cooked white beans, any type- cannellini, lima, navy…(or 5 cans)

3 C chopped tomatoes (or two cans)

1 large bunch flat leaf parsley (feeling adventurous? Add in other herbs. 

1/2C+ olive oil

1T sea salt

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment and a T of olive oil.

3. Add onions to tray, leaving space for the garlic.

4. Prepare garlic to roast. Cut each garlic bulb in half so each clove is cut in half and you are left with root side and top side. Place all 8 halves on a sheet of foil or parchment paper, pour a little olive oil on each of the halves, then join the pairs. Fold up the paper/foil into a sealed packet and place on the tray with the onions. 

5. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove onions from the oven and continue to roast the garlic for another 15-30 minutes until it is very soft. When soft, remove from oven and open the packet to cool. 

6. In a large pot, combine white beans, tomatoes, parsley, olive oil, and salt. 

7. Cook for one hour or until the beans are completely soft. If using canned beans, cook simmer for 30 minutes. 

8. Add the onions to the beans. Cook for another ten minutes to let flavors combine. Turn off the heat. 

9. Remove the garlic from skin, popping or squeezing out the garlic cloves/paste. Do this over a small bowl or plate so you can pick out little bits of skin more easily. 

10. Add garlic to the beans.

11. Season to taste with olive oil and salt. 

Summer Solstice Lemon Cake

Summer Solstice Lemon Cake

It’s always a good time of year for lemon! I adapted the base recipe to make an even more lemony cake with more nutritious flour and sugar. Lemon, with its uplifting and brightening essential oils naturally found in the zest, feels right to celebrate the peak of the summer solstice light. This is a large cake, because trust me, you will want a big lemon cake, but in case you do want a smaller cake, cut these amounts by half. This cake would be lovely with fresh berries, cherries, or stonefruit. 

Makes one 10x14 pan

Pound Cake: 

2 T butter for greasing the pan (or use olive oil)

2-3 T flour for flouring the pan

1 lb organic salted butter (4 sticks), softened

2 1/2 C +2 T organic white spelt flour

6 T organic corn starch

2 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 C organic coconut sugar (or organic sucanat)

4 T lemon zest (about 4 lemons)

2 T lemon juice 

8 eggs

1 T vanilla extract

Lemon Glaze: 

1 C organic coconut sugar (or organic sucanat)

1 C lemon juice (approximately 6-8 lemons)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Adjust oven racks to the middle of the oven.

2. Line pan across at least two sides with parchment paper. Put a little bit of oil/butter on the bottom of the parchment so it sticks and doesn’t move around. Grease and flour the pan.

3. In a small saucepan, melt the butter on medium low heat, then set aside to cool slightly. 

4. In a large bowl, whisk together the spelt flour, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center and set aside. 

5. In a food processor, process sugar and zest to combine well. 

6. Add the lemon juice, eggs, and vanilla. 

7. Remove half of the sugar egg mixture and add it to the flour. Don’t stir it yet.

8. With the processor running, slowly pour the melted butter through the funnel on the lid until combined. 

9. Add the butter sugar egg mixture to the liquids in the center of the flour. Mix with a large whisk just until combined. 

10. Place batter in prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.

11. Reduce oven temp to 325F and continue to bake for another 30-35 minutes, rotating half way through, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. 

12. Remove from oven and let cool. When the cake is totally cool, make the glaze. 

13. Bring the sugar and lemon juice to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring to help dissolve the sugar. 

14. Reduce heat to low and simmer for a few minutes until glaze thickens slightly. 

15. Poke the top of the cake every inch or so with a toothpick to create space for the glaze to soak in.

16. Pour the glaze over the cake. This cake benefits from sitting about 8 hours or overnight to let the glaze soak and the flavors meld, but don’t worry, cutting a slice or two right away won’t compromise the glaze soaking in.

17. Cut squares of cake and garnish with edible flowers or fresh berries. 

Curried Red Lentil Soup

Curried Red Lentil Soup

Beans and greens are a winning combination for health, satisfaction, and budgets. For some, curries and soups are a cold weather meal, but I could eat a good curry year round. If you tend toward more spice sensitivity and vata body type, adjust to use less curry or increase the coconut oil and milk. If you tend toward more kapha body type, reduce coconut oil by half, add some cayenne or hot pepper, or increase lemon juice. If you’re cooking for more than one and you have differing Ayurvedic constitutions and/or taste preferences, cut the curry powder in half and adjust individual servings with condiments (coconut oil/milk, lemon juice, cayenne). Be aware that this recipe is medium spicy and spice levels are subjective. The spice level will depend on your curry blend, but also how much the spice is tamed by fat. If you are unsure how your curry blend will work out, start with 1 T and add bit by bit until it hits your happy place. 

This soup will thicken as it cools and can even be used as a dip or sandwich spread leftover. If reheating, be sure to add more water to loosen. Red lentils absorb lots of water so make sure to stir fairly often while making this and don’t keep the heat too high to prevent burning and sticking on the bottom of the pot. 

Feel free to substitute different leafy greens and add even more greens. Different beans will work too but red lentils are the fastest and often tend toward producing less gas in digestion. This recipe gets better as it sits so it works nicely as a main or side over a week, and freezes well if eating the same thing over days is unappealing. 

Ingredients: 

2T olive oil

1/2 C coconut oil

1-2 onions, small diced, about 1 cup diced

1 C strong ginger tea or 2 inches fresh ginger minced

1/2 head garlic minced

1 large bunch collard greens, cut into squares or chiffonade in one direction then the other direction

3 1/2 C red lentils

2 cans coconut milk (regular size cans, about 13.5 oz each)

2 tsp sea salt

1/4 C curry powder- I used mochi blend, any type of curry will work according to your taste

1 T dried lemongrass powder or the juice of one lemon 

1 tsp ground cumin seed

6-8 C water

Makes about 5 quarts.

Procedure:

1. Heat both oils in a large pot. I used a 26 Le Creuset with a  5.5 quart volume. Add onions and cook till they start to turn translucent, stirring occasionally.

2. Add garlic, collards, and ginger. If using minced ginger, add 1 C water. Cook till the collards turn a more olive green, about ten minutes.

3. Add lentils and 4 C water. Cook until the lentils fall apart, adding more water as necessary to keep the soup thin enough from not sticking to the bottom of the pot. 

4. Once the lentils are cooked, add coconut milk, salt, curry, lemongrass or juice, and cumin. Cook for another 20- 30 minutes to let the flavors meld, adding more water as necessary to prevent sticking. 

5. Adjust seasonings to taste. 

Bon Appetit!

March Moxie →

https://mailchi.mp/eda5ebe51bdd/march-moxie-nourishing-root-news

Keeping calm during the Coronavirus

Hello Dear Community, 

In light of the Coronavirus, I’ve been getting a lot of requests for herbal medicine and advice, and I wanted to share a little bit. Like everyone else, I am still digesting the seriousness and scope of what we are dealing with. For me the illusion of denial started to fade Wednesday as more media has been coming out of the situation in Italy. While I support staying calm, it’s dangerously unfortunate that we have not had clear leadership to contextualize both the threat of the virus and the actions we can take to flatten the curve so that the most vulnerable and affected people can get the help needed. 

In the days before this escalated, I had been writing about how to deal with the flu. Since the Coronavirus is impacting us more, I am researching and following my teachers and colleagues in science and herbalism. It’s a lot to digest! So instead of waiting until I’ve made it through more of that, I want to share with you some key points. 

• Witness your fear and anxiety. Wishing it away won’t do anything, but acknowledge it, hold it in your arms with compassion, know that it is not You. 

• Move fear and anxiety physically through your body: run, jump, dance, do yoga, sing, whatever it takes, let it move through you like a wave. 

• Be aware of your mind, your media consumption, how you are present with loved ones. 

• You always have the capacity to connect. Connect to the above, to the vast wisdom of the skies and the cosmos. Connect to the below, to the earth, to all the holds the shaking, to our ancestors, to the heartbeat of our planet. Connect to allies: plants, animals, friends, family, etc. Strengthening our web of communication is vital for our spirits, especially with social distancing and self isolation.  Affirming our webs may help us adapt to changes and new frameworks as we co-evolve together and with this and other viruses. 

• Go back to basics. Are you sleeping, eating nourishing foods, staying hydrated, exercising, breathing? Start with the basics. 

• There is a lot to digest right now. Pay attention to your physical digestion as we digest on so many levels. Choose easy to digest foods: infusions, soups, stews, smoothies, congees, lots of greens. Add herbs like ginger, cumin, fennel to your food. Drink mint and chamomile teas.

• Confront preparation steps. Having plans in place will help ease the mental toll. 

• Ground yourself with breath, feet on the ground, root medicine, eating roots, and anything else that helps you ground yourself and move frenetic energy. Remember that if you are empathic, it’s likely you will be processing your own load plus what’s in the collective. Taking care of yourself is where each of us must start, ESPECIALLY if you are a caregiver. 

• As far as flus go, remember fever is your friend as long as it’s not dangerously high. Fever is the body’s way to kill viruses. Warm baths, wearing extra clothes, and taking diaphoretic herbs like elderflower and yarrow can support the natural arc of a fever. The energetics of diaphoretics is a bit more complex (see my last newsletter- February) and should be considered on an individual basis. That said, elderflower is generally considered safe for all ages. 

• Flu part two: historically more people die from opportunistic bacterial confections than from flu viruses. Garlic is getting poo-pooed in the press, largely thanks to the kooky cures posted, but an appropriate use of garlic is as a preventative antibacterial during a viral infection. I like it best as an oil paste on bread or mixed into food. Raw is the most potent but I like to heat the garlic lightly to increase digestibility by adding to hot foods or lightly heating garlic bread.

• Preventing the dry environment that bacteria likes in the lungs can be useful by using humidifiers and drinking moistening lung herbs such as mullein and linden. Linden is not usually considered a lung herb though that function is in its material medica, and I’ve used it this way for years with positive results. Think mucilaginous plants like slippery elm and sassafras leaf. 

• If you are healthy, please consider the vulnerable population and follow the guidelines for flattening the curve. Take care of yourself. 

• Right now I am stressed and I bet most of you are too. I have an adrenaline rush that I have not felt in ages but I know this is also taxing, so I am using nervines and adaptogens to support my nervous system, such as: ashwagandha, St. John’s wort, rhodiola. 

• I am using dandelion root medicine to support the liver and ground my fear and anxiety. I dreamt of dandelion last night as a beautiful woman. It was that moment of spring where everything is bright neon green for a day or two and dandelion woman was there shaking her mane of golden hair, vibrant, calling out. I share that with you because dandelion is a powerful transmuter from root to flower and as one of our first spring flowers in the Northeast, dandelion is a symbol of perseverance and hope. 

• I am taking yarrow, echinacea, and elderberry to support my immune system. Yes I am eating garlic! Now is a great time to make some shiitake broth. 

• Remember the Wise Woman motto: use the best of what you have with gratitude. We might not have all the plant medicine or food supplies we want exactly when we want it, so I invite you to open to your channels of connection, trust and intuition- in harmony with science and common sense. We will get through this together. 

Like everyone, I am following updates from the appropriate sources as they become available. Producing preparations for retail has not been my focus, and I will be evaluating my inventory to see what I can make available. More on that after I inventory.

Also I am available for phone or Skype sessions to coach you through which herbs and food will best support you. May you be nourished. May you feed your whole self. 

With love and green blessings, 

Emily

Happy Holidays 2019 →

“Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
/ confinement of your aloneness / to learn
// anything or anyone / that does not bring you alive
// is too small for you.”   
-David Whyte

Happy Holidays!
 

We're quickly approaching the solstice on 11:19 pm EST on Saturday, December 21st, 2019. The solstice marks the shortest day of the year and the beginning of winter. Solstice traditions celebrate keeping the light alive: tending the inner flames and enjoying the sparks, lighting evergreens as symbols of continuing life, and other forms of keeping the fires burning and the lights lit. 

Read more here

Happy 2020! January newsletter →

Happy 2020!
 

January 24th is our first new moon of the calendar year. Instead of setting year long goals, the Wise Woman tradition follows the moon cycles to sync energies of expansion and contraction to the lunar rhythms. Consider setting a new moon intention for this next cycle, especially as within the next moon cycle we celebrate Imbolc, the return of the light after the darkest part of the winter.

Happy New Moon!

Read more here

10 Ways to Cultivate Self Care

Check out this holiday stress busting article I wrote with my neighborhood colleague and yogi Jennifer Kurdyla. Happy Holidays!

Read the article

Winter Solstice Infusion Blend

Feeling hydrated is key to feeling good in all weather and it’s easy to overlook proper hydration in cooler winter temperatures with drying indoor heat. I return to a few mucilaginous plant favorites in infusion form to get hydrated.

Freshly gathered linden blossoms in June.

Mucilaginous plants, like linden flower, sassafras, slippery elm and mullein, soothe tissue by coating it with a viscous polysaccharide fluid, keeping it moist and able to retain moisture longer. Linden flower infusion is like drinking the liquid gold of summertime harmony, giving an uplifting boost to the spirit while aiding hydration. Linden is a favorite of bees, birds, insects, children, fairies that soothes burns, grief, and digestion. Sassafras is a moistening tea that helps one connect to their unique individual wholeness and a sense of playfulness and joy. Sassafras celebrates the union of diversity in its four leaf shapes growing together on the same tree. 

Autumn sassafras leaves: note the variety of shapes and colors.

Ginger and hawthorn berry are delicious teas traditionally used to promote circulation. Hawthorn is a heart tonic physically, emotionally, and beyond. She makes things juicy, gets us dancing and connecting to our sensual selves, with the clarity of knowing what boundary keeps that vulnerable intimacy safe, and what boundary goes too far. Ginger brings blood flow to the extremities and the peripheral circulation, and this increased blood flow can promote a feeling of warmth, a reduction of aches and pains, better digestion, and clearer thinking. Each of these teas is great on its own but combination feels especially festive. Here’s one of my favorite infusion blends for holiday parties and intimate celebrations:

Winter Solstice Infusion Blend

1/2 C linden flowers

1/2 C hawthorn berries

1/2 C sassafras leaf

1/2 C chopped fresh ginger*

*Note on cleaning ginger: If you buy organic, no need to peel, but scrub well with hot water and cut off any parts that have impacted dirt or gnarly bits at joints that are difficult to clean. If using non-organic, peel (try using a spoon!) and cut off any dirty or gnarly bits remaining.

Instructions:

Make the ginger tea first. Adding 1/2 cup chopped fresh ginger to 8 cups of water in a large saucepan, bring to a boil. When the mixture boils, turn the heat off, and add the hawthorn berries. Wait five minutes for the temperature to drop slightly and then add in the linden flower and sassafras, stirring to mix. Let steep 4-12 hours. Strain, squeezing out the plant material to be composted or given back to the earth. Serve cool, room temperature, or warm, on its own or with sparkling water for a refreshing non-alcoholic holiday beverage option. Tea will keep for about 5 days refrigerated. In joy!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS and GREEN BLESSINGS!

Dried hawthorn berries.

This is where the thorn comes from in haw-thorn.

Fall + Winter Greetings

Check out my latest newsletter:

https://mailchi.mp/6a1c098217ee/fall-winter-greetings

Herbal Medicine Making for Heart Health: A Four Class Series

A heart shaped beach rose blossom is a good example of adaptability. Taking what could be adverse conditions (wind, sandy soil, strong sun) the beach rose opens wider than most roses, with an enchanting spicy floral scent. 

“The intellect is powerless to express thought without the aid of the heart.” -Henry David Thoreau

Stress is a major factor in heart health as well as in many other diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, and stroke, all of which were in the top five leading causes of death in the U.S. in 2017 according to the CDC. How do we address stress and heart health? There are many ways in, through diet, exercise, sleep, human connection, physical heart health, and stress management. 

In the first of four classes in Herbal Medicine-Making for Heart Health we will discuss foods and tonic herbs for heart health including: oats, red clover, hawthorn, hibiscus and more. There are also herbal cardiotonics that improve the efficiency of the speed, force, and volume of blood pumping. But there are even more ways to contextualize heart health. How is your emotional heart: how heavy or light, open or tight does your heart feel? The Wise Woman tradition asks what web of connection surrounds you to support your heart’s wholeness? Are there plants growing nearby that could bring you more heart wellness? 

What about the the heart to mind connection? “[A]ccording to the Chinese medical definition, the heart not only regulates blood circulation but also controls consciousness, spirit, sleep, memory and houses the mind. In this way the heart, together with the liver, is related to the nervous system and brain.” (Pitchford, Paul. Healing with Whole Foods, p.322.) There is the heart to gut connection in which the heart and gut communicate and there is a visceral knowing that could not happen without their cooperation. There is the heart to womb connection, or the heart to the creative center or the 2nd chakra connection where we grow, release, and birth our hearts desires into the manifest realm. 

What my teacher, bodyworker and healer, Don Van Vleet, shared with me from his many years of healing physical bodies, is that the heart is not meant to be a steady drum beat or even stationary in space. It is through normal variations of pulse and organ location, where the heart can and does move around in the chest cavity, that we find health. Having the space to move and the freedom of variation allows more adaptability, and more adaptability means more flexibility to respond, which means less stagnation. Stagnation leads to blockages, disease, and death. No matter what angle we look at heart health, it is clear that supporting the flexibility of the cardiovascular system supports us as whole and holistic beings. The universe is constant motion. Let’s reorient ourselves to support the flow of heart health, to keep happy hearts moving.

In Herbal Medicine Making for Heart Health’s four classes, we will explore many ways of supporting heart health. In Class 1 Herbal Heart Sprays, students will make an individualized  heart spray with witch hazel, rose water, and a selection of herbal teas and tinctures to support stress relief. I hope to see you in class! Join me in my four class series at the New York Open Center Tuesdays starting June 5th 8-10 pm.

Register HERE