SEASONAL RECIPES

Transform Seasonal Vegetables into Divine Nourishment

Seasonal recipes are great as general guidelines and inspirations that support you to cook seasonal vegetables with the optimum cooking methods. However, a winter recipe for someone in the tropics will look different than a winter recipe for someone living in the Yukon. Feel free to adjust your seasonal recipes for the temperature, harvest time, environment, your activity level, age, body’s needs, or what seasonal vegetables are already in your refrigerator that needs to be used and just happens to go well. Practice weaving the natural wisdom, foods and seasonal recipes with your immediate reality so you can build your trust in your body.

Eating the local seasonal foods in their natural form supports us to embody the wisdom of our Divine Mother and we can trust our bodies to know what it needs throughout the year, and throughout our life. It adjusts as its needs shift. We can let go of the latest diet trends that over ride our bodies’ signals when we listen to our bodies and honor its wisdom. It is self similar to honoring the Earth’s wisdom, and it becomes our own wisdom.

Use these simple recipes as inspiration, and feel free to adjust. You may want meat, or vegetarian for example. If you eat meat please acquire it from a small non-industrial organic farm that honors both the animals and the environment.

Winter Recipe

MISO, SHIITAKE MUSHROOM, SEAWEED SOUP

Ingredients:
6 whole dried medium shitake mushrooms
6 cups warm water
4 medium sized pieces wakame seaweed
2 TBS chopped dulse seaweed
1 medium onion, quartered and sliced thin
3 medium cloves garlic, chopped
2 TBS minced fresh ginger,
2 TBS soy sauce, or wheat free tamari
1 TBS rice vinegar
3 TBS minced scallion greens for garnish if locally available
salt and white pepper to taste
2 TBS miso

Directions:
Rinse mushrooms and wakame and soak in 2 cups of warm water for about 10 minutes, or until soft. Save water.

Heat 1 TBS seaweed water in medium sized soup pot. Sauté onion in seaweed water over medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring frequently. Add garlic, ginger and continue to sauté for another minute

When mushrooms and wakame are soft, slice the mushrooms thin and chop the seaweed. Cut out stems when slicing mushrooms and discard. Add to soup pot along with soaking water, and 4 more cups of water. Bring to a boil on high heat. Add dulse.

Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, soy sauce and rice vinegar. Add minced scallion and serve. Stir in miso at the end of cooking. Serves 4.

Spring Recipe

LIVER TONIC SALAD

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh dandelion greens
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh romaine lettuce,
or mixed baby lettuces
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
2 TBS chopped fresh chives
1/2 cup alfalfa or radish sprouts

If available add wild greens such as chickweed, sheep sorrel, wild mustard garlic, wild chives, violet leaves, minor’s lettuce

Dressing:
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
2 medium cloves pressed garlic
1 tsp honey
salt & black cracked pepper to taste

Directions:
Rinse and dry greens in a salad spinner if you have one. If not, rinse and pat dry so excess water does not dilute the flavor of the dressing. Toss with dressing, and sprinkle with minced chives.
Serves 2.

Summer Recipe

CALABACITAS

Ingredients:
1 medium onion cut in half and sliced thin
4 medium cloves of garlic, chopped
2 cups zucchini, diced in ½ inch cubes
2 cups yellow squash, diced in ½ inch cubes
3 medium chopped fresh tomatoes
1 -2 diced green chili (roasted)
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 TBS fresh chopped fresh oregano
salt and black pepper to taste
optional, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil before serving

Directions:
Prepare all the vegetables by slicing and chopping.

Heat 1 TBS broth in 11-12 inch non-stick skillet. Sauté onions over medium heat in broth for about 5 minutes stirring frequently, until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for another minute.

Add zucchini, yellow squash, broth, green chili, and cook for another 10 minutes or so until vegetables are el dente, stirring often. Add tomatoes and continue to cook for another couple of minutes.

Stir in herbs, salt and pepper and let set for a couple minutes to infuse the flavor of the herbs. Serves 4

Cooking Tip: Make sure you don’t over cook your summer squash. El dente is tender on the outside and still crisp in the center. If it is cooked too much it will become soggy and release a lot of moisture into the dish diluting the flavor.

Earth Element Recipe

This recipe is good for healing and nourishing the spleen and stomach. It can be enjoyed through all the cooler and cold seasons.

BASIC JOOK RECIPE

Place one part grain such as brown rice in a crock pot. Add 7-8 parts liquid, such as water or stock. Cover, turn on low, and let cook overnight. Yes, it is that easy.

GOOD SPLEEN & STOMACH NOURISHING BREAKFAST

Ingredients:
1/3 cup brown rice
1/3 cup millet
1/3 cup amaranth
Spoonful honey
Sprinkle of ground cinnamon, cardamom, fennel seed, allspice, clove, cardamom
6-7 cups water
Unsweetened almond milk
Walnuts
Sunflower seeds
Sesame seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Flax seeds

Directions:
Grind walnuts and seeds in a clean coffee grinder, combine and have stored in refrigerator. Make basic jook in crock pot overnight. Top with ground seeds, honey, spices and almond milk. You can reheat leftover jook the next morning with almond milk and serve with rest of ingredients.

Fall Recipe

FIVE-SPICE ONION SOUP

Ingredients:
2 onions cut in half and sliced thin
6 cloves garlic, sliced
salt and white pepper to taste

Broth:
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 inch fresh peeled fresh ginger, sliced
6 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick, about 4 inches long
3 star anise
1/2 tsp dried fennel seeds
6 whole dried medium shiitake mushrooms
1 TBS soy sauce, or wheat free tamari
1 TBS molasses

Directions:
Start with making broth. Heat 1 TBS broth in medium soup pot.

Sauté first onion over medium heat in broth ingredient list for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until translucent. Add rest of broth, and next 8 ingredients, and stir.

Bring to a boil on high heat, then reduce heat to medium low, and simmer broth ingredients briskly together for 20 minutes, uncovered. This will bring out a lot of flavor from the ingredients.

Strain, while still hot, and return liquid to pan. Do not throw away mushrooms. Discard the rest.

While broth is simmering, cut onions in half and slice thin. In separate medium sized skillet, heat 1 TBS of soup broth over medium heat. Sauté sliced onions over medium low heat in broth, stirring often for about 15 minutes, until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for another minute.

Slice shiitake mushrooms saved from broth and return to soup along with sautéed onions and garlic. Season with salt and white pepper to taste.
Serves 4.

For more nourishing seasonal recipes like these, buy the book.