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Cream of Greens Soup

A great way to get your greens ~ my new favorite recipe adapted from “The Ayurvedic Cookbook,” by Amadea Morningstar

Photo from Sassandveracity.com
Photo from Sassandveracity.com

1 whole bunch of greens – kale, chard, hardy spinach or a mix
2 TB ghee or sunflower oil, olive would be ok, too
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp curry powder (not spicy)
1 tsp ground coriander, cumin, fennel blend (optional)
1/2 small onion chopped
1/2 c sliced fresh mushrooms (optional)
2 TB barley or wheat flour (optional)
1 to 2 cups of milk (less if you’re not using the mushrooms) or a can of coconut milk
1 tsp salt
black pepper

Wash greens thoroughly, chop and steam them or boil for 3-4 minutes until tender.  Remove form heat.  In a separate pan, saute mustard seeds in oil until they pop, then add the chopped onion and sliced mushrooms.  Saute until the onions are relatively clear, and then add the other spices and stir.  Stir in the flour (just adds thickness) then slowly pour in the milk, stirring.  I then add the greens to the pot for a minute, then blend the whole thing for a minute to make it nice and creamy!

Serve with fresh bread: I make chapatis – they are literally just wheat flour with enough water to barely bind, then pat or roll them into a small circle and put them in a hot, ungreased pan for 2 minutes on each side.  Slather with butter or ghee……YUM.

**With cow’s milk balancing for Vata and Pitta, use coconut milk for an even more cooling effect for Pitta.  OK for Kapha too, because greens are bitter and astringent.  To better balance Kapha use soy or goat’s milk.

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Recipes

Kitchari

Ingredients:*
8 cups Filtered water
1 cups Split Mung beans
Fresh ginger 1 Tblsp
Fresh turmeric 1 Tblsp (optional)
Chopped Fresh cilantro
4-5 Curry leaves (optional)
Bok Choy (optional)
Winter squash (optional)
Carrots (optional)
Golden beets (optional)
1 Tblsp Ground coriander, cumin, fennel
1 Tblsp Curry powder
2 Tblsp Dried Coconut (optional)
Salt to taste
1 Tblsp Ghee

Accompaniments:
Sliced Lime
Cilantro leaves
Dried Coconut

Rice:
Basmati rice
Cardamom powder or pods (optional)

Place the  mung beans in 8 cups of filtered water in a large, heavy bottomed pot.  Turn the heat to high and place upon the stove.  Any of the spices of vegetables we use are optional, choose them to suit the dosha or imbalance you are working with.
If adding ginger and turmeric, chop them first into small pieces, then add them to the boiling mixture.  Let the water boil, then turn it down to medium high, stirring gently.  Scrape the foam off the top of the water and discard.
Prepare the rice in a rice cooker, 1 of rice to 2.5 cups of water, adding the cardamom pods or a small amount of powder if you’d like.
While the mung beans are cooking, slice the carrots and other vegetables and set aside. If using bok choy, you will add that separately from the harder vegetables, as it does not need to cook as long.
Lower the heat a bit, and add the dried coconut if you’re choosing to do so.  After 5 minutes (you do not need to scrape off this extra foam, it is just from the coconut) add the harder vegetables like carrots, beet or squash.  Next add the spices like coriander, cumin, fennel and curry powder blend. Stir, perhaps scraping the bottom if the beans begin to get sticky (you may add more water if you feel the need to do so). Cook for another 10 minutes, then add the bok choy and chopped cilantro and curry leaves.  You may now add the salt.
The final addition to the kitchari is ghee.  Gently stir in about 3 tablespoons of ghee – take note of the yummy, nutty smell it adds to the mixture.  Check on the rice in the rice cooker, remove carefully. Serve when ready with lime wedges, coconut flakes and extra cilantro if you like.

*Most measurements are by sight or hand – Ayurveda encourages using your intuition.

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Winter Coleslaw and Herblings

I left my camera in Maine over the holidays! Sad, but true, so I can not show you the beautiful coleslaw I made today.  It looks sort of like this:

Going away a week out of every month is causing me to have to be really tight with money.  Double tough because going through my program makes me even more aware of the food I eat, and more desirous of perhaps not-so-necessary herbs and spices that can really add up.

Jamie was wonderfully kind enough to pick up our CSA share this past weekend, in which we received another 39821479812 pounds of potatoes, carrots and parsnips, along with a beautiful, fresh, crunchilicious savoy cabbage.  with my chocolate covered cashews all eaten and gone as of yesterday, I got creative for lunch.

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The Kitchen Table – How to Eat Meat

For Jamie’s birthday we went down the road to one of our favorite Vermont restaurants – The Kitchen Table Bistro.  It’s located in an old house right off of the Richmond exit of route 89.  They’re part of the Vermont Fresh Network, and are dedicated to supporting local farmers and serving regional and seasonal food.  It’s always hearty and we leave happy, ready to come back.

Jamie and I shared a bottle of wine, a salad, and appetizer, entree and dessert – we love to share one of everything, and taste a lot.  We went for the special that night – Rabbit Shepard’s Pie.  The head cook and co-owner, Steve Atkins, was kind enough to share his recipe:

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