Category Archives: Herbs

What’s For Dinner?

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Mike shares one of my favorite recipes, “Curry Sweet Potato Soup,” Enjoy!

Two to three times a week my wife Debbie asks me what I think we should have for dinner. It’s usually on my drive home, usually after a long day at work, and usually when I’ve not committed a single brain cell to consider what I think we should have for dinner. Now some might think this is an odd predicament given how much I love to cook. And it’s true: I love to cook. But thinking about dinner is not something I typically do unless I’m really really hungry. Or sick.

The other day I woke up feeling washed out and not 100%. It was probably because I went out to dinner the night before with a friend and sat at a table near the front door where there was a constant flow of cold air from outside that kept me fairly chilled all evening long. Whatever the reason, the day after I didn’t feel 100% and actually did think about dinner since I needed something nourishing that would bring me back around and set me right.

Debbie had been telling me about these sweet potatoes we had that were just begging to be eaten. I was so washed out by the end of the day that I thought baking them and adding a little butter and salt would be just about perfect. But Debbie had been asking for a curried sweet potato soup that’s a real favorite of ours going back many years. In fact, soups in general are a big hit. Not only are they fairly easy to cook up, but they are nourishing and healing too, something I really needed both of at that moment.

So, as I drove home with my chef’s hat on, I was thinking about how I was going to prepare the soup. What follows is nothing short of a sheer culinary stroke of holistic cooking genius (all due to my wife’s incredible tutelage in all things holistic).

INGREDIENTS
Sweet Potatoes              3 — peeled, washed, and cubed
Garlic cloves                   3 — peeled, smashed, and minced
White Onion                   ¼—peeled and diced
Fresh Turmeric Root      1” — peeled and chopped
Fresh Ginger Root          1” — peeled and chopped
Astralagous Root            4-5 slivered (they look like  tongue depressors)
Curry                               1-2 Tbsp (or to taste)
Pink Himalayan salt         just a pinch
Ground Black Pepper      just a pinch
Soup stock                      2 quarts

Place all the ingredients in a pot filled half full of filtered water, half vegetable or chicken stock, and bring to a boil. After about 20 minutes of everything at a full boil, turn off heat and let soup settle down. Strain all the vegetables from the stock carefully (DO NOT allow any astralagous root to escape) and place in a Vita-Mix or Cuisinart food processor. Add a cup or two of the stock to the blend and blend at high speed until all ingredients are super smooth. Pour the blend back in to the pot with the remainder of the stock and replace the astralagous root. Add curry, salt, and pepper and gently mix with a whisk. Cook on medium heat for another 15-20 (to boil off excess water), add a little butter or milk to give it some richness; even a nice “melty” cheese will work.  Cook another 5 minutes and serve with a crusty bread.

If you’re vegan, vegetarian, gluten-sensitive, or dairy-sensitive, the butter, milk, and cheese can all be replaced with appropriate alternatives like cashew cheese or almond milk. And just omit the crusty bread. The great thing about soups (and I didn’t realize it until after I’d made this soup) is that, pretty much any combination of vegetables that you like can be made into a soup—just experiment. I’ve started thinking about my morning kale smoothies and wondering what they’d taste like with a soupy twist to them.

So, what’s for dinner? Why soup, and you’re invited.

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NOTE ABOUT GARLIC: allow to sit about 10 minutes after you’ve peeled and smashed/minced it so that healing properties of allicin can be fully released.

NOTE ABOUT ASTRALAGOUS: Do Not Eat It or blend it into the soup. It’s not toxic or bad for you (otherwise why would I suggest putting it into the soup?), but it will be a bit like eating bark mulch.

 

Here’s to heart health

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Hawthorn berries

Hawthorn berries

I come from a family with a history of heart disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Although, my ticker appears to be in working order, I would like to keep it that way.  I try my best to eat sensibly, exercise and reduce stress. Nevertheless, as I approach 50, I am looking for herbs that will support and strengthen my heart for the long haul. The truth is – the heart never gets a vacation, so it needs some extra help to keep it strong. The more I learn about Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), the more I think it could easily be called the SUPERSTAR of heart herbs.

Although Hawthorn is slow acting, if used over time (at least 4-6 weeks) it will nourish your heart and profoundly heal it on numerous levels by normalizing blood pressure, strengthen the heart muscle, dilating blood vessels, improving circulation, reducing the occurrence and duration of angina, lower cholesterol, as well as improving contractions of the heart muscles. It reduces orthostatic hypotension – dizziness or “head rushes” which is a sudden loss of blood pressure caused by moving from a seated position to a standing position. It is legendary for its ability to strengthen the heart and blood vessels while restoring healthy muscular tone to the heart wall.

I am sure you must be thinking, “This is great but how can Hawthorn be so powerful?” Well, Hawthorn is loaded with a wide range of powerful anti-oxidant nutrients and flavonoids. Anti-oxidants neutralize free radicals and reduce oxidative stress and tissue damage in the body, protecting the heart against the harmful effects of reduced oxygen, which is a common result of vascular disease, such as atherosclerosis. Flavonoids help dilate blood vessels, improve blood flow, and protect the blood vessels from damage. Hawthorn is high in magnesium and calcium, which goes directly to the heart muscles to enhance its ability to contract and increase available oxygen. Hawthorn’s ability to strengthen a weak, old heart into a long healthy future is amazing.

The more I learn about Hawthorn, the more I believe it is the herb for Mike and myself or anyone over 45, for that matter. Luckily, it grows in our area and a friend invited me to pick Hawthorn berries from her land. We went out on a beautiful fall day to hike her land in search of Hawthorn berries and were not disappointed. She had many old Hawthorn trees and although most of the berries were above my reach, I was able to find enough to tincture a batch. I decided to combine the fresh berries with alcohol and put them into the blender for 30 seconds in order to break them down a bit. I simply love the beautiful deep orange color of the tincture.  I collected even more berries to dry. In the spring, I plan to collect some blossoms and leaves to combine with the berries to make another tincture. Even though many hawthorn tinctures are made from strictly the berries, I believe making tinctures from the whole plant will provide greater benefit, After all, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” I can’t wait to start using it.

Look at the beautiful color!

Look at the beautiful color!

Although, Hawthorn is considered safe to take with any other medicine, including heart medicines, it is important to discuss it with your physician first and continue to be monitored.  Hawthorn can increase the effects of digitalis-based drugs such as digoxin. In addition, since Hawthorn is so powerful, over time you may need to reduce your medication, since you will no longer need such high dosages. It is that good.

All information is shared for educational purposes only and has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.