• Beverages,  Health,  Recipes,  Spices,  Vegan,  Vegetarian

    Vegan Turmeric Milk: A Yummy Cold Remedy

    Gingery turmeric milk is a delicious powerhouse in the war against colds.
    Gingery turmeric milk is a delicious powerhouse in the war against colds.

     

    Have a cold, or just near someone who has one?  Headache?  Aches and pains?  Digestive problems?  Here is a simple and very delicious East Indian recipe that mothers give their children when it is cold season.  It contains some powerful anti-inflammatories, namely turmeric and ginger.  I’ve written about how taking turmeric daily has kept my arthritic hands mobile and virtually pain-free.  Look up the health uses for turmeric and you will be amazed.  Black pepper helps activate turmeric, and since turmeric is fat-soluble it is best taken with a little fat in your meal.  The following recipe can be made in a few minutes and feels wonderful going down.  It was inspired by a post on Journeykitchen.com.  I used organic vanilla soy milk, because that is what I had.  You may use any dairy substitute that you want, but not non-fat.  If it is non-fat, then add a half teaspoon of oil (such as coconut oil) to the drink, or eat some on the side.

    I make a big pot of this in the morning, strain it and then rewarm it during the day as I need it. The longer you simmer the spices, the stronger they become.  The ginger becomes a little hotter, and the others more bitter.   For children or those new to these spices, heat the spices in the milk 3-5 minutes before straining unless they like it stronger.

    Turmeric is a bitter yellow root that can be cooked with, or more commonly is found dried and ground  to use in curries and as a colorant.  Where do I even begin to list its benefits?  As I previously mentioned turmeric is used for arthritis, heartburn , stomach pain, diarrhea, intestinal gas and bloating, loss of appetite, jaundice, liver problems and gallbladder disorders.  It is also used for headaches, bronchitis, colds, lung infections, fibromyalgia, leprosy, fever, menstrual problems, and cancer. Other uses include depression, Alzheimer’s disease, water retention, worms, and kidney problems.  Turmeric can be applied to the skin for pain, ringworm, bruising, eyeinfections, inflammatory skin conditions, soreness inside of the mouth, and infected wounds.  It is used as a facial to help skin and give darker skin a glow (I used it on my pale face and came up yellow for a few washings, but with nice skin!).

    Ginger helps with the symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection, bronchitis, cough, menstrual cramps, arthritis and muscle pain, but is especially known for relieving nausea. I ate a lot of ginger during my pregnancies, and now we have some in the car to treat motion sickness.

    Adding organic honey as a sweetener really boosts the healing power of this drink.  Honey – and not the processed mass-produced kind, but unheated organic honey – has anti-fungal, anti-septic, and anti-microbial properties that really help soothe a sore throat and kill germs.  The glucose and  fructose are absorbed by the body at different times so  that the energy  they provide is slow and long-term -not the high and low that granulated sugar provides.

    Cloves  are anti-fungal, antibacterial, antiseptic and analgesic. They’re packed with antioxidants and are good sources of minerals (especially manganese), omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and vitamins.

    Peppercorns help turmeric work, are anti-inflammatory, carminative, and aid digestion. They are also an excellent source of many B-complex groups of vitamins such as Pyridoxine, riboflavin, thiamin and niacin, and are a good source of many anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin-C and vitamin-A, and in flavonoid polyphenolic anti-oxidants that help the body remove harmful free radicals and help protect from cancers and diseases.

    Cinnamon has been used to reduce inflammation, it has antioxidant effects, and fights bacteria, and may lower cholesterol.

    Cardamom is rich in nutrients such as iron, calcium and magnesium, potassium, manganese, many vitamins such as C, and is a co-factor for the enzyme, superoxide dismutase, a very powerful free-radical scavenger.

    Cayenne is rich in capsaicin. The pepper also contains vitamin C, vitamin B6, vitamin E, potassium, manganese, and flavonoids (anti-oxidants), and has long been used to ease pain, headaches and to increase circulation. If you don’t use hot peppers regularly, please add just a few grains to the milk and work your way up.

    If you are recovering from stomach distress and need some bland, comfort  food, please investigate this recipe for jook, a wonderful cooked rice dish.

    My best wishes for a healthy and happy day!

    Turmeric Milk
    Author: 
    Recipe type: Beverage; Vegan
    Cuisine: East Indian
    Prep time: 
    Cook time: 
    Total time: 
    Serves: 2 cups
     
    This quickly made hot drink will help ward off colds, or bring relief if you have one. The inspiration came from Journeykitchen.com.
    Ingredients
    • 2 cups whole or low fat (not non-fat) organic soymilk, rice milk, nut-milk, or other non-dairy milk
    • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
    • 3 black peppercorns
    • 3 cardamon pods, cracked
    • 3 whole cloves
    • ½ inch fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
    • ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon (or a fingernail-sized piece of cinnamon stick)
    • Pinch of saffron (optional)
    • A couple drops of vanilla (opt.)
    • Cayenne to taste (opt.) (start with a few grains and work up)
    • Organic honey, brown sugar or other sweetener to taste (opt.)
    Instructions
    1. Lightly crush the peppercorns, cloves and cardamon pods
    2. In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients except for sweetener.
    3. Gently heat and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes.
    4. Add sweetener to taste. If adding organic honey - which is a healing force on its own - stir it in as the milk is off the boil. Boiling will kill the beneficials in the honey.
    5. Strain into cups and serve.

     

  • Health,  Recipes,  Seitan,  Vegan,  Vegetarian

    Seitan: An Easy Mock Meat

    A juicy seitan sandwich is really, really good.
    A juicy seitan sandwich is really, really good.

    For the past year I’ve been making my own vegan meat out of organic vital wheat gluten.  This meat is called seitan (pronounced, humorously enough, say-tan, just like the fork-tongued guy in red).  If you’ve eaten mock meats, especially in restaurants, you’ve most likely have eaten seitan.

    I am not gluten intolerant, and I know that the current ‘epidemic’ of celiac disease is not what it seems.  People eat far too much wheat in their diets, and that wheat is not only genetically modified, but sprayed with herbicides and pesticides, then processed until it has to have nutrients added back onto it to qualify as food, and then it is shipped and stored.  The consumer has no idea when that poor tortured grain actually came forth into this world.  As my good friend Bill says, “You can’t see the farm in it.” I believe that when people eliminate wheat from their diets they feel so much better because they aren’t eating all those hamburger buns, batters, snacks and other empty-calorie foods.  They are also reducing the amount of pesticides and herbicides they consume.

    I know about developing an intolerance to food.  I’ve developed an intolerance to soy milk (organic, mind you), which made me realize how much of it I have been consuming. Now I drink rice milk or water mostly, and manage my soy intake while keeping an eye out for other products I may be indulging in too much.  My grandfather Walter Brower in the 30’s had developed a bad dermatitis. He was in the hospital with it, being treated for all kinds of things with no relief.  He was missing work, and he was the sole supporter of his family.  Finally someone recommended that he visit a chiropractor… a chiropractor?  For a skin condition?  In the 1930’s? This was radical thinking. Thankfully he was desperate enough to go.  He visited the chiropractor’s office, sitting across from him at his desk, and told the doctor about his affliction.  The chiropractor asked what he did for a living.  My grandfather was a delivery man for Bordon’s milk.  The chiropractor said that my grandfather had developed a milk allergy due to all the dairy products he consumed.  My grandfather went off dairy, and the skin problem disappeared within days.  (This was at a time before cows were fed pellets of corn and chicken feces laced with antibiotics as they are today, too.)

    All that said, I make my own meat with organic products, as well as my own vegan butter , and am now experimenting with vegan cheese (more on that later).  Do I have a lot of time on my hands?  No.  I spend a couple hours once a month making the seitan and the butter, enough for a month, and freeze both.

    Seitan isn’t pretty before it is cooked.  It is grey and spongy.  However compare it to the flesh of a butchered animal and it is beautiful.  You can buy vital wheat gluten just about anywhere now, but different brands have different quality.  I use Bob’s Red Mill which has outstanding flavor and never gets rubbery.  I also use Bragg’s Liquid Aminos instead of soy sauce, tamari and often other salt.  It is organic and nutritious, and a little bit brings out the flavor of soups, main dishes, salad dressings, scrambled eggs, and anything its added to.  Compare prices online for both; Amazon.com has good deals if you want to buy a lot.

    When seitan is frozen, the patties are quickly thawed in a lightly oiled pan.  The ‘meat’ is juicy, flavorful and delicious, and can be used in place of chicken strips, ground up instead of meat for stuffing or sausage, used as is in a sandwich or hamburger, or cubed for stew, curry… whatever.  The problem I have is wanting to eat it too often!

    Basic Seitan
    Author: 
    Recipe type: Main Dish
    Cuisine: Vegan
    Prep time: 
    Cook time: 
    Total time: 
    Serves: 12
     
    Organic vital wheat gluten makes a yummy, all-purpose meat substitute for very low cost.
    Ingredients
    • 2 cups organic vital wheat gluten
    • 1 teaspoon organic crushed dry rosemary (or minced fresh)
    • 1 teaspoon organic dried thyme
    • 1 teaspoon organic dried rubbed sage
    • ¼ teaspoon organic cumin seed, lightly crushed
    • ¼ teaspoon organic garlic powder
    • 2 cups water
    • ⅓ cup Bragg's Liquid Amino Acid (or tamari sauce, but it is saltier)
    • 8 cups water
    • ¼ cup tamari sauce
    • ¼ cup Bragg's Liquid Amino Acid
    • ½ teaspoon organic onion powder
    • 1 4-inch piece dried kelp (kombu) (you may omit)
    Instructions
    1. In a large non-reactive bowl, mix together the vital wheat gluten, rosemary, thyme, sage, cumin seed and garlic powder. In a measuring cup mix the 2 cups water with the Bragg's. Quickly add the liquid to the dry and working fast mix thoroughly. The gluten will develop quickly; use your hands to work it to make sure there are no patches of dry gluten. There should be extra liquid. The gluten will be rubbery. Shape the gluten into a long loaf, about 3 inches in diameter. Allow to rest while you make the broth.
    2. In a tall stock pot combine 8 cups of water with the Bragg's, tamari, onion powder and kombu and bring to a boil.
    3. Cut gluten log into slices no wider than ¼ inch, or in strips (you can always cut the finished patties into strips later). Individually drop pieces into boiling stock (they'll stick together otherwise). Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Drain and either store seitan in refrigerator in some broth for no more than 5 days, or layer seitan patties flat in a plastic freezer bag laid on a cutting board or plate and freeze. When frozen gently break apart patties in the bag and keep frozen, taking out what you need. Patties can be heated quickly in a pan, sliced and stir-fried, thawed and breaded and baked or fried, or used any way you'd like.

    I tried several seitan recipes, most of which were either too bland or too strong and muddy flavored.  This recipe I really like for all-purpose, chickeny seitan.  I freeze the finished slices flat in a plastic bag so I can pull out however many I need whenever I want them.

  • Animals,  Gardening adventures,  Hugelkultur,  Natives,  Permaculture and Edible Forest Gardening Adventures,  Ponds,  Water Saving

    Snow at Finch Frolic

    Pickerel and snowy azola on the little pond.
    Pickerel and snowy azola on the little pond.

    Finch Frolic Garden is located in Fallbrook,CA, in sunny San Diego’s North County.  Dry and hot conditions are the norm, with temperatures rising above 100 in the summer,and an occasional frost in the winter.

    This is a prime Southern California winter scene: palm trees and red tile roofs - and traffic - with snow on the mountains.  The peaks are usually only dusted in snow in Jan. or Feb.
    This is a prime Southern California winter scene: palm trees and red tile roofs – and traffic – with snow on the mountains. The peaks are usually only dusted in snow in Jan. or Feb.

    A rain around Thanksgiving means lawnmowers are humming around New Years.  This past year, 2014, has experienced strange weather as has the rest of the world.  We had back-to back Santa Anas (hot, dry, high winds from off the desert) in May, which caused many trees and plants to drop flowers.  The lack of food and water induced many animals to not reproduce, which affected the rest of the food chain.  Then we had fire season in May as well.  Unfortunately arson was the cause of some of the fires, but many homes were lost as well as hundreds of acres of our precious endangered chaparral and the baby animals that lived there.

    These mountains are northwest of us - they never get snow!
    These mountains are northwest of us – they never get snow!

    Our heat wave came in June, and our ‘June gloom’ – a marine cloud cover – came in July.  We had several significant rain events in late Fall, and then on New Year’s eve, it snowed.

    The pathway down to the Mock Pavilion.
    The pathway down to the Mock Pavilion.

    So many of you who live in snowy areas are saying, “Who cares?”  The last snowfall in our inland valley area was in the late 60’s when I was probably 8 or 9 years old. I lived with my sister and parents in Carlsbad, a town west of here. All I remember about it is that my dad made a snowball and froze it, and in the summer threw it at the neighbor.IMG_6033

    On the 30th we received an inch and a quarter of cold, Canadian rain overnight. The rain came in heavy showers and swales we’d created had filled and prevented flooding. In the morning I looked out on a white garden.

    Kitchen garden in snow.
    Kitchen garden in snow.

    Not everyone in the area received snow this week, but streets were icy, nearby Temecula was covered as were all the mountains even those west of here.

    Good-bye 'till next year, apple mint!
    Good-bye ’till next year, apple mint!

    The landscape looked like a large powdered sugar shaker had been at work overnight.

    Perhaps this year we can have bees again.  Last year they all died - someone spraying in the neighborhood is my guess.
    Perhaps this year we can have bees again. Last year they all died – someone spraying in the neighborhood is my guess.

    Again about 10:30 in the morning snowflakes fell and strangers grinned at each other in delight.

    Creeping red fescue, which is an excellent soil holder and groundcover here,  just laughed at the cold.
    Creeping red fescue, which is an excellent soil holder and groundcover here, just laughed at the cold.

    Not so the growers of frost-intolerant plants such as avocados, citrus, succulents and tropicals.  After the snow we have had clear, frosty nights which have done more damage than the snow had.

    These are now ripening in the house.
    These are now ripening in the house.

    I don’t expect overwintering tomatoes this year, and we’ve been harvesting the last of our zucchino rampicante, eggplant, jalapenos and tomatoes, and marking where the sweet potatoes lie underground.

    Poor little frosty zucchinos.
    Poor little frosty zucchinos.

    Our hens aren’t happy about the weather change. We hung towels and tacked up cardboard in their coop for insulation, although now it looks like a cheap harem.  Today I bought a heat lamp to keep them warmer.

    Buddha's Finger citron and snow.  I candied the citron this year and used it in holiday bread.  Wonderful!
    Buddha’s Finger citron and snow. I candied the citron this year and used it in holiday bread. Wonderful!

    Most of them are done molting except, of course, the Turken or naked-neck.  Besides having a naturally bare neck, poor Malika has dropped over half of her feathers and has no insulation at all.  Its a good thing that days aren’t frozen, too.

    Poor Malika!  An unfortunate molt.
    Poor Malika! An unfortunate molt.

    By Monday daytime temperatures will be in the low 70’s again, and I’ll be worrying about planting spring crops already; despite the snow, there really isn’t a winter here.IMG_5962  However, I thought I’d share some New Year’s eve photos of Finch Frolic Garden in the snow – not something I’d ever thought I’d see.

    Lovely.   Liquidambers, trellis and wildflowers.
    Lovely. Liquidambers, trellis and wildflowers.