The following is taken from an article called Seasonal Harmony by Ellesara.
Learning basics about each season, foods and having basic seasonal recipes become foundations from which we can easily incorporate more information and fall back upon when we have simple questions. For example, last week an elderly friend of mine got a chill and couldn’t get warm. When I went over to her home with my “ginger tea kit” her fingers were like ice cubes. I made her basic ginger tea, (recipe below) and before she finished her first cup, she felt warm and the circulation had returned to her fingers. Ginger is a yang food that aids digestion and generally balances the forces in your body.
Basic Ginger Tea
1” fresh ginger – sliced, chopped
4-5 scallions – whites only
Rind of one dried tangerine
4 cups of water
Rock/Brown sugar/honey to taste
Add all the ingredients together and bring to a boil Simmer for no more than 5 minutes as it will get bitter. Remove the foods. Drink hot.
Additionally, I want to mention that every culture has food cures and food combinations for increasing health. Often, the purposes for these foods have been forgotten, even when the custom has been retained. For example, the parents of a friend of mine are from Poland and her mother makes bone marrow soup in the winter simply because “it is good for you to eat in the winter.” When we consult Five Element Theory, we see that bone marrow soup is an excellent winter energy soup that supports the Kidney function (recipe below).
Basic Bone Marrow Soup
Ingredients
1 lb marrow bones
1-1/2 quarts water
2” sliced ginger
6 scallion whites
1 bay leaf
Part 2
1 diced carrot
1 diced stalk celery
1 quartered plum tomato
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup cilantro/;parsley
Directions
Put the marrow bones, bay leaf, ginger, and scallions in the water and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least 3 hours
Let cool--Poke marrow out of bones and discard everything except water. You should now have about 3 cups of broth.
Add veggies, cover and cook till veggies are done. add salt and pepper to taste.. .serve and sprinkle with cilantro
To this basic recipe you can add other root vegetables, such as turnip, or green vegetables such as kale. Adjust this to your own taste. Bone marrow soup is considered to be a strengthening soup that is good for prevention and also if someone has been ill.
Further, it is helpful to have seasonal guildelines. Things that are particularly good to do or pay attention to in a given season. Often, they remind me of things my Mom said when I was growing up. Simple things such as, eat a good warm breakfast, especially in the winter.
Winter Energy Cereal
Ingredients
1/2 cup of rice
6 cups of water
½ cup toasted black sesame seeds
½ cup TB toasted crushed walnuts
3 TB honey
½ tsp salt
Directions
Cover the rice in 2 cups of water and soak for 2 hours.
Toast the walnuts and crush. A simple crushing method is to place the walnuts in a plastic bag and roll with a rolling pin.
Toast the black sesame seeds.
Drain the excess water off the rice.
Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and mix.
Add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the rice is thoroughly cooked and all the water has been absorbed. Stir the cereal frequently as it is cooking. The texture of the cereal at this stage is like a thick porridge or cornmeal mush. The rice is creamy and the sesame seeds are still slightly crunchy.
To make into a breakfast cereal: add ½ cup boiling water to ½ cup of cereal – optional: a touch of cinnamon Yield: 4 cups
Serving size ½ cup
Basic Congee
1 cup of white rice (or ½ cup short grain rice and ½ cup of long grain rice)
8-10 cups of water
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer for about 3 hours.
This makes a basic rice porridge which is very easy to digest and which can be eaten at any time of year. To it, you can add shredded ginger, chopped scallion whites, lightly steamed vegetables, pieces of fish, pickled vegetables, etc.
A few other winter guidelines that are in accord with TCM/Five Element Theory are: Raw foods are cooling and should be avoided in the winter when warming foods are best emphasized, such as eating warming, hearty soups*, cooked whole grains, root vegetables and toasted nuts. These kinds of foods warm the center of the body and their heat stays with you longer. Since winter energy is about storing and rest, it is good to go to bed earlier and get very restful sleep, lighten one’s activities list, if possible and spend more time in contemplation and meditation.
*Kidney Bean, Tomato & Winter Squash Soup
Ingredients:
2TB walnut oil
1 medium red onion
4 cloves of garlic – slivered
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped parsnip
½ cup chopped yam
14 oz can of plum tomatoes
½ tsp rosemary
3 half dollar slices of ginger
2 small dried hot red peppers (or to personal taste)
1 15 oz can of kidney beans
5 cups of water
3 cups of Kombachu or butternut or hubbard squash, diced into 1 inch cubes
Salt to taste, ground pepper
Chopped cilantro/parsley garnish
Directions
Heat the oil in a saucepan/wok/dutch oven and add the onion. . .cook until it is just softened. Add the garlic, parsnip, yam and cook for about 3 minutes over medium heat.
Add the tomatoes, rosemary, ginger, peppers, beans and water
Bring to a soft boil, reduce heat, cover and let simmer for about 1/2 hour – stir occasionally
Add squash and simmer for about 1 hour until squash is tender. Check liquid levels, add water if necessary and don’t forget to stir occasionally.
Add salt and ground pepper, adjust seasonings to personal taste.
Garnish each bowl with a sprig of cilantro or parsley
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