Seriously, this is the happiest soup I’ve ever made or had the pleasure of consuming. There is no other way to describe it. Perhaps it is partially the virtuousness I feel, eating local, wildcrafted herbs & greens in season. Mostly, though, it is just a great, simple soup. Click here to learn more about nettles (and allergies), and here for more about fiddleheads.
Recipe
(Based on the suggestion of the Friendly Happy Guy from Forbes Wild Foods at Dufferin Grove Farmer’s Market)
Ingredients
1/2 pound fresh local fiddleheads, soaked and rinsed in a bowl of water several times, ends cut off.
1 heaping, packed colander full of fresh wild stinging nettles, stems removed (remember to wear your gloves to avoid the sting!). (Sorry, didn’t weigh the nettles)
2 onions, chopped (plus green onion, or the green shoots growing off an old onion if that happens in your house)
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2-4 cups stock (I used veggie stock)
Water
Sea Salt
Pepper
Directions
Saute onions & garlic in olive oil until tender. Add water if necessary to prevent sticking. Add cleaned fiddleheads and continue sauteing. Add a bit of stock. Wait a minute or few. Add nettles. Pour stock over nettles, and add water to just barely cover the greens. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 15 minutes, swirling/stirring to make sure nettles get wilted. About 10 minutes in, add the green onion. Add sea salt and maybe pepper. Blend. (I use a handblender, right into the hot soup in the pot).
Enjoy Happy Soup!
ps: some internet recipes for nettle soup swirl in cream at the end, but i really think this soup needs no enhancement.
This salad is build around a spicy cilantro pesto recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Lorna Sass’ Complete Vegetarian Kitchen. Thank you, Lorna, for the many tasty meals you have contributed to since I bought this book in 1999! Find her book here: http://lornasass.com/cookbooks/complete-vegetarian-kitchen It is a valuable kitchen resource for tasty and wholesome vegan meal ideas, or for a primer on how to cook beans or grains, or how to assemble an awesome salad, every time.
1 batch Cilantro Pesto (recipe below)
1 can black beans (Eden is BPA-free) or 2 cups cooked black beans (about 1 cup soaked and simmered)
1 cup raw quinoa, cooked in 2 cups water
1 large carrot, grated
1 red pepper, diced
1 stalk broccoli, cut into bite size florets/pieces and steamed
sprouts if you have some on hand
avocado if you have some on hand
whatever other veggie you are inspired to add
Cook quinoa in 2 cups of water with a bit of salt. While quinoa is cooking, chop veggies and put into salad bowl, leaving the avocado aside. Make the pesto. Remember that quinoa cooks faster than rice and take it off the heat when it is done (about 15-20 minutes)! Letting it sit with the lid on for a few minutes helps make it fluffy. Combine all ingredients (except avocado) and toss. Add avocado to individual bowls.
Serve warm for a 1-bowl week-night dinner, and pack up leftovers for a delicious – if garlicky – lunch.
“Coriander Pesto”
From Lorna Sass’ Complete Vegetarian Kitchen
Cilantro is not only delicious, and cleanse-friendly, it also supports detoxification as it nourishes.
Note from Lorna: Great served over plain boiled beans or grains, or on bean and grain salads.
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice, approximately
1 cup tightly packed minced fresh cilantro (coriander)
1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts or sunflower seeds, finely chopped
1 large clove minced fresh garlic (or more to taste)
1 tsp mild chili powder
1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp sea salt, or to taste
In a food processor or jar, combine all the ingredients.
Use immediately or store in a well-sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
This quick, simple dish is flavourful, and deeply nourishing.
If you have shied away from Shiitake mushrooms in the past, now is a chance to enjoy them. Their rich flavor provides an ideal counterpoint to the bitter freshness of Dandelions. Shiitakes are immune-enhancing and antiviral. For more about Dandelions, see http://dandelionnaturopathic.ca/weeds-as-nourishing-spring-food-dandelion-greens/ .
Ingredients
1/2 lb or so of fresh Shiitake mushrooms, sliced (can use dried – soak in just-boiled water first)
1 large bunch dandelion greens, washed and chopped (or substitute kale or collard greens)
1 large onion or 2 small onions, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger (optional)
1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
Instructions
Heat olive oil in a sauté pan. Sauté onions, garlic and ginger in oil, adding water as needed, until onions are very soft. Add salt, shiitakes, with more water if needed, and let simmer at medium heat, covered, for about 8 minutes. Add dandelion greens/kale/collards and more water if needed, cover, and continue saute/simmering until greens are cooked (about 5 min).
Tahini, or sesame seed paste, is a great source of calcium, and an excellent non-dairy base for creamy dips, dressings and sauces. Two simple options are below.
Tahini-Garlic Sauce:
1/4 cup Tahini
1 clove Garlic, pressed or chopped
Sea salt to taste
Juice of 1/2 – 1 Lemon
Water
Combine all ingredients in a glass jar, adding enough water to reach your desired sauce consistency. Adjust seasonings to taste. Mix well. Pour over steamed veggies, grains, beans, salads… For a maximum calcium boost, try tahini sauce over kale & broccoli!
Variation: use tamari (~ 2 tbsp) instead of salt and lemon juice
Tahini-Miso Sauce:
1/4 cup Tahini
1/4 cup Miso (light or dark, depending on the taste you want – light is sweeter, dark is stronger)
Water
Combine tahini and miso in a jar, adding enough water to get your desired consistency. Adjust ratio of ingredients to taste. Use less water to make a great dip for raw veggies, or thin to make a sauce for cooked greens, grains, broiled fish, etc.
Soak 1/2 cup of lentils over night or for 8 hours.
Drain, secure mesh over top of jar, and invert on counter.
Rinse sprouts twice a day.
Harvest in 3-4 days, when sprouts are at desired length.
Day-of ingredients:
1 (organic) red pepper, chopped or diced
2 stalks of (organic) celery, diced
1 large or 2 small carrots, grated
1/4 cup dulse (seaweed) torn or cut into small pieces
juice of 1 lemon
Bragg’s liquid aminos*
Place all solid ingredients along with lentil sprouts in a serving bowl. Add lemon juice, and Bragg’s liquid aminos to taste. Add good olive oil if you like. Toss, enjoy. This salad gets better as it marinates, so don’t worry about dressing before taking to a party to impress your friends. Dress it, take it. They will be impressed!
* If sensitive to soy , subsitute sea salt for the Bragg’s
~ Vary the veggies as the contents of your crisper drawer dictate. Share your favorite combination with us!
Committed to eating locally but also to eating green veggies daily? Not sure which value to prioritize from November to May? Not wanting to spend so much of your grocery budget on imported, tired greens? Sprouting is a beautiful way around these dilemmas, and is so satisfying. Kids will love to participate in this sort of project, too. Watching their sandwich topping grow before their eyes is a great way to engage kids in learning where food comes from, and how plants grow from seeds.
Nutrient Facts
As a seed sprouts, it releases all the nutrients a seed needs to grow into a mature plant (eg brocolli, or alfalfa, or red clover). Enzymes produced by the sprouting seed make these nutrients super available, and thus super digestible for us. Nutrients include vitamins and minerals, along with highly specific nutraceutical compounds. For little ones who might not let a huge variety of veggies into their bodies in a day, and for grown-ups looking for a concentrated nutrient boost, sprouts make sense!
This herbal formula is a great harmonizer, helping to balance the body and mind in times of stress, especially during the change of seasons. It enhances the immune system and increases the body’s own adaptive energies. Thus, it is also excellent for those involved in active sports.
Traditionally, there is no separation between food and herbs in Chinese medicine. This herbal tonic was often prepared as a nourishing chicken soup using an old hen.
You may prepare the herbs as a well-simmered tea, or use the recipe below as a guide to make a soup that you will enjoy, adding seasonal vegetables and spices as desired. Find a version that you love? Curried? Harvest-style? Contact the clinic to share your recipe! Continue reading →
Black beans are a staple in my summer kitchen. Rich in nutrients from folic acid (256 mcg per cup) to calcium (46 mg per cup), black beans are a good source of plant protein (15 g per cup) and a very high source of fibre at (15 g per cup). Use this recipe as a guide, and add in whatever you have on hand. Bean salads like this one are great on nights when it is too hot to turn on the stove, and perfect as a light summer lunch. Serve with crackers and green salad if desired.
Like Forsythias in their opera of yellow, and magnolias in their pink or white blossom-song, fiddlehead season is short, sometimes only 2 weeks. Fiddleheads are wild, their joy fleeting, their origin and taste unique. The fiddlehead is the new growth of an ancient plant family, the ferns. While there are many species of ferns, the fiddleheads available in Ontario markets in late April or early May are usually those of the Ostrich Fern. Interestingly, fiddleheads resist cultivation (they prefer swampy edges of woods), and are one of the few commercially available wild-crafted foods. Fiddleheads taste like…themselves. Some people compare their flavor to a combination of asparagus, green beans and okra. They are great on their own, in pasta salad, in frittata, lightly pickled, with other delicious seasonal veggies. The joy of eating fiddleheads, though, goes beyond their fresh green flavor and nutrient density: There is also the satisfaction we get from being in alignment with what is local and in season – an intellectual satisfaction born of making an ethical, politically-correct food choices, but also a purely physical one, as we nourish our bodies with truly spring food. Increase veggie variety in your diet, join the local seasonal bandwagon, support internal detoxification: try fiddleheads this year! Below is a recipe to get you started. Continue reading →
