This month's newsletter is all about the B's: Beets, Bitters and Bone Broths - all of the things that we need to deeply nourish ourselves during the snowy winter season. Even if you're not currently a fan of beets, bitters or broths, I encourage you to read on to discover how to enjoy their benefits. Preparation is everything!
Joy is a wonderful three-letter word. If you'd like more joy in your life this holiday season, whip up a batch of Cookies of Joy and share them with friends and family.
December is quickly coming to a close, and many of us will be on the go from now until the New Year. It's important to take time out of a busy schedule to relax, breathe deep and treat oneself to an acupuncture session to help mediate the effects of non-stop stress. For those with Flexible Medical Spending Accounts be sure to use it before you lose it!
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The Beauty of Beets
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I originally was not a fan of beets, but then I had never eaten them deliciously prepared. Many years ago my friend Roberta (an inspiring cook) would frequently serve beets at the numerous social gathering that took place in her home. She would encourage me to taste them, and before long I decided I couldn't live without them. The taste of roasted beets hits me in my core. Now for my husband, a recent convert to the delights of beets, the food that reaches his core are blueberries.
Beets not only possess incredible color and flavor, they are a powerhouse of nutrients as are many root vegetables. In Chinese medicine foods that have a red color have a positive effect on the blood. Beets not only nourish the blood but they cleanse the blood as well, and they are often used during detoxification or spring cleanses.
I am not a fan of beets in their raw form (a little too earthy even for me), but properly roasted they're wonderful in salads, soups, and wherever you might need a splash of color. Back when I was in school my favorite pre-clinic dinner (after having been in school all day) was to layer sauteed kale with roasted squash and top the squash with roasted beets. The color that is created where the squash and beets meet is just gorgeous.
So, you may ask, how does one properly roast beets? I obtained my roasting method from Alex Roberts of Restaurant Alma. I was a server at Alma for five years while I was in school. I couldn't figure out why Alex's beets tasted so much better than beets that I would have at other fine dining restaurants. His secret is to steam the beets while roasting them.
Preheat oven to 450 F.
It's best to use similarly sized beets.
Trim the ends off of the beets - no need to peel just yet.
Pour some olive oil in the palm of your hands, rub your hands together and then rub each beet with the olive oil.
Place the beets in a roasting pan.
Add 1/4 inch of water to the pan.
Cover with tin foil (shiny side down).
Roast until fork tender - roasting time will vary from 45-75 minutes.
Remove from oven, let cool slightly and then peel and enjoy.
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Bitters Boost Digestive Power
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 Bitter is one of the five flavors that includes sweet, salty, sour, and acrid (or pungent). The name originates from the Middle English verb bitan, which means to bite. Indeed the bitter flavor has a distinctive bite. In our modern diet sweet and salty have become the predominant flavors, however we can benefit greatly by including the bitter flavor in our meals. Back in the day, Europeans would often end their meals with a salad of bitter greens or a shot of espresso. Bartenders have been known to serve up a shot of Angostura aromatic bitters to quell acid reflux. Coffee and espresso are bitter in flavor, and many people depend on coffee to move their bowels in the morning. It's the bitter flavor (not the stimulant property) of coffee that induces bile secretion that promotes a bowel movement. Bitters (used in the plural) refers to herbs and herbal preparations that have that characteristic bitter bite to them. The benefits of bitters are far reaching. They stimulate digestion and elimination thus improving nutrient absorption. When the bitter flavor hits the nerves on the tongue, it increases the flow of saliva and induces peristalsis (the wave-like contractions throughout the smooth muscles of the digestive tract). Bitters can help restore one's appetite for breakfast. Many people say that they're not hungry for breakfast, but their bodies really need nourishment after the night's fast. 4-5 drops of bitters on the tongue at breakfast time can help restore the desire for food in the morning. There are many different blends of bitters. I mentioned Angostura aromatic bitters that are used to make cocktails. My favorite blend of bitters is David Winston's Herbalist & Alchemist Bitters Compound. It contains dandelion root, gentian root, artichoke leaf, orange peel, angelica root and peppermint. Whether you choose to add a bitter blend to your daily routine, add bitter greens such as kale, collards, arugula or mizuna into the mix or get your bitters via coffee (a small cup after a meal is best), dark chocolate or a nice stout beer - just get the bitter(s) into your bite. |
Bone Broths
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There's no denying that soup season is here. It is a delight to be served a steaming bowl of delicious soup at the end of a long cold day.
The secret to many a good soup is nourishing homemade broth or stock. The store-bought variety of broth has a mere whisper of the nutrition and flavor that a homemade broth contains.
Auguste Escoffier, a famed French chef and culinary writer, commented "Indeed, stock is everything in cooking. . .without it nothing can be done."
Homemade broths take the slow food method to prepare. Andrew Schloss of The Washington Post sums up broth quite nicely: Broth isn't much: a chicken back, some parsley sprigs, a carrot, a celery stalk and time, of course, to bring the flavors out. And after hours of simmering, its life begins, for broth is not a finished food - it just the start of culinary magic. And it is the crux of all cooking. With it, the sauce is a snap and the soup is practically made."
To make your own culinary magic, I am including three stock recipes: Beef Stock, Chicken Stock and Vegetable Stock. The beef stock and chicken stock are from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, and the vegetable stock is from The Splendid Grain by Rebecca Wood.
The vegetable stock by Rebecca Wood was a very nice surprise the first time I made it. Rebecca roasts the onions and carrots first before adding them to the stock pot, so you end up with a deep caramel-colored stock that is incredibly flavorful.
So far I have just talked about how delicious homemade stocks and broths are, but they are incredibly nutritious too. Stocks and broths are rich in collagen and gelatin which support bone and joint health. They also contain easily absorbed proteins and minerals.
Looks like we're going to be snowed in this weekend, so it's a perfect time to put on a pot of stock and let the weekend simmer away.
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Recipe of the Month
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Cookies of Joy is adapted from From Saint Hildegard's Kitchen. Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) was a renowned German nun with mystical, musical and herbal talents as well. These cookies have become a favorite of mine during the holiday season. Cookies of Joy contain "spices that bring joy." The joy-bringing spices are cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. Hildegard recommends using spelt, an ancient grain with a nutty flavor that gives the cookies a nice toothsome crunch. The Wedge carries spelt flour in their bulk department.
Hildegard's recommendation: make small cookies and eat these often. They will reduce bad humours, enrich the blood, and fortify the nerves.
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As always. . .
your first wealth is health.
Katherine Krumwiede, L.Ac.
Diamond Stone Oriental Medicine, Inc.
612 872 9133
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Quote of
the Month
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"The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The radish, admittedly, is more feverish, but the fire of the radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent, not of passion. Tomatoes are lusty enough, yet there runs through tomatoes an undercurrent of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious."
Tom Robbins
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Newsletter Archive
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There's a wealth of health-inducing information contained in past issues of my newsletter.
Newsletter Archive
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Gift Certificates Are Available
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Give the gift of good health to your friends and family.
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The Benefits
of Acupuncture
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De-stress
Alleviate pain
Improve concentration levels
Lift the cloud
of depression
Get a better night's sleep
Improve digestion
Boost energy levels
Insure success with smoking cessation
Excellent preventative medicine
And many more. . .
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