I. Start off with a shot of Fire Cidre’ (always) – fire cider consists of warming, food grade herbs and vegetables that have mascerated in Apple Cider Vinegar. This herbal preparation is also referred to as an oxymel. Fire Cidre is a traditional folk remedy that stimulates circulation of the blood, aids in digestion, and asks the immune system to wake up and warm up…The term ‘fire cider’ has been trademarked in an unjust manner by Shire City Herbals, so plays on the name have been adopted in recent years to avoid small herbal companies and individuals being fined..
II. Brew lavender tea; from the garden or not – 1TBS herb/8OZ water - steap 20 minutes - strain tea – squeeze 1/4 lemon into the pot.
III. Chaga Mushroom Chai Tea (with a little left over coffee) – & almond milk
CACAO & TAHINI OATMEAL
served warm, with “gluten free” oats (theres really no such thing, but I dream); grassfed ghee butter 1/2 tbs, cacao, tahini, to taste – add pear for fresh sweet crunch
KALE & RICE
Slow cooked (and super soft) rice with a cap full of white distilled vinegar & grass fed butter 1/2 tbs – NSG (see below)
Raw kale dressed with Apple Cider Vinegar
NSG = nettle seed gomacio /Nettle Seed & Sea Salt
& heirloom tomatoes for juicy thickness – sprinkled with NSG
Beet kraut pictured from the friend and family fridge at Farmstead Farments in Scottsville, VA
This recipe is meant to inspire feelings of comfort, nourishing to the details.
Oats are nerve tonic – they calm and feed a ‘frazzled’ overworked nervous system, add grassfed butter for healthy fats/oils – butter/ghee/oils – are useful in dry climates – Autumn is slowly turning to Winter here in the Blue Ridge and healthy fats keep the inner tissues ‘lubed’ up (for lack of a better term) , which helps regular bowel movements and oil secretion – keeping our Wei chi balanced, protecting our most vulnerable layer and organ; our skin…
Cacao is heart opening; indicated with a heavy allostatic load; allowing the eyes to see through rose colored glasses – perspective shifts from the heart center, making mindfulness easier and more applicable.
Pears for perfection; they just compliment this dish so well…
Raw Kale (raw has life and adds crunch) is dressed with Bragg’s Seasame Seed and Olive oil Apple Cider Vinegar; ACV for short, breaks down the cell walls of the kale, making it easier to digest and absorb nutrients. Cooking the Kale on the cast iron is a good alternative if the system is very depleted.
The vinegar helps to make the rice soft, good for tired teeth, Nettle seed is nourishing to the immune system, rich in Iron, and has a ‘mineral’ taste; indicative of its medicine as a mineralizing agent to the body.
Nettles, Like the salt of the earth made love to the soil and produced its flower child, Urtica Dioica; read the monograph here.