recipe

Hungarian-inspired Mushroom Soup Recipe

February 11, 2019 // by annie// Leave a Comment

I never met a mushroom I didn’t like, and I’ve had the pleasure of quite a few.
If you ever get the chance, take a mushroom walk with the Boston Mycological Club(or your local club). They are a perfect collection of culinary, botany and sensation-seeking enthusiasts. When I went, we found baskets-full of colorful beauties, then using field guides and spore patterns (the definitive method to differentiate friend or foe from a safe-to-eat perspective), we identified, divided up and took home our bounties for happy times of all sorts.

Gathering mushrooms from the wild is getting evermore popular, but I don’t do it because even though I’ve had some experience with my mycological friends, every year even expert mushroom collectors eat the wrong fungi and that’s it – they can kill you. There are such a phenomenal range of cultivated mushrooms now available, I suggest sticking with and enjoying that.

I love the mushrooms, dill, and sour cream that frames Hungarian mushroom soup. If you can find a good local organic grass-fed sour cream, then by all means, use that (grass-fed dairy has a more favorable lipid profile as well as being easier on the earth relative to its mass-market cousins). If you are dairy-free, you can substitute a bit of soy milk plus an extra squeeze of lemon to approximate the tang you’ll miss from yogurt or sour cream.

Here I’ve aimed to boost the nutrient density by loading up on herbs – both dill and parsley, as well as other vegetables, and lightened it up with yogurt rather than sour cream. I found that when I used this quantity of herbs, I needed to blend the finished product – herbs are so delicate that when they are cooked like this in a soup, they need to be blended or finely finely chopped or their texture just isn’t what you want it to be.

Ingredients

1 – 16 oz package organic mushrooms
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 large carrots
1/2 yellow onion, sliced & cubed
1/2 medium yellow turnip, peeled and sliced
2 cups organic chicken or vegetable stock
about 1 cup fresh dill, chopped
about 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp organic grass-fed yogurt or sour cream

Directions

In a heavy soup pot over medium heat, sauté onions in olive oil until translucent. Slice carrots and clean and slice mushrooms, and slice turnip, discarding any waxy covering it may have. Add these veggies to the pot and sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Add stock and simmer 45-60 minutes. Meanwhile, chop herbs. Add herbs and yogurt or sour cream. If necessary, cool and run through a blender for a smooth and creamy texture.

Enjoy!

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Lemon Violet Chia Pudding

May 16, 2018 // by annie// 4 Comments

So easy. So tasty. So healthy. Make this lovely spring breakfast or not-too-sweet dessert right now.
If you have violets in your yard, here’s a whole new way to enjoy them. Violets are filled with antioxidants, so are health promoting in all the ways so many herbs and botanicals are. The lemon and violets both lend a light fragrance to this no-cook pudding.

I think of the ratio for chia a lot like the ratio for grains – that is, one part seeds to two parts liquid (for a pudding like this). I don’t count the yogurt in liquid – to me, that’s to make a creamy texture.
Make this the night before your breakfast, or a few hours before dinner for dessert. I used yogurt for a big of creaminess – for a vegan version, use a coconut yogurt or just skip the yogurt, perhaps boosting the chia for thickness.
Enjoy!

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
juice and zest of 1/2 fresh lemon
2 tsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup chia seed
1/4 cup plain yogurt (good quality any level of fat)
1/2 cup violets – use heads (if you are up for chewing) or just the petals

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix almond milk, lemon juice, zest, honey, and vanilla. Stir in yogurt and chia. Add most of violets, saving a couple to decorate your creation.

Place in refrigerator overnight, or at least for 4 hours before serving.
Makes two – 2/3 cup servings.
For breakfast, if you top with 1/2 cup of blueberries, you’ll have a fiber, protein and nutrient rich start to your day.
Report back!
Annie

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Cherry Turmeric Spicy Shot Recipe

March 14, 2018 // by annie// Leave a Comment

Spicy shots! I love ’em.
A couple years ago Free Fire Cider, based on a folk recipe, popularized by herbalist Rosemary Gladstar, and trademarked, with great controversy in the herbal world, but a group in WMA, had it’s moment in the sun. Here’s my fire cider recipe.
Since then, I’ve been enamored with making spicy shots – delicious concoctions designed to warm and give a nutritional zing-ha to your morning. It’s a practice I especially get into in these (still!) cooler months.
Here’s one I whipped up this weekend, with tart cherry juice and apple cider vinegar. Cherry, ginger and turmeric are all anti-inflammatories and packed with antioxidants. Apple cider vinegar is a natural probiotic. If you, like me are in the second half of life, this drink is vata-pacifying – grounding and warming.
Quick, easy, and makes you say “haaaaaa”. I aimed for warmth rather than heat in the spice. Raw garlic makes me burp, though my husband is focused on eating more, so I suggest he use this to wash down a nice raw clove for himself. Pow.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsweetened cherry juice
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
Thumb-sized piece of ginger, sliced
3 Tsp turmeric, dried spice
1/2 tsp cayenne, or to taste

Directions:

Place everything in a blender and blend away. Pour into a small mason jar with a lid. The ginger and spice tend to separate, so give it shake before your morning shot. I take about an ounce after my morning coffee and morning practices, a few minutes before breakfast.
I have a spicy-shot-for-every-season vision!
Have a favorite spicy shot you make?
Please share!

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Asian Slaw Recipe

January 24, 2018 // by annie// Leave a Comment

Everyone should have a vegetable-based recipe or two that takes (snap!) that long, that serves as a quick meal or snack. This raw Asian slaw recipe has been a mainstay of my 3pm-give-me-carbs attack for years. It works.
The heart of the recipe is savoy cabbage and rice wine vinegar. You can enjoy (and I often do) just these two ingredients. But why not toss in some carrot, cilantro or Thai basil, and sesame oil? Add a handful of cashews, organic tofu or garbanzo beans to make it a meal.
This is a great springtime detox recipe, because it is nutritionally dense, and contains the antioxidants that support your liver in its biotransformation of cellular gunk into removable trash, which can then be flushed out of your body via the usual exit routes. This recipe also has lots of fiber, secret weapon of the weight-conscious.

Asian Slaw Recipe

Ingredients

½ cup savoy cabbage sliced thin
½ cup red cabbage sliced thin
a few fresh snow peas, sliced
¼ cup diced red pepper
1 medium carrot, diced
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro if available
2 tsp rice wine vinegar

optional:

2 Tbsp Asian salad dressing
2 tsp sesame oil
1 slice fresh ginger, diced with skin trimmed
a handful of cashews, or 1/2 cup tofu

Directions

Toss everything together and eat.
Just getting started with healthy eating? This article will help.

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Wild Mustard Asparagus Soup Recipe

January 10, 2018 // by annie// Leave a Comment

Please resist the temptation to spray weed-killer on your lawn as it is filled with nutrition free for the taking. Eat your “weeds” instead! Wild garlic mustard, for example, is considered an invasive weed but is also a nutrient-dense green with spicy garlic flavor. This green is filled with antioxidant vitamins and minerals, and eating a little something wild every day connects us more deeply to nature.
I love the fact that just when we need to brush out the sludge from that long cold winter, the very tonics we need to help that happen literally spring up under our feet. Dandelion, ramps, wild strawberry and garlic mustard to name a few are everywhere now, and all we need to do is accept the invitation and support to detoxify deliciously.
Here is a nice light green spring soup recipe that I whipped up with the crew of people coming for Detox at Kripalu in mind. And of course, all my friends who are Kripalu Detox alums. Between the garlic mustard and asparagus (which is bursting with glutathione, the mother of all antioxidant and a detox power food) this recipe is made for spring nutrition. Enjoy!

Wild Mustard Asparagus Soup Recipe

Ingredients

15-20 stalks asparagus, snapped into 2-inch pieces
5 stalks celery, chopped
2 Tbsp good quality olive oil
1 scallion, chopped
15 oz chicken or vegetable stock (I used Pacific Natural Organic Chicken)
2 cups fresh wild garlic mustard leaves
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp grass-fed butter
4 Tbsp toasted sunflower seeds
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Saute celery in olive oil in a heavy soup pot until soft. Add scallion and asparagus, and continue to saute until vegetables are soft. Add stock, garlic mustard, and Dijon, and simmer medium-low for 15 minutes.
Go to it with your immersion blender.
Stir in butter until melted and incorporated into the soup. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve warm, topping each bowl with a Tbsp of toasted sunflower seeds.

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Tahini Dressing Recipe

December 27, 2017 // by annie// 2 Comments

Most commercial salad dressings, I am sorry to say, are filled with chemicals. Choose them carefully, and consider making your own. It’s easier than you think.
Dressings and sauces are an opportunity to perfect and balance vegetables with nutrient dense oils, vegetable proteins and spices. Here’s a nice tahini dress to serve over cooked or raw greens, sprouts, carrots, peppers, and scallions. I am waiting impatiently for my Thai basil to grow to add to this one.
Quick & easy.

Tahini Dressing Recipe

Ingredients

1/4 cup Tahini
1 cup sesame oil
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
2 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated

Directions

It all goes in the blender until smooth.
You can make a base of this dressing, and change it up by adding one or more of the following to small batches of it:

Cilantro
Lots of garlic
Thai chili
Peanuts
Lime

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Elderberry Ginger Cider Recipe

December 13, 2017 // by annie// Leave a Comment

My boon of elderberry enabled me to, in addition to making tons of elderberry syrup, make elderberry ginger cider – a variation on fire cider. For this one, I rely on ginger and honey as a base and kept it simple yet strong. It’s delicious and I’ll use it the way you would fire cider – take a shot during cold and flu season to warm up and keep the creeping crud away.

Elderberry Ginger Cider Recipe

Ingredients

4 cups fresh elderberries, clean and free of stems
2 slivers of fresh peeled ginger, about 1 Tsp
1/2 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp local honey

Directions

Place ingredients in a clean bottle. Place top on the bottle, and mix by inverting the bottle several times. Make sure the liquid covers the berries. Leave in a cool dry place for six weeks, inverting the bottle to mix every 3 or 4 days. Removeelderberries from the cider. The cider is the elixir, but you might use the elderberries in a pickle also. Enjoy!

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Deliciously Easy Lentils Recipe

November 8, 2017 // by annie// 1 Comment

If you have high cholesterol and don’t want to go on medication, beans are your friends. Studies have shown that eating beans a few times weekly can help lower LDL (the blood cholesterol most closely associated with heart disease). Actually, if you want to control your weight and not eat a lot of meat, beans are your friends.
I’ve been experimenting with spice blends over the last few seasons and if you are a fan of flavor but don’t want to purchase lots of expensive spices to mix and experiment with, this might be your flavor hack (shortcut). If you want to try lentils for their health benefits but haven’t liked them so far, this might be your recipe. It’s a snap. Tasty.
I’ve been using Mountain Rose Herb’s spice blends – I particularly like 5 Spice (which gives a Chinese flavor) and West Indies blends. They have nice clean fresh spices (not to mention lots of other goodies if you are herbal-inclined). Warning – their website is an herbal and culinary wonder-emporium…you may spend more time there than you intend.

Deliciously Easy Lentils Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup lentils (I used some lovely black lentils)
1 large onion, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 Tbsp spice blend of your choice
2-3 cups water

Directions

Pour oil into a medium saucepan over medium heat, and add 1 Tbsp spice and onion. Sauté for 5-6 minutes until onions are translucent. Add lentils, water and remainder of spice.
Cover and simmer for 25-35 minutes, until lentils are desired softness.
Enjoy.

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Potato Cauliflower Mash Recipe

October 4, 2017 // by annie// Leave a Comment

Potato head? Me too. Will work for mashed potatoes. While I think white potatoes have been much maligned in the era of glycemic (the degree to which foods act like sugar) awareness, many of us will overdo them left to our own devices. Enter cauliflower, that healthy brassica with the dubious distinction of, when well cooked and mashed, filling in for its starchier cousin the white potato. This is a bit of a have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too recipe. Here is a simple recipe using both spring red potatoes and plenty of cauliflower, along with water-carmelized onions. If you have some fresh green herbs, like chives, rosemary, or sage, that would make a lovely addition.

Ingredients

1 pound spring red potatoes – 1-2″ diameter, washed and sliced
1/2 yellow (Spanish) onion, chopped and skin removed
1 medium head cauliflower, washed, flowers separated or sliced
1 Tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil Dollop plain grass-fed yogurt
Black pepper and sea salt (less is more of any type of salt) to taste

Directions

Water-brown onions. Place chopped onions in a heavy skillet (cast iron is great), with 2-3 Tbsp water, at med-high heat. As the water dissipates, add another couple Tbsp, tossing so as to slowly brown the onions without burning them. When they are light golden brown (please don’t brown too much- browning is for taste, not health), remove from heat and put aside.
Boil spuds. Place sliced potatoes in a med pot with water to cover and bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer. Once potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork, remove, drain (potato water is a great soup-stock, if you’re organized enough to take advantage of that), and set aside.
Water-saute cauliflower. Place cauliflower in the skillet you’ve cleaned after browning your onions, along with a few Tbsp water. Water saute over medium heat until soft.
Mash with olive oil. Place cooked potatoes, browned onions, and cooked cauliflower in a large bowl. Drizzle olive oil, and mash with a strong fork, potato masher, or pastry blender (a handy little kitchen tool).
Serve. Top with a dollop of grass-fed yogurt, and salt and pepper as needed. Sprinkle with fresh herbs if you have them. This is a great replacement for regular mashed potatoes.

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Spicy Corn and Black Bean Soup Recipe

September 20, 2017 // by annie// Leave a Comment

I love black bean soup, and this recipe loves me (and you) too with nutrient dense vegetables, lime, nutmeg, pepper and chili for a touch of heat. And of course black beans, a fiber-protein power combo. This recipe makes a flavorful thick soup perfect for a snowy day.
I live with an unapologetic carnivore, so the addition of uncured bacon (which at least eliminates nitrites) or turkey bacon vs going for a vegan version (my preference for mind and body) is always a weighty decision. For this go-round, as my husband and I have been doing some happy-lovely bonding lately, it’s bacon! I used 3 trimmed slices of Applegate naturals uncured Sunday bacon. This recipe would still be thick and flavorful in it’s vegan version if you skip the bacon and sauté the vegetables in olive oil. I also used Full Circle organic vegetable broth as I’m just getting into the soup swing and don’t have my own made yet.
All vegetables are organic – important for these particular veggies as several of them are on the dirty dozen list.

Spicy Corn and Black Bean Soup Recipe

Ingredients

3 slices uncured bacon or turkey bacon, trimmed of fat and sliced (optional – for a vegan version, sauté vegetables in 1 Tbsp olive oil over low heat)
4 med stalks of celery, tops on, chopped
4 med carrots, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1/2 spanish onion, chopped
1 3/4 cups organic black beans, soaked overnight, rinsed several times
2 cups vegetable stock
4-6 cups clean water
1 cup frozen organic corn
1 small bunch fresh cilantro
1-2 tsp ground nutmeg
1-2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
juice of 1/2 lime
chili pepper heat to taste – I used a Tbsp Sambal Oelek (a Thai chili paste – make sure you get one without sulfites if you are sensitive)

Directions

Toss bacon into heavy soup pot, add onions, carrots, celery and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and slightly golden – about 10 minutes. If you are skipping the bacon, sauté the above in a Tbsp of olive oil. Add black beans, stock, nutmeg, black pepper and water. Simmer until beans are soft – 1-2 hours. Add lime juice, corn and half of chopped cilantro. Add chili to taste: add it slowly and taste until you reach desired heat. You can always make your soup more spicy, but once you overdo it, sorry you’ve got practice in tolerating extra heat.
Simmer all for another 10 minutes, top with remaining cilantro and enjoy warm.

Serves 4 – makes 2 quarts.
45 minutes to prep, 2-3 hours to cook.
Freezes well.

I would say the secret to this soup is the flavor combo of nutmeg, lime and chili – yum. What are your favorite ingredients for a black bean soup?

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Elderberry Syrup Recipe

August 9, 2017 // by annie// 4 Comments

Deep purple elderberry beauty — Deep purple elder-beauty

I’ve been a smidgen obsessed with elderberry this year and it has heard my prayer. Not only did my husband gift me a beautiful elderberry bush for our yard, but a neighbor with a gorgeous mature bush gave us the green light to enjoy some of his bounty. So, I’ve been up to my elbows in elderberry.

Give yourself time to rinse and remove stems — Give yourself time to rinse & remove stems

Elderberry is a folk medicine immune supporter, and even today you can find it in commercial cough syrup and lozenges. Clinical trials suggest that it reduces the duration of the flu, and it may have antiviral, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. From a plant-spirit energetic perspective, elder aids with journey work (such as shamanic visioning) and is, simply, an elder filled with primordial wisdom.
Most elderberry syrup recipes call for about 2/3 cup of berries for a season’s supply of syrup. Well, because I had a bucketful, mine is a little stronger! It’s delicious and rich. In the literature there are warnings about elderberry irritating the gut if taken raw and/or in excess, so you can overdo it! I intend to take 1 tsp daily for 3-5 days at the first sign of cold or flu.
Give yourself a couple hours to make this start to finish. This recipe made about 6 cups of syrup.

Elderberry Syrup Recipe

Equipment

In addition to a large pot for cooking and processing, you will need a strainer or jelly bag, and containers for your syrup – I used jelly jars and processed them as if I were making jelly to give nicely sealed jars for gifts, and also kept a batch in a larger unsealed jar in the fridge to be used over the next 3 months by my family and me.
Jelly jars come with the glass jars, a flat sealing lid, and a ring that twists over the sealing lid to keep it on the jar.

Ingredients

8 cups elderberry, washed and stems removed
4 cups water
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
5 whole cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground
1 cup honey
1-2 tsp pectin

Directions

Place berries, spices, ginger and honey in a large pot and bring to a rolling boil. Stirring, add pectin and boil for another minute. Lower heat to medium and simmer for 15-17 minutes.
Strain through jelly bag, and place into jars. As I mentioned I used jelly jars and processed them like jelly, which entails boiling the jars (pouring hot liquid into a cold jar can make it crack) and sealing the lids. After filling the jars with syrup and topping with sealing lids, I tightened the lid rings, and placed jars upside down for about 5 minutes. This helped them seal. Once that’s done, I check to see if the jar sealed by pressing the center of the lid. If I can push the lid down and it pops up, no seal. If the lid is concave and pressing it doesn’t move it, it’s sealed. Often, lids will seal throughout the day – I can hear “pop” from the next room when a lid seals. Jars that don’t seal need to be refrigerated, and the syrup used within 3 months. I keep those that seal all season.
Making your own jelly and syrup can be a sticky mess, but I am always amazed by the wonderful smell, color, and flavor of home-made preserves. It’s a fun thing to do with family or friends who are into it. Little jars of your handcrafted goods make terrific gifts. Make sure not to give away unsealed items or you may be gifting a nice jar of something not-so-healing.

Elderberry Syrup Recipe by Annie B Kay - anniebkay.com

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Herb Pesto Recipe: Wild Plant Medicine

May 10, 2017 // by annie// 17 Comments

Pesto is a base recipe for food as medicine. The herbs you use for pesto are concentrated sources of health-enhancing nutrients. Through the seasons, you can make several batches for use on cooked vegetables, grains, really anything and everything.
Pesto is also a great recipe to begin to explore a little wild plant medicine.
When I speak of wild plants, I’m talking about plants you collect from your (unsprayed with chemicals!) lawn or the edge of a forest. I’m taking about dandelion greens, garlic mustard, mugwort and the like.
Many of these wild plants are strongly flavored – I think of them as the wild game of the plant world – and just a little wild food does a human good. So, in a pesto, I will mix familiar herbs like basil with a bit of the stronger wild stuff like dandelion or garlic mustard, depending upon what’s tender and not overwhelming (dandelions, for example, get more and more bitter as the season progresses).
Here is a base recipe for pesto I use and modify based on what’s available. Sometimes I use cheese, often not (I love to eat a lot of it, and cheese is not the most health-enhancing food for me, so I use just a smidgen). I can use creamy pine nuts, toasted walnuts, or sweet almonds depending upon the herbs I have, the flavors I’d like to play with, and what I’m hankering for.
Here it is:

Herbal Pesto Recipe

1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 1/2 cups fresh leafy green herbs (basil, cilantro, thyme, parsley or your favorite)
1/2 cup wild savory herbs (garlic basil, dandelion)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and center woody section removed
1/2 cup nuts or seeds (pepitas, walnuts, almonds)
1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Pour oil into a blender, add garlic, nuts, and herbs in thirds and blend to that lovely pesto loose paste-like consistency. Add salt.
Classic pesto contains basil and pine nuts and a half-cup of Parmesan in the above recipe. Use your imagination and what you have on hand. Variations are endless!
Remember, when it comes to wild food and botanical medicines – safety first!

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Asian Slaw Recipe

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Wild Mustard Asparagus Soup Recipe

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Spicy Corn and Black Bean Soup Recipe

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Elderberry Syrup Recipe

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Herbal Pesto Recipe

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