Friends, I’m excited to share a guest post I’ve contributed to an awesome blog chronicling surviving and thriving through chronic illness. The article even features my fifth-grade science teacher Mrs. Harrison! You can read the post at the link below, and I encourage you to check out other articles there too.
Unless you’re growing your own vegetables, organic produce can be expensive. I’m not complaining — farmers should be well-supported for their creativity and labors, and the true cost of food production has been externalized through food subsidies for so long that its hard for many of us to get used to re-budgeting to afford higher quality and more ethical eats. CSAs and gleaning can provide more affordable ways to access local and organic produce, but the daily realities of a family budget often mean that we have to choose the more affordable organic vegetables over the luxuries of conventional strawberries and asparagus in December.
The following recipes include vegetables I have grown to love for their colors, flavor, versatility, and affordability. Dress them up as fancy or as simple as you like, these vegetables can form a happy foundation to your weekly mealtimes.
SIMPLE FRIED CABBAGE with Sesame Seeds 
+ The secret to nutty, browned cabbage is to not cook it too long. Wash and chop a third of a head of red cabbage and a third of a head of green or Napa cabbage in large square pieces.
+ Melt butter or coconut oil in a pan and toast sesame seeds for 3 minutes.
+ Toss cabbage in pan at medium-high heat for 3-4 four minutes, so that the leaves become browned but are still crunchy.
+ Pour 3/4 cup of water into the pan and steam the cabbage for another three minutes. The goal is to cook the cabbage for digestibility but not let it get totally limp and sulfurous.
+ Transfer cabbage from pan into bowl, drizzle with sesame oil, and sprinkle with black pepper. Salt to taste.
CARROT + BEET SLAW with Lemon + Ginger
+ Grate three large carrots and three small beets into a large bowl.
+ Combine 1 teaspoon of grated or finely minced fresh ginger, half a squeezed lemon, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and several sprigs of fresh minced parsley.
+ Drizzle dressing over carrots and beets and toss thoroughly.
KALE SALAD with Red Onion, Feta + Seeds
+ Wash kale and chip into long strips about 1/2 inch wide, leaving the stems in. Place in a bowl with sprinkle of salt and a drizzle of olive oil.
+ Massage the kale with your hands for 1-2 minutes or until the oil seems to permeate the leaves.
+ In a pan, toast sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds until they are golden. Remove seeds and allow to cool.
+ Slice small red onion in thin rounds and sautee in butter or coconut oil until soft. Transfer to bowl with kale.
+ Sprinkle sunflower seeds, black pepper, and crumbled hard feta over greens and toss well. Keep refrigerated until consumption for the crispest version of this dish.
Ground beef, pork, or turkey is often the cheapest “cut” of the animal, and this is good when you are stretching your dollars to prioritize grass-fed and humanely-raised meat. In addition to being affordable, ground meat recipes lend themselves easily to the addition of organ meats like heart or liver, which are affordable, packed with minerals and B-vitamins. Some folks don’t like the flavor of liver, but mixing it into other muscle meats can mellow the flavor for a sensitive palate. Over the years I have necessarily figured out strange but satisfying ways to prepared ground meat, but the following are tried, true, and difficult to mess up.
MEAT PIES with Organs + Herbs
I often make this dish in a round pie plate or casserole dish, but when I have the time and fancy, its pretty fun to make these pies in muffin tins. Then you can freeze the pies individually and pop them in the toaster for lunch.
I’ll be honest, I’m not much of a baker, so I usually rely on my more patient sweetheart for the pie crush, er, pie crust. So find a crust recipe you like and refrigerate the ball of dough while you prepare the filling.
+ Beat 2-3 eggs in a bowl with two cups of ground meat — I like to use 3/4 ground heart and 1/4 ground liver.
+ Add chopped onion, minced parsley, minced garlic, and spices. My favorite spices for these pies, which are especially good in wintertime, include cinnamon, paprika, and ground or whole coriander seed.
+ Sprinkle small tablespoons of flour — I like to use dark buckwheat flour or fine cornflour — over the mixture until it has a sticky-but-not-tough quality.
Roll the pie crust, press it into the pans, and pour the meat mixture in. Bake at 375 until a knife comes out clean from the middle. Serve with a vegetable of your choice.
SPRING ROLLS with Peanut Sauce
T
his quick dish is a low-maintenance assemblage that I borrow from Vietnamese cuisine. The spring roll wrappers are made from tapioca and water (and are thus gluten free) and the rest of the dish require little beyond a quick stirfry.
+ Sautee onion and ground meat in coconut oil until the meat is juice but not pink. I think dime-sized crumbles of meat work best in the wrappers.
+ Chop red cabbage and carrot in long thin strips. Wash arugula and lettuce leaves.
+ Assemble the spring roll! Soak wrapper in water for 10-15 seconds, and then lay it flat on a plate. Lay lettuce leaves flat on one side of round wrapper and sprinkle small amount of meat and onions on top. Lay cabbage and carrot slices on top of meat, and roll spring wrapper tightly. This is where you get to practice your arts and crafts skills!
+ To make peanut sauce, sautee garlic in coconut oil at a low heat. Add tamari, a pinch of cayenne, a cup of coconut or almond milk, and a scoop of peanut butter. Stir over a low heat until mixture becomes smooth and saucy!
Stay tuned for the next installment of How do I make that? Whole Foods Recipes on a Budget Part III!
My cooking, over the years, has been influenced by so many things: Sally Fallon and her crusade against the fat-phobic food industry; my oma’s decadent goulash and schnitzel; my grandma’s borscht with sour cream; my inexplicable personal cravings for eggplant, lamb, and dumplings; my farmer sweetheart who brings me endless winter squash and carrots; the kimchi-and-taco truck parked near the old studio I used to work at.
I didn’t really learn to cook until college, when I lived in a housing cooperative where I cooked one night a week in a team of five people for 50 mouths, all with active and vociferous dietary restrictions and preferences. There were endless variations on peanut tofu, decadent dinners where we dressed an entire tuna, and a pit dug in the backyard for a pig roasted with rabbit stuffed inside. My go-to late-night study snack that year, living in California, was mashed avocado sprinkled with sea salt on a slice of sprouted grain bread, a far-cry from the Kelloggs boxed cereals my family raised me on. Not so long ago, I lived with a lively crew who regularly brought home roadkill racoon and goose –we roasted these with the apples we’d gleaned, ramps we’d dried, and wild rice hand-harvested and brought down from the Great Lakes.
When I consider the rich food experiences I’ve had, I realize that the greatest influences on my cooking have been, first, whatever is at hand (not what’s seasonal, but what’s is in the cupboards) and second, what can I afford?
My sweetheart and I agree that I pretty much romanced him entirely through my cooking. Sensing that he was a food-oriented person, I quieted my crush-jitters by inviting him to dinner where I limited myself to two newly-purchased ingredients. I managed to woo him once over chipotle chicken soup with cilantro and dumplings (gluten free and somewhat the consistency of matzah balls, which he seemed to appreciate), and again with stuffed cabbage with thyme and tomatoes (I think I got a kiss for that one).
I have come to terms with the fact that my culinary tendencies are entirely unsuited for following persnickety recipes (a genetic disorder, I’m afraid), and that my most innovative and surprising dishes (sometimes not reproducible) have come out of figuring out how to make do with what’s on hand and in my budget.
I’ve come to apply harm reduction principles when I strategize about what to cook and what to eat. Like everyone else making choices in a confusing and sometimes limiting world, I just keep trying to keep reasonable quantities of wild, local, organic, and fair-trade items in my diet. It’s nearly impossible to eat “perfectly” in this imperfect world, and it would make me crazy to try. Perfect is not an aspiration I have. I aim to make less harmful choices, both for myself and for the planet, and this sometimes means compromise, like eating sardines that come from a can. Good thing sardines are so delicious, especially when packed with lemon.
Maybe you maybe serve up recipes like this? I’d love to hear your variations, sources for ingredients, or wild innovations.
THE LITTLE FISHES
The foundation of my fish cake is small, cold water fish — full of the good EFA-packed oils, low toxin accumulation, more sustainably harvested, low on the food chain. The great herbalist and teacher Juliet Blankenspoor taught me to think of the most desirable fish in the SMASHT acronym — Salmon, Mackarel, Anchovies, Sardines, Herring, (Yellowfin) Tuna. Small fish tend also to be a more affordable form of seafood, and I always look for fish packed in water or olive oil, as those packed in soybean or cottonseed oils are common but not stable, often rancid, and not wonderful for your insides.
I like to offer these recipes because so many clients and friends seem at a loss for how to prepare or consume small fish. I think the best way a recipe can be shared is to communicate the basic foundation of the dish and encourage improvisation of the details. That’s how I like my “seafood croquettes,” as my housemate calls them.
CHUB CAKES with Ferment Vegetables
+ Place fish in a mixing bowl, with all the juices. Don’t drain! That’s where the best oils are.
+ Mash the fish with egg and spices and a little bit of flour. I like dark buckwheat or corn. More egg/less flour for thin fritters, less egg/more flour for hearty burger-like cakes. Some folks like to add home-made mayonnaise or cream.
+ Season with ground nettles, black pepper, and diced onions.
+ Spoon mixtures into hot greased pan or on a greased baking sheet. Flip until golden on both sides and no egg runs out when pressed with a spatula.
+ I like making silver-dollar sized croquettes as an appetizer and serving with mustard or chipotle mayo and kimchi.
TEA-TIME SARDINES
This recipe is lovely for a quick lunch or snack, or even a light salad-oriented dinner, as you only need to assemble the various elements. I’ve even presented these nicely enough that guests accepted these as hors d’oeuvres.
+ Open several tins of sardines and slice sardines into quarter size portions.
+ Find a cracker variety you like (I’m a fan of Mary’s Gone Crackers) and arrange them on a plate.
+ Spread a dab of sour cream or creme fraiche on the cracker and place sardine snugly on top. Alternately, skip the sour cream/creme fraiche and instead lay the sardine on the cracker and sprinkle crumbly feta or queso blanco atop the fish.
+ Season with black pepper and sea salt to taste, top with thin slices of pickled lemon, and sprinkle chopped parsley and cilantro over the whole plate. Garnish with pickled vegetables and greens.
SALMON MELTS on Corn Tortillas
My feeling is that fresh salmon, if you aren’t going to eat it grilled or pan fried or baked, is delicious in a salmon salad with dill, but its perhaps a waste of fresh fish to eat it in a salmon melt. Canned salmon, however, is cheaper and already has a texture perfect for a burger or melt. I try to choose wild-caught salmon that’s darker in color, but of course that is more expensive, so I often settle for the pink instead of the red. This recipe makes two tortilla melts. (Do you live in New England? I love Mi Tierra tortillas).
+ Open a small can of salmon and do not drain. Empty the entire contents into a mixing bowl and mash with a fork.
+ Add minced parsley and green onions, black pepper, salt, paprika, and a pinch of cayenne. Mix well.
+ Add one tablespoon of homemade-mayo or an organic brand and mix thoroughly. I also like to mix a chipotle or Sriracha spicy mayo for this recipe.
+ Divide the mixture between two corn tortillas and top with a cheese of your choice (I love goat cheese here).
+ Pop in oven or toaster oven for 5-8 minutes depending on heat of your appliance.
+ Remove from oven, add fresh lettuce or other greens (chickweed?), fold like a taco, and enjoy.
Stay tuned for the next installment of How do I make that? Whole Foods Recipes on a Budget, Part II!
Morning Thunder (whose origins and recipe I previously wrote about) is a root tea mix with a great deal of healing properties: gut-healing, anti-inflammatory, 
diuretic, alterative, adaptogenic, stimulating but calming, liver supporting. I am not going to go into licorice, ginger, cacao, burdock, or cinnamon, as its highly likely I will cover those herbs at other times, and I’m just so darn excited to share some of the superpowers of these other herbal action heroes.
Chicory (Cichorium intybus)
Cultivated in ancient Egypt for food and medicine, chicory has long been a staple of coffee-like beverages for good reason (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/chicory-coffee-mix-new-orleans-made-own-comes-180949950/?no-ist). This wild abundant perennial has a long taproot which, when roasted, offers a rich flavor and texture, as well as inulin (a prebiotic polysaccharide), esculin, coumarins, flavanoids, and vitamins. Ethyl root extracts of chicory have been found to be antimicrobial against a variety of gram positive and gram negative bacteria, including Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhi.
The herb and nutrition markets have paid much attention to inulin. a starch-like polysaccharide used as energy reserve by many plants, including artichokes, salsify, and garlic. In the food industry, inulin has become multi-purpose, substituting as a low-glycemic diabetic-friendly sweetener in the place of sucrose, as a substitute for fat and flour, and as a soluble fiber. In my opinion, the place inulin is most visible on the market is as a pre-biotic additive to cultured dairy products. Research has show the ingesting moderate quantities of inulin can significantly and beneficially impact bifidobacteria in the intestine, which in turn can increase the body’s ability to absorb minerals like calcium. Professor Robert Wilson, a PhD in soil science and agronomy who has spent the past decade studying chicory at the University of Nebraska, notes that “the chemical bonds between these fructose units [in Chicory] are not digestible by digestive enzymes in the small intestine, but they are fermented by colonic bacteria.”
In the second century, Galen named chicory a “friend of the liver,” and subsequent herbalists and researchers have shown this bitter-flavored herb useful in treating jaundice, the flow of bile, and gallstones. Basal leaves, when young and tender in the spring, can be added to salads for minerals and that fresh bitter flavor — many cultures eat chicory leaves as a spring blood-cleansing tonic. Many edible cultivars have been developed over the centuries from wild chicory, including radicchio and Belgian endive.
My favorite thing about chicory is the particular blue of its flowers, which can often be found in abundance standing tall by the side of the road. Y’all probably know this, but just a reminder: when wild harvesting root or leaf, make sure, if possible, to find an area far from the road or industry, to ensure clean food and medicine.
He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum)
Sometimes you can tell an herb’s fame and celebrity from the sheer number of names it has earned: Fo-Ti, Mr. Wu’s Black Hair, Chinese Knotweed, Flowery Knotweed.
In the Chinese materia medica, He Shou Wu is a much-touted tonic. For more than 3,000 years, people have found this adaptogenic “elixir of life” to have a stimulating, warming, and fortifying effect on a variety of body and energetic systems. A cursory glance through any article on the subject with refer you to a host of stories featuring vigorous long-lived men who, although once susceptible to weakness and aging, experienced improved sexual vitality and hair turning from gray to black upon regular use of this herb.
Much research has examined the why and wherefore of this herb’s touted history. The root of this viney and knobby plant is rich in zinc and iron, increasing energy without being a stimulant, offering a calm focus and increased circulation, which may also be one reason is can support sexual function.
The unprocessed root of He Shou Wu is referred to as white Fo-Ti, is used to relax the bowels and detoxify the blood, can cause diarrhea, and should not be used as a tonic. The processed root, or red Fo-Ti, is made from being boiled in black bean liquid, and is considered superior tonic vitality medicine, energizing the kidneys and liver and strengthening the blood. Processed He Shou Wu contains protein-sugar complexes, lectins, which help to reduce lipids in the blood. Lectins are able to attach to specific arrangements of carbohydrates and act like antibodies, prevents the formation of vascular plaque, which in turns may prevent or delay heart disease.
Other research shows that Polygonum multiflorum has a significant impact on the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. SOD is a powerful endogenous antioxidant and free radical scavenger that has been shown to have beneficial effects in human conditions associated with aging. Studies show He Shou Wu to improve cardiovascular function, enhance immunity, slow glandular degeneration, increase antioxidant activity, reduce the accumulation of lipid peroxidation. strengthen the membranes of red blood cells, and induce human production of g-interferon.
Marshmallow (Althea officinalis)
Goopy, star
chy, sweet, marshmallow has long been used to soothe irritation in the mucous membranes, especially in the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and urinary tracts for hot and dry conditions. This demulcent quality lays a cooling film over hot and irritated tissues internally, allowing the other constituents time and access to the area to enact anti-inflammatory and immuno-modulating effects. Externally, the same soothing mucilage is considered emollient, soothing tissues irritated from wounds, burns, and a variety of dermatitis — some research has even found the herb to assist in the turnover of epithethial cells.
The immune-stimulating capacities of this herb in the aforementioned body systems have earned it a good reputation for respiratory infections (bronchitis, asthma, emphysema), gut conditions (ulcers and inflammatory bowel conditions), and urinary tract infections. Also helpful in renal issues is marshmallow’s ability to assist in balancing fluid/salt balance in the body, including dehydration and fluid retetion often indicated by frequent urination and thirst. The many compounds extracted from this root include pectins, starches, mono and di-saccharide sacchorose, mucilage, flavanoids, isoquercitrin, coumarins, phytosterols, tannins, asparagine, and many amino acids.
Research has confirmed the traditional uses for this herb, describing antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, demulcent, antitussive, and immunomodulating. With nearly 70% of the nervous system tissue occuring in the gut, this is herb is of particular us in gut inflammation or nervousness associated upset stomach, poor digestion, autoimmune digestive disorders, and mental health situations that seems to effect the gut. Immunologically, Marshmallow root appears to increase the rate at which Macrophage cells both kill and eat bacterial bodies, and neutrophils, which are recruited to the site of infection via the blood, also show increased phagocytic (cell eating!) activity.
Marshmallow is often paired with other herbs in formulas. My teacher, Paul Bergner, recommend for optimal get demulcent activity that Marshmallow root be combined with slippery elm, plantain, and licorice for acute inflammatory gut conditions.
The demulcent and emollient effects of this herb are best gained through water extraction. Hot water tends to pull out starches better, whereas cool water infusions draw the mucilage. Cold marshmallow infusions taste lightly sweetened and refreshing. Sometimes, I will infuse the marshmallow cold overnight, and then add that to the decocting process with the rest of my herb mix the next day.
White Peony Root (Paeonia lactiflora)
While peony is not as commonly used in the western herbal materia medicae, Japanese and Chinese medicine traditions both make frequent use of this herb in formulas. A particular formula made of peony and licorice, Shakuyaku-kanzo-to, has been studied for its efficacy in relieving muscle cramps relating to diabetes, dialysis, and cirrhosis of the liver, and has been approved by the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare for muscle spasm in these situations. Another Japanese formulation known as Toki-shakuyaku-san, a Japanese formula combining peony root with dong quai and several other herbs has been used effectively as an antispasmodic and analgesic in cases of dysmenorrhea.
When I studied at NAIMH, I learned to think of white peony root as a relaxant with particular affinity for the pelvis. The gentle nervine with anti-spasmodic qualities also can exert mild estrogenic effects make this herb idea for tying together formulas involving heat, inflammation, cramping, stagnancy, androgen dominance, and other gynecological, nervous, musculoskeletal, and gastrointestinal conditions. Animal studies suggest that peony extracts (which contain the unique glycoside paeoniflorin as well as proanthocyanidins, flavonoids, tannins, and polysaccharides) also elevate cognitive function, which has led researchers and herbalists to wonder about peony’s potential use in dementia.
Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera)
The study of fats has been a fascinating rollercoaster of science and food chemistry in the past half century. Recently, one of my family members called me on the phone to ask, “Do you know why my doctor told me to eat a tablespoon of coconut oil every day?” This isn’t a practice I’ve ever done myself or advised any of my clients to do, but I was intrigued.
Coconut oil, as you may have observed, has been making a comeback. In the dietary fat-phobic past several decades, all saturated fats were villainized as vessel-clogging harbingers of heart disease and early death, and we now know what we may have been intuiting all along: that the quality and origin of the fat is what matters most, not the saturation.
Coconut oil is higher in saturated fats than any other non-hydrogenated oil. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature, which makes them makes it stable, offering a long shelf-life that resists rancidity, which can contribute to cardiovascular oxidative stress. Partially or fully hydrogenated oils are not solid at room temperature, have undesirable ration of omegas 3, 6, and 9, and are much more likely to go rancid and produce oxidation — a process which produces free radicals, inflammation, and tissue damage — in the body.
Another particular characteristic of coconut oil is that it contains a high percentage of medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs. MCTs are between 6 and 12 carbons long, while LCTs, or long-chain triglycerides, are more than 12 carbons long. Our bodies metabolize MCTs differently from LCTs. MCTs travel directly from the intestine to the liver to be burned as fuel. This quick conversion of fats to energy elevates the metabolism slightly, avoids elevating blood serum lipid levels, and avoids depositing fats in storage tissues. MCTs are also thought to be more easily digested, help in the absorption of calcium, and are beneficial in digestive disorders, diabetes, viral infections such as mononucleosis and herpes. Many oils are made up of mostly or entirely long-chain triglycerides, such as soybean oil (100% LCTs), while coconut oil is heavier on the mediucm-chain triglycerides, approximately 40% LCTs and 60% MCTs.
The antimicrobial activity of coconut oil is particularly magical to me. The free fatty acids break down the lipid membranes of pathogens without harming the digestive membranes or beneficial gut bacteria. This prevents free radical damage, rather than causing it. Dr. Mary Enig, phD. and co-author of Nourishing Traditions along with Sally Fallon, has lectured widely on the benefits of coconut oil. (http://coconutoil.com/coconut_oil_21st_century/) She writes,
“Until now, no one in the mainstream nutrition community seems to have recognized the added potential of antimicrobial lipids in the treatment of HIV-infected or AIDS patients. These antimicrobial fatty acids and their derivatives are essentially nontoxic to man; they are produced in vivo by humans when they ingest those commonly available foods that contain adequate levels of medium-chain fatty acids such as lauric acid. According to the published research, lauric acid is one of the best “inactivating” fatty acids, and its monoglyceride is even more effective than the fatty acid alone [. . .] The lipid-coated (envelope) viruses are dependent on host lipids for their lipid constituents. The variability of fatty acids in the foods of individuals as well as the variability from de novo synthesis accounts for the variability of fatty acids in the virus envelope and also explains the variability of glycoprotein expression, a variability that makes vaccine development more difficult. Monolaurin does not appear to have an adverse effect on desirable gut bacteria, but rather on only potentially pathogenic microorganisms.”
So how could you take a tablespoon of coconut oil daily? If it sounds unappealing to you to spoon it right out of the jar into your mouth, stir your coconut oil into your Morning Thunder, drizzle it over your omelet, or spread it on your toast. Or write back with your favorite ways to take your coconut oil!
RESOURCES
http://weedscience.unl.edu/pdfarticles/2013ChicoryRW.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3108611/
http://www.itmonline.org/arts/peony.htm
http://coconutoil.com/coconut_oil_21st_century/#sthash.7PkGmG7R.dpuf
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/coconut-oil/
http://www.nutrition.org/asn-blog/2009/07/coconut-oil/
http://coconutoil.com/mary_enig/
http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/a-new-look-at-coconut-oil/
http://www.foodinsight.org/CoconutOilAndHealth
http://www.sphinxsai.com/2013/JulySept13/phPDF/PT=57%281378-1385%29JS13.pdf
http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/marshmallow
http://academicjournals.org/article/article1381316156_Shah.pdf
http://www.academicjournals.org/journal/JMPR/article-abstract/BD00EAD40178
http://herbal-diary.com/marsh-mallow-khatmi-gul-kheri-althea-rosea-athea-officinalis/
http://www.stemcellnutrition.net/he-shou-wu
https://www.hyperionherbs.com/benefits-of-he-shou-wu/
http://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/hn-2092003
For a while, during my studies at the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism, I lived with my friend at 7500 feet above sea level, in a tiny cabin perched on a shelf overlooking Left Hand Canyon, in the front range outside Boulder, Colorado.
It was a good way to learn about snow for a kid raised in the South. The fat flakes often fell gently and thickly for the better part of an afternoon, and in the morning the sun returned and melted the powdery stuff into unintimidating merengue poofs. Nothing like the terrifying ice sheet that lays in wait outside my current abode in southern Vermont, making plans in the night to deck me ingloriously.
But despite the sweet affability of Colorado snowfall, nothing prepared me for the cold. Not even our cleverly insulated passive solar post-and-beam cabin could keep the chill out. So what do two herbalists do when living under such conditions?
Of course. They experiment with morning beverages.
My pal (now purveyor of Take Care Herbals) was looking for something warming and stimulating to help wean off of coffee, and I was willing to drink just about anything that promised to make my red blood cells get a move on. Our original brew involved a base of roasted chicory, dried burdock, and cinnamon. Similar to Dandy Blend, if you’ve ever tried that good stuff.
My cabin-dwelling buddy dubbed our experimental breakfast brew “Morning Thunder,” which stuck. We have since added and taken away half a dozen herbs and spices, but it wasn’t until this winter — the mother of all freaking cold long winters, in my little life’s experience — that I really figured out a blend that not only satisfied my bitter-tolerant taste buds, but which my non-herbalist friends really seemed to dig.
BREW ME
Morning Thunder Tea Mix
Chicory Root (chopped, roasted) – 3 parts
Burdock Root (dried, chopped) – 3 parts
He Shou Wu (pounded) – 3 parts
Marshmallow Root (dried, chopped) – 2 parts
White Peony Root (pounded) – 2 parts
Cacao Nibs (roasted or raw) – 1 part
Cinnamon (pounded) – 1/2 part
Ginger Root (dried, chopped) – 1/2 part
Licorice Root (dried, chopped) – 1/2 part
Add 1 heaping tablespoon of tea mix to one quart of water in a small post, bring to a boil, and simmer for 20 minutes. While the tea roots brew, in a quart jar combine the following.
1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil
a dash of coconut or almond milk to taste
maple syrup, honey, or stevia extract to taste
1 tablespoon of hydrolyzed gelatin
When the tea is done simmering, ladle it through a strainer into the jar with the coconut oil and other ingredients. Stir until all ingredients are dissolved, pour into a mug and enjoy your morning.
I know the gelatin part might sound gross, but it has no taste or texture, and this is a freakin great way to get your daily dose of the stuff. Also, for all you perfectionists out there, none of this is a must, if you are out of one ingredient or another, or if you aren’t a fan of licorice, or cacao or he shou wu is too stimulating, or maybe you want to take the super warming ingredients like ginger and cinnamom out for a warm weather beverage. Maybe it’s obvious, but this is one of the beautiful thing about herbal medicine: it can be tweaked and arranged to suit the individual.
Stay tuned for next week’s writing on the material medica of Morning Thunder herbs!
I admit, there are times I’ve been a naughty daughter.
My lovely parents have visited me in every backwoods, hard-to-find, takes-ages-to-get-to location I’ve ever called home, and they even seemed to 
enjoy themselves. But several summers ago, when I was living in North Carolina nestled against some pretty blue mountains, I grew a big garden, herbs outnumbering vegetables 2:1. And as we were moseying through the chamomile, calendula, and spilanthes, what do you think I did?
Yeah, you guessed. I gave my folks each a big old spilanthes eyeball flower to chew on. My mom made a face that reminded me of Stimpy and said, “Something’s wrong with my mouth.” My dad gamely chewed the thing, because he’s a Taurus and one of the sturdiest people on earth. The tingling only lasts five minutes, folks, I’m not totally cruel.
This winter, I’ve been going through my apothecary bottles of spilanthes tincture as, one by one, the people around me fall prey to colds, flus, and an astounding number of instances of food poisoning. It’s been such a gnarly winter, my sweetheart has been asking for the spilanthes instead of only taking it when I push it, although maybe he’s not a good sample since he also adores brussel sprouts and organ meats (obviously we were made for each other).
But enough about me. Let’s talk about spilanthes.
ETHNOBOTANY & TRADITIONAL USE
60 species of spilanthes are endemic to tropical and subtropical regions from India to Brazil, with 6 different species used medicinally and Spilanthes acmella being one of the most studied species in this genus, which is in the Aster Family. Literature on a variety of traditional medicine practices shows centuries of cultivation of the spilanthes genus for horticultural, medicinal, insecticidal, and culinary purp
oses.
This plant is small and hardy, with bulls-eye pattern flower heads that have no ray petals, giving it common folk names that include “spot plant” and “eyeball plant,” in addition to function-indicating “toothache plant” and the curious “pricklebloom.” Ethnobotanists have compiled centuries-old practices involving this plant, including as a vulnerary in Ethiopia, a silagogue in Nigeria and Sri Lanka, mouth ulcers in India, labor induction in Uganda, and menstrual regulation in China.
There are a lot of products on the market that incorporate spilanthes or constituents derived from the plant, most of which relate to pain and oral care, such as for tooth and gum infections, swelling, and periodontosis. HerbPharm sells an oral health tonic, anti-fungal compound, and another topical compound containing Spilanthes acmella, while Dentaforce sells mouth spray for periodontal disease a
nd gingivitis, as well as a mouthwash and an aftershave.
Check out this table of ethnobotanical research on spilanthes from the Hindawi research journal.
ACTIONS & ENERGETICS
Traditional medicine practices understood how to use this plant medicine through its energetic actions. When tasted or drunk as tea, one can immediately understand the aromatic nature of this plant. Spilanthes is one of the essential-oil heavy genera belonging to the family Asteraceae, with components including caryophyllene, limonene, and myrcene. This aromatic aspect along with the herb’s acrid constituents produces tingling, numbing, and saliva (which is why its known as a sialogogue). The spilanthol-induced tingling of the tongue can be unpleasant (as my folks learned), but the leaves may be eaten as vegetable when cooked, as some of the more intense flavor seeps out.
Spilanthes is also warming, stimulating, and diffusive, causing fluids to move through tissues and systems. These energetics likely contribute to the known actions of spilanthes: analgesic, anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, antifungal, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, and immune-stimulating.
Check out this cool table on the phytochemical makeup of various spilanthes species.
MODERN USAGE & CURRENT RESEARCH
Below is a (by no means exhaustive) list of some of the most common ways that this herb is used. I’ve included some research, the links to which are listed at the end of this article.
Check out this table of spilanthes’ pharmacological actions from the Hindawi research journal.
ON PLANT SYNERGY & HIP RESEARCHERS
Much of the current research on spilanthes comes from India, and some of the papers I reviewed contained very smart things to say about not depending on technology-dependent single-constituent extracts for healing purposes, or human longevity in general.
There are five constituent groups that are thought to be responsible for a lot of the activity in the Spilanthes genus: alkamides, coumarins, flavonoids, terpenoids, and polysaccharides. While pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies are wont to used isolated compounds commercially, the research suggests that Spilanthes extract is superior in action to isolated compounds, likely due pharmacokinetic potentiation or pharmacodynamic enhancement. These are fancy ways of saying synergy, or results which manifest when small molecules interact and even depend on each other to create a substantive (and magical, lets face it) effect.
It’s sort of a no-brainer for a lot of folks versed in integrative or constitutional medicine, but the researchers spell it out: Ingestion of a plant extract is nearly always going to act on multiple pathways in the body. And, the scientists point out, this indicates that an herb is more than the sum of its parts — also a pretty darn familiar concept in integrative and holistic healing practices. But its nice of the scientists to say so, along with the suggestion that this sort of rather pharmacodynamic synergism suggests that herbal medicines have something special to offer.
TAKING THE MEDICINE
I most often use spilanthes in the form of tincture, as the prospect of drinking a whole cup of the tea gives me full-body willies. For topical wound and rash care, a water infusion is perfectly fine, though; I imagine a rubbing alcohol-based extract might be a nice liniment as well. I’ve yet to try spilanthes in a salve, and while it seems like it could be effect given its antibacterial actions, none of the research and few of the traditional preparations suggest spilanthes to be effective in an oil-based extract.
My favorite winter acute cold-and-flu combo is an ethanol tincture with 3 parts spilanthes to 1 part red root (Ceanothus americanus). The antimicrobial and macrophage mobilizing actions of spilanthes combine with the powers of red root’s lymphatic stimulation to catalyze superhero-like immune action. For a serious cold, I usually take 30-60 drops every two hours.
Before I sign off, I’d just like to encourage budding and experienced gardeners alike to have a whirl at growing this charming plant, if you haven’t yet. This creature of tropical origins does very well in temperate climate and thrives under multiple harvests. This year, I’ll probably only put six or eight plants in a raised bed. Once it starts flowering, I’ll do a “haircut” harvest of the flowers and top leaves once or twice a week. Some folks tincture the whole plant, in which case, you’ll still want to deadhead the flower to allow the plants to bush out before you pull the whole thing out of the ground.
I welcome any stories or perspectives on this tingly plant ally. Thanks for reading!
SOURCES
Pavani Manupati et.al. Preliminary Phytochemical Investigation of Ethyl Acetate Extracts of Leaves of Three Indian Medicinal Plants: Spilanthes calva, Declpis hamiltonii, and Madhuca longifolia. Department of Pharmacology. September 2014. http://www.ijipsr.com/sites/default/files/articles/IJIPSRMNR-145.pdf
Suchita Dubey,et al. Phytochemistry, Pharmacology and Toxicology of Spilanthes acmlla: A Review. Advances in Pharmacological Sciences.Volume 2013 (2013). http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/423750
Jayaraj Paulraj et al. The Genus Spilanthes Ethnopharmacology, Phytochemistry, and Pharmacological Properties: A Review. Advances in Pharmacological Sciences. Volume 2013 (2013), Article ID 510298, http://www.hindawi.com/journals/aps/2013/510298/
Once, far north in woods filled with birch and hemlock, a wild-haired hobbit-ish creature lived in a four-story wooden tower on five acres at the end of a dirt road, with her Pooh-like book-keeping roommate and also a stray lioness who one day wandered into the aforementioned hobbit’s bed and shed all manner of cat hair. And while all appeared pretty freaking magical most days —
IT WOULD NOT STOP SNOWING. And whoever built the wooden tower in those far north woods thought it would be a great idea to have the ONLY heat source in the tower be dependent upon electricity, which meant that every time another dead branch fell on a powerline, the hobbit and book-keeper and lioness trudged through the snow over the mountain to their friends’ house on the hill, whose the gas stove didn’t depend on the grid to spit out its little licks of heat.
Okay, I’ll stop. You get it. I’m so sick of winter! So, of course, I’m trying to cook my way through it, and I just thought I’d share three recipes that have been really saving my insulated-Carhartt-clad booty. Because, sometimes, like true beauty, warmth is an internal experience.
FIRE CIDER
This has become an old standby on my kitchen shelf, so this year I just went ahead and made a half-gallon of it, as the book-keeper and the lioness really like to dip their spoons into this spicy brew. I first learned to make fire cider in southern Appalachia, where it doesn’t snow nearly as much, though a winter wind is still liable to cut right through you. Folks down there also call it “Cyclone Cider” and tell me that during the infusion process sometimes they’ll bury the whole jar in the ground for two or three weeks, biodynamic-style.
The gist of this recipe is that you pack a jar full of chopped spicy anti-microbial immune-boosting vegetables, cover them with raw apple cider vinegar, and let the brew sit for two to four weeks, shaking it now and again. This folk recipe can change according to what you have growing around you, but the standard ingredients include raw chopped onions, garlic, ginger, horseradish, hot peppers, and parsley. I also love to add turmeric root fresh or dried, burdock root, and fresh rosemary. Traditional Unani-Tibb (which means “Greek medicine” in Arabic) would call many of these herbs “warming in the 4th degree,” which is one reason they are very useful for sluggish winter circulation. The flavanoids and other antioxidants in these vegetables, including vitamin C, allicin, and quercetin, all provide protection against oxidative stress, and many of these have been linked to gut health, which is useful since integrative health practitioners and granny healers alike will tell you up and down that the gut is the seat of healing.
Some folks like to take tablespoons of Fire Cider in their salad dressing, while others can take straight shots of it, which is not for the faint of heart or those equipped with bland palates. I myself like to mix my twice-a-day tablespoon with a bit of honey infused with spilanthes flowers (a truly magical immune herb which I plant to wax all sorts of poetic over in a future blog post!). A word of warning: always take your Fire Cider at meals, rather than on an empty stomach. Once, while traveling in Guatemala, I experienced a solid week of nausea in the mornings and feared I was somehow divinely with child, until I realized I was taking my spoonful of Fire Cider on an empty stomach. Remember, this stuff is hot in the 4th degree!
GINGER ELDER SYRUP
Those of you herbal geeks probably know that Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis or nigra) has received all manner of attention in recent years due to its anti-viral potential in relation to virulant flu strains. Elderberry is a rich purple-black berry that grows in clustery crowns and are just as fragrant as the delicate white elder flowers they arise from. Researchers posit that the anthocyanin flavanoids, can be detected in blood plasma after taking elderberry extract by mouth, are helpful in the case of flu on several counts. Elder anthocyanins can stimulate the immune system’s production of cytokines by monocytes, and these flavanoids may also have an anti-inflammatory effect which helps sooth the ache and fever of viral infections. Other research has shown that elderberry prevents the flu virus from adhering to cell receptors.
Plus it just tastes good. When I last put a big pot of elderberry on the stove to simmer, the book-keeper and the lioness appear from the far reaches of the tower, sniffing the air. Since elder trees seem to ripen at different times, and since the time of year (late summer) during which to harvest elderberries is so darn busy, I’ve found it easiest to dry the berries as they become ready and then make batches of syrup as needed throughout the season.
So how to work the magic? You’ll need:
3/4 cup dried elderberry
3 3/4 cups water
2 tablespoons raw chopped ginger
1 cup raw honey
Bring the elderberries to boil in a large pot, and then reduce the heat to a simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the fluid is reduced by half. Remove from heat and allow to cool until you can strain the berries out without burning your fingers. When lukewarm, stir honey into the remaining liquid and mix until thoroughly dissolved. I pour my syrups into an old salad dressing or bourbon bottle, and I store it in the refrigerator. It lasts for months, unless the lioness gets into it.
SAVORY WINTER OATS
When its still dark outside, and the floor is so cold on my feet, and I have to get up early to do something like haul wood pellets up two flights of stairs to stoke the stove, I could really use some fortification. Savory oats is the closest I have been able to come to eating macaroni and cheese for breakfast, and on these cold mornings fortification coincides happily with comfort food.
I prefer steel-cut oats for their texture, and even when I use rolled oats, I like to soak them overnight, if I can remember to do it, along with some walnuts, slivered almonds, and/or pumpkin seeds, for extra protein and to release some of that pesky phytic acid. If you’d like to add seaweed and it’s not ground finely, its nice to soak that overnight too, but in a separate container, because you don’t want to lose the good stuff in the seaweed. I know this seems basic, but remember to strain out the water from the soaking water from the oats, because you want to let that stuff go.
To keep the texture of the oats lovely, bring fresh water to boil before adding the strained oats, nuts, and seeds. If you’re using ground seaweed, this is the time to add a tablespoon or so. If you’ve soaked larger pieces of seaweed, you can toss those and their water into the pot with the oats. Once the oats have cooked to the desired consistency, remove from the heat and add any or all of the following: grass-fed butter or coconut oil, miso, black pepper, and nutritional yeast. Sometimes I ever grate a little carrot into the mix.
I could write reams about the benefits of pumpkin seeds (your prostate!) or seaweed (your everything!), but really I just want to tell you about oats, Avena. About their nervous-system nourishing, gut-soothing honesty, the uncomplicated kindness that a field of oats lends to does bedding down with new spring fawns, the juicy sexy seed that can work slow and steady wonders to a taxed adrenal system. Besides being packed full of minerals, Avena contains alkaloids that research suggests exert calming and restorative effect on the central nervous system. I find it immensely comforting that such powerful medicine can be had from such a humble plant.
Once, I gave a workshop to a room full of homestead-minded middle-aged ladies, and what do you think their favorite recipe was they tasted that day? Not the luscious damiana-and-rosemary-infused chocolate, not the rich bone broth or the rose petal honey. Nope. The oatmeal, that warm goopy old morning standby, all spruced-up. They loved it. Serious.
There comes a time — mid-January, maybe February — when the thought of dragging your long underwear on becomes unbearable, and there aren’t enough words in the English language to express your gripes with the season: stiff, stircrazy, sun-starved, sniffly, impossibly pasty and cold. You don’t want your partner to put her cold hands on you in bed, and if your nephew sneezes great globs of mucus all over your good wool coat one more time, you’ll quit your job and retire to somewhere where no one sells wool anyway.
I happen to know that places like that do exist, because I come from one, and so of course this post is particularly written for all of you who grew up in a climate where no one could fathom a use for “long underwear.”
What I have learned since moving to this frigid region is that, while many folks develop a grin-and-bear-it attitude to this gray and immobilizing season, what they often fail to share are the secret recipes that get them through the slush and sleet. Yup, that’s right: you can cook and herbally medicate your way through the most miserable of winters.
Foods and herbs that support circulation, stress, immunity, and energy levels can be invaluable allies in preserving your intimate relationships when you’re once again marooned at home by the prevailing Nor’easter. What have many cold-weathering traditional peoples long known about surviving harsh conditions? That seal blubber is medicinal (the sheer amounts of Vitamin D!), but there also exist myriad other foods and herbs that can please your palate and help maintain your vitality in the bluster. If you looked in the mirror this morning and barely recognize your papery wintery self, check out the herbs and recipes below for some ideas about keeping the internal fires steady when the season begins to drag.
Reishi
Maybe you are one of my friends who thinks that eating something known as a “Shelf Mushroom” is perfectly normal, or maybe you’re more like my mama, who is pretty sure that eating something gathered off a tree in the forest is the grossest thing since the invention of toddlers who throw up directly into your hands (my brother was really good at this).
However, when you consider the fact that that the 20th century’s most powerful antibiotics come from fungi (penicillin, streptomycine, and tetracycline), perhaps it makes sense that Reishi could be one of your biggest allies when it comes to cold and flu season. If your immune system is one of your foremost concerns, then some preparation of Ganoderma (encapsulated powder, liquid extract, tea) should be within your regular reach.
Reishi has so many names! In Chinese medicine it is called Lingzhi and “the mushroom of immortality). The name Reishi also encompasses two different Ganoderma species, Ganoderma lucidum, which grows on hardwoods, or Ganoderma tsugae, which grows on conifers like Hemlocks, and this is the species most well-known and studied from its use in traditional Asian medicine systems. Artist’s Conch (Ganoderma applanatum) may be used similarly. These shelf mushrooms are hard and woody, and I do not recommend taking a bite out of one uncooked, unless you have some amount of termite DNA.
The Ganoderma mushrooms (and other medicinal mushrooms as well, such as Turkey Tail, Trametes versicolor, or Shiitake, Lentinula edodes) are famous for the chemical compounds known as beta glucans, which are made up of polysaccharides, glycoproteins, triterpenoids, and ergosterols (which are compounds similar to steroids and create vitamin D from exposure to sunlight). Research has shown these constituents to increase the quantities and activity of T and B lymphocytes, natural killer, and macrophages. While much of the current research around Ganodermas is focusing on anti-tumor and cancer-inhibiting activity, Reishi and its ilk are essential components of your winter medicine cabinet.
So how do you get the stuff down? Many of the active compounds are water soluable, but I myself don’t care for the flavor of Reishi tea. I recommend encapsulated powders, or liquid extracts that use a process to ensure extraction of the polysaccharides. Reishi is considered a tonic herb, safe for long-term use, although folks with liver disease or autoimmune conditions might check with the health provider before adding it to their daily regimen.
St. John’s Wort
I find it far more difficult to maintain my pep when the sky remains that gunmetal gloom and the sidewalks feel more like gauntlets than pedestrian-safe zones. Its hard to stay positive in winter, and no one should feel bad about that.
The past decade has seen a LOT of research on St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) and a lot of investigation as to the quality of St. John’s Wort products on the market. Please, friends, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater! St. John’s Wort (or as my sweetheart likes to say, “St. Joan’s Wort” — I like to use these interchangeably) has been used for millennia to treat nervous conditions, and I don’t just mean of the Victorian variety. St. Joan’s Wort could be shore up your resilience when it comes to the wintertime blues.
St. Joan’s Wort is a vigorous plant whose small brilliant yellow flowers prefer full fields of sun – the herb came by its name on account of its tending to flower around the summer solstice (St. John’s Day, according to the British Empire). A fun fact: If you hold the leaves of Hypericum perforatum up to the light, you can see little speckled perforations. One of my favorite things about this herbs is that the tea or oil made from fresh or dried plants comes out an unbelievable scarlet.
Researchers seem to think that it’s most active ingredients, hypericin and hyperforin, act on the nervous and immune systems, which are both targets for those of us dealing with our winter issues. Aforementioned researchers also believe that St. Joan’s Wort combats mild depressive states similarly to pharmaceutical SSRIs, in that it inhibits reuptake of noradrenaline, seratonin, and dopamine, allowing these happiness hormones to circulate longer in the body.
So what’s the catch? Well, I already talked about unscrupulous companies sell false St. John’s Wort products on the market. (Easy solution: find scrupulous herbal medicine manufacturers, like Gaia Herbs or HerbPharm.)
Also, hyperforin has been found to activate the enzymatic P450 pathway, which causes certain medications to be metabolized quicker. This is not great if you’re taking medications that need to be circulated in certain levels in your body, so definitely check with your provider about adjusting dosages of medications or St. Joan’s Wort.
Another effect of St. Joan’s Wort is photosensitivity — hypericin has proved effective in photodynamic therapy against cancer and against HIV in stored blood. Ew. Wait, there’s more: cows grazing in fields where St. John’s Wort is prevalent have been known to get sunburned! So maybe St. Joan’s Wort is not the thing to be taking regularly while vacationing in the Caribbean, but for those of us bundled and sun-starved, St. John’s Wort could be how you get more rays into your days.
St. John’s Wort oil is fabulous for healing burns and diminishing scar tissue, and it’s great for massage if you’re dealing with edema. If you’re looking to take it internally and you’re good at slugging your medicine back, find a trustworthy source (see above!) of encapsulated or tinctured St. John’s Wort. I myself enjoy drinking this aromatic herb as tea — for an uplifting blend, combine St. John’s Wort with calendula, damiana, and lemon balm.
Rosemary
They say that a shrub of rosemary growing by the door allows only love to enter. This has not been my experience per se, but I do know that when I liberally lace my chicken-and-dumpling soup with rosemary leaves, I find that I thaw myself out enough from the cold weather to entice my sweetheart towards the bedroom.
That’s what rosemary is really known for: getting the blood moving. Considered a stimulant, this herb increases circulation to all parts of the body and especially to the brain, which is maybe how it came to be known in Shakespeare’s time by Hamlet’s Ophelia: “There’s Rosemary, that’s for remembrance.” This circulatory stimulation can help with cold hands and feet, mental clarity, energy, and mood. Although this is not a strictly winter usage, I myself love rosemary hair oil for the moisture and shine it brings.
Chemically speaking, aromatic plants like rosemary contain volatile oils; the volatility circulates the aromas to those of us with the scent receptors to receive them, and these oils quickly evaporate into the surroundings. The flavanoid known as diosin has been found to increase assist in strengthening fragile capillaries, while a combination of the constituents have been shown to increase blood flow through the coronary artery. rosmarinic acid and other of the plants antioxidants have long been used in food preservation, while a whole host of the plant’s constituents display antimicrobial actions.
You know what would be great for a bout of winter congestion? A hot steam with a few drop of the essential oils of rosemary, tea tree, and eucalyptus. (And, ok, ok, my sweetheart say that, ethically, I have to mention the neti pot too. It really does work wonders.)
This small wood shrub is in the mint family, bears an unmistakable aroma, and boasts small blue flowers, which are just darling (truly!). In many climates it grows perennially, but I know some gardeners who keep their rosemary in pots in order to bring the fragrant creatures indoors come heavy cold.
So what are you going to go do right now? Add some rosemary to your above-mentioned tea blend, rub it all over the meat you’re marinating for dinner, and toss an extra handful into that chicken stock you’re putting up for later. Really, folks, its difficult to have too much of this herbs in your lives.
Stay Tuned!
If you’re hungry for more homestyle ways to nourish your way through winter, check back later for my upcoming post on sweet and savory recipes for battling back the chill!