I’m always looking for new ways to use the strained dregs of my home-made almond milk. This was a really successful kitchen experiment, particularly if you like a chewy macaroon without too much sweetness. The subtle flavour of the almond and coconut really shine while the chocolate and dried cherries add an irresistible decadence. They’re…
Incorporating Herbs into Daily Life: Herbal Soups, Broths and Porridge
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the word for herbal tea and the word for soup are the same: tang. This isn’t surprising since the herbal decoctions of that system of medicine are indeed quite thick, heavy and broth-like when they aren’t being cooked directly into meat or water-based soups or rice porridge – both of which…
Awesome Indian-Style Veggies and Grains
As so often happens, the recipe I ended up making was nothing like the one I’d initially planned on. For starters there isn’t even any pineapple in it and the point of the exercise when I began was to use some of the pineapple that’s ready on the kitchen counter. But it’s a good thing…
Quinoa-Bean Burgers (and Variations)
I’ve been dithering about whether on not to post this recipe for a few days now. It’s good, it’s reliable, but it isn’t fabulous. It is quick to put together and freezes well. It does use up leftovers. But what really tipped the scales in favour of posting is that it illustrates a basic veggie-burger…
Herbal Stimulants Part 3: Crazy Caffeination – Guarana & Kola Nut
To close the section on caffeine-containing herbal stimulants, we’ll look at the powerhouses of caffeination best used on a very occasional basis. These are the herbs that you take out when life offers you no choice but to pull an all-nighter or a fifteen hour day behind the wheel. These are the legal solution when…
Banana-Date-Pinto Bean Cookies (don’t knock’em ’til you try’em)
While I haven’t forgotten about the last installment of the articles on caffeine-containing herbs, I have had to temporarily put it on hold in order to prepare the cooking classes that I’ve been giving in the local community of late. This week’s class is on cooking with beans, above and beyond the pea soup and…
Herbal Stimulants Part 2: Other Caffeine-Containing Herbs – Tea, Maté & Cacao
Although coffee is the best known and doubtless one of the most popular of the caffeine-containing botanicals, it isn’t the only contributor. Many other plants have caffeine in their compositions, most of which are consumed for both medicinal and recreational reasons in the regions from which they hail. Nowadays in the global village, most are…
Herbal Stimulants Part 1: Coffee and Coffee Alternatives
When a client comes to consult for the first time and I ask for a dietary profile, more often than not the first thing I hear is, ‘’I’m not giving up my coffee.’’ People are personal about their coffee and there’s an assumption that the first thing an herbalist is going to do is ban…
Roasted Mushroom & Fennel Soup (and a short rant on making and using medicinal mushroom broth)
If your interest is the rant on mushroom broth, then fast-forward yourself past the soup recipe. With regards to the soup recipe, it’s what happened when I wanted something decadent but healthy; healing without tasting ”herb-y” (or like something out of a seventies bean cook-book). I also wanted to clean out what was left in…
Herbal Candy – Techniques and Uses
Disclaimer: the following information is provided purely as brain candy to the herbal geek. Consult with a skilled herbalist prior to taking any plant-based medicine since it’s just that – medicine. Herbal candies are a wonderful way to make herbs something to look forward to and an easy way to get medicine into picky eaters and children. …
Riced Cauliflower Salad
When you’re home alone with the baby (or if you’re the only one in the house that eats vegetables), then a full head of cauliflower is a lot to get through. This salad is what happened as a result of wanting to save half a head of the stuff from certain doom as a compost…
Making an Awesome Herbal Oil
In the article on Topical Herbal Preparations, I promised that there would be a detailed account of how to make really amazing herbal oils; so here we are. In Western Herbalism, herbal oil on its own is usually used to rub into sore muscles, to hydrate and/or repair the skin, or as a surface pack…
Crunchy Cooking 