Souper Simple Miso for a Taste of Spring

GARDEN PERGOLA FEBRUARY 25, 2015 

Still cold on the mountain, spring is just around the corner, right?  I love this bit of pause before the sap runs, the pot holes get deeper, my dog Plato starts shedding everywhere and mud season is in full swing.  Days are getting longer, the snow blanket takes on softer look as it gets ready to melt and flow and we are all eagerly awaiting the absolute bliss of robins prancing and poplar tree buds peeking in out lime green glory heralding  a new beginning.  I am getting ready to host two very special Seasonal Sunday workshops in March with two amazing women Joann Darling of Garden of the Seven Gables and Sandra Lory of Mandala Botanicals.  Tree Medicineon March 8 and Spring Zing on March 22nd 10-4pm. Please join us by registering here.

A great time to make a plan for a simple cleanse, or a wake up your liver week to get the energy we all need moving into outdoor glee and clean up soon. How to start simple?  I love to make a soup like this miso sans tofu, which is traditional to miso but not my tastebuds and loaded with onions, parsley and scallions, wonderful de-toxifiers and cleansers. I also steam more veggies and tend saute with water more than fat, add more bitter greens into my diet and drink lots of liquids..warm water with lemon, simple teas and go light on alcohol. 

FOR my recipe today,  I use South River MISO and highly recommend this particular brand if you can find it. I always add some kind of sea veggie to my Miso soups and the best ones I have found are from SEAWEEDMAN.com.  Larch Hansen who harvests the seaweed in Maine has wonderful recipes on his website too.  Super minerals for cleansing and boosting cellular deficiencies. I also think the parsley and scallions make this soup a winner - the combined flavors with the thyme, onion and sea veggies leave you wanting more.  Enjoy this soup with a light mixed herb and baby spinach salad adding some gorgonzola crumbles and avocado nuggets. 

A great lunch to savor while taking a little pause dreaming of garden glory and the blessings of the green.

Stay Warm out there!  

Hugs all around.. Marie

SIMPLE & SUPER MISO  SOUP 
YOU WILL NEED: 

4 large onions, thinly sliced or chopped2 tablespoons  Sweet-Tasting Brown Rice Miso  2 tablespoons of any other kind of MISO (Using two varieties is optional. Use a total of 4 tablespoons of miso.) 1 quart water Coconut Oil- 2 TBSP Pinch of sea salt Pinch of dried thyme

4 inches of Kelp (seaweedman.com) Chopped parsley and scallion

LETS GET TO IT: 1. Heat coconut oil in heavy soup pot and add onions with pinchof sea salt and dried thyme. 2. Sauté on medium flame for 1-2 minutes, then reduce to low flame. 3. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.  4. Add water, simmer for 20 more minutes then bring to boil over high heat. 
5. In a small bowl blend miso with 1/2 cup liquid from pot. Turn offheat and add diluted miso. 6. Season to taste by adding more miso or sea salt. Serve garnishedwith fresh parsley and scallions.

FUN Worksite Wellness Workshops - Inquire for Roster

Pine Needle Tea for Vitamin C!

Enjoying the Benefits of Tree Medicine

January Deep Freeze here in New England! A great time to take a stroll (or snowshoe)  to your nearest White Pine tree for everything you need to made a delicious cup of tea! Pine needle tea benefits are many and many of us here in New England have this medicinal powerhouse growing right outside our door.  It has more vitamin C than 5 large lemons, makes a lovely mild tasting tea full of Vitamin A and K, helps clear the lungs as a tea or steam and actually helps form collagen!  The color when steeped for 20 minutes can be a light to deep red color.  It will still be good the next day too if you put extra amounts in a tight fitting jar and place in the fridge.

How do you tell which one is white pine? Take a branch and look at each node you will find a tuft of 5 needles at each node.  I usually cut a small branch giving me up to 4 tufts of 5 needles each, plenty to make a delicious batch of tea for two or a pot of aromatic steam for clearing your sinus and mucus build up in the thick of a cold.  I hope you have a chance to try this - really fun to do with kids too.
May the rest of your winter be full of healthy red cheeks in from the cold with a glow to warm up with a cuppa Pine Needle Tea.


Stay Warm and Be Well,
Big Heart Greetings to you,

Marie

HOW TO BREW PINE NEEDLE TEA

Bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a stainless steel saucepan. Break apart the pine needles with your fingers and cut them up in small pieces. Add the pine needles and turn off the burner after 3-4 minutes. Let steep around 10-15 minutes. When at least 5 minutes has passed, stir in honey if you like to sweeten. Honey has the added benefit of helping with sore throats and is also a mild antibiotic. Strain into a mug and enjoy. (Not recommended for pregnant women)

  

 If this recipe inspires you to run outside and collect pine needles, AND you live near or in Vermont, YOU are invited to join us to learn way more TREE MEDICINE with 3 Naturalist Vermonters  here at my home on March 8, a third in a series of Seasonal Sunday retreats for health and well being.

A TREE MEDICINE WORKSHOP MARCH 8

Snowshoe with us to explore the woodland, connect to certain trees and identify medicine for health, healing and soul food. We will make, taste and try salves, teas, tonics and more. Join Hosts Marie Frohlich, Joann Darling along with Sandra Lory on March 8, 2015 10-4  Learn more and register here

Marie is a certified health coach and herbalist - available to you for workplace wellness workshops, individual and group health coaching, designing special health and wellness retreats and consultations for health and herbal support. She also offers free half-hour health consultations to explore engaging your own personal health coach for 1-3 or 6 month programs.  Contact her here

Viva La YOU and a New Years Treat: Rhubarb-Pear Crisp

Viva La YOU!  

I am creating a personal protocol for 2015 and I am really jazzed to map it out for body, mind and soul. I love sharing these ideas and rituals - perhaps one or more will resonate with you.

My New Year's Recipe!   A Perfect Rhubarb-Pear Crisp.. so easy to make, and so delicious with Maple syrup, dates, ginger .. a super food dessert for love.  See below. May your New Year be full of adventure, creative joy and love and seriously good health.

You are Invited to Our  Viva La YOU workshop on January 25th here at my home from 10-4pm.  We will make our own shampoos, facial creams, body butters and more - all for you to take home.  Self-care is health care and such a gift to your soul, bring your mom, your daughter your best friend but register soon as space is limited.  More events coming up can be found here.

My Personal Protocol and Other Ideas
Body! Food!
My partner in health, Dorothy Reilly, sent me a spectacular book on a Perfect Health Diet (PHD).. paleo perfect to try.. and specifically,  to look at how certain foods can effect our brain, and other amazing tidbits, such as foods one should not to eat with alcohol and in general, a deeper understanding of the metabolic process when eating legumes, grains and veggies.

As a health coach, I know synergies of foods but I also know Nutrition is a very young science and there is so much yet to learn about adapting to the food culture we live in and staying healthy to boot.  I highly recommend this 'PHD' read by Paul and Shou-Ching Jaminet, a team of health researchers and a molecular biologist.

Body! Exercise!
Buddy exercise is more like it.  I had a dear friend ask if she could make a proposition with me today and we are meeting this week to map out a calendar to exercise together!  We are both going to be mother of the brides next year and beyond wanting to look good in a dress for the most special of occasions, we both want to feel stronger and more flexible in our lives and make that sustainable by being accountable to each other.  Buddies Rock!  Another partner in health to add to my personal protocol team.

Mind! GOALS.
January is a good time to assess ones diet and set goals.  Andrea Reisen, an amazing herbalist and healer does a vision board party every year with friends and family.  IT is a fun exercise, using cutouts from old magazines and calendars, etc. to cut and paste into a collage highlighting intentions and desired manifestations.  Setting down goals on paper works too... saying it out loud helps too. :)

Spirit Love!
I recently discovered the Herbal Tarot Deck - divination tool for channeling your higher good.  Prayer can do the same thing.. but this gives wonderful specific protocols  It helps me tune in to what herbs will work best for me over the coming year.  I also make a special flower essence for each season and test my various flower essences for what I need most- a fortifying spiritual medicine.  We will make tree essences together during the Tree Medicine workshop here in early March.

Happy New Year!
Follow your intuition.. you are your best medicine. With so much change and shifting in the world on so many levels, it is truly time to take care of ourselves - and put the pieces we left out there back, to be whole again.. to be " brave and inspired for 2015" a great quote from my friend Donna Winston.

A RHUBARB-PEAR CRISP

FOOD FACTS:  Pears, like apples help improve insulin sensitivity and are full of fiber for colon health- huge bioflavonoids. Rhubarb huge for metabolism, packed full of minerals and vitamins and is known to help prevent alzhiemers disease due to the Vitamin K content.  The ginger added to this recipe is anti-inflammatory and supports circulation.   It is a lovely combination of tastes and flavors too.  When I made it over the holidays last week.. the pan was empty within the hour.  Not always the case in my house.  ENJOY!

You will need:

       4 medium Bartlett pears or cooking apples (such as Rome, Braeburn, or Jonathan), cored and thinly sliced


       2 cups sliced fresh rhubarb or frozen unsweetened sliced rhubarb*


       1/4 cup all-purpose flour or gluten free flour from Bob’s Redmill. I sometimes add a teaspoon of adaptogen powders to my desserts.. astragalus, ashwaghanda or Maca would be great in this recipe.  Stay tuned for my adaptogenic blog next month.

       1/8 cup Maple Syrup diluted with 1/8 cup water or use ¼ cup honey instead.

       2 tablespoons cranberry juice or apple juice or cider

       1 -1/4 cup granola with nuts of choice

       2 tablespoons butter, melted


       1 tablespoon honey
infused or sprinkled with 1/4/ tsp dry ginger

             

Your choice of topping.  I used vanilla ice cream, but I can see this pearing well with Cheddar Cheese and or a whipped cream flavored with maple syrup.

Let’s do it:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine pears or apples, rhubarb, and flour. Add the 1/4 cup maple water or  honey and juice; toss gently to coat. Transfer fruit mixture to a 2-quart square baking dish. Cover and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or just until pears or apples are tender.

Meanwhile, for topping:

1. In a medium bowl, combine granola and nuts. Add butter and the 1 tablespoon ginger honey; toss to coat. Sprinkle over partially baked fruit mixture. Bake, uncovered, about 10 minutes more or until fruit is very tender and topping is lightly browned.

2. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Serve warm. Top with your desired dessert topping. Makes 9 (2/3-cup) servings.

Note:  
If using frozen rhubarb, measure  and cut while still frozen. Allow rhubarb to thaw in a large bowl about 1 hour or until the fruit is partially thawed but still icy; do not drain rhubarb. Continue as directed.

Adapted from http://www.recipe.com/pear-rhubarb-crisp/

Schedule A free Tele-half hour with me to go over your health history in January. Available  for the first 10 people who email me.  It's fun, informative and you may want to venture into having your very own coach for the new year.  Food and Herbs as medicine wellness workshops available for 2015 too. Email
 In Health and Hugs, Marie