1/28/2011
Really delicious turnip soup recipe
Two turnips
One carrot
One or two shallots depending on their size
Two sprigs of thyme and two peppercorns in a bouquet garni
Cover with chicken stock
Generously sea salt
Boil until soft, about 15 minutes, with a lid. Remove bouquet garni and puree with a clove of garlic. Add sauerkraut juice and sourcream to taste.
That’s all I’ve got today. Happy full moon!
1/25/2021
Here is a quick list of firsts from the weekend.
Had to ask Karl for help with an enema because there was a kink in the hose preventing the water from flowing correctly. Embarrassing but also kind of strangely romantic. I love that I know him so intimately neither of us is squeamish about very personal matters.
My first meat order was picked up from Persnickety Protein. It was like Christmas. The most delicious heavy cream straight from a pastured cow. Some of you know that heavy cream is my very favorite food ever. I added several spoonfuls of farm fresh yogurt and the cream is now fermenting in the cupboard. I dance when I put a spoonful in my mouth. It really lights up my world. I’m not sure if I can wait three weeks for the next order, may have to take a drive to the country farm.
Added chicken feet to my chicken stock. Attempting to make my stock more economical and boost the gelatinous materials. I also removed the skin and knuckles after cooking and blended it with some stock in the blender before adding it back to the stock. Along with some kale, chicken pieces, Redboat umami salt, raw garlic, sauerkraut juice, and sour cream, this stock made a delicious breakfast.
I was feeling tired, lazy, and super hungry so I skipped the step of washing the leeks for my gravy. We all noticed the grit on the first bite. Had to throw away an entire head of cauliflower rice, two leeks, two portobello mushrooms, and worst of all a quart of precious chicken stock. First and last. I will always wash my leeks for ever more.
Rendered lard for the first time in our Philly house. Oh how I missed the smell and comfort of a crockpot full of lard. Everyone is eagerly awaiting the cracklings. Just read that a spoonful of pastured lard has 1,000 iu of vitamin D.
Cut into a poblano pepper and burnt my eye when the juices squirt a direct shot. Luckily I had the fresh yogurt in the fridge. Not sure how much it helped though, because I wasn’t able to open my hours for over an hour and I shed a ton of tears. I appreciated the perspective of looking through one eye, it’s not often that we are forced into looking at things differently. I thought about all the protesters that have endured pepper spray and the mind over matter it takes to get through it.
Karl asked me what he should do about his dry skin and upon handing him a jar, I witnessed him smearing Tallow over his face. The smell isn’t for the faint of heart. I found his bravery attractive.
Heard myself tell Karl that all this stuff is worth it. How I am feeling in my body this morning is the best that I have felt in probably over 20 years. Practically youthful. My body is getting stronger and my brain steadier!
1/22/2021
Poppy is putting together a newsletter for her friends and has asked me to write a couple of articles. The first being a summary of the GAPS diet and the other, my feelings about starting the GAPS diet. I’ll share what I wrote for her as it provides an introduction to the GAPS protocol.
GAPS stands for Gut and Psychology Syndrome.
I understand this to mean that the way we digest our food affects the way our brain functions.
All the parts of our bodies work together to create growth, health, feelings, strength, thoughts, and comfort. We are designed with each part having a job, and every job having an important role in our bodily systems. When the parts work together we stay healthy, when something gets challenged the teamwork can become unbalanced. Imagine a relay race where there is a team of five going against a team of two. If two people have to carry the load back and forth many times without the help of more teammates they will wear out much faster. Because the team of five is sharing the load they will last longer and remain strong. It’s similar in our bodies, if our lungs aren’t working properly it can mean that the heart has to work harder, and if the heart is working harder, maybe our circulation is slower, and if our circulation is slower, maybe our muscles aren’t getting enough energy, and so on and on and on….One broken part becomes lots of broken parts.
This can happen in any of our body’s systems, but GAPS is focusing specifically on the parts of our digestive system and how changes in the way we digest connect to changes in the way we think. There are many many ways that our digestion can become imbalanced. This shows up in the brain as autism, add, adhd, depression, schizophrenia,and anxiety among others.
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride has discovered a method to heal the digestive system that has brought relief to many people suffering from brain and gut disorders.
Her method involves using food as medicine. Eating only foods that help and heal and leaving out those that take energy from us to process(no more bags of chips). The first part of the diet involves drinking a lot of broth made from healthy animal bones and joints. This acts as a glue in our intestines, patching up any holes that have worn through. We also eat a lot of fermented foods like sauerkraut. These add beneficial bacteria that create the juices needed for breaking down foods. By slowly adding more and more foods that offer a variety of nutritional benefits we are creating an opportunity for our body to heal. We eliminate the foods that create stress for our systems and flood our bodies with so many vitamins and minerals that the body eventually begins to heal itself.
Most of the food comes directly from farms. We use meat, bones, and dairy from animals that have grazed on pastures and havent eaten any grains, fish that has grown up in the wild, and vegetables that are grown without pesticides and harvested when they are fully ripe. All the food is made at home from scratch and nothing is from a package. It takes some getting used to but it tastes delicious and fixing ourselves is worth it!
