Reishi recipes from Luna

Dandy Blend & Reishi Frothy Warm Drink

Add to hot, not boiling, water:

- 1 level Teaspoon Reishi powder

- 1 Heaping Tablespoon Dandy Blend Powder (Dandy Blend is a very fortifying Dandelion powder blend that tastes great and is a good coffee/tea substitute. You can order it online, or find it at Natural Grocers. Or ask you local health food store to stock it if they don't have it.)

- 1 teaspoon coconut oil (if desired.)

- 1 glug of Coconut Milk, Almond Milk, Hazelnut Milk, or Hemp Milk (unsweetened) You can omit the water and add all of the ingredients to the hot milk of your choice if you want it extra rich.

- 1 Teaspoon or more of Maple Syrup or Honey (or Stevia if you have a taste for it.)

Kids love it, too, and it helps sustain their immune systems through the winter.

Reishi VitamineralGreen Smoothie

In a burly blender or stalwart vitamix or cuisinart, put:

- 3-4 cups of Unsweetened Hemp, Almond, Hazelnut, or Coconut milk in, and Add:

Heaping Tablespoon Reishi

- 2 Heaping Tablespoons VitamineralGreen powder (Once again, check online or order through Elephant Cloud Tea House. Call them at: (719) 256-5544.)

- Cup or two of organically grown fruit such as pears, blueberries, strawberries, apples

- Cup or two of chopped celery (Important to cleanse the lymph system, and add a detoxifying effect to the metabolism when it slows in the winter. Adds a freshness to the smoothie, also.)

- Cup or two of chopped kale, dandelion greens, or other dark leafy greens

- Heaping Tablespoon of Maca powder (Check with Tea House, see info above.)

- Add Omega Oils or Coconut Oil to your preference, about 1 Tablespoon 

- 1-2 Tablespoons of Raw Tahini for the calcium and mineral benefits if you have a taste for it.

- Add extra spirulina or chlorella to make it even more green-powered if you like that.

- Add Maple Syrup or Raw Agave if you'd like.

Blend well until the ingredients have harmonized, and consume with gratitude and joy.

Sauerkraut

This is one of my favorite things to make, keep, eat, share...  Wild Fermentation is so fun and so key to our healthy intestines.  I've been doing it for a few years and it never gets old.

Sauerkraut

you will need:

4 to 5 lbs cabbage

2 tablespoons sea salt

large bell jar and glass votive candle that fits in the opening (like the religious ones)

or

ceramic crock and a plate that fits in the opening

directions:

Chop or grate the cabbage and place in large bowl.  Sprinkle the salt as you go.

You can add other vegetables if you wish, such as carrots, garlic, seaweed, turnips, beets, radish.  You could also add spices and seeds such as caraway seeds, celery seeds, fresh ginger…

Mix well and pack into the jar or crock using a wooden spoon to tamp it down in layers.  This packs it tightly and helps to release the water in the cabbage.

Place the candle in the jar or the plate in the crock and cover with a towel and rubber band or twine to secure the towel, keeping out insects and dust.

Let it sit somewhere in the kitchen (an unused counter corner) for 1 to 4 weeks.  Check it to be sure that the brine has formed and is covering the kraut.  (The candle or plate is acting as a weight to keep the cabbage under the brine.)  If not enough brine appears after 24 hours or it evaporates over time, add a little salty water.  You should not need it though.  You will know your kraut is ready when there is a good, sour smell to it.  Enjoy the benefits of the good bacteria that form, helping you with healthy digestion.

from Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz

Sauerkraut combines the health benefits offered by all cruciferous vegetables (a category which includes cauliflowers and brussel sprouts as well as cabbage) with the probiotic advantages derived from the fermentation process.

Cabbage offers a host of health benefits. It is high in vitamins A and C. Studies have shown the cruciferous vegetables can help lower cholesterol levels. Cabbage also provides a rich source of phytonutrient antioxidants. In addition, it has anti-inflammatory properties, and some studies indicate it may help combat some cancers. However, this already helpful vegetable becomes a superfood when it is pickled.

The fermentation process used to make sauerkraut was probably first developed centuries ago simply as a means of preserving vegetables for easy consumption throughout the winter. The health benefits derived from pickling vegetables were already well-known to early civilizations. Historical evidence suggests laborers on the Great Wall of China consumed a version of the pickled cabbage dish 2,000 years ago.

Traditional Chinese has long prescribed sauerkraut juice as a home remedy for many common ailments . The armies of Genghis Khan most likely first brought the dish to Europe. The Roman army traveled with barrels of sauerkraut, using it to prevent intestinal infections among the troops during long excursions.

In periods and cultures when natural healing methods fell into disuse, people consumed fewer fermented foods and were subject to more illness. Scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) killed many British sailors during the 1700s, especially on longer voyages. In the late 1770s, Captain James Cook circumnavigated the world without losing a single sailor to scurvy, thanks to the foods his ship carried, including sixty barrels of sauerkraut.

Mainstream health experts began to pay renewed attention to sauerkraut after a study published in The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 2002. Finnish researchers reported that in laboratory studies,a substance produced by fermented cabbage, isothiocyanates, helped prevent the growth of cancer.

Even before the laboratory study, however, alternative health experts extolled the healing benefits of sauerkraut because of the lactic acid bacteria produced as a side-effect of the pickling process.

Healthy human colons contain many beneficial bacteria which feed on the waste left over from our digestion, creating lactic acid. Without these beneficial bacteria the human digestive system becomes home to harmful parasites and yeasts, resulting in the condition of candida.

Sauerkraut provides a high density source of a wide range of beneficial live bacteria which assist in the digestive process. Consuming a serving of sauerkraut can give your body as much of a health boost as many of the expensive probiotic drinks and supplements sold in stores. However, most commercially sold sauerkraut have lost most of their beneficial bacterial organisms. To gain the most benefits from sauerkraut, you may want to purchase it freshly made, or learn how to make your own.

If you want to explore recipes for making sauerkraut and other fermented dishes, an excellent place to start is with Sandor Ellis Katz's Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition and Craft of Live Culture Foods.

In his book, Katz points out that "Fermentation not only preserves nutrients, it breaks them down into more digestible forms." Katz, who also wrote The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America's Underground Food Movements, recommends not only eating sauerkraut but drinking the juice which he calls "a rare delicacy and unparalleled digestive tonic."

vegan versions

p.s.

almost anything I make with ghee and yogurt can be made with coconut oil and plain vegan yogurt.
xo

Thai Coconut Soup

This is another easy favorite creation of mine.  I love soup!

1 small to medium sweet onion halved then sliced thin

1 medium carrot sliced in thin strips

fresh bean sprouts (about 1/3 cup)

fresh chopped cilantro to sprinkle on top before serving

coconut milk (1 can)

lime juice from 1 lime

pinch of cayenne

water (4 to 6 cups)

fresh green beans (about 1/3 cup)

coconut oil (2 tbsp)

fresh mushrooms sliced (shitake are great)

lemongrass - one stalk sliced

salt (1/2 tsp or to taste)

1/2 tsp curry powder

Saute the onions and curry powder in the coconut oil.  Add the coconut milk, lemongrass, salt, cayenne, and water, bring to a boil.  Add fresh veggies and simmer until veggies are slightly soft, but still crunch.  Stir in the lime juice and sprinkle with cilantro.

This soup always feels so clean and fresh to me.  Would be good with fresh sweet peas too!

Moon-time Tea

I've been making this delicious moon-time tea...

- white willow bark (good for pain relief)

- red raspberry (reproductive system tonic)

- nettle (blood builder)

- roasted chicory root (soothes stomach)

- wild yam (Helpful to the liver, endocrine system, and female system, particularly during menstrual distress)

I use about equal parts of each, let it steep at least 7 minutes and then I add a little raw goat's milk.

Lita and I are hoping to have a tea-label soon.  I think this may be one of our offerings.

Easy Peanut Sauce

This is one I can always whip up for a guest or group quickly and it is always a pleaser because it is packed with flavor and very warming and comforting.  I like to serve it on rice or soba noodles.  You could also use it for dipping grilled meats.

- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter

- 1 can coconut milk

- agave to taste

- Bragg's or tamari to taste

- 1 inch piece of fresh ginger minced, or 1 teaspoon of ginger powder

- 3 garlic cloves minced

- dash of cayenne

- 2 tbsp sesame oil or coconut oil (or other vegetable oil will work)

- fresh chopped cilantro to sprinkle on top when serving (optional)

Saute the garlic and ginger in the oil over medium-low - be careful not to burn or brown.  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir over medium-low until the peanut butter melts into a good consistency for a sauce.

Gaia's dressing

I whipped it up today.  yum.

1 cup olive oil or other salad oil

1/4 cup lemon juice (or Bragg's apple cider vinegar)

1/2 cup tahini

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp jarred parsley (or 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley)

put it in the blender! (would also be good with a clove of garlic in there too!)