Wild Blackberry Pie

Natalie won "Best Berry Picker!"

Berry Pie on the Fourth of July! The only thing better than summer time berry pickin' in the mountains is getting to eat the pie.

4 cups of berries
1/4 cup minute tapioca
1 cup organic sugar
1Tbsp. lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of cardamon
1 Tbsp. organic unsalted butter
2 pie crusts

Mix fruit, tapioca, sugar, lemon juice and spices in large bowl and let stand for 15 minutes. Fill pie crust of your choice with fruit mixture. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust, seal and flute edge. Cut several slits in crust. Bake in preheated 400º oven 45-50 minutes or until juices form bubbles that burst slowly. Cool until set.

Natalie and Jamie fresh from the field

Gooseberry Jam

Natalie picking gooseberries

Thanks to my English friend, Rachel, and her garden I was able to make gooseberry jam with my granddaughter this summer. It was a new experience for both of us and I couldn’t have done it without her help. Picking, tailing and stemming enough gooseberries to make jam is no small undertaking. Then, I had difficulty deciding which online recipe to follow. It seems Canada and Britain has it all over the US for gooseberry recipes. I picked the easiest and it turned out perfectly.

We used the dark, ripe wine colored fruits that have a distinct taste somewhat like a cross between a grape and a raspberry. The jam cries out for wild game and pairs well with meat. Try it with pork, marinated and baked chicken thighs, goose, turkey, lamb or buffalo. And beyond that it is simply a delicious preserve to have on your shelf this winter. No pectin is needed as these berries are high in natural pectin.

abandoned nest in gooseberry bush

4 cups gooseberries (2 pounds) - Wash, tail and stem, discarding any that are soft or damaged.

4 cups raw organic sugar (2 pounds)

1 1/4 cups water

Thorny gooseberries

Place gooseberries and water in a large pan, bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat until the gooseberries are tender, approximately ten minutes. Stir in sugar and simmer until dissolved. Bring to a boil and cook rapidly until setting point is reached, about 15 minutes. Mash with a masher during cooking. Ladle into sterilized jars and seal.

To test whether the jam has set: take the saucer from the freezer and drop a small spoonful of jam on to it. Allow it to cool for a minute then push your finger through the jam – if it wrinkles it’s ready; if not, boil for a few more minutes. Continue testing until the jam is ready. (Always remove the jam from the heat while you’re testing so that if it’s ready you won’t overcook it.)

Thea facilitates healing herbal retreats at ClearfieldCottage perched above Rachel’s garden. Meals are prepared from the garden and are local, seasonal and organic.

photos by Thea

Calendula Carrot Soup

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup sweet Vidalia onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup Granny Smith apple, chopped

1/2 cup raw peanuts, chopped in food processor

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cumin

2 pounds carrots, chopped

4 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1/2 cup coconut milk

2 tablespoon dried calendula petals

In a large stockpot, melt butter over medium low heat. Add onion and garlic, sauté until they turn translucent. Add apple and peanuts, cinnamon, nutmeg and cumin. Continue to cook for 3 minutes. Add carrots and cook for 5 minutes over a low heat, stirring intermittently. Pour in stock, cover

and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Add calendula and simmer for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before pouring into a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Return to pot and stir in coconut milk. Cook over a medium low heat for 5 minutes. Do not let it come to a boil. Serves 4 - 6.

Calendula is a mildly bitter herb and therefore good for the liver. The flowers are medicinal and can be used as a spice to add color and a subtle, yet distinctive flavor reminiscent of saffron. Sometimes called poor man's saffron, or Egyptian saffron, it is similarly employed as a yellow dye for fabrics, cheese and cosmetics. Learn more in my book, Wisdom of the Plant Devas: Herbal Medicine for a New Earth.

You can also learn more in my work-at-your-own pace class, Love Your Liver: Spring and the Wood Element.

Bright & Beautiful Butternut Curry Soup

eeny, meeny, miny, moe

photo by Thea

2 medium butternut cut in half length wise

4 tablespoons peanut oil, or 2 Tbs. sesame oil & 2 Tbs. coconut oil

2 Tbsp. curry powder

2 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp red pepper flakes

6 garlic cloves

2 quarts chicken broth

1 can unsweetened coconut milk

juice of 1 lime

sea salt

black pepper

½ cup chopped cilantro

Bake squash face down in baking dish for one hour at 400 degrees.  Let cool.

Meanwhile,  sauté curry powder, ginger, cumin and red pepper flakes until fragrant. Add garlic and sauté until it begins to color.  Remove from heat.

Scoop flesh from squash, discarding seeds, and put ½ in blender with ½ broth and ½ spices.  Process until smooth and transfer into soup pot. Repeat with remaining squash, broth and spices.

Add coconut milk, lime juice, salt and pepper to taste and heat through.  Add cilantro just before serving.

Caribbean Coconut & Pineapple Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce

Adapted from Nydia’s Miami Kitchen

Gluten Free

Photo by Thea

Allow me to share with you this Bread Pudding with a Caribbean twist, and bring you back to Nydia’s Miami Kitchen for a rich holiday treat. How could I not? Only a few short weeks ago I found myself in Miami, standing with my daughter, Lorena (Italian for Lauren) in this Priestess’s Kitchen while her husband, Ernesto, served us a visually sensual and intoxicatingly aromatic, sweet dessert worthy of the Goddess, her-self.

Nydia was born and raised in Puerto Rico, so naturally she prefers good Puerto Rican Rum in her budin de piña y coco en salsa de ron.  To this I have added an organic, gluten free twist by replacing the coconut extract with virgin coconut oil, and the salted butter with a re-mineralizing sea salt.

The first place my mind wants to go with a dish like this is, “oh it’s sooo bad!” Why is it that we have become such a guilty food culture? As I thoroughly enjoy this rare treat my mind goes back to my Grandmother's days when eggs were farm fresh, free range and fertile (she owned a chicken farm) and milk was fresh and raw. Sugar is sugar, so there is no getting away from that one. But did you know that sugar in the time of our grandmothers was used mostly as a preservative and for special and rare occasions like this one? It is the daily consumption of large amounts of sugar that robs us of the enjoyment, as is true for any addiction. So, I recommend moderation and the use of natural, raw and organic ingredients whenever possible. Sweet also happens to be the flavor that corresponds with the Earth Element in Chinese Five Element Theory and you can learn the difference between full-sweet and empty-sweet, and more in my online class: Indian Summer: Nourishing the Earth Element.

1 large loaf gluten free bread from organic, non-GMO flours (may be sliced)

5 eggs (preferably fertile)

2 cans organic Coconut milk

2 cups organic whole milk (preferably raw)

1 can organic evaporated milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract (preferably fair trade)

1 ¾ cups raw or organic sugar

1 stick organic unsalted butter, melted

½ teaspoon Celtic or Himalayan sea salt

1 15 oz. can pineapple chunks

¼ cup pineapple juice from can

2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil

Sauce:

2 tablespoons organic unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons organic white rice flour

1 cup organic whole milk

1 cup organic whipping cream

½ cup organic or raw sugar

¼ cup Puerto Rican Rum

• Grease one deep dish baking pan with coconut oil

• Cut bread into 1 inch squares and place in large mixing bowl.

• To make custard: beat eggs well, add one at a time beating well after each addition; evaporated milk, coconut milk, and whole. Add vanilla, sugar and melted butter beating well after each addition. Once custard is ready stir in pineapple juice. Mix well. Pour custard over bread in large mixing bowl and let soak for 5 minutes. Pour mixture into previously greased baking dish and press pineapple chunks into batter. Bake on a bain-marie (water bath: line cookie sheet with aluminum foil and fill with water for a more delicate texture.)

• Bake at 350 degrees for 1 ½ hours.

• To make sauce: Add flour to melted butter and stir well with wooden spoon* to make a roux. Once thickened add one cup whole milk and mix well. Stir while adding 1 cup whipping cream, ½ cup sugar. Cook at medium heat for a few minutes stirring until it thickens to same consistency of gravy. Drizzle rum while continuing to stir.

• Serve warm with warm rum sauce and coconut icecream.

* I prefer to use wooden spoons to plastic or metal. The spirit of a wooden spoon adds tree medicine to food. I honor these tree ancestors by keeping my wooden spoons well oiled as I do my wooden cutting boards.  These simple things bring life to my kitchen and to my food.

Be sure to watch Nydia making Coconut Pineapple Bread Pudding in her now famous kitchen and learn more about a bain-marie (bagnomaria in Italian!) on her YouTube Channel, Nydia’s Miami Kitchen.

Okra Stew ~ Quimbombo Guisado

Photo's by Thea
Recipe adapted from Nydia's Miami Kitchen

In a synchronistic turn of events I found myself in Miami being gifted with crimson okra from Ernesto Pichardo's garden. Have you ever heard of crimson okra?  I made them into an okra stew from a recipe given to me by Ernesto's wife, Nydia. Let me introduce you to Nydia's Miami Kitchen! These magical vegetables were grown in honor of Shango whose color is red, and who in the Yoruba religion is the most popular Orisha, also known as the god of fire, lightening and thunder. Shango is a royal ancestor of the Yoruba and in the Lukumi religion of the Caribbean he is considered the center point of the religion as he represents the Oyo people of West Africa. His initiation ceremony survived the Middle Passage and became the basis of all Orisha initiations in the West. It is in celebration of Shango that we dedicated this meal.

1-1.5 pounds of okra
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 Bell pepper, finely chopped
1 Onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic garlic minced
1 pound chicken or pork cubed
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can of chicken broth
Baby corn
Parsley
Paprika
Salt and black pepper to taste


Soak okra in salted water to remove slime for 1/2 hour and then rinse well. Make a sofrito with the bell pepper, onion and garlic in olive oil. Add meat and stir fry. Add okra, tomatoes, and broth and simmer for 30 minutes. Add baby corn, parsley, paprika, salt and pepper to taste. Heat through and serve over rice.

Morroccan Stew - Vegetarian

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Adapted from Monhegan Island Cooks:

Recipes, Art & Poetry

½ cup olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 yellow or red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 large carrot, sliced

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes

2 large tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped or 1 (16 oz.) can diced tomatoes including juice

1 (16 oz.) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

½ cup raisins

½ cup vegetable broth

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

5 cups cooked quinoa

 Heat olive oil in a large heavy skillet or soup pot. Sauté onion, bell pepper, carrot, garlic, coriander and cumin until soft and fragrant. Add remaining ingredients except for quinoa and simmer 15 minutes. Ladle stew over hot quinoa.

Learn more about healing the earth element in Indian Summer: Nourishing the Earth Element, an online, work-at-your-own-pace class at Wise Woman University with mentor Thea Summer Deer.