CURRENT MOON

Sunday, January 17, 2010

How Do You Nourish Yourself In The January Cold?




Most of my life, I've felt as if I've been, as Sister Tarsisus used to say, "Cheating St. Peter to pay St. Paul." Spending time raising Son when I should have been studying, spending time studying when I should have been raising Son. Earning extra money tutoring when I should have been home with Son, spending time tutoring when I should have been exercising. Spending time studying law when I should have been grading papers, spending time grading papers when I should have been writing footnotes for Law Review.

This morning, I dropped G/Son off at his home with every intention of heading in to work. But the rain and the mist and the bare branches somehow steered me home and sent me into the kitchen to cook up for the coming week all the bounty that my CSA delivers to my door and all the fruits and vegetables that can contribute to my word for this year: Vitality.

This recipe for bok choy with garlic and ginger* is incredibly simple and v good, either cold for lunch or warmed over rice with tofu, or chicken, or rockfish for dinner. The one secret is peanut oil, which I don't think is as healthy as olive oil, but which adds so much flavor to the dish. I'm also baking butternut squash with cinnamon, roasting eggplant with honey and chili, and warming pineapple and banana in cinnamon butter.

What are you doing to nourish yourself this weekend?


*Cut up ginger and garlic; brown in peanut oil. Add bok choy. Brown for a minute. Add chicken broth or vermouth or a nice Sancerre. Simmer until just tender. Easy/peasey. I found this on the internet, somewhere, and apologize for not remembering where.

Photos by the author. If you copy, please link back.

4 comments:

Emme Toaye said...

OMG!! I have been throwing the celery bottoms and tops away all my life and thinking nothing about it because that was what I was taught. Talk about guilt trips! How often I wonder do I do things automatically because that was how I was taught. I am changing my life right now, celery stalk by celery stalk. Great blog!

Hecate said...

Emme,

Welcome!

I save the celery bottoms and tops for soups. Tons of flavor in those "throw aways." You can "throw them away" into a baggie in the freezer until you're ready to make soup!

Lavanah said...

Soup! There is no better demonstration of alchemical hearthwitchery than a good, from scratch, long simmered soup!

chesapeake bay fishing said...

That looks delicious, and I'm sure it tastes that way too!