Aztec Chicken Soup!

They make this great soup at my local co-op and I decided to try to make it myself!

2 TB olive oil
1 medium onion
*maybe add bell pepper*
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 chipotle peppers in adobo (set aside 2 TB of adobo sauce)
1/2 lb chicken breast or thighs
15 oz diced tomatoes (about 2 cups if you want to use fresh)
4 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups frozen corn (or canned I suppose)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chile powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
dash salt and pepper
tortilla chips
opt. 1/3 cup cilantro, lime wedges, avocado
 

Sweat the onion in the olive oil until translucent. Add the garlic and chipotle peppers, and saute for a minute or two longer.

Add the chicken pieces and let them brown up a bit, or until the outside is no longer shiny and pink, but dull and white. Add the tomatoes and chicken stock and bring to a simmer.

Simmer 10 minutes, add your spices and your corn and then simmer for 20 minutes longer, until your chicken is cooked through. Pull a piece out and cut it in half to check to see if it's cooked. If so, remove the rest of the chicken and chop or shred it up. Return to pan.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, serve with tortilla chips, and garnish with cilantro, lime and avocado.


Serve with lime wedges, avocado slices and crispy tortilla strips or chips!

Midsummer Madness

Gathering herbs: tonight they are especially potent! Mint and lemon balm especially! I'm 'bout to make some tasty mint water.

Harvest herbs and hang on doors
Women wear braided circlets of flowers and clovers
Men wear chaplets of oak and grasses and flowers around their heads

Fires, bonfires!
"The fire of Midsummer is traditionally kindled from the friction of two sacred woods, fir and oak. Nine different types of herbs are thrown upon the Midsummer fire. These consist of mistletoe, vervain, St. John's Wort, heartsease, lavender, and a choice of four others chosen from herbs typical of this season such as yarrow. Folks would feast, dance and jump the fire for luck and fertility. The herds were driven through the embers in days long ago to purge disease and illness from them. When the fires had burned down, folks would carry ashes back to their homes to sprinkle on fields, the four corners, and lay embers on the hearth. Ashes bring powers of protection, health and luck." WitchVox

Water is the other important aspect of Midsummer. In times past folks swam in waters that flowed towards the rising sun as it climbed in Midsummer morning sky. Bathing in springs and rivers on Midsummer brings healing, cleansing and protection. The dew of Midsummer is said to bestow health to whomever drinks of it. Especially powerful is fetching running water of Midsummer morn and mixing it with ashes from the bonfire, sprinkling it around the house, yard and on oneself bestows protection and luck.


Midsummer is the time of sweet strawberries, blueberries, cherries, blackberries and more. New potatoes, lettuce, peas, carrots, radishes and onions are ready for picking. Tarragon, chamomile, sweet woodruff, St. John's wort, hyssop, lovage, mint and other herbs are fresh and delightfully robust. Bee balm, phylox, oxeye daisies, roses, lily of the valley, calendulas, St John's wort, marigolds and others are in bloom, it is a time of olfactory abundance. Foods and decorations center around what nature has bestowed, rich, colorful and flavorful - mint iced teas, dandelion salads, strawberry shortcakes, geranium leaf sorbet, berry pies, daisy chains, lavender wreaths, rosemary garlands. The pure enjoyment that only summer fresh foods, sweet summer flowers and joyful company that only midsummer can bestow.


http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usma&c=holidays&id=3525

St. John's Wort

TIme for sun worship and ritual, cleansing stones under the strong rays of the healing sun.

Colors
Blue, green, gold, yellow and red.

Customs
Bonfires, processions, all night vigil, singing, feasting, celebrating with others, cutting
divining rods, dowsing rods & wands, herb gathering, handfastings, weddings, Druidic
gathering of mistletoe in oak groves, needfires, leaping between two fires, mistletoe
(without berries, use as a protection amulet), women walking naked through gardens
to ensure continued fertility, enjoying the seasonal fruits & vegetables, honor the
Mother's fullness, richness and abundance, put garlands of St. John’s Wort placed
over doors/ windows & a sprig in the car for protection.

Lapis lazuli, diamond, tiger’s eye, all green gemstones, especially emerald and jade

Herbs
Anise, mugwort, chamomile, rose, wild rose, oak blossoms, lily, cinquefoil, lavender,
fennel, elder, mistletoe, hemp, thyme, larkspur, nettle, wisteria, vervain ( verbena),
St. John’s wort, heartsease, rue, fern, wormwood, pine,heather, yarrow,
oak & holly trees

Edible beauty: flowers to munch

 Common edible flowers:

 dandelions
red clover
pansies
violets
day lilies
hibiscus
carnation
squash blossoms

many flowers of edible herbs are also edible:
 mint
basil
chives
bee balm
sage
cilantro
rosemary
thyme


Allegedly, edible flowers were all the rage in the Victorian era, when it was considered oh-so-sophisticated to do so. I used to be much more ridiculous about my gardening, eschewing the perceived "aesthetic only" plants, especially flowers, but basically any plants that were not edible or useful in some way. I had no time for that. But the last few years I've really grown to love my aesthetic flowers. Now, I still prefer things that are at least companion plants, if not edible, but I will allow at least 25% to be taken over by those silly and oh-so-lovely non-edibles.

Kale is yummmm

Kale chips two ways and kale smooooooothies! This is an excerpt from my cookbook!

http://www.amazon.com/Heartbreak-Recovery-Kitchen-Recipes-Remedies/dp/0615374921

Basically you rip a bunch of kale into bite sized pieces, you grease it up a bit with about 2 tablespoons olive oil, pop it into a 325* on some parchment paper in the oven for 18-20 minutes and then toss with about a teaspoon sea salt and a few tablespoons grated parmesan cheese!

Or, if you wanna be like Linds, grease with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Afterwards splash with a few teaspoons of lime juice and soy sauce.

Often I used only olive oil (or sunflower, or coconut) and salt!

Tropical kale smoothies:

a banana

handful kale

1/4 pineapple

mango orange juice

ice

Kale can also replace the spinach or other greens in saag paneer.

Fun fact: saag refers to greens in general, not just spinach. Palak paneer is always spinach. So play around! I've made saag paneer with kale, turnip greens, spinach, and even swiss chard. Yuuum.

Poblano pepper slaw!

This yummy slaw went on top of my banh mi style tacos!

1 poblano

1 avocado, cubed
4 cups cabbage, shredded

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

2 tablespoons orange juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Remove seeds, stem, and membranes from poblano. Cut into thin, bite-size slivers. In a large bowl, gently combine pepper strips, cabbage and cilantro. Whisk together orange juice, olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Pour dressing and stir well to coat.

Lazy/easy but amazing zucchini pasta

Zucchini pasta:

Saute two medium zucchini (sliced into thin rounds) with 3-4 cloves garlic and chile flakes in 2-3 tablespoons olive oil until zucchini becomes translucent and softens, about 10 minutes.

Boil about 8 ounces pasta in the meantime.

Fucking great! Grate some parmesan or asiago if you wanna get fancy.

Heart chakra

Food related feng shui....
Also opening or essay of some sort about love and heartbreak.


Heart chakra (Anahata)
12 petaled lotus is the symbol
Located at the center of chest, between the breasts.
Connected with love, understanding, compassion, empathy, forgiveness, letting things go, all encompassing love, internal selfless love vs. external sexual love.
This is the middle of the seven chakras.
The bottom three are connected with the physical world and the top three are connected with the spiritual, intellectual, intangible world (or internal perceptions of the physical world) and the middle, heart chakra unites these two concepts, linking the mind, body and soul.

Things to open or stimulate and heal the heart chakra:
Colors: green, pink
Stones: emerald, rose quartz (really any pink or green stones are often listed) malachite, jade, rhodochrosite
Sound for chanting: yam
Element: air
Oils, incense: rose, lavender, jasmine,

Yoga poses and visualization for heart healing:
Camel pose is supposed to be good, as are locust, cobra, and fish

Visualization for opening your heart chakra and moving on:
Sit comfortably in a cross legged position, or corpse pose. Close your eyes and take deep, steady breaths, breathing into your very core. Visualize a glowing ball of brilliant green or pink light surrounding your heart center and pulsating with joy and happiness. Feel its warm glow and picture yourself, radiantly happy, your loved ones all around you. Imagine the ball getting bigger and more radiant until it completely ensconces you and your friends and family, wrapping you totally within its protective light. Imagine yourself healing and bouncing back from anything that has caused you pain or harm. Feel the forgiveness rushing through you as you learn to let things go. Let go of past enemies, hatred and any unpleasant situation that has caused grief in your life. Look forward with a heart full of compassion and all-encompassing love and joy.

******Feng Shui, seared tuna and fortune cookie ideas

Type up grill recipes:

1. XXFENG SHUI!!!
BAGUA heart love corner. also work, prosperity would be good. LUCK etc.
crystals energize, two of things, bedrooms are important: keep depressing things out of bedroom, no stuffed animals on bed, family pictures on nightstand, etc.

Love corner is: if you envision your house as a square, the bagua map is a 3 X 3 layout, with 9 components. The main entrance would lie on the bottom of the square, with the love corner being at the top, right hand corner. Activate it with pink and reds, appropriately, but also pairs ( ie two candlesticks, two dove statues) crystals and other things that just generally make you happy ad confident. Below that is Children/Creativity corner, decorate with whites and things that inspire you!

ALso SW corner is love- find both house corner and bedroom corner. A few basics for the bedroom: never have your bed with your head at a window, or feet facing the door. Mirrors in the bedroom are bad and should at least be covered at night, beams above the bed are similarly detrimental. Sharp severe corners send piercing bad energy all about so soften them with lovely fabric or avoid them altogether. Keep uncluttered and activate your power spots and this is a great start, but only a small aspect of this ancient, multifaceted art (learn more about the ins and outs of Feng Shui in books or online!)



2. Tuna proportions
4 5-6 ounce tuna steaks

3 tablespoons sesame-chili oil (or 1 1/2 TB sesame oil and 1/2 TB sriracha or hot sauce)
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons furikake (or crumbled, toasted nori sheets, reduced to tiny flakes in a blender, or other means)
2 teaspoons sesame seeds (optional)

Mix sesame oil, soy sauce and lemon juice together. Marinate the tuna steaks in anything but a metal container for 10-15 minutes and then rub each side with about 1 heaping teaspoon of furikake (or nori flakes and sesame seeds) and place on a hot grill. Cook for 2-4 minutes on each side for seared rare tuna deliciousness. Leave it for 4-6 for cooked through goodness.

Serve with outrageous marinated veggie kabobs

Outrageous Marinated Veggie Kabobs
4 servings
2 cups cherry tomatoes
2 cups mini sweet peppers (try hot peppers like poblano or anaheim or even jalapeno, if you like it spicy)
2 small zucchini, cut into 1 inch chunks (or 1 1/2 cups of cubed pineapple)
6 green onions, white parts and about 2-3 inches of green sliced into inch long chunks

Marinade: use a bottle of good, trusted bottled marinade or Italian dressing if you're in a hurry, otherwise whip together this quick and tasty all purpose marinade. It's great, we promise!
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
1-2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard (or dijon if you prefer)
2 tablespoons mint
1 tablespoon basil (or other favorite herb such as oregano)
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon ginger powder (or just use 1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper)

Whisk together marinade ingredients and soak your veggies for at least 10 minutes and at most 45 minutes. Compile your veggies onto skewers (if using wooden skewers, soak in water for a half hour prior to grilling), skewering as you see fit. As you thrust the veggies onto the stick, imagine all your woes being pierced and engulfed in flame, never to plague you again. You can make 4 veggie packed kabobs or try to stretch it and make 6-8 kabobs with a moderate amount of veg. Grill over a hot grill until veggie are done to your satisfaction, about 5-10 minutes depending on the heat. Feel free to throw in some of your favorite vegetables: eggplant, mushrooms and real onions make rather nice additions. If you're especially brave, try threading pineapple and jalapeno chunks onto your sticks for a flavor explosion in your mouth!


Fortune cookie stuff

X---MINE:

Seek solace in solitude. Do what YOU want for once!
Be YOU and the rest will follow.
Seek love and find joy in the beauty around you.
Be yourself and if they don't like it, well FUCK 'em! (or screw 'em if you want to keep it PG-13)
Your body is a temple; treat it like one. Provide offerings of dark cocoa and honey to the mouth altar.
If something's not working for you, STOP and try a different approach.
You will do something wild and crazy today.
Take a moment and just breath.
Getting mad? Go for a walk around the block.
Create a saucy, confident alter-ego. Let HER do the talking.
Do the opposite of what you're "supposed" to!