Quarantine Food Diaries, Boddhicitta, where we are and what to do now

It's been 134 days of quarantine, we might be feeling at the very least uncertain about the future.
The use of our food as a primary approach to our physical and emotional wellness is paramount, physical exercise and raising endorphins a close second.
This blog started as a way to count down the days and re direct my energy towards a different kind of structure than I was used to. I had been preparing for fashion week in Paris as I did each season. The collection of repurposed Victorian watches and 18k gold Georgian rings took on the theme of "I AM" an open ended statement meant to spur reflection. Who are you? Are you your name, your job, your status, your ethnicity? Your marriage? I never knew it would be so relevant, and yet I  have nowhere to show it. The collection sits in the instagram ethers, found by few, missed by most.
So while now 134 days later my studio desk has taken on another aspect, that of nutritional healing, sciences of Ayurveda, Alkaline cooking, adaptogen use, my beautiful "I AM" collection has been neatly tucked away in ivory and yellow boxes with a raised golden A for the Artemisian. And I think, it's all the same, it's all the same. The healing arts I have worked within were never there to depend on as consistent income, these gifts of giving wellness back out were never a hustle for me, that was the job of my jewelry brand. Now my healing gifts have come front and center and are being called upon more and more, without pushing or pulling, with ease and I think of how grateful I am that I can offer this to the world.
We all have this capacity within us, to heal the self and to hold space for another, it's all about awareness,  waking up to the you that is the universe, the you that is sacred, the you in everyone else. Through this awakening to the self and the ultimate oneness in all of us is born a great compassion that in Buddhism is called awakened heart or Bodhicitta. The person called to bring this awareness to others is a Boddhisatva.
So though my mediums have changed, one thing has not and that is the call to wake myself from the slumber that threatens to invade every day to keep witnessing, keep asking questions. In doing this practice I am called to give back what I am learning, to offer it out as a lifeline, as pure love.
So here I am, writing bits of philosophy for continued awareness, less suffering and in the process you may find a recipe that delights your palette.
Keep asking questions, keep listening and keep yourself open and receptive.

Quarantine Food Diaries, Harissa Inspired Roasted Carrots

This vibrant red paste caught my eye from afar, I'd heard it's name before and picked it up off the grocery store shelf, Harissa. The name comes from the Arabic verb harasa, meaning 'to pound', or 'break into pieces'. It's thought to originate from Tunisia, where shoppers in spice souks watch it pounded out while-u-wait. The simplest versions are just the bare bones: chillies, salt and olive oil. 
I read these ingredients as well as turmeric, smoked paprika and lemon juice, on the small inviting jar in my hand. I bought it, brought it home, cracked it open and slathered it on a few carrots, popped them in the oven and 10 min later brought them out and dove in.  Did I not read the first ingredient was chilies? I can handle spice but this was overpowering and clearly not how it was meant to be used. What it did was inspire me. I was anticipating somehow the dense tangy sweetness of sundried tomato paste, mixed with the smokiness of a smoked paprika, turmeric, chilis and cumin ground into powders, the kind that are seen in perfect conical mounds in a souk. So it may not be Harissa, but this recipe was inspired by the sweet tangy tomato sauce that sits baking in the Sicilian sun for days on long wooden planks at every home in the heat of  August and my magic carpet ride imagination of what a souk looks like.

My tomato sauce is not as far a long as this image from my annual summer trips to Palermo and Terrasini, the coastal town, home to Cala Rossa where the cliffs shimmer like the red rocks of Sedona reaching peaks out of the azzure Mediterranean Sea, but Whole Foods has decent tomato paste.  Mine will be ready in as little as a week as long as I don't forget to bring them in when it rains!

Harissa (Inspired) Paste

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp garlic powder 

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt to taste 

mash and smooth  together to a loose paste the consistency of runny yogurt, add more olive oil if necessary or a squeeze of lemon juice.

coat carrots and lay on a cookie sheet and broil for 10 min, turning only once, letting them get a little color!

Quarantine Food Diaries, Morrocan Lentil Soup, Asafoetida What it Does and Why

In Ayurvedic cooking lentils and chickpeas are eaten routinely but don't seem to cause any intestinal discomfort, in fact their praises are song by most Ayurvedic practitioners. Me, I've been left like a jet propelled engine, it's not sexy.
I found out about this little thing called Hing, no it's not a Dr.Seuss poem it's a really hing, I mean thing. It's other name is Asafoetida, and you use the tiniest amount from the tiniest jar to make your beans easily digestible and absorb all the fantastic plant based protein!
I'm sold. Make sure you buy pure Hing no fillers.

Morrocan Lentil Soup

1 cup french lentils

4 cups water

1/2 chopped white onion

3/4 cup pureed whole canned San Marzano tomatoes

1 pinch Asafoetida ( Hing)

1 tbsp cumin

1 tsp turmeric

fresh Cilantro and Lemon to garnish

salt and pepper

saute´onion in olive oil until translucent, sort and rinse lentils and add to softened onion, add Asafoetida! Add tomatoes, water and spices . Bring to a boil and cover and simmer 20-30 min

uncover serve, in each bowl squeeze lemon amply and garnish with cilantro a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil salt and cracked pepper.

Quarantine Food Diaries,Beets Done 3 Ways, Blood Building, Smoked Beet Hummus, Slow Roasted Beets, and Raw Rainbow Root Salad

Beets Build Blood, in Traditional Chinese Medicine building blood maintains a  healthy energy level or chi, lack of good blood building results in lethargy in body and digestion.
Root veggies are one way of addressing stagnate chi in the body and this week they are the focus, primarily beets. Ayurveda tells us that the lack of healthy fire in the body or Tejas can be seen in bloating and gas and this is directly related to the lack of blood in digestion our first recipe kick starts the digestive fire to get things moving and blood circulating. Ultimately leading to renewed energy and good gut microbiome ( no bloating).

Rainbow Root Salad

1 kohlrabi

1 yellow beet

1 red beet

small piece of daikon

3 radishes

small piece of Jicama

1 small rutabaga

1 peach 

a bunch of rucola

some basil

dressing:

lemon zest, grated ginger, olive oil, balsamic glaze, smoked sea salt and pepper

all to taste

use the grating plate on a cuisinart,  or a mandolin to create julienned pieces of all but the red beet, do that separately and keep it separate until tossing the salad or it will dye the rest of the roots pink!

chop the peach and toss in the rucola and basil

add the dressing and red beets and enjoy raw and crunchy.

 Slow Roasted Beets

3 red or yellow beets

buttered pine nuts

maybe honey churned chevre

olive oil, balsamic glaze, black hawaiian sea salt, pink peppercorns

wrap each beet whole, skin on in foil and place in oven at 285F for two hours if they are small and three if they are big. They  should feel like a perfectly ripe peach under the squeeze of your oven mitt when they are done. Leave to cool in the foil for a few more hours.

unwrap and push the skin off the beets.

place a knob of butter or ghee in a pan and roast the pine nuts until butter is nicely nutty brown and pinenuts have taken on a little color.

arrange on a plate, drizzle with supremely good olive oil, balsmic glaze, a sprinkling of chevre that you have added a tsp of honey to and freshly ground pink peppercorns and black Hawaian sea salt. 

enjoy at room temp.

Smoked Beet Hummus 

3 medium red beets

1 tbsp tahini

1 tbsp extra virgin cold pressed olive oil

2 small cloves garlic

5 dashes liquid smoke

salt and pepper

This is a pure beet hummus, no bean filler it's all about blood building !

Cook the beets as described in the above recipe and peel when cool, pop in the vitamix with all other ingredients and adjust with salt and pepper.