I personally often think of Ramen Broths, and Broths in general, as being more of a fall and winter food.  The richness, nourishment, and warming qualities of a nice warm bowl of soup made from a delicious broth is like nothing else on a cold day.  But the beauty in a summer soup is the freshness of the ingredients you can add to it.  Whether it be a simple Chicken Vegetable soup, a Beet Borscht, or a chilled Gazpacho, its a wonderful way to cook using your CSA produce.  

This week I made Ramen dish made with Nona Lim Miso Ramen Broth and topped it with steamed vegetables from my CSA (Carrots, Radish, Broccoli, and spinach), a farm fresh soft boiled egg (also from my CSA), and slow cooked Beef that I had made in my slow cooker over the weekend.  I originally found the Nona Lim broth at Common Market in Frederick, MD (my go-to local store) and I also buy all of my meats there.  The beef roast was local, organic, and grass-fed.  

Anyone who has eaten a lot of Ramen, or has tried to make Ramen, knows it is all in the BROTH.  We are NOT talking instant ramen here!  The quality of the noodles is also a make it or break it for me in a good bowl of Ramen.  As I mentioned above I am a BIG fan of the Nona Lim products.  We have tried their Miso Ramen Broth (Vegan), The Spicy Chicken Ramen Broth (my personal favorite), and their Traditional Ramen noodles.  When you order from them they are shipped frozen in packs of 6.  Perfect to just pop right in the freezer and thaw the day of.  This is the best easy and quick, yet good quality, ramen that I have found.

 If you would rather make your own broth check out ChopStick Chronicles recipe here.  

And if you want to delve even further down the broth trail, I suggest buying Sally Fallon's book Nourishing Broth.

You will learn everything you ever wanted to know and more about the amazing healing qualities of homemade broths and soups.  Happy Slurping!  

You get bags full of greens, a huge bunch of radishes, spring onions, carrots (whew I know what to do with carrots!)....a kholrabi (what do I do with this thing?!)  

So you decided to try joining a CSA huh?  It sounds simple and amazing....fresh, local, pesticide free, deliveries each week.  And it is AMAZING.  But you can also end up with a lot of ingredients you're not used to having around and feel like you don't know what you are doing.  My advice to that....keep it simple.  Here are two SIMPLE "recipes" to use up all of those nourishing ingredients this summer.

Recipe 1 - A CHOPPED salad:

And when I say chopped, I mean chopped.  Chop the crap out of those veggies, throw it in a bowl, grill some fresh organic chicken, boil some of those farm fresh eggs, add a simple homemade dressing (recipe below), and done.  For mine this week I added...

Mixed Greens

Kale

Radish

Kholrabi

Carrots

Spring Onions

Boiled Eggs (Also from my CSA)

Cherry Tomatoes

Cucumber 

Grilled Organic Chicken Breast

(The last 3 ingredients were not from my CSA this week but I had them in my fridge so I added them as well)

Sometimes I also add some seeds, nuts, or a goat or sheeps milk feta for an extra flare.  

For the Dressing:

Olive oil

Half a lemon

Salt

Pepper

THATS IT!!!  

*NOTE - If you made a huge bowl of salad and you want to keep it for a few days, don't dress the entire salad.  It will get soggy much faster if you dress the entire salad and try to keep it.  Just dress what you will eat today and keep the rest in a tupperware in the fridge.  The beauty of this...you can't go wrong!!  

Recipe 2 - Add GREENS anywhere you can.  (I know its not a recipe, but I'll show you what I do)

Breakfast:

A farm fresh egg (for this I sautéed mine in a little olive oil over medium heat.  I prefer my eggs over-medium)

A piece of Ezekiel sprouted grain bread with grass-fed organic butter

Greens (lightly sautéed in the same pan and oil that I cooked the egg)

*Again the greens (Spinach in this case) and the egg were from my CSA.  The toast was from the organic freezer section in the grocery store.  

Leafy Greens are the food most missing in modern diets. Learning to cook and eat greens is essential to creating health. When you nourish yourself with greens, you will naturally crowd out the foods that make you sick. Greens help build your internal rainforest and strengthen the blood and respiratory system. They are especially good for city people who rarely see fields of green in open countryside. Green is associated with spring, the time of renewal, refreshment and vital energy. In Asian medicine, green is related to the liver, emotional stability and creativity.
 

Nutritionally, greens are very high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, zinc and vitamins A, C, E and K. They are crammed with fiber, folic acid, chlorophyll and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals. Whenever possible, choose organic. But eating non-organic greens is much better than not eating any greens at all!
Some of the benefits of eating dark leafy greens are:
-Blood purification
-Cancer prevention
-Improved circulation
-Strengthened immune system
-Promotion of healthy intestinal flora
-Promotion of subtle, light and flexible energy
-Lifted spirit and elimination of depression
-Improved liver, gall bladder and kidney function
-Cleared congestion, especially in lungs by reducing mucus

There is more to life than increasing its speed.
-Gandhi
 

Get Slow
Who doesn’t feel as if there aren’t enough hours in the day? We rush through the day, running here and there, and end up exhausted. Somehow these days full of duties, obligations and busyness have begun to build up and become our lives. We spend our time doing things we don’t really want to do, yet feel we should. We’ve come to believe that being productive and crossing things off our to-do list is the ultimate goal.
 
The truth is, life on Earth is a brief gift, and our time is too precious to be used like this. If we want our lives to be balanced and healthy, we need to lessen our load and increase our down time. This means planning less in a day, prioritizing those things that make our hearts sing and de-prioritizing those things that are not imperative.
 
If we must accomplish many things each day, we can still change the quality with which we do things. How can we transmute that sprint to the train into something delicious instead of the usual gripping and tightening experience? Where can we find ease in the midst of stress? How can we cultivate the art of going slowly?
 
Take a few moments before you climb out of bed in the morning to remember your dreams and to think about what you want from the day.Leave your watch on the bedside table. Take the scenic route. Sit for a moment with your eyes closed when you start your computer. Check email only twice a day. Don’t pack your schedule so tightly that there’s no time for a short walk. Light candles before you start to cook dinner.Add one moment here and there for slowness; it can be done simply and will have a profound effect on your well-being.
 
Adapted from an article by Marco Visscher & Jay Walljasper, Ode Magazine, Issue #15, www.odemagazine.com
 
Food Focus: Oils and Fats
Not all oils and fats are created equal. Heavily processed, hydrogenated, “trans” fats and oils that are used in prepared, packaged foods can be extremely damaging to the body. However, fats and oils from whole foods and other high-quality sources can steady our metabolism, keep hormone levels even, nourish our skin, hair and nails and provide lubrication to keep the body functioning fluidly. Our bodies also need fat for insulation and to protect and hold our organs in place.
 
A healthy percentage of high-quality fat in a meal satisfies and leaves feelings of energy, fulfillment and warmth. When there are excess fats and oils in the diet, especially heavily processed fats, symptoms can include weight gain, skin breakouts, high blood pressure, liver strain and an overall feeling of mental, physical and emotional heaviness. Signs of insufficient high-quality fats are brittle hair and nails, dry skin, hunger after meals and feeling cold.
 
There are many sources of healthy fats and oils:
·   For sautéing and baking, try butter, ghee (clarified butter) or coconut oil because they do not break down when used at high temperatures.
·   When sautéing foods at moderate temperatures, try organic extra virgin olive oil.
·   Oils like flaxseed, sesame, toasted sesame, walnut and pumpkin seed are best used unheated in sauces or dressings on top of salads, veggies or grains.
·   Other healthy fats are found in whole nuts and seeds and in their butters like almond butter or tahini.
·   Whole foods such as avocados, olives and coconuts are great sources of healthy fat, along with wild salmon and omega-3 and omega-6 organic eggs.
Experiment with these healthy fat sources and see which work best for you and leave you satisfied.
 
When selecting oils, buy the highest-quality organic products you can afford, since cooking oils are the backbone of so many dishes. Good words to look for on the label are organic, first-pressed, cold-pressed, extra-virgin and unrefined. Words to avoid are expeller-pressed, refined and solvent extracted.
 
Recipes of the Month:
 
Savory Tahini Sauce
Prep time: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 cup
 
Ingredients:
1/2 cup tahini
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons tamari
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
pinch of cayenne (to your taste)
 
Directions:
1.   In a bowl briskly whisk together the tahini and water until combined. It will look separated at first: just keep whisking!
2.   Add remaining ingredients and whisk until combined.
3.   Adjust flavors to your taste. Add additional water if you want it thinner.
4.   Serve over grains and greens.
Note: Tahini sauce keeps refrigerated for up to one week.
Avocado Dip
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Yield: 1 cup
 
Ingredients:
1 large peeled and pitted avocado
2/3 cup plain yogurt, goat yogurt or soy yogurt
1 diced tomato
dash or two of cayenne pepper
sea salt and black pepper
 
Directions:
1.   Mash avocado with a fork until very smooth.
2.   Add yogurt, tomato, cayenne. Blend until smooth. This may be done in a food processor, in a blender or with a fork.
3.   Add sea salt and fresh black pepper to taste.
4.   Serve chilled with mixed raw vegetables.
Note: Best made a maximum of 1 hour before serving.