Once again, its time to look at some of the health benefits of Asian ingredients. Like the previous post that extolled the medicinal virtues of turmeric, marigold, coriander, black onion seed and bay leaves, this post will look at the uses of cumin, black cumin, cardamom, black cardamon and fenugreek both in the kitchen and in the armamentarium of treatments used by doctors and pharmacists … Read more
One of the food-related trends in modern society is that of nutraceuticals, that is, people seeking foods that will enhance some physical characteristic or another that they value. From foods to boost brain power to foods to aid weight loss, or foods to boost immunity. The quest goes on for the quick food fix, usually as an alternative to a healthy lifestyle. Some of the … Read more
Not Julia Child. Not Martha Stewart or Nigella Lawson, and certainly not Rachael Ray. I’m talking Annapurna, Demeter, Ceres, Ukemochi-no-kami and Chicomecoatl . . . the goddesses of food and hospitality. Almost every culture has one. Some cultures have more than one: She who keeps the pots and the bellies full of nourishing food. She is the goddess who both personifies hunger and either acts … Read more
Food is power. We don’t think about this in the bountiful west very often except perhaps on the rare occasion when stuck for a long time behind a woman with WIC coupons in the grocery line as she purchases infant formula and arrowroot biscuits with large individual coupons that must be tallied separately so Uncle Sam can be assured that she is spending the money … Read more