BeSimply…Summer Greens. Yerba Matte {Mind You + Food}

Summer Greens. Bok Choy is popping (TBN not a typical crop found in the heat of summer)*. Yet, I was blessed to find a bountiful grower at a local farmer’s market. The Bok Choy medley was the perfect add to this savory egg dish coupled with many sweet tastes weighing in from the berries, seeds, tomatoes, and bok choy. If you are interested making a meal by taste, you can start learning how to incorporate all six tastes by mixing it up in your kitchen. This is a practice utilized in Ayurveda to insure your meal is balanced and will satisfy everything you need. When you incorporate all the tastes into each meal, it will assist you retaining well being and/or bring you back into harmony, (if you have an imbalance). Bonus, you will cut those sweet post meal cravings off at the pass. When you eat a balanced meal and retain harmony, cravings drop and well being is restored. In North America, the majority of people are eating salty and sweet tastes only. The six tastes are Sweet, Sour, Salty, Pungent, Bitter and Astringent. I teach my students how to incorporate and satisfy all the tastes by helping them create recipes. During the learning process, we make sure all the tastes are included in the recipe.

For example in the above simple dish, Sweet: Berries, Bok Choy, Tomato and Pumpkin Seeds, Sour: Berries, Tomato and Raw Cheddar Cheese, Salty: Himalayan Salt, Pungent: Fresh Cracked Pepper, Pumpkin Seeds, Thyme, Cilantro and Chili Flakes, Bitter: Mahogany Leaf and Cilantro Astringent: Cilantro, Mahogany Leaf.

The practice of satisfying all six tastes is rather intuitive and is not meant to be analytical or overwhelming. It just takes practice and guidance.

Back to the Summer heat, it can be overwhelming to think about cooking in the heat of the summer. In fact, it is better to avoid ‘cooking’ during the summer months. There are many reasons for avoid turning on the oven or stove for long periods of time or even at all. The main reason for this is to assist keeping you and your home cool. During Summer, there is a probability that you will build too much heat in your body. You can counter balance this by eating more raw foods or steamed foods. Thankfully, Mother Nature makes it effortless to eat straight from the garden by providing us with a wide variety summer fruits and veggies.

The above simple meal is one of my favorites when I want to incorporate seasonal crops and only use my wok on the stove top. All of these ingredients (eggs, bok choy, mahogany leaf, fresh berries, raw cheddar cheese, sprouted sunflower and pumpkin seeds and cilantro were from the local farmer’s market and my garden). These ingredients came from the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market and the tomatoes were from my garden. I share this because while most of us are not set-up to grow all our food, you can create farm to table meals for you and your loved ones. Just get to know where your local farmers are and start a small garden in your yard. These efforts will help you eat seasonally and fresh organic food. In addition, you will help repair the food supply.

*When to plant Bok Choy: you can grow from seeds or seedlings, ‘this vegetable can be planted in early spring for a spring-to-early-summer harvest or in late summer and early fall for a mid-to-late-fall harvest’.