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September 2007 Greetings, This summer in Iowa has been bright, abundant and hot. Up in Clear Lake and Mason City, I was fortunate to work with Jan Libbey from One Step at a Time Gardens and Edna Oakley to create the Marketplace Education Project. The project included cooking demonstrations, nutritional information, exercise encouragement and information on a variety of other topics ranging from bee keeping and yoga to food sensitivities and walking trails. The events of this project were held at the North Iowa biweekly farmer’s market. We were lucky to have talented and knowledgeable community members come to the market to share their knowledge and excitement. The project also organized Strawberry and Sweet Corn Festivals and brought a local musician to the markets.
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• Late Summer/ Autumn Nutritional Support Newsletter Late Summer, “Indian Summer”, or “doyo”, meaning transition in Chinese, is the short, transitional season when the shift from outward to inward within ourselves and on the Earth begins. During this time, we calm down from the bustle of summer and prepare ourselves for the quietude of the cooler months to come. This is a time for change, for manifestation, for singing and celebrating the abundant harvest. It is also a time to think and plan ahead, sinking your roots in a solid place. Centering practices such as meditation and breathing exercises can help. Late summer is also a time to include more round food into your diet, which have a balance of heaven and Earth’s forces such as millet, garbonzo beans, squash, yams, corn, pumpkin, and apricots. There is an emphasis on mildly sweet tastes and foods that have a yellow, golden, or orange color. Carbohydrates can be increased, shifting slowly to foods that give us more concentrated fuel. Late summer in the body is focused on the stomach and spleen and therefore a good time to strengthen digestion thus preventing fall and winter colds. Incorporating a short cleansing before it gets too cold can prepare the body to better absorb concentrated energy in the months ahead. Try a 1-3 day single grain or steamed vegetable fast, or try cutting your quantity by 50%. Greater support from the plant world can include grapes and grape juice, fresh vegetable juices, sea vegetables, radishes, citrus, and the herbs pau d’arco, fennel, goldenseal, anise, and dandelion, as well as the essential oils of geranium, lime, juniper, and lemon. For more emotional or energetic support try wearing, meditating with, or taking an elixir of the gemstones carnelian, garnet, obsidian, pearl, quartz, moonstone, malachite, or hematite. Or, try calling on the energy of the butterfly. The Autumn season, which starts around the beginning of October, is the entry into the dark, yin cycle. What we have prepared for starts taking place. Nature contracts, moving inward and downward, daylight decreases, and the air turns cooler. This is the time for gathering and harvesting the bounties of Spring and Summer. Ripening in the garden are pumpkins, squash, beans, cabbage, turnips, onions, garlic, root vegetables and herbs, apples, grapes, barley, and rice. Autumn is associated with the metal element representing the mineral ores and salts of the Earth. It is linked to the mind, communication, and creating structures. This season encourages us to finish outward projects, to clean and clear, and focus on activities including study and school, canning and preserving foods, reading, repairing the home and sinking into more mindfulness, meditation, and quiet time. The associated emotion of this season is grief and sorrow, so don’t be afraid to express these emotions and move towards deeper internal peace. In the body, autumn is related to the lungs and large intestines. To protect and purify, include more mucilaginous foods including seaweeds, burdock, pumpkin seeds, and fiber-rich vegetable skins, grains in their whole form, flax and fenugreek seeds, and marshmallow and comfrey roots. Crisp autumn weather is a perfect time for soups and for adding more sour foods like pickles, sauerkraut, olives, sourdough bread, citrus, and vinegars. When cooking use less water, include more oils, and use lower heat for longer periods of time to help internalize your foods. To assist the lungs at this time try the herbs licorice, wild cherry bark, slippery elm, mullein, yerba sante, and horehound; the essential oils of eucalyptus and lemon verbena; and the gemstones of fluorite, gold, hematite, and green jasper. To help the large intestines along, try cascara sagrada, licorice root, Oregon grape root; the oils of cardamom, cinnamon, lemon, and tea tree; and the gemstones of garnet, moonstone, obsidian, and quartz. Also, don’t forget to include a balanced exercise program to keep the blood and circulation flowing.
Local Products Wine Pairing Favorite Cookbooks
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