To read this newsletter in its .pdf  form, click here to download the file:  September 2010 Newsletter. Thank you.

“We are a replica of the universe passing from season to season in a natural unending cycle of life”
…Dianne M. Connelly, Ph. D.

September transitions us into fall, but in a fickle way. Summer heat and humidity linger, sporadically broken by cooling breezes. Nature straddles two seasons, too, offering a rich array of summer and fall fare. Fast-growing, perishable, cooling summer fruits and vegetables—berries, melons, stone fruits, corn, and tomatoes—are still at juicy perfection. But, their high-water content makes them perishable. Their time is fleeting, and they do not promise to sustain us.

Thankfully, September begins to introduce us once again to slower-growing, durable, and naturally warming produce—sweet and/or pungent onions, turnips, rutabaga, carrots, parsnips, winter squash, pumpkins, and apples— with nutrient energy that lasts through colder months. September offers, perhaps more than any other month, the best, broadest choice in garden-to-table eating.

Seasonal Profile of Foods
Have you ever stopped to think how seasonal foods are perfectly matched to our own seasonal needs? Today, with giant supermarkets that offer fresh foods from around the globe, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that foods grown locally and in season help synchronize us with own local weather conditions: Tropical foods grown at the equator are consistently cooling; but, in northern climates when temperatures vary, produce changes in character from growing season to growing season:

• Spring, a time of growth and renewal. Chlorophyll-rich green is the color of spring. Most spring greens are bitter, drying, cooling, and cleansing to help the body lighten up and detoxify from the heavy fats and proteins of winter meals.

• Summer, a season of hydrating, cooling, fast-growing foods. Their moisture and expansive nature provide energy and relief from the hot summer sun. Summer produce comes in an array of colors, loaded with antioxidants and phytonutrients to alleviate oxidative stress inherent in summer activity and solar radiation.

• Fall, when the slower-growing, warming vegetables are harvested and stored away for winter. Onions, cabbage, carrots, turnips, rutabaga, winter squash, and pumpkins are the perfect ingredients for warming winter soups, hearty stews, and baked treats.

• Winter, the most contractive time of the year and the dormant growth season. Without fresh vegetables, traditional cultures relied upon animal products and natural fats to provide heat and warmth, complemented by preserved (fermented, dried, salted, smoked) foods.

The harmony and attunement brought by seasonal foods is but one positive aspect. Eating seasonally also means foods are fresher, more economical, and deliver more vital force energy. Eating by the season also implies a natural rotation of foods to help prevent allergies (the Ig-G type) caused by repetitively consuming the same foods. Put simply, eating in season supports health, economy, and efficiency.

Moderating Considerations
Eating seasonal foods for harmony and attunement is just one part of the picture, of course. It is not the only consideration when it comes to choosing foods. Tempering factors include:

Personal makeup. Personal health profiles and specific conditions take precedent when shopping for foods. Every food has its own unique set of characteristics, which include taste and direction of energy, temperature, and specific actions and effects upon key organ systems. Understanding foods in this way underlies the concept of foods used as medicines, long incorporated and practiced by Chinese, Ayurvedic, Native American, and other traditional cultures.

For example, Chinese medicine suggests that a person who is energy (Qi) deficient is best de-emphasizing cooling, cleansing bitter greens as well as cooling, watery summer fare. More appropriate to support Qi through digestion and assimilation of nutrients are fall-harvest foods—well-cooked sweet round and root vegetables. In contrast, an individual who shows heat signs and is fluid (yin) deficient might need to avoid too many sweet, warming foods; instead, cooling, hydrating summer foods—some eaten raw—would be ideal.

And, there are other things to consider, particularly for those who suffer from joint pain (avoid nightshades), hypothyroid conditions( goitrogens ), or osteoporosis (oxalic acid ). My own joint pain some years ago forced me to give up my garden tomatoes—these favorites were simply too difficult to resist!—and once I did this, and began to limit potatoes as well, my joint pain disappeared.

• Nightshades. Nightshades—tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers (and tobacco)—contain solanine, which is an alkaloid that can upset digestion and cause headache. Nightshades also move calcium from the bones to joints, organs, and soft tissues, which can create joint pain and arthritis, kidney stones, and arteriosclerosis. Many people who suffer from joint pain vastly improve by eliminating (allow several months) nightshades from the diet.

• Goitrogens. Goitrogens—broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, turnips, rutabaga—are part of the brassica family of vegetables. In their raw or lightly-cooked form, they support health through their anti-cancer compounds dithiolthiones and indoles. However, these same vegetables, unless fully-cooked, depress thyroid function and should be eaten sparingly by anyone with a hypothyroid condition. (It is estimated that half of all Americans are hypothyroid, including those whose blood tests suggest otherwise.)

• Oxalic Acid. Spinach, Swiss chard, beet greens, rhubarb, cranberries, and plums have oxalic acid which (like nightshades) interferes with the absorption of calcium. Cooking these foods (as in the case of goitrogens) helps to mollify oxalic acid and makes their nutrients easier to assimilate.

Living environment. Many of us spend much of the day indoors and are little exposed to the seasons. Often, offices and apartment buildings are over-heated in winter and over-cooled in summer. The average temperature in office buildings is characteristically 10 degrees cooler in summer than winter! If, in summer, you are dressed in lighter attire and working all day in a super-cooled office, warming, hearty soups may feel better than a cool, crisp luncheon salad. Also, if you live as I do in an over-heated apartment building in winter, salads and tropical fruits that cool and hydrate, such as bananas and pineapples, may be more welcome than the heavy meals we usually associate with winter.

What’s in Season?
The Recipe tab of my website (click here:) http://pathways4health.org/recipesfoods/ now includes a tabular listing of fresh produce when it first appears in the Northeast region of the country. This website page also includes seasonal recipes (to be built upon in the future) to correspond by month with what is in season. Also included are cautionary asterisks on fruits and vegetables, such as apples and celery, that have an unusually high pesticide load and are particularly worth buying “organic”…or purchasing from a local sustainable farmer whom you know and trust. If you live in a different area of the United States, or want to search seasonal produce by specific state or specific food, try Eat Local by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) or Epicurious websites:

http://www.simplesteps.org/eat-local

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/seasonalcooking/farmtotable/seasonalingredientmap

September Recipe: Stock Pot Improvisation: Vegetable Puree to Transition, by the Season
Soups are amazingly flexible and can be based on ingredients that suit the climate as well as our work style and our own personal health profile. The two recipes below are identical in spirit, but the summer version uses cooling zucchini, while the autumn variation substitutes warming fall harvest vegetables like turnips, rutabaga and butternut squash in place of zucchini. These two standbys are among my own improvisational favorites.

Summer Roots and Rounds Soup (yield: about 8 quarts)
6 large onions, diced
12 small/medium zucchini, halved and sliced
2 pounds carrots, peeled and rough sliced
4 T. thyme
1 piece kombu or dulse, optional (these add cooling energy and extra minerals)

In a large stock pot, sauté onions until soft and translucent. Add remaining ingredients and cover with filtered water. Bring to a boil, lower heat simmer, simmer, with lid ajar. Soup is finished when vegetables are tender. Allow to cool. Puree with an immersion wand or in a blender.

Fall Roots and Rounds Soup (Yield: about 8 quarts)
Onions, turnips, rutabaga, and carrots are all warming. Turnips add a pungent flare to offset the sweetness of the carrots and butternut squash.

6 large onions, diced
4 medium turnips or 2 rutabaga, diced
4 pounds carrots, peeled and rough sliced; or the equivalent amount of diced butternut squash
4 T. thyme
1 piece kombu or dulse (optional: these add extra minerals)

In a large stock pot, sauté onions until soft and translucent. Add remaining ingredients and cover with filtered water. Bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer, cover with lid ajar. Soup is finished when vegetables are tender. Allow to cool. Puree with an immersion wand or in a blender.

I cook a big batch of these soups and store them in quart jars in the refrigerator, to be used anytime to make instant meals for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner.
For Breakfast, lunch, or dinner: the soup can be heated, stirring in eggs for a hearty egg-drop soup, with toasted wholegrain or sourdough bread or add in cooked beans and grains or grains and leftover cooked chicken or fish.

The possibilities are limitless, but when you take time to cook soup in a big batch, the major part of the cooking job is finished. This is because preparing beans and grains or using leftover animal proteins or opening a can of wild salmon or Portuguese sardines (www.vitalchoice. com), for example, is easy. Soaking and cooking beans or grains takes more planning than real time. Soaked the night before and cooked during breakfast time, these staples are ready to eat later when you are, and like the soup, they can keep for days in the refrigerator. There are endless variations for quick, nutritious meals.

Copyright 2010 Pathways4Health.org

For holidays or special celebrations, having a few delicious breakfast treats baked ahead of time can be helpful, particularly if we have house guests of various ages and sleeping schedules. The following recipes can be made in advance and are as delicious a day later as they are fresh-baked from the oven. In your times of celebration, we hope they please the guests while they also take pressure off the host and hostess.

Apple Upside-Down Biscuit Cake

For topping:
3 T. unsalted butter
2 T. maple sugar
1 lb. Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into thin wedges

For cake:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3 T. maple syrup
1 t. baking powder
½ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
½ t. cinnamon
5 T. cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425 F.
For topping: Heat butter in an ovenproof 10-inch heavy skillet (preferably well-seasoned cast-iron) over moderate heat until foam subsides. Stir in maple syrup and remove from heat. Spread mixture evenly in skillet and arrange apples, overlapping in one layer.

For cake: Blend flour, syrup, baking powder and soda, salt, and cinnamon in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a bowl and add buttermilk, stirring just until mixture is moistened. Drop batter on top of apples and gently spread, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge of the skillet so cake can expand. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden brown and firm to the touch, 20¬25 minutes. Cool cake in skillet on a rack 3 minutes, then invert onto a platter. Replace on the cake any apples that stick to the skillet. Serve warm with crème fraiche or sour cream.
Source: Ellen Arian

Breakfast/Snack Raisin Squares (18-24 squares)
Filling:
3 cups seedless raisins
1 ½ cups filtered water
1 cinnamon stick
3 T. fresh lemon juice
¼ cup kuzu or arrowroot, dissolved in 2 T. water

Crust:
3 cups rolled oats
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
¼ t. salt
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup maple syrup or barley malt

Filling:
Combine all ingredients in a 2 quart saucepan. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
Discard the cinnamon stick. In a blender or food processor, puree the raisins and return them to the saucepan. Add the dissolved kuzu and cook over high heat, stirring until thickened and clear; set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Oil a 9-by-14 inch cake pan.

Crust:
Place the oats, flour, and salt in the container of a food processor. With the machine running, drop in the pieces of butter, one at a time, until well mixed (Or, cut the butter into the flour in a bowl, using 2 knives until the mixture is crumbly.)
With the food processor still running, slowly pour in the syrup or barley malt (or stir it into the flour in the bowl) until well mixed and you have a soft dough. Divide the dough in half.
Roll out one-half between two pieces of wax paper, to fit the cake pan. Remove the top paper. Invert the dough into the pan and carefully peel off the bottom paper. Gently press the dough into all the corners of the pan, then fold over or press down the edges so that the crust is flat with no border. Spread the filling evenly over the crust, smoothing with a rubber spatula.
Break up the remaining dough between your fingers until crumbly. Sprinkle the crumbly dough evenly over the raisin filling, covering it completely. Press down lightly.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Let cool, then cut into squares.
Source: The Natural Gourmet

Banana-Nut Muffins (Makes 12 Muffins)
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup butter or ghee, melted and cooled slightly
¾ cup maple syrup
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 small or medium bananas, about 2 cups, well mashed
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. fine sea salt.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with parchment paper liners.
Place the nuts on a cookie sheet and toast for 10 minutes (about 4 minutes for pecans). Cool, chop and set aside .
In a large bowl, mix together the butter or ghee, maple syrup, eggs, vanilla and bananas.
Over a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, adding the nuts as you stir. Be careful not to over-mix.
Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling each about ¾ full.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins feel well set. Turn the muffins out of the tin and cool on a rack.
Source: Ellen Arian

Blueberry Muffins (10-12 muffins)
8 tablespoons butter at room temperature
3/4 cup plus
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 large eggs
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup whole milk (or 1/4 cup buttermilk + 1/8 teaspoon baking soda)
2-1/2 cups organic blueberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place parchment liners in muffin cups.
In a large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer. Add the maple syrup and continue creaming until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a medium bowl, sift the dry ingredients. Then add them alternately with the milk to the butter-maple mixture. Mix only until just combined.
In a small bowl, crush a handful of the blueberries with a fork and mix them into the batter by hand, along with the remaining blueberries.
Source: Ellen Arian

Copyright 2009 Pathways4Health

Bone Stocks: One of the best ways to build and strengthen bones and support digestion and health.

Hearty stocks can be sipped alone to boost the immune system and as an antidote to colds and the flu, or they can be used in cooking to add depth, flavor, and nutrition to your favorite recipes. Making stocks, especially time-consuming bone stocks, is a bit of a lost art in modern times, and yet it is one of the very best health investments we can make.¹

Making Bone Stocks…Equipment and Materials
There are a host of wonderful cookbooks describing how to make bone stocks. Many suggest a large stock pot and organic meats, which you bring to just a boil, reduce the heat, skim off foam that floats to the surface, add vegetables, and keep at a slow simmer for some hours depending on the meat…beef for at least 8 hours so it has time to surrender all its minerals and flavor, and chicken for about half that time. I truly enjoy reading the author/chefs who describe this process and, much like cooking shows on television, I can live the dream along with them–down to imagining the wonderful aromas as well as the delicious tastings from frequent sampling of the stock as it gathers richness and body.

But if you have never cooked stocks, I want to be realistic. I want you to be successful. And, I want it to be easy. I usually use a slow cooker for bone stocks because I cannot stay in the kitchen hour after hour, and I am also not comfortable leaving the house with a pot on the stove. So, for now, since bone stocks cook for very long periods and because our modern world is full of distractions and commitments that pull us out of the kitchen, I recommend a slow cooker, especially if you are just starting out to with bone stocks. A slow cooker is easy, safe, effortless, and rather fail-proof.

Special equipment you will need:• A slow cooker large enough for your needs (or stock pot, if you choose)
• Strainers, stainless-steel nesting bowls for cooling, cheese cloth if you desire a clearer stock
• A cooking thermometer is helpful to monitor temperatures with a stock pot
A few guidelines:
• Water should barely cover ingredients. Add more if needed
• Never salt a stock. Bones have sodium and flavors concentrate
• Start with cold water and bring just to a simmer, with bubbles barely breaking the surface of the water. Never boil a stock. High temperatures can integrate the fat with the liquid, resulting in a “greasy” rather than a clean tasting stock. A slow cooker is perfect for a slow simmer: Even “High” is calibrated to be below the boiling point.
• Skim the impurities that rise to the top…most foam will rise in the first hour of cooking
• Taste the meat when you suspect it has surrendered its essence. When tasteless, stop cooking and strain the stock, unless you are making a 24-hour stock and intend to eat the bones
• Cool the stock quickly to prevent bacteria growth. Skim off the congealed surface fat
• Stocks keep in the refrigerator for about a week, but should be boiled about every three days to kill bacteria. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Always bring a thawed stock back to the boil to restore its life.

Before your get started…Some Observations from my “Test Kitchen:” • To get the best gelatin from chicken, cook the meat on the bones for 4-6 hours. Use no vinegar or wine. A longer cooking time and/or an acid will weaken the gelatin.
• To get an even better gelatin that is twice as firm, use cartilage-rich knuckle- and hock-type bones. Cover with boiling water in a slow cooker (no vinegar) and simmer for 4-6 hours (a short enough time so the freed gelatin does not break down from prolonged heat). Pour off the stock and refrigerate. Begin a new batch the same way, with the same bones. Knuckles and hocks will provide multiple batches, with no discernible diminution of firmness of the gelatin.
• To eat small bones like chicken legs with their marrow requires about 24 hours and is best when you use some vinegar or wine.
• The best tasting stock is a product of both meat and bones. Flavor can be enhanced by the addition of extra meat. Prolonged cooking does not help flavor. Remove stock when meat has no taste.

Eight Branches Organic Chicken Bone Soup
4 pound organic chicken, well-washed and skinned
4 skinned chicken breasts, or other chicken pieces, if there is room in the pot
1-2 large onions, chopped
2-3 carrots, chopped
3-5 ribs of celery

Place chicken in large crock pot with enough water to cover plus 2 inches extra and begin cooking on high. When simmering well, turn to low and cook for about 20 hours, adding more water to keep covered, if needed. Add chopped vegetables about 2 hours before you plan to finish.

Broth may be strained and used as a tonic when recovering from colds or the flu; it may also be used in soups, bean dishes, or to cook grains (my favorite…I freeze this in 2 cup batches and cook with grains in my rice cooker)

Chicken may be eaten, bones and all…alone, in salads, as additions to soups, etc.

Source: Tim Aitken, L.Ac.,Eight Branches Healing Arts.

Pathways4Health Chicken/Bone Stock

Three pounds (about 12 legs) of organic chicken, or whatever fits well in your slow cooker

2 Bay leaves
Sprig of Fresh rosemary, or 1 t. dried, if desired (it is a good anti-inflammatory); 1 t. dried thyme
4 quarts boiling water
¼ cup organic apple cider vinegar or ½ cup white wine (to be added later).

Combine all ingredients but the vinegar in a 4-5 quart slow cooker, turned to high. Skim off foam, if it exists.
Let legs cook for about 4 hours until meat begins to fall off the bone. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a large bowl. When cooled a bit, remove the meat from the bones and store it in a covered container in the refrigerator for another use. [Since meat is just 1% collagen, saving it to eat and cooking the bones for gelatin is my preference to avoid waste, unless your goal is to maximize taste.]

Return bones to slow cooker along with all the knuckle, gristle, and skin. Add the apple cider vinegar. Turn slow cooker to low, cover with lid, and let simmer for up to 20 more hours. Strain the stock, reserving the bones and discarding the other solids. Store the bones in the refrigerator in a covered container. Cool the stock overnight in a covered container in the refrigerator, then remove the fat from the top and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you chose to try eating the bones, the sensation is a bit like eating shoe-string potatoes…slightly crunchy, rich, and satisfying. Marrow is full of bone-building minerals, of course, as well as fat to help with their absorption.

Very, Very Rich Chicken Bone Stock…A bowl or two can make a meal.
3-4 pound chicken, whole or in parts
12 cups cold water
3 or 4 large carrots
2 or 3 celery stalks, with leaves
1 parsnip
1 onion, peeled
½ head garlic
1 leek
2 or 3 sprigs fresh thyme
Handful fresh parsley leaves and stems
8 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
Other vegetable scraps, like fennel fronds, chard stems or squash ends
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Fine sea salt to taste

Into a large stock pot, place cleaned chicken and water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes. Skim and discard any foam that appears.
Meanwhile, clean the vegetables and herbs, and cut the vegetables into large pieces so that they will fit inside the pot. Add all the ingredients, except the sea salt, to the soup pot. Bring the soup to a boil again, reduce the heat to very low, and simmer uncovered. After the first hour of simmering, remove the chicken, take the meat off the bone, and set it aside to be added back to the soup when it’s finished cooking (boiled meat is rather spent after 6 hours in a pot). Simmer the soup uncovered for another five hours. Then remove it from the heat, strain, skim the fat if there is in abundance, and serve with the reserved chicken pieces. This serves a family of five, so it can be cut down.

Source: Ellen Arian, www.ellensfoodandsoul.com

Beef Stock
Once you’ve made this stock, don’t be so quick to discard the bones. The marrow that remains within is a rich source of calcium, fat, iron, and zinc. In fact, it has three times more calcium than milk, ounce for ounce. Although it’s fallen out of favor as a food, marrow was an esteemed source of nutrients in the past. If you’d like to give it a try, blow or scrape it out of the bones after the stock is cooked, spread it on whole grain toast, and top with a little salt and white pepper.
2 pounds beef marrow bones
4 quarts cold water
1 large carrot, top ½ inch discarded, chopped
1 medium onion, quartered
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
½ cup parsley stems (no leaves, which add green color)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup red or white wine, or 2 tablespoons wine vinegar

1. Place the bones in a stockpot with the water, bring to a boil over high heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Skim off as much of the foam as possible.
2. Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, parsley stem, oil, and wine, lower the heat to maintain a very low simmer and cook for 6 to 8 hours with the lid ajar, skimming occasionally.
3. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve without pressing on the solids. Cool the stock before storing in the refrigerator overnight, remove the fat from the top. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Makes 3 quarts.
Source: Annemarie Colbin

Copyright 2010 Pathways4Health.org

1. See January10 Newsletter for complete discussion [↩]

Life is a gift of nature; but beautiful living is the gift of wisdom…Greek Adage

Cooking with bones can be an emotionally satisfying experience by connecting us to the structure and essence of the animal whose life was sacrificed for our own well-being. Using bones fosters an age-old tradition of conservation and gratitude. Bones relinquish, through long slow cooking, their collagen/gelatin and mineral essence, enriching any dish and making it easier to assimilate. So, cooking with bones can be enriching, both physically¹ and spiritually.

Bones and Beans. Bones, with their minerals and fat, add nutrition, nuance, and taste to any dish made with beans or legumes. Ham hocks, for example, add a smoky richness and satisfying depth to split peas and are the perfect complement to any dried bean or legume. Lamb shanks—with their flavor, collagen, marrow and fat—transform baby limas or white beans (such as navy or great northern) into a velvety-smooth, mouth-watering delicacy. Meat bones with a high bone/collagen-to-meat ratio—such as knuckles, hocks, neck bones, and shanks—add flavor and nutrition to beans and legumes and can lift an ordinary meal, making it a sublime experience. Veal meat bones, because they have a higher bone/collagen-to-meat ratio relative to beef, are an especially good choice.

Bones and Meat. Bones belong to meat as much as meat belongs to bones. Like fat, bones slow the cooking process, ensuring that meat does not cook too quickly. Fat is able to do this because it conducts heat less readily than does lean muscle. Bones do this too because their porous construction acts as an insulator that slows the transfer of heat.² This is why cooked meat is more succulent and juicy the closer it is to the bone, giving rise to the expression, “The nearer the bone, the sweeter the meat.”

Cooking with Bones.
Cooking with bones is open to your own whimsy. You need few rules, and you can hardly go wrong. Just check what you have on hand, and see what looks good when you shop. Boney parts are economical, rich in collagen and have one of the highest bone-to-meat ratios of any cut, so the meat is succulent and delicious.
Use your imagination. See what ingredients you have already–beans, legumes, grains, or vegetables—that might be enriched by adding a soup bone or two. Then, when you shop, have fun following your whims.
The cold, short days of winter is a perfect time to cook with soup bones. With little effort and a slow cooker at your side, you can fill the house with wonderful welcoming aromas. Conventional recipes with multiple ingredients are listed later. But first, since I often cut corners, I have included several minimalist ideas below, as well as some original recipes from Fanny Farmer. I hope this variety provides ideas for making substitutions and creating your own innovations.

Lamb Shanks
2-6 lamb shanks
Garlic cloves, to taste
Fresh sprigs of rosemary, to taste
Wash the lamb shanks. Place in slow cooker to fit along with garlic and rosemary. Add just enough boiling water to cover. Turn cooker to High, then to Low after the water comes to a good simmer. Simmer for about five hours, depending on the size of the shanks, until the meat begins to pull away from the bone. To try the marrow, serve with a chop stick, a knife, and a toasted slice of rustic bread. [You may note that I do not brown the lamb shanks before I put them in the slow cooker. They come out just fine without this step, though the stock may be less rich.]

Split Peas with Smoked Ham Hocks
1 pound split peas, washed and picked over
2 onions, diced
3 carrots, roll-cut or sliced
1 smoked ham hock
3-6 bay leaves
Wash the ham hock and put into a slow cooker. Cover with boiling water. Turn the cooker to High and then to Low once it reaches a slow simmer. Allow to cook 5-6 hours. Pour off the stock and cool quickly. Start another “batch” with the hock and boiling water. A hock will render several rounds of stock. Use the extra stock for other recipes. Stocks freeze well (see February 2010).
Once the first “batch” of stock has thoroughly cooled in the refrigerator, skim off the fat. It should be very gelatinous, the consistency of Jello “jigglers.”
.
To make the soup, you can follow you own favorite split pea soup recipe, using the hock stock in place of water. Or you can follow the simple recipe above: sauté the onions in butter until soft. Add the peas, carrots, bay leaves and enough stock to cover. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and allow to simmer, partly covered, until peas and carrots are very tender, about 1-2 hours. Remove the bay leaves. The soup will have a wonderful richness and smoky flavor. When chilled, because the stock is so gelatinous, the soup will hold the shape of any mold and can be sliced and eaten cold, or heated again to be eaten as a soup. Gelatin is the most forgiving of all thickeners, it can be heated and cooled numerous times, jelling and re-jelling again and again.

Recipes from Fanny Farmer and the Boston Cooking School, 1896.
Fanny Farmer was a visionary, an artist, a food conservationist, and a scientist of the culinary arts. Her cookbook, published more than a century ago, was the first comprehensive cookbook to use rigor, both in defining cooking terms (e.g. , “ parboiling”) and standards of measure (e.g., “one level cupful”). Fanny Farmer was also interested in nutrition and saw her 1896 cookbook to be a way to help Americans improve their health through wholesome, home cooking:

“I certainly feel that the time is not far distant when a knowledge of the principles of diet will be an essential part of one’s education. Then mankind will eat to live, will be able to do better mental and physical work, and disease will be less frequent.” …Fanny M. Farmer, 1896

Of course, in 1896, Ms. Farmer could not have predicted the American shift during the 100 years to follow away from home cooking toward processed/manufactured foods and fast foods. Nor could she have foreseen our modern “foods” based so much upon refined sugar and flour, refined vegetable oils, trans fats, and high fructose corn syrup…nor the widespread incidence of chronic disease.

But, nothing lasts forever, of course. Your response to my February newsletter on bone stocks makes me feel that we truly long for a return to a more traditional way of cooking—and the deep satisfaction on both a physical and spiritual level that it can bring. Just look at the revival in sales of the Julia Child Cookbook in response to the movie Julie and Julia. After years of low-fat eating, a return to boeuf bourguignon and to using butter may feel not only good but also “just right.”

Scotch Broth, Fanny Farmer [For a modern version using leg of lamb, see below]
3 pounds lamb (shanks, fore-quarter, etc.)
½ cup barley, soaked in cold water 12 hours
4 T. butter
¼ cup each diced carrot, celery, onion, and turnip
2 T. flour; salt and pepper
½ T. finely chopped parsley

Cut lean meat in 1” cubes, put in kettle, cover with 3 pints cold water, bring quickly to boiling point, skim, add barley. Simmer 1 ½ hours or until meat is tender. Put bones in second kettle, cover with cold water, heat slowly to boiling point, skim, and simmer 1½ hours. Strain water from bones and add to meat. Fry vegetables in 2 T. butter 5 minutes, add to soup with salt and pepper to taste and cook until vegetables are soft. Thicken with remaining butter and flour cooked together. Add parsley just before serving. Rice may be used in place of barley.

Ox-Tail Soup, Fanny Farmer
1 ½ pounds oxtail, in 2” pieces
2 T. flour
2 T. butter
4 cups brown stock or bouillon
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
½ cup diced turnip
1 medium onion, diced
1 T. lemon juice
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

Dust the oxtail pieces with flour. Heat the oil in a soup pot, add the oxtail, and brown slowly on all sides. Drain the oil from the pot, remove the meat, and slowly add the stock and 4 cups of water, scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze it. Return the meat to the pot, partially cover, and simmer for 2 ½ hours or until the meat is tender, adding more water to replace any that evaporates. Strain the soup and allow the meat and bones to cook enough to be handled. Remove the meat from the bones and return it to the soup. Add the carrots, celery, turnip, and onion to the soup and simmer for another 30 minutes or until tender. Stir in the lemon juice, Worcestershire, and salt and pepper to taste; serve very hot.

Braised Lamb Shanks, Fanny Farmer
4 lamb shanks
2 fat cloves of garlic, each in 8 slivers
2 T. flour
3 T. shortening
1 bay leaf
1 T. grated lemon rind
1/3 cup lemon juice
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
4 carrots, in ½” pieces
8 small onions, peeled

Cut four slits in the flesh of each lamb shank; insert a sliver of garlic in each slit. Lightly dust the shanks with flour. Heat the shortening in a Dutch oven or a heavy pot with a lid. Put the shanks in and brown on all sides. Remove all but 1 Tablespoon fat. Add the bay leaf, lemon rind, lemon juice, and ¼ cup water, and sprinkle salt and pepper over all. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 1½-2 hours, depending on the tenderness of the shanks. Add the carrots and onions for the last 40 minutes of cooking. Remove shanks and vegetables to a platter and keep warm. Serve with the pot juices or make a gravy.

Note: The remaining recipes are more contemporary in nature. If you are interested in additional Fanny Farmer recipes and commentary, the full text of the 1918 edition is available through www.bartelby.com

Lamb Shank Soup
1 pound dried baby Lima beans
1 ½ lbs. lamb shanks
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups filtered water
1 cup diced carrot
1 cup minced onion
1 cup minced celery
2 T. butter or ghee
Soak beans overnight in water, to cover by several inches. In a heavy sauce pan, brown lamb shanks in butter in. Pour off fat and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 2 hours. Remove lamb shanks, take meat off the bone, cube it, and return it to the soup. [This soup can be simmered, after the browning stage, in a slow cooker.]
Adapted from cooks.com

Split Pea Soup with Lamb Shanks
2 large lamb shanks [or a meaty ham bone]
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1 medium baking potato, peeled and diced; or 1 package instant oatmeal
2 T. butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1 t. thyme
3 bay leaves
2 cups split peas, rinsed and drained
6 cups chicken broth
½ cup dry white wine [sherry instead of wine if using a ham bone]
3 cups water

Brown lamb shanks in an 8-quart stock pot in 2 T. butter. [Skip browning step if using a ham bone.] Remove; and add 2 T. butter to pot and sauté onion, garlic, carrot, celery, and potatoes until limp. Add lamb shanks back to the pot with remaining ingredients. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until lamb shanks are tender. Remove shanks from soup, pull meat from bones and return meat to soup, simmering about 30 minutes longer. Remove bay leaves and serve.
Adapted from cooks.com

Chicken and Chickpeas with Spinach
1 t. turmeric
Butter or ghee for browning
4 pounds chicken pieces, skin on breasts, skinned legs and thighs
3 minced onions
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. cumin seeds
Salt and pepper to taste
12 oz. chicken broth
1 T. grated lemon zest
2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 19 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed or 1 cup dried, cooked and drained
1 pound fresh spinach leaves, washed thoroughly by immersing and rinsing well in plenty of water.

In a heavy skillet, brown chicken in batches in the butter. Transfer to a slow cooker.
Add more butter to the skillet and then the onions, cooking until softened. Add garlic, cumin seeds, turmeric, salt and pepper and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add chicken broth, lemon zest and juice and chickpeas and bring to a boil.
Pour mixture over the chicken, cover, and cook on Low for 5-6 hours, or on High for 2 ½-3 hours, until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a fork. Add spinach and combine by stirring. Cover and cook on High for 20 minutes until spinach is cooked through. Adapted from Judith Finlayson

Lamb Shanks Braised in Guinness
¼ cup flour
1 t. salt and ½ t. cracked pepper
4 pounds lamb shanks
2 T. butter
4 onions, minced
6 gloves garlic, minced
1 T. dried thyme
2 T. tomato paste
1 ½ cups Guinness or other dark beer
½ cup condensed beef broth, undiluted

On a plate, combine flour with salt and pepper and lightly coat shanks, shaking off excess.
In a skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat; brown lamb in batches; transfer each to a slow cooker.
Reduce heat and add onions to the skillet, stirring until softened. Add garlic, thyme, and reserved flour mixture, and cook, stirring 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste, beer and broth and cook, stirring, until mixture thickens. Pour over shanks, cover, and cook on Low for 10-12 hours, or on High for 5-6 hours until meat falls off the bone. Adapted from Judith Finlayson

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic
2 T. butter
40 cloves garlic (about 4 heads)
4 pounds chicken pieces, breasts with skin, legs and thighs with skin removed
2 onions, minced
4 stalks celery, peeled and diced
1 t. dried tarragon leaves [or 1 t. dried thyme]
1 t. salt; ½ t. cracked pepper; ¼ t. freshly grated nutmeg
½ cup dry white wine or vermouth

In a skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat and add garlic, stirring often until it turns golden. With a slotted spoon, transfer garlic to a slow cooker. Turn up heat to medium. Add chicken in batches, and brown. Transfer to the slow cooker.
Add onions and celery to the pan and cook, stirring until softened. Add tarragon, salt, pepper and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add vermouth or wine and bring to a boil.
Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on Low for 5-6 hours or on High for 2 1/2 -3 hours, until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a fork. Source: Judith Finlayson

Roasted Marrow Bones…For the Adventurous!
8 to 12 center-cut beef or veal marrow bones, 3” long, 3-4 pounds, total
1 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 t. capers
1 ½ T. extra virgin olive oil
2 t. fresh lemon juice
Coarse sea salt to taste
At least 4 ½ inch-thick slices of rustic bread, toasted

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put bones, cut side up on a foil-lined roasting pan or baking sheet. Cook until marrow is soft and has begun to separate from the bone, about 15 minutes (stop before marrow begins to drizzle out.
Meanwhile, combine parsley, shallots and capers in a small bowl. Just before bones are ready, whisk together olive oil and lemon juice and drizzle dressing over parsley mixture until leaves are just roasted. Put roasted bones, parsley salad, salt and toast on large plates. To serve, scoop out marrow, spread on toast, sprinkle with salt and top with parsley salad.
Source: Mark Bittman, adapted from Fergus Henderson

White Bean Soup
1 pound dried white beans
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 leeks,washed, chopped (1 ½ cups)
4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 large carrots,chopped (1 cup)
2 stalks celery, chopped (2/3 cup)
1 ½ pound smoked ham shank,
1 quart chicken broth
Filtered water, to add as needed
1 t. dried sage
3 bay leaves
Chopped parsley, garnish

Remove excess fat from ham shank. Soak beans overnight to generously cover. Drain beans. Put in a large pot. Add remaining ingredients except parsley. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally until beans are tender, about 2 hours.
Discard bay leaf. Remove ham hocks; cut off meat into small pieces, put back into soup.
Place 4 cups of bean mixture, in 2 batches, in a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Stir back into soup. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired. Adapted from cooks.com
Scotch Broth, Epicurious.com

Leg of Lamb

A leg of lamb, cracked, with meat on it
2 or 3 medium onions, whole
6 stalks of celery, diced
6 carrots, diced
1 garlic clove
½ cup pearl barley
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Parsley
Some celery leaves

Wash barley and soak overnight. Put in kettle and add other ingredients. Cover with water. Cook slowly at least four hours. Soup should cook down until quite thick. Refrigerate for at least four hours. [You can skim fat.] Add water when reheating to serve. Correct seasoning at that time and remove meat bone and celery leaves before serving. Source: Epicurious. Com

Reading Resources:
Jennifer McLagan, Bones: Recipes, History, and Lore (2005).
This is an inspiring commentary on bones, complete with recipes and guides to cuts of meat by animal type . Since most recipes are time-consuming and complex and since my purpose is to make cooking with bones simple and effortless, I did not use any of them here. Nevertheless, Bones is a fine, specialized addition to any book shelf.

Shopping Resources:
www.eatwild.com for grass-fed animal products by state
www.apppa.org for poultry raised by traditional methods, on green grass and traditional grains, by state
www.flyingpigsfarm.com a source for fresh and cured premium pork and nitrite-free bacon
www.localhavest.org to find organic, sustainably-grown food sources close to where you live.

Copyright 2010 Pathways4Health.org

1. See January10 Newsletter for discussion [↩]
2. Harold McGee, On Food and Cooking, 153. [↩]

Beans and grains are easy to store and have on hand when you have time and are in the mood to cook.  These recipes can fill the house with wonderful aromas and build an appetite and the pleasant anticipation of a rich, hearty meal.   Beans and grains often work interchangeably.  With these basic recipes, you might want to try your own innovations.

Thick Split Pea and Brown Rice Soup (serves 6; cooking time 1 hour)
1 T. butter or ghee
1 onion, chopped
1 large carrot, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. curry powder
2 cups split peas, picked over and washed
1 cup brown rice, washed and soaked over night
8 cups stock or water
3 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Heat the butter in a large soup pot or Dutch oven and sauté the onion, carrot, and the garlic with the curry powder until the onion is tender.
2. Add the split peas, rice, stock, and bay leaves and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer 1 hour or until the peas are tender.
4. Check and add more water from time to time if needed if soup becomes too thick.
5. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and serve.

Source: Adapted from Martha Rose Shulman

Thick Barley Soup (10 one-cup servings)
12 cups stock or water
1 cup barley, soaked overnight
2 cups mirepoix
1 cup mushrooms, ¼” sliced
Tamari
Mirepoix: 2 parts onion to one part each diced carrots and celery. Saute in butter or ghee.

1. Add water to a large pot and bring to boil.
2. Lower flame and add barley, stir, and simmer 1 hour.
3. Add mirepoix and simmer 30 minutes
4. Add mushrooms, mix and simmer 5 minutes
5. Adjust water if needed and add tamari or taste.

Source: Jackson Blackmon

Black Bean Soup (6 Servings)
½ pound dried black turtle beans, soaked
1 quart water
1 large onion
3 medium cloves garlic
1 T. e.v. olive oil
1 tomato
¼ t. oregano
½ t. cumin
2 t. chili powder
1 bay leaf
2 T. mirin (sweet rice wine) or 1 T. dry sherry
1 ½ T. brown rice vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup chopped whole scallions for garnish

1. Drain the soaked beans and rinse. Place them in a 6-quart soup pot with the water. Bring to a boil, skimming the foam that rises to the surface until it almost ceases to form, then reduce heat, cover, and cook for 45 minutes.
2. While the beans are cooking, chop the onion fine and mince the garlic. In a medium skillet, heat the oil and sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.
3. While onion and garlic are sautéing, drop the tomato into the ban pot for 30 seconds; remove using a slotted spoon. Peel. Cut I half crosswise and squeeze out the seeds. Chop coarsely and add to the skillet, along with the oregano, cumin, and chili powder. Cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes.
4. Scrape the contents of the skillet into the soup pot. Add the bay leaf. Cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour more.
5. Add the mirin or sherry, vinegar, and salt and pepper and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes. If you wish, puree 2-3 cups of soup in a blender or food processor to create a thicker, smoother texture.

Source: Annemarie Colbin, The Natural Gourmet

<

Fall is my favorite season for cooking.  The plethora of  sweet round and root vegetables inspire me to load my stock pot with onions, butternut squash, carrots, turnips, parsnips, beets, and rutabaga…along with a good complement of red lentils and herbs to make a savory puree.  This can be used as a soup or a sauce to accompany grains and poultry, meat, or fish for a simple, hearty meal.  A large batch can be used for days and in a variety of ways–a kind of ready source of vegetables when time is short.

Red Velvet Soup (Serves 4-5; Time: 1 Hour)
This is a beautiful, festive soup that has long been a favorite of my whole family.  Good hot or cold.

1 C. red lentils
1 T. sesame oil
1 Large Onion, chopped
2 Medium Carrots, chopped
2 Beets, peel ends and chopped
3 Bay leaves
3 T. red miso, or sea salt to taste
Garnish: parsley, or  broccoli flowerets

Wash and drain red lentils.  Scrub veggies and slice in ½-inch pieces.
Heat oil in soup pot and sauté veggies for 5 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon.
Add lentils, water and bay leaves; bring slowly to boil.
Simmer 1 hour, with flame tamer if needed, until veggies are very soft.
Remove bay leaves and puree with blender or immersion wand.
Dissolve miso in ½ c. water and add to soup.  If soup is too thick, add more water.
Garnish.
Variations: Can use kombu; or umeboshi paste as flavoring.
Source:  Mary Estrella, Natural Foods Cookbook

Bev’s Pumpkin Soup (Serves 6)

1 cup solid packed pumpkin, fresh or canned
3 cups organic chicken or vegetable broth
2 leeks or 1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. flour, preferably whole wheat
Fresh nutmeg

In a stock pot:
1.  Saute vegetables in butter til soft.
2.  Sprinkle flour over veggies and blend
3.  Add pumpkin and broth
4.  Simmer, covered for 30 minutes.
5.  Allow to cool
6.  Blend in food processor or with “wand”
7.  Add salt and pepper to taste
Grate nutmeg on top each serving, to taste.
Source:  My good friend, Beverly Reich.  This has become a family favorite.  We enjoy it throughout the fall and winter, for pleasure and health.

Chestnut-Squash Soup (serves 4-6; cooking time 50 minutes)
¼ cup roasted chestnuts10 cups peeled, chopped butternut squash (approximately 2 large squash)
6 cups water or stock
2 ½ t. salt
Sprig of fresh dill or chopped fresh chives

1. In a large pot, combine the roasted chestnuts, squash, and stock and bring to a boil.  Add the salt.
2. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 25 minutes, or until the squash is tender.
3. In a blender or food processor, or with an immersion wand, puree the squash mixture until well blended.
4. Return the mixture to the pot and re-heat.
5. Serve immediately, garnished with the dill or chives.

Source:  Atma JoAnn Levitt, The Kripalu Cookbook.

Carrot Puree Soup (10 one-cup servings)
6 cups water
½ t. salt
1 cup finely diced onion
2 pounds whole carrots, trimmed, same diameter
1 t. celery seeds, or fresh ginger to taste

1. In a pan, bring water to a boil.
2. Add salt and onions and reduce heat to simmer.
3. Add carrots and simmer 15 minutes, covered.
4. Add celery seeds. Cook until carrots are al dente.
5. Puree carrots and return to pan. Adjust seasonings and serve.

Source: Jackson Blackmon

Soups are an easy way to use vegetables from the garden.  Many soups can be prepared in advance and reheated for a quick light luncheon meal or as the beginning of a festive dinner.   Other garden vegetables can be substituted in place of broccoli in the two recipes below.

Simple Cream of Mushroom Soup (6 servings)
1 cup shallots
4 T. butter or ghee or e.v. olive oil
5 T. whole wheat flour
4 ½ cups rich vegetable stock or water
¾ pound white button mushrooms
1 T. vegetable seasoning salt (e.g., Herbemare)
½ t. umeboshi vinegar
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Parsley sprigs for garnish

1. Mince the shallots. In a 4-quart soup pot, heat the butter or oil and sauté the shallots over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, or until softened.
2. Sprinkle the flour over the shallots and continue to sauté, stirring continuously, until the flour begins to give off a nutty aroma.
3. Pour 1 cup of the hot stock or water over the flour-shallot mixture, beating rapidly with a whisk to incorporate all the flour. Add the remaining stock while you continue whisking, making sure no lumps of flour remain. Bring to a simmer.
4. Chop the mushrooms and add to the soup pot, along with the vegetable seasoning salt. Simmer, covered for 15 minutes; stir occasionally. Puree in a blender and return to the soup pot.
5. Adjust the seasonings to you taste with sea salt and black pepper. Serve hot with a parsley sprig for garnish.

Source: Annemarie Colbin, The Natural Gourmet

Easy Tomato Soup (4 servings)

2 T. butter, ghee, or coconut oil

1 large onion

1 carrot, peeled and diced

Salt and pepper to taste

3 cups cored, peeled, seeded, chopped tomatoes (or canned in their juice)

1 t. fresh thyme or 1 T. fresh minced basil leaves

2-3 cups fresh chicken or vegetable stock

Minced parsley or basil leaves for garnish

1. In a large, deep saucepan, heat oil and add onion, carrot, salt and pepper, stirring until onion softens.
2. Add tomatoes and the herb until tomatoes break up, about 10 minutes.  Add 2 cups of stock.
3. Heat, and serve, topped with fresh herbs.

Variation:  Cream of Tomato Soup:  Increase the tomatoes to 4 cups and reduce the stock to 1 cup.  Add 1 cup cream or half-and-half for the stock.  Heat.  When the soup is done, puree in a blender and serve, garnished with herbs and croutons if desired.

Source:  Mark Bittman

Non-Dairy Cream of Broccoli Soup (10 one-cup servings)
8 cups water or stock
½ cup rolled oats, uncooked, blended in a blender
½ t. salt
½ t. celery seed
3 pound broccoli, florets trimmed and stems skinned and chopped
Garnish: chopped scallions

1. In a pan, bring water to a boil and add oats, salt and celery seed.
2. Add prepared diced broccoli stems and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
3. Add finely diced broccoli florets and simmer 2 minutes, but do not boil.
4. Serve garnished with chopped scallions.

Source: Jackson Blackmon

Broccoli Soup with Essence of Morels (serves 6)
1 head of fresh broccoli, about 2 pounds
1 onion diced, about 1 cup
2 T. e.v. olive oil
1 quart homemade chicken broth or water
4 dried morels, reconstituted in water
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup fresh baby spinach leaves

1. Cut the large, bottom stalks off the broccoli, saving about 3 inches of the upper stalk and florets. Cut into smaller pieces.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil and sauté onion for about five minutes, being sure not to brown. Add chicken broth and softened morels. Bring to a boil and add broccoli. Cook broccoli until just done (still bright green), about 2-3 minutes, depending on size of pieces. Do not overcook.
3. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Add salt and pepper and nutmeg. Puree completely in two batches, adding half the spinach to each batch and puree until smooth. Return to pan, heat gently and serve.

Source: Tina Miller, Vineyard Style, Fall, 2008.