January is cold.We need fortifying dishes and drinks to see ou through the chills and blizzards , the snow and frost. There's nothing like a good chill chaser to make us feel warm - and happy.
Yewande Komolafe, a regular contributor for the New York Times Food section wrote gave us some good warming recipes in yesterday's issue. They are not heavy rib sticking casseroles or chilis but soups. Soups are great because they flood you with heat while not overwhelming. Ms. Komolafe keeps a good stock of infusions , broths and tinctures. Her mother was an excellent influence this way being a food scientist and nutritionist who always was able to hunt out nutrition rich elements. She passed this down to her daughter who suffers from chronic ailments. Ms. Komolafe has to be careful when ti comes to cold and flus. Her pantry has spices roots and herbs. She puts lemongrass stalks in a tea made with lemons , oranges and ginger. It is Vitamin C rich Her broths are fortifying as she drinks it on long and short walks her recipes are rich with turmeric and garlic , She recommends a container that will not retain their flavors.
You can start with her tonic.It's a citrus and herb one, rich with a variety of citrus such as lemons limes and oranges. Lemongrass stalks and turmeric. There's also ginger and oregano - another great antibacterial herb and also rich in Vitamin K added after the others are brewed in eight cups of water. Serve hot as a tea, You can also store it and reheat.It will last for a couple of weeks in the fridge. (You could probably have it chilled in the summer as well.) The soups are a bone broth enhanced with ginger and turmeric too along with iron rich greens such as spinach, kale and mustard greens. Dandelion or beet greens can also be added. It's cooked with either bone or chicken stock with garlic added.A squeeze of lemon tops it off. Think of it as a light lunch or light snack. A heartier recipe is her brothy Thai curry with silken tofu and herbs. This is a stew of tomatoes, curry paste,silken tofu and vegetable stock. A Dutch oven is used to cook the shallots in oil, then then curry paste ginger and garlic are added. It's then the tomatoes , followed by coconut milk and vegetable broth The tofu, which is cut into three slices. is added to a bowl and seasoned with soy and cracked pepper. The broth is then ladled on top.
This is the time to fortify yourself and your body. Eat healthy .Eat right with these tasty dishes and tonic , rich with ginger and turmeric. They'll make you feel better.
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