THE DAILY CUPPA WALKABOUT COLLECTION #3
Herbs and Plants for Your Traditions
A collection of stories we gathered on our Daily Cuppa Walkabout, including recipes for your traditional meals.
Lights glowed from my friend Shirley’s house as I passed on my nightly walk. I had my mug of herb tea with me so I could sip as we visited. She’s always so happy to see me and eagerly gathers whatever project she’s working on so she can tell me all about it.
Tonight she was reading recipes for Keto bread to include with the wheat bread that is such a part of her family's traditions. She’s 87, so it impresses me she’s interested in adding new healthy foods to her family's Thanksgiving and Christmas traditional meals.
We talked about different ways we added special foods to our holiday gatherings over the years. We were both foster parents and had the same style of adding special foods that had meaning for our kiddos.
Now she’s figuring out how to accommodate special diets for her family's healthy eating choices.
There are so many herbs, spices and plants we can grow and gather, and even more ways people around the world have used those plants to promote health and share yummy meals.
There are also many options for seeking healthy eating. My bias is that any step towards growing, gathering, and/or cooking our own food is a good thing.
Enjoy this week's gatherings.
Your Daily Walkabout Guides
Saturday:
Jane Frost (Jane Grows Garden Rooms) leads us into the world of Australian Bush Tucker with bites — tasty bits about native plants and their uses.
I enjoyed this one because I grow lemongrass but have not been able to keep it alive over winter in the house. I'll try this variety.
Sunday:
James Beaufait presents a lush Hawaiian feast of traditions, food growing, delicious herbal treats, and sumptuous recipes as he brings us to the islands.
What could be better than a Hawaiian breakfast? Enjoying it in Hawaii, I guess.
Monday:
Kris Bedenian celebrates Northern hemisphere home cooking as she blends her skills in traditional food preparation techniques with modern healthy adaptations.
Kris pulled up some traditional recipes for turkey and ham, with hints about making meals festive. These impressive meals are actually easy to prepare, so don’t be shy.
Tuesday:
JM Heatherly shares his love of herbs and herbal lore as he indexes herbs and their uses to lead the younger generation into the magical world of plants.
JM shares a traditional Mojito recipe for your sprigs of spearmint. I bet it’s yummy. Remember, mint is easy to grow in the house. (Shopping list: white rum.)
Wednesday:
Nancy Blackman brings the ancient wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine with a warm Korean flair for using herbs and spices in the home kitchen.
I gather elderberries every year so was excited to see Nancy share this ancient tradition with you. After reading her informative short-form, be sure to bookmark her long-form from the link she shares. It’s more than well done!
Thursday:
Julie Gaeta combines her expertise as a Health Coach and traditional Mexican cuisine chef with a healthy twist to share recipes for smoothies, teas, and much more.
This story warms my heart. I learned to cook from the kind Mexican lady I cleaned house for. But the last time I ate paddle cactus was right here in the Iowa cornfields. My friend Lupe had a large patch of them by her house. I wish I’d asked how she kept them alive through our minus 20-degree temperatures.
Friday Surprise:
Our surprise Walkabout guide this week is our enchanting I. Trudie Palmer. She is an author, community organizer, artist and created a community garden that offers free meals one Saturday a month.
She’s kinda adamant about that cream in her coffee. But, I gotta tell you, using cream really works when you're adding spices to your coffee and makes the plant nutrients more bioavailable.
Our Fellow Travelers
More short-form stories for your reading pleasure.
Aemen Farooq
Haley Creighton
Juana Flor
Raluca Enescu
Long-Form Stories We Found On Our Walkabout
DRM starts off our long-form collection with delightful herbal teas. I’d take a peek at this one for sure. She has a couple of blends I’ve not tried and you know all I drink are plants. She’s included medicinal information for educational purposes only.
Suma Narayan’s recipe is so exciting. I’ve grown turmeric but can’t grow as much as I use, so purchase it. I purchase a lot because I have turmeric every day, usually more than once.
I’m definitely trying this recipe with next year's homegrown turmeric.
Lifestyles
Jessica Stillman shares about the importance of exercise in complimenting our healthy food.
Jake Hilden writes about how becoming vegan has led him to good health. Yay, Jake. It certainly is a struggle to find the diet that works with our genetic makeup.
I Realized How Important This Is To Me
Living a plant-based lifestyle and my why behind it
medium.co
Garden Memories
Katie Michaelson
Kris Bedenian
My 87-year-old friend, Shirley, uses recipes passed down from her mother and grandmother. She and I share a common experience: foster parenting children from other countries and/or cultural traditions and preparing special food to help them feel welcome.
Including these special dishes not only helped our foster children but the rest of our families as well. And Shirley is still learning new ways of cooking — oh my, am I?
I just peeked back at this selection and there are two that are new to me that I’m trying. Can you guess which ones?
What treat from our Daily Cuppa Walkabout are you adding to your list?
I’ll get these in collections so you can find them in the future. Good health does not happen in one day or one week. Celebrate every step towards it.
Join The Adventure
Think about what inspires you to grow your food, forage, and cook your meals and share with us.
Come along with us on our walkabout.
Submit your recipes, herb, gardening, and plant lore for our gathering of all stories tagged, ‘walkabout.’ Link your long-form stories tagged ‘walkabout’ for our collection.
The information presented in the articles in our Walkabout series is for entertainment and educational purposes only. Each writer writes from their own experience and/or research, as such, their content is shared in good faith for informational use only.
Nutrient-dense whole food from plants — from grapefruit, asparagus, spinach, turmeric to blueberries — can be a problem if you’re eating processed foods and taking prescription medications. It may take your body a while to get used to any diet changes. Always consult with your physician or a qualified health care provider before making any lifestyle or dietary changes.
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