Empowering Self-Reliance and Sustainable Living & Microbiomes
Empowering Self-Reliance and Sustainable Living & Microbiomes
At our Gratitude Café, we are bringing life back to the table, from the soil to the plate. Each week we prepare something special from our gardens and kitchens. Some weekends it will be a full celebration meal like roast beef or turkey, and other weekends we will feature hearty …
The pomegranate’s outer skin is a universe of medicine that most people throw away. Most people who know me know that when I began to study the soil, my whole way of seeing health changed. Once I understood how the soil food web functions, I saw how every part of …
Coffee blossoms are a brief candle of the coffee tree. They open after the first good rains, bright white, breathing out a perfume that sits somewhere between jasmine, citrus, and honeyed vanilla. Inside those petals are the same energetic signatures that move sap through the plant, guide bees to nectar, …
Vitamin C is one of those nutrients that has been misunderstood in the modern world. Most people think of it as ascorbic acid or citric acid, but those are only the shell of something much more complex. They are the empty frame of a living compound that nature designed as …
I never imagined that I would one day use banana flowers as medicine. But, here in Ecuador, they hang in the garden, bold and purple, their petals opening one by one to reveal tiny hands of bananas inside. They looked more like ornaments than remedies, too grand to be anything …
We have all heard of taking turmeric (curcumin) with black pepper (piperine) to enhance the bioavailability and absorption of curcumin. Piperine, the bioactive compound found in black pepper, has been shown to significantly increase the absorption of curcumin by inhibiting metabolic enzymes that break it down and increasing intestinal permeability. …
Not all medicine grows in our garden. I deeply believe in using what we cultivate and forage here in Ecuador, but some plants are so profoundly restorative to the body’s inner terrain that they are worth bringing in. Slippery elm is one of them. This is not a tropical tree. …
We’re quick to toss what we don’t understand. The skins. The peels. The bitter parts. But sometimes what we discard is exactly what we need to heal. Pomegranate is a perfect example. Most people enjoy the juicy seeds, maybe even the juice, and toss the husk into the compost without …
In my 30s, roaming Canada’s wild corners, I felt stuck, like life had dulled my edges. Nettles were just childhood foes then, stinging my shins during backyard adventures. But one quiet day, I brewed a nettle seed tea, curious about its emerald-green glow. That nutty, vibrant sip woke me up, …
Ketchup (tomato ketchup) and mustard (along with mayonnaise) are more than just everyday condiments; they carry a rich history and have become essential staples in kitchens worldwide. These sauces have evolved through centuries, bridging culinary traditions and inviting creativity with every use. For a chef, resorting to store-bought versions of …