Arayuma

Coconut Dahl Soup Recipe

2011-12-15T11:19:00.000-08:00

This simple and delicious Coconut Dahl Soup is a favorite in our home. It cooks in 15 minutes and packs in lots of protein, iron and fibre. We love to warm up to a hot bowl of this soup when the weather gets chilly, especially when served alongside roasted root vegetables and tofu with vegetable fried rice.

Coconut Dahl Soup

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup red lentils
1 cup water
1 vegetable soup cube
1 Arayuma cinnamon quill
¾ tsp Arayuma ground turmeric
½ tsp Arayuma ground cumin
¼ tsp Arayuma coriander seeds
½ tsp Arayuma ground ginger OR sliced fresh ginger
¼ tsp Arayuma crushed chili pepper (optional)
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can Arayuma organic coconut milk
2 slices organic lemon
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Arayuma black pepper (to taste)

PREPARATION

1. Place lentils in a medium saucepan and rinse and drain until water runs clear.

2. Add water, soup cube, spices, onion and garlic.

3. Heat to boiling and cook lentils for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add 1 can of Arayuma organic coconut milk to the lentils and let simmer another 10 minutes, or until lentils are tender.

5. Garnish with cilantro, lemon slices and black pepper

Red lentils are high in protein and don't require any soaking, making them an ideal staple for for health conscious people on the go. In addition to adding delicious flavour, the spices in this recipe light the digestive fire (as they say in Ayurveda) and therefore help to break down the protein and other nutrients in the lentils. Finally, the coconut milk, which is high in healthy medium chain triglycerides, nourishes the cells of the digestive tract while counterbalancing the fiery nature of the spices. And most importantly, this recipe makes a really yummy cup of soup. Enjoy :)

Spiced Apple Muffin Recipe

2010-10-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

As summer comes to an end and makes way for autumn, one of our favourite family activities is going apple picking in Quebec's Eastern Townships. Last week, I headed out to the St-Benoit-du-Lac orchard with my parents and 3 year old daughter, who single handedly filled a large bag with crisp, red apples. When I asked her what she wanted to make with the apples, she very specifically told me "apple muffins", so I looked up a recipe and played assistant to the chef while she whipped up a delicious batch of spiced apple muffins. Here is the recipe we used, slightly adapted from Canadian Living's website, hope you enjoy it!

Spiced Apple Crumble-Top Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 cup flour (I like kamut)

3/4 cup quick cooking oats

1 3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp Arayuma ground true cinnamon

3/4 tsp Arayuma ground ginger

1/4 tsp Arayuma ground nutmeg

4 Arayuma cloves, ground in mortar and pestle

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup soy or other milk

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 egg or equivalent egg replacer

2/3 cup sugar (Fair Trade, of course!)

1 large apple, peeled and diced (I know only 1! and we had so many!)

1/2 cup raspberries (optional - we started out with about one cup and ended up with about 12 raspberries... see photos below...)

Topping:

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup chopped nuts (I used my favourite, Go Nuts

maple syrup coated nuts by Prana)

1/4 cup flour

2 Tbsp melted butter or margarine

1 tsp Arayuma ground true cinnamon

1/2 tsp Arayuma ground ginger

1/4 tsp Arayuma ground nutmeg

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine all ingredients for topping and set aside. Mix dry ingredients (except sugar) together in a large bowl, and wet ingredients with sugar in another. Combine these two, add apple and raspberries, and stir just enough to blend. Fill greased muffin tins 3/4 full, then sprinkle with topping (Tip: keep topping from going over the edge of the muffin, since this makes it difficult to remove the muffins). Bake 25-35 minutes, until muffins are firm to the touch. Let cool 10 minutes, then gently remove muffins from tins.

Note: we made a double recipe, since I knew these would go fast, and froze the second batch until the first one was finished (this only took a couple of days, but I'm 6 months pregnant...)

I love using sweet and warming spices like the ones in this recipe as the weather gets colder, both for their comforting scent and flavour, and for their health benefits. Regular use of ginger and true cinnamon during the Vata autumn season will not only keep the body warm, but also aid digestion (which can often become uspet during this season). Cooking apples with spices also reduces their Vata forming effect, as opposed to eating them raw. We'll be making lots of spiced applesauce over the next few days :)

Journey to Arayuma Spice Farms - Part 1

2010-07-31T14:30:00.000-07:00

Check out Marise's first Arayuma movie production! Special thanks to Mr. Kapila Samarasinghe for his narration, Mr. A.G. Mahinda Karunarathna for kindly welcoming us on his farm, and to our bro Shehan Kurera for his (semi) professional camerawork and interpretation. We enjoyed this visit so much, hope you'll enjoy it too.

Journey to Arayuma Spice Farms - Part 2

2010-07-31T14:29:00.000-07:00

Keeping Cool In Pitta Season

2010-07-06T14:48:00.000-07:00

Montreal has been heating up these past couple of days, and it looks like we're in for even more heat still to come. While I'm not one to complain about hot weather, having survived enough Montreal winters to know better, as a person with strong Pitta I know I have to be careful not to let my fire dosha become aggravated by the heat.

Pitta, the fire dosha, governs digestion, metabolism, transformation, heat generation and perception in the human body. What happens when Pitta becomes aggravated? Different people will experience Pitta aggravation differently. Manifestations of aggravated Pitta can include acid indigestion, inflammation, skin eruptions, distorted perception and a hot temper. People who tend to exhibit these symptoms year round have strong Pitta and must therefore be extra careful to pacify Pitta during hot weather.

Pitta is aggravated by heat, too much direct sun, toxins in the body, consumption of alcohol or caffeine, very hot spices, and acidic or salty foods. To pacify Pitta, choose mild, cooling foods with sweet, bitter and astringent tastes. The best herbs and spices for soothing Pitta are lemongrass, turmeric, cardamom and curry leaf.

Sariva, a traditional Ayurvedic infusion native to the jungles of Sri Lanka and South India, is an especially useful herb for calming Pitta: cooling, anti-inflammatory and detoxifying, Sariva soothes the body and mind. It's sweet and complex vanilla-like flavour makes Sariva a truly enjoyable healthy beverage. Try it iced with lime and maple syrup for an especially delicious summertime treat and a great alternative to sangria - perfect for barbecues and picnics.

Enjoy the heat, but remember to keep your cool this summer with these simple Ayurvedic tips for balanced living.

Namaste

Marise

The Importance of Ayurveda

2010-04-13T17:01:00.000-07:00

Ayurveda is considered by many to be the ancestor of the modern medical system that currently dominates our world. It is well documented that Greek and middle-eastern physicians learned much of their medical knowledge from Ayurvedic physicians, although this fact is not widely known or recognized. Unfortunately, though, certain core principles of Ayurveda were either misunderstood or forgotten, so that the medical system that came to dominate in Europe, and later the rest of the world, tends to lead people away from rather than towards balance. This ultimately leads to more disease, with costly and harmful band-aid solutions often favored over more traditional ones that nurture health and well being.

In the West, we are most familiar with Ayurvedic massage and yoga, but many do not know that Ayurvedic physicians were practicing surgery, including emergency cesareans and tissue transplants, as well as smallpox inoculations and many other "modern" inventions, over 2,000 years ago in India. All this using only natural means, and with grate care taken not to cause harm to the patient (according to the Ayurvedic philosophy, extreme measures such as surgery would only be taken if absolutely necessary to preserve life).
While this is impressive, what's even more impressive to me is the way that health can be nurtured and maintained using Ayurvedic principles, so that extreme measures become less necessary. Even a basic understanding of the dosha theory, combined with healthy habits that nurture the optimal balance between the doshas, can help to prevent disease before it begins. Ayurvedic theory compares disease to a tree, in that it is easy to reverse in its early stages, but becomes increasingly difficult as it grows and "takes root" in the organism. Thus early detection of dosha imbalances and their consequent adverse health effects, however small, can ultimately save lives.
While we have made great advances in medicine, all of which are valuable, I think that we have come to a point where we need to reintegrate traditional knowledge into our medical model. Healing can not be left in the hands of multinational drug companies who's profits depend on a population that is out of equilibrium.

Complementary, integrative and alternative medicines offer us a solution to the problems that we are faced with when dealing with the prevailing medical model. I believe that open dialogues about this issue among all of the different actors in society are crucial to the emergence of a new prevailing medical model, and that the key principles of Ayurveda are an important part of this dialogue.

Namaste
Marise
Reference:
Sharma, Shiv The System of Ayurveda, New Delhi, 1929

Playing Fair With Farmers

2010-04-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

I was in Sri Lanka a couple of months ago, visiting some of the organic farmers that grow our Arayuma teas and spices. I was struck by the integrity and vision of the small organic farmer's project, the beauty of the land which is so carefully tended to and respected by the farmers, and the sense of peace I felt on the farms.

Often people question whether the terms Fair Trade and Organic really mean anything, or whether they're just being asked to pay more for the same products, whether the producers really benefit from Fair Trade, and so on.

While I was visiting the farmers, I thought of all the people back home and wished that they could share in this magical experience. If only they knew how different the lives of these farmers were than that of the virtually enslaved plantation workers that produce conventional tea and other agricultural products in Sri Lanka. If only they could see how happily these farmer families were living, at one with the land that had been tended to by their parents, grandparents and great grandparents.

The advantages of Fair Trade are certainly real, and certainly worth paying a little extra for (especially since Fair Trade products are generally of a much higher quality than conventional ones). Small farmer grown Fair Trade products are in my opinion even more worth paying extra for, since these projects promote greater biodiversity, protect the land and farmer communities, and function in harmony with our planet.

Unfortunately, many farmers around the world are faced with growing pressure to trade in their traditional, sustainable farming methods for destructive, polluting and extremely expensive ones proposed by big business. Many of these farmers have grown increasingly indebted, and there has been a resulting wave of farmer suicides recently that we can no longer ignore.

(see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7992327.stm for more on this issue.)

In a world where so many of the very people that provide nourishment for our families can not even provide for the basic needs of their own, it is of growing importance that we act in solidarity with farmers across the world to build a brighter future, while protecting the global food supply.

As support for Fair Trade initiatives grows, so does the hope and inspiration for other producers to join the movement with new and innovative products. By choosing Fair Trade, we can truly create a better world where everyone is fed, children are free to play and learn, and the despair felt by so many farmers today becomes only a distant memory.

Please visit us at http://www.arayuma.com/ to find out more about us, and what you can do to support Fair Trade.

Namaste

Marise