A couple of weeks ago I attended a workshop called ‘Aging with Grace’. Of course the name called to me since I am aging and I’d like to do so with grace.
The workshop was held at the Immune Enhancement Center (IEP) in the Mission/Castro neighborhood. IEP is a community health center that offers acupuncture, massage, herbs and nutrition counseling. They offer these much needed services on a sliding scale according to a patients income level and even have a weekly community drop in clinic funded on a donation basis. Particularly during tough economic times where so many are uninsured, IEP offers a model of healthcare that is much needed and loved in San Francisco. It was voted ‘Best Alternative Medicine’ in Best of the Bay.
When we first came into the classroom, we were served some Drinkwell natural soda. Drinkwell has a stand at the Farmers Market. They sell lactofermented beverages (kind of like a kombucha) this is naturally fizzy and just slightly sweet. They have all kinds of interesting flavors like lemon verbeena, meyer lemon, rose geranium, pomegranate and hibiscus. The flavors change on a weekly basis so you never know what they are going to have from week to week.
Nishanga Bliss taught the class as part of her Winter Wellness series. She is an acupuncturist, awesome cook and heads up IEP’s Nutrition program. Nishanga has her own food blog Gastonicity which is a great resource.
She explained that in Chinese medicine every season has a different focus … different bodily systems that are affected by the temperature, the light and the nature of season. Winter is all about kidney energy, adrenals and aging. Wintertime is colder. Nighttime is longer. People are less active. In the body, people tend to experience more low back pain particularly and more aches and pains in general. This brings about issues or mortality, stress, aging and a lowered zest for life.
Cooking and eating are an integral part of Chinese medicine which seeks to counteract these effects by supporting the affected organs.
Some of the foods believed to be particularly nourishing to the wintertime organs (kidneys, adrenals and aging) are:
- beans (many of them are even shaped like kidneys) – Nishanga recommends cooking a big pot of beans and freezing them in 1 cup servings so that you always have some on hand
- dark vegetables
- spices
- red and orange fruits
- cabbage family
- onion family
- high quality animal foods
It’s no coincidence that these are the foods that are in season during the colder months.
I find that when something is deeply nourishing it feels so good to eat and I end up craving it. There’s something about it that resonates on a body wisdom level. That’s how my body responded to this dish. When Nishanga made it in the class I knew it was a dish I wanted to make at home. I made it the next week and then again the following week. I’d love to get more of these types of recipes in my arsenal. Maybe trying a new one once a week or something. This one is uber healthy, delicious and so satisfying.
The shiitake mushrooms support the immune system. Walnuts are nourishing to the kidneys and lungs and are high in omega 3 fatty acids. Goji berries are high in vitamin A and antioxidants and nourish the liver, kidneys and eyes.
Three Treasure Stir Fry
Adapted from: Gastronicity (this links to Nishanga’s article about Aging with Grace which explains all of this in much more detail)
Serves: 4 as a main dish
Ingredients (you can get all of these ingredients at your local Whole Foods or health food store):
- 10 large dried shiitake mushrooms
- 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 lb green beans, snap peas or snow peas, trimmed and cut into 2-3 inch pieces if using long green beans
- 1/4 cup mirin, sake or white wine
- 2 Tbsp tamari or shoyu
- 3/4 cup goji berries
- 1 tsp arrowroot or kuzu
- 1/2 cup walnuts, soaked overnight if possible
- toasted sesame oil
Directions:
Soak the mushrooms in a bowl of hot water for about 20 minutes.
Drain, remove the stems and slice.
Toast the walnuts in a dry pan or toaster oven until lightly browned, fragrant and crispy.
Heat the oil in a large wok or saute pan. Saute the ginger for a few seconds then add the beans. Cook over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and mirin and let the vegetables steam until the beans until the beans are crispy tender.
Soak the goji berries in hot water for a minute.
Then drain and add to the beans along with the tamari.
Dissolve the arrowroot or kuzu in a small amount of hot water and add to the pan to thicken the sauce.
Stir in the walnuts at the last minute and season with a sprinkle of toasted sesame oil.
Serve over hot rice. Nishanga cooked some brown rice with black quinoa. I did the same and it came out great.
Give it a try and let me know what you think.
My Luscious Temple 
