Just a quick note to let you know that I'll be joining my friend Nini Ordoubadi of Tay Tea at The Alchemist's Kitchen in New York City this Saturday for a free tasting of her marvelous green teas. She's invited me to use them to create a couple of special non-alcoholic elixirs, so I'll be bringing some of my homemade ingredients, like wild rose petal syrup, pickled cherries and foraged chaga tincture. I would so love to see you there!

 

Stop by on Saturday, 3/18, from 1 to 4pm, at The Alchemist's Kitchen, 21 East 1st Street. 

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Few things are worse than a summer cold. The usual trajectory for me is straight from a terrible sore throat to an aggravated chest cough. Lying in bed, feverish and tangled in the sheets, there's nothing I crave more than an icy lemonade. So I stumbled into the kitchen, squeezed 2/3 cup of lemon juice and poured that along with an almost equal amount of raw blue agave nectar into the blender. Then I filled it up with ice, added a cup of water and processed it into a crystalline slurpie. Heaven. With that and a good book (and an antibiotic if need be), I'm on the mend.
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A friend sent in a request for me to write something about my skincare regimen, so here goes. I've never denied that vanity has often been the impetus for me seeking out healthier alternatives in all things—the fact that they are actually more effective and make you feel better turns out to be a real bonus. I've posted a picture of myself so you can see that I have my fair share of wrinkles. (Full disclosure: It's been 9 months since I stopped getting the Botox injections that were first offered to me 10 years ago at my dermatologist's office in Los Angeles. Doctor: You have a little crease between your eyes. Have you thought about Botox? Me: Never heard of it—give it to me!! ) I'm pushing 50 and I have the usual issues with my face: sagging upper eyelids, enlarging pores, loss of elasticity and those little brown spots that seem to crop up overnight. This is what the cosmetics industry refers to as "mature skin." I have wrestled with the idea of getting my eyes done, and I still maintain that if I ever get a big turkey wattle, I will have it removed, but I don't want to struggle to look young. I want to be my truest, most authentic self, and feel good about it. (I'm even experimenting with letting my hair go grey, after coloring it every 3 weeks for years and years. It's going to be a rough transition, so wish me luck!)
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I’ve decided to post about this delicious Korean “tea” because, even though it’s delicious hot and is particularly helpful during cold and flu season, it can also be enjoyed on ice throughout the warmer months. I was first served this wonderfully flavorful brew at Jin Soon in the East Village, where I occasionally have a pedicure (although I stopped wearing polish on my toes a couple of years ago). They call it “citrus tea.” When I asked about it they told me it comes “pre-mixed,” and when I pressed them they said it was from a can with Korean writing on it. Hmmm…I could tell it didn’t really have any actual tea in it, but I was perplexed by the type of citrus, as it was sweet without any hint of bitterness despite the pulpy rind floating in it. I next encountered this tea at HanGawi, a favorite vegetarian Korean restaurant, where the ginger tea with pine nuts is also a winner. And by then I got a clue and googled it to find out just what exactly I was drinking.
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I'm drinking alone. Though partial to a bourbon cocktail, preferably The Eldred, I've never been able to knock back much booze. I've got a 2-drink limit, because otherwise I head from pleasantly tipsy straight to clutching the bowl. But this bottle of Root has been winking at me from the liquor cabinet ever since it arrived in the mail, having caught G's fancy when he read about it somewhere. I took a teensy sip some time ago and realized it was not something I was going to be drinking straight. This is some seriously intense juice that needs to be coaxed into a sippable cocktail. So I've been mixing up a few different blends, trying to take the medicinal edge off the stuff. I've got a rocks glass in one hand, and my new Kindle in the other. I'm reading Mary Karr's memoir, Lit, about her slurring downward spiral into the quicksand of alcoholism—and her hardscrabble ascent out of it. The irony is not lost on me. I also read and enjoyed her other book, The Liar's Club, about her deeply unfortunate childhood. She writes with raw feeling and has that hysterical, bawdy wit that is often the veneer over lacerating pain. But back to Root.
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G was up and out at 4 this morning, on his way to the airport. He'll be away working for a few days and I am on my own, with just the company of Titi and no one to cook for. It's perfect timing. My horoscope for this month says I am in a highly contemplative and creative phase, one that's ideal for instilling new, positive habits and for taking care of myself. What better time, then, to go on a juice fast? Some people are very freaked out by the idea of fasting, so let me say very clearly here that I am not a doctor, nor a trained fasting therapist. But what I do know is that fasting has been used for thousands of years as a means of cleaning out the body and refreshing the mind. Our bodies—like the sun and moon, the tides, the stars—go through cycles, with highs and lows. During a low phase we may feel sluggish, bloated, weighed down (some people experience this as depression). This is an ideal time to lighten your body's load by fasting. Fasting is not starvation! It's a way to let your organs rest a bit, to get rid of the toxins that build up from chemicals, pollutants and over-indulgence. Along with a good diet, regular exercise and supplements, fasting will help you fight off illness and disease, maintain a high level of energy and improve your mood. I try to fast at the beginning of each season, so about 4 times a year.
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Isn't there something faintly S&M about this illustration? I just love it. Kudos to Jan Richter for her great eye and accomplished technique. (And I happen to know she makes a mean coq au vin.) This is just the sort of plump organic bird you want to find when you're setting out to make any number of cold-weather dishes. G makes the classic Jewish penicillin when I get sick (about once a year, knock wood) but I often look further east for something therapeutic. This recipe tips its hat to a classic Hispanic arroz con pollo but shifts gears with anti-inflammatory turmeric; lots of warming, healing ginger; and a hit of fish sauce. I think it's similar to the Filipino arroz caldo. You keep cooking the rice so it's somewhere between risotto and congee, that perfect comforting texture. And the bright yellow color is like a ray of sunshine.
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My apologies for the wordplay. I simply can't resist. The talented farmers up the road from us at River Brook Farm in Cochecton grow a few grapes and I was lucky enough to get my hands on some. These green beauties had the most amazing smell! I don't know which variety they are but they were bursting with fruity flavor, sweet and tart and juicy. I was beside myself trying to come up with a way of using them and I finally decided to make a syrupy juice that could be diluted with water. Of course, we ate quite a few of them as a snack and now that I've been clued in to the nutritional benefits of the seeds, I have taken to chewing them (not that bad) or simply swallowing them whole (less bother).
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My friend Bryan Thomson—a supremely gifted hair colorist AND an herbalist extraordinaire—has inspired me to delve deeper into the world of natural medicine. I began using this book about 10 years ago during an extremely stressful time of my life when my skin was bad and my hair was falling out, and I soon found myself making yellow dock poultices and steaming my face with dried strawberry leaves. Did it work? The short answer is "Yes." But, more to the point, I discovered a new way to approach my own health; one that let me be more in charge and that led to a deeper understanding of how to treat stress and other physical ailments with herbs and nutrition. This is not to say that I won't take a pill. But I like to avoid that and will first try many a remedy of my own devising, based on the ancient wisdom derived from nature. This tonic is a great example.
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I get a little overheated when I start proselytizing about green juice. (Sorry about the blurry photo, I'm still trying to figure all this out/coerce G into shooting for me.) I owe my conversion to Sally Kravich, an amazing nutritionist who practices in both L.A. and New York. Her book, "Vibrant Living" has set a lot of people on the path to radiant health. (It was my great friend and longtime hairstylist, Sarah Mills, who turned me on to Sally but she's a whole other story.) Among other things, Sally uses iridology to help with her assessment of your health, and it freaks me out every time. How can she look at my pupil and know that my neck hurts??
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