Annie, Author at Annie B Kay

Gwen’s French Carrot Soup Recipe

Gwen Gaillard was the belle of Nantucket’s culinary scene for years. We have a tattered cookbook filled with Gwen’s recipes from her heyday. This carrot soup is one of them, with a little of my own updates and thoughts.

Carrot Soup Ingredients Are So Simple

Carrots, turnips, potatoes and onions are really all this carrot soup consists of. Simplicity. But it packs a grounding sweetness – rooting I should say – of tubers. Perfect for this transitional season of surprising coolness and breeziness, when you get hungry for hearty but don’t want to slide into dough-eating.

We got a beautiful bunch of carrots from the Farmer’s Market in Great Barrington this week, along with a turnip, so it was time to get this one rolling. This carrot soup is a great base for adding a variety of other flavors – toss in an apple, or a thumb-sized piece of ginger, or some spicy peppers for variety. Gwen’s recipe calls for butter, but you can easily make this soup vegan and delicious by simply sautéing the onions in olive oil rather than butter. Easy.

Looking for another delicious soup recipe. I highly recommend my Wild Mustard Asparagus Soup!

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Gwen's French Carrot Soup

Carrots, turnips, potatoes and onions are really all this soup consists of. Simplicity.

Course Dinner, Lunch, Soup

Equipment

1 Saute' pan
1 Soup pot

Ingredients

1/4 large yellow onion sliced
2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 lbs fresh carrots scrubbed and sliced
1 large turnip washed and cubed
2 large potatoes washed and cubed
2 quarts water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp peppercorns

Instructions

Saute the onions in the butter over medium-low heat.
Place the carrots, turnip, and potatoes in a soup pot with water, and simmer over low heat. After a half-hour, add the sautéed onions, salt and pepper.
When vegetables are soft, blend with a hand-blender (or a regular blender if need be).

Pre-Holiday Tune-Up Coaching Session

Something about the time between Halloween and New Years – it’s both the most challenging nutritional time of the year, and the time of year when, well, dietitians might just go on vacation. We know you’ll be looking for us come New Year’s!
That’s why I am offering a quick tune-up coaching special for October and November. During these months, you can have a session with me either by phone or zoom. It’s 22% off the usual cost for a 60-minute session with me.

Here’s a step-by-step of your Coaching Tune-up

Before the session, you’ll fill out some quick intake information to help us both think about how the holidays unfold for you and how you’d like them to unfold from a health perspective. You’ll book your appointment and off we go.
During our coaching session, we’ll review your intention, co-create a high-impact doable strategy, brainstorm how to overcome barriers, and talk about how to think about this in a way that will help you build on your practice, strengths and success in the new year.
You can also continue the conversation with follow-up sessions – but the idea is one session, buff you up. Boom.
Sound good? Sign up now.

What is Shamanic Plant Medicine?

It makes my heart sing that shamanic plant medicine, and shamanic plant communication is on the rise. The interest to connect more deeply with nature and the earth, and to look to history to explore what we can learn from our indigenous ancestors is a very good thing. I’ve found these practices fun, interesting and meaningful – they’ve provided me a prism through which I view the events of my life.
This post will do some basic defining of terms and touch on why and how you can benefit from shamanic practice.

What is shamanism, and what is a shaman?

Shamanism is an approach to life, a point of view that has to do with healing. Shamanism is a set of healing practices of ancient indigenous people. A shaman, then, is a practitioner of these practices. The shaman of an indigenous community is a medicine man or woman.

There are hallmarks and common beliefs of shamanic practices around the world, and the commonality is due to the universality of the laws of nature. I’ll focus on the laws of nature in other posts, but just know that there are universal principles of energy and nature (google it to get started!). Here are 2 common beliefs of many shamanic practices and systems share:

Everything is sacred. Plants, clothing, you, me, our pets, cars and apartments. They all have the potential to contain sacred content. It is all about the point of view that we have about our own lives. IMHO (in my humble opinion) this principle is an invitation to change our point of view of our lives.
Disease and dysfunction have energetic origins and can be addressed through re-alignment with energy and nature. If we can connect with nature, and understand how it operates and how we operate within it, we can begin to heal from disease, dysfunction and misalignment. This is not to say you will live forever or that it will be easeful, but you can move toward healing.

A related definition:
What and who are indigenous people? Indigenous people are those whose lives are guided primarily by the laws and rhythms of nature. So, the seasons, sunrise and sunset, astrological calendars and the like that draw from nature and the earth determine how life unfolds.

And the big question:
How can these practices help modern people? I love my modern life and science-centric healthcare – I’d be gonzo without it! I love my home and my car and my blog and my MacBook. Love.
Working with flower essences, taking shamanic journeys and connecting energetically with plants and nature remind me of who I am, where I came from, and inform me of how I can be in better alignment with nature.

Nature is an undeniably powerful force.

Shamanic plant medicine, when done without the hierarchy “I am a Shaman” stuff, but is used simply as the collection of practices it is, with the aim of bringing everyday magic into our lives, invites us to live more deeply from our hearts and our energy bodies. We can surf the static and craziness of life a little more easily.

From an evidence-informed perspective, these practices are adjuncts to change – they support us to follow a more healthful life and to live more mindfully and more gently on the earth. They work along with sciences like positive psychology.

We’ll be practicing shamanic journey, and shamanic plant medicine in Costa Rica in February.

Egg ‘Poached’ over Wild Mushrooms & Sweet Potato Recipe

A chef from Kripalu taught me the egg over veggies trick. It’s quick, easy and satisfying. You can substitute any vegetable for the mushrooms and sweet potatoes in this easy breakfast recipe- try spinach, onions, tomatoes or your favorite blend of vegetables.

Let’s talk about wild mushrooms!

This year, our local farmer’s market has had a bumper crop of really beautiful mushrooms for a really reasonable price. Look at these beauties – oyster mushrooms.

Do you know that mushrooms have characteristics of both plants and animals? They are strange and wonderful little beings, and nutritionally rich in vitamins and minerals (not, however, protein as is often suggested). You can substitute any mushroom for those I use in this recipe.
This dish, while simple, is wonderfully balanced from a protein-carbohydrate-fat perspective, as there are healthful versions of each. Egg protein will keep you satisfied, as will the bit of anti-inflammatory monounsaturated olive oil. Sweet potatoes are a complex fiber-filled carbohydrate and they and the mushrooms are nutrient-dense, filled with vitamins and nutrients.
Here’s a quick weekday breakfast.

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Egg "Poached" on Wild Mushrooms and Sweet Potatoes

This recipe is quick, easy and satisfying. You can substitute any vegetable for the mushrooms and sweet potatoes in this easy breakfast recipe- try spinach, onions, tomatoes or your favorite blend of vegetables.

Course Breakfast, Lunch

Servings 1