Dharma Feast Cookbook (45 page)

Authors: Theresa Rodgers

One of our favorite cookies to serve after an Indian meal is Cardamom Shortbread. The traditional recipe contains wheat flour and processed sugar so we started looking for a “healthier” alternative. This version is gluten-free so it works for almost everyone. It’s also wonderful served with chai or tea. If you can’t find the little round black cardamom seeds to grind, buy the pods, open them up, scrape out the seeds, and grind them.

M
AKES
3½
DOZEN SMALL COOKIES

P
REP TIME
45
MINUTES (WITHOUT BAKING TIME)

2½ cups blanched almond flour

½ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1½ teaspoons crushed or

ground cardamom seeds

1/3 cup agave syrup, honey, or Grade B maple syrup

½ cup unsalted butter,

melted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a medium bowl combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, and cardamom.

In a small bowl combine agave, butter, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture; mix well. Let dough rest for a few minutes.

Using a small scoop (about 2 teaspoons), place small mounds of dough on baking sheets lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart. Gently flatten tops of dough.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool before removing from baking sheet.

Best served the day they are baked.

C
HAI

If you have ever traveled in India you will never forget the smell of chai. Cardamom, hot milk, black tea… At many street corners in every Indian city you can find chai stalls, where you can buy a cup of steaming hot chai for a few rupees. Friends of ours from India gave us this traditional recipe. We adapted it by substituting decaffeinated Earl Grey tea for black tea, and rice and almond milk for cow’s milk, and honey for sugar.

M
AKES
14
MUGS / SERVES
14
PEOPLE

P
REP TIME
45
MINUTES

2½-inch piece of fresh ginger 3 tablespoons water

2 quarts unsweetened rice milk (see recipe in
Grain and Nut Milks
)

½ quart unsweetened almond milk (see recipe in
Grain and Nut Milks
)

1 quart water

2 heaping tablespoons ground cardamom

¼ cup loose decaffeinated Earl Grey tea

1 cup honey

Peel ginger, cut into pieces. Blend in Vitamix or regular blender with 3 tablespoons water into a ginger puree.

Combine rice milk, almond milk, and water. Add cardamom and ginger puree. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally from the bottom so the milk/water combination doesn’t burn.

Once it is boiling turn burner off. Add tea, cover pot, and let sit for 2 minutes.

After 2 minutes stir and strain into another pot. Add honey and bring to a boil again, whisking lightly to combine all the flavors.

Serve hot.

J
UICE

Fresh fruit and vegetable juices give us vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, amino acids, antioxidants, and enzymes in forms that are easy to digest and absorb. They strengthen the immune system and help remove free radicals, which have been found to cause many chronic diseases. When we are sick, fresh juices rebalance the body and help it heal by providing needed electrolytes, fluids, and glucose. Their minerals and amino acids help restore a depleted body.

Fruit juices feed the brain and the nervous and glandular systems and also help cleanse toxins from the body. Drink them during the day, as the sugars can make it hard to fall asleep at night. Vegetable juices tone and rebuild the body, especially bones, muscles, and connective tissues, because they are more protein-rich. The juice of water-based vegetables like cucumbers and celery can be relaxing in the evening.

It’s best to drink juice immediately after making it so the nutrients aren’t lost. But we are all busy, and this isn’t always possible. Consider making enough for one day and storing it in the refrigerator. As with water, stop drinking at least a half-hour before a meal and don’t drink anything until an hour after a meal, as, contrary to popular practice, fluids interfere with digestion.

Add a little lemon, garlic, or ginger juice to any juice for added cleansing benefits. These ingredients have been used medicinally for thousands of years. Consider adding the juice from greens (spinach, kale, chard, parsley, etc.) to your mix as well. Green juice supports the health of virtually every system and organ in the body. It provides minerals and chlorophyll in liquid form, which is more easily absorbed. Chlorophyll helps in the growth and repair of tissues and helps eliminate toxins. It also aids in the absorption of magnesium, calcium, and other minerals.

If drinking straight fruit and vegetable juices is too strong, dilute with at least 25 percent water. Dilute 50 percent for children.

Start by choosing fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. If you’re using root vegetables like carrots, cut off the tops. Scrub clean with a stiff brush and soak in GSE water (see
How To—Soak with Grapefruit Seed Extract [GSE] Water
in
Chapter 6
) unless the peel is going to be removed, such as with lemons and oranges. When peeling citrus, leave as much of the white “pith” as possible as it contains many nutrients.

Recipes with greens require a twin-gear juicer. (See
Choose a Juicer
in
How To,
Chapter 6
.) Bunch greens into a small ball and process with a harder ingredient such as carrot or apple.

The following fruits and vegetables are good bases. Use them to create your own mixtures and keep track of the recipes.

Apple
Provides calcium. It helps cleanse the liver and kidneys and feeds the nervous and glandular systems. It also contains enzymes which help digestion and amino acids which rid the body of free radicals.

Cabbage
Used to successfully treat many gastrointestinal illnesses, such as bleeding peptic ulcers, colitis, and indigestion, for over fifty years. The American Cancer Society recommends we eat more cruciferous vegetables like cabbage and broccoli because they help protect against cancer; they also support a healthy spleen.

Carrot
Tastes great, which is why it is the base for so many juices. Cut the top off and scrub with a tough brush before juicing. If you peel the outer layer, important nutrients are lost. Carrots are high in vitamin A and support the health of the eyes, liver, and lungs.

Cucumber
In this case, peel before juicing as skins typically are covered with wax to make them last longer at the store. Cucumbers support heart and pancreas health and can help with edema, which is swelling that results from the retention of water.

Grape
Use seeds and stems, too—they contain nutrients that strengthen the heart and vascular system, support the lymph system, and eliminate free radicals. Provides calcium. Also cleanses the liver and kidneys and feeds the nervous and glandular systems. Supports colon health.

Whether it is vegetable juice, fruit juice, or a combination of both, juices are the elixir of life. They may seem elaborate to make, but once you get used to making them, it’s actually quite easy.

Tip:
Clean your juicer right away after juicing so the pulp does not stick to it. It is harder to clean it later once it is dry.