Category:
Comfort Recipe for Grounding
In the early morning the day before the Super Pink Full Moon inLibra, I woke at 1:30am wide awake with a chest feeling full of anxiety. As I laid in the bed managing my breath, I asked myself “who’s anxiety is this”?. It wasn’t long before I realized that it wasn’t mine. It’s the stress and anxiousness of my neighbors, of our communities, cities, of the entire world. We are in a place of unknowing circumstances, and emitting our energy all over the place. It’s not easy being an empath. I feel more than others, but I can also recognize what is not mine. So I’m grateful for that gift. I can feel you even if you can’t feel me. I hear you when you can’t hear yourself. I for sure see you when you need to be seen. Some days I get by with lots of laughter and joy, but when there’s heaviness hanging around in the ethers it always seems to find me.
When I have an episode like this that rattles my soul, it’s a reminder that this is grounding time. Not just in our movement, but throughout all of our senses. There are so many ways we can do this: gardening, reading, cooking, eating, soaking, painting, nature walks, cleaning, smudging, etc. How each person settles their soul is an individual thing. For me, it’s listening to my intuition and letting that guide me…which always leads me to healing, soulful, comfort food cooked with love, compassion, thoughtfulness and freedom.
Coconut Curry Stew with Chicken
- ½ onion sliced
- ½ leek thinly chopped (white part)
- ¼ c cilantro stems finely chopped
- 2-3 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
- 2 in piece of ginger cut into thin matchsticks
- 1 celery stalk chopped
- ½ fennel bulb sliced thin (save stem and leaves)
- 4 medium carrots
- 1 medium sweet potato cut into ½ in quarters
- 6 peppercorns
- 5-8 fresh kaffir lime leaves
- 1 tbsp of lemongrass (Gourmet Garden brand)
- 1 tbsp Better than Bouillon (roasted chicken flavor)
- 1 dried Thai red chili
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp curry powder
- 1tbsp bacon fat (optional)
- 1 cup of water
- 1 ½ cans of unsweetened coconut milk
- 2lbs of chicken breast cut into chucks (optional)
Kaffir Lime Leaves
First, you will need a crockpot big enough to make soup for 8 people. SET the temp for LOW on 6hrs. If you do not have one this size then cut the ingredients in ½. I’m not a vegetarian and no where close to being vegan, but you can make this stew vegan. Omit the bacon fat, chicken and chicken flavor bouillon. I recommend using the same brand, but the veggie stock.
When it comes to making healing, soulful, comfort food, I’m not one to measure things. I’m a sprinkler and a dasher 🙂 This is where cooking with freedom comes in. Read all directions below first before throwing everything together!
Place the carrots and sweet potato in a separate bowl and set aside for last 2hrs.
Combine all ingredients EXCEPT for chicken in the crockpot…stir and taste. You’ll get a hint of how amazing it will turn out, but what you’re tasting for is salt content from the bouillon. You want it a little salty to bring out the flavor of the chicken. The sweetness of the carrots and sweet potato will balance out the salt. Remember that you can add more water or coconut milk later as well as spices. After you’ve mixed everything around, drop in the chicken, stir again, cover it and walk away for 4hrs. Add in carrots and sweet potato for the last two hours. I do this so they don’t turn to mush.
When finished, garnish with chopped cilantro leaves and fennel leave sprigs.
Share your photos with me! I’d love to hear how everything came out and what adjustments you made.
