Summer Corn with Umeboshi

Looking for a new way to jazz up all that corn on the cob your family is eating this summer? We love ours grilled and charred with olive oil and salt, Mexican-style with chili powder, cilantro, and lime, and also this way - with a smear of umeboshi paste and gomasio on top. It’s just as easy as anything to make, and chances are you have NO idea the benefits of eating this intensely pickled, funny sounding Japanese plum - it’s great to have an easy way of incorporating them into such an American staple. 

Food Facts: Umeboshi Plums (or plum paste)

Umeboshi salt plums are extremely sour and salty. They are commonly called “Japanese alka seltzer” because of their common use in treating digestive upset. They are highly alkalizing and can help with indigestion, diarrhea, liver issues, fatigue, the elimination of toxins and even worms! Because of their action on the liver, they have also gotten a popular reputation as a hangover cure. You can buy them whole or commonly as vinegars or pastes. One umeboshi plum a day = the apple of the East! 

Summer corn with Umeboshi

Fresh corn, kept on the cob

2 Tbsp umeboshi paste

1 splash Mirin rice wine

Gomasio (a sesame seed and sea salt mixture) or toasted sesame seeds

Cayenne pepper (optional)

Grill or steam corn to desired doneness. While your corn is cooking, mix umeboshi paste with a splash of mirin and stir/whisk together to thin the paste - you may need a splash of water as well to taste. Umeboshi paste is VERY strong, so thinning it out makes the flavor less punchy and adding the wine will balance a little sweetness into the paste. Spread a thin layer over each cob, top with gomasio sprinkles or sesame seeds and cayenne for kick. 

Food Facts:

Beets and beet greens are very beneficial for our livers! The greens especially can help break down food by increasing the smooth flow of bile to aide digestion - so don’t throw them out! The beet (a root) itself is very high in iron and has been used as a blood tonic in many cultures. Eaten as a whole, the entire vegetable with root and leaves, it has a perfect contrast of sweet and bitter flavors. Beets are also a great remedy for constipation. 

I have a love / hate relationship with beets. I want to just love them… but alas, it is not in the cards for me. At least not yet! I’m not giving up, as you can see, and neither should you if you share my dilemma. There are so many wonderful qualities to beets, my favorite being their beauty. That’s why I want to love them so. Their color is unrivaled… deep aubergine to bright clementine orange! Their shape is sensual and fits just right into the palm of your hand. You can eat them raw or cooked, drink their juice, or even dye fabric with them! They also have numerous health benefits. The best way I like to eat them is with some of their greens or some other bitter leaf to offset their sweetness, herbs, and some fat-like oil, cheese or nuts to give it depth. Beets need to be balanced. At least for me. 

Here is a simple recipe that works for me and allows you to use whatever you may have on hand: 

Beet & Herb Salad:

a few roasted beets, sliced into rounds or wedges (roast with a tiny drizzle of olive oil and splash of water in a covered dish at 400˚ for about 30 minutes or until a knife slides though easily. After, you can take off their skins by just rubbing them away!)

a few leaves of beet greens, roughly chopped *

red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

handful of fresh parsley, basil, chives, or even mint leaves, roughly chopped

freshly crumbled feta or goat cheese

olive oil or walnut oil 

freshly ground black pepper and sea salt

Set beets and beet greens in a small bowl, drizzle or splash a few dashes of vinegar on them and let sit for a few minutes. Toss and add herbs and cheese. Drizzle everything with oil and finish with pepper and salt to taste. Easy! 

*Eat your beet greens alone, in an omelet, with dumplings, on a sandwich, in a salad etc. They are delicious sauteed with a little olive oil and GARLIC. Lots of garlic. Maybe some chili flakes, if you’re in the mood. 

“In myth (as well as biology), the sea is the source that all things arise from and return to. ” – Healing with Whole Foods

The powers of seaweeds have been drawn upon for thousands of years for their myriad health benefits. Some of these include:

• they contain the greatest amount and broadest range of minerals of any edible plant, especially iron, iodine, and calcium
• they can remove residues of radiation in the body and act as lymph cleansers
• they are helpful in weight-loss because they can lower cholesterol and fat levels 
• they relieve swelling, lumps, nodules, and edema
• they support the function of the thyroid gland

Most people are so mystified by seaweeds and their preparation, that they don’t even venture into buying them for use at home. Leave it to the sushi bar, right? Well you don’t have to do that anymore. I’m going to show you a few easy ways to use seaweeds at home that will enliven your recipes and your health. Women, take note. Seaweeds are the #1 natural food product for thyroid problems, and certain seaweeds have up to four times the amount of iron of red meat! They also make a great addition to nourishing soups after childbirth and when recovering from illness. 

NORI

Easy Nori Wraps:

1 sheet nori seaweed

almond butter

green apple, sliced thinly

green onion, chopped

carrots, sliced thin or shaved

cucumber, sliced into thin sticks

cilantro

1 tsp shoyu or tamari

Layer all the ingredients on your sheet of nori and wrap up like a burrito. Slice in half and eat! Also great with brown rice inside, ginger, romaine lettuce, purple cabbage, toasted sesame oil, sesame seeds, etc… use what you have! Nori is perfect for “rolling” things, whether it be sushi, tacos, wraps, burritos. Also toast the sheets in the oven (300˚) with a little tamari brushed on top for a great salty snack. You can also purchase pre-made nori snacks flavored with sesame oil or wasabi… very yummy. 

KOMBU & KELP

My favorite way to use kombu is with cooking beans. You heard me! Slice up some kombu into small pieces and cook your black beans with the seaweed mixed in. It will add a great salty flavor, and also make the beans more digestible and easily softened. Kelp will generally increase the nutritional value of any food it is cooked with, as it is considered one of the most mineral-complete foods. The combination of black beans and seaweed is the classic Chinese medicine food remedy to nourish the Kidneys. 

WAKAME, ARAME, HIJIKI

These sea vegetables really expand when they are soaked or put in water. I love them in soups mainly (miso soup, chicken broth soups, vegetable soups, anything!), or also added to grains while cooking. You can also saute them in olive oil to cut the fishy taste somewhat, or add them to your leafy greens saute (kale, collards, mustard greens) for extra-dense iron and mineral nutrients.