Virgo is an earth moon sign. This recipe is to help with digestion and liver health.
Ingredients
Yellow squash (remove seeds)
Pumpkin
Carrots
Sweet potatoes
Any cruciferous vegetables are good for the liver so you can add cauliflower to your soup. But I would leave broccoli or cabbage for a vegetable stew rather than a soup.
Brown onion – sliced
Fresh Ginger – chopped
A clove or 2 of Garlic – chopped or press with a garlic press.
1 tomato – sliced (optional)
Vegetable stock
Fresh Coriander – thinly chop some with the stem. Break the rest in little florets, you will use them to garnish the stew at the end.
Turmeric – optional
If using Cauliflower, I usually soak the florets in a bowl of tap water. This helps with the cleaning process.
Preparation
Lightly steam your vegetables so that they are a little soft but still green.
Heat vegetable oil in a pan and brown the onions for 10-20 seconds. Add the chopped garlic and the chopped ginger and brown for another 10 seconds. Add the Tomato if you wish and cook stirring constantly for 10-20 seconds. Add your vegetables and stir for 20 seconds, (it doesn’t matter if the vegetables break in the process).
Add your stock and enough water to cover the vegetables. Let it boil.
You can add a little bit of turmeric powder to your soup.
Once it starts boiling, lower the heat and personally I use a potato masher to press the vegetables (I like a bit of chunky vegetables in my soup rather than a puree) and then boil it a couple more minutes. But some people prefer to use a blender if you prefer a puree soup.
Once the soup is ready garnish with coriander and serve with warm bread (Pita or baguette warm in oven first)
Ginger is good for the digestive system so finish your meal with a cup of ginger tea. (Make your own tea boil fresh ginger and lemongrass together until you smell that rich fragrance then pour the liquid in a cup. (Add half a teaspoon of honey if you wish).
Note: These recipes are creole recipes from when I was growing up. All creole recipes use fresh herbs and fresh spices. It gives more flavour to your food.
Our lifestyle in Australia might not be ideal to cook everything fresh. Feel free to substitute to garlic or ginger paste or dry coriander.
If you do not have time to cut your vegetables most supermarkets now sell chopped carrots, cauliflower or sweet potato and pumpkin all set to go. Alternatively chopped your vegetables and keep them in the fridge in an airtight container ready to use.
Cauliflower and Broccoli are always soak in a bowl of water for 5 to 10 minutes to give it a proper wash.
Let us know if you cook these dishes and how you like it.
Leo is a fire sign. My recipe today is to cool our inner Leo.
I have chosen an Olive and Walnut salad (olive can be good for the health of the ovaries to tie with lunar cycle and Walnut can be good for the brain (Fire signs need food to nourish the brain).
Ingredients:
Olives (you can buy Olives at any deli) for this recipe use green olives.
Walnut (you can put them in a pan on the stove for only 1 min just to warm them)
Spinach (iron intake)
Mint leaves (for cooling)
Any leafy greens like beetroot leaves, watercress, rocket leaves, Kale and mint.
If using watercress or kale you can sauteed your watercress/kale with a little bit of garlic, mix with the walnuts and a tablespoon of olive oil instead of warming the walnuts separately on the stove)
Red radish (sliced)
Fresh Parsley to garnish
Optional to sprinkle on your salad if you are not vegan: goat cheese or Feta cheese but if you opt for cheese, please grab that packet of parmesan in your supermarket as an alternative.
Parmesan cheese is rich in calcium, Vitamins B12 and B6 and Zinc for winter months.
Method
Once your ingredients are ready, arrange them in a bowl with the leafy greens at the bottom, walnuts, the radishes, Olives, and cheese (if needed) in that order and sprinkle your parsley on top.
For dressing I use a homemade dressing prepared in advance:
fresh lemon squeezed
Red onion – thinly slice
Flaxseed oil
Soak the onion slices in the lemon juice to soften them a bit. Once the onion slices have softened, mix the juice with Flaxseed oil and pour on your salad.
Optional: add salt and pepper to your salad dressing
This dish can be an accompaniment to a main meal but if you like salad for lunch I would recommend mixing a can of chickpeas for your protein intake. Please bring in mind if using fresh chickpeas, you will need to boil them 25-30 minutes beforehand.
Finish your meal with a cup of green or peppermint tea to complete the inner Leo cooling process.
Happy eating.
