Black Beans with Feta

Black Beans with Feta

Simple food is my hallmark.  I love soup because it is typically a one pot meal that can feed us for days. With covid I count my blessings that cooking is not just one of my useful life skills but a favorite pastime. However, even I have cooking fatigue and my food although always easy has become more and more simplified. This easy-peasy recipe came out of a recipe fail and is now in permanent rotation: Black Beans with Feta 2 cans of black beans 1 small block of feta 3 TBL of Harissa (this is a specialty blend and worth having on hand because it is delicious) 1 Onion, chopped 3 cloves of garlic, chopped 1 small red pepper, chopped fine 1 TBL of ghee (ghee has a very high fire point so I often use when cooking but olive oil is fine too) If you have a dutch oven or a pan that can go from stove top to oven that will make this a one pot wonder but if you don’t – washing two pans is worth it. Saute the onion in the ghee over medium heat. Once the onions have some nice color stir in the garlic and red pepper, saute until fragrant (be careful not to burn your garlic as it makes the flavor bitter). Add the harissa and beans and stir together. Turn off heat and nestle slices of feta into the mixture (this is the best part so tuck as much as you can in there). Cover and bake in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes. Baked feta is revelatory....
Fire Cider

Fire Cider

Herbal medicine is really the medicine of the people. Meaning it is for everyone. Fire Cider is an old elixir and one of my favorites to have on hand.  It does take time to chop everything up and patience (because it takes about a month to come together) but I find all the effort totally worth it. This recipe is very forgiving (meaning lots of different versions exist), I simply chop up all the organic goodness and add it to a mason jar with organic apple cider vinegar. I riddle it daily after that – shake, shake, shake. Today’s Fire Cider version includes: Onion, peeled and roughly chopped Garlic, peeled and roughly chopped Tumeric, peeled and roughly chopped Ginger, peeled and roughly chopped Horseradish, peeled and roughly chopped Lemon Zest Rosemary (dried, from my garden) Cayenne Pepper Black Pepper Corns     I don’t measure. I don’t worry about the veggies being chopped just so. I just fill the jar with the ingredients to a few inches shy of the brim and then add the Apple Cider Vinegar, covering everything in the jar. I close the lid and place it in the cupboard with my mugs (think cool and dark for its storage place). I store it with my mugs because that way I will see it every day and remember to give it a little love shake – I usually sing a little love song to it too. I believe in the power of intention and you can bet if I feed you something there is a message of love and light in the recipe too.  After a...
Vegan Corn Chowder

Vegan Corn Chowder

If you have read my blog at all you know that I am a SUCKER for a delicious simple soup.  I eat soup all four seasons of the year – I find it incredibly comforting and soothing, especially for my voice which is often stretched to its limit by my work. When I was a young thing and had a stomach of steel I use to love cream based soups. That time for me passed in my early twenties. One day to the next and cream based soups were no longer my friends. Has that ever happened to you with food? Onwards. There are so many wonderful vegan options and potato has been long known to create a cream like consistency (think Potato Leek soup).  In this soup you use both coconut milk (don’t worry the flavor of the coconut doesn’t pack a punch) and potato. Vegan Corn Chowder: 5 ears fresh corn, cut corn from cob 1 can coconut milk 4 large potatoes, peeled and chunked 4 cups vegetable stock Salt and Pepper to taste LOVE – this is the most important ingredient In a large stock pot add all of the ingredients together. Simmer until the potatoes are soft (20 – 30 minutes). Use and immersion blender and blend about half the soup (or transfer half of the soup to a regular blender and blend) – by only blending half you will keep some of the texture of the potatoes and corn.   Enjoy! Vegan Corn...
An Afternoon with a Healer – Book Signing for Healing Footstep to Footstep

An Afternoon with a Healer – Book Signing for Healing Footstep to Footstep

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 24, 2017 Brianna Bedigian Quiet Winds, LLC 240-409-2722 info@briannabedigian.com  Spend An Afternoon with a Healer Book Signing and Sound Healing with Crystal Singing Bowls Saturday, April 29 in Davidson   Davidson, NC (March 24, 2017): Local author and healer Brianna Bedigian will be hosting a uniquely restorative reading of her book Healing Footstep to Footstep at Main Street Books in Davidson on Saturday, April 29 from 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm. During this offering, Brianna will interweave excerpts of her writing with the pure sound of crystal singing bowls, aromatherapy and guided meditation. Crafting a multi-sensory healing that will leave guests refreshed from the experience. William Rollow, MD, MPH from the Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine had this to say about Brianna and her book, “How do we heal? Although each path is different, some footsteps are common: intention, acceptance of responsibility, turning toward the eternal, practice, support, doubt and darkness and pain and fear. Brianna knows how we heal.” Healing Footstep to Footstep is for anyone suffering with an illness – emotional, spiritual or physical. The willingness and intention to heal despite exhaustion and pain are often absent in stories of healing journeys. The reality is that healing begins one step at a time, often slowly and with acceptance of the self. Through storytelling, recipes, yoga lessons and meditation exercises, Brianna takes us on a journey of Self, where all healing begins. Available April 25, 2017 on www.amazon.com. About Brianna Bedigian Brianna Bedigian is an author, artist, teacher and healer who utilizes her personal journey, and years of formal...

Simple Ginger Tea

I love tea. All kinds – even the medicinal ones that taste like dirt. There is something so comforting to me about holding a warm cuppa.  Although I drink hot tea in the summer it becomes my default beverage in the winter months. Over the past few years I have become more and more interested in making and blending medicinal teas syrups and tinctures. One of my dear friends, Jenny Erhardt of Zensations by Jen, demystified making herbal blends for me several years back.  That brief – 2 minute conversation (she did cuss a few times) – freed me to practice through play. Now, when I start to feel blue or rundown I do a little research of what herb, root, or berry would be helpful and then concoct something in my kitchen to make myself feel better. Fill your cup with something kind. ~Carrie Newcomer from Betty’s Diner Recently I hung out with two children under the age of six  – three days later my belly decided to revolt. Instead of reaching for ginger ale I started making myself the most delicious ginger tea.   Simple Ginger Tea: 1 inch ginger sliced (this can be imperfect – you don’t even have to peel it – your choice) 12 ounces of filtered water Black pepper Local Honey Lime Bring the ginger and water to a boil,  reduce heat and allow it to gently simmer for 10 minutes. In a mug: add a teaspoon of honey (more to taste) the juice of half a lime a crack or two of black pepper Pour the hot ginger tea over this mixture....

Elderberry Syrup

I love Elderberry Syrup. In the fall and winter I take it daily to boost my immune system and ward off the sniffles and flu. It’s an old elixir and as an added bonus, it happens to be delicious. The first time I heard about Elderberry Syrup was several years back when I had a never ending cough. My friend Jenny who owns Zensations by Jen suggested I try it. Although I believe in the power of herbal and traditional medicines Elderberry Syrup caused a “WOW!” moment for me. It made an almost immediate difference and it felt soothing to take it. By the way, Science agrees. Elderberry has been studied. There are resources listed below if you want to read more about it in the medical literature. Recently I started playing with making my own medicinal tinctures and syrups. I now make Elderberry Syrup for myself. It’s a simple recipe and requires minimal effort. Plus, when you are done it is yum. 2 ounces of Dried Elderberry – Sambucus Nigra 1 quart of water 1 cup local honey (LOCAL!) Additional herbs: Whole Cardamom and Cinnamon Sticks Healing Prayer Bring the quart of water to a boil. Add 2 ounces of Dried Elderberry and reduce heat to a simmer. Add additional herbs. Reduce liquid by half. Strain. Return liquid to pan and stir in honey, as you stir, say a healing prayer over the syrup. Store in a sterilized jar. Refrigerate. It should stay good for about 9 months as long as it is stored properly. *I take 2 teaspoons once a day. Its my night time ritual and...