A Taste of Summer in Winter
It was mid February, the snow was rapidly melting in rivers down the gutters, the birds active and happily chirping, the sun shining with warm energy. We were out visiting with friends over patio beers at Coldgarden and feeling optimistic about spring. And of course, I was day dreaming about the vegetable garden, sketching and planning out my seedlings, where I want to make changes this year, how I am going to lay everything out for the next growing season. Blissfully aware that spring is on its way. And BAM! Enter the polar vortex. Again. Record breaking snowfall and absolutely frigid temperatures. You know when it’s a work-from-home snow day in Calgary, it’s really bad out there. All I can think is that I want to curl up in a blanket and not set foot outside again until I see green grass.
However, despite this feeling, we still need to eat. This got me feeling creative with the challenge of looking for ways to avoid heading out in the snow just for groceries. Due to the frigid circumstances, I wanted a hearty, warm, nutritious, comforting meal, and I had to use what I had stashed away in the cupboards. I wanted a curry.
On a somewhat related side note, I am currently on a personal research journey focused on food and how it impacts us on a daily basis, from mood, emotions, and thought patterns to physical comfort or discomfort, energy, sleep, etc. I found that leading up to the pandemic, I was in the best shape of my life, feeling wonderfully active and energetic. Suddenly the world lurched to a complete halt. For a long time. I began to find, slowly, gradually, over two years, it really really messed with my body. It resulted in a complete change of daily patterns and consequently behaviours and habits; and even though I felt like I hadn’t drastically altered my eating habits in terms of cooking for myself, and generally eating quite healthy, I was feeling terrible. My body and digestive system felt like it was shutting down on me. On top of that, all my favourite group fitness studios were obligated to shut down. I tried to keep up with my routines in the basement, on my own, but admittedly it just wasn’t the same, and with all the other stresses going on personally and in the world in general, my body wasn’t happy. Being in tune enough with myself to know something was off, but not being able to pinpoint exactly what was wrong, I started diving into research on food.
I have tested so many theories and ideas in the past year, it has been a wild and sometimes confusing ride. But these past 2 months, I have finally started to feel my old self coming back to life. One component (of many) on this journey, has been learning about cycle syncing and seed cycling. This is all about how the whole foods we eat relate to the female hormonal system throughout the duration of our cycle. As I learn more and more about this, I realize I have always taken for granted how insanely complex the female body is. All bodies are complex, but us females, we have another level of complexity that I feel like our education system has completely bypassed. I was personally never taught anything about the female hormonal system in any depth. Even at a higher education level, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology, I didn’t receive any education that really drove home the true significance of the role of the hormonal system and how it plays out in day-to-day, real life. It seems to be something studied from such an analytical, theoretical perspective, learning about hormone cascade systems, and memorizing biochemistry principals on a molecular level, but never in the context of how a person might be feeling because of it, physically or emotionally (aside from the blanket statement condition of PMS that seems to be universally both partially mocked and yet accepted). It never occurred to me – in the context of food and bodies – how different our nutritional needs are from males and how important food is in the biological ecosystem within our bodies. I am realizing that a lot of my current issues are stemming from a lack of knowledge around my hormones and how they affect me on a day to day basis; and how that changes every single day! It’s complex. I am so excited to be learning about all this stuff for the first time within such a specific context. Sorry for the rather unexpected rant, but I just feel like I’ve stumbled on this little gold mine of a perspective that I feel obligated to share. Maybe its just me, but I really was feeling in the dark and very confused about food and nutrition (which is saying something, considering nutrition is always something I am cognizant of as a foodie), and this new topic has felt like a beacon of light for me!
Back to curry.
Based on the cycle syncing methods that I am currently following, it was suggested that roasted/baked root veggies, sweet potato, yam, or squash would be the most ideal foods to be eating on this particular day to optimize my system. I just so happened to have a stash of squash from my last 2 garden seasons hiding in the cold, dark basement, waiting for such a perfect opportunity. The thing about my garden, is that I get so much produce out of it all at one time, that I am never able to use it all at once. So I chop or shred some of it to be stored in the freezer for soups, stews and stirfrys; and I pickle a lot of it. I love pickles. They add such a spunky kick to basically any dish. I made so many pickles this year that all of my friends and family will now be resigned to expecting pickles for their Christmas gifts every year! Sorry fam! This year I pickled green beans, radishes, cucumbers, and jalapeños.
To save the hardy winter squash (I currently have acorn and butternut squash) I just stored them whole, as they are, in a cool dark place. Truth be told I was a little nervous to cut into the 1.5 year old butternut squash, as this was a personally untested experiment. But it was firm, and when I cut into it, the flesh was bright and juicy, and it smelled like our summer garden the day I had picked it! Truly mind blowing to me given the out of control preservatives that go into most foods in our current food system. Benn and I ate that sweet, juicy squash and, I can confirm, survived to tell the tale.
Most of the other ingredients for the curry dish were random shelf stable items I had stashed on hand for such an experimental night: a can of butter beans, a can of coconut milk, a jar of red curry paste. To that I added fresh ginger, which I always have on hand, and spinach for some greens. To give another layer of texture and flavour I also added crushed sesame and sunflower seeds and some toasted garlic chips. It was a deliciously warming meal.
I find it somewhat wonderful and poetic that on the absolute coldest night of the year, the coldest February 22 in 100 years in fact, we were eating a beautiful squash from our summer garden. It reminded me that we really are not that far off now. We got this. Time to eat all our garden grown squash and pickles, and power through to spring. Thanks for sticking with me on that rollercoaster of a blog post. A little sampler of how my brain is bouncing around between things these days! I included my recipe notes on the curry below.
Summer Garden Squash + Butter Bean Curry
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 onion, chop fine
- 1 inch knob ginger, minced
- 3 cups winter squash, cubed (I had butternut + acorn on hand)
- 3 Tbsp red curry paste
- 1 can cocunut milk
- 1 cup broth (any type, I used pork broth as that is what I had saved in the freezer)
- 3 tsp fish sauce
- 1 can butter beans
- 3 Tbsp sesame seeds
- 4 cups spinach
- Toasted garlic chips for garnish
- Sesame seeds and sunflower seeds, crushed for garnish
- Lime wedge to serve
Method
1. Prep all ingredients and have at the ready. Chop onions, mince ginger. Open your canned goods and have on hand. Crush seeds in a mortar and pestle or on a chopping board.
2. Heat the oil in the skillet and add the onion, saute for 2 minutes on medium-high. Add the ginger. Cook till onion and ginger are fragrant and translucent. Add the cubed squash and let cook for 3 minutes, stirring to prevent burning.
3. Add the curry paste to the skillet. In this instance I used a store bought paste that I had in the pantry, but this summer I want to experiment with a homemade version! Mix well with the squash so that everything is well coated.
4. Add the coconut milk, the broth and the fish sauce. Mix well. Allow the mixture to come to a high simmer before turning the heat to medium low, and covering. Allow to cook covered for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. At this point you could make a pot of rice to serve with the curry.
5. When the rice is cooked and the 15-20 minutes are up on the curry, add the spinach and allow to wilt into the mixture. Serve the curry over rice and top with seeds, garlic chips and cilantro if you have it. A squeeze of lime to finish. Enjoy!
