Small plates and a shopping list
This weeks recipes are all good for the final phase of the Ayurvedic cleanse that I covered in the last post, which you can find here.
My recipes this week have been inspired by a lunch I was taken out to for Mother’s Day. My son and I sat under a canopy beneath a bright blue sky, chatting about this and that, as little squeals of our glee serenaded the selection of small plates that kept appearing. The photo above is a selection of my own dishes but they give an idea of how we spent our lunch.
Afterwards, I found a little wooden jetty bobbing up and down in the harbour where I sat and read, drinking in the sun. There were boats moving about on the rippling water which I gazed at with far away eyes, and the sound of people and music in the distance. Close up there was stillness, that particular type of hush you only find close to the waters edge. I relaxed back under the sun, feeling it’s warmth melt my bones as the tranquility washed away my tiredness, and then I sat and read my book laughing out loud because it was so funny — My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. With immense pleasure I realised we have moved into spring. Happy heart.
Photo by Andy Newton
Joy dots
I introduced ‘joy dots’ in my first post which you can find here. Writing and talking about the beauty of things, is a way of giving your positive neural networks a workout. And so important in today’s world that is full of challenges and confusions. This can be as simple as a few words strung together, about something you notice that you like. If you give a space between each joy dot your brain rhythm will start to slow down. Here are mine this afternoon.
Hazy day with sun shining through.
Bumble bee in my window box.
Deep silence.
Fly gliding past.
Sunlight on jeans.
Gentle breeze on my cheek.
The sound of humanity.
Lazy Sunday.
Shadow shapes across a white wall.
The more you play with joy dots and finding the beauty in things, the less stressed you will feel. This practice builds over time and is a deeply rich way of nourishing your brain. Looking at beautiful images also does this.
Recipes
This week I’m going to be sharing a recipe for cheesy polenta, which will be soothing for the digestive tract, and a gentle way of transitioning out of the Ayurvedic spring cleanse, for those who decide to do this — the Ayurvedic cleanse was detailed in the last three posts. I’m pairing the cheesy polenta with a small plate of purple sprouting, cooked in ghee and almonds, which will be served on top of the final dish of the week, hazelnut, wild garlic and ricotta pesto.
One of my lovely subscribers got in touch, and asked if I could give a shopping list of the ingredients I will be using in the recipes each week, ahead of them appearing. The list that follows includes all the ingredients needed for this coming week, but not all the quantities because I won’t know that until I make the recipes.
This weeks shopping list
Polenta grain
Wild garlic (enough for about 4 packed cups when chopped up)
A bunch of fresh basil
Organic milk (substitute with nut milk or vegetable stock if vegan)
Olive oil
Butter (coconut oil if vegan)
Cheese (Parmesan or mature cheddar)
Rock salt (or unprocessed sea salt)
Black pepper
Purple sprouting broccoli
Ghee (recipe to make your own here)
Slithered almonds
Hazelnuts
Lemons
Ricotta (leave out if vegan)
A bunch of fresh mint
Well that’s it for today. Watch out for Wednesdays post when I will include one of the recipes and be chatting about deep tissue nourishment.
If you would like to leave a comment I’d love to hear your joy dots or any questions.
If you enjoyed this post a like is really supportive.
Warmest wishes, I hope you have a lovely week.
Lucy x