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| Phytochemicals have been extensively studied and have been shown to prevent and treat human disease. |
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One of the main components of a medicinal food garden, as well as optimal nutrition, is perennial plants. Annual plants, such as tomatoes, zucchini and lettuce, are the typical garden plants, and they live out their lives in one season. Usually they are started from seed in the spring, produce a mature plant in the summer, then flower and go to seed in late summer or fall.
In contrast, perennial plants either have “forgotten” how to produce seeds and just continue to grow year after year. Or, more commonly, they produce seeds and fruit in late summer or fall, but this process doesn’t kill the plant. There are countless examples of perennial plants — trees, shrubs, herbs and many, many others.
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Perennial plants usually have deeper root systems than annual plants, which allow them to anchor themselves against wind and rain as they get bigger. These larger root systems allow the plants to “forage” the soil for needed nutrients more vigorously than annual plants. In addition, because they are longer lived, perennial plants need to develop a defense system that typically is not needed by garden annuals. Such defense systems include thick bark to ward off mammals and insects, as well as thorns. More relevant for us, perennial plants typically develop a rich variety and robust amounts of certain phytochemicals (meaning plant-produced substances), which provide chemical defense and support for the plant’s immune system and ability to heal from infestation, disease or wounds. It is one of my primary theses that these same phytochemicals support our own chemical defense and immune systems. Phytochemicals have been extensively studied and have been shown to prevent and treat human disease.
In our garden in Napa, we grow many perennial vegetables. Some well-known examples include asparagus, artichokes, rhubarb, sorrel and dandelion. Less common varieties include tree collards and perennial kale. Typically, the taste of perennial vegetables is stronger than common annual vegetables, probably because of their lower carbohydrate levels and higher phytonutrient levels. In future blogs, I will get more detailed about how to find, grow, and process these valuable additions to your diet.
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To encourage adding perennial plants to your regular diet, we offer three unusual perennial plants at Dr. Cowan’s Garden. Cholla buds are the flowering tips of a perennial cactus grown in the Sonoran desert. Chaga is a medicinal mushroom with great healing powers for a variety of health conditions; it is wild-harvested from the Northeast U.S. and Quebec. The chaga nuggets are brewed into a tea that has been valued as a health tonic across many cultures. Finally, we offer Horseradish Powder, made from horseradish grown from a farm near Mt. Shasta, CA. Horseradish is a perennial member of the brassicas family (which includes broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower) that, because of its sulfur-containing phytonutrients, is also a powerhouse in disease prevention.
I heartily encourage everyone to begin today to add the rich variety of perennial plant products into your diet.
Tom Cowan, M.D.
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Dr. Cowan's Garden Horseradish Powder
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$25.00
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Dr. Cowan's Garden Chaga Nuggets
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$20.00
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Dr. Cowan's Garden Dried Cholla Buds
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$20.00
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Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp Dr. Cowan's Garden Dried Cholla Buds, ground coarsely in a coffee burr grinder
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, preferably grass-fed
- 1 pinch of sea salt
Directions:
- In a teapot, add the ground cholla buds to the mesh bowl. Boil enough water for the pot and add to the teapot as soon as it is boiling. Allow to steep for at least 8 minutes. Use a cozy to keep warm.
- Add butter and pinch of salt to a teacup and pour the tea over butter and stir.
- Serve immediately.
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Ingredients:
- 3/4 c. sour cream:
- 3 t. Dr. Cowan's horseradish powder
- 3 t. dried tarragon, crushed to a powder between your palms
- 1 t. lemon juice
- 3/4 t. himalayan pink salt
Directions:
- Mix all ingredients thoroughly.
- Refrigerate for 1-2 hours to let the flavor develop.
- Serve and enjoy!
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CHAGA LUMBERJACK CHEESECAKE
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Crust
- 1 cup almond flour
- 3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup dates, pitted, chopped very fine
- Pinch of salt
Filling
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cup yogurt
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup Dr. Cowan's Garden Chaga tea, very concentrated (4 cups reduced to 1)
- 4 eggs
- 1 Tbsp birch liqueur or vanilla extract
Topping
Extra Equipment
- 20 even strips of parchment paper
- Sifter
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Directions:
- For the crust, combine the almond flour, cocoa powder, chopped dates and salt in a bowl and mix together. Mix in the softened butter till thoroughly combined. Press into the bottom of a springform pan to form a crust and refrigerate.
- Break the eggs into a large bowl, whisk in the maple syrup until frothy and the mixture increases in volume. Combine the chaga tea and birch liqueur or vanilla whisk into the egg mixture.
- In several batches, add the yogurt and heavy cream, and stir to combine. Add to pre-made crust.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the cake for 1 hour and allow to cool inside the oven. Remove from oven, allow to cool completely and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight before adding toppings.
- For the topping, add all ingredients to a small saucepan (gelatin dissolves in cold liquid and activates with heat) on medium-low heat until mixed thoroughly and solids are mostly dissolved. Once everything is dissolved and rich in color, bring to a boil, then shut off the heat.
- Refrigerate topping until lukewarm, not cold and hardened, and pour over the top of the cheesecake. Refrigerate until gelatinized.
- Lightly dampen the strips of paper and place over the cheesecake lightly. Sift the cocoa powder over the top until completely covered. Remove the paper strips.
- Serve chilled.
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Dr. Cowan's Garden 661 Chenery St San Francisco, CA 94131 |
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