Herb of The Month
Fennel
What a pleasure it is to have fennel bulb and leaf in the box, a sure sign of spring. You may be familiar with using the bulb chopped into soups or grated finely into salads but wait, don’t throw away all of those feathery leaves!
The ‘leaves’ which are dark green, wispy and feather like are also a wonderful medicinal food. Chop them up finely and garnish just about any dish with them. Make fennel leaf tea or put them in soups and salads. I enjoy minced fennel leaf on most fish. I also chop the leaves into fine little pieces and put several tablespoons of it into each serving of salad. Chopped fennel leaf is also tasty in sandwiches! It adds a delicious, light, sweet flavor to your lunch and dinner meals.
In the Mediterranean where Fennel is a wild, native plant it has been used for thousands of years as a food. The whole plant, the root, stalk, leaf, flower and seed are a common food. Baked fish stuffed with fennel leaf is a common dish in France. Fennel seeds are found in many meat dishes in Italy and Spanish soups often contain fennel bulb when it is in season. The Mediterranean herbs grow well here, so we can just borrow their recipes!
Fennel leaf also makes a good tasting tea. When you drink fennel leaf tea, it helps to settle your stomach. It is good to drink after any meal to help with digestion. If you don’t get around to eating all of your fennel leaf, hang it up in your kitchen or lay it out on a basket and let it dry. Once it is dry, crumble it to a powder and store it in a jar and use it as a seasoning for sauces and marinades. It is a flavorful digestive aid that goes well with just about any other spice combination.
You are getting two foods in one this week. The bulb is a completely different food. Fennel bulb is high in Vitamin C, potassium and manganese. It also contains easy to absorb calcium and iron. Fennel bulb is a great source of fiber, helping to tone and nourish your colon. High fiber foods are known to reduce undesirable elevated cholesterols and reduce the risk of colon cancer.
Fennel bulb contains helpful phytonutrients (plant nutrients) including flavonoids that we have been hearing a lot about lately. Abundant in fennel bulb, quercetin and rutin are used to reduce inflammation and put a check on allergies. If you have a tendency toward allergies this time of year, this would be a good vegetable to eat regularly.
I sauté fennel bulb with onions and garlic as the base for pasta sauce, I put it in soup and I love it raw in salads. I add chopped fennel bulb to any thing that I would normally add celery to such as chicken and tuna salad, soups and cabbage salad.
Fennel Salad
1 finely chopped fennel bulb
1 chopped carrot
1 avocado
1 orange broken into small pieces
1 chopped celery stalk
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
Dressing:
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar
Fennel Cole Slaw
2 thinly sliced fennel bulbs
1 cup thinly sliced red or green cabbage
1 chopped celery stalk
Chopped red onion to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons minced fennel leaf
1 tablespoon fresh garden herbs (rosemary, thyme or savory)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon powdered mustard seed
Kami is a sixth generation resident of the Putah Creek bio-region and a deep relationship with the Earth is at the heart of her herbal practice. Her love for the plants was inspired by her Grandfather John McBride who was Vacaville’s first Parks and Recreation Director. Before it was popular he worked to save open space and preserve the creeks and trees. Growing up in the passion of his life’s work Kami learned a deep love and respect for the earth.
Kami McBride has taught herbal medicine and women’s health since 1988. Through her classes and personal wellness consultations with clients, Kami helps people understand how whole food and herbal medicine is an important aspect of everyone’s preventive health care plan. Your food is your first medicine. With her extensive knowledge of whole foods and healing plants Kami has helped thousands of people learn to use food and herbs in their daily lives in ways that are healthy, safe and fun.
Kami teaches experiential earth awareness and herbal studies classes at her school and herb gardens in Vacaville, California.
For a schedule of classes and workshops, Kami can be reached at 707-446-1290 or
www.livingawareness.com
P.O. Box 5381
Vacaville, CA 95696
707 -446-1290