THE SEASONAL BLOG
The Seasonal blog is a collection of articles and musings from Ayurvedic Practitioner, Kate O’Donnell.
Here you’ll find a sanctuary of Ayurvedic recipes, lifestyle insights, and self-care rituals designed to nurture your entire being.
Happy reading!
New recipe developed for Farmtrue ghee!
Check out my Butternut Tikka Masala recipe! This is different from my usual recipe, it’s a holiday special. Requires a little more effort, contains onion and lots of tomato, and has a real North Indian flavor. I think you will not regret taking the time to roast some butternut and combine it with homemade Tikka Masala and Farmtrue’s versatile Superfuel Latte mix!
Superfuel Butternut Tikka Masala
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 roasting, 25 stovetop
Total Time: [1] 1 hour 20 min
Serves: 6 servings
With chunks of butternut squash and creamy coconut milk, this Superfuel Butternut Tikka Masala showcases Ayurveda’s building tastes: sweet, sour, and salty. The big news about this wintery tomato-based stew is the secret ingredient. Farmtrue’s Superfuel Latte Mix loads this dish with medicinal herbs and spices, making it not only satisfying and delicious but rejuvenating as well.
For roasting the Squash:
4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1“ cubes (about one small/medium squash)
2 tbsp Farmtrue traditional ghee, melted
1 1/2 tsp garam masala spice
1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
Butternut Tikka Masala Ingredients:
1/4 peeled and chopped ginger root
1 serrano chili, halved and seeded
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp Farmtrue Superfuel Latte Mix
2 tbsp Farmtrue Traditional Ghee
1 medium onion, chopped
8 roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
3/4 c canned coconut milk
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
3 large handfuls of baby spinach
To roast the squash:
Preheat the oven to 400.
Toss the squash with melted ghee, spices, and salt.
Transfer onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast for 25 minutes, until tender.
Broil for 2-3 minutes to brown the squash cubes.
To prepare the Tikka Masala:
Use a small food processor to combine the ginger, chili, Superfuel Latte Mix, and tomato paste to make the masala paste—process to a paste. If your processor is too big for the job, dice everything up small and stir to combine. The sauce will be blended later.
In a heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven, warm the ghee over medium-high heat.
Saute the onion for 2-3 minutes until it begins to brown.
Turn heat down to medium, add the Tikka Masala and saute, mixing well, until the spice mixture begins to brown, about 2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and salt. Bring to a simmer for 20 minutes on medium-low heat.
Using an immersion blender, puree the sauce until smooth.
Stir in the chickpeas, spinach, and coconut milk.
Gently stir in the squash cubes.
Return to a simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve over basmati rice or with Farmtrue Stove-Top Naan Bread.
At Farmtrue, everything we do stays true to our unwavering commitment to being more connected – to ourselves, each other, and the land. Co-founders Lynn Goodwin and Kim Welch are working to modernize Ayurvedic self-care for optimal sleep, digestion, and energy: the three governing pillars of health. They produce the most honest and simple products to help honor the true you by thinking seasonally and living mindfully. It’s a sincere conviction rooted in sustainability and the ancient philosophy of Ayurveda that inspires them to eat, live, and act with more care.
Visit their website at Farmtrue.com and @Farmtrue.
🐜!!! While we tend to overdo it, and sugar has made a lot of problems for modern bodies, it isn't all bad.
Sweet taste, which is present in root veggies, grains, and fruits, is the primary building taste which nourishes the body. In balance with the lighter tastes, sweet provides fuel and building blocks for the tissues.
I love to bring my own favorites when I’m not hosting.
Kale salad, a thermos of hot tea, rice crackers instead of the oily wheaty ones, chevre instead of cow cheese. This doesn't mean I don’t eat some of the other stuff too, but I’ve got my mainstays and can enjoy smaller amounts of the other treats which may be hard for me to digest. What do you bring???
Embodying Ayurveda is step one to sharing it.
Come together in this community of Ayurveda professionals for six months of case studies, business direction, motivation, and clinical skills. There are just a few spots left for this 15-person cohort in the first half of 2022.
Gain access to resources on use of herbs and spices, lectures on all sorts of topics, marketing and business recommendations, two 1:1s with me, and the opportunity to offer community consultations for my peeps if you need clients. Consulting practice has always been my deepest place of learning and keeps the living science dynamic.
Happy Thanksgiving to those of you celebrating!
I am whipping up my Wild Rice Kitchari in anticipation of fall feasting. It helps the gut a lot to eat lighter on the day before and after a feast.
For the holiday I’ll be making wild rice stuffing (can you I tell I love the stuff), baked tofu, and whipped butternut. I add chopped parsley on top for the greenery.
What are you making??? Any of my recipes on your holiday table??
Ah, that’s what Ayurveda living is about. Awareness.
The thing about this review of our days and nights and our choices, is to keep it fun! Self-transformation can easily get heavy. Living well is not only about adopting the “right” way, but also about enjoyment. Sometimes the “right way” is to have a bit of fun. After some years of renunciation, I find myself deeply in love with the experiences of Life in this decade. Even grief and sorrow are a marvel, in their own way, and make the good stuff so precious.
Do you agree?
Do you have a story about choosing fun? Tell me.
Don’t forget the tahini!
Combining 5 of the six tastes, tahini is a powerhouse warming, building treat. I make a dip for roasted veggies, drizzle it on cooked greens, and even make SESAME COOKIES, using tahini instead of peanut butter!
Peanuts, also known as ground nuts, are a certain kind of hot and oily mixture that really aggravates Pitta, and are not helpful for skin stuff. I think you’ll find sesame butter works great in place of peanut all over the place!
Find the scoop on how to roast and grind your own in Everyday Ayurveda Cooking for a Calm, Clear Mind- staples section. 🤗
What are you doing with tahini this fall?
The Srotamsi system, my FAVORITE topic in Ayurveda.
We know that in the workings of the body, there is a lot of stuff getting moved around. Fluids, wastes, nutritive materials, and energy, to name a few, are constantly being transported throughout the body by an intricate system of tubes. These “tubes” are called srotamsi in Ayurveda, and a single tube is called a srotas. The word suggests the activity of flowing, and this channel system is constantly in a state of flow.
Which is infinitely cool! We are such dynamic beings!
A lot of the self-care practices, bodywork, and dietary wisdom of Ayurveda are working behind the scenes to maintain healthy channels. Many yoga postures, breathing techniques, and visualizations are also designed to increase circulation and break up pranic blockages.
