Late Summer

Garden Vibes

These past few mornings I have been taking my coffee out to the garden. I have a rickety wooden chair I like to sit on while I take in all thegreenery. It’s mostly vegetables… snap peas, kale, chard, collards, zucchini, black futsu, brussels, cukes and tomatoes.  I like to watch the bees snuffling around in the giant orange squash blossoms and butterflies landing in the lavender patch.  I can hear the hum of the highway beyond the property but have been re-imagining it as white noise so it fades into the background.  Then my ears are able to tune into the many guests I have around me in the backyard: squirrels chittering, birds chirping and my personal fave, the ‘buck-buck-buck’ of one of the backyard hens trying to jostle into the nesting box to lay an egg.

 

Late Summer

‘Late Summer’ is a season all of its own in Chinese medicine.  In the middle of the Chinese calendar, Late Summer is a transition time when we return to the middle, between the expansive growth of spring and summer (yang energy) and the more inward energy of fall and winter (yin energy).  It is almost as if time stops for a moment much like the instant when a pendulum reverses its swing.

Late summer is an ideal season for slowing down, clearing your social calendar and perhaps enjoying some quiet reflection time. It is a great opportunity to “digest” your experiences so far this year, sorting through which you can let go of and which are nourishing and should be assimilated.

In Chinese medicine, the stomach and digestive system are at the center of health, regulating and harmonizing the effects of seasonal extremes.  Foods that support the center are often mildly sweet, yellow or golden and round shaped. Pumpkin, squash, sweet potato, millet and corn are excellent seasonal choices.

 

Late Summer Stuffed Squash

Here is a lovely Late Summer recipe that uses the warming (yang) qualities of garlic, thyme and walnuts alongside the more yin nature of cheese and butter. Although this uses summer squash, winter squash can work just as well. If you don’t tolerate dairy, you can sub in vegan cheese and butter, or just enjoy the squash with olive oil and seasonings.

Ingredients

4 small summer squash

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

3-4 Tbsp butter

Olive oil

1/3 C walnuts, lightly toasted and chopped

3/4 C blue cheese or goat’s cheese, crumbled

2 tsp chopped thyme

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 375 °F

Cut off the ends, scoop out the seeds and place the squash in a roasting dish.

Add the chopped garlic and a little butter to each hollow, brush with a little oil and season.

Bake for 30-45 minutes until flesh is tender.

 

Leaving half a centimetre of flesh so the squash holds its shape, scoop the rest out into a

bowl and roughly mash.

Setting aside a little for the topping, fold the rest of the cheese and walnuts into the squash along with the thyme and more seasoning.

Spoon the filling back into the squash skins and top with the remaining cheese and

 walnuts.

Bake for 15 minutes or until bubbling.

 

Happy Late Summer and I look forward to welcoming you back into the clinic as we ease into the fall. I will have the table warmer on and heat lamp at the ready 😉