We are so blessed to live in an area which, against all weather odds, is teeming with life. The short growing season is aggressive and challenging, which makes it all the sweeter when we see weeks where our land is producing all the colors of the rainbow (at the same time!). The way Rainshadow has spent so many years learning from the Central Oregon landscape and adapting to its seasons to provide us nourishment is nothing short of an expression of pure love.
The farther I go studying the human body in medicine, the more I have moved away from ‘recipes’, and the more I just appreciate eating the rainbow every day. Don’t get me wrong, I love all the classics, and trying fun local-food twists, but true vitality comes from eating a variety of colored produce. Red for heart and joint support. Orange for preventing cancer and supporting collagen. Yellow for vision, digestion, and immune support. Green for detoxification and immune support. Blue/Purple for mineral absorption and antioxidant activity. White for killer cell development and cancer prevention. Get them all every day if you can!
I think Michael Pollan said it best, “Eat FOOD, not too much, mostly PLANTS.” In a culture where we are constantly bombarded with hyper flavored processed food and gluttony reigns supreme, ‘succumbing’ to the unmarred flavors of the land can seem unreasonable. It gets easier. In fact, it gets GOOD. Until I subsisted off REAL food, I never could have told you how almost too sweet a carrot or beet can be, how mature arugula is right up there with wasabi, and how you can really appreciate the salinity of unseasoned meat. This sensitivity develops over time, and it is awesome. Your body starts to talk to you and tell you what it needs. If you’re not there, that’s fine. You’ll get there. But until then, eat the rainbow. It will put you on the right track.
This meal is wok tossed together with love with focus on color. Orange carrot, green choy, purple eggplant, white leek. The only seasoning and fat is from spicy fennel pork sausage. Oh so easy. Oh so good.