Superfoods: Turmeric (two recipes)

Turmeric has been used in India for over 2000 years, and was one of the principal spices traded along the old spice routes of the ancient far East. That it has health benefits seems to have been known for some time, but recently science has been championing its cause as well. It doesn't hurt its healthful reputation that the Okinawans, known for the being one of the few places on Earth where men frequently live as old as women, consume a lot of turmeric- and, in fact, begin their day with a cup of the stuff brewed as tea. I just had to try this on my own, and I found it surprisingly tasty. In fact, I experimented with it and added some other healthy ingredients, and the result is what I assume is a very healthy beverage that I've been drinking every morning since.

Mike's Turmeric Breakfast Tea

Ingredients:

1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup warmed soy milk
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp matcha (actual ground green tea leaves, popular in Japan, and becoming more so in the West. Health benefits of Matcha)

1 tsp honey. I use Manuka but any real honey would probably be fine.

Combine the water and soy milk in a small bowl. Temperature should be about right for a hot beverage: if not, microwave briefly to the point you want. Add the powdered ingredients and whisk until fully incorporated. Add the honey and stir until incorporated.

I suspect these ingredients would make a tasty latte, too, but I have not tried it- yet!

I tried the more traditional turmeric tea recipe- in which turmeric and hot water are combined with palm sugar and lime juice- which I found tasty as well. The flavor fit right in with Thai cuisine. Lately we have been using Crab Classic as a way to quickly make a salad with a light protein source (Crab Classic is made of two different fish species with light flesh). As I've been interested in adding turmeric to my diet, the challenge today was to make a crab salad with a Thai edge. This is the result.

Crab Classic Salad with Thai Spices

Ingredients:

1 package of flake style Crab Classic, separated
1/2 bell pepper, diced
2 carrots, peeled and julienned
1 tomato, diced
small handful of chopped fresh mint
small handful of chopped fresh basil
2 scallions, greens only, sliced
1 small handful cilantro
1/3 cup mayonnaise or Vegenaise (what I used)
1 tbl lime juice
a splash of rice vinegar
a splash of light vegetable oil
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp kosher salt
grinds of black pepper to taste
a squirt each of Sriracha and blue agave nectar

Make the dressing: combine the mayonnaise, spices, rice vinegar, lime juice, Sriracha, agave nectar,  and oil in a bowl. whisk until thick and incorporated. Put in the diced vegetables and Crab Classic, and combine. Toss in the herbs and mix. Serve on a bed of lettuce. I used an Organic Girl mix with baby kale, which is pretty good! I really don't like kale, but the baby stuff, I like.

One thing I thought of after the fact was the dressing might benefit from a grating or two of ginger root- another superfood.

I really hope you enjoy these recipes and find other ways to get turmeric into your diet!