Several years ago, my husband Nik built an aquaponics garden at our house in Belmont. His plants grow in gravel as opposed to soil, and water is circulated at timed intervals from fish and plant ponds located elsewhere on the property. The waste product from the fish (tilapia) is ammonia, and the filtering of this ammonia through the gravel, when mixed with oxygen, turns it into valuable nitrates. Because the water gets pumped back into the fish pond no pesticides can be used, making everything he grows totally organic.
Tumeric flourishes in our garden in abundance, and is used by us on a daily basis. Tumeric is a member of the ginger family and, like ginger, it’s a large plant. When a flower blossoms on the plant it means it’s maturing, and when the blossom dies the turmeric is ready to be harvested. We wash and then freeze the root, and every piece eventually gets used in the kitchen, especially once we realized what a truly healthy commodity it is!
Tumeric has been used as a traditional medicine for centuries, and its health benefits are what first drew our attention to the versatile root. It has been proven to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties due to the presence of curcumin, the component that gives tumeric its orange colour. Curcumin can also improve the health of the membrane covering the inside of the heart and blood vessels, and as the membrane helps regulate blood pressure and lowers the risk of heart disease it’s obviously beneficial! Studies on lab rats have indicated that curcumin can also play a role in the prevention of cancers such as pancreatic, prostate and breast. The list of the medicinal benefits of tumeric is long and, because it’s so good for us, my husband and I eat it in some form or other every single day.
It’s important to add some ground black pepper when eating turmeric, the compound called “piperine” found in pepper improves the root’s power by helping the body to absorb it. In its raw state, tumeric has a warm, slightly nutty taste I am not overly fond of, and chewing on the root can make the teeth turn an unpleasant colour. However, once blended or grated into food it’s great, and my dentist assures me that the backs of my teeth are not orange!
Breakfast at our house consists of a smoothie, a daily ritual we enjoy. I blend yoghurt, mango, soursop, banana and avocado along with several pieces of turmeric, and this delicious concoction keeps us going until lunchtime.
I also make tasty bread with our tumeric, I simply grate the root into whatever dough I am mixing and the end result is terrific. When eaten hot, the nutty, yeasty smell of the crusty bread is irresistible.
Tumeric is of course commonly used in curries (it’s what makes the store-bought powder yellow), and I grate the root into mine along with some ginger. It enhances the taste, and gives the curried food a lovely colour.
“Power Bars” are the newest invention in our kitchen, something we experimented with for quite a while until satisfied. The bars are made with oats, dried mango and banana, toasted coconut, fresh cinnamon and nutmeg, soursop and, of course, turmeric. We eat them with our smoothies in the morning, and crumbled on top of yoghurt for lunch. Power bars indeed; with no salt or sugar additives they are a tasty, natural and healthy snack! Some local vendors try to hawk the local turmeric as saffron, and anyone who knows the difference between the two spices should set them straight! Tumeric costs nothing to plant and harvest, and it grows extremely easily here in the tropics. Saffron, on the other hand, is derived from what is called the “saffron crocus”; its delicate red threads are collected and dried by hand, and it takes a whopping 75,000 crocus blossoms to make up one pound of threads. It is by FAR the world’s most expensive spice, costing anywhere from $500.00 to $5,000 per pound! Saffron DOES have some of the same medicinal benefits found in turmeric, and is also thought to be an aphrodisiac that can increase the sex drive and prevent premature ejaculation! The latter makes me wonder if the saffron studies are carried out in laboratories with the use of rats, I mean, how can they PROVE all that? I have to say, the thought of such research fills my head with some pretty ridiculous images.
Ahhhh! The healthy joys of sub tropical island life. Even though they are thousands of miles apart our diet in Hawaii was virtually identical. Turmeric used daily is an incredible anti-inflammatory and has kept my old joints flexible and other ailments at bay. Keep spreading the word Judy………and I also share your love of breadfruit. It was my staple for decades and with climate change may save many when the global supply chain breaks.
I’m trying my best! So much local produce goes to waste while kids buy junk like corn curls from a vendor outside the school gates. People aren’t growing corn and peas the way they used to either which is a pity, and I agree with you about climate change and the global supply chain, prices for imported goods are soaring here and I know it’s just the beginning. We haven’t had a proper rainy season, the Saharan dust has interfered in that department, and the sargassum weed has been dreadful. I am quite alarmed.
I take it with my many supplements daily. I want your energy bars !!!! They sound YUMMY. ” Hi ” to Nik , your resident genuis.
I eat those power bars morning, noon and night! They are SO good….