PRIME LIVING
A seasoned eye Reach into your spice rack and you’ll no doubt encounter the usuals – Italian favorites like sage and thyme, their pungent complements like cayenne and garlic. The home cook is quite C arissa familiar with the culinary applications of their W ills spice rack (what’s a taco without cumin or D e M ello stew without bay leaf?). But what may be news is that their kitchen craft has its roots in ancient healing modalities. In fact, the abbreviation for “prescription,” Rx, is said to stand for the word “recipe” which is also Latin for “to take.” Your humble spice rack has the potential to be a tool for health and vitality, should you take a second look. Theories abound as to why people reach for spices at mealtime. Did early humans merely seek novel flavors? Or maybe it had something to do with the potential microbe-busting effects of these plants? Indeed, the act of spicing our food is
10
S ou th C oast P r ime T imes
M arch /A pr il 2020
connected to wellness, whether or not we consider it. But beyond the recipe, or perhaps before it, lies new purpose for your seasonings: wellness remedies. Modern science now confirms much of what tradition has told us about herbal preparations. So “old wives tales” may just be the modern folks’ answer for what ails ya’! Ready to reclaim your inner herbalist? Here are five simple recipes to get you going:
