Do you guys love turmeric too? Theres a running joke in my household that when we eat yellow food (basically anything and everything with turmeric) we must change first. And honestly, we do. It’s pretty funny, but we almost always change out of our nicer or whiter clothes before dinner, haha. We LOVE turmeric, but man it can stain a bit, ya know?

Anyway, enough about stains. I know I keep promising more recipes— and I WILL do them– just as soon as we’re back… and maybe once our upside down house is in order (but that’s another story). ANYWAY! I’ve asked Amanda of Mama Eats Plants to share a favorite recipe with you guys. Like me, she’s a big turmeric fan. Also a food and cooking lover with an amazing vegan family. And basically spamming my life with overly delicious looking food at all times. It’s great. So here we are– an amazing turmeric paste recipe (for all your turmeric foodie needs) ala Mama Eats Plants.

Hello everyone! I can’t tell you how excited I am to be here on Oh Dear Drea today- as a fellow young + single mom many years ago, I gained so much comfort in reading a similar beautiful, messy, and imperfect (in the societal sense of the word) story, when no one I knew in real life was experiencing anything similar. So it feels really nice to be here in this familiar space.

Today I’d like to introduce you to turmeric paste- in true Oh Dear Drea fashion, in the spirit of all things bright, healthy and tropical. As the weather cools down here in California a bit, I find myself reaching for it more and more.

Turmeric has been a part of my wellness routine for years now. I have had rheumatoid arthritis since I was a kid, and managed to heal myself through a plant-based diet, lifestyle changes (mainly with stress), and herbs- especiallyturmeric. You can read more about my healing story HERE if you’re curious. Turmeric is very wide-spectrum: it’s an amazing anti-inflammatory agent, as well as being anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, and anti-tumor. Turmeric also has been used extensively since ancient times, being added to food as a natural way to preserve it longer, and through Ayurveda to cure ailments and balance all three of the doshas. Plus, it’s used traditionally to dye garments, and believed to cleanse the chakras, bring prosperity, and so much more. I love when a “superfood” is actually just that, and has a rich and beautiful cultural history.

I love fresh turmeric, but I’ve heard it can be hard to find, depending on where you live- so I wanted to share a recipe utilizing dried turmeric powder which is more widely accessible. Also, according to my acupuncturist, cooking turmeric increases its solubility and therefore absorbability + stabilizes the curcumin in it. Making it into this paste makes it easy to mix into anything you like since it blends so easily. Our favorites are golden milk and golden porridge, but feel free to add to dressings, soups, ginger tea, smoothies, etc. We find turmeric especially helpful for any sore throats, feelings of illness coming on, or joint pains. I turn to it often in fall and winter especially for its warming, grounding properties. If you live in a warmer area and are looking for a more cooling/fruity recipe, this one from the archives is great- find it HERE.

ps- turmeric stains on your vitamix or juicer come out easily when sat in the sunlight for a few hours, I’ve found.

Golden Paste: Anti-inflammatory sunshine to add to everything

ingredients for the golden paste:

  • 1/4 cup ground turmeric
  • 3.4 cup+ water
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

method:

In a small saucepan, whisk ingredients and heat over medium, stirring often, for about 7 minutes. Turmeric will form a smooth, thick paste. If it gets too dry, simply add some more water as needed- you can’t go wrong here. When finished, transfer to a glass container and let cool. Store in the fridge for up to two weeks.


for golden milk:

heat up a mugful of milk of choice- I like a mix of homemade almond with a splash of full fat coconut- and whisk in 1 teaspoon or more to taste of the turmeric paste. Heat gently until warmed and off heat, whisk in desired sweetener. Raw, organic honey is great or use maple syrup, coconut sugar, date paste, whatever you’re into. Add any extra spices like cardamom, ginger, cloves, medicinal mushrooms, adaptogens etc as desired depending on what you need that day. Sometimes I whirl it all through the blender to make it extra frothy.

for golden porridge:

for each serving of cooked porridge (we love oat or buckwheat), mix through 1 teaspoon (or more, to taste) of the turmeric paste. Add in 1/4 tsp each cinnamon, cardamom, ground ginger + pinch of cloves and black pepper. Add a generous splash of full fat coconut milk (or other milk of choice) and drizzle over some raw organic honey or other sweetener. Top with something crunchy- pistachios + dried rose petals, toasted coconut flakes, pumpkin seeds, black sesame seeds are all amazing.
Enjoy!

For more recipes check out Mama Eats Plants
Find Amanda on instagram HERE.
Click here for more recipes on ohdeardrea.

2 Comments

  1. How much water? Recipe says 3.4 cups…. that seems too much water for a paste