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Earth – the Space between the Seasons

“The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive. ”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

In Chinese Medicine, the space between seasons is known as an Earth phase. It’s a time of stillness to process and integrate the previous season before we move into the next. Time to regroup, retreat for a day or two even, and become still.

Because it’s an Earth phase it’s also a good time to nourish one’s body with Earth harmonising foods. Warm, grounding and sweet are healing and balancing. It’s a wonderful thing to create recipes that nourish and heal. Food medicine is such a grounded way to look after ourselves and our loved ones isn’t it?

I made this delicious and warming Chickpea, Sweet Potato and Silver Beet Curry last week. It was sooo good! After a busy day at work, it was grounding and so nourishing. Chickpeas are good for tonifying the Qi and clearing dampness, a common imbalance in the Earth element which can result in feeling bloated, heavy and tired amongst other things. Sweet potato also builds our Qi and has the added benefit of eliminating toxins. Perfect! I’ve got masses of silver beet growing at the moment, so I add it to everything because leafy greens right? You’ve got to have them.

Here’s the recipe so you can make it for yourself.

Chickpea, Sweet Potato and Leafy Green Curry

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoon olive oil or ghee
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 2 large cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
  • 2-4 tablespoons your favourite curry paste (options are massaman, butter chicken, rogan josh or whatever is in your fridge!)
  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled & cut into medium size chunks
  • 1 400g can chickpeas, drained & rinsed, or 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
  • 1  can diced tomatoes, with juices or 2 tablespoons tomato paste.
  • 1  can coconut milk
  • bunch of fresh coriander chopped
  • 4 handfuls chopped leafy greens (silver beet, spinach, mustard greens whatever you like best!)
  • freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste

Method

  1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat.
  2. Add the onion, ginger and garlic and saute until the onion is soft and golden, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add the curry paste and tomato paste if you’re using it, and fry for a few minutes stirring throughout until the paste is fragrant.
  4. Add the coriander stalks and sweet potato to the onion and spice mix.
  5. Stir in the chickpeas, then cook for 5 minutes.
  6. Add 1 cup water and chopped tomatoes and bring mixture to the boil
  7. Reduce the heat to a simmer, then cover and cook for 15 – 20 minutes stirring occasionally until the sweet potato is cooked through and the sauce thickened.
  8. Stir in the coconut milk and cook for a couple of minutes,
  9. Then add the leafy greens and cook until wilted.
  10. Scatter over the remaining coriander leaves, then serve with lemon or lime, rice and/or flat bread and yoghurt on the side.
  11. Enjoy!

If you’d like to learn how to use Food as Medicine for healing from a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, check out our Food as Medicine online course here.