Join chef and best-selling author Joseph Forest and medical herbalist Chanchal Cabrera this Friday for a culinary medicine and cooking adventure.
From the newly renovated teaching kitchen at Innisfree Farm, explore the history of the ancient spice trade routes.
Discover why these exotic ingredients — traded and fought over, long coveted for use in medicines and sacred ceremonies, cosmetics and cooking – should be an essential part of your culinary medicine chest. Best of all, learn delicious and easy ways to incorporate this natural pharmacy into your everyday life.
Although spices have been revered for thousands of years, it has only recently been shown that spices are a potent source of phyto-nutrients, unique plant chemicals that are the subject of increasing scientific scrutiny.
Nutrigenomics is a fast growing area of research that studies the effect foods and their constituents have on genetic expression. The jury is in: plant compounds found in spices have a positive and powerful impact on health and wellbeing.
Numerous studies by respected scientists worldwide confirm that volatile oils and resins found in spices act as potent agents in the body, and can be easily prepared and consumed to prevent and combat degenerative diseases such as cancer, diabetes, high-blood pressure, arthritis, and heart disease.
Even milder discomforting conditions like morning sickness, headache, flatulence, and menstrual cramps can be alleviated with proper and frequent use of spices.
Learn about the anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric and chili, the anti-cancer compounds in garlic and cumin, the anti-microbial and anti-viral components in cinnamon and black pepper.
Enjoy the conviviality of new friends and truly nourish yourself with foods prepared over the course of the evening as Chanchal and Joseph share cooking techniques, tips, and state-of-the-art scientific facts about the healing properties of food and spices from all corners of the world.
The Spice Pharmacy will be held June 7 from 6 to 9 p.m. Innisfree Farm is in Royston just south of Courtenay at 3636 Trent Road.
For more information or to register go to www.chanchalcabrera.com or contact Chanchal Cabrera at chanchal@chanchalcabrera.com or call 250 336-8767. You can also find out more about Innisfree Farm at www.innisfreefarm.org.
— Chanchal Cabrera