Why is it 87 degrees in March?!
In July, okay. Maybe even in June, I can handle it. But in March? My body and brain are fritzing.
Yesterday, after spending some time in the sun at Head West, where I missed out on a great jacket, but found a good replacement at the Goodwill (thanks Cass!), I was TOASTED by the heat.
Afraid I wouldn’t find a public restroom at the market, I left my water bottle in the car. By the time I was heading home, after working up a stinky sweat playing a fierce game of Ms. Pac-Man at Rewind, I started craving potato chips. I gave in to the urge and bought a bag, thinking I was doing a good job eating them one-by-one, checking to see when I had had enough. Turns out when nutritionists say we don’t feel full until 20 minutes after we are already full, they’re right. My teacher, DeAnna Batdorff, told us to notice when we burp. When we eat a meal, the food starts to displace the air out of our stomach, and we burp. Once, and we’re getting there. Twice, time to stop. Stopping at that point leaves us with enough room in the stomach so the food can churn and continue its digestion. I didn’t pay attention, and I kept on eating.
What my body really had wanted was HYDRATION and electrolytes, thus the salt. I paid for this poor decision the rest of the night with a belly-ache and not enough room to eat the actual meal we made for dinner.
Potato chips are my weakness. But I’m happy to report that I love them less these days, and find I can resist their siren song more often than not. Yesterday was a case of needing electrolytes and major hydration as we sprang from chilly winter into the heat of summer with little prep. I’m glad the temps are going down after next weekend, and this week, I’m determined to be more prepared.
I made a switchel! Two summers ago I ran an herbal hydrations class where we went through a variety of ways herbal drinks are prepared, and how they generously offer what our bodies need to stay cool and hydrated. The switchel was one of my favorite finds.
Originating in the Caribbean, switchels became popular in the American colonies by the late 1600s. The sweetener used varied, depending on what was locally available. Combining water, apple cider vinegar, ginger, and your sweetener of choice makes a switchel. For any of you who also read Little House on the Prairie, when Ma sent out “ginger water“ to refresh Pa and Laurie in the summer heat as they made hay, she was sending them out a switchel. The drink is also referred to as haymakers’ punch, swizzle, switzel, Yankee punch, and ginger pop.
I’m very excited to drink this. I already know I have to get more going because we both like it so much, I expect a quart won’t last long. If you’re a fan of sparkling water, make your switchel with less filtered water initially, topping off your glass with sparkling.
Switchel
4 cups filtered water
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 ½ tablespoons molasses
1 ½ teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
Let steep in fridge at least 24 hours. Strain into glass with ice and enjoy.
This is the traditional haymakers recipe, sweetened with molasses. You can substitute honey, brown sugar, sugar, maple syrup, or stevia, sweetening to taste.
Cheers!
If you feel inclined to support one of our local herbal treasures, David Hoffmann is well-worth your generosity. I’ll let the gofundme speak for itself, but his classes were always a wild ride of thoughtful meditations and tangents, filling our hungry brains with facts, opinions, stories, and support.
Farmers market pop-up this weekend!
Come check out the new market space and say hi to all the vendors you’ve been missing. I know I’ll be first in line at Crafted Cup for my beloved Killer Bee.
Visit us at the Community Pavilion 3 North Street from 8:30-12:00 this Saturday, March 21st. The full season runs April 11th through December 19th.
Looking forward to another fun market season. See you there!
