The Ancient Cookfire: How to Rejuvenate Body and Spirit Through Seasonal Foods & Fasting

by Carrie L'Esperance

Argues that seasonal diets and periodic fasting can improve one's health and disposition, and includes recipes using seasonal ingredients. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1879181517
• ISBN13: 9781879181519
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Bear & Company
• Length: 267 Pages
• Weight: 1.06 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Shouldn't the cows be fed a seasonal diet before we eat 'em

As a life member of the Knife & Fork Club of New York City, I don't normally read books like this. In fact, my idea of a great dinner is a thick, juicy Porterhouse from Peter Luger's Steakhouse in Brooklyn. As we say here in the Big Apple, "it cuts like buttah!"Speaking of butter, when I go to Luger's I always order my Porterhouse with a side of baked potato with extra butter and sour cream, along with a side of the creamed spinach. They use this special triple-fatted butter there that makes the steaks and side dishes just unforgettable, arterially-speaking.For dessert, you gotta get the triple-cream cheese cake. They serve these huge slabs of it.I'll tell you, you never walk out of Peter's hungry!Anyways, I stopped in there not too long ago and showed the maitre d' a copy of Miss L'Esperance's book. He gave me a funny look like I was being a wise guy or something. But I asked him, "Do your cows get fed a diet of seasonally-adjusted grains before they get whacked? This here lady says that's the healthy way to eat."I thought the maitre d', his name is Joe, was gonna whack me. "What the hell are you talking about?" he says. "You got a screw loose or somethin?"I got a little testy with Joe. I told him I was thinking of fasting to rejuvenate my body and spirit, but before I started the fast, I wanted one last great meal at Luger's, but I did not want to eat a cow that had been fed out-of-season grain that would disrupt its natural rhythms before the packing-house chopped its head off and hung it on hooks in a giant cooler in Nebraska before putting it on a long-haul diesel tractor-trailer to Brooklyn where I could eat it, swimming in butter.Joe says to me, "Look pal, we serve super-marbled, ultra-high cholesterol beef to men who don't give a s___ about what kind of a gut they have, cause they hate their jobs and hope their life insurance pays off the wife and kids before they get too old to afford the premiums. Do you think they care if the damn cow had alfalfa or millet before it got decapitated? Much less when it was grown, for Chrissake!""Well, Joe, I don't know," I says. "But this lady says it's better if we eat foods that are natural for the season, and I'd like to be sure the cows I'm eating do the same. It's the least we could do before we carve 'em up into steaks."Joe looked at me long and hard. He said, "Ed, if you want to 'rejuvenate your body and spirit'" -- he kind of spit those words out -- "I suggest you forget the hippie food and step over here to the bar and have a double Tanqueray martini and a nice chat with your waitress Tammy, who will be your server tonight. Next question?"I think Joe's a pretty hard case, and I was wondering if any of you readers of this book could stop in at Luger's next time you're in Brooklyn and try to persuade him.

The Ancient Cookfire: How to Rejuvenate Body and Spirit

A gourmet cook, permaculturist, and certified iridologist, Carrie L'Esperance has studied healing systems for more than a quarter-century. She uses her knowledge to develop health programs for her clients. Now, she has blended her research and experience in a book, The Ancient Cookfire: How to Rejuvenate Body and Spirit Through Seasonal Foods and Fasting. L'Esperance says "clearly our physical, psychological--even spiritual--well-being depends largely upon what we eat, how it is cooked, and the way we eat it." She discusses the benefits of regular fasting, and offers detailed instructions on safe fasting. She provides numerous recipes for teas and juices to drink while fasting. The first part of the book is concerned with restoration of the body and a discussion of how the four seasons can affect the body. Each season, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, has a chapter devoted to recipes best suited to that season. L'Esperance says "the beauty of eating seasonal foods and using cleansing diets is their simplicity and their ability to help balance the systems of the human body." Another chapter provides recipes for internal and external water therapy, and the chapter on herbs is filled with directions for preparing various teas. The final chapter discusses food balancing and combining, digestion aids, and cookware recommendations. She also provides a bibliography and a listing of sources for those wishing further information. L'Esperance wrote her book "to make it easy to explore these many techniques that have been, and still are, essential for health and self-healing. They are all tried and tested to help ensure a pleasant and/or rewarding time." Readers who have wondered about safe and healthy fasting and rejuvenating their bodies will find answers to all their questions in The Ancient Cookfire.

Excellent!

Excellent text book for someone who wants to take care of the their health. Extremely easy to follow guide lines to the 'procedures' with full descriptions and complete recipes. All recipes contain only natural herbs and foods, which are easy to find in the natural foods stores. Simply must to have at home book.

I haven't ever seen a book like this one before!

This work is a unique book that approaches the nourishment and cleansing of the body based on seasons. It has information gleaned from many traditions and cultures, that will help one to bring ones body into balance. The goal is to eat those foods that will support and cleans the body in harmony with the seasons. The author lists what organs are stressed during each season and offers tonics, relaxants, healing foods, fasting meals and techniques, and much more. This book is a valuable addition to ones library and a must for natural health practitioners, healers, herbalists, and complementary medicine advocates.An amazing book that begs to be used. Highly recommended!

Excellent and informative book

This was an enjoyable and easy. As a beginner It was very important to have care instructions. Thank you for the opportunity to express my gratitude for this material.