When Farmer John was recovering from his hip surgery, it was impossible to keep up with all of the chores on the farm.  We decided to whip up a special soup to get him back in the saddle (or up on the tractor)—and use some of the things we had left in the root cellar.

Turnip soup is known to stimulate the appetite, and studies have shown that chicken soup can help speed up the recovery process.  Why not blend the two?  With a little garlic and onions thrown in for their natural anti-microbial powers, this delicious soup will have you feeling better even if you’re not under-the-weather.

Ingredients

1 pound chicken parts

1 whole chicken, thoroughly rinsed

1 carrot, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 parsnip, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 stalks celery, including leafy tops, cut into 3-inch pieces

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 large whole onion, unpeeled (find one with a firm, golden-brown peel)

4 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoon olive oil

2 pounds of turnips, peeled and cut into a 1/2-inch dice

1/2 cup rice, arborio

1 teaspoon of whole peppercorns

1 bunch of dill, cleaned and tied with a string

salt and pepper

parmesan

Instructions

1. Pour 12 cups of cold water into a large stockpot, and throw in the chicken parts, onion, garlic, carrots, parsnip, and celery. Bring to a boil. While water is heating, rub the inside of the whole chicken with salt.

2. Add the chicken to the pot, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Test chicken with a fork to see if it’s tender and fully cooked; then remove it from the pot, and set aside on a large platter. Leave chicken parts in the pot.

3. Add onion, salt, and pepper. Let soup simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

4. When chicken cools, remove skin and bones and cut into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

5. Strain the soup, and discard everything solid

6. Melt the butter and oil in a large saucepan and bring to a froth. Toss in the turnips and saute til brown but still firm, about 3 minutes.

7.  Add turnips and chicken pieces to the broth

8. Stir in the rice and cook, covered, over medium heat for about 15 minutes.

9. Drop in the dill for one minute before serving and then remove. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish: minced parsley and 3/4 cup fresh grated parmesan

Get well soon!!

A nice bath in 1802 probably meant securing a primo spot right next to the stove, so we’ve made a few recommendations to update the idea of a perfect Beekman bath

Make it shine

Think of the feeling you get when you walk into a clean, organized bathroom in a nice hotel room, and give your own bathroom the same treatment.  Clean off all of the counters and the edges of the tub so that everything is clutter-free, even if you have to throw everything in a box and shove it under the bed for the evening

Words of wisdom:  mold, mildew and soap scum are NOT romantic, but use non-toxic cleaners and elbow grease. The fumes from some bathroom cleaners can be overwhelming.

Make it sparkle

Turn down the lights and place candles around the room and tub and in front of the mirror so they will reflect.  Using a number of candles in different sizes creates a more dramatic and luxurious feel.  If you are using multiple candles, opt for unscented candles.  In a small space (like most bathrooms) the scents could be overpowering and you would not want them to compete with whatever bath products you choose to use.

Get wet

The ideal temperature for bath water is 96 to 104 degrees.  Making water too hot will only dry out the skin.  Buy a small container of essential oil (lavender is a safe bet) and add a few drops to the water.   While many Hollywood movies and plenty of magazine covers will have you convinced that having things like rose petals scattered on top of the bath is romantic, cleaning up the mess after you’re done in the tub is not.  Skip it.

Stay cool

Things in the bathroom are likely to get steamy (for one reason or another).  Have a bottle of champagne on ice or some other chilled beverage on hand.

Set the rhythm

Let’s face it.  You’ve made a mushy music mix tape at some point in your life.  With the use of iTunes, it’s never been easier.  Pick about an hour’s worth of music to relax by.

Rest your head

Purchase a bath pillow if you do not already have one. They can be purchased at most dollar stores.  Have it blown up and already in place in the tub.

Get down to business

Ok, so the point of this bath is not really cleanliness, but why not take care of business at the same time?   Buy an all-natural soap that is great for the skin.   Of course, we recommend the exceptionally moisturizing goat milk soaps from Beekman 1802.  While we are all for exfoliating, leave that to another time.

Words of wisdom:  You may get extra credit by tracing sweet messages along their back with the tip of your index finger.   And is there anyone anywhere who doesn’t enjoy having their hair washed by someone else?!

Wrap it up

If you don’t happen to be one of the lucky few with a towel warmer in your bathroom, just before the bath is over pop the towels and a robe into the dryer.

Find closure

We’ll let you decide how to finish up the evening, but we might suggest a nice rubdown with a moisturizing lotion, and to really seal the deal, don’t forget to clean up the bathroom the next morning.

Share your own tips for the perfect bath in the comment section below.

Sometimes I am so overwhelmed with thoughts and ideas that I can’t seem to sort them out.  Before I have the chance to fully develop and execute one idea, another idea has already popped into my head.  The result is NOT a string of great ideas, but a string of great ideas that I forget about.  Apparently my brain is not as good at storing the ideas as it is at generating them.  It has a finite ability to cope with only the latest cerebral tempest.

In my life thus far, I’ve been both a doctor and a media executive.  When I tell people that I’m now a “farmer”, the response is either “All that education wasted!” or “Got tired of the rat race, eh?”

Much to the contrary , moving to Beekman Farm meant both an escalation of the amount of work (I’ve never worked so hard in my life!) and was just the beginning of my education.

Despite this, how has it become the cradle for my creativity?    Meditation!

I always imagined “meditation” to mean sitting cross-legged in a very quiet room ringing a bell or chanting something.  While this works for many people, every time I tried it just gave my brain cells freedom to run amok.

I was also confused about what was supposed to be accomplished by meditation.  I mistakenly thought that “meditation” was synonymous with  “relaxation”.     While some forms of meditation can be relaxing, it’s not supposed to be sleep-inducing.

Instead, meditation should be about allowing your brain time to sort through all of its ideas.  It’s about focus and about clarity.

I found focus and clarity by wrapping soap.

Almost every evening, you can find me sitting in the curing room amidst all the soap, methodically creating the “brown paper packages tied up with string” that we’ve become famous for.

After the first 25 or so bars, my hands and fingers and eyes seem to go on auto-pilot, and with no effort at all, my mind starts to do all the sorting and maneuvering necessary to make all of those  random ideas make sense.

Many people are faced everyday with repetitive tasks, so why hasn’t everyone reached this state of cognitive euphoria?  The answer is simple:  too much stimuli.

The first thing that most people do when confronted with a repetitive task is think about what they can do to make the task seem to go faster.  We turn on the TV or plug in our iPods.

If you thought you could never just “sit there and meditate”, the next time you have a repetitive task or chore  try doing it without the additional interference.

Then come back here and tell us what brilliant ideas came to mind.

Tansy

As a physician, I love discovering the origins of modern medicine in my own backyard.

The driveway leading up to The Beekman Farm evidently is ideal growing conditions for this herbaceous plant with “golden button” flowers.

The ancient Greeks were likely the first to tap into its medicinal powers, and throughout history it has been used for many purposes, including skin lightening, bloating, and fertility.

Today common tansy is used in bug repellents and has been shown in some studies to have anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties.

Crushing the flower between your fingers delivers the wonderful scent of sour apples, but keep in mind that some people can be allergic to the oils in the leaves and florets and a contact dermatitis can result from touching the plant.

Blue Cohosh

It is always interesting to find plants known for their medicinal properties growing in the wild.  With the help of a naturalist friend, we discovered this specimen of Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides).

Cohosh has long been recommended as a natural and hormone-free method for managing menopausal hot flashes.  Studies of its efficacies are inconclusives but anecdotal evidence from thousands of women who have used black cohosh supplements suggest some symptom relief.

A Year in the Country 12 bar gift set

When we first started making our BEEKMAN 1802 Original Goat Milk Soap, the idea was to create a “Soap for Sensitive People”.  Made with our pure goat milk, the soaps contained no scented oils.  But it wasn’t long  (about two weeks, really) before people started asking for scented Beekman 1802 soaps.  What to do?

We knew that we didn’t want to use any synthetic fragrances, and we didn’t just want to use the common essential oils.  Our company is devoted to seasonal living, and we have so many people who, through our website, share the seasons at The Beekman Farm right along with us.  We thought, “Why shouldn’t the soaps provide that same experience?”

It took us an entire year, but we’ve documented what was in bloom or in use on the farm during each of the 12 months and custom-blended pure essential oils to recreate each one.

We call this 12 bar gift set “A Year in the Country“.  Who wouldn’t want to receive that?

IF YOU’VE BEEN READING CAREFULLY, you already know that I can make a sandwich out of almost anything.  Cucumber sandwiches, tomato sandwiches, and even onion sandwiches (with mayo) were a staple of my childhood.  When I was in college and medical school and time and dollars were tighter, nothing seemed to beat iceberg lettuce and American cheese (with mayo of course) on whole wheat bread.

Depending on the variety, lettuce can be a good source of folate and Vitamin C.  Romaine and loose leaf lettuce contains 5 to 6 times the Vitamin C and up to 10 times the Vitamin A of iceberg. (They don’t teach you anything about nutrition in med school!)

Pumpkins and Squash

HAVE YOU BEEN TOLD THAT YOU NEED TO EAT MORE OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS but fish and flax seeds just aren’t your thing?  There’s good news!   Winter squash (like butternut and acorn) are one of the most concentrated vegetable forms of ALA omega-3 fatty acids which can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Peas

MOST PEOPLE DO NOT THINK OF PEAS AS A LEGUME, but they are, and as such they are a great source of protein and iron.  Green peas are also a rich source of almost every B vitamin—which are essential for the body’s metabolism of fats, protein, and carbohydrates.

Habanero Peppers

EVERYONE NEEDS A LITTLE EXTRA SPICE IN THEIR LIFE every once in a while.  We’ve been known to add habanero to just about everything—even our ice cream and caramel sauces.

Both sweet and hot peppers are high in Vitamin C.  Red peppers are high in Vitamin A and additionally contain the phytochemical capsaicin which can be used as a topical pain reliever.