Eating the Elements: Why Astrology and Food are a Match Made in Heaven
Astrology and Food
You may be wondering how astrology and food go hand-in-hand. That was the question that everyone in the Cooking with the Stars hands-on-cooking-class asked before the lesson began. Artist, author, speaker, and astrologer Leslie McGuirk (pictured above-right), who co-hosted the class with Chef Laura Pauli (pictured above-left), quickly explained that everybody’s astrological makeup contains a certain percentage of the four elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. Some people have more Earth, while other’s have more Air or Fire and no Water. Similarly, food embodies the four elements. For example, hot peppers are rich in Fire, fish are filled with Water, potatoes are full of Earth, and corn encompasses Air. The bottom line: to obtain more balance within, eat foods that infuse you with the elements you lack in your astrological makeup. Like homeopathy, the goal is to nourish yourself with the very thing that you are missing.
Cooking With The Elements
Visiting Chef Laura Pauli echoed Leslie’s philosophy. “Good recipes balance the elements,” Laura explained, “you don’t want something so hot you can’t breathe, or something so boring you fall asleep eating it, or a dish that is too watery.” As a rule of thumb, spicy foods or foods with a bite are categorized as Fire (think peppers, arugula, and garlic), foods that are grown underground represent the Earth (like carrots, beets, and radishes), foods from the vine or a tree symbolize Air (such as avocado, bananas, berries, nuts, and oats) and foods grown in water or with a high water content embody the Water (e.g. rice, celery, tomatoes, melons, and cheese). The recipes the class prepared ranged from Earthy Butterbean Thyme Lemon Puree, Airy Shaved Zucchini Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette, Sliced Almonds, and Shaved Pecorino, to Scorpio Swimming Halibut. For dessert, guests were treated to chocolate bark topped with fruit, nuts, candied ginger, and sea salt. Laura declared that this recipe is full of the Air element because when you eat it, you feel like you’ve died and gone to heaven.
Eat the Elements You Need
Consult with a professional Astrologer to determine the percentage of elements in your chart. Once you are aware of your Astrology chart’s elements, you can begin eating the foods that embody the element(s) you are low on. Ideally, eating in this way will help you experience more balance in your everyday life.
Salvador Tinajero, Head Gardener at Tres Estrellas, poses with Chef Laura Pauli and Leslie McGuirk.
Leslie McGuirk has been presenting at The Ranch since 2001, and more recently she has been teaching Ranch guests the unknown wonders of Astrology. She is a well-known author and illustrator children’s picture books and a motivational speaker about the importance of creativity. As a professional Astrologer with over thirty years of experience, she has clients around the world and speaks at Astrology conferences. Visit www.lesliemcguirk.com to learn more and see her latest book, The Power of Mercury.
Chef Laura Pauli is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute (now ICC) from their culinary program as well as their intensive sommelier training and has cooked with some of the world’s best chefs including Alice Waters, Morimoto and Jacques Pepin to name a few. She is currently writing a cookbook inspired by Rancho la Puerta founder Deborah Szekely while past experiences include cooking at the George V and Pierre Herme in Paris, at the Cannes Film Festival, on a lobster boat in Brittany and on the set of the DaVinci Code movie. Laura has also developed recipes for Meredith’s Better Homes and Garden magazine and taught cooking classes at Williams Sonoma on Union Square. Learn more about Laura and her culinary adventures on Instagram.
The Ranch offers a variety of workshops, presentations, entertainment, and learning experiences to accommodate all of our guest’s request and interests.
