The Fun Groton Fall Festival

Visit our booth at the Fall Festival Saturday Oct 8. Our excellent massage therapists will be on hand with free chair massage, and we have raffles and discount coupons for all of our services.

The Fall Festival is one of Groton’s most important events and is full of family fun. We have all kinds of food vendors, local business booths, music, a clown and a magician. The AVCRAD helicopter will be there and various safety demonstrations take place throughout the day. It’s a really fun time. Check the schedule to see what the Groton Business Association has planned for this year’s Festival.…

GBA at MRA

On Thursday, May 19 Mystic River Acupuncture hosted the monthly meeting of the Groton Business Association, a division of the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce. This group of business people works towards the interests of small business in Groton. Some of the events we sponsor each year are the Groton Fall Festival and The Holiday Lights Parade. At our meetings we network and keep up to date on what is happening in Groton that may affect small business. And when it’s at our place, we eat!

When Mystic River Acupuncture hosts this group it is an event. It’s a chance for our small business neighbors to see what an acupuncture clinic looks like and we love to show off dishes containing healthy herbs. This year we featured Eight Treasures breakfast congee , a delicious rice porridge made with red rice and a variety of Chinese “food herbs” from our herbal dispensary. Also on the menu was Chinese rose and albizzia tea and a “chai” made from pharmacy herbs, whole milk and roobios tea, an African caffeine-free herb known for it’s healing qualities. A mostly organic fruit salad and pastries by Pastry Chef Araminta Poole rounded up the fare.

Sarah Hartford, LMT was on hand to provide chair massage to willing attendees. Sarah is new to our staff and it was a great way for her to introduce herself to the business association. All takers went home happy and relaxed!

We look forward to hosting this group again. Stay tuned next year for a new and delicious menu.…

Eight Treasures Congee for the GBA

Everyone loved the Eight Treasures Congee served at the Groton Business Association May meeting.

It was adapted from the recipe Eight Treasures Porridge from Daniel Eng’s book “Cooking With Chinese Herbs.

It’s so easy to make a healthful congee. Basically all you do is throw the ingredients into crockpotin the evening, set it on low, and go to bed.  When you wake up in the morning, Voila! There is your tasty breakfast congee waiting for you.

Here is the recipe.  I adapted it by using organic vegetable broth instead of water and organic Bhutanese red rice. I also used a crockpot. The herbs are available at any Chinese pharmacy or from Mystic River Acupuncture for 15¢/gram. Just tell us you want the eight treasures congee packet.

1/2 cup of purple or black rice (other kinds of rice are fine, too)

2 Tbsp walnuts

2 Tbsp Job’s tears

1 Tbsp hyacinth beans

12 pieces lotus seeds

6 pieces longan fruit, optionally chopped

6 pieces red dates, pits removed

4-6 cups of water

1 Tbsp goji berries

small amount of honey (optional)

Rinse all ingredients except the water, goji, and honey. and place in a slow cooker or a pot.  Add 4-6 cups of water, deppending on your cooking equipment and method (slow cookers generally require less, while stovetop cooking may require more).  If using a slow cooker, turn it on to “low” overnight or all day (8-10 hours).  Alrternatively, simmer in a covered pot over a low flame for about two hours or until everything is soft.  After the porridge is finished cooking, add goji and a small amount of honey.

Serves 2-3…

Groton Business Association May Meeting

It’s May and our month to host the Groton Business Association. We’ll miss Andrea this year. She’s opened her own office in Hudson, New York.   Barbara, our receptionist, and Anne-Marie, our office manger, are off on vacations, but you can meet our new staff members Kelly Hunt, administrative staff, and Sara Hartford, Licensed Massage Therapist. It’s your chance to see what an acupuncture clinic and traditional herb dispensary look like.

A GBA meeting at Mystic River Acupuncture means good food. We’ll serve a variation of our famous Chinese breakfast congee (remember last year?) along with tasty  American-style treats made especially for us by Pastry Chef Araminta Poole. Fruit salad and yogurt are on the menu and, of course, coffee, tea, and juice.

While we network and catch up up on the business news in Groton, Sarah will be on hand for complimentary chair massage.

We welcome all Groton businesses to our clinic for the monthly meeting on Thursday May 19 at 7:30 am. RSVP to Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce at 860-572-9578 or triciawalsh@mysticchamber.org.

Come hungry!…

Mystic River Acupuncture hosts GBA

In honor of Healthy Groton Month, the Groton Business Association has chosen Mystic River Acupuncture as its sponsor  in May. We will host this monthly meeting of area business owners and leaders at a before hours breakfast on May 22. We are actively involved in the GBA and are happy to welcome its members to our office for an early morning soirée. Go to www.grotonbiz.com for more information about the GBA, a division of the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce.…