Aloe Vera & Longan Tong Shui

If you’ve been stuffing yourself over the Chinese New Year and getting all ‘heaty’ with excessive intake of cookies, ‘ngah ku’ crisps and the like, then this is a good concoction for ‘cooling’ down as well as detoxing. Aloe vera is a natural laxative and may help in constipation and other intestinal problems.

Ingredients

250 gms honey dates (mutt jo)

50 gms dried longans

1 ½ cups aloe vera flesh (cut into cubes)

2 pandan leaves

1.5 liters water

Rinse the aloe vera cubes under running tap water till they are not so slimy anymore.

Bring the honey dates and pandan leaves to a boil in 1.5 liters of water. Lower flame and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

Add in dried longans and simmer for another 15-20 minutes.

Lastly, add in aloe vera cubes. Remove from heat.

Serve hot or cold.

1. R

Happy Birthday!

Happy Year of The Dragon

2012 is the year of the Water Dragon, according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, so have a happy Year of the Dragon if you're visiting here.....thanks for dropping in.

Stir Fried Green Papaya With Dried Shrimps

Ingredients

(Serves 2)

200gms green papaya, sliced (see photo below)

1 tablespoon dried shrimps (wash, soak 5 mins. in tap water, drain)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 teaspoon bonito powder (or 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce)

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon cornflour or potato starch mixed with 1 tablespoon water

chopped spring (green) onions

1. Heat oil in wok, stir fry garlic till light golden (do not burn!), add dried shrimps, stir fry for about 1/2 minute.

2. Add in sliced green papaya, stir fry another 1/2 minute, add bonito powder (if not available, use oyster sauce), and water.

3. Simmer on low heat about 1 minute, add in cornflour mixture to thicken gravy before dishing up.

4. Sprinkle chopped spring onions on top. Serve with hot, fluffy rice.

Green Papaya & Chicken Soup

This recipe was recommended by my good friend Kat. She said this green papaya and chicken soup is delicious and nutritious, papaya being full of Vitamin C, carotenoids and antioxidants.

Kat even bought me the papaya and didn't allow me to pay for it. It was a large papaya, weighing more than 1kg, so Kat suggested that I use half of it for the soup and stir fry the other half with dried shrimps. Hmm....never ever stir fried papaya nor made papaya soup before. Anyway, before the papaya ripened, I hastened to make the soup, and true enough, it was delicious!

I didn't stir fry all of the other half of the papaya because I wasn't sure what it was gonna taste like... I mean I've never ever thought of the papaya doubling as a vegetable aside from it being a fruit! To make a long story short, the stir fried papaya was absolutely delicious and I regretted not cooking the whole half of it.

Green papaya & chicken soup

Ingredients

800gms green (unripe) papaya

1 free range chicken, about 600gms (remove skin and trim fat)

5 1/2 cups water

salt to taste

1. Peel papaya, remove seeds and cut into 2-inch cubes.

2. I bought the free-range chicken already skinned, so I only had to trim off the fat.

3. Bring the 5 1/2 cups water to a boil, add in papaya and chicken. When it comes to a boil again, lower the fire and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Off the flame, add salt according to taste.

Serve hot with a dash of pepper, if desired.

Lemongrass Tea Recipe

Lemongrass is a common ingredient in many South East Asian cuisines. It has a lemony scent and adds flavour and aroma to curries, soups, and marinades for meat and poultry. After reading an article about the cancer-fighting properties of lemongrass http://healthangelmist.blogspot.com/2010/01/lemon-grass-and-cancer-cells.html, I decided to try out the tea so I know how it taste like as a tea, since I've only used lemongrass in my cooking.

First, I cut the grass off of about 10 stalks of my lemongrass bush,

and discarded the old and yellowed leaves.

After washing the leaves, I cut them up into 3-inch lengths

and put them in a pot with one and a half liters of water. When it started boiling, I lowered the fire, put the lid on the pot and let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes.

I strained the mixture and discarded the leaves. This is my lemongrass tea.

It was a lovely golden colour and smelled refreshingly lemony. It tasted very much like lemon tea without sugar in it. Sweeteners like honey or sugar may be added if desired. For cancer patients though, it's best to drink as is, since cancer cells feed on sugar, amongst other foods, in order to survive and multiply.

I'm told that lemongrass tea, apart from causing apoptosis in cancer cells, is also beneficial in fighting mood swings, depression, cases of nervous digestive disorders and fever. Drinking the tea can also help loosen mucous.

Honey Lemon & Passion Fruit Salad Dressing

I made this salad dressing on Christmas morning and left it in the fridge before attending a Christmas play at a friend's church. After the service, we decided to go to a popular shopping mall for lunch, but alas! we were stuck in the basement car park for an agonizing 20 minutes going in circles looking for a bay to park our car. The toxic fumes from all the cars was seeping in and the going around in circles gave me a vicious headache, and by the time we finally made our way into the restaurant in the mall, I was feeling nauseous and ready to faint! I had 3 spoonfuls of rice porridge and gave up.

Back home, I took 2 Advil but didn't feel any better by dinner time when mom, brother and his wife came to join us for Christmas dinner. I carved the turkey, but had no desire to eat it at all. I was still feeling nauseous and slightly dizzy. However, I didn't want to be a wet blanket, so I had a small plate of salad greens with the honey lemon and passion fruit dressing I made earlier. Halfway through my plate of salad, the nausea went away, my appetite returned and I had a good helping of turkey, baked potatoes and candied sweet potatoes! Everyone was amazed at the sudden turnaround. Me, most of all! It had to be the magical combination of passion fruit and lemon juice - I can't think of any other explanation for my sudden and immediate recovery.

Health Benefits of the Passion Fruit

• The juice of the passion fruit aids in the reduction of cancer cell growth. Though research is underway on this issue, the phytochemicals in the fruit juice have the ability to inhibit cancer cell growth.

• The phenolic profile of the fruit is known for its anti-microbial activity and flavonoids present in the fruit also helps protect the heart.

• Passion fruit contains both water soluble and fat soluble antioxidants.

• The fruit is high in carbohydrates and simple sugars, which helps enhance athletic performance.

• It contains plant sterols, which helps lower cholesterol levels.

• The fruit is high in Vitamin C, Vitamin A and Potassium.

• The seeds of the fruit are very vital sources of fiber.

• It is said to possess somniferous properties, which when taken before bedtime, help in promoting restful sleep.

• It is excellent for weight loss.

Health Benefits of the Lemon

• Lemon juice mixed with hot water is effective in treating problems like digestive disorders, nausea, heartburn and biliousness (gastric distress caused by a disorder of the liver or gall bladder)

• Drinking lemon juice also helps dispel dizziness. (Ahh....no wonder!!)

• Lemons are also beneficial for alleviating problems of the lower intestines like constipation and worm infestations.

• Regular consumption of lemon juice mixed with warm water in the morning helps stimulate the bile-producing capacity of liver and helps digestion.

• Concentrated lemon juice also helps dissolve stones present in the gall bladder.

• The high vitamin C content in the lemon has been known to treat infections like tonsillitis, sore throat and infections of the respiratory tract.

• Drinking lemon juice mixed with water and honey helps lower body temperature and is the best drink to take when you have a fever.

• Lemon juice applied on the skin also helps in removing suntan.

• The diuretic properties of the lemon also aids in the treatment of urinary tract infections.

• A few drops of lemon juice dabbed on a cotton bud may help stop nose bleeds.

• Gently massaging concentrated juice on the gums helps to cure bleeding gums.

• Apparently, adding lemon juice to your coffee helps treat headaches and symptoms of malaria.

• The leftover pulp from juicing a whole lemon can be used to soothe insect stings and bites.

Honey Lemon & Passion Fruit Salad Dressing

Ingredients

2-3 servings

4 passion fruit (very ripe, better if skin is wrinkled)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

juice of 1/2 a lemon

pinch of salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Halve the passionfruit and spoon the pulp into an empty jam jar, or any wide-mouthed jar with airtight lid.

2. Add olive oil, lemon juice, honey,salt and black pepper.

3. Close lid tight and shake dressing vigorously for about a minute. Refrigerate if not using immediately.

4. Shake before use. Pour over mixed salad greens and toss well before serving.

5. This salad dressing will keep for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.