Nasty coughs that refuse to go away.....

Looks like the season for the dreaded coughs is here, especially when extreme hot afternoons are followed by storms in the evenings, here in KL.

I wish to share two potent home remedies for the coughs that seems to linger on for weeks. These recipes are courtesy of my dear mum. (She has plenty of these nifty recipes - my wonderful source for future sharing!)

Numero uno:

Ingredients:
- 1 medium size peeled Onion,
- 5 to 8 pieces of peeled small onions,
- 5 to 8 stalks of Lemon Grass (the root part),
- an inch of Ginger (about the size of an average sized thumb) - crushed, with or without skin is fine (remember to wash thoroughly if with skin),
- dried mandarin peel ('chan pei' in Cantonese, can be purchased from any Chinese Medicine Hall, or home made too, like my mum's),
- 1 lou han kuo (arhat fruit, some call it the magic fruit, a brown and round dried fruit that can be purchased from any Chinese Medicine Halls) - break open the fruit to reveal it's seeds and sweet pulp within, use together with the hard brown shell.
- if you like to, you can also add a 1 to 2 cloves of garlic (but be warned that garlic has potent smell, however it's healing properties for the lungs is great)
- 5 to 6 bowls (average sized rice bowl) of water

Put the above ingredients into a pot and cook till the water boils. Let it simmer for approximately 2 hours. Alternatively, boil till you can smell the aroma of the ingredients filling the air, and the lou han kuo taste is brought out. You can also put the ingredients to cook in a slow cooker at night and it is ready to drink by morning. You will ultimately get sweet brown soup much like the mata kuching dessert colour. But with a more potent aroma!

You can drink it hot or cool down to room temperature. If you keep the remainder chilled, for the next day, then do heat it up again. Use gas or electricity heating please, instead of microwave. :)

There is no need to add sugar as the Lou Han Kuo has natural sweetness that also soothes the throat and it is also anti-phlegm. The fruit's natural sweetness is diabetic and hypoglycemic patients friendly. For the weight conscious please note that the fruit's sweetness has no calories too! The ingredients above, all have their own healing properties. I shall share the specifics at a later time. Do look out for it.

Should you find that you are feeling a lot of heat, you might like to exclude the ginger. The concoction works just as well.

Numero Due:

This remedy requires the lotus root (1 small section each time) and some small amount of rock sugar to improve the taste if you are particular... (get rock sugar from chinese medicinal halls, as the rock sugar meant for remedies is soothing and has better healing properties)  - not white sugar -

You will need to clean the skin off the lotus root by scrapping with a knife's sharp side, lightly, to remove the dark layer. Then chop up the lotus root to reveal it's many holes within. Clean them well by running water through the hole to drain of any mud that might have been trapped within.

Next, grate the lotus root.

Put the grated lotus root into a bowl or deep plate, top with a little bit of rock sugar, and then steam it. You can steam it together when you cook rice (save power and fuel) or separately. This takes a minimum of 15 to 20 mnutes. There is no wrong to steam it longer too.

Once steamed the grated lotus root will appear greyish and with a consistency much like glue. Don't be put off by the appearance. I actually find it quite yummy. Of course if you are particular, then you might need some bit of water to consume this with. You can take it while it is warm or leave it to cool slightly.

It is good to make a fresh batch each time.

Many a hard-to-get-rid-of coughs have been banished by a few serving of this. Take it twice a day or three times if necessary. There is no harm in consuming this. You won't get OD-ed! Look at it as sweet lotus dessert! :-D

I have taken this and many of my friends and relatives have tried this too, with success. This remedy is especially good when the cough is phlegm-y.

Try this and share with us your experience please.

May your coughs be gone! :)

to microwave or not to microwave

Many of us rely on this modern technology for ease and time saving purposes. But we have also hear about the many effects of microwave on our food. So I like to thank my friend, Christine for sharing this story.

Please do use your own wisdom in reading and accepting anything shared here. :)

Christine's email goes like this:


MICROWAVE OVEN - Not the usual stories, please read
'Below is a science fair project that my granddaughter did for 2006. In it she took filtered water and divided it into two parts. The first part she heated to boiling in a pan on the stove, and the second part she heated to boiling in a microwave. Then after cooling she used the water to water two identical plants to see if there would be any difference in the growth between the normal boiled water and the water boiled in a microwave. She was thinking that the structure or energy of the water may be compromised by microwave. As it turned out, even she was amazed at the difference..)'

'I have known for years that the problem with microwaved anything is not the radiation people used to worry about, It's how it corrupts the DNA in the food so the body can not recognize it. So the body wraps it in fat cells to protect itself from the dead food or it eliminates it fast. Think of all the Mothers heating up milk in these 'Safe' appliances. What about the nurse in Canadathat warmed up blood for a transfusion patient and accidentally killed them when the blood went in dead. But the makers say it's safe. But proof is in the pictures of living plants dying.'

'FORENSIC RESEARCH DOCUMENT
Prepared by: William P. Koop
A.R.E.C. Research Operations
TO61-7R10/10-77F05
RELEASE PRIORITY: CLASS I ROO1a'







I am quite convinced of the experiment shared here but I am not so sure about the source of the experiment tho... anyone to enlighten me? :)
Perhaps someone could repeat the same experiment and share with us again?