Papaver Somniferum
Kale salad with strawberries, avocado, almonds, feta, and a light lemon poppy seed dressing.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups chopped kale, stems removed
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
- 1 avocado, chopped
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup feta cheese
- For the Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Put the kale in a large bowl. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over the kale and massage the leaves with your hands until the leaves are darker in color and tender.
2. Add the strawberries, avocado, almonds, and feta cheese. Toss gently.
3. In a small jar, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, poppy seeds, salt, and pepper. Shake until mixed well.
4. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Serve.
Plantago Asiatica
“Medicinal” herb tea:
- For colds and flu use 1 tbls. Dry or fresh whole Plantain (seed, root, and leaves) to 1 cup boiling water, steep 10 min. strain, sweeten. Drink through the day.
- Healing salve: In large non-metallic pan place 1lb. of entire Plantain plant chopped, and 1 cup lard, cover, cook down on low heat till all is mushy and green. Strain while hot, cool and use for burns, insect bites, rashes, and all sores. Note: used as night cream for wrinkles.
Scutellaria Barbata
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp skullcap (herb)
- 2 cups boiling water
Directions Step-By-Step
1. Put both in a teapot and steep 10 minutes.
2. Sweeten with honey or sugar if preferred. Drink. Sip. Enjoy.
Platycladus Orientalis
Chinese arborvitae kernel tea
- 500g Slightly crushed Chinese Arborvitae
- Honey
Fry Chinese arborvitae kernel. Take 15-20g of the herb, infuse with hot water and wait for 10 minutes, and then mix with honey. The tea is suitable for insomnia or dream-disturbed sleep accompanied by a pale complexion, forgetfulness, palpitations, and constipation.
Leonurus Heterophyllus
Motherwort Chicken
Ingredients:
- 1 medium sized chicken, cut into smaller sizes.
- 1/2 cup of dry motherwort herb
- 2 cups of Chinese cooking wine
- 20 grams of fresh ginger, pounded and extract juice
- 2 tablespoons of sesame oil.
Preparation:
Pound the ginger and squeeze the ginger juice into the chicken. Marinate the chicken for at least one to two hours. Keep the pounded ginger for later use.
In a pan, use the smallest heat to stir fry the motherwort. Depending on your heat, it should take from 15-20 minutes until the leaves are very dry, easily broken and aroma starts to penetrate the house. In addition, the leaves should become very fine until that it stick to the sides of the pan. Be patience, too high heat will burn the leaves very easily and the end result is bitter taste motherwort. Therefore, patience is required. Once ready, set aside.
In the same pan, stir fry the minced ginger with medium heat, stir fry until it is dry and aromatic. The main purpose of this step is the same as in the above step, to make the ginger dry and aromatic. Once ready, set aside.
Put 2 tablespoons of sesame oil in the pan, place the chicken in the pan, stir fry under medium heat and well combined. Place the lid and simmer the chicken until it is cooked and soft. Note that there is no water used in the pan frying. As you cook the chicken, meat juices will be secreted out and the juices simmer the chicken.
Once it almost dries up, add in ginger and motherwort, followed by the Chinese cooking wine, let it simmer for another 10-15 minutes. If the wine dries up too fast, as more wine to get the gravy.
From the above procedure, you may note that there is no seasoning such as salt or water being used. That is for the confinement ladies where salt is a not supposed to be added to confinement food. For normal home consumption, you can add salt and sugar to taste and replace some of the wine with plain water. Best serve hot with a bowl of hot rice.
Allium Tuberosum
Scrambled eggs with Chinese Chives:
- 2 teaspoons canola oil
- 1 cup garlic chives, cut into 1-inch lengths
- Pinch of coarse sea salt; freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten.
Directions:
In a medium-size saucepan, heat the canola oil. When the oil is hot, stir in the chives and cook for two minutes. Add the salt, pepper, and soy sauce to the beaten eggs, stir, and pour into the saucepan. Lower heat and cook until eggs reach a soft curd, stirring continually. Serve immediately.
Ociminum Sanctum (Berries with Tulsi Basil Syrup)
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup sugar or honey
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup fresh tulsi leaves, washed, hulled, and drained; serve four.
Directions:
In a small saucepan, heat together the sugar or honey and water until the mixture just comes to a boil.
Remove the syrup from the heat, add tulsi leaves, and let the tulsi basil syrup cool.
Just before serving, strain off the basil leaves and pour the syrup over the berries.
Coix Lacryma-jobi (Job’s tears soup)
This soup can be served in summer as drinks. It helps to clear away heat, regulate the spleen and soothe inflammation. Those who want to lose weight can take this soup as regular drinks.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup Job’s tears
- 10 cups of water
Preparation:
- Wash Job’s tears till water is clear.
- Boil water in a pot. Add in Job’s tears. Bring to a boil again.
- Turn to low heat, simmer for 50-60mins.
Drink soup and eat grains. You can add some honey for taste.
Tips: If you soak the Job’s tears 2-3 hours in advance,it’ll take shorter time to cook it. But I don’t think it’s necessary if you have enough time.
After boiling, you must turn to low heat, otherwise the water will evaporate very fast.
You can add more water if you want to drink more soup.
Agastache Rugosa
- For syrup: combine korean mint with basil.
- For tea: Pour boiling water over dried or fresh whole leaves and steep for two to three minutes.
- For marinade: combine 1 cup dried leaves, 1/2 cup olive oil, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, and 2 mashed cloves of garlic.
Codonopsis Pilosula
A traditional broth taken to increase vitality is cooked in many Chinese households, especially for the elderly and those recovering from illness.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 ounce Dang Shen (codonopsis)
- 1/2 cup Shan Yao (dried sliced Chinese yam),
- 1/2 cup Gou Qi Zi (lycii berries),
- 1/2 cup Da Zao (dried red jujube),
- 1/2 ounce Huang Qi (astragalus),
- 1 1/2 pounds spareribs (cut into 2 inch pieces).
The dried herb material is washed, ingredients are combined, adding 4 quarts of water with 1 teaspoon salt. This is simmered for about 3 hours. 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar may be added to encourage the marrow of the bones to dissolve into the broth as well.
Salvia Deserta
Fried sage leaves (Salvia fritta)
Ingredients:
- 10 Sage leaves
- 2 Medium size eggs
- 1 1/2 ounces Plain flour
- Salt for seasoning
- 1 1/4 cups Olive oil for frying
Directions:
Beat the eggs using a fork. Season with salt and beat for few more seconds. Add all the flour. Beat the mixture and at the same time break down the bigger lumps with the fork. We don’t need to achieve a super smooth batter for this recipe. Add the sage leaves into the batter. Press them down so that the leaves are fully coated with batter. Press them down so that the leaves are fully coated with batter. Take a shallow frying pan and heat the oil at about 160°C (320°F). Take the leaves, one by one, and put them into the pan. Fry for about a minute or until the bottom side of the leaves has reached a golden colour, then turn the leaves and continue frying until you reach the same result. When ready, remove the fried leaves from the pan using a slotted spoon. Lay the leaves onto kitchen paper so that the excess oil is absorbed. Gently turn the leaves on the other side (don’t press them down by any means) and after a minute or two serve them on a plate. During the final serving, feel free to accompany them with whatever you wish (olives, Parmesan cheese, red roasted pepper strips etc.).
Withania Somnifera
A basic Ashwangandha tea recipe can be made by boiling 1 gram of root cortex for 2-4 minutes in 2 cups of water. Another way to make Ashwangandha tea is to put 500 mg of dried root powder in 1 cup of steamed soy milk. This beverage has a pleasant licorice-like taste. I can also be sweetened with honey or agave nectar for a more pleasant taste.
Schizonepeta Tenuifolia
(Catnip Cookies)
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup soy flour
- 1 teaspoon Catnip
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup of milk
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 2 tablespoons butter
Preheat the oven to 350. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add molasses, egg, oil, and milk. Oil a cookie sheet and roll mixture out flat. Cut into bite-sized pieces, then put in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool, and store in a tightly sealed container.
