Just thought I’d share a really simple ‘cooling’ drink to make in this sweltering heat!
Just for information, honeysuckle is not suitable for young children so do not feed this to your little ones. It’s too ‘cooling’ for them; chrysanthemum tea alone is fine (even then, I think diluted in the ratio of 1:1 would be better – I did give Alicia that – and probably once a week is more than enough for young kids).
Honeysuckle, according to the TCM doctor I spoke to, is extremely cooling so unless you’re super heaty or are recovering from a high fever etc., it’d be wise not to consume this often.
a pinch of honeysuckle (don't add too much as it will cause the drink to be bitter)
rock sugar to taste
about 1.5L water
Instructions
Rinse the chrysanthemum flower and honeysuckle to get rid of dirt. Do not soak for long as the taste of the chrysanthemum would then go into the water that it was soaked in.
Add the rock sugar to the water in a pot and bring to a boil.
When the water's boiling, turn off the fire and add the chrysanthemum and honeysuckle.
Let it steep for about 30min.
Sieve out the chrysanthemum and honeysuckle and your 'cooling' drink's ready!
Serve warm or chilled.
Notes
Follow the steps for plain chrysanthemum tea - just omit the honeysuckle.
3.2.2491
Another alternative is to combine chrysanthemum with luo han guo (Buddha’s fruit). That’s nice and nourishing without being too ‘cooling’. 🙂
If you enjoyed this post, please share your thoughts in the comments or share the post with your friends by clicking on the social media buttons below. Do hop over to my Facebook page where I connect with my readers and I would love to have you following me on Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram too 🙂
It’s the second day in a row that I’ve not had the chance to go to the market because of Alicia… she woke up in the middle of the night and played through till dawn and my head was spinning when I woke this morning. Needless to say, it must be due to the terribly interrupted sleep I had.
Hence, I had to scour through whatever else was left in my kitchen to cook up a decent meal for the family… I had already set the chicken stock to cook overnight in the slow cooker so I had a soup base to work with. With really nothing much left in the fridge to add to the soup (I thought carrots alone weren’t particularly appetising as a soup), I happened to glance into the fruit compartment and I saw that I had an abundance of organic apples… and so, apple soup it is for the day!
I used to cringe whenever I hear fruits cooked in soup when I was younger. Fruits, in my opinion then, weren’t meant to be used in soups. 🙂 Hehe…
Anyway, I had initially wanted to add sweet and bitter almonds (南北杏) to the soup (as most people usually do for this apple soup), but I remembered that there was something about bitter almonds so I went to check with the chinese medicinal shop opposite my place and the shop assistant warned me against adding the almonds if I wanted Alicia to have some of the soup. This is due to the fact that bitter almonds contain a trace amount of toxins and should not be given to young children. She went on to elaborate that young children may not be able to process the toxins properly like adults so it could be potentially harmful. She also mentioned that bitter almonds are not like the usual herbs we use in cooking like red dates and such as it is used mainly for medicinal purposes. She didn’t mention at which age children could start taking them in soups but I mentioned that Alicia’s 20+mths and she warned me against it so just be careful about adding this to soups if you are serving it to your little ones. To replace the sweet and bitter almonds, I decided to add lily bulbs instead. 🙂 Lily bulbs are known to calm the spirit, nourish the lungs, are good for the skin and even for the prevention and treatment of cancers.
Place the chicken bones and dried scallop in the slow cooker.
Cook on high heat for 1 hour then low for about 6hours (I usually do this overnight or in the morning).
Transfer stock to a pot suitable for cooking on stove top.
Rinse the large candied dates, dried figs and lily bulbs.
Soak the apples in a bowl of water for awhile then core and cut into quarters.
Bring stock to a boil and add the apples, large candied dates, dried figs and lily bulbs. Bring to a boil again on medium heat then simmer on low for 2 hours.
Remove the bones. Add salt to taste if necessary.
Dish and serve.
3.2.2310
Alicia was receptive to the soup… it’s the first time she’s drunk so much soup in her whole life! lol… and she loved the lily bulbs and ate a slice of the cooked apple… *happy mummy*
If you enjoyed this post, please share your thoughts in the comments or share the post with your friends by clicking on the social media buttons below. Do hop over to my Facebook page where I connect with my readers and I would love to have you following me on Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram too 🙂
Hi! I'm Angie and I'm thrilled to have you here! More than just a place where I share my parenting thoughts, recipes and home-learning activities, my blog has enabled me to embark on a remarkable journey of self-discovery and of the world I thought I knew. Read more about me and happy browsing!
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram