Essential Oils to Combat Flu Season

This entry was posted in Health / Wellness, Medicine and tagged on by .

One of my favorite ways to combat sickness during this time is with essential oils.  Specifically, blends of essential oils that are antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal. Flu season is upon us. But that doesn’t mean we stop shaking hands with people and avoid traveling all winter for fear of getting sick.

The Legend of the Thieves Oil

One very popular blend of essential oils used to combat the flu is called Thieves oil. The legend tells the tale of a gang of thieves, who were also spice traders, from the 15th century. They covered themselves in essential oils and spices that protected them from the Black Plague as they robbed houses of the sick and the dead.  When they were arrested, they were given the choice of death or sharing their secret recipe in exchange for their lives. Apparently, they chose life.

It’s typically made using just 5 pure essential oils:

  • clove
  • lemon
  • cinnamon bark
  • eucalyptus
  • rosemary

Aside from its soothing aroma, this blend has strong anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal effects.

Thieves Oil Recipe

Add a few drops of the essential oil blend in a carrier oil like jojoba or almond oil and rub into achey neck and shoulders.  Or add a few drops to water and spray into the air or onto surfaces at home or work as a disinfectant.  I love mixing my own blends and found this great recipe from Melissa Light, my mentor and former employer.

Here’s to a healthy and happy 2015!

 

 

Miso Sweet Potato Tacos for a Delicious Meal in Autumn

This entry was posted in Food and tagged , , on by .

20140928_113322Sweet potatoes, pumpkins, butternut squash, beets, brussels sprouts, celery, cauliflower, eggplant, thyme, sage, kale, leeks, and zucchini. These are just some of the bounty of the autumn harvest.

It’s the time of year when inspiration returns to my meal planning- and most importantly- to my oven. Living in Austin, I have to boycott the use of my oven during the months of May-October. This week, however, the weather is becoming cooler and after carving pumpkins last night, I am craving some orangey, gourdy goodness.

As usual, I scour pinterest and the internet to find some ideas.  I love the search feature on the Love and Lemons website – I can just enter an ingredient and voilà! I can see all the recipes that contain that ingredient. So, my fall cravings led me to enter “sweet potatoes” and lo and behold, L&L has a wonderful recipe for Miso Sweet Potato Tacos.  Sweet potatoes are a lot easier to cut up and cook than pumpkins! And I really like the sweet and savory combination (tonifying both yin and yang from a Chinese Medicine perspective!). And tacos are simply the easiest thing to make because you can add and subtract toppings as your heart desires (or based more practically on what is in the fridge).  If I want something a little heavier and heartier for dinner, I add some chorizo.

So as we welcome Autumn back for another season, give this recipe for miso sweet potato tacos from Love and Lemons a try! It’s a wonderful way to ease into Fall.

Enjoy!!

Chengdu Herbal Medicine Market

This entry was posted in Medicine on by .
P1020510

Chengdu Herbal Market

Imagine going to the mall where the only items sold were herbs. That was our experience at Chengdu Chinese Herbal Medicine Market. There were the expensive stores that carried high-quality herbs like Hong Hua (Safflower Flower), Yan Wo (Edible Bird’s Nest), and Chuan Bei Mu (Fritillaria) as well as controversial herbs like Dong Chong Xia Cao (Cordyceps; Caterpillar Fungus).

P1020518

Yan Wo (Edible Bird’s Nest)

P1020529

Chengdu Herbal Market

 

 

Beyond the fancy stores, it became more like a farmer’s market, with rows and rows of herbs in each stall. Some owners seemed bored with the foreigners gawking at their herbs while others were fascinated by a group of Meiguo (Americans) identifying herbs with their Chinese names.  In those moments, I had never been more thankful to have spent four+ years studying the pinyin names of all those Chinese herbs. It finally paid off in my first Chinese herbal market.  Thank you, AOMA. Xie xie.

 

 

Chinese Noodles to Italian Pasta, The Legacy of Marco Polo

This entry was posted in Food, Travel on by .

When I came to China, I wasn’t thinking about noodles. If I had remembered the history of Marco Polo and his legacy of pasta, I would have known I would find comfort food in China in the way of Chinese noodles. I have obviously had Chinese noodles in the United States. But honestly, most of my Chinese food experience was based on rice. I didn’t realize how prevalent and delicious noodles were in China…until I saw this man making homemade egg noodles!

Now, I don’t know if Marco Polo really was responsible for bringing pasta to Italy after his exploration in the Far East but mamma mia! This is the kind of homemade noodle making skills and taste that would make my Italian nonna proud!!

 

Stop and Smell the Roses in the Giant Panda Sanctuary in Chengdu, China

This entry was posted in Travel on by .

The earthquake

Our field trip to Mount QingCheng, one of the most famous Taoist mountains in China, was slated for the morning of April 20th at 8am.  Gathering a group of 20+ students in China always proved to be an interesting endeavor. On this particular Saturday, many of us were late leaving the hotel.  The speed walking turned into a jog as we ran through the streets trying to reach the bus on time. When we arrived at the bus, everyone was a buzz, asking if we had felt the earthquake.  Oddly enough, as sensitive as I claim to be, I hadn’t felt a thing. The experienced Californians in the group calmly guided everyone in the middle of the street during the shaking. Thankfully, it wasn’t a huge earthquake for Chengdu but it did trigger some memories of the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan which caused almost 70, 000 deaths.

The pandas

We rerouted the field trip to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding since Mount QingCheng was affected in the last earthquake. We tried to carry on, thankful that everyone was ok and praying that others in the area were safe.

P1020653

The pandas distracted us from the earthquake except for the helicopters flying overhead.  They were cuter in person than I could have imagined! Although I confess I had thoughts of dipping them into a bit of Clorox to whiten their dirty white fur.P1020699P1020657

 

 

Seeing the pandas was a delight but contemplating their destiny was rather depressing. They cannot tolerate the heat very well so they often spend times inside with air conditioning. The constant crowds of tourists yelling “How cute!!” around these solitary creatures seemed counterproductive to their well-being.

 

Thankfully, the rose garden near the exit was uplifting and oxygenating. We had been in the city for only a week but I was in desperate need of nature and greenery. The rose garden was one of the most exquisite I have ever seen.  I wanted to say there.  I returned to the hotel with the rest of my classmates with a few rose petals in my pocket.

P1020730P1020725

People’s Park, Chengdu

This entry was posted in Travel on by .

We visited People’s Park in Chengdu soon after our arrival. It was a Saturday and it was packed. As we continued through the park, we heard something that could only be described as a Battle of the Bands….different types of music pumping loudly through questionable speakers. Then, I had a visual….and realized it wasn’t just a Battle of the Bands…it was a Dance Off at the Battle of the Bands! I hope this video conveys the auditory and visual delight of being in People’s Park, watching music of all genres move people of all ages….simultaneously.

Welcome to Chengdu

This entry was posted in Travel on by .
Herbal Pharmacy

Herbal Pharmacy

We walked circles around the University hospital and University campus from the day we arrived in Chengdu.

On our first day, we geeked out in a Chinese pharmacy, confusing the herbalist behind the counter as we eagerly quizzed ourselves by trying to identify all the raw herbs we saw rather than trying to place an order.

We made our way through campus and found a music store which became home to several of the musicians in our group.

Ben playing the pipa

Oh, I cannot count how many pipas and erhus made their way back to Austin, TX!

On our walk, we saw some Chinese people in line which led to some yummy, spicy Sichuan french fries which reminded us that we were indeed in Sichuan country, home of the Sichuan pepper, huājiāo, and unfortunately the land of MSG.

spicy sichuan french fries

spicy sichuan french fries

Next, we spotted a tuina (Chinese massage) studio that became our favorite place for a massage.  One day, Melsa and I spent our lunch hour getting a foot massage for $6. Heaven.P1020390

P1030809_2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The short cut through the uni to avoid traffic led us to the statue of Zhang Zhongjjing, the Father of  Chinese Herbal Formulas, at the hospital where we gathered every morning before our hospital rounds.

Then, the neon KTV and Happy Days sign always meant we were almost to the hotel.

P1050046

Ahhhh.  Chengdu.  Home sweet home.

 

 

Ordering Dumplings in Chengdu with Limited Language Skills

This entry was posted in Food on by .

After getting our room key at our new hotel in Chengdu, the first order of business was to locate dumplings. Locating dumplings were easier than ordering them!  We tentatively entered a restaurant near the hotel where we were ushered upstairs. Thankfully, there were a few people in our group that spoke some Chinese. We managed to order some pork and veggie dumplings, and some side plates including peanuts and spicy tofu. We took pictures of the menu and tried to memorize the characters for tofu and pork. More importantly, we learned the words for dumplings, jiaozi and beer, píjiu.

a server and man with iPad

Translation apps on the iPad.

chinese-english book

Old school language tools.

Dumpling Palace

This restaurant, dubbed “Dumpling Palace”, quickly became one my favorites. It was our cafeteria since the hotel had no kitchen facilities. Thanks to translation apps, a library book with Chinese characters, and a little pamphlet from a software tutorial, every meal was a learning opportunity.

a young server

The sweetest server in Chengdu

The sweet young girl who was our server was always entertained by our attempts to order. After two weeks of ordering the same side plates and dumplings, she presented us with an English menu that she had translated for us.  Oh, that was an exciting day to be eating at the Palace!

friends with dumplings

A little jiao zi and pi jiu with friends

 

Street Food in the Streets and Alleys (Hutongs) of Beijing

This entry was posted in Food on by .

 

The search for food in the street of Beijing

My first encounter with street food in China occurred after the perfect storm of jetlag, low blood sugar, achy feet, group dynamics, and an elusive Peking duck restaurant. Abandoning the search for the Beijing specialty, we started walking back to the hotel through the alleys (hutongs) with eyes wide open for some sustenance.

All of a sudden, we smelled something delicious as we passed by a long line of Chinese people. We jumped in line in spite of the fact that we had no idea what they were serving or how we were going to communicate when we reached the counter. Thankfully, a young woman in line who spoke English overheard our discussion and told us that it was “chinese bread”….”delicious”.

A sweet man in front of us ordered for us and helped us pay the correct amount of yuan. We sat down on a bench nearby, eating our delicious Chinese bread (that cost us only 1 yuan (~16¢) per steamed bun. Perhaps it wasn’t the most savory of all Chinese street food. It definitely would have been delicious in combination with some Peking duck. But it was definitely a great way to start our China adventure and introduction into food stalls and street food.

Chinese bread

Chinese bread in Beijing

With our blood sugar levels elevated, we walked home and reflected on what a privotal night it had been.  We had ignored all the warnings about street food. And we satiated. We had found a motto for the rest of our time in China.  Follow the lines. It’s the safer way to eat street food and definitely the most delicious way to eat it. Occasionally, our peers would even follow suit.