The Natural Powers of Bay Leaf

Bay Leaf, originally uploaded by becness1.

Apart from using this wonderful herb in your Spaghetti Bolognaise, do you know that by placing a few pieces of bay leaves where cockroaches frequent will keep them away. That's right, cockroaches do not like bay leafs, instead they run away from them.

月桂葉這種天然香草, 除了可加在肉醬意粉內使其更美味之外, 原來你只要放幾片月桂葉在平常蟑螂出沒的地方, 是可以把它趕走的呢, 真的呀, 原來蟑螂本身十分討厭月桂葉氣味, 對此它們會避之則吉呢!

Healthy living specialty shop 新生農社

Funkimama has recently found potted fresh Thai Basil here in HK. Now she can just pick this sweet tasting herb from her own "garden" everytime she makes a Thai dish.

This great little shop called "Healthy Living Specialty Shop" is one of funkimama's found treasures. They stock a large variety of organic food fresh and dry fruits, vegetables & snacks, as well as potted herbs such as Rosemary, Mint and Basil. They have a choice of 3 different varieties for Basil alone. And the staff members are very friendly and with indepth knowledge of what their products are all about.

This store also operates for a very worthy cause: They provide shelter, training, rehabilitation and work for the mentally disabled persons. This motivates funkimama to purchase more from them as a way to supporting this worthy cause while benefiting from their freshly grown produce.

They have 5 shops in HK currently, they also offer ecotourism too, click on their logo here to go to their web-site:

Tai Wan KCR Station Concourse

East Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station

Nam Cheong West Rail Station Concourse

Tuen Mun West Rail Station Concourse

Discovery Bay Plaza

Here is the phone number of their head office: T. 2332 4343

Clove Tea please

photo by bitzi

Yes, you are right, cloves are one of the most important ingredients in this warming winter drink called mulled wine which skiers love. Actually, they are a whole lot more than just that …..

Cloves are the unopened pink flower buds of the evergreen clove tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to Indonesia and are harvested primarily in Zanzibar, Indonesia and Madagascar. The buds are picked by hand when they are pink and dried until they turn brown in color. Cloves are about 1.2cm long and 0.5cm in diameter and with their tapered stem, they resemble tiny nails. This is how their English name is actually derived – from the Latin word clavus, which means nail. Although cloves have a very hard exterior, their flesh features an oily compound that is essential to their nutritional and flavour profile.

Cloves are warming, stimulating, anodyne and anesthetic (topical). They also possess preservative properties. Apart from using this wonderful spice in cooking, cloves have been prescribed by western herbalists to ease toothaches. This spice has been extensively used in Ayurveda and Chinese herbalists as painkillers, or for bringing warmth and circulation within the body. Cloves contain significant amounts of an active component called eugenol, which is said to be useful in removing toxicity from environmental pollutants. This component is also anti-inflammatory. Cloves are an excellent source of Manganese, dietary fiber, vitamin C, omega-3, calcium and magnesium.

Cloves can also be used to aid digestion. If you are feeling a bit blotted after a meal, make yourself a cup of Clove tea. Immerse yourself in the wonderfully warming aroma of this beautiful herb whilst sipping the tea to aid digestion:

Cloves Tea 5-10 buds of whole cloves, Freshly boiled water

Place the cloves buds inside a cup and pour freshly boiled hot water over it to fill the cup. Cover the cup and let the infusion work its magic for about 15 minutes. Ready to use.

A note of caution: Although the above Clove Tea Recipe is generally safe to use by most people, do not consume large amounts of cloves or use this tea for a prolong period of time without first obtaining a medical opinion. Do not use clove tea on your child until your pediatrician approves it.