Homemade Cough Syrup

I’ve heard so many horror stories about the adverse effects of synthetic medicines, particularly on the kidneys. That’s why these days, I turn to natural remedies for common ailments such as cough and colds. I found this interesting recipe for cough syrup and thought I’d share it with you.  The recipe calls for honey and onions, which are both cheap and readily available.  Honey is an antioxidant and has antiseptic properties. Onions, on the other hand, have anti-inflammatory properties.  The combination of the two can ease irritating cough and soothe sore throat.  I haven’t tried it, though, but if you have, please let me know if it works.

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Homemade Cough Syrup (via BodyandSoul.com)

Peel and roughly chop one red onion (white or brown onions are also fine to use), place in a bowl and drizzle honey over it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a tea towel and leave overnight. In the morning, strain the onion from the syrup. 

Adults should take one tablespoon every two hours, and children can take one teaspoon every two hours.

Top 5 Health Benefits of Coffee

I think I started drinking coffee when I was twelve, thanks to my father who loved coffee so much.  As a grownup, there was actually a point in my life when I’d drink up to eight cups a day! It took me a while to realize that that was the reason for my palpitations (I was really bright back then 🙂 ).  Today, I own 3 regular and 2 travel  French presses,  2 small and 1 large stove top espresso makers, 1 drip coffee maker and 1 Vietnamese coffee filter.  No, I’m not a  hoarder. There are just so many ways to enjoy coffee!

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See, coffee-drinking has survived for the past 700 years for a reason.  Aside from the gustatory pleasure one derives from it, it seems drinking it (NOT overindulging on it) has priceless benefits. Here are some health benefits listed by a fellow coffee lover.

Coffee Lowers Effects of Liver Damage

One great thing to look forward to in drinking your daily coffee is that it is providing your liver with necessary protection if you have had a few too many the night before. Coffee drinkers who also imbibe in alcohol have been known to have a lower risk of cirrhosis to the liver. Though you should do all things in moderation, like drinking, the benefit coffee provides is priceless!

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Coffee Increases Happiness

There is a John Hopkins study out there showing that daily coffee drinking will add to your overall happiness because of the amounts of dopamine that are being pumped into your bloodstream. But remember to keep your dosage under two cups per day because that will otherwise put you at risk for higher anxiety. It is a delicate balance!

Lean on Your Antioxidants

What most coffee drinkers are loving is the amount of antioxidants that they can get just by drinking their delicious brew. Antioxidants are what you need to fight all of the free radicals that can cause cell damage spreading through your body. Coffee is not the highest in antioxidants, but it is the most consumed source out there.

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Environmentally Friendly

There are huge chances that in the future we will all be running our cars with the cheaper option that is fuel made from coffee bean oils, so there you have better environmental protection, as well as a multitude of health benefits from cleaning up our earth. Who knew that the bean had so much to offer?

Boost Your Short Term Memory

Huh? If that sounds like you, then you need to remember to drink your daily java since it has been proven to give you the brain sharpening tools that you need in memory enhancement. Drinkers of coffee have been known to have shorter reaction times and faster short term memory functions, which means that drinking decaf will not pep you up mentally as much as you might like to be.

These health benefits are just the tips of the iceberg in discovering all that coffee has to offer you. The great thing about the brew that we all so love is that it will not only give you enjoyment with its rich and robust flavors every day, but the options within your cup to enhance your health and wellness are endless! Over the years, coffee has been underestimated for the superb and multifaceted drink that it is, and I, for one, and more than happy to know that it is finally getting the due credit that it deserves. Coffee has a rich tradition and ancestry throughout time, and a large part of that that is not to be underestimated is all of the power it can give us in our search for optimal health and wellness. So pour a cup, and drink to your health!

Click here for the source. Or read some more here.

By the way, the beautiful  and mouth-watering photographs are not mine.  Please click on the images to get to the source.

Simple Pleasures at Home

I just got back from my Holy Week vacation.  One whole week of pure bliss with my family in our little cottage by the sea. I did nothing but eat (!), sleep, swim and play with my 4-year old nephew.  Oh, and I let the local manghihilot take out all the stress from my body, too!

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See the rest of the story and  photos here.

Madeleines and Other Baked Goodies from Tous Le Jours

I haven’t eaten carbs in three weeks, and as a treat to myself for being such a good girl, I passed by Tous le Jours today and bought me some baked goodies.

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Tous les Jours is a French Asian Bakery that just opened its first Philippine branch in SM North. I swear I was salivating the whole time I was inside the shop, looking at those tasty treats in agony (OA!). But of course, I only bought a baguette…

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and these madeleines…

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These little scallop-shaped French tea cakes were made famous by Marcel Proust in his book In Search of Lost Time:

No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me. An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses, something isolated, detached, with no suggestion of its origin. And at once the vicissitudes of life had become indifferent to me, its disasters innocuous, its brevity illusory – this new sensation having had on me the effect which love has of filling me with a precious essence; or rather this essence was not in me it was me. … Whence did it come? What did it mean? How could I seize and apprehend it? … And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray (because on those mornings I did not go out before mass), when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom, my aunt Léonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane. The sight of the little madeleine had recalled nothing to my mind before I tasted it. And all from my cup of tea.
—Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time

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And what of these madeleines?  Well, they were really tasty but a tad too sweet for me.  But then again, I haven’t had sugar in three weeks so maybe my taste buds have become a little dull. As for Marcel Proust, I can totally understand where he was coming from. If these madeleines were toasted to perfection, then I would probably experience the same ‘exquisite pleasure’ as they would surely taste like the butter cookies of my childhood (think M.Y. San).

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Lemon Madeleines (by Martha Stewart)

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted, plus more for pans
  • 1 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted (not self-rising)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (2 to 3 lemons total)
  • Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter two madeleine pans; set aside. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl; set aside.
  2. Put eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest and juice in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and thickened, about 5 minutes. Mix in butter. Using a spatula, fold flour mixture into egg mixture. Let rest 30 minutes.
  3. Pour batter into buttered pans, filling the molds 3/4 full. Bake cookies, rotating pans halfway through, until edges are crisp and golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Let cookies cool slightly in pans on wire racks. Invert, and unmold. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, if desired.