Flavor Of Valley

Flavor Of Valley

Horsetail (Equisetum)

The primary use of the horsetail is as a diuretic. Gently stimulating increased urinary flow, horsetail helps "flush" infectious bacteria out of the bladder without altering the body's balance of electrolytes. The powdered form of the herb is better when electrolytes may be depleted. It's also the form of the herb being investigated as a treatment for age-related memory impairment. 1
While horsetail is accepted in herbal traditions as a proven herb to maintain healthy skin, nails and hair, the supposition that silica is main active ingredient responsible for these properties is questioned by some modern herbalists. The objective evidence is sorely lacking both for the bioavailability of silica and the role silicon plays in the body. This is not to say horsetail is not effective, but rather calls into question the mechanism by which this most ancient of plants affects human metabolism.

Horsetail Benefits

Health Benefits of Sage

Sage is known for its natural antiseptic, preservative and bacteria-killing abilities in meat. Volatile oils (distilled from the blossoms) contain the phenolic flavonoids apigenin, diosmetin, and luteolin, plus volatile oils such as rosmarinic acid, which can be easily absorbed into the body. Medicinally used for muscle aches, rheumatism, and aromatherapy, these oils also contain ketones, including A- and B-thujone, which enhance mental clarity and upgrade memory, as evidenced by clinical tests comparing tests scores with and without the use of sage. This knowledge has been extremely useful in treating cognitive decline and patients suffering from Alzheimer's. It's interesting that this herb has been prized for that purpose for over 1,000 years.
In fact, sage, made into a drink from the leaves, has been called the "thinker's tea" and even helps easedepression.

Health Benefits of Dates

When it comes to the number of minerals, vitamins, and health-benefiting phytonutrients in dates, suffice it to say there are a lot of them. First and foremost, they're easily digested, allowing your body to make full use of their goodness.
Dietary fiber in dates helps to move waste smoothly through your colon and helps prevent LDL (bad) cholesterol absorption by binding with substances containing cancer-causing chemicals. The iron content, a component of hemoglobin in red blood cells, determines the balance of oxygen in the blood. Potassium, an electrolyte, helps control your heart rate and blood pressure. B-vitamins contained in dates, such as the carotenes lutein and zeaxanthin, absorb into the retina to maintain optimal light-filtering functions and protect against macular degeneration.

8 Excellent Reasons to Eat More Eggplants

I have always been an eggplant lover. I was shocked to hear that the Hindi word for them, ‘baingan,’ is actually derived from another word that means ‘without merit,’ since the eggplant has for long time been misunderstood as a non-nourishing food.
Whoever floated this idea, should be eating their words—and more eggplants! Here’s what the humble eggplant can do to help you live healthier:
• The iron, calcium and other minerals in eggplant supply the essential nutrients required by the body. All this, while relishing a highly flavorful veggie, is a good deal, indeed! Stuff, grill, bake, roast, stew your eggplants—they’re delicious in most avatars!
• Eggplants contain certain essential phyto nutrients which improve blood circulation and nourish the brain. But remember—these nutrients are concentrated in the skin of the eggplant, so don’t char and throw it away.

Arugula Advantage
• Botanical name: Eruca sativa
• If you ever see a salad green referred to as “rocket,” it’s simply another name for arugula, or roquette in French. Yet another brassicaceae along with kale and cauliflower, its delightfully pungent leaves have been cultivated in the Mediterranean since time was recorded. As such, arugulais a perennial favorite in Italian cooking.
• Rather nondescript in appearance, arugula is often added to mesclun mixes, where it adds a delicious zest. While the young, paler leaves have a mild flavor - good for fresh dishes like salad and pesto - the older, darker leaves have a bit of pepper to them, making them stand out in soups and pizza toppings.
• Health Benefits of Arugula

Menemen - Scrambled Eggs with Vegetables
2 cups green pepper, chopped
1 cup diced tomato
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 eggs, beaten
3 tbsp oil
½ tsp salt
1 pinch of black pepper (optional)

Place the oil and onions in a pan and sauté the onions for 2-3 minutes over low-medium heat. Then, add peppers and salt. Close the lid and cook until the peppers become soft by stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes, stir and cook for 5-6 minutes with the lid closed. Finally, add the beaten eggs and stir. It’s done when the eggs are cooked. You can sprinkle some black pepper on top if you like.
Menemen is a very good and famous dish for breakfasts.
Serve it with bread while still warm.
ENJOY!

Top Health Benefits of Leeks
Leeks are versatile, tasty, and easy to prepare, so don't let their relative unfamiliarity deter you. Leeks have much to offer in the way of good health and, like garlic, it's thought that much of their therapeutic effect comes from its sulfur-containing compounds, such as allicin.
Allicin is not only anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal, but research has revealed that as allicin digests in your body, it produces sulfenic acid, a compound that neutralize dangerous free radicals faster than any other known compound.1
Leeks also contain kaempferol, a natural flavonol that's also found in broccoli, kale, and cabbage. Kaempferol is impressive in its broad yet powerful potential to boost human health. Research has linked it not only to a lower risk of cancer2but also a lower risk of numerous chronic diseases. As reported in Mini Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry:3

Carrot Chronicles

Botanical name: Daucus carota
Extremely versatile to eat and available nearly anywhere in the world, carrots have been around for centuries. Historians believe that carrots were cultivated by the Ancient Greeks and Romans, as they were mentioned by Pliny the Elder and prized by Emperor Tiberius. Carrots belong to the Umbelliferae family, a term derived from the umbrella-like flower cluster on top of the plants in this family. You’ll find similar fern-like leaves on plants thecarrot is related to, such as fennel, parsley, dill, and anise.
Colors of carrots first ranged from black, pink, red, yellow and white before the more common orange hue emerged, reportedly just after the fifth century. In the Middle Ages, references to carrots and parsnips seemed to be interchangeable, in spite of the marked size and color difference.

Reuben Hamburgers -
Ingredients:

1 small onion, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound lean ground beef or ground chuck
4 slices rye bread
8 to 16 ounces sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
4 slices Swiss cheese
Thousand Island Dressing, optional
dill pickle slices, optional


Preparation:

Sauté the onion slices in butter; set aside. Shape ground beef into four patties; fry in skillet or broil to desired doneness, turning to evenly brown. Place hamburger patties on the rye bread slices on a broiler rack. Top burgers with sauerkraut, onion, and cheese. Broil until cheese is melted. Serve with Thousand Island dressing or pickle slices if desired.
Makes 4 Reuben Burgers

Possible health benefits of peaches

Low in saturated fat and cholesterol, peaches contain an impressive assortment of vitamins and minerals to make it a truly nutritious food. Other than the 17 percent daily recommended value in vitamin C per serving, all the other nutritive contents are low, but wait until you see how many there are and what they can do.
Like other vitamins, vitamin C does much more than fight infection, although that's a feat in itself. It's also an antioxidant that scavenges free radicals looking for a place to do damage in the cells and body, and is required for connective tissue synthesis. Its oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) value is 1814 on the scale. But it's important to know that a can of store-bought peaches in heavy syrup gets an ORAC score of 436 – an indication that for all the antioxidants fresh peaches may have, they're practically obliterated in the canning/sugar-dousing process.

Hedge Woundwort
We move this month from the fame of Elder, to a plant of relative obscurity that has been calling my attention. I am not sure whether it is growing in more abundance this year, or whether I am just noticing it more because it has chosen to move into my garden.
Hedge Woundwort is a tall, hairy perennial that grows in hedges, woods and on waste ground, where its tall spires of crimson-purple flowers stand out among the lushness of green growth of other plants. The flowers are arranged in whorls around the central stem. They are hooded, with the lower lip beautifully variegated with white against the crimson background. Bees love this plant and are frequent visitors. The whole plant has a fairly pungent even foetid smell, which is not particularly pleasant. It has dark green pointed-oval leaves that are stalked and toothed.

Flower Cookies
1 cup sugar
250 gr (~2 sticks) margarine/butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp cocoa
1 egg
½ tsp baking powder
1 package vanilla/1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cup starch
1 ½ -2 cups flour

In a large bowl combine sugar and soft margarine/butter. Then crack the egg in. Start kneading and add starch, baking powder and vanilla. Then add flour slowly while kneading. Form a soft lump of cookie dough.
Divide ¼ of the dough and add cocoa in it. Knead until the cocoa dissolves and the dough becomes even. Garb hazelnut size pieces and round them in your palms. Continue till both the plain and cocoa dough are used up. Then, place one cacao in the center and 5-6 plain balls around it. Then press gently them to stick together and form a flower.

Pilaf with Carrots
1 cup rice, washed and drained
2 carrots, shredded/diced
1 small onion, chopped (optional)
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp canola oil
2 cups hot chicken stock/water and chicken bouillon
1 tbsp salt to taste
¼ tsp black pepper
Fresh parsley to garnish

Wash the rice several times with warm water and drain. Cover the rice with warm water and leave it for 15-20 minutes and drain. If you do not have time for this, just wash the rice and then drain.
In a pot or saucepan, sauté onions and carrots with oil and butter. When carrots become soft stir in rice and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Then add salt and chicken stock/water and chicken bouillon. Close the lid and cook over low heat till rice absorbs all the water. Let it cool for 10-15 minutes.
Sprinkle some black pepper and garnish with parsley before serving.
ENJOY

Zucchini Frittata

2 zucchinis, shredded
1 small onion, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup mozzarella, shredded
2 Tbsp Parmesan, shredded
½ cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp salt to taste
1 tsp fresh basil/parsley, finely chopped

Saute onions for 3-4 minutes in olive oil and stir in garlic. Add zucchini and salt, and sauté for about 5-6 minutes. Whisk eggs with milk. Stir in cheese, basil/parsley and egg-milk mixture. Give a stir. Cook 2-3 minutes. Transfer it to a pyrex or oven tray and bake at 375 F (190 C) until egg settles, if desired broil top to brown for 2-3 minutes.
ENJOY

Cheese Omelet


3-4 eggs
½ cup milk
1 cup feta cheese/crumbling cheese/mozzarella shredded
2 tbsp butter
¼ tsp salt to taste
Black pepper (optional)

In a bowl beat eggs and stir in the rest of the ingredients but the butter.
Then melt butter in a skillet over medium heat and pour the egg mixture. Cook both sides of the cheese omelet till the eggs are cooked (4-5 minutes).
Serve warm with bologna slices.
ENJOY