September 15, 2009 at 7:33 am (Lifestyle Tips, Recipes)
Tags: onions
愛喝咖啡的人要多吃洋蔥作者 /鄭慧文(美國加州大學藥學博士)
洋蔥比骨質酥鬆症的藥有效】
從不知道洋蔥那麼偉大, 送您好吃涼拌洋蔥作法:
1/. 洋蔥洗淨切絲.
2/. 容器內裝冰水, 將洋蔥絲浸於冰水中, 置冰箱泠藏.
3/. 隔天撈起洋蔥拌蠔油 & 無辛味的生菜.
家庭主婦不愛用洋蔥做菜, 處理時會讓人流眼淚, 很多人也怕洋蔥味. 除非是手藝高超的洋蔥料理, 否則真的很難找到洋蔥的熱愛者。
想要讓自己骨骼結實, 身體長得高, 預防骨質疏鬆症的人, 還是 乖地捏著鼻子吃洋蔥吧。因為權威期刊「自然」的最新研究報告指出, 洋蔥是最能夠防止骨質流失的一種蔬菜。洋蔥預防骨質流失的效果, 甚至比骨質疏鬆症治療藥品 “calcitonin” 還要好.
研究人員讓雄性大白鼠每天吃一公克乾洋蔥，連續四週後，公白鼠的骨質平均增加了13.5-18%。另一組實驗則發現，讓大白鼠食用含有洋蔥的混合蔬菜，也能夠減少骨質流失問題。第三組實驗則是讓摘除卵巢的雌性大白鼠每天吃1.5公克的洋蔥，結果骨質流失的速率減少了 25%。更值得注意的是，洋蔥的保健功效在短短12小時內就看得到了。
研究人員認為，洋蔥的效果可能來自於「預防骨質流失」，因此想要利用洋蔥保健的人，每天可能要吃上200-300公克（10盎司）的洋蔥，才能夠預防骨質疏鬆症。醫食同源，在我們日常食物中，有很多蔬菜水果都具有藥物般的療效；像西餐裡少不了的配菜洋蔥，它對身體的好處簡直超乎想像。洋蔥炒蛋，或洋蔥炒牛肉，都是美味無比的健康菜；而洋蔥還可以用來生吃或榨汁喝，根據醫學實驗，它更能發揮多種神奇療效。
【洋蔥可以預防膽固醇過高】
據哈佛醫學院心臟科教授克多格爾威治博士指出，每天生吃半個洋蔥，或喝等量的洋蔥汁，平均可增加心臟病人約30%的HDL含量 （HDL為高密度脂蛋白膽固醇，一種被認為有助於預防動脈粥狀硬化的膽固醇，也是一種的好的膽固醇）每天生吃半個洋蔥，或喝等量的洋蔥汁，以保護心臟，這原是個民間偏方，克多博士在自己的診所裡對病人進行實驗，證明洋蔥確有提升好膽固醇的療效，不過洋蔥煮得越熟，越不具效果。
【洋蔥可以分解脂肪】
克多博士讓診所裡的心臟病人每天吃洋蔥，結果發現洋蔥裡所含的化合物也能阻止血小板凝結，並加速血液凝塊溶解。所以，當你享用高脂肪食物時，最好能搭配些許洋蔥，將有助於抵銷高脂肪食物引起的血液凝塊；所以說牛排通常搭配洋蔥一起吃，是很有道理?
【洋蔥可以預防胃癌】
洋蔥和大蒜、大蔥、韭菜這些蔥屬蔬菜，因含 有抗癌的化學物質，據研究人員在中國山東省一個胃癌罹患率很高的地方所做研究發現，當洋蔥吃得越多，得胃癌的機率就越低。
【洋蔥可以對抗哮喘】
洋蔥含有至少三種抗發炎的天然化學物質，可以治療哮喘。由於洋蔥可以抑制組織胺的動，而組織胺正是一種會引起哮喘過敏症狀的化學物質；據德國的研究，洋蔥可以使哮喘的發作機率降低一半左右。
【洋蔥可以治療糖尿病】
很久以前，洋蔥就被用來治療糖尿病，到現代，醫學也證明洋蔥確實能夠降血糖而且不論生食或熟食，都同樣有效果。原來洋蔥裡有一種抗糖尿病的化合物，類似常用的口服降血糖劑甲磺丁胺，具有刺激胰島素合成及釋放的作用。
【洋蔥可以防治失眠】
洋蔥的妙用還不止上述這些，在日常生活中，洋蔥還 可用來防治失眠：將切碎的洋蔥放置於枕邊，洋蔥特有的刺激成分，會發揮鎮靜神經、誘人入眠的神奇功效。
【洋蔥可以防治鼻塞】
感冒的時候，喝加了洋蔥的熱味
噌湯，很快就可發汗退燒。
如果鼻塞，以一小片洋蔥抵住鼻孔，洋蔥的刺激氣味，會促使鼻子瞬間暢通起來。
Leave a Comment
April 12, 2009 at 5:09 am (Main Dish, Recipes, Soups)
Tags: avocado, bean thread, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, radish, shrimp, winter melon
Spring salad, fried rice bowl, and winter melon soup
Spring Salad:
- Spring mix
- Radish slices
- Avocado
- Pumpkin seeds
- Pine nuts
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Fried Rice Bowl:
- Yellow leek
- Fresh shrimp
- Leftover rice
Winter Melon Clear Soup:
- Winter melon cubes
- Dry mini shrimp shells
- Shrimp balls
- Bean threads
- Veggie broth with a couple of ginger root slices
- Cilantro
1 Comment
February 23, 2009 at 1:28 am (Lifestyle Tips, Recipes)
Just found out this site with plenty of interesting vegetarian and vegan recipes. Enjoy!
http://www.vegweb.com/
Leave a Comment
February 22, 2009 at 5:41 am (Appetizer, Recipes)
Tags: Recipes, sesame seed, spinach
February 20, 2009 Recipes for Health from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/health/20recipehealth.html
Japanese Spinach With Sesame Dressing By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN
This cold spinach bathed in a nutty sesame dressing is my all-time favorite Japanese appetizer. Recipes for it vary; some call for rice wine vinegar, others for dashi, a soup stock. Most versions are much sweeter than this one.
- 2 6-oz. bags baby spinach (or 1 1/2 pounds, stemmed and washed)
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sake
- 1 tablespoon water (more to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil 1.
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. Blanch the spinach for 10 to 20 seconds in the boiling water and transfer to the ice water using a deep-fry skimmer. Drain and gently squeeze out water. Chop coarsely.
- Make the dressing. If your sesame seeds have not been toasted, heat a dry skillet over medium heat and add the sesame seeds. Stir and shake the pan constantly, and as soon as the seeds turn golden and smell nutty, transfer to a suribachi mortar and pestle or to a spice mill. Allow to cool. Grind the seeds just until crushed.
- Combine the soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the sake and water, then stir in the ground sesame seeds. Thin out with water. Toss with the spinach and stir together until the dressing infuses the spinach. Be careful not to bruise the spinach leaves. Divide into four small bunches and place in the middle of four small plates or bowls. Drizzle on a few drops of sesame oil. Serve at room temperature.
- Yield: Four small servings Advance preparation: You can blanch the spinach up to a day in advance. The dish can be assembled and refrigerated several hours before serving.
Leave a Comment
October 27, 2008 at 1:23 am (Main Dish, Recipes, Soups)
Tags: bell pepper, cauliflower, glass noodles, gouqi, Lunch, mung bean, Recipes, rice, Soups, spinach
For all you can have for lunch on a warm, sunny autumn Sunday in southern California:
- Rice cooked with whole mung beans (Mung beans are good for your health, I’ll write about it another day)
- Cauliflower and bell pepper of colors
- Spinach and glass noodle soup
Tips for making these dishes:
- Soak the mung beans for a half day before mixing them with the rice and put into the rice cooker
- Cauliflower and bell pepper of colors is a great vegan dish that I learned from a Buddhist cooking guidebook. Choose a combination of red, yellow, and orange bell pepper in this case, but not green bell pepper which has a slightly different taste.
To make cauliflower and bell pepper of colors:
- Put in a hot pan a drizzle of Canola oil
- Then drop in some slices of fresh ginger (and chopped fresh garlic/scallions depending on personal preference)
- Add cauliflower cuts, stir well
- Wait for a few minutes, and add diced bell peppers
- To enhance the flavor, add some vegetarian oyster sauce (my secret ingredient
)
- Again stir well and keep the the lid on till the veggies are softer before serving
To make the soup:
- In a sauce pan, pour half of a can of vegetable broth and mix with twice amount of water
- Bring to boil, and drop a small bundle of glass noodles (those made of mung beans, potatos, or with special flavors such as fiddlehead fern are good)
- Add some gouqi (dried goji berries) and wild mushrooms (any kind but smaller ones)
- Add a bag of fresh spinach the last
- Keep simmering for a minute or two then it’s done
- Some people like to put a drop of sesame oil right before serving (it smells great and puts a layer of shine on the surface of the soup ~~)
And I know, I know – next time I’ll remember to take pictures before I dive into the delicious meal, okay?
Leave a Comment
September 5, 2008 at 12:30 am (Main Dish, Recipes, Stories)
Tags: Main Dish, mushroom, pine nut, rice, vegetable broth
If my memory serves me right, I discovered rice pilaf about 5 years when I was living with an American lady. She works as a figure skating coach and was always busy. We often share food, so one day on shortage of supplies, I “borrowed” a box of her rice and mixed in a couple handy ingredients. I somehow have only cooked it once or twice after that, but every time I did, it turned out to be a quite quick and tasty meal! So this one absolutely goes with the idea of SEMI-HOMEMADE meals :-p
Ingredients:
- A store-bought box of rice pilaf (usually about 6-7 oz)
- A handful shiitake mushroom or similar kind (dark color preferred), cut in small pieces
- Some pine nuts
- A can of vegetable broth
- Chopped garlic
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil ~ What Food Network Racheal Ray calls EVOO, and now me too
How to make it:
- In a 2 quart saucepan, put in 4-5 tbsp. EVOO to coat the bottom of the pan
- When the pan is hot, drop in the chopped fresh garlic, stir well, and then add shiitake mushroom
- Cook the mushroom for a minute and mix in the rice pilaf and seasoning that comes with it, stir well
- Pour 1 cup of vegetable broth and 1-1½ cups of water (note: no additional seasoning needed)
- Bring the mixture to a boil and drop in the pine nuts, stir well
- Cover the saucepan, reduce the heat to low, let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes; then turn off the heat, and let it stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.
Tah-dah! My rice pilaf - hmm yummy!
Leave a Comment
September 3, 2008 at 7:27 am (Main Dish, Recipes, Stories)
Tags: asparagus, carrot, cucumber, Main Dish, nagaimo, Recipes, Stories, sweet corns, tofu, water chestnut
A couple weeks ago, my roommate bought a big bag of fresh water chestnuts. They then sat in the fridge for days being ignored until one day we figured we have to cook them before they’ve gone bad.
So here are two resolutions of a similar kind: a stir-fry of colorful veggies.
#A: Asparagus, Water chestnuts, Carrots, and Sweet corns.
How to prepare it:
1. Trim the hard ends of fresh asparagus, and cut with an angle (easier to absorb the flavors of seasonings)
2. Peel off the skin of water chestnuts, and cut in halves
3. Some thin slices of carrots and a couple spoonful sweet corns for color.
How to make it:
1. In a hot pan put in some canola oil to cover half of the pan; when it’s hot, drop in the water chestnuts
2. Stir for a few seconds, wait for a minute before putting in the asparagus and carrots.
3. Add a bit of salt, freshly ground black pepper, and about two table spoons of the vegetarian oyster sauce. Stir thoroughly. Leave it with cover for a couple minutes.
4. Add sweet corns, stir well, and turn off the stove.
#B: Nagaimo, Tofu, Water Chestnuts, Carrots, Cucumbers, and Sweet Corns
Ingredients:
- Water chestnuts in halves
- Soft tofu
- Nagaimo in cubes
- Carrots and cucumbers in cubes
- Sweet corns from cans
The key in making this dish is the order in which you put each ingredient in: from the hardest to the softest
So it could have worked out better than the one in this picture if I put water chestnuts in first, then carrot and cucumber cubes, then nagaimo cubes, before the soft tofu. Don’t stir too hard as it would break the tofu too much. Similarly, add the sweet corns at the last minute. Just the combination of tofu and nagaimo would be great, but you need to put in some colorful veggies – otherwise, it looks boring
Leave a Comment
August 21, 2008 at 9:44 am (Main Dish, Recipes)
Tags: green onion, Main Dish, mushroom, Recipes, soy sheet, sweet bean sauce, vegetarian pork shreds
My veggie version of the famous Beijing Silk Pork Shreds with Brown Sauce
Beijing Silk Port Shreds with Brown Sauce was one of my favorites when I was not a vegetarian yet. So once I became a veggie person, I invented my own version … It was not my best try this time (yesterday) but the idea is there…and I’d love to share…
Key ingredients:
- King oyster mushroom [杏鲍菇]
- Soy sheets [豆腐皮]
- sweet bean sauce [甜面酱]
Other ingredients: Fresh green onions, Vegetarian pork shreds (optional)
How to prepare:
- Slice the king oyster mushrooms into strips (about 1/4 inch wide, 1 inch long)
- Thinly slice the green onions to about 2 inches long
- Cut the soy sheet to about 3×3 inch squares, soak in boiled water for a couple of minutes, take out and dry, put them on a plate with plastic wrap (to prevent it from drying out)
- Open the can of sweet bean sauce
How to make the dish:
- Lay the thinly sliced green onions on a big plate
- In a cooking pan, put in some canola oil to cover the bottom. Once the oil is hot, add the king oyster mushroom shreds and the veggie pork shreds, stir well.
- Add the sweet bean sauce and mix well
- Take it out once the shreds are soft and shining with the brown sauce. Plate on top of the layer of green onions.
- Open the soy sheets to serve.
How to enjoy:
- The key is to use appropriate amount of oil and sweet bean sauce so the shreds would look shinny.
- I’ve been using a combo of veggie pork shreds with the king oyster mushroom shreds, but I guess it would be just fantastic if it was only with the king oyster mushroom shreds.
- When you eat, put some green onions and the mushroom shreds in the center of the soy sheet, and wrap it up like a spring roll, and then … bite in
2 Comments
August 21, 2008 at 9:09 am (Recipes, Soups)
Tags: carrot, daikon, fiddlehead fern, glass noodles, gobo, gouqi, Recipes, Soups, vegetable broth
Special ingredients:
Gobo [牛蒡]： greater burdock root, good for cancer prevention and control.
Gouqi [枸杞]： also known as Chinese wolfberry, or goji berry.
Fiddlehead fern glass noodle [蕨菜粉丝]: thin glass noodles made of a mix of fiddlehead fern powder and flour.
Other ingredients: Daikon, Carrot, Black mushroom, Ginger root, Cilantro, vegetable broth
How to prepare:
- shred half of a daikon, 1/5 of a carrot (for color)
- slice a handful of gobo and a half of the ginger root
- coarsely chop up the cilantro
How to make the soup:
- In a medium size pot, boil a mix of vegetable broth and water (about 1:2)
- Put the gobo slices and fiddlehead fern glass noodles into the boiled soup base
- In a cooking pan, put a little canola oil, drop the ginger slices into the hot pan, then the daikon and carrot shreds together with some freshly ground black pepper. Stir for a few minutes till the smell of the daikon comes out, then add some water and pout the mixture into the soup base
- Add black mushroom and gouqi
- Let the soup simmer for a few minutes, turn off the stove, and add chopped cilantro to garnish （no need to add other seasonings)
Super natural, super nutritional, and super simple!
牛蒡枸杞蕨菜粉丝汤
Leave a Comment
