Year of the Tiger

On February 1, 2022, millions of people all over the world celebrate the Lunar New Year. The year 2022 is the Year of the Water Tiger. The water element adds fluidity and flexibility to the tiger's energy and prowess.

Tiger is one of the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. Chinese Buddhists tell the story of a feast given by the Buddha. They believe that tiger was the third animal to arrive at the feast.

Tiger represent the strength, ferocity, tenacity, and courage. People born under the sign of tiger are self-assured, love adventures and competition, and have great sense of justice. They are well respected by people around them. 

Geomancers and astrologers in Asia and in Chinese communities elsewhere are busy to compile horoscopes and predict the future. They expect a very dynamic year full of opportunities, innovation and progress. It will be a great year for learning, new projects, and accomplishments, but also a year of possible chaos and unpredictability, political conflicts, social unrest, and natural disasters.

Everything happens quickly and dramatically in a Year of the Tiger, so be ready or you will miss your opportunity. Be courageous enough to grab your chances to improve and advance professionally, but exercise a little caution to avoid mishaps and financial mishaps.

Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for the Chinese people and it gives families the opportunity to gather around sumptuous banquets and to exchange gifts. An obligatory visit to the local Taoist or Buddhist temple is made to place offerings to the gods or to the Buddha. Fruit and incense are offered and countless prayers said.

For those who forgot to make their New Year's resolutions in January, here is another chance.

Wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous Year of the Water Tiger - Dominique

新 年 快 樂 !

Dominique Allmon©2022  

Pan De Muerto

PAN DE MUERTO

The best-known food associated with Day of the Dead is this slightly sweet and fragrant loaf. Typically formed into a round and decorated with additional dough rolled out to resemble bones, it is offered on altars for returning spirits as well as consumed by anyone involved in the holiday celebration. I asked a Santa Fe friend, Bill Ackerman, for his recipe because it’s the best I’ve tasted in either the United States or Mexico. Here’s his wonderful rendition, enhanced with anise oil and orange oil, which add much more flavor than the often-called-for aniseed and orange zest. All are available from online sources.

Makes 1 large round loaf, enough for 8 to 12 people

BREAD DOUGH

• 4 to 4½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon table salt
• 2 packages instant dry yeast
• ½ cup water
• 2 large eggs
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons orange blossom water
• 1 teaspoon orange oil
• ½ teaspoon anise oil
• 1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled but still liquid Additional butter for greasing bowl

GLAZE

• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• ½ cup granulated sugar

• 
  

METHOD:

• For bread dough, first sift together 3 cups of flour with sugar and salt. In bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine yeast, water, eggs, egg yolks, orange oil, orange flower water and anise oil. As soon as it’s blended together, pour in melted butter and continue mixing until completely blended. With mixer running, gradually add sifted dry ingredients ¼ cup at a time. Switch to the mixer’s dough hook. Add additional flour, ¼ cup at a time, allowing each addition to be incorporated, and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add flour only until dough comes away from sides of mixer bowl and forms a ball around dough hook. Knead in mixer for 6 minutes, adjusting the speed to ensure hook is kneading dough rather than just pushing ball around bowl. Slower is usually better. The dough should become very soft, smooth, and not sticky.Place dough in large buttered bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside to rise in a warm spot until doubled in size. This can take several hours. Punch down dough. Pull off ¾ cup dough to decorate top of loaf later, wrapping tightly in plastic and placing it in the refrigerator. Form remaining dough into a very tight ball. Place dough ball on parchment paper on a baking sheet, cover with a damp towel, and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume. Allow a couple of hours again. Patience here is key to a light, soft crumb.
• Place oven rack in lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 375° F.Shortly before the dough has fully risen, remove the reserved dough from the refrigerator to make the decorations. Remove a small piece and shape into a 1-inch ball. Flatten bottom and place this gently on top center of the bread. Roll out remaining reserved dough into a cylinder and cut it into 8 pieces. Form each piece into a bone shape. Carefully place bones on dough in whatever pattern strikes your fancy.
• Mix glaze, combining egg and water in small bowl. With pastry brush, apply a very light of coat of glaze over dough and decorations. Use only about half of glaze. The lighter the coat, the more delicate the crust. You will need to apply more halfway through baking. Sprinkle sugar evenly over entire surface, saving a little for the second glaze.
• Bake bread for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° F and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Briefly remove bread from oven, apply egg wash to any unglazed surfaces created by expansion of dough, apply sugar to those surfaces, and return to oven. Bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until internal temperature of bread, measured on an instant-read thermometer, is 185° F. If browning too quickly, place a sheet of foil on top of loaf for the last few minutes of baking. Cool pan de muerto on a baking rack. Serve in wedges or simply pull loaf apart and enjoy in good company! 

 

 Happy Halloween! Happy Dia de los Muertos!

*Recipe source here

Happy Year of the Earth Pig

Millions of Chinese all over the world are getting ready to celebrate the Chinese  New Year. In Chinese calendar 2019 is the Year of the Earth Pig. It begins at midnight on February 5, and ends on January 24, 2020. The Chinese New Year is also known as the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival and is celebrated in Korea and Vietnam.

Pig, or wild boar, is one of the twelve animals in the Chinese Zodiac. A Buddhist story tells us that the pig was the last to arrive at a feast given by the Buddha. 

The Chinese astrologers assign zodiac signs to the Five Elements: metal, water, wood, fire and earth.  The zodiac sign returns every twelve years, but a particular combination of the zodiac sign and the element occurs only every sixty years. This means that the next Earth Pig will be celebrated in 2079! 

 Year of the Pig Mug

People born in a year of the Pig are considered to be diligent, compassionate, and generous. Once they set a goal, they will devote all their energy to achieving it. Pigs rarely seek help from others, but they will not refuse to give others a hand. They have a great sense of responsibility and usually finish projects they started. Pigs are easily fooled because in their honesty and innocence they never suspect trickery.

According to Chinese astrologers and Feng Shui masters, 2019 will be a very joyful and prosperous year. It will be a good year for friendship and romance, and a great year to invest and make money because Pigs attract success, good fortune, and prosperity.

Interestingly, Pig years are believed to be rather unlucky for those born in a year of the Pig since they stand in conflict with Tai Sui or god of age in Chinese mythology. This means that Pigs have to be a little more vigilant and work a little harder if they want to excel. This is a god time to learn new skills. For everybody else, astrological predictions for the New Year depend on their year of birth and how their zodiac animal relates to the Pig. 

2019 is the last year in the twelve year cycle. Since all the animals are now at the Buddha's feast we can all relax and enjoy life a bit more. Take the necessary brake that you postponed for too long. Go on vacation, pamper yourself, but never lose your focus. You are, after all, the master of your own fortune.

Wishing everyone Happy Chinese New Year 

and a very prosperous Year of the Earth Pig! - Dominique


恭喜發財

Dominique Allmon©2019 

Image: "Journey to the West" and 2019 Year of the Pig Jimmo Designs Greeting Card. Dominique Allmon©2019

 

Year of The Earth Dog

The Year of the Earth Dog officially began on February 16, 2018. It will end on February 4, 2019. 

In Chinese astrology zodiac signs are combined with the Five Elements. Each animal sign appears every twelve years, but only every sixty years in each of its elements. The Five Elements: metal, water, wood, fire, and earth determine a special quality of each zodiac sign for a particular year. The current year is dominated by the earth element, hence the Earth Dog. The Dog will return again in twelve years, but we will have to wait another sixty years for the next Earth Dog. It will return in 2078! Chinese horoscopes are very complex. To simplify matters we can say that the Chinese believe that both, the zodiac sign and the element, affect destiny and personality of a person born under them. The predictions for the year to come also depend on this unique combination. 

In Chinese culture Dog is considered to be a luck bringing animal. Dogs are honest, loyal, caring, protective, and faithful, and will never abandon their masters. This quality of the zodiac animal carries a promise for a good and prosperous year. Earth elements is associated with mountains, real estate, agriculture, minerals, and earthquakes. Earth element adds some stability, may also represent barrier or obstacle blocking our view.

If you had difficult time holding on to your fortune during the Fire Cycle, your luck may change a bit for the better in the year of the Earth Dog, but be careful, dogs are very playful! Don't gamble your fortune away and remember that nothing comes without work. The earth element might add some difficulties which means that you will have to put a little more effort to get to your destination, or work a little harder and smarter to conquer possible obstacles. If you lack diligence and determination, you might miss many opportunities. Year of the Earth Dog is good for completing unfinished projects, especially if they apply to the source of your income. Fortunes can be augmented, but the Earth Dog suggests that saving money is a good idea.

In Chinese culture, people born under the sign of the Dog are considered to be honest, loyal, amiable, kind, industrious but also cautious and prudent. They are ambitious and outgoing, are great friends and faithful spouses. They are resourceful and make good doctors, lawyers, teachers, accountants, politicians, and civil servants.

Unfortunately, the Year of the Dog is usually very bad for people born in the Dog year. The destiny of everybody else depends on their own birth year and how their personal zodiac animal interacts with the dog. Very complex birth charts are used by an Chinese astrologers or geomancers to determine individual horoscopes and predict a fortune.

No matter what your birth sign, we hope that you will have a very good year. Remember, that no matter what the predictions are, you and only you are the true master of your fortune. And if you like dogs, 2018 is a good year to get or adopt a dog.  

Wishing everyone Happy Chinese New Year 
 and a very prosperous Year of the Earth Dog! -  Dominique

 

 恭喜發財 

Dominique Allmon©2018 

Image: Year of the Dog Greeting Cards designed by James W. Allmon

Memory Of The Heart

Gratitude is the 

memory 

of the heart. 

-

Jean-Baptiste Massieu 

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

Image: Memory of the Heart by Dominique Allmon©2017

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny came by today

and left surprises along his way.

Colorful eggs are all around.

With baskets in hand we search the ground.

Hiding in places here and there

Easter eggs are everywhere. 

Anonymous 

~ Happy Easter ~

Image: Easter Bunny & Broccoli by Dominique Teng©2017

Happy Year of the Fire Rooster!

In Chinese lunar calendar year 2017 is a year of the Fire Rooster. It begins on January 28, 2017 and ends on February 15, 2018. 

Rooster is one of the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. Chinese Buddhists tell the story of a feast given by the Buddha. They believe that rooster was the tenth animal to arrive at the feast.

A probably much older story talks about the legendary Jade Emperor who wished to select twelve animals as his guards. He sent an Immortal down to Earth with a message that whichever animal came first through the Heavenly Gate his rank will be the highest. And so, twelve animals rushed to serve the Jade Emperor and the rooster arrived right after the monkey as the tenth in a raw. 

In Chinese astrology zodiac signs are combined with the Taoist theory of Five Elements. Each animal sign appears every twelve years, but only every sixty years in each of its aspects. Metal, water, wood, fire, and earth determine a special quality of each animal. The current cycle is dominated by the fire element, thus the Fire Rooster. Celebrate as much as you can! The Rooster will be back in twelve years, but the next Fire Rooster will appear in 2077!

The Chinese believe that both, the zodiac signs and the elements affect destiny and personality of a person born under them. The quality of the year to come also depends on this combination. 

Roosters are believed to be hardworking, courageous, and very resourceful. They thrive in the company of others and enjoy to be in the center of attention. People born in the year of the Fire Rooster are considered to have a strong sense of duty and responsibility, and are trustworthy. They make good public servants. 

Interestingly, the rooster years are considered unlucky for the people born in the year of a rooster. Destiny of everybody else in the rooster year depends on their own birth year and how their personal zodiac animal interacts with the rooster. These predictions are often very complex and involve an astrologer or geomancer who would make proper calculations and create individual horoscopes. 

In Chinese astrology rooster is a very lucky sign that is associated with punctuality, competitiveness, bravery, and prosperity. 

In an ancient commentary to the Book of Songs dating back to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD) rooster had five virtues: literature, military prowess, courage, benevolence, and trustworthiness. These virtues will determine the quality of the year to come. The fire element adds a little urgency to the mix. Fire destroys the old, creates the new. It brings warmth and illumination (light), energy and clarity.

2017 will be a year of creativity and prosperity. With the inauguration of a new president, America will restore its military prowess and trustworthiness. People that have been forgotten or neglected by the previous administrations (ex. the Veterans) will experience a new wave of benevolence. 

If you want to succeed in 2017, you have to be diligent, courageous, and inventive. Like a rooster, you will have to wake up early and do your chores. Your prosperity will not come overnight, but your work will bring fruit that you will eventually be able to enjoy.

Wishing everyone Happy Chinese New Year

and a very prosperous Year of the Fire Rooster! - Dominique


恭喜發財

By Dominique Allmon

 

Dominique Allmon©2017

La Galette des Rois Or The Kings' Cake

Galette des Roi, known in English as the King Cake or the Kings' Cake, is a famous French dessert traditionally prepared on the Twelfth Night (January 5th) or the Christian holiday of Epiphany (January 6th) to celebrate the visit of three Wise Men (the Magi or Kings) to the newly born Baby Jesus.

The King Cake tradition began some three hundred years ago with a rather simple sugar-covered bread, but most probably has its roots in the Roman feast of Saturnalia. A single broad bean (la fève) was inserted before baking. The lucky person who found the bean in his or her slice of cake would become a Bean King or Queen and would reign over the feast. The reign would end at midnight before Epiphany.

With time, king cake recipes became more sophisticated. Around 1870 bakers replaced the broad bean with a trinket called la fève like the bean it replaced.  The trinket usually was a small figurine representing Baby Jesus, a King, or the Wise Men. The season for the cake would last from the Twelfth Night till the end of the Carnival on Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras.

The cake was usually cut into as many portions as guests, plus one for the unexpected visitor, to show generosity, charity and benevolence in the best Christian tradition. That extra slice was called a share of God, or a share of Virgin Mary. 

There are many versions of the cake, depending on the country or the region where the cake is baked. Two versions are popular in France today: one that uses puff pastry and frangipane (almond pastry cream) and another that is made out of brioche-like dough and is topped with colorful candied fruit and sugar. Pastry shops usually sell the king cake with a paper crown for the person who finds the trinket.

Eastern or Orthodox Churches celebrate the birth of Jesus on January 6th. I some parts of Europe (Poland, for example) Epiphany is also the last day people enjoy the Christmas tree. All the lights and decorations are taken down the next day and the trees are tossed away. The magic of Christmas may be gone, but there are at least a few more weeks to enjoy during the Carnival.

Dominique Allmon

Image source here

Easter Traditions

Many people may wonder why we never celebrate Easter on a particular, fixed day. Easter is a "movable" holiday that falls on the first Sunday that comes after the first full moon that occurs after the equinox.

In the past, vernal equinox was considered to be the beginning of a new year. It carried a special importance to the farmers because it signified the beginning of spring. In many traditions, spring was not only the season of nature's regeneration and growth, but also time of the resurrection of the sun god from the underworld. Christianity, of course, celebrates the resurrection of Christ.

The word “Easter” derives from the Old English word Ēastre that has its origin in Proto-Germanic word Austrōn or "dawn" and can also be traced back to the Germanic divinity Austrō from whom the goddess Ēostre (Ostara) has descended. 

In pre-Christian Europe,Anglo-­Saxons worshiped the moon goddess of spring and fertility Ēostre (Ostara). She was always represented standing among spring flowers and holding an egg in her hand. Hare was her sacred animal. It laid eggs to honor her and to encourage her fruitfulness, hence the Easter egg tradition, hence the Easter bunny.

Another reason why eggs became integral part of Easter holiday is that they were one of the foods forbidden by the Church during Lent, or the forty-day period of fasting and penitence that ends on Easter Sunday. In rural society, eggs were always abundant in the springtime and were symbols of creation and fertility. They bore the new life, par excellence. 

In many cultures, for millennia, eggs have been associated with spring rituals. Ancient Egyptians, Persians, Romans, Gauls, and the Ancient Chinese all regarded the egg as a symbol of the universe. In ancient Egypt and Persia, where spring was celebrated as the beginning of a new year, people exchanged decorated eggs at the vernal equinox. In Medieval England for instance, a royal household record from 1290 indicates that King Edward I ordered four hundred and fifty eggs to be dyed or gilded as Easter gifts. 

In Poland, where Easter eggs are elaborately decorated in most households, various legends describe miracles. One such legend talks of the Virgin Mary delivering eggs to the Roman soldiers at the cross and begging them to be kind to Christ. As she wept under the cross, her tears fell on the eggs and spotted them with radiant colors. Another legend talks of Mary Magdalene. When Mary Magdalene went to the tomb to anoint the body of Christ, she brought some eggs with her for a meal. When she uncovered the eggs in her basket, the shells had taken on the colors of the rainbow. This legend might have given birth to the Polish tradition of the Easter basket that is usually blessed by a priest on a Saturday that falls after the Good Friday. 

One more Easter custom that deserves to be mentioned here is the use of perfumed water. Early Christians used to add perfume and essences to the holy water and sprinkle it around the house, on animals, and on food to ensure blessings. On Easter Monday, men would wake women with a sprinkling of the fragrant Easter water and speak the words “May you never wither.” To this day this tradition is quite vivid in Poland where perfumed water is sprinkled on Easter Monday. In rural areas people call it "Smigus Dingus" or "Wet Monday" and celebrate this spring "purifying" ritual with buckets of water, lots of screaming and laughter. 

Many contemporary Christians are not aware of the pagan origin of their festivals and holidays. In order to survive in pagan Europe, Christian Church adopted many pagan rituals, traditions and symbols for its own celebration of the resurrection of Christ. It also appropriated pagan sacred places and erected its own places of warship. As the Christianity took over, the sacred traditions of Druids, Slavs, the Norsemen, or the Germanic people were forgotten or simply eradicated with the help of fire and sword. 

No matter what tradition is celebrated - Christian or pagan - Nature always takes her cyclical turn. After a long winter, everything springs to life, almost overnight. This, in itself, is a miracle. 

Wishing everybody Happy Easter, Happy Ostara, and a very joyous celebration of life ~ Dominique 

 

Dominique Allmon©2016

Happy Year of the Monkey!

In Chinese calendar, year 2016 is a Year of the Fire Monkey. It begins on February 8 and ends on January 27, 2017.  

Monkey in one of the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. According to a story told by the Chinese Buddhists, monkey was the ninth animal that arrived to a feast given by the Buddha.

The Chinese astrologers assign zodiac signs to the Five Elements: metal, water, wood, fire and earth.  The zodiac sign returns every twelve years, but a particular combination of the zodiac sign and the element occurs only every sixty years. This means that the next Fire Monkey will be celebrated in 2076! 

People born in a year of the Fire Monkey are considered ambitious and adventurous, but quick tempered and impatient. Because of their perfectionism, people born in the monkey years may be a little insecure and destructive.  

Interestingly, monkey years are believed to be very unlucky for the people born in a year of the monkey. For everybody else, astrological predictions depend on their year of birth and how their zodiac animal relates to monkey.

Monkeys are considered to be smart and vigilant, but also very playful and even mischievous, so prepare yourself for a very interesting and somewhat unpredictable year. Fortunes could be made easily, but they could disappear as quickly as they were made. Think twice before you make a financial or a business decision and plan carefully.

Monkey can help you revive friendships and add some spark to your love relationship, but it can also bring quarrels and disputes. Fire monkey may add fuel to old feuds, but since the fire element stands for passion, this may be a year of love and emotional fulfillment.

Take good care of your health, but have as much fun as possible. Travel, read, create, but most of all, be curious and inventive.  

Wishing everyone Happy Chinese New Year 

and a very prosperous Year of the Fire Monkey! 

Dominique 

 

新 年 快 樂 ! 

By Dominique Allmon

Dominique Allmon©2016

Year of the Monkey mug designed by James W. Allmon
 

240 Years of the US Marine Corps

The US Marine Corps Silent Drill

"Mere words cannot express what it means to be a part of the most amazing and elite fraternity in the Universe." - Sgt. James W. Allmon, USMC

"I love the Corps for those intangible possessions that cannot be issued: pride, honor, integrity, and being able to carry on the traditions for generations of warriors past." - Cpl. Jeff Sornig, USMC, in Navy Times, November 1994 

For the last 240 years US Marine Corps was and continues to be a brotherhood of a very special brand of men, and relatively recently, women. They are the few, the brave. As Gen. William Thornson of the US. Army once said, There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines: Marines and the enemy. Everyone else has a second-hand opinion.  

 

The Marines are the first to go and the last to leave. Their courage and bravery is legendary. And they are never "ex", not even "former" Marines. A Marine is a Marine for life. He only wears a different uniform when not in active duty anymore. But only the Marines know why.

Happy 240th Birthday US Marine Corps!

Dominique Allmon

 

 Image source here

Karkadè - The Drink of the Pharaohs

Many years ago I had a chance to visit Sudan for the first time. Back then the capitol city of Khartoum had only one good hotel. It was The Hilton on the White Nile which accommodated not only business people and the few tourists that made it there, but also important guests of the State. Colonel Gaddafi was visiting Sudan at that time and I had a pick at him and his female body guards while sipping hibiscus tea at the lobby lounge. It was an interesting sight, I must admit.

Khartoum had very few attractions at that time. On Fridays everybody went to the local market to watch the dervish dances and sip karkadè that was served with a ladle straight from a large bucket filled with ice and hibiscus tea. Most European visitors stayed clear of the bucket, I assure you.

You could enjoy a "safe" karkadè in the hotel, though. This delicious hibiscus  tea which was served either hot or chilled, and it tasted a bit different from what hibiscus tea tasted like back home.      

Karkadè is also drunk in Egypt where its tradition supposedly goes back to the times of the pharaohs. The tea is made out of dark red calyces that form around the seed pods of flowers collected from a roselle shrub (Hibiscus sabdariffa). The plant is native to West Africa, but it also grows in many other parts of the world including Australia, China, Nepal, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

The tea has a rather tart taste that is a bit similar to cranberry or tart cherry juice. To camouflage the tartness and make it more palatable, karkadè is often served with a lot of sugar. Unfortunately, the sweeter it is, the less it qualifies as a thirst quencher.

In Nigeria (at the Hilton hotel in Abuja, for instance) hibiscus tea is served chilled, with rock sugar, fresh ginger, cloves, and black pepper. It is supposed to improve blood circulation and aid digestion. It tastes great and combines the healing qualities of ginger, black pepper, cloves, and hibiscus. You can make your own by following a few simple steps. The amount of sugar, spices and hibiscus flowers can be adjusted to your personal liking. Experiment! It's fun.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups water
• 1 inch fresh ginger root
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp crushed cloves
• 1 Tbsp rock sugar (use more or less, depending on your personal liking)
• 1/2 cup dried hibiscus flowers

Method:

• In a large enough pot, bring water, spices and sugar to boil. Simmer for a few minutes and set aside to cool.
• Place hibiscus flowers in a jar or a carafe.
• Using a strainer, pour the now cool water with spices into your chosen vessel. Mix well.
• Place the now almost ready hibiscus drink in the fridge and let it sit for a few hours. This step will not only help to chill it well, but also to release the "essence" and the color of hibiscus flowers into your spicy liquid.
• Enjoy the drink in good company, with or without ice cubes.

You can, of course, skip the cooling of the tea and have it warm, if you prefer. My concern is that heat destroys the vitamin C in hibiscus. Also, using too much sugar makes the drink less healthy. 

Northern Nigerians also prepare hibiscus tea with pineapple rind and ginger. The drink is known as the Zobo drink. Hibiscus tea is known in many cultures where it is greatly appreciated for its health benefits. Hibiscus flowers are rich in the vitamin C and anthocynins that have the capacity to fight free radicals in the body and strengthen the immune system.

Studies have demonstrated that karkadè may help fight hypertension since it contains compounds that act as the ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors. In fact, the effects of drinking hibiscus tea were similar to the effects of popular anti-hypertensive drugs. The tea also helped reduce the amount of sodium in blood without affecting the levels of potassium. More studies have to be conducted, but one thing is certain, unlike many drugs, hibiscus tea is well tolerated by patients with hypertension.

To prepare a simple hibiscus infusion, rinse a handful of dried hibiscus calyces in running water and place them in a teapot. Bring four cups of purified water into a boiling point, then allow it to cool a bit. Pour the water into a teapot and steep the flowers for about five minutes. Strain the deep red liquid through a sieve and pour it into glasses. Add a little sugar, honey or liquid stevia and enjoy it warm, or chill it in the fridge.

You can also place the hibiscus flowers in a jar and pour cold purified water. I use 1 heaping table spoon of dried flowers for each cup of water and keep the jar in the fridge. I allow at least one day for infusion to chill nicely and drink it with ice on hot days.

By Dominique Allmon

 
*It is advised not to steep the flowers in hot water for more than ten minutes since the infusion will become bitter. Steeping hibiscus flowers in cold water does not turn the infusion bitter, but it will make it more acidic.

Dominique Allmon©2015

*Information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to diagnose, treat or cure a disease.

Variations In Green Or the Famous Frankfurt Green Sauce Recipe

The Frankfurt Green Sauce or the „Grie Soß“ in Hessian dialect

The Green Sauce is one of the delicacies the Hesse city of Frankfurt is famous for. A story goes that the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe loved this sauce so much that he had to have it made by his mother Aja and delivered by a coach to Weimar.

In 1810 Goethe published his "Theory of Colors" in which green was considered to be a "useful" color. Goethe believed that green was a color that could pacify the mind. It was the best color to use for walls in rooms one spent the most time since green color invited one to stay. 

The "usefulness" of green color might have extended to Goethe's dietary predilections, but we might never find out whether this was true.

The term "green sauce" pertains to a variety of sauces made mostly with green herbs. It is believed that the condiment originated somewhere in the Levant and was most probably introduced to Europe by the Romans some 2,000 years ago.

The Italian version of the green sauce was introduced to Germany in 1730s by the Italian merchant family of Bolongaro. Some culinary historians believe that the sauce recipe arrived from France with the Huguenots who settled down in the Electorate of Hesse-Kassel in the 18th century.

The Frankfurt version of the sauce was first published in 1856 in a recipe book written by Miss Wilhelmine Rührig. She used eggs, olive oil, mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, and six herbs: tarragon, chives, chervil, parsley, borage and salad burnet.

There are many modern versions of the Frankfurt green sauce using six or seven different herbs. Traditionally the sauce was made of fresh herbs that may vary depending on season.  Hard-boiled eggs, crème fraîche or sour cream, olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, salt, pepper, and sometimes mustard or mayonnaise, complete the recipe. Some people add gherkins, shallots and garlic, and use soft ricotta cheese to make the sauce more nutritious. 

I made my own version of this delicious condiment. You are welcome to try it. I used fresh chives, chervil, sorrel, borage, parsley, garden cress, ramps, and salad burnet. You may also add lovage, lemon balm, dandelion greens, arugula, watercress, dill, or tarragon.

Ingredients

• 4-5 cups roughly chopped fresh herbs
• 4 hard-boiled organic eggs
• 1 cup Crème fraîche, sour cream or probiotic yogurt
  
• 1/2 cup virgin olive oil
• freshly pressed juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• Celtic sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

• In a food processor pulse blend the herbs until you receive an almost creamy, but not watery,  consistence. Transfer pureed herbs into a mixing bowl.
• Cut hard-boiled eggs into halves and remove egg yolks. Pass egg yolks through a sieve and add them to the mixing bowl. 
• Add Crème fraîche, (sour cream or yogurt) olive oil, lemon juice, and mustard. Mix until all ingredients are well combined. 
• Chop egg whites and gently incorporate them into the sauce. 
• Add salt and pepper. Mix again. Ready! 

Serve with roasted meet, beef brisket, hard boiled eggs, or boiled young potatoes. Enjoy in good company with a glass of German Riesling!

This sauce also tastes well on vegetarian burgers, on sliced avocado and as a salad dressing with tossed leafy greens.

By Dominique Allmon

The famous Frankfurt Green Sauce

Dominique Allmon©2015 

Health Benefits of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

 Adoration of the Magi by Nikolaus Obilman, ca. 1466

Three Wise Men and Their Precious Gifts

On January 6th Christians all over the world celebrate Epiphany or the arrival and adoration of the Three Wise Men from the East that are also known as the Three Magi or the Three Kings. 

The Three Wise Men are mentioned only in the Gospel of Matthew. Very few details are given about these men in the Bible and much of what we know is left to speculation. The Holy Scripture does not say how many wise men arrived to pay respect to Jesus, but it is generally assumed that there were three visitors, since each brought a gift and there were three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

In antiquity, these valuable gifts were often given to honor a king or a deity: gold was a valuable commodity, precious in itself, and worthy of a king; frankincense was a rare and precious substance that was burned as an incense; and myrrh was often used as an anointing oil. Ancient inscriptions show that these three items were also among the gifts that King Seleucus II Callinicus offered to the god Apollo at the temple in Miletus in 243 B.C.

Scholars believe that the three gifts also symbolized Christ's identity and his mission on earth: gold symbolized his divinity; frankincense his priestly role and righteousness; and myrrh, being a symbol of bitterness, suffering and affliction, prefigured his sacrificial death and embalming. 

Precious gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh

There is, however, a different interpretation of the meaning of these three gifts. These three precious substances have been known since Antiquity for their healing properties.

~ Gold ~

The earliest records of medicinal use of gold date back to Ancient Egypt where people ingested gold for mental, spiritual and bodily purification. As far back as 5,000 years ago Egyptian alchemists used liquid gold to make healing elixirs. They believed that gold could invigorate and rejuvenate the body, cure diseases, and help restore perfect health. Ancient Egyptians were also using gold in dentistry. Archeological finds document use of gold in dentistry as early as 2,500 B.C.

But Ancient Egyptians were not the only ones who used gold for therapeutic purposes. Gold was used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to restore health and prolong life. To this day peasants in China cook rice with a golden coin in order to profit from its restorative properties. 

Gold was also used therapeutically by the Indian Ayurvedic doctors, by the ancient Tibetans, by the Maya and the Aztecs, by the Arabs and the Persians. The Persian doctor Avicenna prescribed it to strengthen the heart. 

Medieval alchemists created Aurum potabile, a gold essence that was used as a life-giving, rejuvenating, balancing, heal-all potion throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The process was very laborious and was kept secret. Famous doctors such as Paracelsus and Isaacus Hollandus reported incredibly successful use of Aurum potabile in therapy of many chronic ailments.Medieval doctors also used gold-coated pills to cure arthritis.

Over the ages gold never lost its popularity, but the 19th century brought an entirely different form of gold - the colloidal gold that was first produced in 1857 by British chemist Michael Faraday. Colloidal gold is a suspension of minuscule gold particles (nano-particles) in a fluid, commonly distilled water. In the 19th century colloidal gold was used to improve blood circulation and to cure alcoholism. Today it is often used to reduce dependency on such substances as alcohol, nicotine, caffeine and sugar. 

Colloidal gold seems to have a balancing and harmonizing effect on the human body. It can be used to restore libido, enhance the immune function, improve mental focus, and increase overall energy levels. 

Modern cosmetic industry re-discovered the use of gold for beauty. There are records that women in ancient Egypt, China and Rome used gold topically to prevent premature aging and heal skin conditions. Research shows that gold has the capacity to prevent depletion of collagen and the breakdown of elastin, it may help to regenerate healthy skin cells, calm inflammation, and  fight free radicals. 

Gold is non-toxic. It is well tolerated by the body and does not seem to interfere with other medications. 

~ Frankincense ~ 

Frankincense, also known as olibanum, is an aromatic resin obtained from the tree of the genus Boswellia in the family Burseraceae. The tree is native to Oman, Somalia, and Yemen. For ages, the resin was used not only to make perfumes and incense, but also as medicine.

The use of frankincense dates back to ancient Egypt where it was used in sacred ceremonies. Ancient Egyptians believed that frankincense could dispel demons and used the resin for embalming and mummification. They also mixed the resin with honey and chewed it to cure bad breath.

In Arabia and in Ancient China the resin was used to heal skin conditions, running nose, nausea, and even leprosy.  

Hippocrates used an ointment made from frankincense that could cure many skin conditions, burns, wounds and skin infections. The resin was also used to alleviate digestive problems, expel parasites, cure bronchitis, sore throat, catarrh, and cough, to mention only a few. 

In the Middle Ages, Hildegard of Bingen believed that the scent of frankincense had the power to stimulate the human brain and improve memory. Paracelsus also used frankincense to cure a variety of ailments. Both Hildegard of Bingen and Paracelsus knew about its capacity to cure skin diseases, respiratory diseases, digestive problems and diarrhea. 

During the Middle Ages frankincense was one of the most important remedies used to cure people. Its popularity as a medicine, however, dwindled at the end of the Middle Ages and people in Europe forgot about it. They could still enjoy the scent, though, since frankincense was burned ceremonially in Catholic churches all over Europe. 

Frankincense became popular again in the West in the mid-1980s after a German pharmacologist, prof. Phillip Theodor Ammon of Tübingen, brought it back from India where it was part of the Indian materia medica.

German researchers have discovered that Indian frankincense (Boswellia serrata) was a very effective analgesic and worked wonders against low-level inflammation in the body. There is hope that chronic diseases such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, atherosclerosis, asthma, eczema, rheumatoid arthritis, and maybe even cancer, could be successfully treated with frankincense. More research has to be conducted, but what was published so far is quite promising. 

~ Myrrh ~

Myrrh is the very aromatic resin from small, thorny tree species from the genus Commiphora in the family Burseraceae. Myrrh is native to eastern regions of Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan), and the Arabian Peninsula, especially Oman and Yemen. Since antiquity myrrh was used to make perfume and incense, and like frankincense, it was also used as medicine. Myrrh was highly valued in Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India, Ancient Greece and Rom. 

Ancient Egyptians used myrrh in religious ceremonies and funerals. The resin was used in embalming and mummification, and to heal wounds. 

In Ancient Greece, Hippocrates used myrrh to heal ulcers and wounds. The Romans believed that the scent of myrrh was an aphrodisiac. Roman ladies wore myrrh perfume to attract lovers. 

Myrrh became popular in Ancient China in the 7th century. It was used to heal wounds, to improve blood circulation, treat uterine tumors and other female health problems. 

During the pestilence pandemics in Medieval Europe doctors gave patients decay preventing pills made of myrrh, saffron and aloe. The Arabs used myrrh to cure contagious diseases. 

In Europe myrrh was used to disinfect wounds, reduce pain, and prevent inflammation. It was a popular remedy that could cure cough, bad breath, headaches, digestive problems, jaundice, gout, syphilis and even leprosy. 

Due to the scientific progress of the 19th century and the emergence of modern chemistry and medicine, myrrh became obsolete. 

Thanks to a growing interest in plant-based medicine during the last few decades, however, we have witnessed a comeback of this ancient remedy. Thanks to its antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, myrrh is often added to mouthwashes and toothpaste. It is used to disinfect wounds and to reduce inflammation in the mouth, but also to treat asthma, reduce pain, balance blood sugar, balance cholesterol levels, stimulate the immune system, treat systemic candida and fungal infections, improve digestion, and to heal inflammatory diseases of the digestive tract. There is even hope for cancer patients. An ongoing research is being conducted in many parts of the world. 

Both frankincense and myrrh, are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine and in Ayurveda. For centuries these resins have been used in China and in India. They are an important part of many herbal preparations that are used to treat a wide variety of ailments and diseases. 

Essential oils of frankincense and myrrh are used to make costly perfumes. They are also used in aromatherapy, but that, by itself, is a vast subject deserving an entirely new article.

  ~ Happy Epiphany ~

By Dominique Allmon

 

Dominique Allmon©2015 

 

 

*The information provided in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to diagnose or cure disease.

Happy New Year!

A year's end is neither an end

 nor a beginning but a going on, 

with all the wisdom 

that experience can instill in us. 

Hal Borland

 

While I agree with Hal, as a writer and publisher I must say that the end of a year feels like an end of a chapter and I am happily looking forward to the next one.

 

This blog is enjoying a growing popularity and I am grateful for all the support I receive from my readers.  For many of you this might have been a difficult year. Some of you may have noticed that this year I did not engage in controversial topics. 

 

There was so much sadness and negativity in the media in regard to the events that occurred in 2014 in many parts of the world, that I decided not to write about them. 

 

My decision was prompted not by indifference or a lack of engagement in current affairs, but by a heartfelt consideration for my readers who came to my blog for consolation and inspiration rather than a confirmation that something is horribly wrong in our societies. 

 

Like most of you I sincerely hope that the New Year brings a major change for many people. I hope that conflicts will be resolved without bloodshed, that all senseless abuse and suffering is gone, that love prevails over hatred, that no one will have to flee his home or go hungry... 

 

I wish you all the very Best in the coming New Year, but I would also like to remind you that success and happiness lie within you. Be the light you want to see in the world. Be the change you long for! 

 

Happy New Year To All! ~ Dominique

Merry Christmas!

 

 

 I heard the bells on Christmas Day 

Their old, familiar carols play, 

And wild and sweet the words repeat 

Of peace on earth, good-will to men! 

 

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

 

Wishing all my readers a very merry and peaceful Christmas ~ Dominique

Mistletoe - Evolution of a Christian Tradition

Why does this parasitic plant remind us of romance?

By Rob Dunn

Baldur, grandson of the Norse god Thor, woke up one morning certain that each and every plant and animal on earth wanted to kill him. His mother consoled him. His wife consoled him, but all to no avail. As Baldur cowered in his room, half-wild with fear, his mother and wife decided to ask every living thing to leave their poor Baldur in peace. They begged the kindness of the oak tree, the pig, the cow, the crow, the ant and even the worm. Each agreed. Then, as Baldur paused to celebrate his release from torment, he felt a pain in his chest. He had been stabbed and killed by an arrow made from the wood of a mistletoe plant. Mistletoe was the one species on earth his wife and mother had failed to notice.

Baldur died, but a lesson was learned: Never forget about the mistletoe. Mistletoe would come to hang over our doors as a reminder to never forget. We kiss beneath it to remember what Baldur’s wife and mother forgot. At least that is one version of the origin of our relationship with mistletoe.

Another story begins with druids who viewed the mistletoe as magical and hung it above their doors for luck. Others say it is hung for fertility; the seeds of mistletoe are sticky like semen. The modern story of mistletoe is one of kisses. As Washington Irving wrote in the 1800s, “young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under (mistletoe), plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked the privilege ceases

The true story of mistletoe is the one I am going to tell here, the one of how it evolved in the first place, to hang on trees (and eventually above our doors). The ancestor of all mistletoes is the most ancient sandalwood. Modern sandalwoods include the species burned as incense on college campuses and in religious ceremonies the world over. Sandalwood trees are parasites; they grow on and steal from other trees. Their specialized roots (haustoria) sink like small arrows or spears into the roots of larger trees and suck water, sugar and nutrients from them.

Before there were forests, wispy plants fell on each other in their struggle to reach the sun, like clumsy teenagers unsure of their growing bodies. Then one plant evolved a simple woody stem. It could grow taller than the other plants, and it stole light from them. It poisoned them with shade. Wars ensued that have lasted hundreds of millions of years. Trees of many kinds arose and struggled with each other to be taller. Any species that does not participate in battle loses out in the darkness of the understory - any species except a few. Those in the clan of the sandalwood evolved a way out of the darkness. They survived by stealing from the trees what they had spent their tall stems fighting for.

Sandalwood discovered deceit. Its roots kissed the roots of trees and slipped inside them to steal. But sandalwood still needed to grow up a little and put out a few green leaves to have enough sugar to thrive. And then came mistletoes. Mistletoe is a common name for several independent lineages descended from sandalwood. Like their ancestors, mistletoe species sink their roots into trees. Unlike those ancestors, they do so in the sky.

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Mistletoes evolved the ability to grow not on the roots of trees, but instead on their branches. In doing so, they gained the same nutrients, water and sugars stolen by their ancestors, but they also gained a foothold up into the sky. As trees clambered for the sun, the mistletoe simply rode up on their branches, living off both the trees’ nutrients and the energy mistletoe could gather itself from the sun. The transition from root parasite to parasite of shoots was so successful that the ability evolved five times from the ancestral stock of the sandalwoods. Mistletoe diversified and spread around the world. Species of the genus Vismus are common in Europe. Phoradendron flavescens is common in North America. Hundreds of other species are found elsewhere around the world. But while theirs was a life with advantages, it also offered new challenges. Among the challenges was how to colonize trees in the first place. Unaided, the seeds of mistletoe would fall to the ground, unable to get to branches. Chance and wind were not enough for the offspring of mistletoe to find new trees, but the mistletoe had more than chance, it had natural selection. The mistletoe evolved seeds surrounded by berries. The berries attracted birds. The birds ate the berries and then flew to find more food. As they flew, or better yet, when they landed, they pooped. If everything went perfectly for the mistletoe, the poop landed on a branch where the seed might germinate.

Many more seeds were excreted midair and landed on the ground rather than onto branches, and so any seeds with additional advantages would have been more successful. So it was that another adaptation of the mistletoe evolved, its real kiss: seeds so sticky that even after passing through a bird they would stick to its bottom and then to its feet and then to anything else. When a bird pooped these seeds over a field, they did not fall. They clung. Birds who ate mistletoe seeds had to find a place to sit. They had to use their feet to get the seeds off of their feathers and scrape them onto other surfaces - like branches. So it is that mistletoe seeds today are passed with relatively high frequency to new trees.

The kiss of the mistletoe is the kiss of seeds through a bird, of those same seeds onto bare branches, and of roots slipping into tree branches and shoots. It is also the kiss of the leaves of the mistletoe, leaves that rise above all others through subterfuge. In a way, the mistletoe reminds us of days gone by, when there were no trees, and plants could simply grow short and stout and still find enough sun. Mistletoe still does so, just on its own elevated plane.

And so while there are historical explanations for why humans tend to kiss under mistletoe - a history of gods, demons, luck and a little lust - the evolutionary story of these plants with their sticky fruits and parasitic ways is more interesting. If this evolutionary story has a moral, it is complicated. On the one hand, mistletoe is a fruit of war, albeit one among trees. Let’s ignore that symbolism though, whatever it might mean for the holiday season. On the other hand, mistletoe is a measure of how many of the fruits in our daily lives, be they literal or figurative, depend on other species. We depend on the mistletoe for tradition. And it depends on its tree and its bird, just as we depend on thousands of species ourselves, species like the warring trees and the pooping birds, but also our crops, our Christmas trees and so many more, each of which evolved among evolution’s wild attempts to turn non-life - sun, soil, water and air - into life. I will pucker my lips to that, to the way evolution clings to us as beautifully as the kiss of a sticky seed.

About the author:

Rob Dunn is a biologist at North Carolina State University and the author of "The Wild Life of Our Bodies." He has written for Smithsonian about our ancestors’ predators, singing mice and the discovery of the hamster.

Article source Smithsonian Institution