Have you got your mood out from the long holiday? If not,cheer yourself up,as it's a new year,we need a new start,right? And the most important is that it is the last month of this winter. Spring is coming!

Cheers

Anna

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Anna's Nature Regimen and Recipe Express

-- Keep your life close to the nature

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China's five-thousand years of culture and history reserved precious regimen. I'm digging out and would like to share with you. So this website,including this e-zine is not only about Chinese recipes, it's more about healthy life style.

Visit our website: www.healthy-chinese-recipe.com

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Jan.25th,2008

Issue #5

Table of Content:

1. The Harmony of human with natureII

2. About the 12th month and regimen

3. Anna's 12th month recipes

• a. Stewed Eggplant with Potato
• b. Steamed Bitter Melon with Pork Stuff
• c. Stir Fried Lamb with Winter Bamboo Shoots
• d. Beef with Radish Soup

4. Recipes on our website suitable for winter

• a.Beef with Potato Braise Recipe
• b.Stewed Chicken with Mushroom Recipe
• c.Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe
• d.Duck with Taro Soup Recipe

5. Spring Festivel and Jiaozi

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1. The hamorny of human with nature II

In last issue, we talked about our organs strengthness and weakness changing with time and space. In this issue, let's see how our organs are related with food's nature,taste,color.They also have relation with our mood and music.

Ancient Chinese people think that the world is composed of five elements: Wood,Fire,Earth,Gold,Water. They always use these five elements as basic reference.

Five element	Wood	Fire	Earh	Gold	Water
Category	liver gall	heart small intestine	spleen stomach	lung large intestine	kidney bladder
Five taste	Sour	bitter	sweet	pungency	salt
Five color	green	red	yellow	white	black
Five hide	fetch	spirit	wish	vigor	essence
Five physique	tendon (membrane)	pulse	muscle	skin	bone (marrow)
Five cover	paw	face	lip	hair(on body)	hair(head)
Five organs	eye	tongue	mouth	nose	ear
Five body fluid	tear	sweat	saliva	snivel	spit
Five season	spring	summer	deep summer	autumn	winter
Five direction	east	south	middle	west	north
Five block	wind	hot	wet	dry	chill
Five mood	anger	happy	worry(consider)	sorrow	fear
Five fatigue	walking long hurts tendon	using eye long hurts blood	sitting long hurts muscle	lying long hurts QI	standing long hurts bone
Five QI	smell of urine	scorch	fragrance	fishy odor	rotten smell
Five cereal	wheat	sticky millet	millet	rice	bean
Five livestock	chicken	sheep	beef	horse	pork
Five position easy to get sick	head	vein, viscera	tongue-root, muscle	back, skin	bone
Five tone	E	G	C	D	A

In Spring, our liver is active and so is easy to be hurt. Anger hurts liver. Your eyes will get problem if your liver is not healthy. Foods with sour taste nourish liver,however,you cannot eat too much sour food when the liver is too active.

Suddenly exciting news may cause heart attack. Those whose face is always unhealthy pale-white may have heart disease.

In autumn, our lung is easy to get disease. Lung opens aperture as nose. If your nose has problem then it means the function of your lung is not good.

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2. About the 12th month and regimen

The 12th month is from January 8th to Febuary 6th, 2008.

In this month, some organs status:

• the Qi is strong in spleen.
• the Qi(vital energy) in kidney is suffocated

Diet should

• increase bitter foods intake such as wheat, mutton, almond, and swamp cabbage,walnut(pecan),etc(protect heart).
• reduce sweet foods intake such as beef,rice,pumpkin,celery,etc.(Protect spleen).

This will protect heart and spleen, avoiding kidney from being hurt.

12th month is the last month in winter. For more winter regimen, please visit :

http://www.healthy-chinese-recipe.com/winter-regimen.html

Knowlege about food: All the food we eat has its own taste attribute:

Sweet: rice, beef,Chinese date,pumpkin,etc. Function: easy up.

Sour: small red bean, plum, leek(also spicy),haw,etc. Function: converge.

Pungent: glutinous millet, chicken, peach,shallot,etc. Function: dispel.

Bitter: wheat, mutton, almond, and swamp cabbage,etc. Function: dry and solidify.

Salty: soybean, pork meat,chestnut, leaf bean,etc. Function: soften.

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3. Anna'a 12th month Recipes

a. Stewed Eggplant with Potato

Ingredients

1 eggplant,raw,unpeel

1 potato,small

1 tomato,small

1 cup stock(or water)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon ginger,chopped

1 teaspoon shallot,chopped

1 teaspoon garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon salt

Procedure:

1. Clean eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes. Cut tomato into the same size cubes. Clean,potato,peel, cut into 1/2 inch cubes,put in water(avoid oxidation).

2. Heat the oil in a wok(or saucepan),add shallot,ginger,stir,let fragrance comes out.

3. Add potato cubes,stir fry 1mins,add soy sauce, 1/2 stock,cook 10mins with cover.

4. Add eggplant cubes,add the rest stock,cook 10mins with cover.

5. Add tomato,salt,stir well,cook 10mins with cover,or until all the stuffs thoroughly cooked. If it's dry add some water during cooking.

6. Turn off heat, pour in a bowl,serve.

Serving Method:(5 servings)

Serve with warm. Serve as main/side dish at lunch or dinner.

It's more delicious if you add some chilli or chilli sauce.

Beneficial Function: Clear heat, invigorate spleen. Suitable for those who are with obesity, hypertension, coronary heart disease,etc.

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b. Steamed Balsam Pear with Pork Stuff

Ingredients:

2 balsam pear,raw

100g lean pork, minced

1 teaspoon shallot,chopped

1 teaspoon five species powder

1 teaspoon soy sauce

3 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon stock

Procedure:

1. Place minced pork in a bowl,add soy sauce,1/2 salt, 1/2 shallot,five species powder,1/2  teaspoon cornstarch. Stir along the same direction until tight.Add some water if dry. Set aside for 10mins.

2. Clean balsam pear,drain well,cut transversely into 1 inch high ring(column).Dig up the seed of each column.

3. Quick boil balsam pear rings,drain well. Apply a layer of dry cornstarch inside flesh of balsam rings. Fill in the above step 1 pork stuff.

4. Arrange stuffed balsam pear rings in a big plate,place in a steamer,steam 10mins.

5. While steaming,add 1 tablespoon stock,the rest shallot,salt in a saute pan. Bring to a boil.

6. Mix cornstarch with water,add in the saute pan,stir well. Turn off heat, pour on the steamed balsam pear. Serve.

Note: If you don't like pork,then you can use beef replace of pork. If you are vegen,then you may use tofu replace of pork.

Serving Method:(4 servings)

Serve as main dish at lunch or dinner.

Beneficial Function: Clear heat,reduce blood sugar. Suitable for diabetics.

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c. Stir Fried Lamb with Winter Bamboo Shoots

Ingredients

1/2 lb lamb,raw

1 cup winter bamboo shoots

1 chilli pepper (if you're afraid of hot,replace small green pepper instead)

1 teaspoon ginger,sliced

1 teaspoon shallot,chopped

1 teaspoon garlic,chopped

1 table spoon cornstarch,mixed with water

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon stock(or water)

Procedure:

1. Clean lamb,cut into 1 inch long strips,marinate in salt and cornstarch for 20mins.

2. Shell bamboo shoots,take out old root,cut flesh into 1/2 inch long strips. Clean pepper,seed,cut into 1 inch long strips.

3. Heat oil in a wok,add lamb strips,stir fry 1 mins.

4. Add ginger,shallot,garlic,stir fry several times.

5. Add soy sauce,stir well,add stock,pepper,stir fry 2mins,or until thoroughly cooked.

6. Turn off heat,pour in a dish.

Serving Method:(5 servings)

Serve as main dish at lunch or dinner.

Beneficial Function: Benefit Qi(vital energy),supplement (Yang) deficiency, promote stomach and intestines to move,prevent cold and constipation. Suitable for those who are weak,obese,and whose who are with heart disease,diabetes,etc.

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d. Beef with Radish Soup

Ingredients:

500g lean beef (about 1lb)

1/2 radish,oriental(about 150g)

1 anise star

2 hawthorn

1/2 onion

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoon salt

2000ml water

Procedure:

1. Clean beef,cut into bite size cubes. Wash in hot water one time(remove smell). Cut onion into several pieces. Cut radish into the same size as beef.

2. Add beef cubes in a saucepan,add star anise,hawthorn,onions,water,cook 90mins over low heat with cover.

3. Add soy sauce,radish cubes,continue to cook 30mins with cover.

4. Add salt, cook 10mins over high heat,turn off heat.

5. Let it stay 30mins,serve.

Serving Method:(10 servings)

Serve as side dish at breakfast,lunch,or dinner. Serve with warm.

Beneficial Function: Warm stomach,smooth Qi. Suitable for those who are with hyperlipidemia, heart disease,arteriosclerosis, etc.

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4. Recipes on our website suitable for winter

a.Beef with Potato Braise Recipe

http://www.healthy-chinese-recipe.com/beef-with-potatoes-braise-recipe.html

b.Stewed Chicken with Mushroom Recipe

http://www.healthy-chinese-recipe.com/stewed-chicken-with-mushroom.html

c.Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe

http://www.healthy-chinese-recipe.com/sweet-and-sour-pork-recipe.html

d.Duck with Taro Soup Recipe

http://www.healthy-chinese-recipe.com/duck-with-taro-soup-recipe.html

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5.Spring Festival and Jiaozi

You know,Chinese Lunar New Year,or Spring Festival is the most important festival for all Chinese world wide. Like Thanksgiving Day in western contry,  Chinese people celebrate their harvest this year and welcome the coming spring in Chinese Lunar New Year.

In Spring Festival,families stay together. No matter how far they are, they must go back home. In Srping Festival's Eve, families have dinner together. In the following days, people visit relatives and friends,blessing for each other.

At mid night(12 O'clock) of the New Yea's Eve,it's customed to eat Jiaozi. Jiaozi has the same  pronunciation with the meaning "the point of intersection of new and old world". So the forming of Jiaozi is to press the two part of a round paste together.

Traditional Jiaozi skin is made of wheat while stuff is made of vegetables and meat. Popular and traditional stuffs are chinese cabbage with pork, celery with beef,shrimp and egg with leek. Now people make whatever their favorite as stuffs such as fish, mushroom,green pepper,cucumber,tomato,etc.

The methods of cooking Jiaozi are water boil and steam. Jiaozi cooking by water boil has smooth and soft skin,fresh delicious taste. While steam method keep the most stuffs flavor and so more fragrance.

The following is the process of making Jiaozi:

Making stuff:

1/4 lb beef,minced(about 100g)

2 cup celery,chopped(about 200g)

1 teaspoon five species powder

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon shallot,chopped

1 teaspoon ginger powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

Procedure:

1. Add minced beef in a big bowl,add soy sauce,salt,shallot,five species powder,ginger powder,salt,egg,(if it's not so dry,then just add half egg liquid)stir evenly,let it stay 10mins.

2. Cut celery into very thin and small pieces,almost minced. Or just minced by using machine.

3. Add minced celery in the above bowl,mix and stir evenly.

Making Jiaozi Skin:

Ingredients:

1 cup water

500g flour (about 1lb)

Procedure:

1. Add flour in a basin,slowly add water while stir.

2. knead into soft paste.Cover,let it stay 15mins.

3. Knead the paste into 1inch long round strip. Cut into small pieces(about 1/2 inch section)

4. Roll into thin round flakes by using stick.(I know it's not easy to do. I learned it from when I was 5 years old).Don't let the round flakes(Jiaozi skin) stay too long time(they'll be dry),making Jiaozi at once.

Making Jiaozi

1. Put Jiaozi skin on your palm,add stuff(about 1/3 of Jiaozi skin).

2. Fold the Jiaozi skin in half with stuff in side,don't pinch now.

3. Pinch at the center first,then pinch at the two end. Leave the front side shorter so that you can fold into tuck.Nip around slightly making sure two side is firmly sticked. The right shape of Jiaozi is half round,like an ear.

Cooking:

Steam: Arrange Jiaozi in a drawer of a steamer,cover,steam 10min over medium heat.

Water-boil:(Bring 3 times boil)

a.Add water in a saucepan,water cover 2/3. Bring to a boil.

b.Add Jiaozi,Jiaozi shoul be less than 1/3 of the cooker.Bring to the 1st boil while stir.

c. Add 1 tablespoon cold water. Bring to the 2nd boil while stir.

d. Add additonal 1 tablespoon cold water. Bring to the 3rd boil while stir.

e. Simmer 2mins over low heat. Scoop out with strainer spoon,turn off heat,serve.(turn off heat after scoop out,otherwise it'll be easy to spoil the jiaozi when scooping).

Can you guess the above pics, which is steamed? Which is water boiled?

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Hi, ,any suggestion,idea to my newsletter? Welcome and appreciate

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