Bitter Melon Juice?!

Hey everyone! Hope you all have been doing well! I can't believe it's already almost August! Time really does fly doesn't it?

Remember my post on how I got sick after camp and my mom made me drink the radish juice? I'm not sure why, but up until recently I still had a minor cough... I think it could have been because I haven't been getting enough sleep lately.

But my mom decided I needed to try another one of her concoctions! This time it's bitter melon

When I first heard her say this, I was like

WHAT?

Bitter melon?!

This is going to be even worse than the radish juice one you told me to drink!

I usually like radish (cooked at least), but bitter melon is bitter even when cooked! Wouldn't it be worse if I ate it raw??

But like the good girl I am, I listened to my mom and juiced the melon. However, to make it taste better, I juiced two pears along with the melon.

Btw, eating pears is another home remedy my mom swears by, but this one I don't mind~

I've never actually prepared bitter melon by myself before, so I was surprised to find out that it has red seeds O__O

Haha, the other half of the bitter melon is missing because my sister was de-seeding it while I was taking the picture <3

Then I just put everything through the blender, and voila! Done :)

Doesn't the juice look beautiful?? It's even frothy!!

So now I'm sure you're all wondering how this "delightful" concoction tastes right?

Well....

It actually tasted really good to my surprise!! The first sip tasted somewhat pear-y with a pretty bitter aftertaste. However, for every sip after, I surprisingly couldn't taste the bitterness. :/ Strange hmm? Maybe my taste buds got used to the bitterness?

I'm not sure if this juice really helped my sickness or not, but I felt a lot better the next day. (I think it was due to getting more sleep though.)

However, I would actually encourage you guys to try this recipe! It was a surprising success :)

What do you think about bitter melon? Do you like it? How do you eat it?

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A couple cool facts I just found out about bitter melon from WebMD (***although some studies have suggested the following uses for bitter melon, concrete evidence is still insufficient):

• Bitter melon contains a chemical that acts like insulin to help reduce blood sugar levels
• Bitter melon is good for some stomach and intestinal disorders including but not limited to ulcers, constipation, intestinal worms
• Bitter melon is beneficial for those who have diabetes, HIV/AIDS, kidney stones, and OH WAIT! fever!!

What?! How could I not have known?

So... It's been a while!

I was going to post earlier, but then... I dropped my phone in the toilet, so I didn't have any of my pictures....

JK JK, the part about the toilet was wrong (although I have done that before... Oops!). I actually spilled water over it >__< I usually have a cup of water sitting next to my bedside at night in case I wake up and am thirsty. But when I woke up in Wednesday night, I accidentally spilled the water onto my phone! I forgot my phone was there and kinda left it sitting in that pool of water all night....

EEKS!! WHY DIDN'T I JUST CLEAN THE SPILL UP?!?! *sigh...*

Let's just say that phone went into the rice a for a day and a half!

Sunday (I know it's already been almost a full week, sorry!!), I went on a hike today with six of my friends after church! The trail is really pretty so I felt I had to share with you all!

What's surprising is that the trail is really close to my old high school. Although I used to run there a lot for cross country since it was our home turf, I realized I didn't even know most of the trails, some of which are really narrow and steep!

Let's just say some of the trails we traveled we had to crawl on our hands and knees or hold onto the roots that stuck out of ground! However, at the end of each slope down or hill up, there's always some beautiful scenery.

Eh? I didn't notice this picture turned out so blue compared to the rest?

A Little late.... But: Chinese New Year and the 年糕 (“nian gao")

Well more than a little late... really late, but this is a recipe my mom makes a lot, especially during Chinese New Year (which was January 31 this year!). After more than 20 years, I finally learned how to make it this New Years as well!

This is the nian gao or steamed Chinese New Year cake!

The pictures I have above are actually from the end of January. I made a bunch of these nian gaos in ramekins, and gave them away as gifts. My friends really liked them, but what’s even better is that they’re super easy to make, and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients!

So before I get to the recipe, I want to share a little of what I know on the history of Chinese New Year.... If you're looking for the recipe, scroll to the bottom of the post!

Chinese New Year is an ancient festival based on the Lunar calendar, beginning in the middle of the 12th month and ending in the middle of the 1st month. It involves the Chinese zodiac, which includes 12 animals: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. Each new year is characterized by one of these animals.

Chinese New Year has been celebrated since the Shang Dynasty in the 14th century B.C. Traditionally, it involves activities such as cleaning and then decorating the house with red items including lanterns and Chinese paper cuts, giving out red envelopes (红包 - "hong bao") filled with money to children, setting off fireworks to scare away evil, and holding a big feast on New Year's Eve. The feast is often celebrated with the extended family and includes dishes such as the Eight Treasures Rice (八宝饭 - "ba bao fan"), dumplings, and glutinous rice balls (汤圆 - "tang yuan").

Today, Chinese New Year is no longer called Chinese New Year but instead the Spring Festival. It is still the most important social and economic holiday in China. However, the attitude towards it is not the same as it once was. It is still a time for family to get together and celebrate, but many young people use the holiday as a time to relax from work and/or watch the televised Spring Festival Gala (春节联欢晚会 - "chun jie lian huan wan hui").

So although meaning behind Chinese New Year has changed over the centuries, it is nevertheless still one of the most important cultural celebrations in China with a long and rich history.

I've never been to China during the Chinese New year celebrations, but I've heard it's full of energy and is a lot of fun. Have any of you been there during the celebrations before? I'd love to hear about your experience! :)

The glutinous rice flour is on the left! You should be able to find this at any Asian market!

Steamed Chinese New Year Cake:

Ingredients:

• 1 bag glutinous rice flour
• 1.8 cups liquid*
• 2 cups brown sugar
• Chinese dates

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together until smooth.
2. Oil baking dish/ceramic bowl with vegetable oil, or in my case coconut oil.
3. Pour contents into a baking dish/ceramic bowl, and decorate with pitted dates.
4. Cover dish with aluminum foil and steam on high for 30-40 minutes. The New Year cake is ready when the chopstick comes out
5. Enjoy!
   
   

*I used azuki bean soup, which I made by cooking azuki beans in a slow cooker until the beans were soft. However, you can also use water or milk as well.

If you’ve ever had nian gao before or if you make this recipe, please let me know what you think! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do~