Health: Chartreuse Elixir Vegetal in my Morning Smoothie

I've added something new to my morning smoothies.

My usual ingredients have been: banana, apple, orange, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, ginger (just a bit), and tomatoes. The nuts are: almond, pistachios, and walnuts. There can be variations, depending on what I have available. My goal is to include as many different fruits, nuts, and even vegetables in the smoothie.  I also add flax seeds, powdered Brewer's Yeast, and powdered Moringa.  I add water and blend.  

Another Treasure from France - Elixir Vegetal de la Grande Chartreuse

Elixir Vegetal de la Grande Chartreuse 

This is another "treasure" I bought in France, which cannot be bought in the US - Elixir Vegetal de la Grande Chartreuse.

This is 142 proof liqueur that comes in a 100 ml litter bottle encased in a wooden container, made by the Carthusian monks in France. The Elixir is considered medicinal, which is why it's not allowed in the US; it doesn't meet USDA standards. There's another reason given as to why it's not allowed in the US, and that's because the recipe is secret and the monks reportedly don't want the recipe stolen.

I love the history of this liquor.

In 1606, an artillery marshal to King Henry IV gave the Carthusian monks the recipe of this Elixir of Long Life. The formula includes 130 herbs, flowers, and secret ingredients combined in a wine alcohol base. The monks made the liqueur as medicine. Two liqueurs spun off this original recipe; the Green Chartreuse and the Yellow Chartreuse, but the original recipe remains as the Elixir Vegetal.

The recipe is reportedly not written down, and three monks know portions of the formula; they must work together to create the liqueur.

The traditional way of taking the Elixir is to use a dropper and put a few drops on a sugar cube. This is given to people who are sick, including babies.  I bought a few bottles in Paris for almost 14 euro each; but in Lyon it was less than 10 euro each.  The cashier in Lyon said her grandmother takes the Elixir daily.

I failed to ask how old her grandmother is.


http://www.chartreuse.fr/history-of-the-liqueurs;article;40;uk.html

Are there More Casualties Now than in other Wars?

With all the dire news of wars, bombings, terrorism, I have been wondering if the world is worse off now than in the past.  I looked up the number of casualties in various wars, and here's information from the internet:

American Civil War - 1.5 million military and civilians

World War I - 38 million military and civilians

World War II - 60 million military and civilians

Vietnam War Casualties - 1.5 million to 3.6 million estimates

Los Angeles Chinatown Herbs for Thousands of Dollars #California

We were in Chinatown in Los Angeles and stopped by a high end store. I've been hearing there are many wealthy Chinese in Southern California, and it must be true because some of the items for sale were incredibly expensive.

The picture below shows herbs in a box priced at $1,288; above there are two boxes at $3,500 and $3,300 a piece.

I saw ginseng, mushrooms, seahorse skeletons, dried parts of a deer, and many other mysterious things. I just hope they didn't have parts of endangered animals in there -- rhino or tiger. This would be too sad (not to mention illegal).

Guest Blogger: Carol Ojeda-Kimbrough "The Many Uses of Malunggay" #health

Carol Ojeda-Kimbrough shares with us with an article about Malunggay or Moringa. 

Extending Malunggay Shelf Life by Dehydrating/Drying

In the US, Filipinos have access to fresh malunggay leaves from their backyards, Filipino/Asian groceries, or farmers markets.  But in the winter, malunggay is not readily available or if you can find it in at Seafood City, it is prohibitively expensive.   Often we have to wait until the following spring or use substitutes such as spinach when cooking tinola or ginisang munggo.   Here is one way to extend the shelf life of malunggay – by drying the leaves and storing them for future use.   I do this with the bounty of summer and in the winter months, I have a steady supply of malunggay when I need them, especially to make hot Tinola soup.