The Pitahaya is tropical jungle cactus vine originated in central america and has been cultivated in Vietnam for 100 of years. It got pink to redish skin and white interior which is dotted with balck sesame like seeds. It is mildly sour and the flavor is likened to that of the Kiwifruit and can weigh up to 3 pounds. It is rich in vitamin C.
2 tablespoons ginger roots (grated)
10-20 drops of organic Echinacea supreme (I usually use Gaia herbs brand)
1/2 teaspoon lemongrass
Add all ingredients in a tea pot. Boil some water and stir in. Let the pot sit on a tea warmer to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Enjoy the delicious, warming and spicy taste of ginger and refreshing taste of lemongrass with a touch of echinacea. Use more ginger to achieve stronger flavor. If you don’t like the strong flavor of ginger then use ginger slices instead of grating them.
Benefits:
Ginger expels cold and it is very effective in fighting cold and flu. Accompanied by Echinacea it strengthens your immune system. Ginger is believed to reduce migraines. It can lessen the pain of rhematoid arthritis. It also stimulates digestion. Ginger is great for upset stomach. It refreshes your breath.
Do I sound OLD?!
Here is some updates:
Rough plumbing and electrical are done. Mammad has his low voltage smurf tubes installed. Windows and one of the sliding doors is installed. Roof is completed and outside waterproofing is also finished.
Above photos: View of office and master bedroom.
Above photo: View of bathroom (there would be a glass block window in the front wall). We are planning to have a patio in the area in front of the sliding door which opes to the dinning room. We are thinking of having a raised slab there and then have the pavillion we bought from Bali installed on top it with a small water fall and a stone status of Tara in the corner.
Above photo: This is the inside photo from the office. The old water heater is still sitting there!
The other day I was talking to one of my colleagues and he said: “You, middle-easterns, are so and so.” It struck me in such a way that after two weeks I am still thinking of this stereotypical comment. I keep thinking why do we have exagerated and highly simplified views of other people or cultures? Some say this is a useful tool for us to deal with the world. Some say it is there because we are lazy, and don’t want to take further steps to learn and understand the world around us. Some say it is a technique to sort people to similars and dissimilars. Whatever it is, I think it comes from an unintellectual, closeminded and superficial mind. I believe every person is so unique that there is no way to generalize his/her personality to a group or culture. If you take this approach it would be a very superficial observation, like you might say all middle-easterns have dark eyes. But can you minmalize every aspect of a middle-easterner’s personality into his or her eye color?
It is funny that no one would reject a positive stereotypical comment, but everyone hates the negative ones! For instance if someone says Iranians are unique in hospitality I would never argue with it, but if someone says Iranians are extreme I won’t tolerate it. Why does a negative stereotypical comment irritate me but a positive stereotypical comment doesn’t? If stereotyping is not proper then I should have the same response to both negative and positive ones. So, maybe I am reacting to a criticism and not to a stereotypical comment!