Winter Season: Powwow on February 27 and Recipes

Thank you for making the Soup Powwow another success! We learned some useful tips from our powwow participants on how they make their favorite soups.  

Savory Pick:
Chayote Hydrating Soup

As we keep ourselves warm with central heat in the Winter season, our body feels more dry. This soup serves to help you hydrates the body from inside-out. With the added benefit of detox properties from dried shitake mushrooms

Ingredients: 
- 1/2 cup (25g) of Dried Shitake Mushrooms 
- 3 Dried Figs
​- Lean meat (preferably pork) 
- 4 Chayote cut into quarters (optional to peel)
- 2-3  thin slices of ginger 
- 10 Cups of Water 

Optional: You can use any seasonal melon, gourds, squash to replace Chayote. For Vegetarians, you can use nuts in place of meat such as peanuts and peanuts.

Preparation: 

1. Wash then soak dried ingredients (mushrooms and figs) for 10-15 minutes before cooking
2. Blanching the meat to clean: bring a pot of water to boil then place the meat in for 1-2 minutes. Take out, rinse and air dry.
3. Cut Chayote into quarters. Peel or Unpeel

*Note:  Peeling Chayote, be aware that the slim from peeling the Chayote skin will make the skins on your hands looks like its peeling. It's like a natural hand mask but difficult to wash off. 

Instructions:

1. Add in ginger, fig and water in cold water 
2. Bring the pot to a boil, add in the meat and chayote.
3. Boil the ingredients for 20 minutes then simmer for 2hours．　　

Sweet Pick:
​Hawthorne Berry Beauty Tea

Simple tea for everyday use. This collection of ingredients helps replenished and nourish the blood. With the added tart flavor of hawthorne berry, this berry is an add on to help clear out bad cholesterol from eating too much meat.

Ingredients:
- 5 jujube dates
- 5 dried longan fruit
- 5 dried hawthorne berry
- 10 gogi berries
- 2 cups of water

Instructions: 

1. Put all ingredients into a pot (prefer non-metal pot, clay pot is great) then add water
2. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes then simmer for 10 minutes
3. Add brown sugar if desire (*note that dates, longan fruits and gogi berries are sweet)
4. Options: on the least week of your menstrual cycle, poach an egg into the tea for added nutrients.

Health Benefits of Ingredients: 

• Jujube dates tonify and replenish blood great for anyone who has anemic. 
• Longan fruits tonify Yang gives you energy. 
• Goji berries tonify Yin nourish Liver to help blood production. Goji berries also helps with eyes. 
• Hawthorn berries are sweet and sour, great for tonifying the Spleen to improve digestion, clears out bad cholesterol from eating too  much meat.

Each prepackaged ingredients has enough to make the soups twice! Unless you're making a huge pot of soup or tea, you don't have to use all of it. 

Powwow Guest Recipes

Roasted Red Pepper-Carrot Soup courtesy of Linda S. 

• 2 Large Red Bell Peppers
• 2 Teaspoon Olive Oil
• 1/2 Tsp Curry Powder
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1 Large Onion
• 2 Lg Carrots
• 4 Cloves Garlic (peeled and sliced)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp Lemon Juice

Instructions: Roast peppers at 350F for about an hour-- turning often. Transfer when done to bowl and cover with plastic wrap. heat oil in pan; add curry and bay leaf then chopped carrots, garlic and salt. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add 5 cups of water simmer for 25 minutes. Transfer to blender, add choped peppers and blend. Add lemon to taste.