RHUBARB ( RHEUM BARBARUM): HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF RHUBARB: HOW TO MAKE RHUBARB FOOL

RHUBARB, RHEUM BARBARUM, RAVAND CHINI IN URDU

Rhubarb has been around for centuries but not to eat. It has been used as medicine in Asia and Europe but was not used for culinary purposes until the 1800s when it gained in popularity to become one of the US and Britain’s favourite pie fillings.

  There are several varieties of rhubarb and the ones used for medicinal purposes were Rheum palmatum from China, and Rheum rhaponticum which grew along the river Volga in Russia. Rha is the ancient name of the Volga and barbarum, barbarian; it is believed that rhabarbarum was the Latin name from which rhubarb came.

  In 1777 in the UK one apothecary in Banbury, Oxfordshire, Mr. Hayward, began to cultivate rhubarb for its medicinal properties - it is a mild purgative and laxative which can remove obstructions in the bowels with no side effects such as constipation later. The seeds he sowed were from Russia, and later his rhubarb plantation became the home of the Rheum officinale, the rhubarb officially recognized for medicinal purposes.

  Rheum rhaponticum probably originated in Siberia or Mongolia, and it is from this variety that we have garden rhubarb in Britain. It was introduced into Europe by Prosper Alpinus in 1608 to be used medicinally as a substitute for the Chinese rhubarb which had bee imported from China into the Mediterranean along the Silk Road. The Romans imported rhubarb for medicinal purposes, so it has a long European history and an even older one in Asia, where both Indian and Chinese rhubarbs have been used in traditional medicine. Rheum webbianum grows in India, Pakistan and Nepal.

  Benjamin Franklin introduced rhubarb seeds to the East coast of the US in 1772 and it had become a popular fruit (although botanically speaking it is a vegetable) in the 1830s both in the US and Britain. In the late 1800s Russians took rhubarb to Alaska for protection against scurvy.

  Rhubarb leaves are toxic, containing oxalic acid. In 1901 one death was reported in Britain with the cause of death being cited as “Accidental death, caused by eating rhubarb-leaves.”

  Culpeper, the 17^th century English herbalist, advocated slicing rhubarb finely and letting it steep overnight in white wine, then straining it and drinking the wine in the morning for a purgative effect.

  A decoction of rhubarb seeds is used for stomach pain and to increase the appetite. The leaves were used as a pot herb instead of sorrel (it is a close relative of garden sorrel) for a time, but this was not advisable, and so discontinued.  However the flowers can be cooked in a cheese sauce, instead of broccoli without any ill effects.

    Rhubarb contains vitamins A, C, E, K and some of the B-complex vitamins, folate and the minerals calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, zinc manganese and selenium, plus Omega-6 fatty acids and fibre. It is believed that rhubarb might help lower cholesterol levels, and it is known to have potent antioxidant properties, thus helping to lower blood pressure and reduce the risks of cancer. In vitro it has been shown to have anti-microbial properties, and its anti-inflammatory effects have been recorded. The chemical lindleyin found in rhubarb may have oestrogenic properties and emodin also present in it may help in liver regeneration.

  Traditionally the Chinese have used rhubarb for kidney complaints but this has not been verified in clinical trials as yet. It has also been used to reduce fevers and against plague. Other uses for it have been as a hair dye, and to clean pots. Apparently it is also a useful insecticide. When you cook it you should be sure to use a pan that is non-corrosive.

  Rhubarb is to be avoided if you suffer from gout or cystitis or other urinary problems. It is, however good with strawberries in jams and preserves as well as in fools, crumbles and pies. You can also substitute orange juice for a little of the water necessary to poach rhubarb. You can use vanilla sugar to poach rhubarb with and you make this by immersing a vanilla pod in a jar of sugar, and leaving it for a few weeks. You can use vanilla pods, then wash and dry them and put them in sugar.

  Rhubarb is eaten with custard in Britain and there was a children’s cartoon featuring a cat called Rhubarb and a dog called Custard, so it is firmly entrenched in British culture. Actors on stage were directed to say “rhubarb, rhubarb” in crowd scenes and this has come to mean “empty talk” or “rubbish”: also it can mean a quarrel or heated discussion as actors repeated the word “rhubarb” to indicate a general feeling of discontent.

RHUBARB FOOL

Ingredients

1 lb rhubarb, trimmed and cut into medium-sized chunks

150 gr sugar

3 tbsps cointreau or freshly squeezed orange juice

250 ml double (thick) cream

1 vanilla pod

Method

Put the rhubarb chunks into a non-corrosive pan with 2 tbsps of water, 4 tbsps sugar and the vanilla pod. (You can simply use vanilla sugar if you have any instead of the sugar plus the pod.)Cook over a low heat for 15 minutes.

Add the rest of the sugar if necessary to taste and leave until cold.

Add the cointreau to the cream and whisk into soft peaks. Strain the juice from the rhubarb into the cream, fold in with a metal spoon and whisk to thicken.

Finally fold in the rhubarb and pour into glasses. Chill and serve when you want to.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

MARROW VEGETABLE ( MARROW SQUASH) - BENEFITS AND HOW TO USE: STUFFED BAKED MARROW RECIPE

MARROW, MARROW SQUASH, CUCURBITA PEPO

The marrow is grown mainly in Britain where there are competitions for the world’s biggest one. In 2005 the record-breaking marrow was 62 kilograms, but this was overtaken in 2008 by a record-breaking 63 kilogram marrow, grown by Ken Dade and entered in the annual National Amateur Gardening Show in Somerset. His was a knobbly-skinned marrow, but the more usual marrows are dark green with paler stripes on their skin. They are a bit like a watermelon to look at and are related to these melons as they are to other melons, cucumbers, pumpkins and squashes and gourds.

  The seeds from the marrow can be used like pumpkin seeds and eaten raw, or dried and dry-fried as a snack, mixed with other seeds for variety. The seeds can be ground into a paste or dried and made into flour for making bread. They share the same history as the courgette or zucchini, originating in Central and South America where they were cultivating their ancestors, giant pumpkins as early as approximately between 7000 to 5500 BC. Columbus took seeds with him to Europe and Africa, and while the Italians are credited with breeding the courgette, the Britons preferred the larger fruit, the marrow.

  Like the courgette they contain vitamins A, C and K as well as some B-complex vitamins and are potassium and magnesium rich; for further details go to our courgette post.

  They can be baked, boiled or steamed, but can be mushy when boiled. Stuffed marrow are good as they can be stuffed with bolognaise sauce or sausagemeat, whichever you prefer. You can also cut them into rounds and top with grated cheese and bake the slices until they are tender (Gas Mark 5 or 190° C). Older larger marrows tend to be bitter, so try to find smaller ones to bake. Cut into chunks they can be steamed for 10 to 15 minutes until they are tender. You should cut a marrow in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds before filling it. Chilli, cumin seeds thyme and sage all go well with marrow and pep up its taste. Try the recipe below.

STUFFED BAKED MARROW

Ingredients

1 marrow (about 2 lbs or 1 kilo), halved and seeds removed

500 gr minced beef

2 medium onions chopped

2-3 cloves garlic finely chopped

3 tomatoes peeled and chopped

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 dessertspoon chilli powder

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp dried oregano

oil for frying

a little water

Method

Heat the oil and fry the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent.

Add the meat and stir, cooking until brown, then add the other ingredients and stir well to mix, cooking them for 3 minutes before stuffing this mixture into the marrow halves.

The oven should be heated to Gas Mark 5 or 190° C and you should cover the marrow with aluminium foil or place the two halves on top pf each other and secure in place with string, and cook for about an hour. The marrow should be tender when pierced with a fork.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

WHAT ARE HARI TORI? COURGETTES OR ZUCCHINI - HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES: COURGETTES IN BEER BATTER EASY RECIPE

COURGETTES, ZUCCHINI, SUMMER SQUASH, HARI TORI, KOLOKITHAKIA, CUCURBITA PEPO

These green vegetables are actually a fruit as they are the swollen ovaries of the courgette plant’s flowers. In the UK and France they are called courgettes, while in the States they are zucchini from the Italian zucchino, or Italian squash. In Urdu they are hari tori while the Greeks call them kolokithakia. They are related to the melons and cucumbers and also the other squashes and gourds such as petha or ash gourd and the pumpkin. They were developed by the Italians from the marrow or winter squash which can grow to enormous sizes.

  The flowers are edible and can be stuffed with cream cheese, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried, or cooked with the leaves and eaten as a green vegetable.

  The courgette is bland and so was not greatly admired by the French until chefs began to realize that the small fresh young courgettes were actually very tasty. In Britain they were popularized by Elizabeth David who was a keen Mediterranean cookery writer in the 1950s and 60s. She helped to promote the aubergine and courgette in Britain at a time when the middle-classes were beginning to take foreign, and mostly Mediterranean, holidays. While marrows were a popular winter vegetable in Britain, courgettes were not eaten on the whole. Elizabeth David brought moussaka and ratatouille to the attention of British cooks and these soon grew in popularity although the Brits still adhere to their root vegetables, parsnips, carrots and swedes, and turnips to a lesser extent and the brassicas, cabbage and broccoli for example.

  The courgette originated from the giant pumpkin grown in Central and South America which has its origins between 7000 and 5500 BC. Christopher Columbus took the seeds with him to Spain and Africa in the 15^th century and since then they have been cultivated in those regions.

  Courgettes contain the precursors of vitamin A as well as vitamins C and K, some of the B-complex vitamins and folate. They are rich in minerals, notably potassium and manganese, but they also contain calcium, copper, magnesium, phosphorous, and iron. They also have amino acids and Omega-3 fatty acid in them. The yellow and orange varieties of courgette are rich in beta-carotene, which is useful in combating cholesterol and reducing the advancement of atherosclerosis.

  Folate is useful for breaking down a dangerous metabolic by-product, homocysteine which is thought to contribute to the risk of heart attacks and strokes when the levels of it are too high in the body.

   Vitamin C and beta-carotene have powerful antioxidant properties and anti-inflammatory action, so are good for sufferers of asthma, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. 

  The juices from courgettes are similar to those found in leeks, pumpkins and radishes such as mooli or daikon radish, which have the ability to prevent cell mutations which may cause the growth of cancerous cells. Courgettes eaten with other phytonutrient rich vegetables may help in the treatment and reduction of Benign Prostate Hypertrophy (BPH) or an enlarged prostate gland which causes both urinary problems and sexual dysfunction according to modern medical research.

  Courgettes continue to evolve today with new varieties being bred, such as the golden and orange as well as round varieties. They can be eaten raw in salads, especially the small tender ones, and are good to include in tuna sandwiches, grated. They are particularly good with pine nuts which have been lightly fried in olive oil, or toasted. You can use them in moussaka instead of aubergines, and there is a recipe for vegetarian moussaka which uses courgettes, aubergines, tomatoes and potatoes. They are good with pasta and fennel too with lots of garlic an olive oil. In Greece and Turkey they are thinly sliced lengthways and fried in olive oil along with aubergine slices treated in the same way, then drained and served with natural yoghurt and topped with fresh coriander leaves or flat-leaved parsley, served as an appetizer. Try the recipe below to give them a different taste.

COURGETTES IN BEER BATTER

Ingredients

2 medium-sized courgettes, sliced

¼ pint brown (dark) beer (You can use Guinness if necessary)

200 gr flour

water

parsley, finely chopped

oil for frying

Method

Mix the flour with a little water and whisk. Add the beer and whisk until the mixture is foaming. Leave to settle and chill for an hour.

Dip the courgette slices in the batter and then fry in hot oil for a few seconds on either side until the batter is crisp and brown.

Drain on absorbent kitchen paper and serve as an appetizer, with drinks or as a side dish. 

Sprinkle with parsley or add the parsley to the batter with the beer.

There have Taste and are a Treat.

 

  

VIOLA OR WILD PANSY, OLD OWL IN PUNJABI - HEALTH BENEFITS

VIOLA, WILD PANSY, VIOLA TRICOLOR

These flowers look as though they are faces, clowns faces and their name in Punjabi, buda oulu, means old owl as it is thought that it looks like an owl’s face. In English, it goes by a variety of names, such as Heart’s Ease, Love-in-Idleness and Love-Lies-Bleeding. Viola was a character in Shakespeare’s plays and he refers to the viola in Act 1 Sc.1 of “The Taming of the Shrew” when Lucento says to Tranio,

    “O Tranio, till I found it to be true,

      I never thought it possible or likely;

      But now, while idly I stood looking on,

      I found the effect of love in idleness;”

The wild pansy or viola is native to Europe, North America and temperate zones in Asia. There are more than 500 species of pansies, of which viola is the original. Most garden varieties of pansy have been crossed with Viola tricolor and these are Viola x wittrockiana, notably. The English word pansy comes from the French penser meaning to think, or pensie, a thought or remembrance. The violet is also a member of the pansy family. Its name “Heart’s Ease” seems to come from the idea that loving thoughts bring comfort, or thinking of one’s loved ones is comforting, like this little viola with its clown’s face.

  The viola has been used in traditional medicine on the three continents for centuries, and was used by the ancient Greeks, according to Homer to moderate anger. Pliny wrote that the viola was used by Romans to prevent headaches and dizziness as well as being added to love potions. In Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” it is used in the love potion given to Titania which inspired her somewhat inappropriate love for Bottom the weaver who at the time had an asses head. Oberon asks Puck or Robin Goodfellow, the mischievous imp, to get him the wild pansy and describes it in this way in Act II scec1:

  “Yet mark’d I where the bolt of Cupid fell;

    It fell upon a little western flower,

    Before milk-white, now purple with love’s wound,

    And maidens call it love-in-idleness.

    Fetch me that flower, the herb I shew’d thee once;

    The juice of it on sleeping eye-lids laid

    Will make man or woman madly dote

    Upon the next live creature that it sees.”

  Writing in his Herball in 1597 John Gerard said that the flower could cure infantile convulsions as well as chest and lung problems caused by inflammation and that it was also good for problem skin conditions. Like honeysuckle, violas contain salicylic acid as well as rutin, saponins, flavonoids, and a volatile oil, violine. The rutin and salicylic acid are thought to strengthen capillaries and blood vessels and rutin helps heal broken capillaries and prevents bruising. The salicylic acid and rutin are believed to be anti-inflammatory and useful in ointment for tender, sensitive skin.  The plant is useful for its diuretic properties, and the whole herb can be dried for later use in tisanes. It is thought that it might help in the treatment of arteriosclerosis as it mildly stimulates blood flow around the body. The later English herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper believed that the viola was a useful agent to cure venereal diseases. It has also been used as a mild sedative and to calm nervous complaints such as hysteria. The tisane below can be used as an expectorant and for bronchial problems, and also as a skin wash for eczema, skin irritations, rashes etc. You can also add a litre of it to bath water to soothe the skin.

   Use 3 grams of the dried herb to one cup of boiling water and allow it to steep for 15 minutes before straining and drinking. You can drink this 3 times a day. For a skin lotion you should steep 5-20 grams of the herb in a cup of boiling water and allow to stand for 15 minutes and then straining. Allow to cool and use on irritated skin.

  The viola is a protected wild flower in Britain but you can buy seeds and sow them in the garden or in flower pots. In Pakistan these flowers grow along the roadsides and in the countryside.

   The petals are edible and the flower heads can be crystallized and used as decoration for cakes or whole for salad garnishes and in refreshing summer drinks. They can be used like violets, nasturtiums, the kachnar tree’s flowers, those of the red silk cotton tree (Bombax ceiba), borage and rose petals. Wild pansy flowers are good with ice cream, chilled fruit desserts and cold soups, as well as with natural yoghurt. They contain precursors of vitamins A and C and may be used in syrup with honey for coughs.