To be Fair

My very own Five-jewel Vitamin soup

The content in my fridge dwindled in a straight line diminishing curve as it approached the end of the week. This sometimes stretched one's culinary creativity. Besides, it is Friday and one's lazy bone raised its ugly head. I found a large stalk of celery, a small ball of cauliflower and a corn from the hard labour of farmers from the Cameron Highland. Then some left-over Shiitake mushroom stalks (the mushroom caps I saved for later) and 6 dried longan. After a quick 15 minutes of acrobatic display of cleanse, chop, slice, cut and off all they went into a slow cooker for an 8-hour sauna bath.

In the evening when I came back from yoga class, I cut those mushrooms caps that I saved in the morning, into little cubes and made an egg omelette. Added to it my 5-jewel vegetable stock that has been simmering since morning, hmmmm....... this is a very sweet and tasty soup.

Some interesting facts:
1. Celery has a whole host of nutrients espeically vitamin C, potassium, iron and the celery leaves contain more nutrients than the stalk. (Oooops.. I shouldnt have thrown away the leaves)

2. Researches found that the longer the corn was cooked, the higher the anti-oxidant. It is a good source lutein, a powerful antioxidant that is linked to reducing the caueses of blindeness in older adults. Though rich in starch and protein, it is not a suitable protein substitute and lacks two essential amino acids (No wonder South American dish chili con-carne stew recipe has got corn, beans and other legumes. Salute to the wisdom of native Red Indians )

3. Cauli flower, high in fiber, low in calories, an ideal snack food for weight watchers but 80% of the folate is lost in cooking (There goes my folate ....after 8 hours in the slow cooker sauna)

4. Dried longan, other than high in iron and fibre, is believed to alleviate stomach ache and insomia and improves concentration and memory (Hmmm.. food for my exam time !)

5. Some interesting facts about mushrooms:
Fact 1. They are primitive plants that cannot obtain energy through photosynthesis and therefore draw their nutrients from humus. (I thought all plants photosynthesize ? Oh no... how did I pass my science ?...sister J, sister C... )
Fact 2. Evidence that Stone Age humans used dried mushrooms as tinder was provided by Oetzi, the Iceman whose body was discovered in Tyrolean Alps. (So after 5000 years of civilization, we ended-up eating this gentleman's tinder?)
Shittake mushrooms contain chemicals that are related to lowering cholesterols, boosting immune system and potentially lowering heart disease, cancer risk and high blood pressure. And the most nutritious part of mushroom is under the cap, hence do not peel it, skin or pick it.

posted by Vegie @ 10:36 AM