Thulasi holy basil leaf remedy

Crush the thulasi (holy basil) leaf and apply it's juice in the chest or drink the juice for relief from cough and cold.

A list of other benefits of thulasi.

Hibiscus tea

Hibiscus tea, known as flor de Jamaica in Latin America and Karkady in Middle East can be served hot or cold.

Soak hibiscus petals in cold water, then transfer with its water, to a pot and boil. Remove immediately and strain liquid through a sieve. Return petals to the pot, add fresh cold water cover and boil, again filter the juice. Repeat until karkadeeh loses its colour. Discard petals and sweeten while juice is still hot.

Can add a piece ginger, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg to the sweetened karkady. The more it is kept in the fridge the less sour it tastes.

Another variation

Add a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice, lime juice, grated orange peel, sugar to freshly brewed karkady. Bring to a boil, simmer for three minutes and strain.

In Sudan it is soaked in cold water for two days for more flavour then strained no boiling.

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Ginger tea

We enjoy drinking our tea with the flavour of ginger and spices. To make 2 cups of tea you will need...

1 tbsp loose tea leaf

piece of ginger

cardamom optional

clove optional

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cups milk

2 tbsp sugar to taste

Peel the outer skin of the ginger piece, then crush the fresh ginger using a mortar and pestle. Boil the water and then add cardamom, cloves, and ginger. Add the tea leaf to the boiling water and let it boil for about 2 minutes before adding the milk. When the milk boils, remove from the heat and strain it. Add sugar and serve.

To make different variations you can add only ginger or add spices only or add one of the spices.

All rights reserved on photographs and written content Torviewtoronto © 2010 unless mentioned. Please Ask First

Butterflies bugs

Pictures of these butterflies taken by my husband at the Toronto zoo. One of my daughter's favourite activities during the summer is to run around trying to catch butterflies in the garden, she wouldn't touch them. I should teach her about caterpillars, as a child at school we saw caterpillars in cocoons becoming butterflies.

We usually see white butterflies and sometimes monarch butterflies. Inshallah my daughter and son would be excited to go to the Butterfly garden at Niagara falls and so will we, to capture the moments.

My husband took this picture of the wasp some time after he was stung by one. There was a wasp nest that we didn't see, and while he was watering the plants the wasp was disturbed. We took the thorny stinger of the wasp but it was swollen. We put some ice and antibiotic cream to reduce the swelling.

He sprayed with a wasp remover during the night as it was in the entrance and the nest dissolved.

Beetles and lady bugs are wonderful in drawing and paintings. I didn't know they could fly until last Summer when there were lots of lady bugs all around the front door that started coming inside. Before this happened we took lots of pictures.

Natural remedies

These hibiscus flowers are from our garden. The red hibiscus flower found mostly in tropical countries are used for medicinal purposes. This flower is known as chembarathy poo in tamil and rathmal in sinhala. It is well known in the Middle east, Mexico, Jamaica and many countries as a relaxing juice with benefits.

Health benefits

For blood pressure, cholesterol, bacterial infections of the respiratory tract, vitamin c, relieves muscle cramps, spasms, menstrual cramps, stomach cramps, indigestion, stomach upset, good appetite, weight loss if drunk after a meal to reduce the body's absorption of carbohydrates. They make Ayurvedic medicines for children and adults to clear rashes in the body.