Harvesting And Boiling Of Plantago Major Herbal Drink

From yesterday's announcement, movement control order has been enforced on 6 states including Selangor (where my sons are). The state of Perak (where I am) continues with conditional movement order. The enforcement starts from 13 Jan midnight until 26 Jan 2021. No interstate travelling is allowed nationwide. Most important I hope it will help to bring down the number of infected cases.

We have to abide by the SOP of MCO but the birds (seen as tiny specks in the above photo) flying in the sky are not restricted by the SOP. 

When we are restricted, it is only then we start to appreciate our freedom to move around.

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The rainy season has caused the weeds to grow. I had better clear some of the weeds because I didn't want any creepy crawlies hiding in my garden.

I have Plantago Major or the common plantain growing wild in my garden. The seeds have self propagated all over in the flower pots and ground. As I pulled out the weeds, I also pulled out enough Plantago Major plants to boil herbal drink. I am not sure of its other medicinal benefits, but I was told by the elderlies that the herbal drink is good for cleansing our urinary track and bladder.

Only 2 or 3 items are needed to boil the herbal drink.

1. Plantago major plants - thoroughly washed cleaned.

2. A packet of raw and cooked barley (from Chinese medical shop).

3. Cane sugar to taste (optional).

Once boiled and cooled, I shared some of the herbal drink with my friend and neighbour who have been blessing me in their own ways.

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Meanwhile, hubby was feeling hungry. He went on his motorcycle and came back with takeaway lunch from the Indian stall in the foodcourt.

He bought nasi briyani, 2 deep fried chicken drumsticks, sambal prawns and curry for both of us to share.

This morning hubby and I weighed ourselves and we were both heavier by 4 kg! No wonder I was feeling lazy lately. I told hubby I won't be sharing lunch with him.

My yellow hibiscus and the pink hibiscus not fully opened yet.

Player's and Gold Flake cigarettes.

Saw these two displayed on the wall of a hotel in Malacca.

Linking to Happy Tuesday, Image-in-ing & Tuesday's Treasures.

There are many ways in which God works in our lives,

but it is the same God who does the work in and

through all of us who are his.

The Holy Spirit displays God's power through each of us

as a means of helping the entire church.

(1 Corinthians 12:6-7, The Living Bible-TLB)

Plantago Major Herbal Drink & Tiny Critters From The Garden

Recently I noticed that the Plantago Major plants in my garden are growing very well and healthy. They can be found growing in flower pots and on the ground. Here, we called the plants "Teen Koon Choe" in Cantonese and we use the plants as a herb for cleansing the urinary track and bladder. I had previously done a post on Plantago Major and its medicinal uses. If you are interested, you can click here for more information on the plants, its many uses and how to boil the herbal drink.

 I harvested the bigger plants and left the smaller ones for a later harvest. A herbal drink boiled from this herb will be good for the body during this hot weather. I shook all the dirt from the roots in the garden before taking them into my kitchen.

The harvested plants were then soaked in water in a basin to further loosen any dirt from the roots. The herb is usually boiled whole together with the roots with parboiled barley. I used raw barley because that was what I had in the fridge.

We drink this herbal drink for cleansing of urinary bladder, urinary track and kidney of impurities and stones.

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The following photos are for joining Saturday's Critters.

While harvesting the Plantago Major herb from my garden, I noticed this tiny insect on the Eggplant or Brinjal leaf.

 It is a pretty tiny insect with wings that looks like a pretty moth.

 It was then that I noticed that my green eggplant has turned yellow. It was well hidden from my sight behind a leaf.

 As I was going through the Critters folder, I found something similar to the pretty winged insect. These photos were taken in our friends' garden. They found this joined couple in their garden and they got them safely out of their dogs' way.

 According to our friends, this couple has been joined together since the previous day.

 Do you think these two insects are similar to the one I saw in my garden?

 If anyone can identify these insects, please do kindly share it with me.

 There is so much to learn about nature, God's beautiful creation.

Linking to Saturday's Critters.

For from the very first he made man and woman

to be joined together permanently in marriage;

therefore a man is to leave his father and mother,

and he and his wife are united so that they are no longer two, but one.

(Mark 10:6-8, The Living Bible-TLB)

Herb Plantago Major Or Common Plantain And Its Medicinal Uses

I like this herbal drink because of its flavour. Once in a while I will boil this herbal drink for my family. What is this herbal drink that I am writing about? This herbal drink is made by boiling the herb Plantago Major. This herb has many names. Some of the names are Plantago Major, Common Plantain, Broadleaf Plantain, Greater Plantain, English Man's Foot, etc. In Cantonese, I learnt that it is called something like "Teen Koon Choe". It belongs to the Plantaginaceae Family.

Plantago Major is a short, little herb plant. It has green, roundish oval shaped leaves. The leaf when matured is very tough and not easily broken. A poultice made from the leaves can be applied to wounds, cuts, burns, insect stings or bites, ulcers, sores to promote healing and prevent infection. It is also anti-inflamatory, antioxidant, etc.

The very young and tender leaves can be eaten raw as salad green. The matured or older leaves are very fibrous and stringier but they can be cooked and boiled in stews. Tea made from boiling leaves in water can be used to treat diarrhea, dysentery and to soothe and promote healing.

The leaves are high in minerals especially calcium, vitamins and also contain very high healing compounds.

The flowers are tiny and are on long, thin and straight stalks raised high above the leaves.

Plantago Major is wind pollinated. It is propagated through seeds. The seeds are very tiny and they are oval shaped.

I can still remember the weekend trip in Fraser's Hill many years ago with some church members. We got up very early in the morning to go for our morning walk and at the same time to catch the beautiful sunrise. On our way back to the bungalow for breakfast, we saw plenty of Plantago Major growing wild on both sides of the road. They were so healthy and fertile. We stopped to gather some of these plants.

We wanted to pull out some of these herbs to take back to Ipoh to boil as herbal drink for the coming small group meeting to be held in my house. We were all squatting by the roadside, ready to begin pulling the plants when on of the ladies (Shirley) stopped us. She told us to hang on and watch. She then used her hand to gently rustle the tip of the leaves and there on the ground we saw many leeches appearing upright, swaying and reaching up, ready to cling to whatever is causing the movement of the leaves.

Those of us who were squatting screamed and jumped up and away from where we were! We were so taken aback at the size of the leeches, they were approximately about an inch and a half long. After overcoming the initial shock and fright, the lady showed us that once we can see the leeches, now we can carefully pull the plants without touching the leeches. That was a very memorable incident and lesson that I can never forget.

Last year, I saw some fresh Plantago Major on sale in the village market by an elderly woman. Plantago Major is not always on sale and it is no longer cheap. For a small bundle, it costs about MYR 2.50 to 2.80 (approx. 0.70 to 0.79 USD). Usually I need about 2 to 3 bundles. The Plantago Major plants are tied in bundles with the whole plants and roots intact. I bought a few bundles home to boil and I kept 1 bundle aside. I wanted to try growing them in my garden since the plants are still fresh with the roots intact.

The bundle of Plantago Major grew very well in my garden. This picture is the second generation Plantago Major.

The dried seeds from the first batch dropped onto the soil and many small plants started to grow from the soil.

Wherever the seeds dropped, they grew into many baby plants. They are very hardy, able to resist and withstand all the trampling when I move about in the garden. They are left to grow wherever they are and harvested when matured. In this way I no longer need to buy from the market, I now have my own supply from my garden.

On Monday morning, I harvest some Plantago Major to boil herbal drink. I picked and throw away all the dried, old leaves and shake the roots free of all soil particles.

Then I soaked the plants in a basin of water to loosen all remaining soil particles from the roots. I rinsed the plants with a few rounds of clean water to remove all dirt particles.

I boiled the Plantago Major plants in a pot of water with a packet of the above ingredients bought from the Chinese medical shop. I was told that these are half cooked barley beans. These are ready packed and when you tell the sales person that it is for boiling "teen koon choe", they will give you this ingredient.

I placed the plants, ingredients and water together in the pot and boiled for about an hour or more over low fire. After a while you can smell the nice aroma coming from the kitchen. I did not add any sugar because we prefer the drink plain without sugar. According to your preference, you can add rock sugar or brown sugar or palm sugar.

This is how the drink will look like. Just drink like any normal herbal drink. This can also be used to treat fever, respiratory infections and to soothe sore throat. It is also commonly used to cleanse kidney, urinary bladder and urinary track of impurities and stones.

I would like to add that all herbal drink and alternative treatment are to be taken with caution and at your own risk. For those who are taking medication, it is advisable to seek the advice of your doctors.

Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river.

Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail.

Every month they will bear,

because the water from the sanctuary flows to them.

Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.

(Ezekiel 47:12, New International Version-NIV)