Hot summer days are here. Time for mung bean soup. Here is another variation of the mung bean dessert soup.
Mung bean with Lily Bulb Congee
Mung Bean is the best food to remove summer heat while lily bulb can soothe the nerve as well as clear away heat. The combination of the two foods will help us to remove extra heat in our body and bring us a clear mind.
Further more, lily bulb moisten the lung which is prevention to autumn cough.
This congee tastes smooth with a texture of mashed potato. You can put in fridge and serve as dessert.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup mung bean
2 lily bulb, fresh or 1/2 cup dried lily bulb
1/4 cup white rice(option)
Instruction:
1. Wash and clean mung bean, white rice, and lily bulb. Peel lily bulb layer and layer.
2. Add about 10 cups of water in a pot. Bring to a boil; add mung bean, lily bulb and white rice.
3. Bring to a boil again. Turn to low heat. Continue to cook for about 40 to 50 minutes.
4. Turn off heat, serve after cool.
Tips.
1. Adding some white rice can make this congee smoother and more flavor, but not necessary.
2. It’s better to be served in room temperature. However, you can add some sugar or honey and put in a fridge. Then serve as a dessert.
3. If you cannot find fresh lily bulb you may buy dried one. Please note, there are two kinds of lily bulb from taste, bitter flavor and sweet flavor. The bitter one has the function of clearing away heat. So you should choose lily bulb with bitter flavor in summer.

Elder tree branches 接骨木 is great for rheumatic arthritis, and difficult urination in Chinese medicine.

Elderflower is used for swollen sinuses (sinusitis), colds, influenza (flu), swine flu, bronchitis, diabetes, and constipation. It is also used to increase urine production as a diuretic, to increase sweating as a diaphoretic, and to stop bleeding.

Ingredients

1. 6 fluffy cups of elderflowers, remove the thickest stems. (The thick stems of American varieties are considered toxic)
2. 1/2 gallon of filtered or fresh water. This is fairly flexible.
3. 1/2 cup of sugar, or local raw honey or evaporated cane juice.
4. 1/4 cup of Whey. You can get this by just draining some off of your yogurt.
5. one lemon

Instruction:

• Rinse flowers in a large bowl
• Boil some water, and pour it over your flowers, enough to cover them completely. 
•  Cover the flowers and water with a dishtowel and leave to steep for 24 hours or up to 48 hours.
• Strain out the flowers and save the elderflower tea.
• Add the juice of one lemon into your tea, and add sweetener of your choice. The sugars here will be digested to make the fizz, so you want it a bit sweeter than your end product. 
•  Pour all of this liquid into a glass container or demijohn, and add a couple tablespoons of whey. Cover loosely, and put it in your cupboard.
• Wait. Taste. Wait. When it’s a barely sweeter than you want your final product, pour the soda into swing-top (grolsch-style) bottles and let it sit for another day or two, to develop some good fizz. Leave some room at the top or it could explode otherwise. Don't shake.

Store bought almond milk or rice milk is full of guard gum or carrageenan. Try making these milk at home. 

Almond milk
​Servings: 4
INGREDIENTS
1 cup raw almonds
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons of honey
1 pinch of salt
6 cups of water

PREPARATION
1. In a medium bowl, soak 1 cup of raw almonds in 2 cups of water overnight.
2. Drain the bowl of water and place the almonds in a blender.
3. Add 1 tablespoon vanilla, 3 tablespoons honey, 1 pinch of salt, and 4 cups of water to the blender.
4. Blend the mixture on high for 90 seconds. 
5. Use a cheesecloth to strain the liquid into a pouring container.
6. (Optional) refrigerate 1-2 hours or serve immediately.
7. Enjoy!


Pistachio milk
Servings: 4
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons honey
1 pinch salt 
4 cups water
PREPARATION
1. Place 1 cup of cracked pistachios into a blender.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of vanilla, 3 tablespoons of honey, 1 pinch of salt, and 4 cups water to the blender.
3. Blend the mixture on high for 90 seconds. 
4. Use a cheesecloth to strain the liquid into a pouring container.
5. (Optional) refrigerate 1-2 hours or serve immediately.
6. Enjoy!

Chocolate hazelnut milk
Servings: 4
INGREDIENTS
1 cup raw hazelnuts
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 pinch of salt
6 cups of water
PREPARATION
1. In a medium bowl, soak 1 cup of raw hazelnuts in 2 cups of water overnight.
2. Drain the bowl of water and place the almonds in a blender.
3. Add 1 tablespoon vanilla, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 pinch of salt, and 4 cups of water to the blender.
4. Blend the mixture on high for 90 seconds. 
5. Use a cheesecloth to strain the liquid into a pouring container.
6. (Optional) refrigerate 1-2 hours or serve immediately.
7. Enjoy!

Chocolate pecan milk
Servings: 4
INGREDIENTS
1 cup raw pecans
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of honey
1 pinch of salt
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
6 cups of water
PREPARATION
1. In a medium bowl, soak 1 cup of raw pecans in 2 cups of water overnight
2. Drain the bowl of water and place the almonds in a blender.
3. Add 1 tablespoon vanilla, 1 tablespoon honey, salt, 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder, and 4 cups of water to the blender.
4. Blend the mixture on high for 90 seconds. 
5. Use a cheesecloth to strain the liquid into a pouring container.
6. (Optional) refrigerate 1-2 hours or serve immediately.
7. Enjoy!

In my Healing Soup blog you can look forward to yummy recipes, and information on our Healing Soup meetups. At our Healing Soup meetups you can join me in person, enjoy some great soups and ask me any questions you have about soup, acupuncture, and Eastern and Western medicine.    So come back and visit often, come out and meet me, and have some good tasty soups!