Golden Elixer

In look over some of the lovely recipes that are coming up for Turmeric. I found one buried in the archives of the free people blog. 
 This lovely golden elixir is just perfect for upcoming time of year, flu season. This elixir can be made quick and easy in the microwave if you are feeling under the weather. It can also be maybe on the stove top. The bonus of making ti stove top , you get to breath in the wonderful smell as it comes together.  This has the benefit of helping clear up you stuffy nose and allergies.

Turmeric Elixir

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/4 tsp ginger powder

a pinch of cayenne pepper

1tsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp of  whole black pepper corn

Honey to taste

Bring the water to a rolling boil. This can be done on the stove top or in the microwave. If you are using the microwave, about 3-5 minutes in a microwave safe container should do the trick.  Once the water is boiling, stir in the other ingredients. Allow the mixture to cool before imbibing.

Enjoy!

Please consulate your doctor before taking any herb or using any recipes or remedies.

Pirate Day!!!

So to day is Pirate Day!

It is fun little day. Well big day, now, that is celebrated by many. In many of the Renascence Fairs happening over the country, it is Pirate weekend. Were many people dress up like a pirate. Google also has done fun artwork for it in the past. You can also learn how to speak like a pirate. Now this all pays off if you go to a Krispy Kreme Doughnut shop. You can get a free dozen doughnut , glazed, if you dress like a pirate. This year they are added a pirate doughnut for the day and it is additional .20 cents per doughnut  to each dozen. So enjoy, dressing up and talking like a Pirate.

Have a berry orange day,

Sú talún

Book Review: The Child Thief

The Child Thief

Author: Alethea Komtis
Publisher:  HMH Book for Young Readers
Publish Date: May, 8 2012

Book Rating 3/5
Amazon /  Goodreads / Barnes and Noble

Publisher's Description 

Peter is quick, daring, and full of mischief—and like all boys, he loves to play, though his games often end in blood. His eyes are sparkling gold, and when he graces you with his smile you are his friend for life, but his promised land is notNeverland.

Fourteen-year-old Nick would have been murdered by the drug dealers preying on his family had Peter not saved him. Now the irresistibly charismatic wild boy wants Nick to follow him to a secret place of great adventure, where magic is alive and you never grow old. Even though he is wary of Peter's crazy talk of faeries and monsters, Nick agrees. After all, New York City is no longer safe for him, and what more could he possibly lose?

There is always more to lose.

Accompanying Peter to a gray and ravished island that was once a lush, enchanted paradise, Nick finds himself unwittingly recruited for a war that has raged for centuries—one where he must learn to fight or die among the "Devils," Peter's savage tribe of lost and stolen children.

There, Peter's dark past is revealed: left to wolves as an infant, despised and hunted, Peter moves restlessly between the worlds of faerie and man. The Child Thief is a leader of bloodthirsty children, a brave friend, and a creature driven to do whatever he must to stop the "Flesh-eaters" and save the last, wild magic in this dying land.

Book received:  Rented 

Why I Picked it up: Great book. This book is fast pace, wonderful and compelling, but it is not for young children. This is a dark book and will change how you view Peter. This is not Disney's Peter Pan, this is something else some darker and at times more sinister. The children here are not leaving home because it is a safe place, their home is not, some are slaves  many of the children a beat, raped, abused and murdered, the worst of it all is that it is treated as common place.  It is treated how it is depicted in society, that these things are too often common place. So if a young child reads this beware nightmare and questions. 

Now the sex and violence and profanity have a use in this story. They are part of the plot and often why the children want to leave home and words that are used by adults and thus later by children in situations that condone such language. This is a compelling story and our guide is Nick and at time Peter. 

This story of Peter stripes away the the thin veneer of kindness that we find in Disney and event the Barrie telling of this young boy and lays out the bones of this all. It reminds me of a comic done by  Zenascope Neverland, Hook and Tales Form Neverland. These are dark comics and not for children, fairytales were  originally for adults. 

Why I finished it: It was alive and had story that I knew but it was different. Darker and sadder.  

Who I would give it to: Any one who wants to known the darkside of fairytales 


Have a berry orange day,


Sú talún

Herb of the Week: Turmeric

Cite Elzbieta Sekowska/Shutterstock

This week I have decided to add in a herb. This weeks herb is Turmeric.

This a wonderful root plant that has a lovely golden color. It is great herb that can boost the the immune system and even promote a more restful night sleep. This plant has been used in Indian cook and traditional medicine for thousands of years.

The medicinal compound in turmeric are called curcuminoids, curcumin is main active ingredient and the most importan  of the curcuminoids. Curcumin has powerful anti-infammatory effecft and is a strong antioxidant.

Benefits of Turmeric:
 Abdominal Pain
 Anti inflammatory
 Antioxidant
 Anti bacterial
 Anti-venom
 Anti viral

Tumrmeric  has a  slightly bitter, slightly hot peppery flavor and a mustardy smell. Curcumin may treat cancer, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, allergies, arthritis and other chronic illnesses.

The amount of curcuim in turmeric in about 3%, by weight.  Just consuming the herb  itself will not impart all the effect of the herb. also, curcumin is poorly absorbed into the bloodstream.  When taken with black pepper, which contain piperine, the abosration rates rise by 2000% .

This suggest that the benefits of turmeric to be full experienced should be taken in a pill form or in a tincture. 

Special Precautions & Warnings:

Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Taking turmeric by mouth in medicinal amounts is LIKELY UNSAFE in pregnancy. It might promote a menstrual period or stimulate the uterus, putting the pregnancy at risk. Don’t take turmeric if you are pregnant.( WebMD)

There is not enough information to rate the safety of turmeric during breast-feeding. It’s best not to use it.(WebMD)

Gallbladder problems: Turmeric can make gallbladder problems worse. Don’t use turmeric if you have gallstones or a bile duct obstruction.(WebMD)

Surgery: Turmeric might slow blood clotting. It might cause extra bleeding during and after surgery. Stop using turmeric at least 2 weeks before a scheduled surgery.(WebMD)

Tumeric might slow the clotting of the blood. Especially if taken along with any other medication that  slow clotting , and could improve  chances of bruising and bleeding. 

Some medications that slow blood clotting include aspirin, clopidogrel (Plavix), diclofenac (Voltaren, Cataflam, others), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others), naproxen (Anaprox, Naprosyn, others), dalteparin (Fragmin), enoxaparin (Lovenox), heparin, warfarin (Coumadin), and others.(WebMD)

Have a berry orange day,

Sú talún

Please consulate your doctor before taking any herb or using any recipes or remedies. A berry orange day is not responsible for how this information is used. 

Soruces:

http://authoritynutrition.com/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-turmeric/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turmeric

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-662-turmeric.aspx?activeingredientid=662&activeingredientname=turmeric

Manga Review: Fairy Tail

Author:  Hiro Mashima 
Publisher: Kodansha Comics  

Publish Date: August 6, 2006

Book Rating 5/5

On going

Amazon /  Goodreads / Ten Manga

Publisher's Description Lucy is a 17-year-old girl, who wants to be a full-fledged mage. One day when visiting Harujion Town, she meets Natsu, a young man who gets sick easily by any type of transportation. But Natsu isnt just any ordinary kid, he's a member of one of the world's most infamous mage guilds: Fairy Tail.

Manga Review 4/5

Book Recevied : Own

Why I Picked it up: The cover art looked good and I was looking for something different . This is has action, romance and magic. But the greatest things this manga talks about is friendship. 

Why I finished it: The story hit on everything form lose of friends, loved ones, parents. It tlks about the bounds between people and how they are formed. these bounds are what give you strength.  So...yeah. I kinda love the series. 

Who I would give it to: It is good pick for people who liked Inuyaha and Naruto. it will also be a nice break from those as well. 


Have a berry orange day,

Sú talún

Book Review: Green by Jay Lake

Green

Author: Jay Lake
Publisher: Tor Books
Publish Date: February 15, 2011
Series: Green Universe
 Book Rating 4/5
Amazon /  Goodreads / Barnes and Noble

Publisher's Description 

Her exquisite beauty and brilliant mind were not enough to free her from captivity. That took her skills with a knife, plus the power of a goddess.

She was born in poverty, in a dusty village under the equatorial sun. She does not remember her mother, she does not remember her own name--her earliest clear memory is of the day her father sold her to the tall pale man. In the Court of the Pomegranate Tree, where she was taught the ways of a courtesan…and the skills of an assassin…she was named Emerald, the precious jewel of the Undying Duke’s collection of beauties. She calls herself Green.

The world she inhabits is one of political power and magic, where Gods meddle in the affairs of mortals. At the center of it is the immortal Duke’s city of Copper Downs, which controls all the trade on the Storm Sea. Green has made many enemies, and some secret friends, and she has become a very dangerous woman indeed.

Acclaimed author Jay Lake has created a remarkable character in Green, and evokes a remarkable world in this novel. Green and her struggle to survive and find her own past will live in the reader’s mind a long time after the book is closed.

Book Received: Gifted

Why I Picked it up:  The cover first grab my attention. It looked interesting and different. The story was something familiar and not. At the type I had been playing Assassin's Creed and it was along the same vain. And yet new. 

Why I finished it: It is rich in detail. I know the cities , I was there. The world that was created is living. It dose not fall back to heavily on the known world. Very rarely do we see glimpse of our ancient world and yet it is familiar . We learn as Green learns. There is no prejudice in how the world should be viewed. The writing and the story telling in the book are wonderful 

Who I would give it to: Fans of assassin novels. And to people who want a female lead. 


Have a berry orange day,

Sú talún

Boot Lust

So it is almost Autumn. The air is getting cooler. the days are becoming shorter Pumpkin Spice lattes are being sold. People are breaking out there nice warm weather clothing. People seem to dress nicer in the Autumn. Lovely layers for the changes in temperature throughout the day. The scent of wood smoke, baked apples and cinnamon, crisp the air. It is a wonderful time.

Autumn also make me lust after boots. So here are a few boots that I wish I had in my closet.





Both of these are form Modcloth and can be found here and here.

and theses:












One cute flat to add to the list.



Have a berry orange day,

Sú talún