Mama's Home Remedies: Discover Time-Tested Secrets of Good Health and the Pleasures of Natural Livin Svetlana Konnikova (life books to read txt) 📖

grape leaves and wash them well. Blanch the rice by rinsing in a sieve in cold water. Mix and roast a little bit of diced onions, carrots, parsley root, and parsley leaves. Put blanched rice and all roasted vegetables in a big bowl. Add salt and pepper, chopped fresh dill, and parsley leaves. Mix well. Make balls with this vegetable stuffing and put one on each prepared grape leaf. Roll each into a small “package.”

Rub the walls and the bottom of a two-quart pot with olive oil. Cover the bottom of the pot with grape leaves. Carefully place the golubtsi layer by layer in the pot. Mix chicken broth with tomato juice or tomato puree and a pinch of salt and black pepper. Mix two tablespoons lemon juice with two teaspoons sugar or honey and pour this liquid into the pot. Cook 10 minutes. Cover the tops of the golubtsi with grape leaves and put pot in a 350° oven and let it steam until the rice is ready (about 25–30

minutes). Place all golubtsi on a big serving plate. Pour the sauce remaining in the pot on top of the golubtsi. Top with dollops of sour cream. Chop fresh parsley and sprinkle on top. Serves 5–10, warm or cold.

This is a delicious and healthy meal. You can add to the

vegetable stuffing one pound of ground veal for a nice flavor. Then you can enjoy a small bunch of grapes, or one cup grape juice or one cup grape compote for dessert (see #43).

A Healthy Spirit Lives in a Healthy Body @ 49

Do you know that sometimes even a happy grapevine cries with juicy tears?

According to Avicenna, an ancient Asian doctor, the tears of a grapevine heal herpes (shingles). The juice, flowing out when the grapevine is cut, or a juice exuded when the grapevine burns is cal ed a grapevine’s tears. Ancient people used it by soaking a cotton pad in grapevine tears and applying to an affected area. A grapevine was always a symbol of friendship and constant affection for the family and friends—especial y for Russians. Century after century many different enemies invaded this grape country. Moldova is located in the southeastern part of Europe on the major European crossroads. The climate is moderate and the soil is rich and black, similar to the famous fruitful soil in Switzerland, Italy, and France. Hundreds of vineyards grow there under the friendly rays of the sun and blossom with a fancy appearance in the long val eys. Thousands of liters of red, white, and rosé wines and juices are made every fal . Even on a topographical world map, the contours of this country resemble a bunch of grapes. For many centuries it attracted numerous invaders: Scythians, Hottentots, Huns, Golden Horde of Tatars and Mongolians, ancient Romans, and Turks. Wars raged on and on beginning in the twelfth century. My grandfather’s family lived in Moldova for centuries, learning how to be happy and how to keep a healthy spirit in a healthy body.

The sun, with al those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can stil ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do.

—Galilée (Galileo Galilei), 1564–1842, Italian physicist and astronomer ƒ

Life well spent is long.

—Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519), Florentine artist and scientist 50 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

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Throw nature out of the door, it will come back (or return) through the window.

—Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821–1881), Russian novelist, The Brothers Karamazov ƒ

If you want the present to be different from the past, study the past.

—Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677), Dutch philosopher

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First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.

—Epictetus (C.A.D. 55–135), Greek Stoic philosopher

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The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of.

—Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), French scientist and religious philosopher ƒ

I know of no more encouraging fact than the

unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life

by a conscious endeavor.

—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), American writer

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If you want to be happy, be…

—Alexei Tolstoi (1883–1945), Russian novelist and playwright ƒ

A likely impossibility is always preferable to a convincing possibility.

—Aristotle (384–322 B.C.), Greek philosopher

A Healthy Spirit Lives in a Healthy Body @ 51

52 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

Chapter 4

Stop Sneezes and Sniffles

and Stifle a Cold

Nature teaches beasts to know their friends.

—William Shakespeare (1564-1616), English playwright and poet FACTS

According to some estimates, people in the United States suffer one billion colds annually. Children have about 6 to 8 colds a year. In families with children in school, the number of colds per child can be as high as 12 a year. Adults average 2 to 4 colds a year although the range varies. Women, especially those aged 20–30 years, have more colds than men, possibly because of their closer contact with children.

More than 200 different viruses are known to cause the symptoms of the common cold, reports the American Lung Association.14 In addition, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Report shows that 7 in 10 adults are not active regularly. Is it any surprise then that physician visits reached 824 million in 2000?

Let your vital power work for you. When you get a cold, see it as a red flag that your body has accumulated too many toxins and lost