Fresh lily bulb dessert (鮮百合甜汤)

Too hot... fogged up the lens... :P

See the egg-white-looking bits?

Those are the lily bulbs after they are cooked - they melt in the mouth!

uncooked fresh lily bulbs

I came across fresh lily bulbs at Cold Storage the other day and I quickly snatched a pack of it because I always have difficulty buying them from NTUC or the wet market. Not many vegetable stalls at the wet market sell these as the demand is usually not high and even if they do, they don't have much stock. The other day when I tried to buy it from the vegetable stall, I was told they usually only bring in three packs a day and not everyday at that!

Anyway, fresh lily bulbs can be used in desserts and stir-fries. I haven't used them in stir-fries before - the thought of it just feels weird. But I may just try it one day since I have one lily bulb left after cooking the dessert today.

The health benefits of consuming fresh lily bulbs:

• 'cooling'
• moistens the lungs (润肺)
• calms the nerves
• good for treating 'heaty' coughs
• alleviates anxiety and insomnia
• good for the skin (美容养颜)
• anti-cancer

It is especially useful to consume fresh lily bulbs after recovering from an illness.

Contraindications: Those with 'cold' coughs and diarrhoea due to cold in the spleen and stomach should not consume fresh lily bulbs.

Give this dessert a try - it's a light, refreshing dessert!

Fresh lily bulb dessert (鮮百合甜汤)

Ingredients:

• 2 fresh lily bulbs (鮮百合)
• 40g fresh ginkgo (remove pith) (鮮白果)
• 6 fresh lotus seeds (remove pith) (鮮莲子)
• 4 small ears of wild white fungus (野生銀耳)
• 3 candied wintermelon strips (冬瓜条)
• rock sugar to taste (optional)
• 600ml water

Method:

1. Rinse and remove the petals from the bulb. Soak in water to remove dirt.
2. Soak the white fungus to remove dirt and tear into even smaller pieces.
3. Bring the water and all the ingredients to a boil in a small pot.
4. Once the water boils, transfer the soup to a double-boiler and double-boil for about 1-1.5hours.
5. Add rock sugar to taste (optional).

If you're on a diet then skip the rock sugar... :P

Falling asleep...

Alicia has needed to nurse to sleep for most of the time after the bedtime routine of a bit of quiet play, sometimes a story when she wants one, time with some learning aid if she's keen etc. In fact, it was a rare occasion in the past when she would be able to doze off on her own.

However, after one of her illnesses - the serious one that she needed to be nebulised - she was able to fall asleep on her own without nursing, albeit after crying, sometimes buckets. :P Nevertheless, that was a step towards being less reliant on the breast for sleeping.

In recent weeks, she has improved tremendously by falling asleep on her own in her cot after nursing at night. And so after the usual bedtime routine, she would nurse, then I'd cradle her in my arms and whisper sweet nothings to her... :P Hehe. I'd usually kiss her a few times, whisper softly, telling her goodnight, have a good rest, sweet dreams, I love her, and I'll see her in the morning... :) Then I'd put her into her cot and she'd fall asleep on her own - and she usually does. in about 5-10min.

I love my little darling... :)