When we order food from Bollywood Veggies, we also buy their banana bread, pickles, eggs, vegetables and such. This round, I threw in ingredients to boil up a herbal infusion of lemongrass and pandan. I'm allergic to many herbs and flowers. This is why I don't touch traditional Chinese medicine, herbal concoctions, aromatherapy, essential oils and such, and am generally wary of scented-anything. I don't find them useful; if anything, I will end up wheezing all the way to the emergency room. Yup, found out the hard way, many times.
When the food and grocery items arrived, I couldn't help laughing. Those pandan leaves given were long and big, and totally stuck out of the bag like a bouquet! LOL. The pack included trimmed lemongrass (also very long), and a few big slices of ginger. They gave a good chunk of pandan leaves and the whole stem. They had been washed. I left it inside the bag on the counter for a day near the window before using them. It honestly looked great next to the window. Hahah. I rather have plants than flowers! The ingredients given were more than enough for two pots. Used half first. All I needed was about 40 minutes on stove and simmered it thick. But the infusion won’t turn viscous. I'm not extracting pandan essence.
Kept the infusion in two tall bottles to be chilled in the fridge. One for the man since he prefers to have his sweetened with honey or brown sugar. It satisfies his dessert cravings and keeps his sweet tooth quiet. He doesn't mind having a cold cup of 'tea' in the hot afternoons. We bought banana bread from Bollywood Veggies too, so that makes for a nice afternoon snack for him. I prefer mine plain. If the tastebuds feel like it, I can always stir in brown sugar or honey later on. This herbal infusion is a diuretic, so while it's lovely chilled, I don't fancy drinking that much of it either.
When the food and grocery items arrived, I couldn't help laughing. Those pandan leaves given were long and big, and totally stuck out of the bag like a bouquet! LOL. The pack included trimmed lemongrass (also very long), and a few big slices of ginger. They gave a good chunk of pandan leaves and the whole stem. They had been washed. I left it inside the bag on the counter for a day near the window before using them. It honestly looked great next to the window. Hahah. I rather have plants than flowers! The ingredients given were more than enough for two pots. Used half first. All I needed was about 40 minutes on stove and simmered it thick. But the infusion won’t turn viscous. I'm not extracting pandan essence.
Kept the infusion in two tall bottles to be chilled in the fridge. One for the man since he prefers to have his sweetened with honey or brown sugar. It satisfies his dessert cravings and keeps his sweet tooth quiet. He doesn't mind having a cold cup of 'tea' in the hot afternoons. We bought banana bread from Bollywood Veggies too, so that makes for a nice afternoon snack for him. I prefer mine plain. If the tastebuds feel like it, I can always stir in brown sugar or honey later on. This herbal infusion is a diuretic, so while it's lovely chilled, I don't fancy drinking that much of it either.
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