Picture of red chilly plant - paprika

This is my own little chilly pepper plant. In the picture, their delicate appearance could fool anyone, though they produce many dozens of small very hot chillies throughout the year.

The fruits stick straight up turning from green to yellow and than to a deep bright red, making this pepper plant very attractive.
Lovely colorful vibrant chillies are a pleasure to grow for just add some exotic excitement into your home and for me, a challenge to crunch!
Here are the physiological effects when crunching chillies, as scientists explain: the burning sensation we experience as chilly pepper comes into contact with the mouth stimulates the body to release a neurotransmitter called Substance P, which signals to the brain that we are in pain. Initially, the brain reacts by trying to douse this chemical fire by increased salivation, a runny nose, sweating and sometimes tears. Finally, the heart rate increases and the body releases endomorphins, natural opiates produced by the body, essentially producing a sense of well-being.

Unfortunately I had never reached this stage of well-being, so I can't benefit more than visual of the numerous qualities of the chilly pepper;
Did you know that:
- fresh green chilly peppers contain more vitamin C than citrus fruits;
- fresh red chilies contain more vitamin A than carrots;
- they are a good source of potassium, folic acid and vitamin E;
- they are used to treat ailments including arthritis , blood clots and chronic pain management;
- relieves the symptoms of psoriasis.
So, gone are the days when the chilly pepper was blamed for conditions such as piles and stomach ulcers.

Early Spanish explorers took red pepper seeds to Europe where the plant gradually lost its pungent taste and became sweet paprika.
The peppers migrated to Balkans, Hungary and surrounding areas in the16th century.
In Europe, Hungarian paprika has best reputation. The best comes from the Kalocsa region.
It's the essential spice for Hungarian cuisine, giving food color and taste.

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8th March-Mother's Day

The 8th of March is the International Woman's Day (IWD). This day commemorates women's rights and peace. In many countries this day is also an equivalent of Mother's Day. All the ladies receive presents, flowers, poems, text messages and simply kind words and wishes, children also give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers and their teachers as well. This is the day when mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues get the particular attention from men and positive emotions are felt

everywhere. In Romania, it is usual, at the night of 8 March, groups of women celebrate in "women-only" dinners and parties. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Serbia the custom of giving women flowers still prevails. On this day I wish every mother, grandmother and woman

Happy Mother's Day and Happy Women's Day!

To My Mother

by Edgar Allan Poe

Because I feel that in the heavens above
The angels, whispering one to another,
Can find among their burning terms of love,
None so devotional as that of "Mother,"
Therefore by that dear name I have long called you,
You who are more than mother unto me,
And filled my heart of hearts, where death installed you,
In setting my Virginia's spirit free.
My mother -- my own mother, who died early,
Was but the mother of myself; but you
Are the mother to the one I loved so dearly,
And thus are dearer than the mother I knew
But that infinity with which my wife
Was dearer to my soul that its soul-life.

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Tulips - flower videos - beautiful spring flowers

I like to take pictures of beautiful flowers and I took lots of pictures.
As I can't share so many of them on my blog, I made a few videos and uploaded them to YouTube.
Have a nice time!

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Dandelion recipes-dandelion flower with butterfly

In this post I want to share with you, first of all, this beautiful flower photo with butterfly and a few recipes to benefit of this flower and plant's medical power.

Dandelions as medicine

I hate drugs and I never use them if there is another alternative. I have used in the past years, with great success dandelion herbal tea for my lazy gallbladder.
The bitter compounds in the leaves and root help stimulate digestion and are mild laxatives.
These bitter principles also increase bile production in the gallbladder and bile flow from the liver and so help improve fat metabolism, including cholesterol, in the body. There are no side effects really but people with an obstruction of the bile ducts should not take dandelion.
Dandelion is also a rich source of vitamins and minerals. The leaves have a high content of vitamin A as well as moderate amounts of vitamin D, vitamin C, various B vitamins, iron, silicon, magnesium, zinc, and manganese.
In external uses the fresh juice of dandelion is applied externally to fight bacteria and help heal wounds. The plant has an antibacterial action. The latex contained in the plant sap can be used to remove corns and warts.

Dandelion recipe.

I know, we eat junk food these days and don't care about nature's gifts any more. This is the main reason we should try out some old fashion natural cures and recipes and do some house cleaning in our body, when spring comes.
1. Dandelion salad: the young leaves are less bitter, so leaves and flowers are eaten raw in salads. The dandelion is very nutritious, having more vitamins and minerals than most vegetables, it has a long history of use as a food in many countries.
2. Herbal Wine is made from fermented flowers and considered to be very flavorful and medicinal.
3. Dandelion herbal tea
- prepared from fresh plant: the best time to harvest the leaves to make dandelion tea is spring, before the flowers appear or late fall. The best plants to use for dandelion tea are young plants with broad leaves.
Use six dandelion leaves for one cup of tea, placed onto the bottom of the cup. Pour boiling water into the cup, and then leave it to stand for 5-10 minutes.
- from dried herb: if you have no possibilities to pick the fresh leaves yourself than you can prepare the tee from dried herb like bellow:
2 oz. of the dried herb or root in 1 quart of water, boiled for 30 min. Take all this in half a cup doses every 3 hours for stomach, kidney, gallbladder, and liver problems.
It is used as spring tonic.
Read about the symbolism of the dandelion in this previous post.
Keep it healthy!

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