Friday, April 8, 2011

G FOR GINSENG AND GEAR BOX

The temptation is enormous to go for G for Gerund.

But in the age of sms'es and short-cut text messages where lol and imho are quite freely used, I wonder if talking about  what requires a possessive case and when to use the objective case would be of any use.  I'm not sure if attempting to differentiate between a verbal participle and a gerund would be of any interest to my readers.

The appeal factor is questionable.

On the other hand I am fairly certain of the (sex) appeal of  Ginseng and Gear Box Soup.  So let's go with these, shall we:





Asian men resort to nature for strength and vitality.

We have all heard of the power of Panax Ginseng. In Chinese Renshen means "man root". And in Greek Panax means "all-heal", sharing the same origin as panacea. Ginseng is a perennial (plant).  Only the root is taken.

Man Root


Complementing Ginseng is the popular dish amongst Malaysians and Indonesians - the gear box soup a.k.a sup oghat ketin.  This is made by gently boiling the knee joint (hence the name gear box) of a cow or buffalo  in sauted shallots, garlic, ginger and spices for six to eight hours, after which lime juice is added.  When served it is garnished with shredded coriander leaves.

Taking this soup will achieve the same effect in terms of strengthening the body as consuming Ginseng, but I suspect the mode of action is different.




Fresh gear box to start with

The soup - a straw may be necessary to get
to the bottom of things.

13 comments:

Unknown said...

You must know I'm on a diet and having to spend time in the gym every day! The look of that soup! Reminded me of the days in Africa when the end of the meal was always the 'savoury', a throw back from colonial days, and it usually came as marrow bones on toast...

Kittie Howard said...

My hub loves this stuff. I just can't go there...don't know why. My mother loved marrow.

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Grandpa, you write about the most fascinating subjects. I'm a big ginseng fan. And gear box, well, let me tell you (lol), I make a mean beef knee soup! Never call it that though. Young boys have no sense of haha when it comes to body parts. Picture five little guys sitting around a table with their mouths hung open. "Beef knee soup! Oooooo!"

Yes, I'm one of those mothers who lied and said, "It is NOT liver! It's filet mignon!"

The next time we had sup oghat ketin, I said, "Grilled cheese sandwiches and beef soup for supper!"

Deirdra A. Eden said...

Love THIS!!!I love your site and as I browsed your blog I decided to award you the Inspiring Blog Award.
Go to http://astorybookworld.blogspot.com/p/awards.html and pick up your award.
~Deirdra

Ohiofarmgirl said...

I'm still spinning over the use of Gerund. But this dish reminds me of a time in Paris. I had some confusion and thought I ordered coc au vin when instead it was pot au feu and looked very much like this. From that time on I was never without my Marling Menu Master!

But this.. this looks heavenly!

Have a glorious day!
ps I'm a bit behind these days... lots of chicken politics going on.

Wan Sharif said...

You are still on C ;)).
Camouflage with ginseng and soup gearbox..
Guess I will try to go Slim some other time then :)).

Grandpa said...

Carole - you must take it sparingly then; marrow on toast sounds yummy!

Kitty - Most men do, may be you should give it another try;


Joylene - Thank you. I love what you wrote there, and the way you write it!

Grandpa said...

Deirdra - Thank you. And thank you for the Award - you are so kind. Will check it out in a bit;

Ohiofarmgirl - the taste is heavenly too. Take it easy and focus on your chickens first. Take care pal;

Wan - after our contacts you may just be turning up at The Farm as I write this! :)

Talli Roland said...

My husband loves that kind of soup, but me... not so much. :)

Hope you have a great weekend!

Grandpa said...

Hi Talli, we are just crazy over this sort of thing. We are always on the lookout for new restaurants or stalla selling it.

You too have a great weekend!

Lee said...

Hi Grandpa, very interesting. I do on and off take some gin seng, but will take a pass on that ox gear box soup, ha ha.
Anyway, I have neven been one to go for these health benefits...but have been taking Bee Pollen tablets past 35 years....to slow down aging, ha ha.

To me a well filled sarong kebaya or cheong sum works better than gin seng, ha ha ha.
Have a beautiful Sunday, Grandpa.
Best regards.
Lee.

Grandpa said...

Lee - yes, I've heard of bee pollen, and bird's nest too - whatever works for you, really.

You too Lee. Take care.

Anonymous said...

This is one interesting post. I've often thought about using Ginseng, I've seen and read about it, but never have. Now I just might. And if someone would make me some ox gear box soup, I would eat it!
Ann Carbine Best’s Long Journey Home