In Chinese medicine, herbs and foods are ascribed to different properties. For instance, there are 5 taste categories that herbs and food can have: sweet, bitter, acrid (kind of like pungent), sour, or salty. Some foods and herbs are also said to be bland.
In addition to these properties, herbs and foods can either be hot or cold in nature (or fall somewhere along that spectrum, such as warm or neutral).
One food that is commonly used in the summertime is watermelon. Its properties are sweet and cold. It can help keep you hydrated during the hot weather.
The ginger root in the following recipe helps to balance the cold nature of the other ingredients.
This recipe is courtesy of Nicole Tischmak:
Ingredients:
Watermelon from 1/2 of a footlong melon, cut in chunks with seeds removed
1/3 of a fresh pineapple cut in chunks
20 fresh mintleaves
1/2 inch piece of ginger root, sliced or grated
Directions:
Puree the pineapple, mint, and gingeroot in a food processor. You can puree them in batches to puree them thoroughly.
Puree the watermelon in the food processor as well (you can leave chunks if you wish).
Mix all of the pureed ingredients together. Enjoy as a cold soup.
Store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days (but it will probably get eaten before then!)
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