Cherry Bublanina

It's summer already and the cherries are showing up in grocery stores and farmers' markets. According to Chinese medicine, cherries are nourishing to the blood and are great for arthritis. While they're great on their own, why not add a little butter and sugar to sweeten the deal? This is a variation of a recipe my best friend's mom made for us during sleepovers in grade school. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs divided, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 pound washed, pitted and halved red cherries
• Confectioners' sugar

Preparation:

1. Place rack in center of oven and heat to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch-by-9-inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, sugar and yolks until light and fluffy. Add salt, mixing well.
   
   
2. In a clean medium bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff. Alternately fold in egg whites and flour into butter-egg mixture.
   
   
3. Turn batter into prepared pan and scatter cherries evenly over top. Lightly press down cherries into batter until partially covered. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cut into 6 equal pieces. Serve warm or cold dusted with confectioners' sugar.

Acupuncture for the Common Cold

Acupuncture has been found to be an effective treatment for the common cold, and is an excellent ally to give our immune system a boost during a time when our defenses need strengthening.  Typically, Acupuncture can help alleviate the intensity of symptoms, and often shortens the duration of the cold.  The treatment will vary depending on your specific symptoms, and your Acupuncturist will probably asks things about whether you have sore throat, fever, chills, cough, phlegm, headache, body aches, fatigue, and more.  The information you provide, along with your pulse and tongue, will help the Acupuncturist arrive at a diagnosis and treatment plan to help boost your body's defenses and get you feeling better as soon as possible. 

Some people are under the impression that they shouldn't come in for a treatment if they have a cold.  We ultimately leave that decision up to you, and we certainly encourage you to stay home in bed, resting, if that feels like the best place for you to be.  A high fever, a persistent, uncontrollable cough, or vomiting, would all be good reasons to stay home and rest.  However, if you feel well enough to come to the clinic, there are a lot of things we can do to help point your body back in a healing direction.   

Often people are concerned about their symptoms disturbing other patients in the community setting.  While this is a valid concern, we would like you to be able to come get treatment if possible, and sometimes coughing or sneezing dissipates during a treatment.  We take measures to keep other patients germ free, such as switching out the blanket that covers your chair after your done, with a clean blanket.  We also have hand sanitizer and tissues in the room, and of course as always, all the needles are packaged in sterile containers and are disposed of after a single use.  If you are unsure of the best choice in your particular situation, you can always call us to explain your symptoms and get our opinion about the best plan for you.

Acupuncture encourages your body to shift back into a healthy balance, so, in applicable cases, the treatments would be aimed at clearing heat (fever, sore throat, inflammation), soothing the lungs to alleviate cough, alleviating head and body aches, soothing an upset stomach, and strengthening your immune system to fight off whatever pathogen is causing the symptoms.  Beyond the Acupuncture treatment, we have various herbal lozenges and syrups to soothe sore throats, as well as several herbal formulas and herbal teas to help support your process of recovery and healing.