February 4 is roughly the the southern hemisphere equivalent of 立秋 Li Qiu, Autumn Begins. It is the first term of autumn in the solar calendar but in China it is still hot, indeed the dog days of heat are ongoing. But it is an autumnal time as farmers need to prepare for harvest and an acknowledgement that cooler days are on their way.
White fungus soap is a traditional autumn food. Its main ingredients are white fungus* and lotus seed, that together moisten and nourish the body, and are thought to rejuvenate skin, improve immunity and digestion.
This moistening is important because Chinese autumns are dry. But while in Perth autumns we may expect some rain, our long summer is parching and needs to be remediated. And there’s gonna be plenty of hot dry days yet.
Soak 1/3 cup of lotus seeds in hot water for one hour.
Soak one flower of white fungus in room temperature water for 5 minutes, it will expand to three times its dry size. Rinse away any dirt or impurities and cut the dark yellow base of the fungus away with scissors, then shred the remaining part to smaller pieces.
Split the lotus seeds in half and remove any green sprouts as they are bitter.
You could add Chinese red dates or dried longan fruit for sweetness, half a dozen of each should do. Soak them before using. Gouji berries could also be used but add these towards the end of cooking as they can become bitter when cooked for more than a few minutes.
Simmer the ingredients in a covered pot for 45 minutes.
A bit of rock sugar may be used for sweetening if desired.

*White fungus 银耳 yin er is also known as snow fungus.You can find it and lotus seed 蓮子 lián zǐ at Chinese grocers.

It’s 36 degrees for days in Spring and that fan feels so good. But wind is the seasonal pathogen of spring, and we are easily damaged by it. I wrote a little more about that on the Insta.

To which I will add, neck pain can be made worse by wind.

The Chinese Medicine classics recognised that when the weather was different to what it should be in a season we should act according to the real situation instead of the seasonal ideal (for instance Huang di Nei Jing Chapter 71 line 477). The seasonal ideal of spring is warming, but when it is unseasonally hot we should cool ourselves instead. This is best done with water – swims, cool showers, and cooling foods and drinks. But not icy cold, as extremes generate their opposites, which in this case is heat. But as well as wind being the dominant qi of spring that brings wind diseases, it is a time of rising warm energy or yang. Migraines and hayfever are conditions that can be made worse by the seasonal rising yang. Wind can stir and unsettle rising yang, so rising yang illnesses can by made worse by wind, and they often involve combinations of both.

So again, try to avoid the wind. That little fan that blows on your face on the treadmill – turn it off.

There is convenient parking near the clinic but you pay for the convenience. Someone who didn’t mind doing so put me on to the valet parking at the State Buildings. It’s $40 for less than three hours, but you get a coffee along with the benefit of a short walk to the clinic, and not driving around trying to find a spot.

In another post about parking I said I would reimburse parking costs at the next appointment. If you use valet parking we’ll go halves.

For autumn health we should eat moistening foods to repair the body after summer’s dry heat, and prepare ourselves for the cold of winter. The Chinese autumn is dry and cool, but on Whadjuk Noongar Boodja we go from Bunuru which is the hottest time of the year, to the cooler days and nights and the first rains of Djeran. And Djeran has been quite lovely this year.
TCM associates the lungs with autumn, and it is because these are easily affected by dryness that it is the time to eat moistening food. And we are withered by the long dry seasons Binak and Bunuru. Seasonal produce that moisten the lungs include figs, pears, sweetcorn, walnuts, molasses, fatty fish, and duck. Looking after the lungs helps with immunity, so it is good time to quit smoking or cut right back. Our medicine sees grief as the emotion that can damage the lungs. Sometimes things get to us, but try not to be sad. Just as the Noongar people repaired their shelters to prepare for winter, it’s a good time to use Chinese herbal medicine that is traditionally used to boost immunity and ward-off colds and flus.

Yes I’ve posted about autumn before, this is a reprise.
Image: AUTUMN LEAVES AT KAIANJI TEMPLE (Utagawa Hiroshige)

Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. No wonder the Magi are known as wise men. Their gifts were valuable but the last two were also useful as healing traditional medicine – they were used to help mothers recover from childbirth. Burning them as incenses covered bad smells, and was thought to purify the air and prevent infectious disease. Pretty handy in a stable.

We use frankincense and myrrh to improve blood circulation, and to help people recover from traumatic injury. We don’t tend to use them for post-partum recovery but instead use other herbs with similar characteristics. Probably because while they smell great they don’t taste too good.

Yes. Xmas – X being an abbreviation of Χριστός, the Greek word used to name Christ.