Jamu, the Indonesian magical drink

Well this drink was made by my East Timorese friend, who has a aunt who had lived in Indonesia sometime and learnt all kinds of esoteric stuff for health and beauty from there. Jamu according to my internet research is a herbal health drink which has been used for thousands of years to maintain youth and vitality. Originally these recipes were strictly guarded to be used for ladies of royal families only and were passed on from generation to generation by word of mouth. But, now they are popular drinks and are commercially produced for mass consumption.

There are several kinds of JAMUs for different purposes. This Jamu is supposed to be good for women's health, especially before periods... it cleanses the system and they say that it stops fat accumulation in your body....

unfortunately there are fewer resources in English on the net on Jamu, but I found some. One is this blog by an Indonesian which discusses the aphrodisiac properties of these herbal drinks..


Jamu with Tamarind, Ginger and Turmeric

Ingredients:
1 ounce fresh turmeric root
1 ounce fresh ginger root
1/2 ounce tamarind
brown sugar to taste
salt
2 litres of water

Directions:
Wash, peel, and chop the turmeric and ginger. Put the first three ingredients with water in a pan and cook for 10 -15 minutes after the water boils. Add sugar and salt to taste.
You can serve it hot or cold with ice cubes.

Carrot, Banana, Chocolate, Cashew Cake

Well, banana cake is one the easiest cakes to make... I learnt this when I saw my health crazy and/or vegan friends making this cake with soft tofu, just milk/yogurt and usually no butter and eggs.. And, one of them just did not use any specific measures and came up with really tasty cakes.. But, anyway, I do use some 'recipe' rules so that I don't mess my egg/oil/flour ratio.
Here is one recipe that I saw on cooks.com that looked simple enough to be the subject of my improvisation..

This is MY version of the original Cooks.com - Recipe - Banana Carrot Cake.

BANANA CARROT CAKE

1/2 stick of butter

1/3 c. honey

2 whole eggs

1/2 cup grated carrots

1/2 cup mixture of cashews, chocolate chips, raisins, dessicated coconut

2/3 cup mashed bananas

1 1/2 cups sifted flour (I cup all purpose and half a cup of wholewheat)

1 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. of cinnamon powder

1/4 cup of yogurt

1/2 cup of milk

Method:

Mix ingredients in order given and pour into a loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees until center springs back when touched (about an 45 mins). Cool down the cake before serving.

This freezes well.