Black vinegar with pig’s feet and eggs.

As Jing Mun, our first child, grew into this world, i still remember the experience of tasting this medicinal soup. It’s heat and density opened me up, while it’s vaporous bouquet sent warmth into my core. Traditionally, this dish was prepared for young mothers to replace heat and vitality to their beautiful postpartum bodies. The skin of the ginger (which is shaved off with a sharp knife) is collected during preparation, then dried and saved to be used as a cunnial sitz wash after the birth. This sitz wash can be steeped multiple times, and brings fresh energy into the root chakra. The savory flavor also stimulates the mother’s palate, increasing her appetite which in turn supports lactogenesis,  and tissue reparation.

So, what does this have to do with love. First, it takes a long time to prepare this dish, and the ingredients are not always easy to find. Anybody willing to prepare this for somebody knows that it will take some patience. But what i find most fascinating about it is that (at least from my experience) it has been passed down from matriarch to daughter for generations. This follows the same flow of love that was sparked with our oldest ancestors, and when we allow that love to pass through us, we have found the path of least resistance.