Dinner: One Cucumber :-o!

No I'm not depressed and lost my appetite. No I'm not so poor I can only afford one cucumber. No I'm not doing some heroic fast for some niche political cause. No I'm not depressed and have body image issues so I will only let myself eat one cucumber cos I'm on some silly diet...

But I DID just have ONE cucumber for dinner!! You see cos this was not any old cucumber! It was a *magic cucumber* I grew MYSELF! ^^ ^^ ^^

So it was a pretty special cucumber...and I found that out when I ate it...Wowee I was SOooo FULL! (I'm not kidding!!!)

I've actually had this conversation with one of my food grower buddies before...basically anything you grow yourself completely organically...it just is more filling! Why? Not quite sure but we theorized that it had something to do with all that TIME it takes to grow NATURALLY without the use of chemical fertilizers etc...well it has taken in all that sun and air energy from so many days!

But apart from that it also had a lot more flavour than that watered down commercial crap. Anyway now that I harvested my sole cucumber I'm going to have to wait quite a while for the next magic one...lol so lucky I have funds to buy sufficient ingredients for alternative dinners while I wait...That's the trouble with growing things in pots...you can't grow on mass...but eh who wants to eat 10 cucumbers every night anyway?

p.s My conclusions and observations of late...people my age and in my age and vicinity are 90% CRAZY, women ESPECIALLY are CRAZY!
p.p.s I REALLY hate this Tall Poppy Syndrome culture we have here...basically someone is always jealous of you of EVERYTHING and hates you for no better reason than for whatever lame reason they can come up with or wherever their insecurity lies...it's all this projection crap!
p.p.s my final rant is that non old and non young people are all so boring geez all they wanna talk about is relationships, people gossip etc...for an INTJ mentality boy this is tiresome! *yawn*
p.p.p.s I totally buy into that life works in terms of REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY...if you don't want something you get it in DROVES and if you do you DON'T! so yes for whatever you want I think you should probably construe it in your head as "I don't want this"...and voila...see I know ALLLLL the cool magic tricks, lol! Unfortunately however I have still not worked out how to make poorly made CDs know how to play music without skipping...grrrrr! I will hold out on CDs yet...Grandma is not quite ready to make the sacriligeous transition to digitized music :P

A super healthy....serendipity!

So anyway I had the weirdest ingredients available for dinner the other night and had to concoct something....was surprisingly TASTY and HEALTHY but looked so healthy it looked unappetizing...

so it was a nice surprise (SerEnDiPitY!!!)

I had soaked unhulled MILLET...read birdseed(first time ever used this before).

I had soaked and slightly sprouted green Canadian lentils.

I had organic brown rice miso.

So chopped a bit of cauliflower and fried off some garlic in extra virgin olive oil and mushed it all around...had some with rice too...YUMMY!!! wow...always impressed when I am able to not only cook vegetarian but VEGAN! and be full...

Then today with the left overs I fried an egg some chopped carrot and added it with water to some udon noodles and a bit of sesame oil and tamari...YUMMY too!

This mush stuff is winner. I'll be sure to keep some in the fridge next time you visit...and see what other 101 dishes I can make out of it...

Cheers to super duper healthy eating :) and minimal cooking times and input effort :D

please share if you have any super healthy vegan/vegetarian winners.

Zzzzzzzzz...(side effect of overindulging in my Dried organic Uzbekistani white mulberry addiction...sugar crash!)

Fingers Crossed...Z bakes!

So I opened the recipe book started for high school cooking class which frankly I haven't opened in YEARS.

Had a slightly bad feeling when most of the mixture stuck to my hands and had to be washed off...Even worse though a really niggling feeling developed that my sister (model homemaker extraordinaire-yes sisters can be NOTHING alike!) and I have different measurement abbreviations...hence that perhaps my baking creation may end up tasting like soap...For some reason at this point I could have done the sensible thing and given her a call to check...but...NEEEEH. I guess I am such a chicken shit in most matters of life that in domestic matters that are seemingly trivial to me such as cooking I like the suspense and adrenalin rush-lol- of being an experimental "daredevil", and besides I am CRAP at fitting into all sorts of rule frameworks let alone following recipe instructions to the detail. Anyway my little creations are cooling down. I will let you know if I end up with a mouth full of soap for dessert(!)

My Gardening Style...

In One Word: GREEDY

In Two: GREEDY CHAOS

In Three Words: GREEDY HOPEFUL CHAOS!!

So in my part of the world, to my great relief, it seems like SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!

So I've been in a busy bee flutter trying to prepare for a Good Harvest ^^

Today I opened all my veggie seed packets and scattered them all haphazardly...In a few days I'm looking for the seedlings that have sprouted and thus onto stage three finding them a suitable long term resting place till harvest. I'm starting to realise...growing your own food=ALOT of WORK! Anyway must run...need to start my BAKING, lol...how weird has my life turned out I'm doing all those things I have always shied away from with dread...it's like those terms 'topsy turvy' and 'tohu wabohu' were MADE for me, LOL!

Miss PIGGY!!!

Yup, this is Me!

Tonight I stuffed my belly so full I couldn't even arch my back even a little bit for a stretch as it was stretching my front fibres too much for comfort *LOL*.

Lately, not sure why but the food obsessiveness is not just in me...seem to have been talking diet therapy a lot lately and even M is taking up a cool diet and even more amazing...taking to the KITCHEN to cook himself EVEN THOUGH HE HAS A MAID!!! Well Done. It's about time 30yr old men became more able to look after themselves...LOL

Next time you're in town I expect that TINOLA to be mastered! I will even let you use my kitchen!!!!

It's still wet, cold and raining....Good weather for DVDs^^...I saw this amazing farming tale based on a true story...Bryce Courtenay's JESSICA....wow. I was up till after 4am watching it!!!

Zhen Makes A MESS.

LOL that title reminds me of one of those Mr Men kid's storybook series...I reckon I should start my OWN series...LOL *Narcissism*! hahahaha

So anyway, THIS is what I am talking about....

*yikes*

So how did I get myself into such a MESSY predicament? WELL. If you know me super duper well you will know that my very favourite food EVER is Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeee!! ^^ ^^ ^^

Like seriously, I love Pies so much I have in fact even been called "Pie" as an alternative name(!)

So ANYWAY. What happens is that these past few years I managed to get through Winter cos I had two friends in town that would make me Pies however one has since deserted to Africa and the other the UK. So that left me Cold & PIE-less!!! Which meant I needed to take matters into my own two hands!!...*shakes head sadly*

Ah what the heck, for PIE it's WORTH IT! But Boy did I exert so much energy having to make and clean up after the Pie can you blame that I almost ate the entire dish all by myself?? To be perfectly honest I am used to being waited on hand and foot- TB usually makes the entire pie let's me eat more of it and cleans up afterward, all the while while I just sit there curled in a couch sipping tea or muching chocolates... Yep, I don't mind Men waiting on me like royalty...LOL..feminist "independent and capable" is sooo passe! ;)

Anyway back to the important part...the Pie specifications...
Cos I was feeling a bit lazy I made an Organic Pizza/Pasta Sauce pie...with beef mince, onion, carrots and quinoa(all beef is just too heavy), baby corn and peas, and potato and pumpkin mash....covered with a butter puff pastry top...YUUUUUUM!!! :D...however being lazy I would usually wrap the entire thing in a a kind of pillow case-but seeing as it's butter pastry I thought I should keep it to a single layer...so I just used a ceramic dish and stuck a sheet over the top- who knew it would get SO SO STUCK and MESSY! Never again...It's not so fun when there's no TB or L to clean up after you...how funny they are both Venus in Cancers...if you want someone who loves to cook for you and look after you I highly recommend a Venus in Cancer-I've had four cook and clean for me in total so trust me on this one :)

Apart from that I had a great time chatting with a 44yo man I met today. LOL I'm starting to work up some impressive numbers with this pattern here- is the universe trying to tell me something? Like maybe they are the people I most naturally get along with and relate to without even trying? LOL

Anyway I felt a bit guilty at the elitism that is starting to creep in to my psyche...I can't get myself to associate with people my own age-basically unless they have gained maturity through being married or having kids or some other traumatic life experience (LOL) I can't help but think of them as little children that are a waste of effort to talk to...like an annoying little sister or brother. Basically after all the many random people I have talked to I worked out that never married childless boys do not become men until say about the age of FORTY on average. Women are kind of close...it's cos of this generation of Extended Adolescents...anyway I need to work up the nerve to try and get along with someone-anyone within 10 years of my own age. I think I'm making myself just cos it seems so undo-able LOL! P.S Nine+ years still qualifies! ;)

Oh and these are the two sets of cheapo uggs that I add to my ever burgeoninig but TOTALLY practically necessary shoe collection! :D



And one final confession...I'm kind of addicted to GREEN&BLACKS organic dark 60% chocolate with organic crystallized ginger...lol it did cross my mind that maybe I should be a chococlate reviewer and get companies to send me free samples LOL...and that No H.O, unfortunately the bar just reviewed CANNOT be sent in the post and irradiated- that would just be doing it total injustice...I'm pretty sure you can get it in the states though...or else you'll just have to visit Down Under when the Munchkins are old enough...LOL

A small confession...

I'm getting by on organic lollipops.

Post the chocoholic phase I have now moved into the new realm of organic fruity lollipops! I just picked up a bag for the first time last night...and I've already eaten though a third of it!

My small confession is that I left the empty stick in the shower(gross I know). Yes, I eat them on all occasions and have no shame to have a stick poking out of my mouth when I'm walking on the street.

I did say I was getting by on lollipops didn't I? Well like you should know by know, I tell it like it is!!!!

I guess I should give them a plug- they're pretty good :) Well at least while my current fad lasts!

I can't wait to get my hands (or tongue) around those Grrrowling Grrrape ones in the Gone Wild Version... okay should stop procrastinating.

Man, I need a Coconut!

a weekly coconut is my one scheduled highlight (and much needed qi and yin tonic) of every week...unfortunately though due to the fighting in Thailand, I haven't managed to get my "fix" this week...*depressed*!

Some Favourite Products

No, noone is paying me to endorse these products...it's cos I REALLY like them! And I just wanted to share some gems that bring me joy in daily life :)

This first one took me by surprise...I was just looking for a shampoo that was free of the nasties but didn't cost the world. Yes, it exists...

Nature's Organics BERRY BLISS 3-IN-1 ORGANIC SHAMPOO....it's free of known nasties, dirt cheap and surprisingly very good & gentle stuff at $2 a pop on sale or RRP $3.50-$3.99...shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Smells like a berry lolly - very girly, great for kids! And which girl wouldn't want their shampoo bottle to be pink with a fairy on it? LOL

The other two are ones to delight the belly, pretty much these two represent 95% of my entire processed food diet right now.

BULLA Fruit N' Yoghurt Minis (they come in 14 or 16 pack and in a great range of varieties and are supremely healthy compared to most frozen confectioneries which are too big, too sugary and have too much very rich stuff like chocolate or caramel- I tend to like any that have fruit yoghurt and vanilla/fruit ice splits like...

.GOOD STUFF!

NESTLE CLUB Mixed Berry Chocolate- I am not usually one for dark chocolate but with these incredibly delicious fruity berry bits, I can just eat LOADS of this stuff. And it's REALLY GOOD for me...if you're too skinny like me, this is my pick to get to some decent fat levels with...

VERY YUMMY!

Terrific Thursday.

The highlight of today was definitely having my first ever own patients.

Other funny thing was meeting the THIRD random person with a pretty unique name that I seem to get along with...I had never heard this name before December....and suddenly 3! - LOL wonder if the Universe is trying to tell me anything?...I remember going through a weird period of keep on encountering people names some variation on "John" but at least John is a really common name...

I'm also very contented about finally being able to do The Art of Detachment which has been liberating and made life so much more pleasant...the ability to keep boundaries has been my biggest no benefit to me problem for the longest time...Caring TOO much has been incredibly draining...

And for dinner, a nice 20 minute no-skill but tasty "what's in the fridge and pantry" meal...

Green Tea Soba Noodles in Miso Base Soup
1.5 T-2T of dark miso
water
some sea salt
white pepper
few drops sesame oil
bit of soya sauce
chopped carrot
chopped cabbage
frozen corn kernels
exotic white mushrooms-oyster or those stringy ones
tofu puffs
free range organic chicken fillet slices
an egg
green tea soba noodles

Basically boil up the stock & flavourings, add the "stuff", simmer. Crack an egg on the top and stir until just cooked. Pour soup of stuff onto the separately cooked and drained noodles. Voila! Nice healthy meal in 20 minutes. If you have time I'd use a Clay Pot, everything just tastes better and seems more nutritious...for some reason LOL

And finally, talk about wishes being gratified somewhat instantaneously...1 day after I wished on my blog for more international visitors my awesome mate D who resides in Japan informs me he will be coming for a visit shortly...I only get to see him every 1.5-2 years these days so really looking forward to catching up...and plus he's got a super cool family and bunch of friends here too :)

Anyway I'm going to relaaaax by reading some Sartre etc...Loving all this Existentialist stuff which my uber cultured Mexican mate got me into...Have no idea how I managed a whole arts degree never having read it before! And then I will curl up with some Mysterious Cities of Gold...this is an AWESOME cartoon circa 1983 great for young and old alike!

'Herbal' Coolers...

In Chinese medicine, prevention is key. Hence proper diet, proper lifestyle etc are all the 'first line of defence' against illness...we believe food is the first 'medicine'- so if you like to get on the diet therapy bandwagon...

When the weather is stinking hot and humid like this and you feel unbearably heaty,

What can you do short of stripping off, walking around naked with damp towels on your head and neck and wrists while a standing fan blows air across your skin?

WELL, as someone who always finds heat unberable as opposed to cold, here are two of my favourite readily available, nice tasting foods that will help keep you cool over the Summer...

1. Chrysanthemum flower tea - Boil a few for 10-15 minutes with water, drink warm or chilled, beautiful with a bit of honey. Not only is it great to clear heat but it also works wonders for eye ailments....in terms of eye issues, for enhanced effect and an immunity boost all at once just add a small handful of goji berries :)!

2. Watermelon - This is a great heat clearer! Especially good to combat thirst...although the red flesh is tastier- it's actually the white crunchy bit that packs more therapeutic punch. But just don't eat too much cos it can give you a cold stomach ache and also make you pee alot!

Hope someone found this useful...Love from, Herbs Nerd.

I liked this Dream :)

Well the rest of the dream was pretty crazy like weird obstacle courses where my daredevil mate was riding a horse drawn wagon trying to jump the entire horse and buggy over other horses ahead of him...and I don't remember much else but the end was like the end credits of a film...with a title reading

"The Best Things in Life are The Simplest Ones!"

LOL, so it got me thinking what are some of the simplest things unique to me that make me Ooze Joy... this is a working list cos my brain doesn't kick into full force until well after 5pm ;)

* Happy Guinea Pigs (when guinea pigs are OVERJOYED they run around excitedly and "hop" like little kernels of popping corn emitting little "yelps" of delight...it is one of the Cutest things you can ever witness EVER.

* Being able to satiate a Food Craving and not be disappointed currently this is Green&Blacks Italian style chocolate, organic dried apricots, MSG free wonton noodles and northern style pan fried pork dumplings with vinegar...

* Foreign Correspondence and resulting culture class with people all around the world :-D

* Escaping into Nature whether it be a salt breeze with big mouthed pelicans or misty dew green mountains or big, clear blue sky, yellow grasses and vast expanses of empty tarmac ahead.

* Inspiration from people, music, film, philosophers, art

Procrastination...Big Time!

Master of Disguise...apparently I look completely different in every single photo hehe.

OBVIOUSLY I'm really struggling to get back into study mode...

Here are some random pics...

Dinner...I had nothing in the fridge and didn't want to grocery shop too much cos I'm waiting for my big organic order to arrive...in any case I like it when I really feel like eating because I then *imagine* a recipe for something new to eat- usually it always turns out really tasty- never pretty but very tasty and very quick& simple :)

I fried off some good quality chorizo in very good quality extra virgin olive oil, then fried some carrots - I then added risoni, water, a little chicken stock, white wine, simmered and then added some peas...voila! YUM I love home food! this is a little kid friendly dinner too :)

* * *

I really think I feel global warming in action when suddenly you can get locally grown summer berries in winter :P - these berries are 1) currently not available organic and 2) are prohibitively expensive organic even if they were available so these are non organic berries soaking in a watery apple cidar vinegar mixture to remove the spray from them before eating...

I stumbled into a really cool toy store by accident on my way home so I managed to pick up a little something for my niece who turns 2 next weekend! Unfortunately I forgot how old she was turning so I bought her things only appropriate for a 3 year old and then I had to call my mum to check how old she was turning and the date of her b'day - I'm losing track with all the baby booming that's been happening in the last few years! Someone's going senile...

Time just Flies!


I love how French people have such curly ornate writing...

LOL I love the doodle mate! Incidentally he aced the exam and finished it with heaps of time to spare...some people failed! wow really thought you had surrendered all your last brain cells to alcohol-obviously not- Congrats! :)

I like cool stamps like this super long one...

I love the three colours film trilogy by Krzysztof Kieslowski- I also think Juliette Binoche is awesome...this postcard also reminds me how other countries seem so cultured compared to Oz...p.s out of all 3 films red is my favourite but all are great!

Finnish people are big on snail mail- their nice stamps reflect this- note the little embossed dots- I love the care and attention to detail in their stamp design...

American stamps are not bad either- however they tend to be quite generic in design.

I like the postcard scribble detail with the buildings I thought I better document this since this is the only super luxury postcard M is ever likely to send LOL.


I am also surprised that Chicago is actually such a nice city- I always had this impression that it was a dirty smoky kinda gangster town- not sure why...I was pleasantly surprised that it is a very nice metropolis with modern skyscrapers second to none, great culture, great food scene- highly liveable...only criticism - it's "beach" is hopelessly pitiful! p.s if I ever end up going there, first stop is to try Grant Achatz's molecular gastronomy restaurant Alinea where food meets design - check out the official site for some fantastic food photography!

I am NOT a Hippie!

So today with child-like zealousness I set out to a particular part of the city I rarely frequent with sole mission to join an organic wholefood co-operative, inspired by my recent trip and the fact that my parents keep going on about the huge spike in the costs of food.

I was pretty disappointed with what I found. Although it seems "cool" to be part of a cooperative... with this particular one at least, the freshness of the produce was lacking, the knowledge of the produce was lacking, the prices were surprisingly high...so I'm sticking to the bi-monthly organic produce delivery service :)

So anyway having been ensconced in Hippie-ness far more than usual lately, I've realised all the labels I've always refuted are just that-PLAIN WRONG: I am SO NOT a Hippie!

Okay, so maybe I'm into alternative therapies, herbs, crystals, organic food, nature, the environment, astrology, tarot, foreign cultures, progressive ideas and I listen to world music...avoid certain conventions and support certain socialist ideals...HOWEVER That doesn't make me a Hippie!

Here is my case:

1) I always wear shoes- especially on the street.
2) I bathe EVERYDAY without fail. I can't stand dirt and generally don't smell bad!
3) I'm generally quite with it and articulate- none of that glazed eyes phenomenon and dopey expression for me!
4) I dress boring and prefer a classic black to a rainbow palette and exotic accessorising.
5) I like bourgeoisie things like glasses of red wine, imported chocolate, Italian leather, swiss watches, diamonds...LOL

Adventure to the Hippie Heartland
So during my trip we did manage to venture to what would probably be classified as THE Hippie Heartland of this country. It was really grotty and there were quite a few deros indiscreetly trying to make sales: do you want ganja, mushroom, cookie? In any case, I thought it was amusing that I was the only one of our party to not get asked.

So anyway, one of our party couldn't resist giving a cookie a go - from a herbalist's point of view, observing the after effects was utterly fascinating(except for the puking part)...yup the raw stuff ingested directly is pretty potent! Moral of this story: ALWAYS follow dosage instructions from your "pharmacist"-better yet don't take *stuff* unless you need it! LOL

Of course being the herbalist I am, I had to undertake a little "investigation"...on recounting the whole story my mum was rather concerned, however I reasoned with her that if I was gonna turn into a druggie surely it would have happened already during my artsy fartsy digital media days? And in any case, honestly,I have access to waaaaay more consequential chemical compounds via my Chinese herbs if that was my calling! Who would be so stupid to spend exorbitant amounts on illegal western stuff when you can can get such easy and valid access to much more potent and legal stuff?

Haha yes it has occurred to me that being a Chinese herbalist could actually make for quite a good underground money spinner...except for the fact that I am into it for therapeutic purposes...LOL I think The Hippocratic Oath is binding on ALL healers not just conventional ones!

Cooking Experimentation with Z: Chicken Risoni Paella :)

So...with a mini reprieve until the BIG REPRIEVE I decided to cook myself a proper nutritious healthy meal...well aware of the fact that I need to clear out my fridge before my impending trip :)

So...I had 4 large organic tomatoes I needed to use up.

No method to the madness-pure creative inspiration took hold...

I fried a bit of garlic in good quality extra virgin olive oil, dumped in the chopped tomatoes, seasalt, sugar, a can of organic lentils (important: rinse out bubbles!) and a big squish of basil from a tube.

Then in went a handful of green olives, once it started to simmer I added some chunks of organic chicken, then a splash of balsamic vinegar and the finishing touch...my favourite staple right now...RISONI!

And I ended up with this.

Verdict? YUM!!!

I think I'll call this dish "Z's Serendipitous Accident" LOL ;)

Random Serendipity: Making Friends from all over the globe :)

So it's been a good couple of months since I ventured into the online world...it's certainly been eye-opening...and something I would never have done had I not fallen down a manhole and gotten stuck on an island where I knew noone, bored out of my brain recovering my ability to walk for most of the last year!

However, as with all negatives there is a positive: I'm glad I did cos otherwise I wouldn't have made some of the friends that I have :)

And for plane-averse but foreign-culture besotted people like me it's been a great way to connect to people from all parts of the globe. The beauty of this medium is the fact geography is no limitation and it is alarmingly random- you come into contact with people of all backgrounds, ages, ethnicities usually connected by some common interest which is really cool...occasionally I get completely random people write to me...it's pretty cool and kinda exciting - kinda like when you go fishing- you never know what you will pull up!

I guess that aspect is one part of the blogging appeal. Apart from M&D who made me aware relatively late in the game of this word/concept of "weblog"(that's exactly how ignorant and non tech savvy I was)...in any case besides these geeks, I don't know anybody else from my "real life" that regularly go online and have an internet presence, but then again that's pretty typical never knowing people that share my interests! :P

On reflection, penpalling via the net sure is a distant cry from my junior school days where it was "studiously recommended" to subscribe to the school mediated snail mail penpal service so as to get practice in our foreign language of choice - mine was French...No doubt, just like my French, these penpals didn't last long...although geography is no longer a barrier, because I'm only fully conversant in English, unfortunately language still is...

At least now I appreciate penpalling for what it is and the depth of exchange writing affords, not like when my sister and I were younger and it was in large part an underhanded means of collecting exotic postage stamps for our all important stamp collections LOL ;)

I also (obviously) discovered a love of writing- not only an effective vent and stress release for daily tensions but also the means by which I'm gradually rediscovering a small portion of the creativity I exuded as a child but which got totally annihilated with all the pains of "growing up".

One last vaguely affiliated aside...a friend of mine and her girlfriend were recently at San Francisco airport when some random guy started falling over himself because of their Aussie accents...apparently an Australian accent coming out of an asian face was the sexiest thing he'd ever heard- whatever- lucky this friend is a whole lot more extroverted than me...so in the end they got a local guided tour cum chauffeur of the city for the whole 3 days they were there!

I can't say accents get me THAT EXCITED but out of all I've heard I'd have to say I like the South African accent best. In terms of languages though, I Love Spanish and French. Mandarin Chinese has definitely been the most challenging I've attempted to learn. Just in case you managed to read this far...and are a bit of a lingo enthusiast like me...

I'd like to know...
What foreign accent and language are your personal favourites??

Wait wait! 3 more burning questions...
From what country are your favourite people?
Mine would be JAPAN :)
If you didn't live where you do now, where do you think you would be living?
I think I'd like CANADA.
From where is your favourite cuisine?
Hmm...this one I can't choose between
SOUTH-EAST ASIA/FRANCE/SPANISH-PORTUGUESE-SOUTH/LATIN AMERICAN

ok that's all- get back to me!