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 Treasure Map!

Wow, even more bizarre adventures...featuring old men...lol!

So anyway an old guy randomly overheard that I was wanting mulberries(so very good for the eyes and blood you see...)

So I ended up with some obscure directions(later well documented in a hand drawn map) to a MULBERRY tree which is so prolific the owners are actually a bit stressed out unable to get rid of enough! So yeah...pretty interesting...I'm going to go to a random address, find this tree, tell the secret "codename" in case I get asked by locals how a random Japanese tourist managed to find this cornucopia...especially in the event that I need to bring out a big pair of loppers cos the random old guy assured me I would be free to take cuttings...let's hope he wasn't lying that his friend owns the tree...and hopefully I don't get resported by the old and curious locals as a curiously suspicious trespasser!

But yes...when one is lucky enough to be gifted a TREASURE MAP, one better at least try to go and claim their TREASURE! lol

Until the next bizarre adventure featuring old men, lol! Hope you have a good weekend :)

Eating one's way through boredom...

LOL, seriously. Thank God finally a good burst of sun today to save my sanity...

So like the title says I've been doing a lot of that lately- well cos most of my waking hours revolves around food...procuring it, growing it or researching how to, harvesting it, preparing it, cooking it or cleaning up after it!

One night this week I DID NOT SLEEP THE ENTIRE NIGHT just cos I was so craving to try a swiss dessert called a beesting. I guess it was not a good idea to just before bed talk about all the different food excursions we needed to do for all the various things we wanted to eat with my birthday twin....the drool turned into ALL NIGHT obsessing- lol very easy for a scorpio gal that loves eating!

So anyway today was a weird dinner possibly reflective of the chaotic state of my restless itchy feet no travel blues mind...within the one meal I had a seemingly dissonant cacophany of ingredients: beetroot, parsnip, turmeric, rice dulse, fried egg, cayenne, salt, bak choy, lettuce, spring onion, garlic, spinach and flaxseed oil. Strangely, it tasted okay...don't even try and puzzle how I worked it all together! I think these days my meals are WEIRDNESS to say the least, okay maybe as I get older I get more eccentric, but apart from that there are several major factors a) organic food doesn't store so well so I need to use what is in the fridge b)I fresh harvest from my garden c) I want maximum supernutrition...so yeah end up with weird-ass meals!!! But somewhat smugly I NEVER get sick or want to throw food away from homecooked food whereas almost every single thing I eat outside makes me sick cos of all the additives, oil, salt and crap toxic ingredients they use and possibly a lack of freshness and hygiene. I met a batty old lady on the bus talking at the top of her lungs about how she ONLY eats organic as well ...lol I could forsee me in old age right there...it was a lil scary...lol

So the interesting thing which I checked up with my bday twin to see if we concur as usual (lol never get sick of this parallel experience feeling-it's too fun!) We both feel BOOOORED as and TIRED. Interestingly enough devoid of inspiration from daily life and the people around us devoid of culture etc grounded in THIS COUNTRY indefinitely...it was interesting that we reacted in the same way unbeknownst to the other...we turned to MUSIC! Specifically the need to create it! The last day or two I had been thinking I SERIOUSLY NEED a piano and to splurge on lessons...anyway she actually ended up buying a GUITAR today to cope with the boredom-had no forewarning it was pretty random!! LOL so interesting...music is obviously a huge muse for us....

Apart from that had soooo much flower proliferation in my garden I started cutting them and sticking them in containers around the house which is pretty weird and housewifely for me...also been watching lots of DVDs with an overrepresentation of foreign and German as per usual...

and indulging pretty expensive raw organic chocolate at $8/100g...yep that's how I deal with boredom and cooped up with rain! :P

Sydney: Making peace with "The Big Smoke"

Okay so you've all heard how I detest cities in general particularly the one I'm most familiar with...

But I have to say I'm starting to make peace with it...it's all about perspective...seen 4 really good friends the past fortnight and so the city has become synonymus with lazing at the beach, catching up with good friends and STUFFING FACE with much better food than can be seen the in my not so bumpkin but still bumpkin town ^^. Ouch my belly seriously hurts from STREEETCH...lemme see...did a big organic beef burger and fries, a double gelato, an apple, a grass jelly premium pearl milk tea with taro pearls and plenty of water.

Enjoyed no cost beauty therapy...experiments with exfoliation of "chicken skin" with sand and surf with my b'day twin since we both suffer the problem. It was funny perving on all the beautiful (and not so beautiful bods on the beach-actually more this) LOL, it's okay to be completely open and honest admitting to shallowness and superficiality when you're amongst old good friends that are your serious doppelgangers...it's pretty funny actually cos we agree about everything...it's like all the fun and convenience of a real twin without having someone to cramp your space or steal your look! LOL

Happy Days...now I just need to wait for the next season of foreign visitations!

Why I think Farmers are Cool

One of my dude friends kept calling me the name of his long lost friend...cos apparently she was "obsessed" with farmers too.

I'm NOT "obsessed" :P rather I just appreciate them...they are a group of csociety I respect and admire just with how in touch with the land they are when everyone else is so disconnected and how they can live off the land...and if the world descends into chaos they will still know how to and be able to survive, as would the aborigines before the colonial lifestyle stole and corrupted their traditional ways. I guess these kinds of groups are the ultimate "jack of all trades" in terms of knowledge, ability and skill especially if the world is restored to how it was meant to be...

I guess I really idealise "The Natural World" because I feel the more and more years I see the more and more it is like a long lost fantasy-like dream.

Apart from that I have fallen prey to a BRIBE. Apparently if I want to eat the most delicious Belgian truffles the likes of us Kangaroos get to witness locally I have to pay for it with a kiss! Geez...talk about EXPLOITATION. In any case where bonafide flown in from Belgian fresh chocolate truffles are concerned, I'm cheap and easy ;) But only cos it's Toyboy, who may as well be family....

I really hope that the hungry hoards have left me some by the time I get to go...they can all slurp the Veuve...Champagne is soooo overrated, in my opinion.

This is what you call..."Garden Fresh!" ;)

Okay so I could have titled the post..."Lessons for the Novice Gardener in Growing Edible Plants" however I prefer the positive spin, lol, especially when it's also true! ^^

So yeah it's not obvious from the pic but the big lesson I learnt in growing carrots which are rated as "easy"...well they HATE HATE fertile soil...too much Nitrogen...eg chicken manure makes the carrots go all twisty and forked and sprouts heaps of tops and not enough root...well I think that's what it was... Carrots like sandy crap well drained soil...and you need to water them deeply once a week for the roots to grow straight rather than have downpours of frequent rain for them to sog themselves in...

So anyway I had way too many seedlings and things growing out of control and not enough space so I had to choose some things to harvest even if they aren't mature...So today I picked/cut the baby carrots, baby radishes, spring onion, garlic tops, some english spinach and some dill...all of these grown organically by the way no sprays no NADA...just lots of sun and fresh air, good conversations and loooove :D

Apart from that I am amused that I am so desperate to bowl but so friendless here my next bowlo opportunities are set with people who have to fly in from remote continents! And before you suggest I try writing an AD for bowlo buddies....been there TRIED that! Zero replies, lol...if I get desperate enough I reckon I'll have to hurl it on a dating site...and borrow a hot studio pic of one of my friends to accompany it...might have better luck, lol...the things I'm willing to do for the things I love to do...lol

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!)

My Vegetarian Repertoire...

Okay so it's still kinda not very existent and I have been too lazy/busy to look up recipes(plus I hate being limited by having to follow instructions)...but on the upside these two veggie snacks I'm liking lately are also vegan!

So yeah no1 is Nori rolls with any kind of vegetable or not even...but filling them with cooked mixed rice! So ie white rice, brown rice mix with fun inclusions like a few jobs tears barley, chia seeds, aduki beans and mung beans.

no2 is oat sourdough toast with shredded carrot that has been mixed with flaxseed oil, lemon juice and finely chopped garlic with some kind of protein either ground flaxseeds or chia seeds I guess...

Okay I guess that is sad to the seasoned vegetarian/vegan/person with diet limitations, but I like them, they are SUPER HEALTHY and tasty, easy and quick...

So anyway I'm tired now...goodnight ;) I think yesterday is going to take a few days of recovery...my liver's still working off all that amazing CHOCOLATE! haha so much happened I didn't even remember until I FELT IT...today!

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

5 mins in the Kitchen with Z...

Cos let's face it Life's too Short to spend ages slaving away like I used to.

So since my health took the dive I've gotten really good at devising super healthy very quick meals with am emphasis on finest quality produce and EASE.

So this is what I came up with today which if I had to name it, it'd be

Z's SUPER ANTI-RADIATION OMEGA BLAST
And all the quantities are approximate - it really is "a bit of this and a bit of that" in quantities to your taste.

*a handful of good quality cooked soba noodles
*some fresh seaweed strands cut into shorter strands you get in the vacuum packs (if it's salted make sure you rinse and soak well so you don't salt yourself to death)
*quarter to half of a lightly panfried (Tasmanian) Salmon cutlet(this cut seems like it has less bones) make sure it's well mashed with a fork so you can extract any stray bones esp if you're feeding the kids)
*1t-1T high quality Flaxseed oil(the bottles packed in dark glass or steel that are in the refrigerator)
*1t of crushed or finely ground flaxseeds (for texture) or for a flavour twist I think organic pinenuts would be great (but these are often rancid)

Swirl it all around...Voila! So simple even Mark who can't fry an Egg *^^* can look like a gourmet chef ;)

Okay maybe it took you more than 5 mins- the key is I always have the ground flaxseeds and panfried Tasmanian salmon in my fridge so I don't have to prepare those specially.

The key advantage of simple meals especially if you haven't the strongest digestive system is that there are less ingredients to conflict and ferment and stagnate in those intestines...you'll feel better for it! Cheers to Good Health :)

Willy Wonka Lives!!!

I was so amazingly bored out of my brain today I even persisted to actually finish a Sudoku that was so hard it took me possibly an hour between commuting and eating to solve it! Meanwhile I had already decided to look up what recreational night classes I might join...I think as everybody prepares to travel without me, I feel especially restless with envy! So need to find something to get excited about as consolation :p (Sheer intensity of boredom today even motivated me to think I might dig out and start carrying DSLR around opportunistically and actually applying myself to try and take one decent photo a month once I learn how to work around it's unpredictable and temperamental nature...now my computer is back up finally and I can make spare time, no excuses...)

A seriously boring day. So I was absolutely delighted when I serendipitously managed to catch the most *amazing* food show ever...Heston's Feasts! The guy is utter GENIUS. GENIUS!!!!

I was especially chuffed cos I am such a HUGE enduring FAN of the 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder...which still captures my imagination so much that I always watch it whenever it comes on never tiring of repeats...

Can you believe Heston created Lickable Wallpaper For Real? Wow....I've uncovered a new Hero...what a fantastically imaginative, innovative, awe-inspiring, eccentric, creative, wacky show! Where food meets science meets madness and genius and creativity! All the things I love most all in the one show- wow, TV has never been so good. Iron Chef is totally lame by comparison...

Can't wait for the next Episode with the theme of Fairytales- can't wait for the house from Hansel and Gretel!

I am a social retard, and other stories...

It struck me recently when we were talking about emotional intelligence in psych class, that I have none...and that this is typical of people who are highly intelligent in other ways...

In any case I was thinking back to before I became so busy that books governed my life...was I that much of a social retard? I'm not sure. Hence I was wondering if emotional intelligence is fluid...somehow I think that the more interaction you get the higher your EQ.

Somehow me thinks that spending all my time sticking my head in a book the past couple of years has vastly dimished my EQ...although to be honest I don't think it was ever so high to start with...I think high EQ favours extroverts or rather, people who aren't super introverts...

On another note- in a bit of an "Adventure" for me...I happened to see some pretty good looking fresh deboned ling fillets...not that I really eat fish or have ever cooked it but I guess I was feeling adventurous to try something new that day...

anycase I was shocked when two small pieces cost $16-sheesh! I am so glad I'm not a big fan of seafood...I had no idea how to cook fish so I asked my friend the daughter of a restauranteur-she had no idea except that she preferred steamed fish to fried fish...So I opted to bung the fish in my steamer- but how to flavour it??

I had to guess- So I put a little soy, a little sesame oil, a little chinese wine, some garlic, some chilli and some coriander and some salt...all in all- not bad for first time fish cooking!

I felt a bit guilty though...I didn't eat fish for the longest time from about the age of 4-22 (cos I was convinced "fish are my friends, not my food!") But now I realise it is very good for health especially for someone of my constitution...

But I think I'll go back to veggies tomorrow...

In times of stress, Let her eat Cake!

Since Friday my consumption has been quite admirable...

Friday: mango layered sponge cake with cream
Saturday: organic banana cake
Sunday: designer cupcakes - one belgian chocolate one coconut
Monday: organic banana cake
Tuesday: apricot jam, hazelnut and cream cake
Wednesday: purple taro cake with sago pearls
Thursday: organic banana cake.

hmmm did i miss any??

Z sure loves her cake. ^^

I think I'm turning into a rabbit...and other things.

In my ideal world I would have all the time and money in the world to cater to my every foodie whim day in day out...oh and I'd have a 24-7 supermarket and deli on hand attached to my home ;)

So, since all the schoolies have gone crazy with vegetarianism and veganism I've definitely gotten on the bandwagon and severely increased my veggie intake which has been really really good...the only problem is when you eat say 1/2kilo or more of a variety of veggies each day that is a lot of painstaking constant shopping for fresh produce...

I think when feasible I definitely need to plant an organic veggie patch cos this is not cheap eating so many organic veggies and having to buy them!

In "other things" has it ever occurred to you everybody in the world seems to look the same? It's kinda freaking me out!!!

I had as much of a "sanity day" to myself as I'm gonna get just to R&R today so it's been good...oh, just to recap on a good day of eating...

loose leaf green tea with organic goji berries
thai fish cakes with green bean and salad...
honey and mustard kettle chips
Le petit ecolier 45% dark chocolate biscuits
orange juice
milk
organic pizza base with cheese swiss browns and shredded sweet potato (wow these high end pre-prepared products are quite impressive...expensive too but quite worth it!)
Red papaya
More salad...we're talking carrots, lettuce, sprouted mung beans, beetroot, cherry tomatoes, alfalfa

and we'll see if I can get off my ass to bake more organic banana cake...after I watch a movie :)

oh wait, i still have black sticky rice and thai custard I should finish :)

Long weekends are great...they sure make for Happy Bellies^^!

This Steam Machine is A Dream!

What's wrong with eating dessert for breakfast? Nothing! Since getting a steam machine this week, My Eating and Cooking Life has been completely revolutionised- suddenly, it's all such a pleasurable BREEZE! It's awesome! Last night I made pork, cabbage and shitaake dumplings...in literally half the time I would usually spend...and they were literally cooked to perfection not like when you manually steam where it cooks unevenly or is dry or mushy in parts.

In any case, inspired by my (fellow quirky Malaysian Chinese) muse - the artist Poh on Masterchef...I've decided to get more ambitious...so my next project is to master the exotic Malaysian Kueh as a breakfast food which has plenty of scope for creative inspiration...you can buy nice enough ones in Chinatown except that they have preservatives so I'd prefer to make my own especially when my steam machine makes life so easy- all I do is turn a knob and it *rings* when it's done! Who said I didn't love technology...

p.s my favourite music to cook by right now...the lively rhythms and dulcet voice of Cesaria Evora...

New Taste Sensation?

Just a thought that struck me randomly this morning...

Peanut Butter and Grilled Bacon = YUM???!!!

Somehow I think this could be an undiscovered taste sensation...and my next food fad phase if I ever get over this current purple taro cake swiss roll with coconut cream sago...Mmmm!

***Whaddya reckon....Grilled Bacon and Peanut Butter on toast- is this an undiscovered taste sensation waiting to be the next "tres cool" breakfast eating?

The other random thought I was interested to know this morning was:

***What are some amusing things people have said about you?...

Some of my closest peeps that have lived with me have all agreed on:

"For a small girl...you sure take up a LOT of SPACE!" ;)

!!!P.S Remember a while ago some of us bloggers were playing the "weird thing about you" game but I was a spoilsport and didn't play when tagged? Well there is a small tidbit if you're still curious, that I've left in the comments here. So yeah, you can't say I don't deliver on my promises...even if I do like to take my own sweet time about it ;p

Sinking to all new lows...

I'm too tired to stress...I'll deal with it...tomorrow.

And I'm pretty sure after a 12 hour stint I'll be too exhausted to deal with it tomorrow as well.

So for the moment I'll just document my latest "cheat cooking" which has become a favourite game-challenge with myself. This latest episode is called "The Malaysian does "laksa" in 30 minutes...

This one turned out pretty tasty- and was inspired by feeling so weak (so thinking I could use some coconut(a qi tonic) in me...

Ingredients as follows:
in oil fry off half an onion or more chopped with a smashed clove of garlic or more(I take the garlic pieces out after infusing the oil) add 2-3 heaped tablespoons of Malaysian curry powder Ayam brand, 1 big squeeze of lemon grass from a tube in the fridge and a chopped tomato and a little water.
Then I add,
2 or more organic chicken drumsticks
750ml or more of liquid chicken or vegetable stock
some veggies: I used chopped french green beans, okra, carrot, zucchini.
Tofu puffs
Simmer with some chopped fresh coriander
Add small tin of coconut cream and briefly simmer.

Pour on some thin rice vermicelli...voila, now there's a tasty meal :D

p.s Shan...if you haven't discovered fried tofu puffs they're delicious! (asian store...) also fresh mung bean sprouts over the curry broth are really nice too. This laksa would work well meat free, maybe to be more filling you could put chopped potato.

"Cooking" for big lazy cheats!

As the chilly almost Winter winds set in here, I've been devoting a lot of time to keeping my belly happy cos Mr Brain refuses to cooperate if Comrade Tummy is kicking up a fuss!

This weekend I had two small boon discoveries which will no doubt ease some of my slaving over meals this week...MSG and chemical free frozen pork and cabbage dumplings...and frozen hand made empanadas...of course you need to know where to get these things too ;)

Having always grown up with a superwoman mother who cooked every meal meticulously from scratch, it's taken me a while to master the art of cooking "quick"...when I first moved out, cooking meals would range anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours as I followed my mother's meticulous style free of time saving cheats. I'm glad to say due to necessity I've now got the cooking process down to 15-30 minutes Max...

Cos of the chilly cold I was in the mood for some asian soup noodles with particular craving for the taste of fresh coriander...which I have to admit my tastebuds are really maturing into lately.

So this was what I had...

Soup stock with boiling water, some chicken stock from a box, some vegetable stock from a box(first time I've ever been such a cheat!!), some sprigs of coriander roots and leaves torn up, some enoki mushrooms, some torn up shitaake mushrooms, some very finely sliced pork (need to get this from asian butcher - you can get pork or beef), some ripped up baby spinach, some ripped up bak choy...and some Japanese somen noodles. All up cooking time and preparation was close to 15 minutes....not bad, and healthy too! To the soup I added a few drops of sesame oil, you can also add some salt, white pepper and soy to taste if you like but I just wanted a very clear and cleansing soup. The best part is that I'm pretty sure if I had served it to someone like M I could have convinced him I spent an hour in the kitchen slaving over it-hehe ;)

Playing With Fire...

I was surprised to find out that one of my favourite conversation buddies is a Scorpio...it then occurred to me a strange anomaly: that in my entire life, I have not really known any Scorpio men- I know two but these were friends of friends...

It then dawned on me that many of my male friends especially in recent years have been full blown Fire Signs: Leo, Aries, Saggittarius (not even near the cusps)!...and I think that's where I have been going wrong...

Cos I am WATER!!! Weird...for such an astrology nut, I seem to have never heeded Basic Astrology 101 type wisdom: Fire and Water do not mix.

Maybe the male Fire Excesses have been because opposites attract or that I've always been naturally most drawn to whatever is most different from me. Or maybe youth was a different stage of life where I needed more excitement, dynamism etc...

In any case, in what feels like old age...I'm starting to appreciate my fellow intuitive, receptive, sensitive water signs :) Thank goodness I didn't discover this any later...Fire sign men, especially young soul ones whose world revolves around them and it's all Me Me Me like little babies, can literally drive me insane and want to head for the hills to a nice little hermit cave of permanent solitude. I'm glad that with this realisation I can be somewhat conscious to implement avoidance strategies from the world "go!"(and save myself all the stress and agitation that typically ensues should association protract).

On another note, numerologically speaking I've noticed I get along best with any kind of 11, 9 and 6 life paths, or at least statistically these are where most of my close friends fall into.

Disclaimer: Shan I know you're a Saggi sun but you're a female and such a marginal one being on the cusp with so many bits in Scorp...haha do you notice how much individual attention you get paid in my posts...I guess I am too well able to pre-empt all your protests if I am not very clear and specific from the get go ;)

anyway off for an indulgent Day of Eating!!! :) First with my sis we venture to some pretentious part of town for lunch, then with my cuz and her friends to check out this 5 star restaurant where we know the head Dessert chef! (Killing 2 birds with one stone I also get to do my half yearly meetups with them...amazing how once you get older you only get to catch up with your peeps who even reside in the same city as you maybe twice a year!) Modern Life...So Sad....

The British are Too Polite LOL

My cool fellow 11 life path friend from the farm is one of only two friends who lives near me.

Knowing how exhausted I am and how much I hate cooking but love being cooked for :-) she invited me over and cooked a nice hearty meal...a thoroughly delicious pie...beef mince celery eggplant onions in a tomatoey sauce with a potato/sweet potato mash and some veggies. I brought some MERCURY Tassie cider(good memories! LOL)...Dinner is so much better with company :)

After, I gave her her first ever acupuncture LOL...so hilarious. It made her fart 3 times! (Cos she needed it). Actually I think the "treatment" went really well...cos she did have obvious pathology that needed fixing and she had some pretty distinctive (and predicted) sensations based on the grey diagnosis I came up with.

I find it hilarious that she totally represses necessary normal bodily sensations because she is so aware of offending her housemates. LOL maybe I've been socialised by boys or maybe it's cos I'm a health practitioner...I didn't see what the big deal was...I guess I must be "plain rude"...anyway I hope she found it as 'liberating' as I felt it was for her! LOL

On another note, ToyBoy now calls me exclusively one of a) Grandma or b) Old Lady HAHA I'm starting to find it really funny!