Colours

Gosh ! I feel blue.....I'm so in love.....seeing pink everywhere.....Doomsday must be near.....grey.....Oh ! So pure....so white.....My ! Real evil.....black inside out.....Full of sunshine.....so bright....glowing with hope...yellow.....Good for my eyes...green please......or is it green with envy ? How dare you !!! I am seeing red.....Add colours to life......like the rainbow.....an assortment will be interesting.....

Prescription : Find ways to fly out of boredom...there's more to life for sure

Seafood Tom Yam Soup

Simply difficult to get  the type of tom yam soup that can appease my taste buds. Just like my childhood story of 'Goldilocks And The Three Bears', I found  that some were too sour, too thick, too stingy on ingredients, too watery, too hot......me being too choosy. Well, different people have different liking for stuffs. More over, I couldn't seem to get the authentic type that I had tasted in Thailand over here, even in highly rated Thai restaurants. Just didn't taste that good and not having a certain type of ummph ! Anything to do with the 'lack of feel' due to not being in Thailand ? So, the best thing to do is cook this soup for myself and of course to the preferred version for my whole family although still not as good as the type in Thailand. I just plus and minus the ingredients (easily available in Malaysia) according to my liking. Other than that, it's very much cheaper, easy to cook and make it as big pot as I like. Cooking is like doing experiment in the kitchen.

Ingredients (plus or minus to your liking)


(A)
200 g of : 1)big prawns  2) squids 3) abalone mushrooms 4) button mushrooms 5) fishballs
150 g mint leaves    1 bowl fried onions
1 tbsp toasted sole fish powder (if any-optional)


(B)
2 stalks torch ginger
3 stalks lemongrass
3 slices galangal
10-15 kaffir lime leaves
3-4 stalks polygonum leaves
some Thai basil leaves (Ocimum)
3-4 Chinese parsley roots
5-10 red chillies


(C)
Tom Yam paste ( add according to taste or your brand of Tom Yam paste)
10 tomatoes (cut or smash)
5-10 bid's eye chilies (for that special 'ummph')
2 anchovy cubes ( if any)
tamarind juice or calamansi lime juice which I prefer (to taste)
fish sauce, salt and sugar (to taste)
3 l water


a) Stir fry (B) to add the aroma. If lazy, then omit this step for healthier version.
b) Pour in water, boil and add in (C). Bring to boil and then lower the fire/heat. Boil for half  to an hour.
c) Sieve soup to another pot (optional- to sieve out chilies, tomatoes and other residue). Boil and add in (A).
    When done, garnish with parsley and serve hot.

***Note :( If lazy... just throw B & C in a pot, boil and put in A)

Prescription : DIY as a way of life.

Retreat From Daily World

Thousand apologies !!! So sorry...real sorry...!!! Been away for some time, hiding myself from the temptation of daily life, taking some time off to clear my mind and leading a different kind of routine from the rat race world that I know. I am back again to my daily world .....Hello everyone! How's life treating you lately?


Imagine my luck, the adventure freak in me and  in a lost world.....being secluded from the outside world for weeks.....Yup...just couldn't resist the the invitation to join my buddies, trekking, camping and mixing with the indigenous people who hardly know any other world other than theirs. Yes, the adrenaline flowing with the thrill plus hair raising knowledge that any moment, there's a possibility of danger lurking (even in our so called civilize society, danger is everywhere) or having the chance to spot some rare species in the thick surrounding greenery of hundreds of years, slowly wipe out by encroaching civilization of modern world, lost forever one day, never be known by future generation...

No computer, no electricity, no air-cond, no McD, No KFC, no Pizza Hut, no shopping.....and yet a wonder that I managed to survive on limited change of attire, untreated water from the source of stream or rain, eating a range of simple and some weird menus, music ranging from cicadas, birds, frogs, raindrops, gurgling stream...songs sang by the native faunas, in a backdrop tones of gray, green and brown. The people we met were simple in wanting, unlike the society we know.....actually there're a lot to learn from them...their simple lifestyle is being threaten by the greediness of our society who live behind the veil of development. Couldn't we find a way to co-exist together ? The grim reality, it's a lost fight against the powerful and the rich, conservation versus development.  It's only a matter of time before everything will be lost, gone forever.....a thing of the past.....Too bad, I'm more of a guilty party since I chose to live in this society of mine which play a part in the devastation of nature. Feel like a hypocrite...
                                                                                                                                     
Prescription : Be thankful for good things that come our way

Arowana Gasping

Cleaned and changed the water in the aquarium because some reddish algae were growing on the surface of the aquarium. The next day, I noticed that our arowana was gasping for air - kept opening its mouth very frequently and later remained at the bottom of the aquarium ! Something was wrong with the water. Quickly changed some of it, add more aeration and put 'yellow Japanese fish medicine' as precaution. It slowly swam to the upper level of the water and remained there, not moving much and still gasping. The next day, it did not open its mouth that big and no sign of gasping. It remained at one corner of the aquarium, near the water surface. Swam slowly every now and then. The following day...it went back to its old self. Up and going again. 

Prescription : We could only try our best and hope that everything would be fine.

Jenny's Vegetarian Herbal Sambal

I love to make this and keep it in the refrigerator. It could last for a month but it is better to make just enough to last for a week because I believe freshness beats all. Sometimes when I am alone, lazy to cook...I just boil some rice to eat it with this sambal which is available in the refrigerator together with julienned cucumber if any. Mix everything just like the Koreans do with their kimchi and rice in a big bowl. Voila ! My bowl of goodness and yummy too ! If there are some crackers (vegetarian, fish, squid or prawn), just crush some into the bowl. Eat with a difference and you can't get this anywhere because it's my very own brainchild of a concoction to cater to my taste buds. Delicious for me but may be the other way for you. If you are game for it, then give it a try.

Ingredients


10 fresh chillies
10 dried chillies
3" galangal (lengkuas)
2" ginger
1" tumeric
5 kaffir lime leaves (daun limau purut)- optional
3 stalks lemongrass (serai)
1 stalk torch ginger flower (bunga kantan)
some polygonum leaves (daun kesum)
5 pips of garlics
10 shallots
2 red onions
(grind all the ingredients above)

juice of 10-15 calamansi limes- more if you like it
salt and sugar to taste (according to your liking)
oil to stir fry

Stir fry everything together until fragrant and thick. The colour should be dark reddish orange. Lastly, add juice, sugar and salt. Continue stirring. Ready to serve. Put remainder into air tight sterilized container.


Note** : most of the ingredients have medicinal value, are antioxidants and good for detoxification.

Prescription : Eat and enjoy...pampering oneself is an addition to little things in life.

The Agony of Food Poisoning

Many of us had first hand experience about food poisoning. You are lucky if you are an exception. Last Sunday, I was down with food poisoning . I ate exactly the same food as my family members but I was the only one with it. Luckily my children and hubby were spared. I suspected that it had something to do with the ready made meatball bought from the supermarket. That's one of the reasons that freshly home prepared food is always the best.

The first day was especially terrible. I became an ardent visitor to the loo, making a visit every now too often with urgency. My stomach was throwing a turmoil, like something was somersaulting and turning inside. I threw up a few times until nothing was left, leaving a bitter after taste in the mouth. My head was spinning and other than the loo, my couch was my comfort. The medicine which I took kept being purged out- flagyl for stomach infection, spasmolin for stomach cramp, ultracarbon for absorbing toxins and immodium to stop diarrhea. I forced myself to drink lots of water to prevent dehydration and on white rice porridge diet to speed up recovery. My symptoms improved as hours passed by slowly. That night, I was tossing and turning in bed. I could hardly sleep, my whole body was aching. I finally fell asleep in the wee hours in the morning, after throwing up again for the last time at about 1.30 a.m.

I was much better the next day after waking up. 'Bye-bye' to diarrhea and throwing ups. My head was still slightly dizzy and I still need to rest. Other than that, I was fine. My 12-year old son was really nice to help me do house chores since he didn't need to go to school that day. He kept on asking about how I was feeling, getting water for me.....  really being comforting .....

Prescription : There is up and down along our road. Like it or not, we have to face reality.

Malaysia Day 2011

As Malaysians, Malaysia is our home. Therefore, it is Malaysia day in Malaysia every day , especially today. Frankly, Malaysia is a wonderful place to call home although there is room for improvement in many areas and having shortcomings. Relatively, it's so much better in many ways compare to other places .                                    


     HAPPY MALAYSIA DAY !!!


Prescription : How selfless could we be ?

Lowering High Blood Pressure, Blood Sugar etc : Hempedu Pahit (Andrographis Paniculata)

This plant is recommended in the garden for the following reasons :


1. Easy to plant in tropical countries. It will propagate by itself after being introduce into your garden. Shady planting area is preferable with enough water. 3 in 1 plant :- decoration in a pot, greening the garden and could be consumed as natural remedy.


2. Good for lowering blood pressure and blood sugar for those new to these two problems , having above normal readings but still manageable through food and nutrition intake -from my experience, taken fresh is best i.e 7 leaves or the whole young plant (with its roots) from plants that haven't flower yet. Clean & steep in a glass of boiling water, take daily until your blood pressure and blood sugar is within safe level. Then drink 3x a week, follow by once or twice per week for maintenance. The leaves are extremely bitter that some people couldn't stomach it. Therefore capsule forms are  preferred although the effect is not that good.

3. Good for healing sore throat when the leaves were pounded and  taken with honey. Don't drink water for at least half an hour after that - mild antiseptic and healing power. The pounded leaves could be used for treating mild insect bites e.g. mosquitoes.


4. Cooling effect for body heatiness (too much yang) . Therefore not recommended for people with "cool" (too ying) body e.g weak old people with rheumatism.


**Note : when trying any new food or medicine in your diet, precaution must be taken in case you are allergic to the new thing. So try taking a small dose at the beginning e.g only a leave and look out for symptoms like rashes, swelling, difficulty in breathing or stomachache.

Prescription : There are many wonderful plants around us.