"Big fried" Pumpin-kuih
So here you are, hot wok fried pumpkin pie, with chopped spring onion, cut celery leaves, pepper, soya sauce and an egg - my very own"char kim quih-kuih" (hope my mom is not rolling on the floor laughing now)...hmmm yummy, tasted just like fried carrot cake.
It was a pleasant discovery - a unintended twist from an otherwise disastrous pumpkin pie. Cousin YQ has moved to KL recently and I wanted to invite her over for Sunday brunch. Since she is a pure vegan, I thought baking a pumpkin pie would be a great alternative to my usual salmon recipe. The pumpkin pie, to my disappointment, did not taste as good as it looked. It wasnt salty enough and the sweetness of pumpkin filling killed the umph.
Luckily cousin was busy and couldnt make it to the Sunday brunch so that gave me some time to figure out what I do with this pie. Then I overheard the busy chatter from the TV in the living room of two chatty TV Singaporean hosts salivating over the famous "char-kway-teow". Wallah, I have got an idea !
Coleslaw Egg Sandwich
Coleslaw, fried egg and toast rye bread, anyone wants to join me for lunch?
80% is Just Good Enough
The first few weeks after I first learnt about my sister's condition was a difficult one. I struggled to sleep well at night. Worries and anxieties didnt help either. I dreamt the entire night and could remember every bit of it even when I woke up. Some days I woke up with a headache and numbness at my right feet and right arm. Without sufficient sleep, I got cranky during the days.
I finally took sister P's advice to see an acupunturist. I wanted a medical doctor who practices chinese medicine and not a herbalist. After several calls to friends for referrals, here I was, stepping into a traditional chinese medical (TCM) clinic. It looked like any western clinic except the doctor uses no stethoscope. My doctor is Dr.Chang, a square-jawed broad-shouldered and rather loud speaking no-nonsence doctor. Smiling is definitely not part of his training. Judging from his accent, he sounded from the Shandong province.
One look at my right palm, Doctor Chang commented that "you think too much". I was amused and cheekily asked him if there is a cure. He said it is in my character. Ok..this didnt sound that funny. Am I doomed, so I wondered.
After a detailed examination my pulses, my tongue, ears , hands, fingers, nails and even my feet, he diagnosed that, I have very weak qi. He also said my digestive system is not good. That reminded me of the chinese herbalist Uncle Chan in Brunei who always diagnosed us as 胃肠不好
Doctor Chang diagonosed my headache was caused by me dreaming too much at night. Quoting him "I am watching too much movies " in my dream. So I added quickly that this was the reason I came for the acupunture. He cut me off sharply me accupunture would just be a stop-gap measure but for long term recovery, traditional medicine and holistic living must compliment acupunture
Then I was shown into another room. It was a bright spacious one with three tall patient beds and I was asked to lie down on to get ready for my needles poking. I did as instructed. The bed was tall and I had to step on a small stool to climb up. The bed felt just like an operating table. I have never experienced needles poking in my entire life so this was rather scary. I shut my eyes tight and could feel he was pushing his first needle right onto my scalp. Suddenly he stopped, and I quickly openned my eyes.
Stepping back, Dr Chang gasped, with the needle still in his hand and with the tone of a stern head-master, he said rather loudly 你啊，就是城事太认真 80% 就好，不要求 100%，不要转牛尖，你再这样下你会出事的、我从针感上就知道!!!" （"YOU should just be contended with going at 80% or 90%. Dont you try to be achieve the impossible. If you continue at this rate, u will get into trouble !!!! You see I can tell from my needles....."
So here I am, finally forced to confront the dark side of my character on the hard bed of an acupunturist. But is 80% possible at all, when I am trained to achieve not 100% but 110% ? May be is a time for me to start acquianted with this new philosophy that not everything in life I can control. 80% may just be good enough for many people, why not me ?
P/s. I slept very well in the few nights after the treatment. Since then I have been practicing deep breathing exercise before I go to bed. My sleeping qualities have improved tremendously. As for the 80% I am starting from learning to let go.....
Me, the new Landlord
....for the birds. Never did I know that two birdie families have taken residence under my roof until I heard enormously busy chattering this Sunday morning. With lizards, ant farm, now birds... I wonder what's next .
My very own Five-jewel Vitamin soup
The content in my fridge dwindled in a straight line diminishing curve as it approached the end of the week. This sometimes stretched one's culinary creativity. Besides, it is Friday and one's lazy bone raised its ugly head. I found a large stalk of celery, a small ball of cauliflower and a corn from the hard labour of farmers from the Cameron Highland. Then some left-over Shiitake mushroom stalks (the mushroom caps I saved for later) and 6 dried longan. After a quick 15 minutes of acrobatic display of cleanse, chop, slice, cut and off all they went into a slow cooker for an 8-hour sauna bath.
In the evening when I came back from yoga class, I cut those mushrooms caps that I saved in the morning, into little cubes and made an egg omelette. Added to it my 5-jewel vegetable stock that has been simmering since morning, hmmmm....... this is a very sweet and tasty soup.
Some interesting facts:
1.
Celery has a whole host of nutrients espeically vitamin C, potassium, iron and the celery leaves contain more nutrients than the stalk. (Oooops.. I shouldnt have thrown away the leaves)
2. Researches found that the longer the
corn was cooked, the higher the anti-oxidant. It is a good source lutein, a powerful antioxidant that is linked to reducing the caueses of blindeness in older adults. Though rich in starch and protein, it is not a suitable protein substitute and lacks two essential amino acids (No wonder South American dish
chili con-carne stew recipe has got corn, beans and other legumes. Salute to the wisdom of native Red Indians )
3.
Cauli flower, high in fiber, low in calories, an ideal snack food for weight watchers but 80% of the folate is lost in cooking (There goes my folate ....after 8 hours in the slow cooker sauna)
4. Dried longan, other than high in iron and fibre, is believed to alleviate stomach ache and insomia and improves concentration and memory (Hmmm.. food for my exam time !)
5. Some interesting facts about
mushrooms:
Fact 1. They are primitive plants that cannot obtain energy through photosynthesis and therefore draw their nutrients from humus. (I thought all plants photosynthesize ? Oh no... how did I pass my science ?...sister J, sister C... )
Fact 2. Evidence that Stone Age humans used dried mushrooms as tinder was provided by Oetzi, the Iceman whose body was discovered in Tyrolean Alps. (So after 5000 years of civilization, we ended-up eating this gentleman's tinder?)
Shittake mushrooms contain chemicals that are related to lowering cholesterols, boosting immune system and potentially lowering heart disease, cancer risk and high blood pressure. And the most nutritious part of mushroom is under the cap, hence do not peel it, skin or pick it.
Fried salmon and cabbage noodles
This is the first time I fried noodles without using oyster sauce. In its place, I introduced the good old light soya sauce and a little bit of salt. Cut cabbage, tomato and a little left over salmon. It actually tastes quite good.
Taste and texture
It does not take long for me to find out how difficult sometimes it is to make a flavourful healthy meal. One of the real challenges is to give a varieties of textures to the dish. I love stir-fried bean sprout leaves with a squirt of soya sauce. But that is a little bland to go with the fried dofu as both lacks the crunchiness. Ramaging through my fridge I found some cashew nuts and that makes a perfect combination. Fresh leafy vegies, wholesome dofu and crunchy cashews.
According to my trusty Reader's Digest food encyclopaedia (which I bought for my mom years ago but she didnt want it) cashew nut is good source of copper and magnesium that collectively reduce muscle cramps and improve immune system. Hmmmm I wonder if I could also conduct electricity after this meal with the copper in my body. But like everything, cashews are to be taken in moderation as it contains rather high fat content. Ooops....
Speedy Recovery
My sister was diagnosed with breast cancer a month ago. This has sent shock waves in the family. Admist anxiety, worries and fear, we scrambled to find ways to understand and to come to terms with this news. It was her courage and optimism that calm me and us all.
Her surgery was successful and treatment will commence soon. Meanwhile she has modified her diet, switched to fish, cut down red meat, added more fruits and fresh vegies. She has been taking quite a lot of salmon to help her protein supplement. Living 500km away from her, all I could give is moral support. Hence I have decided to follow her diet. It was a revealing experience for me. I have never realized that how difficult it is to find healthy food. Convenient food almost always contain either too much oil, too much sugar, too much additives. Worst of all they are almost everywhere - roti canai, teh tarik, kopi kau, beef noodles, nasi lemak...and the list goes on.
Like today I was looking for an afternoon snack. I hunted the entire Bangsar Baru from one eateries to another and finally resorted to a pumpkin soup and toast. Previously I would have just gorged down a roti kosong with sambal daal and teh tarik.
So tonight I baked myself a salmon pie. I steamed the salmon before hand. Then I shredded them and lined them at the bottom of my baking bowl. Then on top, a layer of crunchy cauli flower and celery and then a good layer of mashed potato. I have also replaced diary milk with soya milk when I prepared the mashed potato. Of course the black pepper for seasoning is an absolute must. Walaah ! Here you go ..... may my sister have the strength of salmon and wishing her a speedy recovery.
So here you are, hot wok fried pumpkin pie, with chopped spring onion, cut celery leaves, pepper, soya sauce and an egg - my very own"char kim quih-kuih" (hope my mom is not rolling on the floor laughing now)...hmmm yummy, tasted just like fried carrot cake.
