Thoughts on Raw food, Thai food and on what's good for the soul....

My friend Carol, spent a lot of time in India and Thailand over the last few years and is now a raw food cook. The food she creates is beautiful to look at; healthy and has successfully nurtured a number of people who have dietary and energy issues from their eating habits either in the past or present. I think this is a wonderful thing, particularly for those who have terrible lifelong diseases such as diabetes and are able to live more satisfying lives. Do I think it would ever work for me?

The truth is, over the last 30 years, my dietary needs were most met when I lived in Thailand. Nearly, all the produce was grown within 200 km of where I was living, fish were caught daily from the Gulf of Thailand and variety was assorted. Even with the sesame oil, fish paste, lime juice, chilies and other strong flavoring agents of Thai food, I found it to be healthy, clean and delicious. It is the only place I have lived where I could eat the food all the time, crave the food all the time, and not need variety because my body was missing something.

Thai salads are often raw, mangoes, papayas, chilies, etc. Soups are made with coconut milk, chicken broth or lime juice. Noodles are often made traditionally with bones of the animals in the broth used. Rice is sticky or jasmine steamed and is usually eaten once a day but not with each meal. There are not a lot of sweets and nearly all of them involve fresh fruit. Dairy is rarely used.

Given my theories on my potential mild intolerance for gluten and a definite case of lactose intolerance, one can easily see why this is a positive diet for me. Though as I read the book, Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, I also think that it has largely to do with the fact that the food was from where I lived that I felt healthy.

Living abroad and returning to the freezer stocked with frozen fruits and vegetables, jarred lemongrass and the industrial sized tub of garlic my Mother bought, hardly enchants me. While summer produce will be in full bloom and farmers' markets bustling, the United States and its constant desire for convenience, still requires a push towards making these steps towards supporting local markets and an even bigger bonus, towards improving one's health by eating local, organic, naturally enriched with vitamins of the earth food. Nonetheless, it is time for people with money to get out of a mentality of convenience and get into a mentality of healthy living. With the increase of technology and more reliance upon machines, a return to organic farming in the agricultural world, could be just what the doctor ordered in terms of raising rates of unemployment and combatting obesity in schools.

After all is said in done, I think my basis for discussion here returns to the discussion of everything in moderation. Today, I ate raw nearly the entire day; banana, apple, granola, almonds and vegan gazpacho. However, when I returned home, out of no hormonal or sad feeling or lack of hunger, I gravitated towards the chocolate cake I had made last night, took 5 bites of it and was then satisfied. Clearly, my body knew what it wanted but my mind would have fought that sensation if I thought properly about it.

Keep listening to your cravings. If we lead somewhat balanced lives inclusive of exercise, fun and generally healthy eating, those cravings will result in desire to have all three of those things in our lives regularly creating a cycle of health. Hopefully....

Blueberries and Old Sweaters

Blueberries are one of those fruits that can be so right and wrong all at once. The health benefits are outstanding. One website called them "an antioxidant powerhouse." Another vows that 1/2 cup of blueberries will provide the 3-servings of fruit you need daily. Undeniably, these little blue fruits with a unique consistency have their benefits. Nonetheless, I find that if the least bit off or in any other state then fresh or in blueberry muffins, they lose their tart and become a pure jammy sugar fruit... Blackberries have the same problem, but strawberries and raspberries hold their flavor over pastries, sorbet and jams without being too sweet, but blueberries metamorph into something completely else when they are baked, jammed and essentially bastardized.

Anywise, so I am gearing up for another move and I came across an old sweater. The first time I saw this sweater was on my Dad growing up. I remember cold Christmases, ski holidays and amber moments by fireplaces with family friends and steaming cups of hot chocolate. This old sweater has a history though. Where it started is still unknown. It has held a smell, that fluctuates between a cedar closet and winter foods (hot chocolates, roasts, popcorn and things yummy and comforting). Last time, I was at my parents' house, I ran into the picture of my Dad and my Mom, blown up nearly poster size, black and white from Vail, Colorado. It doesn't say when it is but they look young and particularly happy; maybe, it's just worry-less. There are few lines in their faces and though the photo is black and white, the contrast of their pale but smiling faces against the snow gives them a natural hopeful glow. In this particular photo, Mom is wearing a sweater that I wore out as well. Both sweaters fit them well, exhibiting that circular cycle of fashion. Nonetheless, they have changed and nothing they wear today would fit them or their slightly more loved bodies in that way..

The sweater was around throughout my childhood. It's nordic looking with American colors red, white and blue. Somewhere in high school, when I made one of my yearly trips to the attic to remind me of my past and my parents past, I came across it again and decided to make it my own, along with my Dad's old rugby shirts and my Mom's sweater from that photo. Dad's sweater was way too big, but for a 15 year old girl with unnecessary body issues, it was one of my favorite possessions. And at a time, when Abercrombie and Fitch was big amongst high school students, it paid in coolness to have something retroactive in fashion that was real. It travelled to Russia for a cultural exchange and back. It made it all through long, frost-bitten winters filled with cross-country skiing, too many cups of spilled tea in Upstate New York. It is a sweater that represents love and experience and the passing on of different lifestyles from one generation to the next.

So, today, when I was packing and eating blueberries (hence, the random introduction), I came across this sweater. Next destination is Venezuela and this sweater, might not come in handy there. I have not outgrown it, it gives me warm fuzzies when I see it. Furthermore, it radiates love. Nonetheless, I decided it was time to pass it on, to give it a new life, to make somebody else's family warm or a different kind of family. Who knows it could be a blanket for an Indian construction worker here and eventually be taken back to his own country for warmth for another person. It is still in good shape, nearly 4o years later. So, farewell to my oversized red, white, and blue but overly Nordic looking sweater.

May you continue to make happy, spread love and keep warm.

Brunch at the Burj Al Arab

It is now 7:33 p.m.. I finished my brunch at 2:45, it was not one overflowing with copious amounts of alcohol, nor was it themed Asiatic or "all you can eat hoorah." I am still pleasantly full. I'm pretty sure I will not have to eat until tomorrow and that is in a nice way. I haven't felt stuffed at all today but no hunger since.

It was a civilized morning with friends, and a cute girl with a pixie hair cut in a black dress singing covers of Julie London and Frank Sinatra. A roller rink green and blue scheme meets r2-d2 and hideously printed carpet on the decor, but really on the 27th floor overlooking the water, it was easy to overlook such details.

In this case, persistance and positive emailing landed me with one of the best tables in the restaurant, in the corner overlooking the Palm islands and World, round, so we could all see each other's smiling faces and bellies.

We got in around 10:30 and after looking at the Russian tacky, meets "symmetrical overstimulation fit for a math book cover," we took the lift up overlooking the ocean behind the infamous sacreligious cross to the Al Muntaha restaurant.

When we walked through the small entrance which looked like computer panels from the early 1980s, I had my doubts that it was nothing but a tourist trap and became slightly nervous about the food.

Nonetheless, shortly after arrival and an ooh and aw over our corner table, some photos and ordering some $15 a bottle mineral water, we approached the buffet, which twisted and turned around the restaurant.

Of course, there were the normal stations of any high end buffet, seafood; complete with a sushi station, gawdy ice sculptures of koi fish, oysters, lobster, mussels, etc. but at the end, laid a little booth on the end where the chef would prepare a platter with 8 different types of fancy caviar around the edges and small blini waffle pancakes alongside creme fraiche made the whole thing extra better.

Next, there was an area of Indian food, which was pleasant, but not what I personally come to buffets to eat. It often makes me too full, so I usually leave this out of my buffet routine. Nonetheless, I tried some aloo mutter (potatoes and peas) to keep with my analysis of the entire dining experience. It was pleasantly light and more yogurt based then weighed down by the heaviness of ghee.

There was a continental section with some delights such as sun-dried tomato gnocchi bowls, soy-saffron salmon and a number of other combinations. Again, if I am at a buffet, I prefer to eat the more fresh options or the ones that are prepared at stations for you. Hone in on the pan-seared foie gras station. Sadly, this was my very first stop, toasted brioche, pan-seared foie gras, cinnamon-apple compote and parsnip paste. Yum!

The cheese spread looked like something out of a trendy cheese store in New York city. Nothing too risky or outrageously stinky but presentation sweet on the eyes.

Finally, the most impressive spread of all, were some of the beautifully created desserts. Kiwi-apple mouse balls covered in green chocolate, the cliche but crowd pleasing chocolate fountain, strawberries and cream, wrapped mango creamed chocolate cakes, Sicilian lemon goodness (that reminded me of Amalfi).

All in all, definitely worth the 395 aed to spend a morning with good food, good friends and a great view. A recommended must-do upon an adventure to Dubai.

Hospital mishaps

Another Saturday afternoon and I ain't got nobody, more like and "I am quarantined in my apartment..." Annoying is an understatement. Well, since I have arrived back from Italy, life with love, finance and work has been going fairly well but health wise, I have taken a bit of a nosedive.

It started after Italy and me being a slight hypochondriac, I got quite paranoid about the chest pains and numbness I was experiencing. Because I am a little bit of a spaz, I thought that excessive consumption of red wine, taking birth control the last 3 months and history of stroke in the family was a justified reason to go to the Cardiologist, and he didn't completely rule me out either. He suggested we do an EEG, EKG, stress test and some cholesterol blood work to see what was going on. Today, I learned that my heart is in good shape for the moment (knock on wood) but I was the first person in 27 years to pass my cardio medical imaging test with an A++, staying on the treadmill, a whopping 21 minutes and my heart rate was still not 80%. Now, when I am training properly, I can run 12 km in an hour, so this was not that hard for me, but by the end of it, I was nearly walking at a 90 degree angle with incline which made it a little challenging... Nonetheless, this little heart of mine did shine for today which brought a smile.

The other medical mishap was a viral eye infection that I have had the last 5 days. I went to one doctor first and unfortunately, it did not redeem my lack of faith in Indian doctors, because the first day she misdiagnosed me, the second day she misdiagnosed me and the third day, she called me and wasn't listening to what I was saying but was reading the results of some test that was completely irrelevant. Now, my eye issues were not easily identifiable, it took two other doctors a detailed debate over what it could be, potential treatments, etc. and luckily there first guess was right.

Nonetheless, the whole thing got me thinking when the original Indian doctor called me and didn't even apologize for the mistake. I was quite rude and felt bad about it at first, but I thought about the time someone called me out for not doing my job correctly and it was annoying at first, but I needed to hear it. Last year, I wrote "this is unacceptable" early in the year on one of my student's workbooks because his handwriting was a disaster. Little did I know that he had some occupational problems with writing and had an ongoing struggle and was oversensitive to the issue because he did genuinely try. I apologized to my student directly and realized that a big part of my job is seeing the smaller details before you apply the bigger picture rule.. Funny, how that analogy totally parallels what this Indian doctor should have done with my eye. She was generalizing and if I would have continued to go to her, god knows how long it would have taken her to figure it out. But mostly, I wanted her to say I am sorry for not being right and I apologize for the amount of pain I caused you.

Good healthcare is a right, not a privilege but lately it seems like you can only have this right if you are privileged. The world needs to make life accessible so that we can live, eat, drink, play, learn and work peacefully and without danger or potential harm.

Something that we all need to start working towards*

Esta vendando el coche

Selling the car, at a bargain of 2500 usd, and a 1000 dollar loss, I am over it. You wouldn't think this is an adventure, but I feel like it has been already

First, the actual sale. I have not one mean bone in my body. This Iranian guy was going to buy it at value for 13,000 aed before the whole air con escapade happened. He was on the fence. Over the last 72 hours, I have reposted it, dealt with 10 other interested buyers and then, he phones. Christ, and although, I could have potentially gotten an extra $300, I folded and said, let's do it because the whole thing is giving me a giant headache; walking from one end of the other of a 2 km mall to find a working fax machine, so Merhzad can get insurance by tomorrow afternoon when the handover happens.

And then, as you do, I had to figure out if I had any fines to pay off when I go switch over the car. I checked at the beginning of April, shortly after returning from Italy, when I was contemplating posting the thing on and was home free. Low and behold, I checked today, just as I am about to turn the thing over. Well, o'er the last few weeks, I have been cruising around the city and spending more time on highways. I am not in the need for speed at any point, more the need for my bed and the pillow for my sleepy head; but I wouldn't have been surprised to see a ticket from speeding 10 km over or something ridiculous, because it's like they know that you are going to sell your car or something. However, no, it wasn't a ticket for speeding, which they actually can prove with cameras. It was a ticket for obstructing traffic. One which I never received in paper form; one which can not be proven. One which I am pretty sure I wasn't even at the location where I was apparently obstructing traffic one weekend evening. In other words, the government can just screw you here because they want to and because they know that we all believe we are walking on glass with them anywise..

So, selling the car, has lead me to realize that even places like the UAE, which has the reputation as being the most laid back of the Arab gulf states and having a higher tolerance for western behavior, are not what they seem. And while I would recommend people to continue to explore and investigate this country, I would say beware because you never know what bullshit they are going to get you for and where it's coming from. I mean is this the way to solve monetary issues; how is it fair that a person can receive a ticket for something that they aren't aware of and there is no proof. Innocent until proven ?

I realize that Venezuela is corrupt and it's potentially going to be a hundred times worse but no one denies it there. In fact, blogs, guide books, locals, expats will tell you that corruption swims all around you, which for me is most important. If a country has issues, own up to them, it's about time some place did.

Cooking disaster numero uno

After an unbelievably good month, it's begun to pour down shit.. Actually that's a bit of an exaggeration.

Nonetheless, my car which I am trying to sell seems to be a bit sicker than I imagined. I just need to move to the taiga. I wouldn't have a problem if I lived in a cooler biome... Right..

Anywho, I have been really frustrated mainly with the quality of the produce here over the last few months. You see, everything is imported to Dubai. The closest local produce one can obtain is from Oman and even then, you might get carrots, peppers and a few other products from there that are of mediocre quality. The next closest exporter for produce is India and let's just say, somehow, even though India has the geographical topography of the United States, 4 seasons in some parts of the country or at least all seasons at some point in one area or another; it still was difficult to find quality fruits and vegetables that stayed longer then 1-2 days.

3 weeks ago in Italy, I tried to eat salad everyday. I do love my greens but I also was basking in the fact that there was quality leaves of lettuce available. Salad in Dubai? Quite often, I will pick up something that declares itself Spinach and is some kind of hybrid or another leaf entirely. Other times, I pick up a head of romaine lettuce and literally take it out of the package and it turns brown like one of those technicolor shirts from the early 90s that changed color when heat hit it.

So, last night when I had this beautiful idea for butternut squash soup, I cooked it and was a little worried about the cantaloupe color of the vegetable before it was cooked. Yet, I have come to accept that things are not always what they seem in Dubai and that just might be part of the importation process/ change/ transformation that occurs. It didn't smell funky, there was no apparent mold. On top of that, the thing was ridiculously expensive about 8 dollars for a squash that was about 2 kgs...Say what? So, I prepared the soup, added a garlic/ herb stockcube and some cinnamon and it turned out okay. A bit salty, added some sour cream to counteract it, don't think it helped too much.

I know it's something to learn from but I rarely have cooking disasters. Baking disasters yes. This comes from my artistic flare and desire to feel out baking like I do with cooking. Baking is mathematical. As I learned from a few attempts at fudge when I was 13 and accidently stuck 1/3 cup of salt into the mix instead of 1/3 a tablespoon. Then, next time, with my rationale and unfamiliarity with baking, I overcompensated scared that the fudge would be too salty for no rhyme or reason and put too much sugar in just to make it sweet, which obviously didn't work.

Nonetheless, looking at all of this, inspires me and it also leads me to believe there are some areas in which pastries and sweets can be experimental. As I return to the US this summer, there are some amazing fruits that grow beautifully in American summers that are rare to the tropics and the desert, so I resolve to make rhubarb crumbles, peaches and cream trifles and berry treats galore, that can be cooking experiments at home this summer. Wonderful..

So, in my last few weeks in Dubai, I am going to stick to the not so wish washy produce and wish for some awesome lettuce to magically appear so I can recreate the smoked salmon, walnut, blue cheese, peach and red pepper salad from last May, that was so scrumptious dressing was not necessary due to all those sweet, savory and salty flavors swirling together.

Mmmm, dinner time.

Ciao! Ciao!

Trying to not to be overwhelmed and reading "The Happiness Project"

It's been an amazing month. Since it started, I mean April 1 was a half day of school, then, I went to Italy. I got back and was more flexible and stronger then I have ever been in yoga. I see yellow when I meditate which I like to believe means happiness and hunger, which is potentially related to my inner peace and my hunger to do something more with my life. My mind has been clearer and my skin too. I've been reading a book by Gretchen Rubin called "The Happiness Project" which is helping me to focus my energy on doing things that make me happy. It seems like a simple concept, but sometimes your body and mind have different opinions on what's right for your energy.

The happiness project and leaving Dubai has really brought to the surface that my time in Dubai, as chaotic and uncharming at times as it's been, I have made some unbelievable friends. And, that I have some amazing friends in my life that are supporting me on my life decisions and the choices I am making. I am very interested in agriculture or catering in the next 5 years and I am beginning to think about ways to transform the dream into a reality. Whether it means taking some courses on cheese farming and getting a loan to make a small business plan, relocating to Oregon or Upstate New York to do so, I am beginning to believe in possibility. And, I have some friends in Dubai that I used to be unsure of their purpose and yet, now, I know they will be there to help me in pursuing my dreams and potentially, help shape them into action.

It's also made me decide to focus more on this blog, something that I resolved to do at the beginning of the year and haven't been doing as much as I should. While, I set myself the mild goal of writing 3-4 times a month, I think I need to up my anty and be writing at least 3 times as week, so new goal and those of you who follow. Send me hate messages if I don't do it.

Food being the center of my existence, I have to include an update on that. I've been experimenting with vegetarian cooking and trying to eat a limited amount of meat, because I just have more energy from vegetables; however, I did make a kickass lamb stew from sherrified red wine, fresh mint, garlic, onions and fresh rosemary, that turned out gorgeous. Up next is butternut squash with all spice, creme freche and feta and homemade onion marmelade with wheat rolls...

Summer plans are laid out and involve a return to Korea to see some friends that might not make it to the other side of the world soon. Returning to old friends and letting them know constantly how much they mean to you, goal in general for the summer...

It's nearing the end of the month and things are a bit wild. Trying to sort out the car situation, shipping and another of getting out of Dubai items. It's very hard not to climb in bed and believe that when you wake up all the answers will surface magically... But, again, going back to the friends, they are trying to support the falls with pillows of laughters and stories of equal frustrations.

More to come in the next few days... xo