I missed yesterday I think, but today, i continued to do my walking.. I prepared for about 3 hours today the food that we would eat tonight.. taking great care.
It is like each ingredient is appreciated, is special, and it is a different relationship to food.
I am giving it respect and this is almost the art of Zen! I am an Artist. so, cutting vegetables into different shapes, hydrated dried foods. that have traveled across oceans to come to my kitchen. Foods, that have been treasured for centuries, yet new to me.
I am learning of the YIN/YANG of food. the hot/cold, soft/crunchy.. all in balance. and.. adding the red date, is new to me.. I have never added fruits to savory soups before. Yet, the family are enjoying this.
We are coming into health, via food, and it is good. The house is full with the aroma of fresh cooking.. we are all smiling.. this is good. I feel, like I am doing something right, and there is no weight gain with this food. just health.I have a video of it all on my computer, but having trouble adding it to this.
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ArtyMa
4lbs
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Hi ArtyMa, publish some recipes for everyone to enjoy, I'm more of a bung it in the microwave type of cook myself, but open to suggestions, although your post suggests a hint of magic mushrooms in the ingredients
I have sought out food from a Japanese food shop and a Chinese/Asian supermarket. The ingredients are long...so, here goes.
Dried Bean Curd, Fresh Lotus Root. Lotus Root Seed Nuts. White fungus, it looks like sea coral sponge. But, yes, it is a mushroom, and BlackTree Ear Mushroom, Shitake Mushroom, String Mushroom. Chinese Cabbage , Broccoli, Courgette, chives, spring onions, carrot, baby sweet corn, coriander, bean sprout, pak choy, peanuts, which are soaked in water for hours. Firm tofu. Red Dates, Goji berries (wolf berry) White Radish, or Mooli? SeaWeed. chilli pepper.
I cant remember the rest, but Miso paste, also, just a spoon goes in the pot.
I cut the onions, chilly, ginger, garlic.. these are the first step which I fry in the bottom of the pot, with Coconut oil, a knob of butter, and peanut oil, and a dash of sesame oil.
I add cut lotus root, carrot, baby sweet corn... stir a couple of mins
I add the mushrooms. (Mushrooms I take the stalks out and fry first, as they are tougher.)
I add a dash of Soy Sauce.
The mushrooms that have been hydrating from being dried, I have drained, keep the liquid, as stock, same as the liquid from dried bean curd., keep and add later to the pot.
Add bean curd, which has been cut into about an inch size pieces. Keep the liquid for later.
Stir the pot.. all should be getting coating in the flavours of garlic, ginger etc..
baby sweet corn goes in ..
Peanuts go in, do not put the water into the pot from the peanunts.. there is enough liquid from the Dried Mushrooms/Bean Curd.
Add courgette. Spring Onions. Red Dates, Wolf Berry.
The food cooks for 45 mins now, with added liquid from the bean curd and mushrooms.
the fresher veg, do not get added until the last five mins. to keep colour and nutrients.
Serve with fresh coriander on top, sea weed goes in last also.. some you ahve to pre soak, but I just cut them up and put them in in last 5-10 mins.. a little more of the chopped chive on top with corriender.. looks great.
Additions...
Family like meat.. so they can have like tonight, chicken, roasted thighs on top of the big bowl.. and Udon Noodle... these are big and fat..
If you want a noodle, not any calories.. try Konjac Noodle... made from a root from China/Japan/Asia.. a Yam.. has zero calories.. absorbs the flavour of the food, liquid it is cooked in.. it satiates the hunger... one is full.. so does not snack.. eat more.. fills you up for long time.
There are so many variations..
adding Tofu, boiled egg, sea food, pork rib, chicken on bone.. etc.
My family quite like the Konjac noodles, I'm not keen on noodles anyway so it doesn't bother me. I'm impressed at the effort involved but can't see myself going to that much effort unfortunately. I'll have to see if I can get the wife to try it for me. I think half my weight loss is because if I go to the fridge for a snack and there isn't something instantly available I give up. Now that my wife has got the message that I won't eat rice three times a day I often fend for myself but only tend to use 4-5 ingredients and two of those are salt and pepper. I'm more chops with fried red cabbage, mushroom and cheese omelette, duck breast with cabbage, lamb kebabs with coleslaw, Greek salad, etc.
mmm... I could see my son drooling at that! One is totally into his meat, the other, his pizza /pasta.
I have found a relaxation, a 'feel good' sense, in taking time, to prepare all the foods.. and, the children see what i am doing.. and they are interested.. and the waiting.. for things that are soaking with water.. creates an anticipation.
So.. one son said today, that he would like to experiment with these foods.. and see what he can create..
Duck.. now that is something we have not had since Christmas.. I will look out for that. Not often i see in the shops to be honest.
I understand, why you are losing weight..
I have not done so well.. great intentions.. but.. so much temptation in my kitchen!
It's a brand called Nature Bridge. I'm not sure they sell this cat food in the UK. I chose this brand because it's grain and other additives-free. naturebridge.cn/en/
If you want to share a video, create a new YouTube account (using an existing one might let people find out who you are), upload it there, then click "share" and "copy link". Paste the link here, and the video will embed.
That is a very interesting thought.. I have a youtube channel, but do not really use it.. I have allowed a villa to share upon it, so it has had views.. but thought for me, my stuff, I could do with a new page, I will look into that, not the most tech savvy, but.. will give it a go, thank you.
I will have to wait to get my son to help me upload from my phone, on to the computer, some pics i took, I have a few of them.. I would think that ThaiLand, you will have the most wonderful of foods to enjoy.. It is so tropical, a bit like when i lived in Australia, in the rain forest. Abundance of foods, and the languages spoken was Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese etc.. The foods.. mmmm... the food.. .. beautiful.
I am really enjoying the discovery of the dried foods.. and learning. Thank you Mr Happy Man.
Fabulous post! I guess I only have around an hour to prepare my evening meal but I love every minute of it. Strange, you’d think paying lots of attention to food might make us more obsessed with it and therefore more inclined to overeat. I find the opposite - if I take the opportunity to relish every chop, crunch, scent, texture, I’m much more inclined to relish every mouthful of the healthy choices I’ve made and eat slowly, happily, just enough. Of course I totally get it’s easy for me to do as I don’t have kids. But so worth really getting into cooking if we can!
Yes! This is exactly how I feel! Whilst I am doing it, I am not aware of wanting to eat.. I just feel gratitude, a sense of well being.. and really look forward to the meal that will be eaten later. Especially when I have to soak dried food.. we watch the foods transform in shape, color.. and texture.. It is like we hold back from eating because we know the treats in store for us. Anticipate the rewards!
I love the way you describe this. Until some one actually does this.. they may not really truly understand the experience we are talking about.. but, I definitely enjoy this way of doing / preparation of food. Zen! The art of beauty in imperfection... Elegance in its simplicity.
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