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As living in tropical country for long time, I love jelly-like-sweet more.
When I lived in Japan, I often ate the jelly-like-sweets in Summer. Those come from not gelatin, from seaweed or roots powder, contain lot of water, make body cool down, bring relief with sweetness.
I find difficulty to get the same ingredient here. So I started experiments, found some way.
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Tapioca pudding
Ingredients for 2 cups; Liquid 200cc, tapioca powder 10g, sweetness about 60g, additional
For example : Milk + maple syrup or honey / Soy milk + sugar + matcha(green tea powder) / Coconuts milk + palm sugar
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Put all of the ingredients in a pot. Mix well.
Taste a bit. It must be a bit too sweet. Because when it cool down, we feel less sweetness.
Heat over middle heat. Keep stiring from the bottom. Don’t stop. It will not take long time.
When it starts become gravy, remove from heat. Keep stiring until it becomes smooth and thick like potage soup. No need to become solid.
Pour into cup. Wrap it and keep in fridge.
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When it cool down, it is not solid, not liquid. Something in between.
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In the photo, these are soy milk+green tea and milk + ginger honey, which my friend taught me. It is mixture with honey and sliced ginger, which can be made into good drink with lime squeeze and hot water.
I waited the time came.
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I finish waiting for my body recovered.
I finish waiting for someone comes back and understand me.
I finish waiting for some miracle happens and suddenly things go well.
Observe the bottom of myself.
Accept real me.
Believe my wish.
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I do some good things from my heart.
I do some bad things with reasons.
I do my best in this moment. No regret. No worries.
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Tomorrow might not come. Then I can breath calmly now.
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Photo by Joseph
One day I got home-made very orangy soup. I was suprised it was so sweet but not pumpkin. I learned it was made from butternuts.
One day I fond it in a organic veges shop and was hooked!
Butternuts is like pumkin, a kind of winter squash. It is excellent in Beta-carotain, anti-oxidant.
Skin is thin. Fresh orange pulp is not so hard, Sooooo sweet and smooth.
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I love butternuts soup, enjoy its natural taste in very simlple way. I cook in same way with ‘Water-salt-roots’.
Over the soup I sprinkle ‘Seeds topping’, which my sister taught me.
Seeds topping
Place non-stick pan over low flame.
Add a bit of sesame oil, a pack of pumpkin seeds, sun-flower seeds and sesame seeds.
Roast for a while. Add a bit of soy sauce.
Wait till cool down. Keep in glass jar.
Very good over salad too.
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From a butternuts, half of cream goes to soup. Other half goes to sweets!
Butternuts whole wheat muffin
Ingredients for 8; Egg 2, unsalted butter 60g, white sugar 60g, butternuts cream, honey A(whole wheat flour 90g, cake flour 80g, baking powder 1.2tsp)
- Keep eggs in room temperature at least 1 hour.
- Pre-heat oven 180 degrees.
- Add cold butter in food processer. Grind until smooth.
- Add sugar. Grind until mixed well.
- Add 1/3 of egg. Grind until mixed well. Add 1/3 and grind. Add rest of them and mixed well.
- Add butternuts paste and honey.
- Add A. Mix well. Taste a bit. Add honey, if its not sweet enough.
- Divide the mixture in 8 cups. Bake them about 15 min.
In sunny morning I prepare teaching yoga, checking today’s sequence, having Banana bread.
Banana is excellent energy source, bring energy immediatly also last long, has vitamin B1, B2, niacin, potassium, magnesium, dietary fiber and low calorie.
When I was small girl, Mum said I could eat once a piece. One day Mum went shopping, I sneaked into kitchen and ate whole bunch…and got stomackache.
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I still love banana, buy a bunch often. When the sweetest time comes, I bake Banana bread.
Whole wheat banana bread
Ingredients; egg 1, pecan nuts, unsalted butter 80g, brown sugar 80g, banana 300g, honey 1Tbs. A(whole wheat flour for cake 80g, tapioca flower 40g, baking powder 10g)
- Keep egg in room temperature for 1 hour.
- Over the mould by wax paper. Pre heat the oven 180 degree.
- Put pecan nut in food processer. Grind and take it out.
- Put cold butter in the food processer. Grind until smooth.
- Add sugar. Grind until smooth.
- Add Egg. Grind until smooth.
- Add banana and honey. Grind until smooth.
- Pour mixture in a bowl. Add A on it. Mix gentry from the bottom.
- Pour in the mould. Level the surface. Sprinkle pecan nut. Push into the surface.
- Bake in the oven. When the surface is done, turn to 160 degree. Bake about 30 min until inside is baked.
Or I freeze banana. Peel the skin, squeeze lime on, wrap, flatten and freeze. I ate it without defrost like ice-cream, add in yogurt, can be ingredient of smoozie or other day’s banana bread.
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Eat up. Go out with full of enegy. Jolly day is waiting!
Backward extension poses are good for opening chest, strengthening back and spinal muscles, toning and stimulating abdominal organs.
Practice them after brest cancer operation helps breathing, toning thyroid gland, lungs, liver, kidneys, smoothing the operation scar and calm mind.
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Before surgery I could do strong backward extension, but didn’t like to do.
After surgery I couldn’t do at all, even though I knew it helped me to recover. One reason was the pain from the operation scar and too much extension in chest muscle because of the implant.
Other reason was I felt something worng.
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Yoga pose can work like medicine. Suitable pose in suitable degree in correct way brings releaseing feeling, smooth breath. If it is done in too weak way, feel nothing, get no effect. If it is done in too strong way, feel weird, suffer and stop breathing.
Be mindful. Never force ourselves. The wish to recover or ego tend to drive us do too much, too strong.
Listen our body. Body is much cleverer than we think. Some thing good for us, feel good.
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I re-started practice gradually. Now I love backward extension.
I see the people who works crazy hard and say they are not happy at all. They have important reasons, for family, for live, for unknown future…
I understand.
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However
The people love you might be worry for you, sorry for you. They might not be happy because they love you. They might keep their mouths shut untill break their heart and body.
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If your love ones sacrifice themselves for you, are you happy?
If they are not happy, what is your sucrifice for?
Be happy. Please.
Waiting a flight alone is like staying in no where, a neutral space between two world in Chronicles of Narnia.
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Gate is opened.
Send last sms, off my mobile.
Walk towards gate.
Take off my social duties,worries in daily life step by step.
Become just a person who has a name in passport.
Bring only a small bag with my core personality in.
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Sink down in the flight seat. Body gets light. I’m myself, ready to go blissfully.
We are in journey. Always.
Years years ago, an instructor said ‘Root your foot’ in Verkasana-Tree pose. I couldn’t understand the meaning and couldn’t do the pose. I got knocking knees and Hallux vaglus. That made me so difficult to do standing balancing poses
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Untill I learned from Cle Soren, the Iyengar senior teacher.
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From soles- the basement of body, whole body collapsed towards middle line and down.
My body was unstable. Mind lost confidence.
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I learned how to awake feet and legs muscles, extend myself upwards, how to be a growing tree, gets strangth and freedom in mind.
That is the meaning of ‘Root into the Earth’.
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Upper photo Left side, original feet. Right side, rooted feet. Toe muscles are working.
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Lower photo Left side, original feet. This has arches but not enough.
Right side, rooted feet. A- the arch muscle are working, B-the place between the toes are extended.
Lift all toes. Lift arch. By using B muscle, rotate out big toe, nail facing up.
By pressing heel side of big toe mound against the mat strongly and keeping the arch lifted, place big toe on floor.
Other toes on floor extended. But keep upper side of toes soft.
My frined took me to Indian restaurant and orderd ‘Bhindi-curry’. Immediatly I fell in love with it, Lady’s finger curry.
Lady’s finger has lots of dietary fiber, Vitamin C, mineral and beta carotene, which stimulate immune system. It helps the body cool down and digesting protain.
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Vege with Lady’s finger and Tororo-Konbu
Boil water with salt. Blanch vege (like asparagus, broccoli) and lady’s finger. Or for eggplant, peel the skin and put it in glass container with sake and sesame oil. Microwave it.
Cut the vegetable into one bite size. Chop the lady’s finger into thin slice.
Place the vege in a bowl. Add lady’s finger. Pour the Pon-zu. Place Tororo-konbu on top.
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Enjoy twinkle tiny stars dancing in your mouth!
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Tororo-konbu is shaved Konbu-kelp, like cotton candy. (in right photo bottom package)
Pon-zu or Aji-pon is vinegar, which you can get at supermarket in Bangkok. Or you might make by yourself.
Pon-zu
Put Konbu-kelp 3cm long (in saucer) and cold water 300cc in small pan. When it boil up, take kelp out. See protein issue 3
Add rice vineger 50cc (left), soy sauce 50cc (middle left),Mirin 25cc (middle right), Sake 25cc (right). When it boils again, Take 5 breath. Pour into glass jar. Wait untill cool down. Keep in fridge.
A summer day in the city of Angels 