Happy New Year!!!

Photo Credit

May all be well

Namaste

Taj Minar: Indian Restaurant and Bar in Davao

Doing my favorite past time here in the desert... that's getting lost in cyberspace... I came across the Taj Minar website... an Indian Restaurant and Bar in Davao City. It was just a shame that I was only able to know about this place now that I'm back in Riyadh. Will make sure to visit the place in July. It might be a good place to start promoting ashtanga yoga in Davao.

Ciambotta (Southern Italian Vegetable Stew)

A Dr. Weil recipe which sounds delicious for the cold weather.

I'm wishing to have more vegetable stew and soups this wintertime so I'm gathering everything that sound delicous and easy to prepare. My friend Ces suggested that I should bring a small slow cooker to Riyadh but with my disorganized mind, I ended up not buying one. I already saw a unit that I liked at one of those appliance shops in Trinoma, but guess what? I'm already back in the desert and will end up preparing the stew and soups the old fashion way. Both are easy to prepare and I'm just looking for an even easier way to prepare it and Ces suggested the slow cooker. Oh well... maybe next time.

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Description
This vegetable-laden stew makes a delicious dinner with crusty bread. When reduced just a bit, it could also make a hearty pasta sauce.

Ingredients
1/2 lb. eggplant, unpeeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoons good, fruity extra-virgin olive oil1 large onion, thinly sliced
5 large cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
a large handful of fresh basil, stems removed, chopped
1 lb. ripe plum tomatoes, passed through a manual food mill, or peeled and chopped finely in the food processor (or use a 14-oz. can Italian plum tomatoes, drained and processed)
3/4 lb. new potatoes, or any waxy potato, scrubbed and cut into 1x2-inch pieces
1/2 lb. zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch rounds
1 large or 2 small sweet red or yellow peppers, seeded and cut into 1x2-inch strips
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Toss the eggplant cubes in a colander with 2 teaspoons salt. Let it sit in the sink until it starts to sweat out the bitter juices.Rinse them, drain, them and pat dry, squeezing a little.
2. In a large pot, heat the oil. Add the onion, garlic, and celery. Stir-cook over high heat for about 5 minutes, adding a little water as necessary to prevent sticking and burning. Add the basil and stir-cook for a minutes, then add the tomatoes. When it comes to a simmer, add the eggplant, potatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir, bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Add the zucchini and peppers and simmer 15 minutes more, or until all of the vegetables are tender.
3. Taste for salt and pepper, transfer to a warm serving bowl, and allow to stand 15 minutes before serving.

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For more healthy recipes, visit Dr. Weil's website here.

Hallelujah Diet

The title caught my eyes... I was browsing through yahoo and found this. I'm not about to adopt this diet but thought it's interesting enough to post here.

The promoter of this diet is Rev. George Malkmus, a 70+ year-old Fundamentalist Christian minister who is popular not because of his approach to the scripture but his diet.

His working philosophy is from Genesis 1:29 "then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food."

Typical meal consists of a teaspoon of powder called barley max, raw fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts. I became very skeptical after hearing the barley max powder... thought it's another one of those Western commercialization schemes.

Followers of this Bible-based diet proclaim its positive effects on their health but nutrition experts say these anecdotal claims are dificult to prove.

Prof. Cheryl Rock from the Univ. of California San Diego co-authored a study on breast cancer patients who ate heaping amounts of fruits and vegetables and found that they did not enjoy better outcome. She finds the Halleluyah diet too extreme, difficult to maintain, and lacks protein. It is also too risky in terms of meeting all nutritional needs.

I haven't read everything in the Hallelujah Acres' website and I only based this blog on what I saw in the Yahoo Health Video (was trying to link it here but couldn't find the url... you can probably search it in yahoo if you want to view it). Click here if you want to download the free 12-lesson course on Biblical Nutrition.

Back in the Desert

I'm back in Riyadh... survived a long flight from Manila... 1.5 hours from Manila to Hongkong... 4 hours transit... 8 hours 45 min flight from Hongkong to Bahrain... 1.5 hours transit... and 57 minutes flight from Bahrain to Riyadh. It was long... but bearable. The inflight entertainment wasn't as good as Emirates and Etihad but at least service was great. Will post more about what happened in the last 2 weeks later. Got to go to my volleyball class now.

Depressed and Anxious

At the Davao International Airport at the moment waiting for my Cebu Pacific flight back to Manila. My high school buddy drove me to the airport and the conversation about business and earning money as much as you can while you're still young was agonizing. Teaching in the academe and trying to live a simple, yogic life at the same time, conversations centered on money had always made me really uncomfortable. Makes me think twice if leaving the job in Saudi at the middle of 2008 will be a wise decision... but I know what I want and I guess I just have to focus on my path... guess that's also the reason why it had been recommended to surround one's self with like minded people.... or else, you'll get sucked into the conventional consciousness of most people.

Many things happened... food-wise, there was too much garlic in the diet which of course, energetically speaking, could lead to this present feeling of anxiety. Glad it was only one day thought that I had to get drowned into the "spirit" of alcohol. Great wine from Australia, I should say.

Will probably have more time to reflect on these things once I get back to the desert. For the meantime, I wish everyone well.

Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu.

PETA NAMES THE BEST OF 2007

Got this from RJ Ledesma through the Sai Shanti Yoga E-group. Just reposting it here.

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PETA NAMES THE BEST OF 2007

From Chimara's Faux Beef to Starbucks' Soy Latte to The Farm Restaurant in Batangas, Filipinos Are Helping to Fuel the Compassion Revolution

Manila — No matter where you go these days, you'll find that more and more people are demanding healthy, humane, and environmentally friendly vegan and vegetarian options. And nowhere is the trend more evident than in the Philippines , which is why People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Asia-Pacific (PETA) combed the country to find the best of the best of everything vegetarian in the Philippines for 2007. The results are in and include the following:

· Best Vegan Sandwich : Chimara's Sweet Chili "Beef" Pita Romana

Even hard-core meat-eaters lick their chops at the thought of this meal-in-a-pita—juicy mock-beef served with fresh tomatoes, corn, and lots of fresh, spicy salsa.

· Best Dairy-Free Ice Cream: Soy Gelato at Pazzo in the Rockwell Mall

Pazzo's gelato is available in vanilla, chocolate, and chocolate-chunk flavors. All varieties are lactose-free, so they're a good choice for Filipinos—about 90 percent of Filipinos are lactose-intolerant.

· Best Vegetarian Grocer: Healthy Options

Featuring everything from veggie burgers and dairy-free ice cream to cosmetics and household products that aren't tested on animals, Healthy Options is the place to go for all your vegetarian and cruelty-free shopping.

· Best Vegetarian Appetizer: Queens Restaurant's Mock-Chicken Satay

You'll feel like royalty after your first taste of Queens ' succulent vegetarian meat chunks smothered in peanut sauce.

· Best Vegan Dessert: Chocolate Cake at Greens Café

The most chocolaty-chocolate cake in the land—bar none!

· Best Vegetarian Restaurant: The Farm in Batangas

The Farm is as unique a restaurant as you'll find anywhere, offering an extensive "raw" lunch and dinner buffet. The fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, and seeds are cooked at low temperatures in order to preserve all of their natural flavors and nutrition. Specialties including creamy yet dairy-free pastas, rich soups, tangy stir-fries, and fresh salads blanket the buffet tables. The lentil and walnut pâté—served with toasted-coconut crackers—is not to be missed.

· Best Vegetarian-Friendly Restaurant: Queens

Although it also serves nonvegetarian food, Queens offers a 16-page menu with an astounding 80 vegetarian dishes inspired by the cuisines of India, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and other Asian nations. PETA's favorites include the vegetarian-chicken satay, the gado-gado traditional Indonesian salad, tofu with fresh chili, and the perfectly spiced curry-vegetable pizza.

· Best Soymilk: Silk

Silk is available at many locations, including Rustan's Taste, SM supermarkets, and Landmark.

· Best Soy Latte: Starbucks

· Best Affordable Vegetarian Food: Bodhi

Pure and simple, Bodhi's mock-meats have it all over the "real thing."

· Best Vegetarian Indian Food: Prince of Jaipur

One taste of the lentil dahl says it all!

· Best Vegetarian Thai Food: People's Palace

PETA recommends the tofu red curry, the Som Tam, and the pomelo salad.

· Best Vegetarian Japanese Food: Red Kimono

Just ask for the meat- and egg-free menu at Red Kimono and you're all set. The best of the best includes the spinach layered with tofu and miso paste; homemade vegan mayonnaise swirled over the kyuri kani salad; vegetarian maki (which tastes like sushi); and for dessert, banana katsu with chocolate sauce (hold the ice cream).

· Best Vegetarian Chinese Food: Happy Veggie

Located in the heart of Manila 's Chinatown , Happy Veggie serves authentic and delicious Chinese cuisine with enough mock-meat dishes to satisfy any meat-eater.

· Best book: Skinny Bitch

Written by a former model and a former agent for a top U.S. modeling agency, Skinny Bitch uses an in-your-face approach to promote a healthy vegan diets as the best way to stay slim and fit and to help stop animal suffering at the same time.

"When it comes to delicious foods that are also kind to animals, your health, and the Earth, the Philippines doesn't take a back seat to anyone," says PETA Director Jason Baker . "With all the delicious meat- and dairy-free foods now available, there has never been a better time to go vegetarian."

A Locations and contact information for PETA's best of 2007 winners:

· Chimara: Level 4, Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center , Makati City ; (02) 757-

5652; Level 1, Entertainment Mall, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City ; (02) 556-0809

· Pazzo: Powerplant Mall, Rockwell Drive , Corner of Estrella Street , Rockwell

Center, Makati , (02) 756-5011

· Healthy Options: HealthyOptions.com.ph

· Queens Restaurant: 146 Jupiter St. , Makati ; (02) 895-1316

· Greens Café: 20-A Scout Tuazon Corner Scout Castor, South Triangle, Quezon City ; (02) 410-2440

· The Farm (Batangas): TheFarm.com.ph

· Silk soymilk: Available at Rustan's Taste, SM supermarkets, and Landmark

· Starbucks: Starbucks.com

· Bodhi: SM Cubao, SM North EDSA , SM Megamall, SM South Mall, SM

City Manila , SM Makati

· Prince of Jaipur: Unit E, The Fort Strip , Bonifacio Drive , Bonifacio Global

City, Taguig; (02) 911-1204

· People's Palace: PeoplesPalaceThai.com

· Red Kimono: www.redkimono.com.ph

· Happy Veggie: ( 958 G. Masangkay St. ; (2) 245-9257

· Skinny Bitch (book): SkinnyBitch.net, also available at Powerbooks,

National Bookstore, and Fully Booked

For more information please visit PETAAsiaPacific.com.

Anna and Baby Sigge

Received this from Anna a couple of days ago. As mentioned in the previous posts, I just arrived in Davao and it is only now that I'm able to check my mails and post updates. Anna was my batch mate during the Yoga Thailand teacher training intensive last July. It was great to have her in our batch because we were able to have a session on prenatal yoga and were able to discuss modifications which are also applicable to "big" people.

Davao

I'm in Davao right now and just finished dinner. Law-uy, a Visayan vegetable soup with kalkag (small dried shrimps - tasty but very mucus forming so hello vaman tomorrow morning), stir fried cabbage with bokchoy and cashews, grilled tuna tail (a Davao delicacy - tried to resist but... the stomach feels really heavy at the moment).

Father and I drove 5 hours from Cagayan de Oro City to Davao, but before that I took a 2 hour ride from Iligan City to CDO. Had an Intro to Ashtanga workshop in Iligan for 2 days and was glad that it was well received. Will probably return there in July for a full week workshop. Got very few photos but will post them soon.

It has been a journey... literally and emotionally. Will blog about this next time. Will spend time with my family tonight.

Whoever is reading this... may you be well.

Namaste.

Elle's Incredible India Adventure

Come Fly with Me

Breakfast was good. Porridge with muesli and cardamom milk.... yeah, they have cardamom-flavored evaporated milk in the market. Making chai is even easier with this but it doesn't taste as good compared to chai made with freshly prepared spices.

Nuke 4 tbsp oats in 1.5 cups water. Add one cup of muesli, 1 tbsp brown sugar and pour in the milk. I use fresh milk sometimes instead of water in preparing the porridge but I used only what's left in my cupboard and fridge.

Will be flying out at midnight. Have to be at the airport early as the airport can be very busy during this time of the year. Can't wait to be on that plane.

Lunch will probably be salad, humus and bread again. Will resume preparing hot meals when I come back after the Eid. Dinner later should be good though as I still have some pumpkin and broccoli left. Thai stir fry again, probably.

Cheers.

Stomach Too Full for Asanas

Mar & Ruby, Mark & I had some pasta and pizza at the Pizza Company before heading home this afternoon. It's our last full day in Riyadh before Mark and I fly tomorrow night for Manila.

I'm supposed to do asanas this afternoon but the stomach is still too full to begin practice... plus, I've asked Mar to accompany me to Mamfwa, where they sell original perfumes for 20-50 riyals cheaper compared to the retail shops. Realized I still don't have any Christmas presents for my family so decided to do some last minute shopping tonight before I do my final packing.

Breakfast was good... the usual... muesli with laban and coffee...

Lunch was so-so... mozarella cheese sandwhich with cucumber, salad bowl, humus and Arabic bread. Had another cup of coffee at the office and also a cup of tea a few hours after.

Have to start packing now or I'll be panicking tomorrow.

Cheers.

When will I ever learn?

As expected, the stomach was heavy with mucus this morning. Thought I could let it go and just do my pranayama without doing vaman but it didn't feel quite right so I proceeded with the ritual. Got to use the new travel kettle to boil water.

No asanas today since it's my official rest day. Thursday and Wednesday are the official weekends in this part of the world and I start late on Saturdays so there's asana practice for those days, plus Sundays, I practice with a group at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the afternoon. Monday is mid-week, so...

Breakfast was good. The usual minus the banana as I've been lazy... yeah... really lazy to get some bananas from Othaim which is only about 3-5 minutes walk from where I live. I told you, it's too much of a task already as the mind is already on that plane home.

Lunch was ok. Some cheese pizza and salad from the cafeteria.

Went to the Philippine Oversease Labor Office to get my OEC (overseas employment certificate) that will exempt me from paying the travel tax on my way back here.

Had a donut and a cup of tea upon returning to the office. Now, just chilling out and waiting to open the Health Club at 6:00pm.

Four Ways to Eat Healthily this Holiday Season

1. Plan your day.
2. Be aware of the nutritional values of different foods.
3. Watch your alcohol consumption.
4. Portion out your foods.

Read the full article from Dr. Weil here.

Good Dinner

After the pathetic lunch of instant noodles, I went to the cafeteria to get a salad plate and bread to offset the guilt that I felt after eating that junk.

Went home at 3:30pm and decided to practice even though the moon phase calculator said it's new moon today. The calendar I got from ashtanga.com said yesterday was the new moon so I took the rest yesterday. Guess it's just about a balance between following tradition and listening to the body.

Prepared my favorite Thai pumpkin with egg stir fry. Felt satisfied and grateful to have a wonderful meal tonight. Had toasted bread with soft halva and coco jam for dessert, and a glass of mixed berry juice.

Oriental Vegetarian Meals

Just called the Cathay Pacific office here in Riyadh and requested a vegetarian meal for my flight this Thursday. Learned my lesson the last time I flew with Etihad.

Since relocating here in Riyadh in March 2006, I've flown 5 times already, once with Saudia, and twice each with Etihad and Emirates. They usually had some vegetarian or fish options in their menu so I didn't use to bother calling to request special meals in advanced. However, on my way back to Riyadh via Etihad last summer, they only had chicken and beef. I politely asked the flight attendant if they had some other options but she just said no. She's not really one of the nicest FA's I've met... but that's another story. After that, I've flown with Emirates and requested special meals in advanced.

Found this link on Airline Vegetarian Meals. The Cathay Pacific agent who took my request asked which type of vegetarian meals did I want. He mentioned two, the first one I didn't hear clearly and the 2nd one was Oriental vegetarian, so I opted for that one.

I'm having some instant Thai noodles for lunch. Garbage, I know...

Cheers.

Vegetable Chowder

Had this for dinner last night... and now for lunch. I didn't puree it last night as the recipe didn't call for it... decided to puree it for lunch though just to have that feel that I'm having something different... yeah... who am I kidding?

INGREDIENTS
1 medium onion, chopped.
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped.
2 medium sized potatoes, cubed
1 medium can sweet corn cream-style.
1 vegetable stock cube
500ml water
2 tbsp olive oil

INSTRUCTION
Fry the onion and red bell pepper in the olive oil for about 5 minutes or until soft. Dump everything in... and wait for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy.

Creamy Mushroom Soup by Richard Phillips

I'm preparing this now... just had 2 fruit bowls after practice and now I'm starving. Was planning of having corn chowder using the recipe at the back of the Kallo veggie stock that Maria sent me but I don't have some of the ingredients. It's so much of a task to go to Othaim... I'm a lazy ashtangi until I get to that plane.

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Ingredients

½ onion, roughly chopped
1 large mushroom, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled
30g/1oz butter
½ large potato, peeled and chopped
150ml/5fl oz water
½ chicken or vegetable stock cube
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp double cream

Method

1. Place the chopped onion and mushroom into a small food processor with the garlic and blend together.
2. Heat the butter in a saucepan. Add the onion and mushroom mixture and fry for a few minutes. Add the potato, water, stock cube and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover with a lid and simmer for ten minutes.
3. Add the cream and pour into a bowl to serve immediately.

Found this recipe here.

7 More Days

7 more days and I'll be flying home... looking forward to going home that cooking becomes so much of a task... think I've said this in my last entry.

Breakfast was good... fruit bowl (kiwi, strawberries and banana)... porridge with milk and coco sugar... and a cup of hot milk chocolate... Wednesday is a "free" day for me so basically did nothing but get lost in cyberspace.

At about 10am, Marshal offered me a cup of coffee... Nescafe 3-in-1... sh*t according to my Aussie uncles... then received the overtime check from Hossam so Mar and I headed to the bank to have it encashed. Went to the cafeteria to get some salad, humus and Arabic bread... to make sure the stomach is already full before the Pinoy lunch courtesy of Sir Tony and JR. It has been our custom here to bring food for everyone... well at least for all the Filipinos here... if it's your birthday. Pakain as we say it.

The food? KFC fried chicken, palabok with I-don't-wanna-ask-as-I-had-some (maybe I'll do vaman tomorrow), and stir fried broccoli with ground beef and shrimp. Sir Tony asked me to taste the broccoli as he prepared it but I said no for an obvious reason. He said to just take away the beef... I jokingly said, "but the spirit of the cow is already in the broccoli".

So that's what I usually do now whenever there's a gathering among the Pinoys here at the University. I eat first before I join them so I can just pick whatever I can eat from the table and not offend them. They have been very considerate actually but still need to be educated more about vegetarianism. For them, it's just another diet plan for you to maintain your weight or lose some body fats. Sometimes, I tell them that I'm a "Hindu-Muslim"... I don't eat pork nor beef... I still have to find a religion that doesn't eat chicken so I can have an excuse for saying no to the bird as well... at least now there's bird flu threatening the Kingdom so I can use that as an excuse for now.

Lazy, Lazy, Lazy

Ate one of the 3 chocolates that Maria sent me after practice early this evening. Jen & Ver came to visit Mar & Ruby so thought of sharing the chocolates with them as they just had dinner... "for dessert", I said.

As usual, got lazy cooking something fresh so just had 2 slices of toasted wheat bread with cheese and a simple tomato salad for dinner.

Thinking so much about going home that preparing meals becomes so much of a task. 8 more days and I will be on my way back home.

Lunch was salad and Arabic bread from the University cafeteria so at least I had something fresh and wholesome today.

Time to sleep now. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Smothered Tempeh Sandwich

Found this recipe here. I think I'll make this this weekend. Haven't been to the Indonesian store where I buy tofu and tempeh lately. The nutty taste is really wonderful specially when fried.
======================================
Makes 4 servings

ACTIVE TIME: 30 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 30 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

1 8-ounce package tempeh
1 tablespoon canola oil
10 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup dry red wine (will need to find a replacement for this though)
4 ounces sliced provolone cheese
8 thin slices whole-wheat bread, toasted

Cut tempeh in half widthwise, then slice each piece horizontally to make 4 thin slices total.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onion and salt and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and stir in wine. Add tempeh slices and spoon some of the mushroom mixture over them; cook until the tempeh is heated through and the wine has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, top with cheese, cover and let stand until the cheese melts, about 1 1/2 minutes.
To assemble sandwiches, divide the tempeh among half the toasted bread. Top with the mushroom mixture and the remaining toasted bread. Serve immediately.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 452 calories; 19 g fat (6 g sat, 7 g mono); 20 mg cholesterol; 33 g carbohydrate; 26 g protein; 5 g fiber; 595 mg sodium; 596 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Calcium (35% daily value), Iron (20% dv), Magnesium & Potassium (17% dv).
2 Carbohydrate Servings. Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 vegetable, 2 high fat meat.

Early Christmas Presents from Ireland

Irish Organic Cookies... gone in 20 minutes

Saving this up for dessert this weekend.

Will prepare a nice dinner and have this and coffee for dessert.

Organic Veggie Stocks

A Package from Ireland

I received Maria's presents today. Organic cookies, organic vegetable stock cubes, chocolates and a Christmas card. The cookies were crumbled though. The Saudi post must have checked if there are illegal stuffs in the package... I've heard a lot of story about how stringent they can be but I guess they have loosen up a bit already.

When I first arrived in the Kingdom in March last year, the immigration security officer had to open my luggage and manually check what's inside... my books were browsed for indecent photos and luckily, I didn't bring any cds with me or they would have checked it for inappropriate contents and I'd end up waiting a bit longer. The 2nd time I arrived which was after the 2006 Ramadan break, they started using the x-ray machine and my luggage went through it. I still had to open it though as I had suspicious bottles inside... brought got some bottles of Chinese sesame oil as they are pricey here... the sesame oil they sell at the supermarket is also not as aromatic as the Chinese variety/Lee Kum Kee brand.

Breakfast was porridge this morning and a cup of korean green tea with roasted rice. Lunch is egg sandwich with tomato slices. Starting to get even lazier with cooking now because probably of the excitement of going back home next week. Still got 2 slices of leftover Mediterranean veggie pizza from the Pizza Company early dinner yesterday. Will have those for snack later.

Will be posting the photos of what Maria sent me later.

Cheers.

Food Journal 12-02

Breakfast at 7:00am
Muesli with laban and 1.5 tsp brown sugar

Coffee with 1.5 tsp coco sugar



Lunch at 11:15am
Steamed rice
Tofu & Cabbage Garlic-Basil Stir fry (ate only half of it)



12:30pm
2 pcs dates bar
2 pcs fig bar

tea at 1:00pm

Pizza with Mar and Ruby at 4:30pm

Food Journal 12-01

Breakfast at 7:30am
Muesli, laban + 1 tbsp brown sugar

Coffee at 8:50am

Lunch at 12nn
Tofu & Water Spinach (Kangkong) Stir fry
Steamed rice

2 pcs Swedish Chocolate Balls at 2pm

Coffee at 3:30pm

3 pcs Hershey's Reese's Cups

Dinner at 6pm
1 large Felafel sandwich

Dorset Muesli

My usual breakfast.

1 cup with sliced bananas, 1 -2 tsp of brown sugar, 2-3 cups of laban (a Middle Eastern thick yoghurt drink) and you have enough energy to last the entire day. It's a bit pricey though. The one pictured above is the cheapest variety and it costs US$4.30 for a 500g box. For a middle class overseas Filipino worker like me, this is already an indulgence. But it tastes really good and it's packed with nutrients. One box lasts for a week or two so it isn't really as expensive as one might think.

This "simply delicious" variety has oat flakes, barley flake, wheat flakes, sultanas, raisins, Chilean flame raisins, toasted and malted wheat flakes, sunflower seeds, dates, Brazil nuts, and whole roasted hazelnuts.

Nepal Tibetan Arts Shop in Samui

Thought of posting this here for those who'd like to shop for a Tibetan singing bowl in Samui.

Success in Yoga through Moderation in Diet

"One who devoted to Yoga, practicing continence, moderation in diet and renunciation, attains, success in one year or a little more..." - Hathapradipika I:57

Potato Spinach Soup

Had this for dinner last night.

INGREDIENTS
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1 bunch spinach
1/2 cup green peas
1 vegetable stock cube
1 tsp sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste
sprinkle of dried rosemary
500ml water

INSTRUCTIONS
Bring the water to a boil then add the potatoes. Cook for about 10 minutes, then add the green peas, vegetable stock. Bring to a boil again and add the rest of the ingredients. Turn off the heat and let it cool for a moment before pureeing using a hand blender. Quick and tasty.

Vegetarian Chilli from Maria

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1½ tsp mild chilli powder
2 green chillies, de-seeded and chopped
255g/9oz vegetarian mince such as Quorn
85g/3oz chestnut mushrooms, chopped
55ml/2fl oz red wine
450ml/16fl oz vegetable stock
400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes
400g/14oz can red kidney beans, drained
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Method
Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Toss in the onion and fry for 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the garlic, chilli powder, green chillies, vegetarian mince and mushrooms and fry until browned.

Pour in the red wine and, when this has evaporated, add the stock and the tomatoes. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the kidney beans and simmer for a further 15 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serve with corn bread and/or steamed rice and a spoon of tomato salsa.

Tofu, Broccoli, Eggplant with "Mapo Tofu" Sauce

This was breakfast, lunch and dinner today. Not that good but it was ok. This was the first time that I used the "Mapo Tofu Sauce". It's not quite the way I thought it should taste, but anyways.

INGREDIENTS:
Tofu
Broccoli, nuked for 1 minute
Eggplant
Lee Kum Kee Mapo Tofu Sauce
Vegetable Oil
Dash of Sesame Oil

INSTRUCTIONS
Fry the eggplant and tofu. Add the broccoli, stir fry for about 1 minute. Add the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over steamed rice.

The Fellowship of the Cheesecake

Trin, Nicola, Livia, Jane & Nat, proudly present their cheesecakes. One of those afternoons at the Art Cafe by June in Bo Phut. ;-) Nicola liked the muffins more though.

Body Intelligence Tips

1. Eat in a settled atmosphere.
2. Never eat when you are upset.
3. Always sit down to eat.
4. Eat only when you feel hungry.
5. Reduce ice-cold food and drink.
6. Don't talk while chewing your food.
7. Eat at a moderate pace, neither too fast nor too slow.
8. Wait until one meal is digested before eating the next(2-4 hours for light meals and 4-6 hours for full meals).
9. Sip war water with your meal.
10. Eat freshly cooked meals whenever possible.
11. Minimize raw foods - cooked food is much easier to digest.
12. Do not cook with honey - heated honey is considered toproduce ama.
13. Drink milk separately from meals, either alone or withother sweet foods.
14. Experience all six tastes at every meal.
15. Leave 1/3 to 1/4 of your stomach empty to aid digestion.
16. Sit quietly for a few minutes after your meal.

Source: Perfect Health by Deepak Chopra. Three Rivers Press. NY 2000. pp310-311.

Food Journal 11-25

Breakfast at 6:45am
Split Mung bean with Butternut Squash (Pinoy Dhal)
Papadum
Rice

Coffee at 9am and 10:30am

Lunch at 12nn
Salad dish with humus and Arabic bread from the cafeteria

Dinner at 7:30pm
Same with breakfast

Food Journal 11-24

Breakfast at 7am

A bowl of Dorset muesli with slices of bananas, 1 tbsp brown sugar, laban.
1 pc toasted wheat bread with butter
1 cup of coffee with brown sugar

Tea at 10am

Lunch at 12nn

Pumpkin & Basil Stir Fry with Egg
Steamed Rice

Coffee at 3pm and 4 dates bar

Dinner 5:30pm
Felafel

Broccoli, Cabbage & Cashew Stir Fry

Had this for lunch today... a full plate!

INGREDIENTS
2 cups shredded cabbage
2 cups broccoli flowers
a handful of cashew nuts
2 cloves garlic, sliced into thin sticks
about 1 tsp ginger, sliced into thin sticks
1 tsp black sesame seeds
1 tsp roasted white sesame seeds
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Laziness can be an advantage sometimes at it makes you explore your creativity, hehehe... yeah, I'm making an excuse for nuking the vegetables before stir frying them. 4o seconds on high.

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan, add the ginger and garlic slices and stir fry for about a minute then add the sesame seeds, and sesame oil... stir fry for another minute... add the vegetables and cashews, stir fry for another minute... add the vegetarian oyster sauce, salt and pepper to taste... and serve over steamed rice. Sattvic? NOT... omit the garlic if you like... but that's probably one thing I will take a long time to let go of, hehehe... cheers.

It's dessert time. I'm having some chocolate balls now.

Chocolate Balls & A Cup of Hot Milk

Since I can't get Tim Tams in this part of the world... or maybe I'm just not looking hard enough... and I haven't asked Peter, my Aussie boss, if he knows where to get one... but anyways, I've found an alternative... Swedish chocolate balls and guilt-free chocolate balls with a cup of hot milk... hehehe... talk about sugar rush and chocolate addiction.

Recipe courtesy of Yoga Thailand recipe book. Glad I bought a copy. ;-)

Swedish Chocolate Balls

I want to be greedy and won't be share this recipe... hahaha... not. The cook book from where I got this recipe is at home so I won't be able to post the exact ingredients for now. Hopefully, I'll be able to visit this post again so I can update it.

INGREDIENTS

Oatmeal, cocoa powder, brown sugar, vanilla powder, 1 tbsp strong coffee powder dissolved in 1 tbsp water, butter at room temperature.

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix the dry ingredients all together in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix well until there's no more lumps. Add the coffee, again mix well. Form into 1 tbsp balls and roll over freshly grated coconuts or coconut powder. Freeze for 20 minutes and it's ready to serve.

Guilt-Free Chocolate Balls

One of the favorite after meal sweet at Yoga Thailand.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups dates (the YT recipe book recommends apricots or figs for Kapha people)
2 cups raisins (I used 4 cups of dried mixed fruits instead of dates and raisins)
1 cup sunflower seeds (can't find shelled ones so I used walnuts)
1/4 cup black sesame seeds (or white if you can't get black)
2-3 tbsp cocoa powder (more if you like)
oil to facilitate grinding seeds (or tahini)
ground up peanuts, cocoa powder, or sesame for rolling (I used coconut powder in some)

INSTRUCTIONS
Soak the dried fruits for a couple of hours. Grind the sunflower seeds and sesame seeds in a blender, add a little oil to aid mixing. I used tahini to facilitate grinding. Didn't measure how much I put though but approximately 3-5 tbsp. Put the mixture in a large bowl. In the same blender, add the fruits minus the water and coarsely grind them and add to the seed mixture. Mix all ingredients well. Scoop 1 tbsp of the mixture and roll into a ball, and roll over ground nuts, sesame seeds or cocoa powder. I used coconut powder as I still had leftovers from the Swedish chocolate balls. I also used some Cadbury mint chocolate powder and it tasted just as heavenly.

Makes about 15-20 balls.

Freeze for 20 minutes and enjoy with a cup of hot milk or coffee.

French Toast with Fruits

A quick and easy to prepare breakfast.

INGREDIENTS:
4 pieces wheat bread
1 egg
1 cup milk
butter
cinnamon powder
Confectionary sugar

fruit slices of your choice

INSTRUCTIONS:
- Mix the egg and milk together.
- Dip one piece of wheat bread on the milk and egg mixture.
- Heat the pan and add a dab of butter.
- Cook the dipped bread on the pan for 1-2 minutes per side.
- Serve with fruit slices on the side and sprinkle cinnamon powder and/or confectionary sugar over the french toast. You can also pour honey or your favorite syrup over the toast.

Veggie Burger with Korean Barbeque Sauce

Had this for dinner the day I made veggie burger patties. A long overdue entry.

Too Lazy to Cook

Wow, suddenly this site has been visited by people from 15 different places around the world.

I told Maria yesterday that kitcherie is my "lazy day food". It's easy and quick to prepare. Just chop all the ingredients, nuke the potatoes and carrots to make sure they cook evenly with the rice and mung beans, dump everything into a rice cooker and do whatever you need to do while the cooker does the rest.

Today is even a lazier day though. Since I had to be at the University for the evening recreation activity program until 9pm last night, I went to bed late and of course, woke up this morning a bit late as well. Didn't have time to prepare proper lunch today so what's the solution? Steamed rice and canned beans with tomato sauce. Nutritious yes, but prana-wise, it must be deficient.

Breakfast was so-so. 2 pcs Pan de sal with herbed cheese. My meals are definitely not very colorful today. Hopefully I don't get too lazy tomorrow. Cheers.

Bikram Yoga Posture Seminar

Got this email just a couple of minutes ago. I've tried Bikram before when Tristan was still offering free classes at his parent's house in Greenhills. I think it's a good workout and really works out a sweat even though he didn't have heaters yet at that time.

I'm not sure if the experience would be the same if it was in a heated room though.

Rice Pudding with Lemon Sauce

LEMON SAUCE:
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg, separatedJ
uice of 1 lemon

PUDDING:
2 eggs, separated
1 c. milk
1/2 c. sugar or to taste
1 lemon, grated rind
2 c. cooked white rice (1 c. raw white rice equals 2 c. cooked)

Mix by hand: rice, sugar, milk and grated rind of 1 lemon with slightly beaten egg yolks. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into rice mixture. Grease lightly medium casserole. Pour in pudding mix and sprinkle top with cinnamon. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. In small saucepan, combine lemon juice, sugar and egg. Bring to a boil. Take from heat and whip egg white until stiff. Fold into lemon sauce, put back on low heat to cook egg whites until thickened, being careful not to burn sauce (about 1-2 minutes). We always double the sauce recipe because it's so good. Also can be used for bread pudding.

This recipe is from Cooks.com.

Kir

INGREDIENTS

1 cup white rice
1.5 cups water
1.5 cups low fat milk
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
10 cardamom pods, seeds removed and crushed finely
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

METHOD
Put everything in a rice cooker. Press "cook" and wait till done. Top with honey or brown sugar to serve. If you want a "soupy" meal, add more milk just before serving. Very sattvic.

Lemon Ginger Scone from Livia

My friend Livia sent me this recipe with a photo to match. Looks really yummy specially with cup of hot chocolate.

Baking is something I still need to learn though. I think I've only baked two things in my life so far, potatoes and macaroni to melt the cheese. Bummer.
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Lemon Ginger Scone

Scone Dough:

2 cups (280 grams) all purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (113 grams) (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
1/2 cup (70 grams) crystallized ginger, chopped into small pieces
Zest of 1 large lemon
2/3 cup (160 ml) buttermilk

Egg mixture for brushing tops of scones:

1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon milk

Makes 6 - 8 scones.

Instruction

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in the chopped crystallized ginger and lemon zest. Add the buttermilk to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix the dough.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches (3.75 cm) thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into 3 or 4 pie-shaped wedges (triangles). Place the scones on the baking sheet. Make an egg wash of one well-beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon milk and brush the tops of the scones with this mixture.

Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and then turn your broiler on high. Sift confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar heavily over the tops of the scones and place them under the broiler. Broil for just a few seconds, turning the pan as necessary, until the sugar has melted and turns golden brown. Make sure to watch the scones carefully as the sugar will burn very quickly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Note about buttermilk: If you are cannot find buttermilk or don’t have it in the fridge you can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of white distilled vinegar, cider vinegar, or lemon juice to 1 cup (240 ml) of milk. Just stir the vinegar into the milk and then let it stand 5 to 10 minutes before using.

Veggie Burger Patties

This recipe was a variation of what Tina gave me. Really yummy.

INGREDIENTS
1 medium potato, cubed and nuked for 2 minutes.
1 carrot, cubed and nuked for 1 minute.
1 cup bean sprouts, nuked for 30 seconds
1 cup rolled oats
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, minced
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
bread crumbs

Instruction:
1. Mix and mash everything except bread crumbs.
2. Form into patties and dust with bread crumbs before frying. Tina recommended grilling.
3. Make it a sandwich or eat with steamed rice. I had it plain with rice for lunch, then topped it with some home-made korean barbeque sauce and again with rice for dinner. Delicious!

Nutty Brown Rice Salad

A recipe from Maria. This recipe is for one person

Portion of cooked (steamed) brown rice
Small handful of cashew nuts
Small handful of raisins
1/3 grated carrot
handful of French (string) green beans, lightly cooked and roughly chopped
1 cm cubed piece of raw ginger grated or finely chopped
Sprinkle chilli flakes
Sprinkle of coriander
Squeeze of honey
Juice of ½ lime
Good splash of tamari (or regular soy sauce)

Method:Mix all ingredients togetherIts best to do it when the rice is still a little bit warm, then the honey lime soy dressing can really blend into everything
Keeps for a day or two. Enjoy

Ashtanga Workshop with Manju Jois

Bela emailed me some changes in the schedule Manju Jois visit to the Philippines. It was supposed to be a retreat at her new center in Samar. The schedule remains the same but instead of having it in Samar, it will be at the new yoga studio, Pulse Yoga, in Greenhills. I still won't be able to attend though because I still have work until December 12.

Here's the info:

Traditional Ashtanga Yoga with Manju Jois

Photo Credit

Biographical Information

Manju Jois, the oldest son of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and recognized world wide as the foremost authority on Ashtanga Yoga, uses only the ancient practices, offering truly authentic guidance for all who wish to follow Ashtanga’s life enriching path to Enlightenment. Manju Jois began his own personal yoga practice at the age of 7 with his father as his Guru and began teaching at the age of 15. He has taught continuously throughout the world for the last 45 years.

Manju is dedicated to his mission of teaching the ancient tradition of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, for a total mind-body-spirit unification with Self and God. Manju and his father, Shri Pattabhi Jois, brought Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga to America in 1975 and Manju has traveled worldwide teaching this tradition as taught to Pattabhi Jois by his legendary teacher T Krishnamacharya.

Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga Yoga is a form of Hatha Yoga that uses a powerful sequence of postures combined with breath to create an internal heat that opens the muscles and purifies the body. Ashtanga Yoga is an ancient systematic practice of yoga that slowly builds in difficulty to allow students to safely access their full potential. Focus on breath, balance, and energy allows students to bring all their attention to the flow of postures in moving meditation. Ashtanga yoga is a rigorous, physically demanding practice in a heated room.

Manju will introduce the original Sanskrit counting method, helping students learn the correct breath sequence of Primary Series. A combination of meditation chants, pranayamas and asanas make each practice session the purest experience of Ashtanga Yoga. The Shanti Mantras, or Vedic Peace Chants, spread the benefits of practice beyond the self. Taking the time to learn and repeat the Shanti Mantras is very powerful -- having occasion to practice them with others is astounding. Manju offers truly authentic guidance for all who wish to follow Ashtanga’s life-enriching path to Enlightenment.

Manju’s dedicated life long mission is to provide training for students and teachers in the ancient traditions of authentic Ashtanga Yoga. He is honored to offer guidance to all who wish to learn and benefit from Ashtanga Yoga’s ancient and time-honored practices. Manju’s teaching style is spiritual, intensive, inspiring and humorous. He is renowned for assisting students deeper into poses. He honors the ancient Ashtanga tradition and teaches his students with clarity and enthusiasm. We invite you to join us. Enjoy this rare opportunity to learn from a genuine Indian Master as he guides you to “Unite with Yourself”. Ashtanga Weekend Workshops are suitable for all students of all levels.

*********************
*Friday Evening, 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
Ashtanga Introductory Class (light practice ideal for beginners), Pranayama, Chanting, Discussion / Questions & Answers
1000 pesos

Saturday morning 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
In Exploring the Ashtanga System Manju will give an overview of the Ashtanga Yoga practice and conduct a led Primary Series. Participants will explore the use of Pranayama in the context of the Ashtanga practice as well as experience traditional Vedic chanting.

During The Primary Series and Beyond Manju will take students through the Primary Series to warm up the body and then explore the Second Series, working with each practitioner's abilities. This workshop will end with traditional Vedic chanting.
2500 pesos

Saturday afternoon 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm:
Pranayama, Chants, Discussion / Questions & Answers
700 pesos

*Sunday morning, 8:00am to 12noon
Mysore Practice, Pranayama, Chanting and Satsang

The Mysore Practice is a silent self-paced practice with individual assistance from Jois. Participants will go deeper into the practice of Pranayama and mantra with Jois, and the class will end with "satsang" (spiritual discourse).
2000 pesos

Weekend Package: 5,700 pesos

Students Should Bring:
A well hydrated and well rested body, refraining from eating at least 2 hours prior to the workshop. When eating, select foods like fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains. Low acidic food choices are optimum. Wear loose comfortable clothes. Bring an open mind, body and spirit.

A Tortilla Recipe from Dave

cheese, sun dried tomato, olives, bell pepper all toasted in a totilla - good stuff! - Dave

Filipino Mung Bean Dish

This was a bit soupy than the original version though.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup Split mung bean, soaked for 20 minutes
1 cup squash, cubed
2 cups broccoli leaves
1 vegetable stock cube
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 onion, sliced
6 cups water
Ghee
2 tbsp soy sauce
dash of black pepper powder
1 tbsp sesame oil

Instruction
1. Heat 1 tbsp ghee. Saute garlic and onion.
2. Add the beans, mix well.
3. Add the squash. Mix well.
4. Add water. Increase heat. Wait until the mixture boils. Then decrease the heat to minimum and cover.
5. Wait for 20-30 minutes.
6. Add the stock cube. Soy sauce. Black pepper. Mix well.
7. Add the leaves. Cover. Increase heat and wait for a few seconds. Turn off heat and allow the leaves to wilt.
8. Add sesame oil.
9. Serve over steamed rice.

Chocolates, anyone?

Photo Credit

More reasons to eat chocolates... at least the dark variety.

A Japanese study showed that dark chocolates can improve blood flow to the heart, lower blood pressure and reduce a person's risk of diabetes.

The study showed that eating 1.4 ounces of dark chocolates per day for two weeks may improve coronary circulation. Again, 1.4 ounces only!!! That's about 40 grams.

The health benefits of flavonoids won't set in if the overall food intake is high in fats and simple sugars. The sugar and fat content of the dark chocolate should still be within the daily recommended allowance for each individual.

Red wine for flat abs and dark chocolates for good coronary circulation... hmnnn... not bad, aye? ;-)

Read the full article here.

Congee

Woke up at 3:30am today. Really early. I decided to make congee in the rice cooker but when I checked the product after doing pranayama, it was a bit dry. Some of the water spilled out and I was thinking, "Oh boy, there goes my nutrients".

It had 1 cup of rice, 6 cups of water, some ginger sliced into thin sticks. Taste was ok but it was too gluey I had to add water to make it the consistency a bit better. I'll fry some tofu cubes to go with it in a little while. Will probably add bits of spring onions as well.

Will do the asanas in the afternoon so I can have a full practice. Got to leave the house by 7:30am for my 8:00am class.

Feeling good this morning. Hope it lasts until the end of my class this afternoon.

Cheers.

Food Journal 11-10

Breakfast at 7:00am
Angel Hair pasta with Pesto (courtesy of Marshal)
A bowl of choco-peanut oatmeal with banana slices

Coffee at 8:30am
1 cup black with sugar

Lunch at 12:00nn
Spaghetti with Sauteed Tomato, Onions, Olives, Chili Flakes & Pesto.

Gino D'Acampo

Got this link from Maria. Here is a list of his Italian Cooking Secrets:

1. Do not attempt to do any cooking if you are not in the mood - get a take away!

2. To make a quick hot chocolate sauce - place 3-4tbls of nutella spread in a saucepan - add in some double cream and gently warm through - amazing!!!!

3. Easiest way to take out an avocado stone is to place a sharp knife across the stone - twist gently and out it pops!

4. Before cooking pasta make sure that the water in the saucepan is hard-boiling and salted!

5. When cooking with wine, don’t use the cheapest available it will make a difference to the taste and always allow the wine to evaporate!

6. When making a risotto never cook the rice with the lid on otherwise the rice will steam and therefore not have the al dente texture!

7. Olive oil is for cooking or frying. Extra virgin olive oil is for dressing, using extra virgin olive oil in cooking is a waste of money!

8. When cooking with mussels always make sure you clean them and always discard unopened mussels after they have been cooked!

9. When making a tiramisu do not over soak the Savoiardi biscuits in the coffee - dip in only for a second allowing the biscuit to remain crunchy!

www.ginodacampo.com

Spinach and Zucchini Soup Recipe

The Othaim boys went to Hyperpanda Supermarket last night and I bought some zucchini. I made a nice roasted vegetable soup two nights ago and I'm now on the soup roll.

Zucchini brings me back to Belgium, where I first tasted a soup made from this vegetable. I was with the UP Filipiniana Alumni Dance Group participating in folkloric dance & music festivals around France, Belgium and Switzerland. This is not the exact recipe of my foster mother. I just googled it and picked a website from the list. Sounds light and healthy.

A recipe from 101 Cookbooks by Heidi Swanson

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
big pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups potatoes (2 medium) cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 1/2 cups zucchini (2 medium), loosely chopped
4 cups vegetable stock
4 cups fresh spinach leaves, loosely packed
1 cup cilantro, loosely chopped
one lemon

In a large, thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot (but not smoking) add the garlic and onions and saute for a few minutes along with pinch of salt - just until they soften up a bit. Stir in the potatoes and zucchini. Add the stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until potatoes are soft throughout, roughly 10-15 minutes.

Stir in the spinach, and wait for it to wilt, just ten seconds or so. Now stir in the cilantro. Puree with a hand blender until smooth. Whisk in a big squeeze of lemon juice. Now taste, and add more salt if needed. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and serve.

Serves about 6.

Link: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/spinach-and-zucchini-soup-recipe.html