Maa Salam Riyadh

Two of the most prominent buildings in Riyadh.

The Kingdom Tower

The Faisaliah Tower

Things that a yogi must not do I did last night. Ate prawns (mucus-inducing) and slept really late (a little past 12). But it was a great night with Riyadh friends. They have been my family here for 2.5 years and I'm really grateful to have met such wonderful people.

They dig my weirdness and just allowed me to irrigate my nose with mildly salted water and "floss" my nostrils with a 3mm rubber catheter every morning. They'd also make sure there's fish whenever there's a party so I can join them. Not totally the perfect condition for someone who'd like to practice 100% ovo-lacto-vegetarianism (now I'm thinking of reducing my milk and egg intake after reading the Omnivore's Dilemma... antibiotics... CAFU... man, those cows and chicken don't feel love at all... made me understand the reason to go organic better), but sometimes, one simply has to let go of some dietary rules to enjoy the company of others. When I'm in Mysore or in a place where the condition is perfect, then I can follow my practice 100% of the time.

Now, I have to remove this lump of mucus that I feel in my stomach. It's V-time folks!!! Cheers :-p

Spaghetti with Bean-balls

Another recipe from scratch. Saw one box each of Awal Qatfa stewed tomatoes and foul mudammes (fava beans) and thought I'd make an Italian dinner.

Ingredients for the Bean-balls
one box fava beans (400 grams)
one egg
one cup oatmeal
vegetable oil for frying

Mash the beans. Add egg. Slow add oatmeal until the mixture becomes more solid and easy to form into balls. (I just thought of adding the oatmeal in the last minute because when I mashed the beans, it became a bit "soupy". The oatmeal held the mixture together.)

Form into balls and fry.

For the tomato sauce, saute some garlic and onions, add the stewed tomatoes, sprinkle some dried basil, ground black pepper. Drop one organic vegetable stock cube. Mix well. Remove from heat and let it cool for a while. Puree and return to heat to simmer for about 5-10 minutes.

Drop the fried bean-balls in the tomato sauce. Pour over cooked spaghetti and top with a generous amount of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Isang tulog na lang! and I'll be on that flight home. Now, I just remembered to call the airlines to request for special meals.

Getting Too Excited

Woke up at 2am. Probably getting too excited to go home and embark on this new journey.

I'm having tea now and will do practice after.

Anyway, here's my attempt at vegetable korma. It doesn't taste anything close to the one I had from Wajbah so it's probably more appropriate to just call it vegetable curry with yoghurt. ;-)

The dhal was perfect though... cucumber raita... and vegetable paratha which I bought frozen from Othaim.

Vegetable Korma & Pakora

Another lunch at the Wajbah Indian and Chinese Restaurant in Riyadh. It's a bit weird to hear Indian and Chinese cuisines being served at the same restaurant but after lot of hesitations, I've finally tried to dine at this place and guess what? I'm loving their Indian menu. Not really very excited about the Chinese offering not only because they don't have a vegetarian-friendly dish (aside from the usual chopsuey and usually with seafoods) but also because most of the time, it doesn't really taste Chinese at all. I can have all the Chinese foods I want when I get home.

Here are Manjula's versions of Vegetable korma and pakora.

Yoga in Davao

A Karma Yoga Project

July 13, Sunday 1:30-5pm Intro to Ashtanga class and demo

July 14, Monday 7:30-9pm Basic Ashtanga class
July 15, Tuesday 7:30-9pm Basic Ashtanga class

Venue: Smashville Fitness Center, Magsaysay Avenue, Davao City

All proceeds will go to Rotary Shares Life, a program of the Rotaract Club of Munting Pag-asa Davao to assist the children with cancer admitted at the Davao Medical Center. This program consists of activities that address the psychological needs of the children, as well as the needs of the caregivers like the parents.

Charlie Chan Pasta

Simply mix everything in a hot pan: fried tempeh, chili garlic sauce, hoisin sauce, Chinese sesame oil, roasted sesame seeds, spring onion, cashew nuts. Combine with cooked spaghetti and you'll have the famous Charlie Chan Pasta from Yellow Cab.

I've started to clear out my cupboard and ref since last week so I'm using whatever ingredients I can find to create a meal.

10 days

I'm not counting really... yeah right.

Got to sit still and be steady.

Getting too excited to finally leave the desert.

Fly Away Skyline Pigeon Fly

Turn me loose from your hands

Let me fly to distant lands

Over green fields, trees and mountains
Flowers and forest fountains
Home along the lanes of the skyway

For this dark and lonely room
Projects a shadow cast in gloom
And my eyes are mirrors
Of the world outside
Thinking of the way
That the wind can turn the tide
And these shadows turn
From purple into grey

For just a Skyline Pigeon
Dreaming of the open
Waiting for the day
He can spread his wings
And fly away again
Fly away skyline pigeon fly
Towards the dreams
You've left so very far behind

Just let me wake up in the morning
To the smell of new mown hay
To laugh and cry, to live and die
In the brightness of my day

I want to hear the pealing bells
Of distant churches sing
But most of all please free me
From this aching metal ring
And open out this cage towards the sun

(Skyline Pigeon by Elton John)


"Practice... practice... practice... all is coming."
- Guruji

Indian Feast

I've been really lazy to cook lately. So what to do? Order Indian take out and have a feast!

Tasty papadums with minty yoghurt dip, mango chutney,
and some salty pickled veggies which I didn't like.

Palak Paneer or Spinach with Cheese curd.
Delicious. Reminded of me Laing.

Butter Kofta. Vegetable balls with creamy tomato curry sauce. Yummy!!!
The rice is the only thing that I prepared in this meal.

This was dinner last Wednesday and I had enough leftovers for Thursday's lunch and dinner. ;-)

Thoughts on Yoga, Food and the Philippines

Reading the Omnivore's Dilemma and learning about overproduction of corn in the US (Why is there overproduction even when the prices are low? Where does the excess biomass go to? What are its effects on man and the environment? etc..etc...) made me think about the food industry and nutritional status of Pinoys in the Philippines.

Is there any relationship at all?

With the current rice shortage in Philippines, I can't stop but wonder if it is simply a problem of inadequate production, unequal distribution or people are just being greedy and hoard most of the supplies so they can jack up the price later on.  Joji said she read in the newspaper that Mindanao farmers are trying to hoard the rice. 

 

I haven't really done that much reading yet.  Maybe it's a sign that I need to educate myself more about the food industry in the Philippines and look at how yoga or mitahara can help solve some of the current health problems in the nation (gee, I sound like a public health advocate already).

It says here that protein-energy malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies are two of the leading nutritional problems in the Philippines.  The prevalence of overweight and obesity is also increasing and so do diseases of the heart and the vascular system.

To address this problem, the government has the Republic Act 8976 or the Food Fortification Act of 2000.  It covers all imported or locally processed foods or food products for sale or distribution, for human consumption in the Philippines.  It consists of 2 systems: voluntary food fortification and mandatory food fortification for specific food products.  Vitamin A, iron and iodine are the micronutrients that are often inadequate in the Filipino diet thus the government's solution is to fortify certain food products sold in the market.

 

Of course there are many factors involved in this issue but to me, it's like saying, "Eat these food products and you'll be healthy".

 

And what are these food products?  Instant noodles, snack foods (a.k.a. junk foods like tortilla chips, cheese balls and chocolate-coated biscuits), sandwich spreads, cheese products, instant juice drinks, canned goods, etc.  See the detailed list here.

 

What does yoga and mitahara got to do with this?  Yoga teaches us to take good care of our health and watch our diet so we can have a better life.  Mitahara teaches that we should eat moderately in accordance to one's constitution. 

 

Eat simple, fresh, locally produced wholesome foods. 

 

As Michael Pollan said in his book, In Defence of Food, "Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants".

This is probably an oversimplified view of the whole picture but hey, I'm just trying to share my thoughts.

 

Namaste.

--
Equanimity of mind is Yoga.  Do everything, Arjuna, centered in that equanimity.  Renouncing all attachments, you'll enjoy an undisturbed mind in success or failure - Bhagavad Gita 2:48

Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants

Came across these two books by Michael Pollan at Jarir Bookstore last night. Bought the first one because it was cheaper and published earlier. Will be leaving Riyadh in 18 days anyway so I don't really want to add more stuffs into my luggage.

Just some of the excerpts from The Omnivore's Dilemma:

"When you can eat just about anything nature has to offer, deciding what you should eat will inevitably stir anxiety, especially when some of the potential foods on offer are liable to sicken or kill you." - page 3.

"We are not only what we eat, but how eat, too." - page 4.

"The Omnivore's Dilemma is about the three principal food chains that sustain us today: the industrial, the organic, and the hunter-gatherer." - page 7.

"Eat Food... Not Too Much... Mostly Plants" was from the 2nd book. It sounds like Mitahara or the yogic practice of moderate eating to me. I thought I'd read the first book first because it, sort of, explains the current food industry and will give me a better picture of the author's point of view.