Heat in the Kitchen

Featuring photos this week by Gilbert Roe.

Back to work today, a great day, not too much culture shock, and an opportunity to give the office a good clean and tidy in preparation for a great and abundant year. I managed to pop home for lunch and pick up some fruits and veg for juicing. Stone fruit at the moment are at their prime, and at lunch I was in White Peach Heaven.

I picked up my mail, stacked up from 3 weeks of holidays, and received a late pressie – 10 Chinese Tea Flower Balls, those ones that open and blossom Continue reading »

On a beautiful day in Adelaide, where those Laughing Jackasses (ie Kookaburras) kept me company all day, laughing at my seriousness, and where S. P. Balasubramaniam sang Om Namah Sivaya for 1 hour and 15 seconds to calm these jangled nerves, it was also a day of great thanksgiving. Thai Pongal or Sankranti. A Hindu day of rejoicing that the harvest is over and giving thanks to all who provided for such bounty – The Sun, The Rain, The Cows, The Earth, and each other. You can read more about it on A (Life) Time of Continue reading »

I heard the sound of kids playing as I walked past a neighbour’s apartment today, and it bought back the sadness and loneliness of having my own family depart last week. Four of them staying with me, including 2 kids, and three staying nearby, we were together every day for 2 weeks – eating, drinking, swimming, playing, shopping, coffee-ing, icecream-ing, cooking, laughing, sharing, crying, visiting, loving, being amazed at growth and love and freedom, observing, reconnecting, reminiscing, discussing, reading, …..

Then they left, and in an instant life changed. I miss them. I miss the Continue reading »

Mung Beans are healthy little pebbles, great for detoxing, revitalisation and general health. In fact it is said that if you eat a simple mung bean soup each day your life will change. Mung beans are an important ingredient in Ayurveda, and as they have an inherent sweetness, they can be cooked without a lot of spices and flavourings.

My friend Danyse makes a Mung Bean Soup, and I love it. I now make it in my rice cooker on the slow cook option. Danyse’s version is very very simple, cooking 2 or 3 spices along with the mung, adding a little ghee at the end, and serving as is. Continue reading »

Like the other well known festivals in December, such as xmas and hanukkah, Hindus also celebrate, with several major religious observances occurring this month. Pancha Ganapati is one of them, a gorgeous joyous contemporary festival from Dec 21st – Dec 25th. You can read more about it here (download the magazine one for a great … Continue reading »

Life is good.

I love spending time with friends, talking of the important things of lives. It is the best of occupations! Today, friends and I read from Prarthana to each other, discussing the mantras and interpretations, chanting some chants, and all the time sitting in the sunshine and sipping fresh peach tea with real, ripe, juicy, white peaches. What could be better?
In the Kitchen

Today a gorgeously Continue reading »

Jacarandas are Magic This year, the Jacarandas are outdoing themselves in purple brilliance and roadside carpets.
The Nature of Reality: Why do each of us believe that our reality is everyone’s reality—that the way we act, that what we believe is right? That there are no other ways? Tell me, what evidence is there for that?
Mushrooms in The Kitchen
On much brighter notes, in The Kitchen tonight was a heap of mushrooms, cooked over a high heat to minimise the release of water from the mushrooms, with ghee. As they cooked, celtic sea salt, black pepper and a fresh red chillie, finely diced was Continue reading »

I am just so loving summer fruits – apricots, nectarines, peaches, oh my goodness. So far untouched by the relentless sun of summer, they are sweet, juicy and divine.

So too the mangoes. So many this year, and so cheap. Last night I made mango rice using my quickie rice method – 1 cup rice into the rice cooker with 1 cup water, 2 diced tomatoes, 1 diced small-medium mango, 2 dried chillies, 2 fresh garlic cloves sliced, a little salt, 1/2 tspn turmeric, 1/2 onion chopped fine, a large drizzle of ghee, any other spices you Continue reading »

Mangos are prolific, juicy and cheap at the moment. A mango a day keeps joy at hand and depression away, I say!

Gorgeous also in smoothies, lassis, curries, salads, fruit salads. They go well with chillies, coriander leaves, black salt, yoghurt, salad onions. They make great chutneys and jams, dressings and sauces. A friend of mine makes a wicked mango salsa.

Here is a great list of Mango Love for Continue reading »

Spring cleaning. Oh boy, it has started. Not my favourite activity in the world, but once completed I love a house of freshness, cleanliness and new energy. Plus devoid of another layer of junk in the eternal quest to simplify.

Today, the balcony received its yearly scrub and polish, every nook, cranny and piece of furniture. What a different beast it is now. I cant wait for the floor to dry and to sit out there with a cup of home made herbal tea (lime, lemongrass, ginger, mint, saffron) and Continue reading »

He nods. “The kitchen. I never wanted to be up in my father’s orchard. I like this. I like the kitchen. The table. Stove. Where the women were always telling stories. My mother and my aunts and the neighbours and–my sister.” He smooths another sheet.

Sirine butters it, then pours a thick filling of ground walnuts, sugar, and spices over the layers. She strokes her palm over the top to level it. “My mother too” she murmurs. “Well, it was usually just her and me. She talked to me while she worked. Told me stuff.”

He glances at her. “Like wha Continue reading »

It has been a cleaning and decluttering week in the offices, a real spring clean at work. Every bench, ledge, window has been cleaned. Everything lurking under desks has been cleaned. Every cupboard emptied, rearranged, cleaned, cleared, junk removed, shifted. Skirtings washed. Phones cleaned and disinfected. Entrances made beautiful. And interestingly, we all feel happier. So it wasn’t a surprise when I saw this article:

Declutter = Happiness

I have been looking at Continue reading »

It is in the quietness of the day that one feels most at rest, centred, peaceful, whole, one. This morning I am up before 4am, awake and refreshed. It’s not a usual occurrence, just occasionally this happens. The undisturbed nature of the day is seductive. All energies are settled. There is no traffic, even the ants are asleep. There is no movement, just the stars on their timeless travels. There is no noise except the hum of the Universe. The birds have yet to awaken. The sun is still a concept. The day is not yet shaped.

To sit in this beauty is a luxury Continue reading »