Tag Archives: cuisine

Connecting with our Roots

7 Mar

Like many others I have Native American blood running in my veins.  On first appearance I may look to be from one of Europe’s nordic lands but in reality I am as American as one can get with a diversity of blood lines.  The ancestry I’ve connected the most with throughout my life is of the various Native American tribes that make-up my being.  I’ve always felt a deep sense of connection with this part of my ancestry.

I have such fond memories of spending time with my father and Aunt Hunter on the reservations in northern Minnesota in the summers.  We would spend our days fishing in the lakes, building campfires in the evening, and listening the sounds of nature as we slept.  We also spent some of our days walking for miles and miles down dirt paths in search of the Wild Buffalo – and yes they do still exist.  I remember when we ran into a cowbird defending its territory and we sat and watched for what seemed like hours.  And one afternoon we stumbled upon a water moccasin cascading and slithering down the river where we had been fishing.  The list of memories could go on and on.

As a young girl I spent many weekends with my mother, grandparents, and other family members at Native American festivals.   We’d also savor all the delicious traditional cuisine – stew, fry bread, buffalo, and the list goes on.  We’d spend time with the rescued birds of prey, and we would weave baskets and other traditional crafts.  We’d make our own dreamcatchers adorned with beads and feathers, and carefully hung them above our beds or by windows at bedtime.  We would spend the days around the dance circling – watching, listening, feeling, and sometimes joining in.  There will always be something innate in me that will draw me into the song of the drum and flute, and the natural movement of Native American dance.  I still listen to my collection of Native American music regularly.  I found that when I was pregnant and even when Kai was a small baby, I would always play it for him too – reminding me to stay connected with my roots.

When I was in college I remained connected to this part of me through art, music, dance, and regular visits to a colleagues sweat lodge.  I drew and painted the rhythms that I felt as a child and young adult.  I cleansed my soul and being at my colleague’s sweat lodge.  And I still hold close to me a rock that was given to me at my last visit to the lodge before I embarked on my life’s journey down to Central America.

All of these memories of connecting with my roots hold a special place in my heart.

The first museum we took Kai to was the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (by far my favorite!) when he was just a week old.  While I carried him in the ergo, I read him all of the ancient Native American creation stories throughout the museum.  It was a special moment with Kai, his Nanna, and I. This past October marked another special moment for my family and I, as we were able to introduce Kai to his roots by taking him to our local annual Native American festival.  There they played many of the same rhythms and danced similar dances in traditional attire.  Again it reminded me of where I come from – of where we all come from. Kai was mesmerized by the music and of course the traditional attire – feathers, beads, bells, and ornately decorated blankets.  He also tasted venison stew for the first time, was able to see a falcon up close, and even pet a horse.  Then I brought him into the center of the dance circle with all of the other children and together we danced the traditional bunny dance.  He smiled and smiled.  I was able to guide him in connecting with his roots for the very first time.

Baby Watching Traditional Native American Dance

There is a battle of two wolves inside us all.
One is evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, lies, inferiority and ego.
The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, and truth.
The wolf that wins?  The one you feed.
– Cherokee Proverb


Traditional Native American Dancing and Song

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All Roads Lead to Rome

7 Feb

Many different paths can take one to the same goal.  I think that reasonably sums up our time in Rome.  Tourism abounds and is clearly at the core of the Roman economy.  Somehow Rome retains its mystique amid the chaos of people who flock to iconic city center and wander along its ancient walls in search of secrets from a civilization past.  You can so easily loose yourself in the grandeur of the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, and all the legends that are a part of the experience.  My imagination gets the best of me and I am taken back in time.

I wonder… does Kai also slip back in time with me?  Without knowing the history, having read the books, or seen images of what life was like in ancient Rome, is it possible?  Is there something innate within us that gives us the ability to ‘live’ history? One will never know.

Photo of the ancient Roman Colosseum

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We walked and walked.  Explored the ubiquitous Roman Colosseum from the outside in.  We felt the crevices of the cold smooth stone carvings with out fingers.  Kai touched – and felt – everything we did.  I even think he may have found an opportunity (or two) to taste the walls of the Colosseum, after all it is through the sense of taste that babies (and adults) experience the World.  Just as the heavens opened up and brought down the rain, we found ourselves a quaint café for a dry lunch, warmth, and rest.  I had my first real Italian lasagna and it was divine… followed by the most satisfying (and huge!) cappuccino a jet lagged Mama could ask for.  And I got to savor every moment of the cappuccino as Kai decided to take his afternoon nap right there in the café, and my husband and I enjoyed good conversation (in Spanish) with a couple traveling from Germany.

afternoon Roman cappuccino

Roman pizzas

The sun came out.  We walked and walked.  We pondered the half buried ruin throughout the expansive Palatine Hill, temples, and the Roman Forum.  It was magical.  We even took some time to play in a grassy knoll amidst the ruins.  It was a lovely afternoon in Rome.  One breathtaking moment after another.  As the sun went down we walked and we walked.  We continued past down the main roads where people posed in the most bizarre costumes and statue-like positions.  Yogi that “magically” hold themselves cross-legged and floating mid-air.  Perfectly poised people draped in gold spandex looking like the perfect Egyptian mummies.  I can only imagine what is going through Kai’s mind.

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We proceeded past the Piazza Venezia adorned in much gold and the intricacies of more modern architecture.   On some small cobblestone side road we found ourselves inside a truly ancient Church and it just happened to be evening mass.  Then we headed to the Pantheon – the structure known as the temple to all of the Gods.  We walked and we walked.  Stopping in a dozen little shops selling everything from Italian spices and olive oil to Absinthe and leather bags.  We walked all the way to Trevi Fountain where we stopped for a while.  Kai was completely mesmerized by the statutes and of course the water all lit up against the night sky.

photo 3

Finally our adrenaline began to wear off and we realized just how exciting the day had been.  We found our way back to the subway and headed towards the hotel.  We had done enough for the day.  On our “home” to the hotel we stopped to see if our favorite family run Italian eatery was open – Osteria Gran Sasso.  Much to our disappointment it was closed, so on we walked some more until we found our selves at the Ristorante Mimosa Fiorita.  Kai loved this place too, and couldn’t get enough of the waiter and the chef.  It was another  r authentic and divine Italian indulgence.  Freshly made cheesy risotto balls.  Pork cheeks cooked in a delicate sauce. Fresh tagliatelle pasta with vegetables in the chef’s special sauce.  And of course a half bottle of Chianti to wash it down.  Another magical day in Rome came to a close.

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Baby Culinaire

3 Oct

This is by far one of my more domesticated blogs but egh it is related to one of my favorite topics to write about – FOOD.  And cooking, because I do love to cook.  Over the past month we have started our little guy (at 6 months) on solids and it has been an adventure for us as much as it is for him.  I read a lot about different ways to introduce solids and researched all our options in terms of baby foods.  I really like the concept of “Baby Led Weaning“.  This is where there are no puree or spoon feeding, you simply give the baby a piece of food and let them feed themselves.  Also, I’m not entirely thinking of this whole food adventure as about “weaning” in the first place.  We have a perfectly happy and healthy breastfeeding relationship and I do not see it ending anytime soon.  I should mention that I do work outside the home and pump milk for my little guy every day.  The other thing with starting solids is that I really don’t like the whole baby cereal (mostly rice) bull shit that industrial food companies market so heavily.  Why?  It’s very simple – babies can’t digest grains until they are around 1-year-old when their bodies start to produce an enzyme called amylase which is responsible for splitting starches.  Furthermore, most of the baby rice cereal is found to contain the toxin Arsenic.  I could write a manifesto about why to ditch baby cereal (and formula) but I won’t bore you.  For more on ditching baby cereal check out the Food Renegade – as for the benefits of breastfeeding (and perils of formula) just google it.

Back to the good stuff – so while I like the concept of baby led weaning, I also like to give my little guy the opportunity to try more foods that aren’t conducive to giving him in pieces (e.g, roasted pumpkin, peas, and kale) which is why we are going the “hybrid” route with baby led weaning.  I also stay far away from pre-packaged and processed (shelf-stable) foods for myself and my family.  Pretty much the only things I buy that are pre-packaged are canned beans, pasta, tuna, and bread.  I won’t even buy a package of pre-made tortillas if they have preservatives.  We get most of our food through a Community Support Agriculture (Earth Spring Farm), the local Farmers Market, and the rest comes from a local grocery store (yes, we are one of THOSE families that shops at Whole Foods).  Now, this made it tricky to find baby food since nearly all of it sold in the stores is heavily processed and pre-packaged.   There appears to be one decent line of organic and “safe” baby food – Plum Organics.  But it still seems as though the food is too far removed from the source for me to be entirely comfortable with it, though we will likely give it a try one of these days.  And that is where my adventure began in cooking for baby.

Now, I am a working mom with very little time on my hands so I have had to come-up with some creative ways to cook for baby without consuming the little bit of time I do have with my little guy.  That is exactly what I am sharing with you today.  While making baby food, may seem like an easy and obvious thing to do – it is – there are some neat tricks interspersed here that may give you the edge to give it a try for your baby (present or future).

The other night I was cooking herb roasted sweet potatoes and sautéed garlic green beans for my husband and I for dinner.  While baby is not quite ready to indulge in the deliciousness of my herb sweet potatoes or garlicky beans, I was able to cook him a bit on the side.  This helped reduce my time spent making “special” food for the baby.

First, start by peeling one extra small sweet potato and rinsed it well.

Partially peeled sweet potato

Washing Sweet Potato

Next, I cut the sweet potato into small chunks and then I leave a few pieces in matchstick or wedge shape.  These larger pieces are for my little guy to be able to easily grab with his hands.  Then I take a small handful of green beans (I used 8 green beans to make 4 baby servings) and cut them into medium-sized pieces.

Cutting up sweet potato and green beans

Once they are all properly cut-up, arrange them nicely into a basic steamer basket in a small pot with some water (filtered if living in the city) in the bottom.  Put a cover on the pot and let steam for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes and beans are tender (test with a fork) but not just falling to pieces.  In fact I like my beans still slightly crisp.

Cooking potatoes and beans

Next up is prepping them for baby. Be sure to set aside the larger pieces of cooked sweet potato and green bean so that you can give them to your baby to play with during meal time.

Take some of the sweet potato and begin to mash it up.  I use one of these mash and serve bowls, which I find really easy to use and they are inexpensive.  Add drops of breastmilk (or formula or water if you don’t have breastmilk) to the bowl as you mash so that it gets to a nice consistency like you see below.

Mashing Sweet Potato

Mashed Puree of Sweet Potato

And voila!  Mashed sweet potato is ready for baby!  Now, if you are making extra to freeze some of it, I don’t recommend adding the breastmilk while mashing.  Instead, just mash it up adding just a few drops of water and freezing it as is.  Then, you’d want to add the breastmilk once its de-thawed, just before serving.

Now for the green beans.  Place the green bean pieces into a blender, hand blender, food processor, or mini-prep – whatever you already have – with just a little bit of the cooking water and blend it for a few seconds until it reaches a nice consistency (see below).  Moral of the story is that you do not need to go out to buy anything fancy to make baby food.  I personally use a Cuisinart Mini Prep, which I’ve had for years and I love it.  I use it to make pesto, homemade pasta sauce, enchilada sauce, almond cream for quinoa porridge, and now lots of baby food!

GB_Prep

Once you are done with your green bean puree and mashed sweet potato, you can freeze them in portion size servings.  This is an easy way to make multiple meals in advance.  Regular ice cube trays work great to freeze baby food but I personally love the Beaba Multiportion Freezer Trays, which I only have because I got them as a shower gift from my mom.

Baby Food ready for freezer

And that is really all there is to making baby food.  As I mentioned, I always do this at the same time I am cooking for my husband and I to make life easier and to save time.  I have done similar things with pumpkin, carrots, apple, butternut squash, and sweet peas.  All of which he loves.  I sometimes combine foods too, to make it more fun.  Some of his favorite combos so far (at 7 months) – Pumpkin & Banana, Carrot & Apple, and Sweet Peas with Banana.  Those foods aside, we also give him raw foods, which he loves.  Avocado was his first food (and is still his favorite), which we do daily in both chunks for him to feed himself and mashed-up with a little breastmilk.  He also likes eating hunks of watermelon and banana.  Just today I was snacking on a sliced-up honey crisp apple and he helped himself to a slice while we were playing, which he also loved.

Have fun cooking for your baby (ies)!  And when you do, please share your recipes and stories.  🙂

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Exploring the Golden Triangle

13 Aug

color photo at the golden temple reflection in a window

In less than 5 minutes I crossed the transient waterway of the Mekong River and entered into an entirely new land, and delved into an entirely different culture and way of life.  Welcome to Thailand and the heart of the Golden Triangle!

As soon as I stepped out of the wooden canoe and onto land, I could feel the difference.  You could feel progress & motivation in the air.  In just a couple of minutes we found an air conditioned truck serving as a taxi to take us to Chiang Rai – and to top it off the taxi driver (and owner) was a woman.  I could hardly believe it a female taxi driver, who speaks English, in a comfortable air conditioned truck – wow!  This is Thailand alright.  We are still at the Thai-Lao border and we try to buy some provisions using our left over Lao Kipp (the Lao currency) and they don’t accept it.  We tried for days to use our Kipp all over Northern Thailand, and no one would take it.  That is communisim for you! it was the same way with the Cuban Peso.

The scenery on our two hour drive from the Lao-Thai border to Chiang Rai was spectacular – an expansive fertile river valley dotted with humble homes and farms.  I noticed that here the average rice farmer uses some mechanical agricultural equipment whereas in rural Laos everything was done by hand.  We passed by a few dozen children dressed in their school uniforms, their hair neatly cared for, bright white socks & polished shoes, all riding their bikes home from school.  Northern Thailand is lovely.

Color photo of rice paddy and farmer in Thailand

We arrive in Chiang Rai, a fairly industrious city in the heart of the revered Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia.  I’m exhausted.  By this time I’ve spent several days and sleepless nights in the tree houses in Laos, long days on a long slow boat, several nights in hostels.  And to top it off, today alone, I’ve hiked about 10 kilometers with a heavy pack, zipped through the tree tops, and dealt with a couple of border crossings on water & foot.  Just when I’m ready to take a deep breadth, I’ve found we’ve arrived at a much needed destination – Laluna Hotel – the urban oasis – in Chiang Rai.  It is the prefect time and place to decompress & chill out.  Freshly prepared passion fruit juice and a shrimp & papaya salad – yes please!  Freshly shredded & pounded green papaya, tossed in a broth of fish sauce, lime & chili, topped with some fresh veggies, peanuts, & jumbo shrimp.  Fresh, clean, and delicious…  One of Thailand’s special treats!     –  Try this recipe  –

color photo of a papaya and shrimp salad

This kind of ultimate relaxation lasted a couple of days.  Enjoying the garden oasis swimming pool.  Meandering through the streets of Chiang Rai.  And like the icing on a cake – a full day at the spa – aromatherapy cleansing sauna, ayurvedic massage, and some reflexology.  There is no better way to rejuvenate at the tail end of a long & arduous adventure through Laos.  This is exactly what my body needed.  It brought my body and soul back into alignment, balancing my chakras.

After a couple of nights of good sleep and days filled with warm sunshine & refreshing dunks in the pool we were ready for another challenge.  This time mountain biking throughout the greater Chiang Rai area – 50 kilometer bike trip with the best tour service I’ve ever used Chiangrai Cycling Tours.  And I do mean it was the best tour – and day overall – in my life.  Everything about it was amazing.  Bee (one of the tour company owners) picked us up from our hotel and we headed out a couple of kilometer to where the got fitted with mountain bikes and helmets.  Off we went… biking through small neighborhoods then onto dirt road through the Northern Thailand country side.  Complete serenity.

Color photo biking through the country side in Chiang Rai Thailand

We stopped every several kilometers to check out some of the wonderous little intricacies along the way.  Our guides, Bee and his brothers, gave us the “inside scoop” on life in the Golden Triangle.  We stopped at a neighborhood crematorium – every neighborhood (even in rural areas) has their own crematorium, which is a central part of their Buddhist ways ( referred to in Thai as Lankavamsa.  We continued on stopping at a nearby temple.  There were many temples, one in each of the little towns we passed through, much like you have a church.  Except “going” to temple is different than “going” to church.  The temple is a sacred place and people come to visit when they choose to come to visit, no particular time.  There aren’t daily mass services like in Christianity.  Like all spiritual “houses”, these temples are equally ornate and cherished by the people.  Many of the temples also have pagodas surrounding them that serve as Wats for all the monks.  It is very typical for young men to spend anywhere from 1 to 20 years studying monkhood in a Wat.  Our guide and his brothers were all Monks for several years.  I appreciate all the special little factoids they bestowed on me about Therevada Buddhism and their cultural practices.

color photo of a local temple in Northern Thailand

As we biked through rural areas, forests, and farms we’d also stop along the way to check out neat little “treasures” in the Golden Triangle.  At one stop Bee stopped to show us the birds nests that hang from the trees like woven sacks.  Its so facinating how something so unique also exists in Costa Rica, some 17,000 kilometers away.  Nature impresses me at every turn – here in the “utopia” of Northern Thailand and in the humble tranquility of Laos.

Color photo of guide holding-up the birds nests

I know what some of you are probably thinking… our guide “stole” the nests from the birds, how horrible!  Well actually the birds abandon the nests after a season and the old nests eventually fall to the ground.  Bee was showing us the structure of fallen birds nests.  So no sad birds without homes on our trip!  This is just one of those little things about this bike trip that made is just awesome.

We biked onwards, another 15 kilometers or so, until we reached the revered White Temple – known as Wat Rong Khun.  It is modernly majestic & totally unconventional – its a Buddhist AND Hindu temple – how cool!  It is all white, representing the Lord Buddha’s purity and the use of glass in it’s design represents Buddha’s wisdom.  It is a piece of modern spiritual history and is still a work in progress today, much like La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.   Its design is both dark and enlightening, each reflecting a facet of life on Earth.  Ornate sculpture of all sorts of dreams and mysteries surrounds the temple.

photo of the white temple in Thailand

Sculpture at the White Temple in Thailand

We spent several hours walking through the White Temple.  Its interior is floor to ceiling mural artwork all over the walls with some of the most intricate and socially & politically profound messages.  The interior painting glows, and brigs forth issues of nuclear security, resource wars, and ideological wars between Islam and the Western world.  It also ties-in the spiritual aspects of Buddhism.  There are paintings of fish (water), elephants (earth), swans (wind), lions (fire), and simply nature.  We continued through the temple and even had a chance to walk through the “workshop” where the artist and his teams continue to build sculptures for the continued development of the temple.  It is an incredible feat for humanity.

color photo of the workshop at the White Temple in Thailand

Then, the best part of all, we were walking through the village surrounding the temple and we go to stop by a small museum, and standing right there is the artist responsible for this living masterpiece – Chalermchai Kositpipat.  Our guide, Bee, introduced us and we were able to talk with him for a few moments.  He is a very spiritual person, also formerly a monk, and was born & raised in Chiang Rai.  He is a renowned artist in Southeast Asia and much of the world for his painting and sculpture.  Much of his work is “not for sale”… even several million dollars can not buy you one of his paintings for he prefers them to stay in Chiang Rai where visitors from around the world can come and enjoy them in the museum.  I feel so blessed for having had the opportunity to be here, to see, feel and live this remarkable treasure in rural Northern Thailand.

Our bicycle trip didn’t stop here… we stopped to enjoy a traditional Northern Thai lunch.  I enjoyed a bowl of delicious chicken soup cooked in coconut milk broth with lemon grass, veggies, hot peppers, and rice noodles.  It really was divine, and it cost just $1 – that is not a typo!  Life is Good here in more ways than one!

color photo of Thai soup

Another 15 or so kilometers to go, most of which were uphill into the mountains outside of Chiang Rai – we were headed for Doi Luang National Park.  Just a few kilometers into the final uphill stretch and the heavens decided to open up, like they never had before.  It was pouring cats and dogs – like a brief monsoon rain.  The roads will filled with water.  That didn’t stop us.  We kept peddling away.  Its almost like the thai special soup and the white temple had also given us an extra dose of energy.  A feeling of rejuvenation came over me as I peddled up into the mountains with the rain pouring down.  I couldn’t stop smiling.  About an hour later, and totally sopping wet, we entered the boundary of the park… just 5 more kilometers to climb.  It was enduring.  I was tired but determined and strangely energized at the same time.  Then we reached the place where we stop and hike into the park.  Yes… after biking nearly 50 kilometers, we are now heading out for a 1.5 hour long hike into the mountain.  The cherry on top of the day, was a visit to one of the grandest waterfalls in the world.

color photo of waterfall

It was beautiful and so worth the hike.  Oh… and there were NO leeches.  This did make is it so much more enjoyable.  Hiking back out from the waterfall, I realized how deprived of energy I was feeling.  And then we arrived at our Guide’s truck and there was a spread of delicious Thai snacks for us… tempura sweet potatos, banana bread, and my new favorite thing – mangosteen!

Color photo of Thai snacks from our great guides!

After enjoying these delicious Thai treats it was time to hop on the truck and head back to Chiang Rai.

All I can say, is WOW!  This was one of the best days of my life.  I feel so blessed.

color photo of white buddha statue in Thailand

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Savoring Cambodia

9 Jun

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Bright pink and ruffled dragon fruits are poised gracefully in a large pile on a wooden table. Deep bowls filled with yellow turmeric, green kaffir lime leaves, and scarlet red hot chilies complete this illusionary sunset. To the left a woman sits indian style trimming meat in preparation for drying, her golden silk veil eluding to the expansion of Islam in traditionally Buddhist Cambodia. A woman walks through the tight market alley ways with a long pole stretched across her shoulder. From each end of the pole, two baskets hang down perfectly balanced. One is filled with a heaping mound of shredded green mango mixed with shredded carrots. On the other side there are a series of smaller bowls filled with fresh lime slices, dried fish pieces, ground peanuts, and a jug of fish sauce. These are makings of the Khmer version of mango salad. She carefully opens a plastic baggy and places a fistful of mango slaw inside, then she tops it with a bit of peanut, dried fish, squeeze of lime and a dash of fish sauce. She hands it over to her customer, lunch is served, and the she is paid 1,000 riles (25 cents). These are just some of Cambodia’s simple everyday culinary wonders.

Bright pink dragon fruit in the market
Fresh produce of all sorts is abound. I walk around the market with the tuk tuk driver I befriended, Pan, and we contemplate which place would best for lunch. At another stall a young man mixes turmeric, rice flour, water and egg into a thin batter for Khmer pancakes. This seems like an ideal stop. He laddels some batter onto a hot flat cooking surface, with a spoon he distributes the batter evenly and forms a large bright yellow circle. There it sizzles for several minutes before we carefully turns it over with a long flat wooden cooking tool. He then places mixture of cooked ground chicken, fresh crisp bean sprouts, spring onions, and a sprinkle of chiles into the middle of the cooking pancake. The pancake is then carefully turned over, closing in on the savoury filling and forming a bright yellow half moon. After just a few moments he slides the pancake onto an oblong plastic dish, its browned & crispy edges hang over the side of the dish. It comes out served with a small bowl of sauce – a concoction of ground peanuts fused with freshly squeezed lime juice and fish sauce – a handful of bright green lettuce leaves and slices of fresh cucumber. Mr. Pan shows me how to ea this delectable ensamble. Using your hands, you place a piece of the stuffed turmeric pancake on top of a leaf of lettuce and drizzle a spoonful of the sauce on top, allowing the sauce to run through the pancake & crevices of the lettuce. One bite and the blending of the fresh and bright ingredients is refreshing and satisfying. It’s the Cambodian version of the Turkish gozleme, the Costa Rican chorreada, or a savoury French crepe. And this is just one of a multitude of divine Khmer delights Cambodia has to offer.

I spent the afternoon afternoon taking with Pan. It gave me the opportunity to listen and learn about Khmer culture and daily life in this fine country. He is one of the older Cambodians I have seen and met, and he is just 41 years old. Cambodia has a very young population because the genocide in the 1970s left so many young children without parents or elders. Pan remembers well but he has made peace with it in his heart. He is also deeply motivated to strengthen Cambodia at all different levels. He has a vision to start an eco-tourism cooperative by getting together a diverse group of local Cambodian owned businesses (tuk tuk drivers, small hotels, family run restaurants, artists, photographers, local farms, etc.) and organizing unique cultural & nature oriented tours for foreign visitors. For now he is a very successful tuk tuk driver enjoying life with his wife and two children. Our conversation carries on into family, education, and the like. His son is 18 years old and just finished high school, the first in the family to go through school. His daughter will be turning just 3 years old in a couple of months. He later shares that he and his wife adopted their daughter, Myste which means ‘among the flowers’, from the local hospital in town. In Cambodia there are many orphaned children and its obvious that most do not have the means to provide for large families and at the same time birth control is also a commodity for the privledged. Pan and his wife told the Doctor at the hospital that they wanted to adopt a baby, the hospital did due diligence checking on their home, and bank account. Several months later Myste, at less than 4 weeks old, came into their lives. Chills came over me as he told me the story and showed me pictures of his wife & daughter, so much pride for his family. And even more beautiful is to see Cambodia’s effort to place orphaned children in average income-level local communities, where they can be loved by their communities and stay close to their roots. Ten years ago this was not as prevalent, as the tourism industry hadn’t grown enough to fuel the local economy to a scale that could foster this type of community development. This is just another way I see how deeply Cambodia is restored in peace and stability.

We continued to talk about life – and all things related to food. Like in all cultures, food is an important part of daily life here in the Kingdom of Wonder. Food is prepared and sold everywhere you look. On a little dirt road on the outskirts of town an older woman sits in the street. He has prepared a little fire, no more than 4 by 5 inches using just a couple of wooden sticks. To her right side is a small red plastic bucket. She takes a spoonful of batter and places it inside a small hand held waffle iron that rests on the hot coals. A slight sizzle sound is heard. After a minute or so she turned the piping hot iron, ensuring both sides are cooked to a perfect golden brown. Children on their way to school line-up at her street kitchen to savour a Khmer waffle.

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Lets talk about where the food here comes from. About the Land. And the people that work the land to make this bounty available. Siem Reap and its surrounding area is as flat as that turmeric pancake I had for lunch. There are also several natural and man made lakes here that provide water for irrigation, especially in the dry season. This land has been heavily famed for several thousand years. Over 1 million people survived by the ground I walk on during the Ancient Khmer Empire. Cultivating the land has always been a way of life for Cambodians yesterday and today. Like most “lost” civilizations, there is no exact proven fact as to why the ancient Khmer civilization here collapsed. Like the ancient Mayans and Incas, it is believed that the ancient Khmer civilization fell due to famine caused by desertification of the land after over a thousand years of over farming, leaving the land stripped of vital nutrients & minerals required to sustain productive soils. Much of the land was given a rest from these intensive agricultural practices for at least a few hundred years, allowing the Earth to rest and regain its strength through natural succession. Siem Reap has grown significantly in the last 35 years, and along with this is an increasing demand for greater food production. Many small villages survived by subsistence agriculture (producing only the food needed for their local community) but with the pressures of a globalized and tourism-driven Siem Reap, many have converted their land into larger mono-cultures producing a single variety of rice, cattle, crocodile, bananas, or pineapple. Ultimately provoking the same problems that led to the theorized fall of their ancestors. Worse yet is the rise of aristocrats from China and the Middle East (namely Saudi Arabia) that are buying up whole farms – and even entire villages – to produce rice & other agricultural commodities for export. Whole villages, and their people, are getting the land pulled right out from under them as it is being sold to these foreigners by the Cambodian government. These once sustainable and subsistent farmers loose all their autonomy – dignity & pride. Their land, once again being stripped of life. This is a grave injustice. And, I can’t help but ask why? After the Cambodian civil way in to 1970s, all existing records of land ownership and titles were burned. Leaving the villages and people without any evidence of their ownership of the land they survived by for hundreds of years. Without these records, the government is able to sell the land to foreigners at great profits, while destroying the livelihood for many at the same time. Cambodia is not alone in this nasty land-use transition. The same phenomenon is a growing problem in Laos and throughout much of Africa.

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Despite this sobering picture of Khmer agriculture, and its globalized demise, there are also a growing movement of small scale home grown organic agriculture. Several NGOs have sprung up that are dedicated to facilitating women’s empowerment through micro-economic development vis-a-vis home-based gardens. One of the major activities fostered by this movement is supporting women to use their existing land resources around their homes for small organic gardens. First they feed their family with the bounty they produce and whatever is left over is sold to one of a few socially & environmentally conscious restaurants in town. While this movement is one a much smaller scale than the foreign-owned mono-culture movement, it is still a powerful example for Cambodians. And with Pan’s vision and the home-based organic farming movement, Cambodia has a good chance at much brighter & peaceful future where future generations can flourish in the Kingdom of Wonder.

 

Recommendations in Siem Reap, Cambodia –

Restaurants

Hotels

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Love & Joy for Khmer

7 Jun

Royal palms reach into the heavans.  Beads of sweat drip down my face, legs, entire body.  Motos and Tuk Tuks glide past as a peddle along the recently paved roads.  The edges of the roads are painted red with patches of sun scortched earth and dust.  Many of these improvised transportation vehicles carry 10 times their weight in cargo… people; lumber; goods for sale –  you name it, it can be transported with just one little motor.  Then a buddhist monk flies by on moto with his ochre yellow garmet flowing in the wind like the sail of a boat over the sea.  Wooden hand carts are pushed down the road carrying wild mushrooms, raw snails, and bright green lotus flowers – all ready to be made into a variety of culinary delights.  Pungent flowers intoxicate my senses.  Sculptures of hindu and buddhist inspiration blend into the forest edge.  Children dressed in dark blue shorts and white shirts bound for school peddle by on bicycles three times their size.  All together we make our way down the dusty streets that wind through beautiful forested areas.  Listening to yellow marked blackbirds, croaking frogs, and a diversity of insects buzzing around – this is some of the natural music that helps to define this landscape.

Motorcycle carrying many people and cargo

Other children, less fortunate, sell bananas; water; books; silk scarves; and little woven bracelts to tourists passing through.  Their clothing tattered and for many, their hair is that rusty reddish brown color from a childhood of malnutrition.  They are persistent, determined to survive and build a better life for themselves and their families.   The markets are bustling with every type of meat, vegetable, herb and spice one can imagine – and food is being served from one staff while live river fish wiggle around on a wooden slab waiting to be sold. The aromas in the market are of some complex concotion, I can’t even identify a single ingredient – but more on the markets and cuisine later.  Lepers and disabled youth with missing legs from landmine explosions also dot this landscape.  And their voices are no longer silenced.  Women gather around a produce stall in the market and pour over photos of a new hospital center that recently opened and is dedicated to caring for the disabled.  There is hope.  And I am in the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Everything here just feels different.  I can’t quite explain the feeling.  The people. The culture.  The food. The air. The earth.  All so deeply defined by centuries of complex and compunded history.  Ancient human civilization is known to have existed in this vast & rich land since the Holocene era (6,000 BCE) and the Neolithic eras.  But it was really the civilizations during the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries that coaleced into what I’m experiencing as modern day Cambodia.  I can’t help but intermix modern and ancient Cambodian roots, for relation of past and present is so deeply connected here.

The Khmer Empire…. Angkor Wat, the heart of Cambodia.  The Khmer Empire began in 802 AD and today still defines in many ways the identity and essense of what it means to be Cambodian.  The Khmer language lives on.  Cuisine and cultural customs are still identified as Khmer.  Theravada Buddhism is evident in every step of daily life here.  It signifies the doctrine of analysis.  It encourages critical investigation in all things and reasoning instead of blind faith.  It came to Cambodia from Sri Lankan monks in the 13th Century – and here it lives on in daily Cambodian life.  In Theravada, it is believed that the path to enlightenment requires releasing one’s mind and being from their own ignorance to the truth.  Stepping beyond society’s desire and influence for oppulence.  Theravad and buddhism is far more than this but for the purposes on my own analysis of this “new” landscape its essense has been revealed.

Therevada Buddhist

I haven’t quite made sense of how Theravada Buddhism has survived Cambodia’s bloody history.  The Khmer regime of Jayavarman VII was known as one of the bloodiest in all of human history, which ultimately lead to the building of Angkor Wat, one of the largest & most intricate temples in the world.  And it tyranny was only matched by the Pol Pot Regime in the 1970s that characterized Cambodia’s genocide.  Nearly one third of Cambodia’s people perished at Pol Pot’s evil hands in the 1970s.   And another third of the Country fled as refugees to Thailand, Laos, China, the United States, and any other place of escape from the pervasive bloodshed.  Over 25 years later, the scars left from this modern genocide are evident from the moment you brush the dust from your eyes.  But yet there’s a special beauty revealed in the process, uncovering Cambodia’s cultural resilience is truly inspiring.

People here are friendly.  At every passing by on the bicycle a slight hello and glowing smile is exchanged.  Cambodians work hard and aim to please.  Families are very nuclear.  Their cuisine is distinct and they take great care in preparing their food, both in the fields that surround this entire area and in the outdoor kitchens of every home.  Men and women alike work hard to provide for their families.  Here most work is related to the booming tourism market.  So many unique niches make-up the tourist experience and fuel a stronger Cambodian economy at the local level on down to the individual and family levels.  Masseuses, tour guides, chefs, wait staff, artists, you name it – the jobs in tourism are abound.  And today this country enjoys one of the greatest rates of economic growth in all of Asia – 6%.  Despite this symbol of prosperity, the end of suffering is still a distant dream for many.  But hopefully, with responsible and sustainable development, the gaps between rich and poor can be bridged.  It is not easy to face the reality of daily life for many here, though I know in my heart that today is like heaven on earth compared to what it was like 25-35 years ago.  I can’t help but engage my mind and spirit on the people of all ages that work so hard for so little. Powerful feelings of love and compassion comes over me as I make eye contact and say hello.  I can almost see within, actually be within another.  And at each glance an exchange of energy occurs, its up to us to make it positive or make it negative.  I just can’t bring it upon myself to bring any negativity to this rich & complex land, it needs all the love we can bring.  Ignoring them feels like a horrible sin to me.  They are children, so many robbed of a decent childhood.  They are human.  We are all human.  And yet there is so much beauty here.  It’s just a matter of how you make sense of panorma of history, culture, and spirituality.

Cambodian artist outside Ta Prohm

Then there is the cambodian smile.  I have never before seen such beautiful smiles.  Each and every one is a ray of light and hope in this landscape of wonderous history and quest for survival.  The glow that emenates from each individual is remarkable in its own right.  And I hear giggles and laughter often accompanying the gleeful Cambodian smiles.  Where do these smiles come from?  So much joy from such a painful past.  How incredible.  Most people here have created a unique niche for themselves.  While one woman is a masseuse, another man is a Tuk Tuk driver, and another is a palm reader.  A local artist creates jewlery out of the metal from old used bullets, the remnants and reminders of a time past.  And a street shop proprietor cuts up durian fruit for sale to all who pass by.  Cambodia is in many ways a land of opportunity for this with the entrepreneur spirit and drive.  Social enterprise appears to be the single most important ingredient to restoring & building a more peaceful Cambodia.  To experiencing joy in daily life in Cambodia.

Both love and joy for Cambodia are felt throughout my soul.

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63 Islands of Efficiency

5 Jun

Welcome in flowers in Little India

From the moment I got off the plane I could see the signs of efficiency at every turn. At immigration, there were automated lines where Singaporean residents just swiped a card and a machine scanned their finger print. For foreigners there was a long bank of border control agents that issued visitor visas. Not a single line at any of them, I just walked-up handed over my passport and off I went. Sure beats the 2 hour immigration lines at US Airports. And then there was the big bold red letters on my tourist carrd – Warning Death for Drug Trafficers Under Singapore Law. A stinging reminder that this is a land that embraces judicial corporal punishment. There is no trial by jury and you are proven guilty before proven innocent. Singapore is thought to have the highest execution rate in the world. And you are reminded of these strict laws at every turn. $1,000 fine for riding your bike through a walking tunnel. $500 fine for littering on the street. Death for firearm offenses, murder, etc. The list goes on.

Despite this stark reality. Singapore is the world’s fourth largest financial center. It gives the vibe of intellect, progress, and accomplishment in every nuance. There are skyscrapes as far as the eye can see, and tropical rainforest trees and gardens are interlaced throughout a sea of glass and steel.

Singapore Skyscrapers

Along with the immense sense of economic development, vanity and wealth really is everywhere. Shopping malls are all around and filled with only the highest end European and American shops. Gucci. Yves Saint Laurent. Prada. Jimmy Choo. Such a sharp contrast from the rest of Southeast Asia that we’ll be exploring over the next two weeks.

It’s not just all about money and lack of individual freedom. There are also a million wonderful things about this island country made-up of 63 islands, totaling just 224 square miles. Singapore has mastered efficiency. You order a taxi on your mobile device and its at your door in under 5 minutes, no questions asked and no delays. Street access for cars during peak times is controlled by automated tolls controlled by microchips in every car. There are no homeless or shanty towns, the government subsidizes adequate housing for all Singaporeans regardless of income. There is no garbage. There are no rats. There are no cockroaches. None has or carries firearms – except the police of course. And a sense of personal safety is shared by all. These are all things I really appreciate about Singapore.

Its also a land of beautiful cutural fusion. Malays. Chinese. Indians. Europeans. Indonesians. Americans. Hindu. Christian. Muslim. Buddhist. They all call this home and many of them are ‘Singaporeans’. From my short time here is appears all ethnicities and religions coexist in harmony with one another. There does appear to be some class divisions based on ethnicity to a certain degree, but not absolute divisions.

Flower necklaces in Little India

One of the areas of this island nation that I really loved was Little India. It was very authentic in terms of all food & decor Indian and Hindu. Except it was probably a million times cleaner than any Indian city and there was no sign of poverty anywhere. Vibrant flower neclaces hung at little carts along the narrow streets. The pungent aromas of Indian spices hung in the dense hot & humid air. Glimpses of glittery gold and beaded sarees adorned women at every turn. We walked on through the many bazaars. Then we came across a neat little area where a few women sat on plastic stools at tables with other women carefully painting detailed designs
on the skin of other Indian women. These women are henna artists. Their hands moved swiftly with a little henna pen that released a small amount of ink onto the skin, forming the designs of intricate flowers, mandalas, birds, and more. This is Little India in Singapore and I loved it.

Henna artist in Little India

Moving on. Other cultures collide in this serendipitous landscape. I just happened to be in Singapore during the Dumpling festival. This is one of the local traditions that originates from the Chinese influence here. Its a typical street festival. With dancers, street performers, traditional music, and all the like. And of course lots of rice dumplings were sold all over the streets. The dumplings consist of rice sweetened with cane sugar or honey and stuffed with a myriad of meats, vegetables, nuts, and spices. They are bundled in banana leaves, tied with string, steamed, and hung out on long poles for sale in the streets. I tried a vegetable rice dumpling and it was delicious. Its basically an Asian version of a tamale. Then there are hawker stands everywhere that sell a variety of other asian dishes and fresh juices. I washed down the dumpling with some fresh pineapple-celery juice. Perfectly refreshing!

Rice Dumplings

Now on to the rest of Asia!

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