Recommended Readings (1) 推荐书籍（1）

Ok, I got to list up some of the books that have touched me deeply. This 1st post on recommendations will be dedicated to John Robbins. Below are images of 4 of his books: Diet for a New America, The Food Revolution, Healthy at 100 and Reclaiming Our Health.

不能不介绍一些让我感动至深的书，一些你不可不看的书。今天先介绍约翰罗宾斯。下面是他四本书的照片，分别是《新世纪饮食》（Diet for a New America）、《食物大革命》（The Food Revolution）、《健康一百岁》（Healthy at 100）和《还我健康》（Reclaiming Our Health）。

I've only read the 1st two, I hope to read the other two soon too.

我只看过前面两本，其他两本很希望近期内也能看。

If you are not yet acquainted with him, if you haven't read any of his books... ... no room for hesitation here, GO GRAB ONE. I guarantee it will be one of the best books you need to read in your whole life.

要是你还不认识约翰罗宾斯，要是你还不曾看过他的任何书，不要犹豫，马上去找来看。我保证你将感叹，还好没错过这么好的书。

In fact, we have extra copies of Diet For A New America and The Food Revolution to lend out, if anyone needs to borrow...

第一和第二本书，我们还多买了呢（中文的只有《新世纪饮食》），有意者欢迎询问！

These books are for anyone who is human, who wants to live happier, who wants to find meaning in life. I'm not exaggerating. Only when we see how intricately we are all inter-connected can we see how, through something as simple as eating, we can make a significant difference in our own lives and the lives of others, as well as to the future of the world we are passing on to our children and grandchildren. There's no room for denial, we are all a part of it, we are all leading actors, the difference is only whether you are aware of it or still UNblissfully ignorant. If you love your family, if you love the children of the future... read these books.

任何想活得更快乐充实，想为生命找到意义和方向的人，不可不看他的书。我不是夸张哦。只有当我们了解到我们每一个人跟宇宙万物是息息相关的时候，我们才能体会到为什么看似简单不过的一日三餐其实是那么真实地左右着我们自己以及其他生命的快乐，那么实实在在地影响着我们将遗留给我们子子孙孙的地球。已经容不得我们再自我欺骗下去，我们每一个生命都环环相扣，都交织在一起，都相互影响，区别只在于你对于这一点是否依然糊涂。如果你爱你的家庭，如果你关心你的后代子孙，就请看一看约翰罗宾斯的书。

I can't find the right words to describe him. He's one of the greatest men alive. His profound wisdom, great courage, and deep compassion for the earth, for the animals, for us humans, have led so many of us out of our ignorance and self deceit. It is because of people like him that there is hope for the future.

我无法为他找到恰当的形容词。他是这世纪最伟大的人物之一，他深邃的智慧，巨大的勇气，以及对地球、对动物、对人类深切的慈爱，把多少人从无知与自欺之中唤醒！这世界，要是没有像他这样的巨人，还有希望吗？

I've copied two links to an interview with him:

这里有两段他的访谈（附中文字幕）:

Special Interview with Mr John Robbins Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezhWxiG9N4c&NR=1

Special Interview with Mr John Robbins Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg2fBFbayKI&feature=related

Breakfast Rojak 早餐大杂烩

I've been looking for ways to make good use of the organic carrot pulp from our daily juice.

我一直为不能完全善加利用每天的有机红萝卜渣而感到略微苦恼。

If you have a garden, it'd be good to use it as compost. I used to bring it to Kampung Senang, which is just 10 mins walk away from our place, once a week or a fortnight, as they had a little plot to grow their own vegetables. We were there during the 'opening ceremony', whatever you call it, it was so exciting, and I was so happy for them. I think it's so wonderful to have a space to grow pesticide free vegetables, but apparently residents of the area are not fortunate enough, some complaints were filed (about smelliness I heard; I have a sensitive nose, I never smelt anything bad whenever I walked by there), and the little organic farm became just a short-lived dream.

要是你有院子，可以用来当堆肥。我以前每隔一两个礼拜就把渣带到离我们家不远的轻安村去，走路约10分钟就能到。他们有个小小菜园。他们举行‘开幕仪式’时我正好在场，为他们感到非常兴奋随喜，能有个园地种植无农药蔬菜，那是多么可喜的事！但是很遗憾，那里的居民跟我一样，没有这福气，因为不久以后就有人投诉，听说是投诉有异味，我鼻子非常敏感，但是走过菜园时从来没有闻到过什么难闻的味道，于是，有机菜园就这样只是好梦一场。

Or you can also try making some enzyme for cleaning, then you'll have your very own chemical free detergent! I tried making once, but failed. Haven't got the energy to try again, Ling has tried making some, if she succeeds, I'll embark on this trip again!

你也可以把渣用来制作酵素，这样，你就有天然无毒的清洁剂了！我曾经尝试做过，但是失败了，之后就提不起劲儿来再尝试。玲那天做了，要是她成功，我就再次踏上制作酵素的路程！

Ok, so what do I do with the daily bulk of carrot pulp? Eat it! I save some of it up in the fridge, and use it whenever I want it. (I juice almost everyday though, so I have a constant supply of pulp.)

那我到底如何处理我的红萝卜渣呢？最简单的，把它吃了！我每次都存下来一些，放在冰箱里，随时取出来用。基本上我几乎每天榨红萝卜汁，所以有源源不断的红萝卜渣。

1) Furikake

Got this idea from the chef of Kampung Senang. Season it with organic soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, agave nectar, ponzu, some chilli powder, thyme, oregano, black pepper, etc etc, till you get the taste you like. Bake it in the oven on low heat for... ... AGES! Well, the amount of time will depend on how much pulp you have, and how dry your pulp was, but be prepared to do it for at least 3 hrs for a very little amount of pulp, or a whole day for lots of pulp. I bake it at 100 deg C, lower would be better, but it'll take eons till it dries up. Not higher, unless you want a burnt bitter taste. You have to stir it ocassionally. When it's finally dry, mix in some sesame seeds. Makes for very good 'bak hoo' (meat floss). I don't like this term though, because 1st, it tastes better than 'bak hoo', 2nd, I don't promote mock stuff. I would use the Japanese term 'furikake' instead. Sprinkle it on any dish you like. I like to eat it with my breakfast porridge.

这是我在轻安村吃饭时从厨师那儿‘偷学’来的。洒上有机酱青、日本甜酒、麻油、龙舌兰甜浆、ponzu（日本菜常用的一种橙醋调味汁）、辣椒粉、百里香、牛至、黑胡椒等等等等，搅拌均匀，调到喜欢的口味，然后放入烤炉低温烘烤。烘烤时间视渣的量和渣本身的水分，但是打底都要花上3小时，这是极少量的渣，若是大量，那就要大大地考耐性了！我设大概摄氏100度，不能再高了，否则收成是又焦又苦，记得时不时要开炉稍微翻炒。终于干了以后，倒入一些芝麻拌匀。可当成素肉松，但是我不喜欢这说法，因为这干红萝卜渣比肉松好吃，而且本店不促销斋料、素肉之类。我选择冠之以‘furikake’之名。（日本人吃饭喜欢在饭上撒上‘furikake’，可以是鱼粉，也可以是全素的芝麻、紫菜末等。）可以跟任何菜一起食用，我喜欢早餐配粥吃。

But I don't recommend this, because it takes a lot of time, energy and electricity, and it's not very healthy. Especially not for people using juicers that don't produce very dry pulp. Just for ocassional indulgence, maybe once in half a year or once a year? Perhaps I could try it with the dehydrator...

但是这并不是我的好介绍。既花时间、精力、电费，也算不上健康食品。而且，如果你剩下来的渣还保留很多水分，那烘烤更是天长地久了！偶尔放纵一下，半年或一年烤一次就行了吧？也许什么时候我可以尝试用干燥机？

2) Porridge 多宝粥

I cook a bowl of it together with our breakfast porridge, I think the sweetness of carrot blends in very well.

早上煮粥的时候，放入一碗一起煮，红萝卜的甜味让糙米粥更香。

3) Mix it with my favourite salad. 用在沙拉

4) Breakfast Rojak! 早餐大杂烩！

Highly recommended! This recipe was from Norman Walker's book "Become Younger".

本店好介绍！这是Normal Walker书上（《Become Younger》）里的配方。

2 or 3 fully ripe medium bananas (thinly sliced)

熟透的中型香蕉2、3根（切细）

1 red apple (cut into 1 or 2 cm cubes)

红苹果1个（切成1、2公分块状）

4 or more soaked figs (stems removed, chopped up)

无花果4粒（或更多，预先浸水，去茎，切细）

3 tbsp soaked raisins

葡萄干3汤匙（预先浸水）

3 tbsp syrup from soaked raisins and figs

浸泡过无花果、葡萄干的水3汤匙

4 medjool dates (finely chopped up, you can pre-soak them too)

蜜枣4粒（切细，也可预先浸泡）

3 tbsp carrot pulp

红萝卜渣3汤匙

3 tbsp (generous heapfuls!) of ground nuts (a mix of your favourite nuts, suggestions are almond, sunflower, pumpkin, cashew)

磨碎的各种坚果（如杏仁、葵花籽、南瓜子、腰果）3大汤匙

generous dash of nutmeg powder

豆蔻粉酌量（很香，多放无妨……）

generous dash of cinnamon powder

肉桂粉酌量（很香，多放无妨……）

Soaking the raisins and figs makes for easier eating, they are not too dry/ sweet. Use just enough water to cover them, then you'll have very nice sweet syrup. For soaking, always use water that you use for drinking, that is, filtered water or distilled water. Unless you drink tap water...

预先浸泡葡萄糖和无花果的话，这些干果就没有那么干、甜，我觉得吃起来更顺喉。浸泡时水盖过干果就行，这就成了自制甜浆。浸泡的水用平时饮用的水，如过滤水或蒸馏水。

You can pre-grind your nuts, pre-soak the raisins and figs, and leave them in the fridge, so that you can use them anytime you need them, they should last for a while (don't ask me how long, I don't know! I've had my ground nuts in the fridge for nearly a year... not very good it seems ah, but they taste ok still. =) For soaked raisins, I've never left them unused for more than a week or two, but my guess is that they'll last longer than that.)

坚果可以预先磨碎，葡萄干和无花果也可以预先浸泡，放在冰箱保存，以备随时使用。应该可以保存一段时间，但不要问我具体多长时间，因为我不知道！我磨碎的坚果在冰箱差不多有一年了，好像不太好噢，但是我吃起来一点也不觉得有问题！葡萄干呢，我浸泡以后一般1、2星期以内一定吃完，但是感觉上超过这时间也没问题吧。

We've just switched our juicer from a single gear one to a double gear one (Green Star), the remaining pulp is very very very much drier. So if you use wetter pulp, perhaps you might not need so much raisin water in case it becomes too watery.

我们的榨果汁机最近刚从单齿轮的“晋升”到双齿轮（Green Star），剩下来的渣相比之下非常干燥，如果你的红萝卜渣水分比较多，那葡萄干水可能可以少放一些，免得水分太多影响口感。

For the bananas, choose those that are already freckled with black spots, that is, those that people usually say are rotten, we don't usually eat bananas till they are 'rotten' like this. This is when they are at their sweetest, before this stage, I don't consider them edible. Also, unripe fruits are acidic. I think I get a good bargain when I shop for fruit, because I always go for those that are starting to 'rot', and the sellers tend to sell them cheaper!

香蕉应该选那些已经长满了斑点的，也就是一般认为是烂了的香蕉。我们只吃这种“烂香蕉”，不到这种熟透的程度，一来不够甜，二来水果没有熟透是酸性的，吃了对身体不好，在咱们家是还不能吃的。所以买水果的时候，我觉得我还挺划得来的，因为我专选那些降价的熟透的水果。

Mix the above well b4 eating.

把以上材料好好拌匀，慢慢享用……

I hope you'll enjoy this recipe. Personally I love it. It's wholesome, it's yummy, and I get to use up more of my pulp, so it's environmentally friendly! Both my husband and I are a little grandpa-ish and grandma-ish when it comes to wasting as little as possible. Our dining plates are almost always the cleanest after every meal, and whenever I see people not finishing up their food, I have an urge to finish it for them, I just can't understand how food can be wasted like that! I even wish I could lick my plate sparkling clean like my cat Tara, LOL!

希望这大杂烩还合您的口味，这是我新发现的最爱之一。不但健康美味，而且可以把剩余的红萝卜渣用上，也算是非常环保的一道菜！我们两公婆在物尽其用这方面有点像老公公老婆婆，吃饭时我们的盘碗一般是吃得最干净的，看见别人没把食物吃完，我常常有冲动想帮他们吃干净，我实在不能明白为什么食物能这般浪费掉。我甚至希望能像我的宝贝度母一样，每顿饭后都把盘碗舔干净！

As an ending note, if you are not a fruit/ vege fan, you might want to halve the ingredients above. When I first saw this recipe quite some time ago, I thought I'd like to try it some day, but I did doubt if it would make for a satisfying breakfast. Only fruit??? No cooked stuff? No porridge, no buns? But now, to me it doesn't only make for a full breakfast (oh, I can still have dessert of course, I have a big appetite!), it makes for a REALLY fulfilling one.

要是你不像我一样那么喜欢水果蔬菜的话，也许以上材料可以减半，先尝尝如何。我当初第一次看到这菜谱的时候，心想什么时候一定要尝试，但是确实那时候有点怀疑，这样的早餐，够吃吗？只有水果，没有著熟的东西？没有粥，没有馒头，没有面包，够吗？但是现在的我，这样的早餐不但吃了有饱足感，而且满足感也是百分百的！当然我还是能吃得下甜品的，我的胃口是超大的！

5) Soup stock 熬制高汤

You can also put the pulp into a nut bag, then boil in water to make soup. Soup made from carrot pulp or skin is very delicious, there's a soup noodle dish that I had in Taiwan, the soup was superb, I was told that it was made from carrot skin. But I've stopped doing this, as it's a little troublesome for me, now I use only watermelon skins, corn cobs, radish leaves to make soup stock. If I won't be using the soup anytime soon, I'll save it in the freezer. Do make sure that the containers you use for storing are freezer safe, don't crack your favourite containers! Also, leave some space for expansion of the liquid, or your freezer safe container may crack too... I use the soup for porridge or soup noodles, or sometimes for my rice too!

可以把这些渣放在过滤袋里，用来煮汤。红萝卜渣、皮煮出来的汤，是非常美味的（我在台湾吃过的非常好吃的汤面，老板娘说是用红萝卜皮煮的）。但是我觉得麻烦，现在不用这方法了，我只用西瓜皮、玉米芯、白萝卜叶等来煮汤。煮好的汤，要是暂时不用，我存进瓶子，放入冷藏库，煮粥或汤面的时候可以用， 煮饭也可以用！请确保用来装高汤的瓶子是可以冷藏使用的，我以前不晓得有些瓶子耐不得冷，结果白白把两个我爱用的瓶子冻裂了。（就是可冷藏的瓶子也不能装满，因怕液体冰冻后膨胀，把瓶子挤裂。）

椰浆杂谷饭 Multi-grain Nasi Lemak

我是结婚以后才开始学做饭的。这一家两口的饭，说实在，也真并不容易煮得好！尽管单身的时候也煮过饭，但是毕竟一个人嘛，硬饭、软饭、焦饭，随便什么，是饭就行。而且那时候还不知道什么叫糙米饭，什么叫五谷饭，对于营养调配什么的更是一无所知，煮白饭嘛，就是有什么问题，问妈妈就行了。

当时我这新任太太一开始煮的就是糙米饭，发现周围煮糙米饭的大婶阿姨，好像很少，能请教的对象也就不多。向妈妈询问时，她的回复总是“白饭是这样这样这样，糙米饭嘛，我还真不太清楚呢”。别看一碗平平无奇的饭，煮起来还真是有点讲究的哦。

哈哈，这话叫内行人听了多难为情！但是，确实我学做糙米饭这条路还真不是很平顺呢！

首先，市面上那么多种糙米，该吃哪些呢？每种米不但味道、口感不同，而且搭配在一起以后也许会互相影响。我试用过几个牌子，现在基本上我的杂谷饭选用以下几种米:

Brown Rice Short Grain Lundberg短糙米（2500g）

Brown Rice Long Grain Thai Jasmine长糙米（2500g）

Buckwheat Groats Hulled荞麦（500g）

Red Lentils红扁豆（500g）

Barley薏米（500g）

Japonica Rice黑香米（250g x 2）

我预先把这些米掺在一起，放在米桶里，颜色五彩缤纷，看了心里先欢喜！

我尽量都买有机米。很多人觉得这很奢侈，但是，不管是为了自利或是利他，我们都应该尽量吃有机。这是另一个话题，这里也不多谈。但是，如果你要吃糙米又舍不得吃有机米，那也许吃白米好一些，因为至少你少吃一些杀虫剂。

另外，据我所知，有机糙米因为没有经杀虫剂熏蒸，比白米容易生虫，所以要是你不常煮饭，就别买大包的。或者可以像我一样，把整个米箱放进冰箱里！以前我没注意这些，很多米和豆里都爬满了小虫，不只是要扔掉这些食物浪费，而且处理不当就会害死这些小生命。现在家里有了第二个小冰箱，我买回来的所有的米呀，豆呀，全放进冰箱里！

下来是煮饭的步骤了。首先，把米浸泡在水里，至少4小时，最好隔夜。这样，煮出来的饭口感有很大差别，而且其实所有的米类、豆类，在烹煮以前都必须先泡过水，以去除酸性。泡后的水不能用来煮饭，若不扔掉听说可以用来洗脸或者浇水。（关于浸泡时间有些人说1、2小时就够了，这要看是什么米，但是一般来说我觉得最少还是要4小时。）

很多人听到要预先浸泡，就感到麻烦。这就是典型的现代人吧……。要是生活实在太忙碌，不能预先泡米，倒是可以用“象象牌”的糙米，这牌子的不用浸泡，而且价格比较便宜，但是听说营养少了许多，而且煮出来真的没那么美味！

除了这些米以外，我每次还会加入一些豆类。豆类不宜加入太多，因为蛋白质跟淀粉一起食用会妨碍消化，一点点即可。一般2人分的饭，我会加入一小撮，我饮食的改变基本上是跟着姜淑惠医师的教导为准，但是因为我才疏学浅，记性又差，所以，加入一点豆类营养会更均衡，但是过量则不好，这是我所输入脑袋的讯息，至于更科学的道理，我要再好好温习才行……但是撇开营养学不说，我发现，加入一些豆类的话，煮出来的饭就不会粘锅。我喜欢用埃及豆、利马豆或斑豆，这些都要跟糙米一起泡水。

Chickpeas埃及豆

Pinto Beans斑豆

煮饭的水分，大概是让我最头疼的一环了。有人说浸过水的话跟白米一样，有人说是白米的两倍，有人说是白米的一倍半，有人说是1.2，有人说以第一手指节为标准……

我都试过了，没一个说法准！煮出来的，要么太硬，要么太软，总有问题。

最让我感到奇怪的是，我看过的食谱，参加过的烹饪课，没有一个提到煮饭的水和米的比例，应随着米量的增加而逐渐减少。这是我妈告诉我的，我觉得这很关键，但是为什么从来没听人说过？难道这是太粗浅的道理，不值得一提？煮2人分的饭跟煮6人分的饭，水分可不能马虎啊。是不是我问过的人都是大厨师，从没有给2个人做过饭，所以不觉得这是问题？说来惭愧，因为我不敢有所疏忽，结婚开始煮饭一直到上星期（!!!）都快三年了，我都规规矩矩用米杯量好米量和水分。上星期，终于搞清楚了，不用量米杯也可以煮饭哦！

但是既然我糊涂了这么久，也该把这糊涂账跟大家分享分享……基本上，我是以1:1.5的米、水比例为准。300ml以下的米，水就要多一些，300ml以上的话，水就要慢慢减少。举例说明:

300ml的米 用300ml+150ml的水（比例为1:1.5）；

400ml的米 用400ml+180ml的水（等于多少比例我算不出来）；

但是米量减少的话，比如

200ml的米 就用200ml+200ml的水。

这些数字是不是看了很头疼？我自己一边打一边感到很糊涂。我这种对数字超级迟钝的人，每当家里来客人就要在脑子里盘算加减乘除，真的够辛苦的！但是因为做砸过好几次，所以不敢拿客人的饭来开玩笑，每一次都兢兢业业做好量水的工作！但是说实在，因为每一次人数不同，而且我的脑袋是没有空间记数字的，所以这方法对我来说其实不太管用，最后我还总得请教能量管，告诉我水分够了没有！

那么现在，如果不用量米杯，我怎么煮饭呢？用我的铁砂掌！其实，这就是我以前看奶奶煮饭学来的。我整个手掌压在浸泡隔夜的米，水位到我中指第二个手指节，就对了。有朋友告诉我不管煮多少饭，水位都到第一手指节（手指竖立），这方法我试过，失败了。我想，也许是饭锅大小的问题，也许是米饭不同的问题，更也许是手指长短的问题！我的方法，说不定换了米、换了锅、换了手，就不管用了！？

所以啊，以上的糊涂账，还是要交待一下的，哈哈哈。

好啦，加入了水，开始煮以前，我一般会加入一小撮海盐，煮出来非常美味。你要问我多少嘛，我也不清楚，我跟我妈一样，什么都是大概就好，所以每次做出来的味道都不一样！我想，两人分大概是稍微少于半茶匙吧？也可以放入一些姜片、一小块肉桂、香茅或者切细的香菇等等，煮出来的饭更香醇！

饭煮好以后，让它稍微在锅里闷一会儿。大概15分钟后开锅，浇上椰油，好好搅拌均匀。多少呢？嗯，大概是2、3汤匙吧，随便。

慢慢享用健康美味的香喷喷的椰浆杂谷饭！真的很好吃哦。

注:椰油是健康食品，请放心食用，不用怕吃了发胖，也不用担心胆固醇升高。改天得介绍介绍椰油……

Freezer Power 神奇冰库

I recently burnt my favourite Corningware pot. I first tried boiling some water in the pot, and managed to get a piece off from the centre. But that was it. After that, I soaked it in baking soda, vinegar, and salt as well; I tried scrubbing it, and I boiled it many times more, but after all the hard work, only tiny flakes came off.

前几天煮珊瑚草糖水时把我最爱的康宁锅弄焦了。我先尝试在锅里煮热水，成功除掉了中间一小块。但是这以后，不管我用苏打粉、醋、盐浸泡，或是怎么擦刷，或是一煮再煮，费尽了九牛二虎之力，都只能去除小小的屑片。

Then I put it in the freezer. See how it turned out!

然后我把它放在冰箱冷藏库里。请看效果如何∶

This is amazing. Almost the entire piece of burnt char came off. After scrubbing it lightly with a wooden chopstick, I was only left with a tiny stubborn piece. Then I employed the previous methods again, plus another - tomato - all with no success, so I left it in the freezer once again. Immediately after taking it out, I tickled it lightly with a metal spoon, off it came, as easy as ABC.

简直太神奇了。几乎一整块都脱落了，丝毫不费吹灰之力！我用木筷轻轻刮了刮，只剩下顽固的一小块。我又用开始的那些方法，还用了番茄，都不奏效，所以又放进冰窟。取出以后，我马上用汤匙轻轻给它抓痒，就这样掉出来了，简直轻而易举。

I'd burnt an entire stainless steel pot before while making green bean soup, the whole kitchen smelled like a terrible smoking room for days, and I couldn't get the burns off of course, the pot was totally black. My father took it back and scrubbed it for me. I don't know how he did it, was told that you needed strength to do the scrubbing. Poor dad, hope it was a good exercise for him!

有一回我煮绿豆汤时把一整个钢锅烤焦了，整个厨房连续几天都像吸烟室一样臭气熏天。我当然洗不掉焦迹 ，整个锅都是黑的。老爸帮我把它带回家慢慢刮，我不知道他到底怎么做的，妈说得用力才行。可怜的老爸，希望那对他只是运动！

Well, next time I'll first let my freezer do the job. Rather, I hope there won't be another time!

下回我就把任务交给冷藏库了。或者说，希望不要再有下回！

Red Letter Day 大红喜事

20 Jan 2009. This is a day worth celebrating.

2009年1月20日。这是值得欢庆的日子。

It was the 1st day of my period since my recent fast. And it was RED menstruation on the first day.

是我这次断食以后第一次来潮，而且，这第一天的月经，是鲜红色的血。

I've never seen red blood on the first day of my menstruation. Not even once, for the past 20 years since I had my first period. It was always AT LEAST 2 or 3 days of brown discharge before the flow of blood would come. 4 or 5 days was quite common. When I was in my teens, it literally never ended, such that I never knew when my period started nor when it ended. I never knew how to count the number of days of my periods, or when I should consider the 1st day. I never knew what a normal period was, until recently when I learnt that some of the women around me have only 3 days of it (of red blood flow!), it sounds like turning on and off the tap, so easy. For me, the actual blood flow was always flanked by long days of brown discharge, preludes and epilogues. I was so envious of them.

我从来没有在月经的第一天就见到鲜红的血迹。20年了，一次也没有。总是先见至少2、3天深褐色分泌，这前奏拖上4、5天也是家常便饭。十多岁的时候，几乎是没完没了，我根本不知道我的月经是什么时候开始，什么时候结束，不晓得哪天才算是第一天，更不懂的如何算月经天数。正常的月经是什么样的，我不知道，一直到不久以前，才知道身边的一些亲友月经竟然只有3天，而且流的是红血，宛如开关水龙头一般简单，说我多羡慕就多羡慕。相比之下，我真正流血前后，总是有拖拖拉拉好多天的开场白和收场白。

But the first sign of my period this time was red blood, and quite a lot comparatively. By the second day, there was already a steady flow, which is very early for me! Men of course wouldn't understand this, even women who've always had normal menstruation wouldn't. I was esctatic. So happy and full of gratitude that I cried.

但是这回，我来经的第一个迹象，就是鲜红色的血迹，而且，比起过去不清不楚的深褐色污迹，量也多了不少。到了第二天，已经是顺畅的血流，第二天呀，这对我是多么早啊。男人当然不能理解，就是女人，要是向来月事正常，也体会不了我的喜悦。我兴奋莫名，我高兴得难以形容，心中充满感激，感动得泪水都流了下来。

It's been 20 years, and now it's like a curse lifted away.

20年啊，这天，犹如诅咒终于被解开了……

Women go to gynaes when they are pregnant, or when something abnormal happens to them. But I'd been a frequent visitor of many gynaes in my early teens, soon after I started having my periods. Because unlike my sisters, my periods had never been normal. And since then, hormone pills had become a part of my diet. I'd taken years of the pill without knowing that they were contraceptives! People say that irregular periods in young girls tend to normalize as they grow up, I'm not sure what normal is actually, or if mine had ever become normal. Is being controlled by drugs considered normal?

妇产科，顾名思义，该是妇女怀孕或发生什么异状的时候才造访之处。然而我几乎是一开始来经，才刚上初中，就成了常客。因为我的月事从来没有正常过。自此，吃下不知多少荷尔蒙丸、避孕药，后来得知自己多年来吃的是避孕药，简直如晴天霹雳。人家说少女经事慢慢会随着年纪增长而正常化，但是我不知道什么叫正常，也不知道自己以前到底正常过没有。靠着药品的话，算正常吗？

It was always the standard procedures at the gynaes. I never felt any assurance, despite the big bucks I was paying (or rather, my parents were paying; if ever the amount was less than 200 I considered myself lucky), and the amount of time I had to wait (of course I made prior appointments, they were specialists). There was not the slightest hint of any hope that I would get better, it was like I was destined to take all the pills they threw me. None of them could tell me WHY I had to go through all that, they didn't even seem interested in the subject. Or perhaps, I wasn't that interested either. Visiting doctors, taking medicines, it was all part and parcel of life, I probably didn't give the matter much thought either.

在妇产科做的反反复复总是那些检验。尽管父母为我付出昂贵的费用（要是少于200块我算是幸运），尽管次次都要等上老半天（当然是电话预约，这可是专科），然而我丝毫不感到踏实。我离好转的日子似乎是遥遥无期，似乎注定一生都得吃下他们让我买下的药丸。看过的妇科，没有一个能为我解释为什么我得承受这一切，我想，没有一个对这问题感兴趣吧。甚至连我自己大概也不怎么关心这些吧。看医生、吃药，这些不都是人生的一部分吗？

And I can't forget one Chinese physician whom I turned to after striking off gynaes as my potential saviours. After a few visits and I didn't improve, he somehow seemed exasperated and embarrassed, and said I should go to a gynae. If they could cure me, I wouldn't be here today, I thought. Chinese medicine is so much more brilliant than its western counterpart, I had so much faith in it, it's kind of depressing to be rejected like that.

我决定不再依靠妇科以后，见过一个中医。复诊几次也不见好转，他显得有些恼羞成怒，说我应该去找妇科。唉，要是妇科能救我，我今天就不来求你了。中医远比西医高明，我对中医那么有信心，今天却来遭你泼冷水。

There was one other Chinese physician who did help me get better though. After taking his herbal prescriptions at least my endless discharge stopped. And my frequent mouth ulcers cleared too. I was supposed to continue with my visits, but I was already on my way to natural healing. After about 2.5 months I decided that no medication was good ultimately. I would do it the natural way, through a healthy diet and fasts. It might take a long time, but I wouldn't be putting in more toxins into my body. It would be what my body truly desired.

其实后来有一位中医确实帮我把情况改善了许多。喝了他开的处方，至少我没完没了的月事有了停歇。甚至连常有的口疮也没有了。他让我继续看他，但是当时我已经开始走上自然疗法之道，大概2个半月以后，我心想，是药三分毒，因此决定不管是西药还是中药都不服用，就靠自然健康的饮食，加上断食，也许要花很长的时间，但是至少，我不再把毒素注入体内，这也是我身体真正需要的自我康复的疗程。

I'm so glad somehow I managed to rid myself of all medications. I'm so grateful that for some reasons unknown, I have an innate faith in the holistic path. I'm so glad I did badly in the science subjects at school. If I had done well, would I have so much faith in alternative paths? Just like how I didn't manage to get into business school and turned to learning Japanese, it was a blessing in disguise.

我为自己能够摆脱所有的药物感到庆幸。能对自然疗法自然就有莫名的信心，我也感到无比感恩。求学时代理科搞得一塌糊涂，我也觉得是我的福气。要是我理科学得好，今天，我能对另类疗法完全敞开心扉，有那么坚定不移的信心吗？这正如我当年考不上商科，转而修学日语一样，塞翁失马，焉知非福！

I feel no period pains anymore, not even the slightest feeling of heaviness that used to accompany my periods.

现在，我一点经痛也没有。就是月经来时那种沉重的感觉也没有。

During the water fast, for many days there was black discharge. It looked like black ink, and it certainly looked poisonous. We talk of detoxifying, of getting rid of toxins, now I could see real toxin-looking toxins coming out of my own body. It was yucky, of course. But I was excited and glad, this was something I was looking forward to. The first time I did a juice fast, I came out with no more period pains, except the feeling of heaviness on the heaviest day. That was a HUGE leap for me. But my period wasn't yet 'normal', there were still the long periods of brown discharge. I did a few more juice fasts, still there wasn't any marked improvement.

水断那期间，流出了很多天的墨汁般的污迹。这、就、是、毒、素。我们总是说排毒排毒，如今我真的看到毒物从我体内流出来。样子当然恐怖。但是我很兴奋，这是我期待已久的。第一次做蔬果汁断以后，我的经痛消失了，但是来经时沉重的感觉还在。但是那对当时的我已经是巨大的进步，尽管我的月经还谈不上正常，还是有许多天的深褐色分泌物。接下来我又做了几次蔬果汁断，却没有再进步。

I can't describe how glad I am. Looking back, the change has been so enormous. It's unbelievable.

This is something I've been longing for, now it's here, it's really here. It's like a dream come true, and I'm so grateful, to people who've shown me the way, to people who've shown me support. And to the Buddhas and Bodhdisattvas, who've always been guiding me along and giving me strength.

我内心的欣喜难以形容。回想过去，改变实在太大了。简直不可思议。这是我多年来所渴望的，如今到了我面前，真的到我手里了，美梦成真，我无比感恩，感谢为我铺路的导师，感谢给我支持的人们，感谢诸佛菩萨，一直为我引路，给我力量。

How many women are still taking all the hormone tablets and pills that are prescribed to them, not knowing what harm they are causing themselves? How many are still doing so, despite knowing the harm they are causing themselves? I'm so glad I've persevered till this day, how I wish more people would give themselves a chance.

有多少女性依然服用荷尔蒙、避孕药，而不知道自己正在如何残害着自己？有多少尽管知道，却依然故我？我能够坚持，能够等到这一天，我是多么幸运！但愿有更多人能给自己，给自己的身体一个机会。但愿有更多人，能感受到我这份喜悦。

KFC dinner - Guilt free!无罪肯德基

This was the dinner we had tonight. Miso soup, coleslaw and mashed potatoes. Japanese style guilt-free KFC meal?

This was my first try at coleslaw. Coleslaw hasn't really been my favourite, perhaps when I frequented KFC I was still far from becoming a vegetarian. Or perhaps somehow I found that the coleslaw reeked of some smell, perhaps from mayonnaise? So in fact, I don't really know how coleslaw should be like, because I think the KFC coleslaw was probably the only one that I'd eaten before! But I gotta widen my repertoire, and as a vegetarian now (or perhaps as the cook of the household?) practically any new salad recipe excites me.

As I was at it, I thought, oh, too much lemon, this is going to be a failure, LY's going to complain that it's too sour again!! He doesn't seem to be able to take anything sour, just a slight taste of vinegar or lemon in the salad sometimes would earn me a demerit point. (You'd think that such a sensitive tongue for something sour might make him a champion in sniffing out anything that has turned bad, but err, I got to keep a watch out for this big boy of mine so that he doesn't finish up something that's expired...)

The fun thing about working in the kitchen is tasting, putting a dash of all the condiments and sauces you can find in your kitchen, then re-tasting again and again till the dish turns from a flop to a success!

I got the basic recipe from RAWvolution: Gourmet Living Cuisine and from Paul Yeoh's blog, as well as from my dear sister Ling. So here's what I threw in:

Cabbage (about 1/2, chopped finely) 包菜（约半个，切细）

Carrot (about 2 to 3 medium ones, shredded) 红萝卜（约2、3根，切丝）

Raisins (about 1 tbs) 葡萄干（约1汤匙）

Date (1, chopped finely, medjool should be good, but I used the Chinese mi4 zao3, which I think is processed and I don't think I'll be getting it again) 蜜枣（1粒，切细；关于蜜枣，我还在调查当中，我用的是干粮店卖的中国人吃的蜜枣，但是我怀疑这是不是加工食品，和所谓的medjool dates似乎是两码事？）

Coconut Oil 椰油

Olive Oil 橄榄油

Himalayan Rock Salt 岩盐

Organic Soy Sauce 有机酱油（酱青）

Lemon Juice 柠檬汁

Agave Nectar 龙舌兰甜浆

Maple Syrup 枫糖浆

Organic Cane Sugar 有机蔗糖

Tumeric Powder 黄姜粉

As you can see, I can't tell how much I've put of each of the seasoning, because I tried and tasted every step of the way, till I got the taste that I liked. Just mix everything together. For the sweet taste, I added cane sugar because I thought I had too much liquid; but I needed to cover up the sour taste from the lemon. And I used maple syrup in addition to agave nectar, because I was trying so hard to get rid of the lemon taste! So the lesson I musn't forget is, go easy on anything sour... In fact I added more carrot along the way, as I thought that was one good way to get myself out of the lemon nightmare.

I didn't use vinegar because Ling said she used lemon instead of vinegar as she doesn't like vinegar. I thought LY might prefer lemon to vinegar too. As for the oil, Ling gave me the idea too, to use coconut oil instead of olive oil. But in the middle of it all I thought the coconut was too strong, so I switched to olive, LOL. Oh, the tumeric gave the whole thing a wonderful fragrance, I got this idea from one of the web pages I found as I searched for coleslaw recipes.

One thing good about coleslaw, I've realized, is that it seems to taste better when let stand in the fridge for the dressing to set in. This easily qualifies it as a take away salad. If I'd learnt this recipe earlier, then I'd have something else to take to my principal before I quit my job. She probably thought it really boring that the salad she was served every week hardly changed...

If you're a newbie in the kitchen like me, do go easy on the seasonings, not too much of anything at one go, everything might be spoilt beyond salvage.

Now for the mashed potatoes, sigh...

It was a heartache.

Don't be mistaken, I think it tasted superb. I loved every mouthful of it, and I think I managed to present it quite fine, I liked the look of it even!

But as the cook of the household who cooks to please the diner(s), it's not much of a success if the diner ate it like he was forced at gunpoint.

The shock of it all is, LY's supposed to be a big potato fan, like me!

When I was a child, I used to cry at every meal when no potato showed up. That's how much I love potatoes. I must have it at every meal. Steamed, stewed, baked, fried, deep fried, anything, as long as it's potatoes, it'd make me happy. The staple one that I looked for was called 'black potatoes' though, coz it was stewed potatoes that had turned dark in colour with all the soy sauce and spices.

When I first started cooking after getting married, I tried making potatoes with tomatoes and chickpeas, it turned out very well, LY loved it, I loved it, ocassional guests we had loved it too. But I stopped making it after a while, because I realized that first, that's too much starch, our staple is rice as it is. Second, the combination itself didn't seem quite right. Potatoes (starch) plus chickpeas (protein) plus tomatoes (fruit!) is a very bad combi, according to what I've read from Dr Jiang's books. So for quite some time, no potato was served in our humble abode.

And after some time, LY asked about the missing potato.

So now I'm trying to help our favourite Mr Potato stage a comeback, by asking our staple Ms

Nasi Lemak to take a back seat, once in a while.

This is the 2nd time I'm making mashed potatoes. In fact, if I include the raw version that I made from cauliflower, it would be the 3rd time. But everytime, it didn't please the lord of the house...

I did the 1st one with pumpkin. Boiled them, mashed them and prepared mushroom gravy. I myself wasn't quite satisfied with the result. The potatoes had too much water content, perhaps I'd overdone the boiling, or perhaps during the mashing process I should have let more water evaporize?? I don't know, in any case, I thought perhaps boiling wasn't the best way, so today I tried steaming. Also, my mushroom gravy was too watery, so all in all, it didn't turn out to be very presentable mashed potatoes. But at least LY didn't complain when he ate it, in fact he seemed to have eaten quite a lot, except that after that he complaint of being too full. I thought the filling part was the gravy, it was more like soup. I'd made too much of it, and we finished it all in a meal.

The 2nd one wasn't a success either. I don't seem to have much luck with RAWvolution recipes. I might post on this again. I liked it, it wasn't firm like how mashed potatoes should be, but the taste was great. However, LY made a face and I finished his portion for him.

Now, today. Well well, thinking back, I wonder if I should say this was one of the best mashed potatoes I've ever had! Although admittedly I'm not a gourmet and have not much experience in food tasting... Or perhaps, mashed potatoes I'd eaten had never been home made, that's why...?

If there was anything that could have been improved on in order to please him, should I say perhaps it could have a little more water content? I think it was a little on the dry side, would it have been better if I'd boiled it instead? Oh oh oh... to boil or to steam?

He didn't say it was anything to do with dryness though. But it was apparent that he wasn't enjoying it. He scooped a little piece at a time, about the size of a teaspoon, like it was something so precious he didn't want to finish it too soon. But the problem is, that's not what my husband is like!! He eats twice if not three or even four times faster than me, if it's something he loves, all the more he'd devour it in a minute.

When I asked, he said he felt full. But he wasn't even halfway done. He said if he ate potatoes or pumpkins, he'd feel full easily. But if it was as a side dish with rice, he wouldn't feel so. Perhaps potatoes do make you feel full more easily, it would be interesting to find out more on this. But the thing is, aren't potatoes his favourite? And no rice was served today, to make way for potatoes. He admitted to having had a full lunch though, and when I asked a few times before dinner if he was hungry, he said no.

Well well, enough of it all. I thought it was good, and here's my recipe:

Organic Potatoes 有机马铃薯

Coconut oil 椰油

Himalayan Rock Salt 岩盐

Organic Soy Sauce 有机酱油（酱青）

Ground Oregano

Dried Basil

Ground Black Pepper

Finely chopped coriander

1) Cut potatoes into small pieces and steam. (I leave the skin on as I use organic potatoes, in fact I love the taste of the skin, and I like the look of it.) This took me about half an hour. (Boiling took me about 10 mins the first time. But on another note, I used another kind of potatoes the 1st time.)

2) Remove potatoes from steamer, mash them up with a fork. Transfer to another pot. On very low heat, continue mashing and adding in the oil and condiments (except black pepper and coriander, which I sprinkled on top before serving). Take care not to burn the potatoes. Add water whenever required. Vegetable stock would be better!

As with the case of coleslaw, I tasted the potatoes as I was mashing them till I got the right taste. On hind sight I think I could have added a little more water. Well, I had too much water the 1st

time, so I guess I'd gone to the other extreme this time.

Should I make another attempt for Mr Potato to have a place on our dining table? How should I dress him up? It was really disappointing coz I felt I could give it 90 marks, this was one of the few dishes that I felt I could be proud of, yet it fared so badly with LY that I had to finish it up for him, how dampening. But I definitely can't use it as a side dish, rice plus another starch side dish?

What I'd summed up is this though: he's not the self processed potato lover, nowhere comparable to me. I'd been duped to believe that we were buddies in this... After dinner I asked if he'd want to leave the green bean soup dessert for tomorrow, since he was so full. He chose to have it today. So, being full or not is relative, yeah? Just like how I always have stomach for chocolate...

再现恐龙本色 The Dinosaur Retuns!

复食2个星期了，要是从开始吃Smoothie算起，那么有18天了。我的胃口大得出奇，想到食物就开心莫名。昨晚在Felynn处再现恐龙本色，吃得都快撑着了，尽管如此想到食物依然舌根无比欢悦，毫无坏苦现象，这究竟是怎么回事？！是好事还是坏事？自然抑或反常？话说回来，断食以前，我的胃口倒是不太好，老不太想吃东西。

今天晚饭也吃得不少，但是我脑子还是光想着吃！明天说好会到Fanny处吃午餐，利源说有Tomyam米粉，也有芋头米粉，啊，我都想吃想吃想吃，怎么办？至于晚餐我也老早就在盘算要做什么菜，啊，太兴奋了。

It's been 2 weeks since I broke fast. If I were to count from when I started taking smoothies, then it would have been 18 days. My appetite is startlingly voracious, at the thought of food I feel indescribable happiness. I was true to my nickname of being a dinasour at Felynn's last night. I ate till I was full to the brim, yet any thought of food still perked up my taste buds, there wasn't any sign of having had too much of anything. Is this natural or absurd? Something to celebrate about or a dangerous sign? Thinking back, before my fast my appetite wasn't very good, I didn't feel much like eating.

Dinner could be considered sumptuous tonight too I guess, considering how I usually went for light dinners. Yet my mind still lingers for food... We'll be going to Fanny's for lunch tomorrow, LY says that there'll be Tomyam Beehoon and Yam Beehoon tomorrow, oh tough choice, I'd hate to miss either! As for dinner, I'd begun planning what to dish up during dinner just now, oh, how exciting...