Ayam Penyek

I couldn't resist buying a recipe book I found at a hypermarket yesterday. It was written by a famous actress, now retired, and operating a successful restaurant in Kuala Lumpur.

It was Zaty who wanted to try the Ayam Penyek recipe as she had eaten it before, near her College. She cleaned the chicken and marinated them.

I have adapted the recipe for only 6 pieces of chicken.

The ingredients used for the chicken were:

2.5 cm ginger
2 stalks lemon grass
5 cloves garlic
2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
3 cups oil for deep frying

Clean the chicken. Blend the ginger, lemongrass and garlic in water in a blender.Add some salt and turmeric powder.Marinate chicken with the blended paste and let stand for 1 hour.

Meanwhile prepare a steamer and steam the chicken for 15 minutes.
Fry the chicken in hot oil after draining excess liquids from the steamer. Fry until golden and cooked.

Remove the chicken from the fryer and flatten each one on a chopping board using the blade of a large knife and a pestle. (This is similar to the practice adopted by chicken rice hawkers.)
The chicken is served with lettuce, tomato and cucumber salad and dipped with chilli sauce.

To make the chilli dip you need:

5 fresh red chillies
5 fresh bird chillies
2.5 cm shrimp paste, grilled (belacan)
2 tabsp sugar
salt to taste
lime juice from 2 limes

Blend all ingredients in red font in a blender till fine. Add salt and lime juice. If it is too thick, add cool boiled water.

Zaty liked the hot chilli sambal, but I would prefer to eat this ayam penyek with the garlic chilli sauce as in the chicken rice recipe. Maybe because I am used to eating sambal belacan with fresh kampong salad and not the salad as suggested.

Tandoori Chicken, an Early Birthday Treat

Tonight Zay decided we went shopping. So, immediately after Maghrib, we headed towards KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Centre, where the Twin Towers are) via the Ampang Ulu Kelang highway which leads directly into KLCC parking. Since my birthday is only a week away on a weekday and with Zay's unpredictable work schedule, tonight seemed to be the best time for a girls' night out. My husband had flown to Penang earlier in the evening on business and Afif has returned to College.

We ended up with Zay and Zaty buying me a birthday present as in the picture above. I will only reveal it on my birthday so you will have to wait to see what it is.

After leaving the shopping complex, we stopped at a neighbourhood Mamak bistro on the way home. Although it is within walking distance from our house, we seldom ate here.

However tonight's meal of garlic Nan bread and Tandoori Chicken proved to be very good. I used to crave for Nan and Tandoori when I was pregnant with my son Ikmal. At that time, good Tandoori can only be found in downtown Kuala Lumpur. Nowadays, Mamak restaurant franchises thrive everywhere. Maybe because they offer a large variety of foods for all tastes.

The Chicken we had was tender and not dry as in some places. The Nan too was just right. The sambal and curry however was a bit hot but everything was freshly prepared which gave it the oomph.

For those who cannot find an Indian restaurant when you are overseas, you can try making your own Tandoori.

I will transfer the recipe for Tandoori Chicken from my recipe book below:

Ingredients:

1 chicken
salt
a little turmeric
2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp pounded coriander seeds
2 tsp pounded cumin seeds
1 tbsp pounded onions
2 tsp pounded chillies
4 cloves garlic, pounded
2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 cup yoghurt
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp tomato puree
1 tbsp ginger juice
few slices raw onion
2 tsp lime juice

Method:

Clean, wash and dry chicken, removing the skin and visible fat. Make cuts over breast and legs. Prick the chicken all over with a fork, then rub salt, turmeric and vinegar all over. Leave for 1 hour. Combine pounded ingredients together with the remaining ingredients except lime juice.Apply the paste over the chicken and marinate for at least 6 hours.

Grease a baking tray with butter or ghee and bake the chicken for about 1 hour in a moderately hot oven (200 deg C or Gas Mark 6). Turn it over several times during baking, adding the remaining paste and greasing with butter so that the chicken does not dry up.

When chicken is cooked (the meat doesn't stick when pricked with a sharp knife ), remove it from the oven and sprinkle lime juice over it. Serve with salad.

Nowadays, you can buy Nan bread at the supermarket. To add garlic flavour, simply add butter mixed with pounded garlic and heat the Nan bread in an oven for a few minutes.

You may find that the Tandoori prepared at home may not be as red as the ones found in the Mamak restaurants. This is because the Mamak adds red coloring to the Tandoori paste. If you do not have the time to prepare your own Tandoori spice mix, using Maggi Chicken Tandoori mix is a great help. I have tried this a few times and it turns out well each time.

TomYam Kung (Hot and Sour Soup) and Brand Loyalty

I remember eating the original Thai Tom Yam at a small town across Kedah-Thailand border years ago which was simply bewitching. During the days when I was working, I used to go to Trengganu as I was in charge of the accounts in that State.I also remember the tom yam served at a restaurant in Trengganu as simply delightful.Nowadays I normally do not order tom yam when I eat out, but the tom yam with rice vermicelli I ate a week ago at a stall within a Mamak shop was just right. Normally, stall tom yams are down right too watery. There are no vegetables except a piece of tomato and onion, plus one small shrimp and a piece of cut squid. Very disappointing that some people think that is what a Tom Yam should be when they prepare it at home using only the tom yam cube stocks.

Tonight I decided to prepare tom yam soup with rice vermicelli.I had bought a bottle of Tom Yam paste earlier. I was trying a local Malaysian brand as I have never bought this brand of paste before. I was using another brand of vermicelli as well. I got the vermicelli free after complaining that the lokam I had bought earlier at a hypermarket were bad.Both products turn out unsatisfactory as far as I was concerned.

First the vermicelli was too soft when I scalded in hot water.

Next the tom yam paste was too thin too, unlike the normal Thai brand I normally used which is very concentrated. I had to do some damage control when the soup did not come out as expected by adding more lime juice, galangal, lemon grass, chilli paste, Thai fish sauce (Nam Pla) and of course kaffir lime leaves. Luckily I had them in the fridge and in the back garden. Fortunately too, there were no complaints when the family sat down to dinner.

From now onwards I will stick to the normal brands of Tom Yam sauce and rice vermicelli. No more trying out other cheaper brands.

Talking about brands, I have been getting complaints that my fried vermicelli does not taste as usual. This was because I had switched to a cheaper brand of soya sauce when the price of the popular brand which we normally use, sky rocketed.

Sometimes brand loyalty does not pay when the producers hold us to ransom by increasing their prices exorbitantly. On the other hand, our taste buds could also be controlling what we put in our mouths. The dilemma continues.....

For those wanting to prepare their own Tom Yam Kung for 5 people, if you cannot find the bottled Tom Yam paste in your neighbourhood, here is how:

Ingredients:

Roughly 5 shell-on shrimp per person, shelled and deveined, 3 squids, cleaned and cut into 1 cm rings, 1/4 chicken cut into smaller pieces

• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• 4 stalks lemon grass, squashed
• 2 tabsp chilli paste, or more to taste
  

• 8 kaffir lime leaves
• 5 green chillies, chopped, or more, to taste
• 1 tsp bird chili peppers, or more, to taste
• 1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 16 cups (1 gallon, 4 litres) strong shrimp stock
• prepared by boiling the shrimp heads and shells and blending them in a blender and filtering the stock.
• 1/2 cup lime juice, use more if you prefer a more sourish taste
• 1 lb mushrooms, Button, Oyster, Enoki or Shitake, whichever you prefer or a mix of them all, quartered
• 1 carrot cubed
• 2 tomatoes, quartered
• 2 sprigs cauliflower cut into bite sizes
• half bunch spring onions, cut into 1 inch lengths
• 1 bunch cilantro, and Chinese celery, coarsely chopped
• 3 tablespoons nam pla (fish sauce)

Heat oil in deep saucepan, and when hot, add lemon grass, lime leaves, green chillies, chilli paste, onion, and garlic. Fry until onion is browned (about 10 minutes). Add half the shrimp stock and fish sauce.Bring to boil, then simmer one hour. Steep 24 hours (if you don't, the flavours won't be quite so rich).

Strain, discarding solids. Add remaining shrimp stock, or cube stock and bring to a boil. Add chicken, shrimp, squids, mushrooms, carrots, cauliflower and bird chillies. Cook 2 minutes longer, then remove from heat. Add tomatoes, cilantro, spring onions and Chinese celery. Serve immediately with scalded rice vermicelli or boiled white rice.

A Breather in the Mountains

We decided to take a break to enjoy the crisp, cool and fresh mountain air at Cameron Highlands a day before the Chinese New Year. We set out very early Sunday morning, not realising that many Malaysians ( mostly Malays and Indians) and foreign tourists had the same idea. There was a traffic jam at Brinchang, the leading town in the mountain that afternoon.

Except for the drizzle and the slow service at the only decent Malay restaurant at Brinchang (the cook must have been in shock at the large customer turnout), we had a really good and stress free day.The gorgeous scenery, fabulous uncommon flora, fresh vegetables and genuine strawberry tarts really made my day.

We are thinking of visiting Camerons again soon, to enjoy the jungle walk and maybe stay a few nights too. The mountain is indeed a good way of chilling out.

Chillies and Cilantro

The terrible jam in the Klang Valley due the CNY exodus.

The tired siblings.....getting through the jam.


My cousin Zue asked me,"What is cilantro?".The Americans call the coriander leaves, cilantro after the Spanish. The Malays call it daun ketumbar. It is also known as Chinese parsley.

Chillies and cilantro are common ingredients in Chinese and Indian cooking. Some Mexican cooking also use cilantro. I chose chillies and cilantro for the title of my blog to denote the different varieties of food found in our country. Also to show how the culture has intertwined and evolved in Malaysia. Chillies and cilantro would be like yin and yang.There are compatible, one hot while the other is cool. Among the older Malays, cilantro as leaves is still unknown and unpopular, although the seeds are frequently used in Malay cuisine.

Coriander seeds are also known to be a diuretic and can be used as a detoxifying agent. The cilantro leaves can be blended in water and drunk to remove the body of heavy metals.

The last time I was in Laos, I noticed that cilantro leaves were commonly used as garnishing in Indian dishes at the Indian restaurants that I went.

The steamed fish recipe below uses both fresh red chillies and cilantro leaves:

Ingredients:

1 garoupa fish (450g). You can also use any white but not fatty fish such as the dragon fish (gelama pisang) or freshwater fish such as tilapia.

A:
100g vegetable pickle (radish or cabbage) 50g spring onions 10g young ginger 10g black mushroom 1 fresh red chilli 1 tomato

Cut and slice all of the above vegetables.

B:
300ml fish stock 1/4 soup cube, if preferred 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp sugar 1/2 tsp sesame oil 2 tbsp soya sauce 100g balance of oil after frying chicken

Mix the ingredients in red font.

C:(Garnish)
10g cilantro leaves

Clean the fish and remove scales if any.Slit the sides.

Pour the ingredients B on the fish and sprinkle A on top.

Place fish in a steamer and steam for 10 minutes. Serve hot with cooked white rice.

Garnish with cut cilantro leaves. You may also use sliced raw carrots as garnishing if you like.

The other method is to steam the fish alone and heat the sauce ingredients A and B mixed with 2 tsp cornflour to thicken it. The sauce is then added to the steamed fish.

Of Chinese New Year (CNY) Celebrations and Chinese Food

In Malaysia, we will be celebrating our third New Year next week, exactly one month after the Muslim New Year or Awal Muharram on 29th December, 2008 and the Gregorian New Year on January 1st.

I love the CNY season because we can get all the vegetables like arrowhead and lotus roots and the different types of dried mushrooms.The best part is the lokam.We have bought our third box of lokams now.

During the Hari Raya season, I often see all Malaysians, regardless of whether they fast or not in the month of Ramadhan, rushing to grab offers in the hypermarket. Similarly during the CNY festive period, everybody will be flooding the hypermarket aisles as if there is no tomorrow.The other day, I smiled to myself when I saw a Malay family of 4 trying CNY clothes for each of them. Well, they must be getting ready to join their Chinese friends during the CNY open house. Likewise, during Hari Raya shopping, I often see Chinese ladies trying on the Malay baju kurung or baju kebaya.

This year we have not had a single invitation to toss yee sang yet. Maybe because times are bad.

If you ask me which do I prefer, Chinese or Indian food? I would say, Chinese if it is halal. I remember during my visit to Los Angeles way back in 1999 with my husband, we were treated to a vegetarian dinner at a restaurant owned by a family of Chinese Muslims (from China).In Malaysia up until now, I have never set foot in a vegetarian Chinese restaurant.Vegetarian Indian yes, but not Chinese. The vegetarian meal I had in LA is still the best among the meals I had tasted. The other best meal is at the sushi bar also in LA. The latter was a small bar operated by a Japanese man. I do not know what made me eat the raw sushi and oysters.The wasabi went up to my ears.Somehow the Japanese fare in LA is not the same as the ones back home. Maybe the fish is different. It is not the normal salmon that we have here. And the fact that everything was prepared as we went along, unlike here,which is mostly pre-prepared.

The current trend nowadays is for Malays to open a Chinese restaurant and employ cooks trained by Chinese Muslim chefs. The popular Malaysian singer, Amy, of the rock group, Search, has opened one in Wangsa Link, a new neighbourhood in Wangsa Maju, KL. A friend of mine also opened a Chinese restaurant in Taman Melati Utama, not far from my house. I have yet to pay either restaurants a visit.

The Chinese fried rice is a favorite in Chinese dinners. Often it is served as the last course after a series of courses, when one is already too full to enjoy it.

During the last Hari Raya, I prepared Chinese fried rice for breakfast when a group of relatives visited us.

The recipe I used was as follows:
( You can use 1/3 of the ingredients if cooking for a smaller group)

Ingredients:

9 bowls of precooked rice from the night before.
600g prawns, shelled and deveined
500g diced chicken meat
300g mixed vegetables
6 eggs fried as omelette
4 eggs, beaten
3 tbsp garlic chopped and crushed
1 tbsp black pepper powder
10 tbsp cooking oil
100g butter for flavour

Mix A:

3 tsp Knorr chicken powder, (I use Knorr powder that does not have MSG)
2 tsp cornflour

Mix B:

3 tsp Knorr powder
1 tbsp black soya sauce
1 tbsp cooking oil

C: Garnish:
the omellette,cut into thin strips
some diced spring onions
some sliced red and green fresh chillies
some fried shallots

Method:

Marinate the prawns and chicken meat with A for 20 minutes.

Heat up the oil and butter in a wok and stir in garlic and cook till fragrant.Add marinated chicken and stir till cooked.Add mixed vegetables and fry for 2 minutes before adding the cooked rice and mixture B and black pepper powder.Fold in the beaten egg and mix well. Fry till the rice is dry. Taste. Add more seasoning if necessary.

Dish into serving dish, sprinkle C on top to garnish.

The rice is best eaten hot.

Tips:

• Avoid putting in too much pepper powder as too much will not make the rice tasty. You can also use white pepper if you like.
• Use less garlic if you don't like the garlic taste.

Eating Red Meat

Photo downloaded from http://www.thestar.com.my/



Eating lean red meat in small quantities infrequently is fine, according to my doctor. Red meat has protein to help repair tissues and iron, zinc and vitamin B12 to promote general health and well being. Therefore, having McDonald's Big Mac every day is a no no. I remember when I was studying at Cambridge for my A Levels many years ago, halal chicken and the big Spanish Mackerel were favorite meal items easily available. I was not aware than that a big fish can be a source of mercury poisoning. My flatmate and I used to finish 1 big, grilled mackerel between the two of us for dinner. We just ate it with salad without any rice in our eternal quest to slim down.

When I moved to Leeds for my undergraduate studies, halal red meat was readily available but we had to walk a few miles to get them. Luckily we also added fish to our diet together with chicken and fruits and vegetables.

I sometimes wonder if the diet that we relish as students had affected our overall health situation now.People say that you are what you eat and sometimes your genetic make up also determines your health status.

By dwelling on safe eating habits, I hope my children and their children and our future generations will be healthier than our generation ever was or could ever be.

The article by nutritionist Dr Tee Ee Siong in Sunday's Starhealth is worthy of mentioned. Dr Tee want to relay an important message-- The choices we make on what we eat, drink, and how active we are each day will together provide protection against cancer at all times, from childhood to old age. He quoted the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) recommendation to limit the intake of red meat and avoid processed meat. This does not mean an absolute abstinence from red meat but a moderate consumption with choosing lean cuts and trimming away the visible fats.

According to studies done by WCRF red meats and processed meats are probable causes of cancer of the bowel, eosophagus, lung, stomach and prostate. There is also evidence that grilled, barbequed and smoked meat and other animal parts cause stomach cancer. (It is interesting to note that the prophet of Islam(s.a.w) in his hadith had also cautioned on eating grilled or barbequed meat.) So boys and girls, be thankful that you do not eat satay every day. It is the carbon in the charcoal that is dangerous.

The overall consensus, as noted by Dr Tee, not only to prevent cancer but to prevent a host of other diseases ae well, is to limit consumption of animal foods and processed meats (as in saugages, hot dogs, bacon, ham) and heavily salted preserved foods.

Maintaining Good Health- What Foods to Avoid

Although I have not embarked on a real detox program yet, I am starting to do slowly so that my body does not get shocked. As I am also a diabetic, I have to be careful not to overdo it and become hypoglycaemic. Yesterday, we had only a sandwich for lunch and "yong tau foo" for dinner. This morning my blood glucose level was 6.7 as opposed to 8.1 two days earlier. I had not been monitoring my glucose levels since end of December because we ran out of strips. We eventually bought a new glucometer ( of the same brand) which had cheaper strips and I had to learn to take the blood sample on to the new strip which was the opposite from the previous one. Only after 5 tries did I succeed. What a slow learner...

Anyway, I was pleased that my last appointment with the physician showed that my health status is considered satisfactory. I was anaemic in August but after 2 months being on 2 iron pills twice a day, the iron in blood improved tremendously. Thanks to my inhouse doctor, Zayye. I am also happy to note that taking fish oil supplements also helps.I have been taking fish oil and garlic oil for over a year and now my triglycerides levels are good compared to taking statins alone. I had been on statins for quite some time and the overall lipid levels were not so encouraging especially the triglyceride and LDL levels. The morning trips to the park have also helped in improving our overall health.

So we, my husband and I, started taking apple mixed with celery drink yesterday. Actually the book recommends that two green apples and 1 stick celery is pushed into a juice extractor to get the juice. It would taste better if you use an extractor. Since I was too lazy to clean up after the juicing, I just blended everything in a blender. Well, tomorrow I will take the extractor out from the cabinet and not be lazy.

Today we also start retaking the psyllium husks. 2 tablespoons of psyllium is mixed with water in a mug.It has to be taken immediately before it gels. Psyllium has a lot of soluble and insoluble fibre and will help reduce blood cholesterol and clean up our colon, thus helping to prevent colon cancer. Psyllium also help in dealing with diarrhoea and constipation. But as a precaution, you have to drink lots of water if you take psyllium. Another tip is, it has to be taken at least 1 hour before meals or 2 hours after, as it may prevent the absorption of nutrients into the body.

Back to detoxing, the food to avoid during detox includes all that contain coloring, preservatives, flavorings, additives, artificial sweeteners and hydrogenated vagetable fats.so it is back to nature and organic foods. No junk food here. We have to train our brain to recondition and our tastebuds to change their preferences from sweet to less sweet, from creamy to less fatty and from no vegetables to more vegetables.

Most people who detox also refrain from red meat, wheat and dairy as red meat and dairy products they may contain residual hormones and growth promoters and antibiotics. Meat also contain saturated fats that block the arteries and cause damage to organ, joints and glands. As for me, when I cook meat, I will remove visible fat before boiling. I will them cool the meat in the fridge and use it later after skimming off more fat. I feel we still need the end nutrients from meat as meat is also a source of iron and protein.

Some people on detox also refrain from eating fish as they fear the mercury content in them. Actually eating smaller fish is okay as the smaller fish has not lived long enough to imbibe the mercury into their bodies.

Salt can substituted for fresh herbs and lemon juice as too much salt can overload the kidneys and cause fliud retention and eventually heart failure. Large amounts of sugar would affect blood sugar levels and a constant high blood sugar is bad for overall health. The sugar now becomes a toxin and makes you a sluggish person. Do you not notice that you become sleepy after a heavy meal?

Coffee and alcohol is definitely not included in a detox diet. However, tea especially herbal teas are encouraged. Taking heaps of Chinese or green tea with no added sugar is good as tea act as a diuretic and can get rid of the toxins faster. But you must not overdo this as the diuretic can affect your electrolyte levels and reduce your potassium and other miro-nutrient levels.

Well, detox is not only for the old. The young should regularly do a detox to vitalise their bodies and avoid paying the penance in their old age. Good health has a lot of benefits. Don't fall seriously ill before you realise this. It may then be too late.

Preparing to detox

Yesterday we attended a "kenduri", whereby everyone participated in thanksgiving prayers to celebrate and appreciate the birthday of an uncle who has reached 60 years.He is grateful to have reached this age as he is the first among his siblings to reach 60. At this day and age, reaching 60 is becoming common and I was kind of surprised that in this uncle's family, death occurs before 60.

Anyway, as usual there was a lot of food. Rice with meat curry, fried spicy chicken, mixed vegetables, fried eggs and anchovy sambal with jering. For desserts there was coconut jelly, satsumas, and ketupat pulut in palas leaf. Instead of the birthday cake, glutinous rice cooked in turmeric (pulut kuning) was served. I did not eat the pulut kuning and fried eggs as there were simply too much to eat.

Since December, we have been attending a lot of weddings and enjoying a lot of good food. Recently, I bought a book on Detox produced by the Australian Women's Weekly which gives a complete guide on how to rid the body of toxins and comes loaded with recipes. I have yet to start the detox program because one needs to be in a relaxed mood in order to do so. Detoxing may result in headaches and tummy aches due to withdrawal symptoms.

First of all, why do we need to detox? The following are some of the uneasy symptoms of feeling unwell:

• Always tired due to low energy level and have difficulty falling asleep
• Suffers from bad or dull skin (dry and itchy), pimples and boils
• Frequent viral infections/lowered immunity
  
• Constipation, diarrhoea, irregular or sluggish bowel movements
  
• Puffy eyes with dark circles
• nauseous
• joint aches and pains
• prone to sinus problems and allergies
• hair is dull and greasy or with dandruff
• suffer from frequent headaches
• night sweats
• bad breath
• flatulence
• water retention
• less focused in thoughts
• mood swings
• anxiety or depression
• stressed

The remedies of detoxification restore the efficiency of the body systems and thus restore its full functions.

Detoxification can be done through fruit and vegetable cocktails, nutritional supplements, baths and hydrotherapy.

Side effects in the initial stage of detox include:
fatigue
malaise
aches and pains
emotional duress
acne
allergies
headaches
symptoms of cold and flu

These symptoms are part of the healing process caused by temporarily high levels of toxins in the blood prior to elimination and cleansing.

According to the book, one needs to rest during a period of detox and not take painkillers to cure a headache. Instead lots of water and herbal teas are recommended. Caffeine, sugar, white flour, white rice, saturated and trans fats are out. Unhealthy foods are to be replaced by fruits and vegetables, filtered water, herbal teas, pulses and grains. The only kitchen utensils in the kitchen suitable for a detox diet are the steamer and the juice extractor.

Good Detox Foods:

(I have compiled the following list from the book mentioned above as well as from sources I have collected over the years. I am only putting the good effects of these foods and not the nutrients they contain that help in the detoxifying function.)

Alfalfa: General tonic; used as herbal tea

Anise: Sweetens breath and refreshes the palate and helps promote restful sleep;used as herbal tea

Apples: Improve endurance and stamina of muscles and nerves and a great antioxidant. It protects respiratory system,help lower cholesterol and also act as laxative

Asparagus: Detox kidneys and restore blood alkalinity

Avocados: Help lower cholesterol and remove fat soluble toxins

Bananas: Promote good memory and healthy blood

Barley: Nourishing and good blood cleanser

Beetroot: Liver cleansing and help nourish nerves and brain.

Borage and Basil: Clear the blood of toxins and promote healthy hair and nails; used as herbal tea

Broccoli: Good for strong bones. Also stimulates the liver.

Cabbage:Expels waste and cleans the blood

Caraway Seeds: Helpful in clearing the complexion;used as herbal tea

Carrots: Cleanse, nourish and stimulate the kidneys, liver and digestive system

Celery: Diuretic and laxative.

Chamomile: Eases stress and tension and induces natural sleep;used as herbal tea

Cherries: Remove toxins from kidneys, liver and digestive system.Could help protect against cancer

Chickpeas: Promote healthy bones, kidneys, nerves and muscles

Chillies: Increases body metabolic rate

Cilantro: Removes heavy metals from the blood

Cucumber: Prevent water retention, promote health of heart muscles, hair, nails, skin and thyroid.

Dandelion: Enhances the flow of bile and acts as a liver tonic and keeps healthy complexion;used as herbal tea

Echinacea: Improves lymphatic filtration and drainage, removes blood toxins and stimulates the immune system

Fennel: Diuretic;used as herbal tea

Garlic: Natural antiseptic, keep body alkaline and garlic oil clear the respiratory and lymphatic systems.

Ginger: Clean, rejuvenate and stimulate the digestive system

Grapefruit: Good anti-oxidant

Kelp: Takes weight of hip area;used as herbal tea

Lavender: Reduces stress, promotes restful sleep;used as herbal tea

Lemongrass: Helps clean complexion and give healthy skin; used as herbal tea

Lentils: Low in fat, high in fibre

Lettuce: Promote calcium metabolism and eliminate excess uric acid deposits from bones and bloodstream

Lemons: Help in repair and healthy functioning of nerves and assists in proper elimination of of waste and cleansing of the lymphatic system as well as stimulate the liver and gallbladder

Milk Thistle: improves liver function by eliminating dangerous toxins and stimulates the formation of new liver cells

Melons: Clean the kidneys

Onions: Promote better blood circulation and prevents nerve and mental fatigue. Have antiviral and antibacterial nutrients

Oranges: Protect the body from infections

Papaya: Aid in protein digestion

Parsley: Simulates the kidneys to eliminate toxic wastes

Peaches: Protect from stress effects, protect lungs and respiratory tract and help expel harmful mucus from the body

Pears: Provide alkaline healing and cleansing minerals which benefits both the lymphatic system and eliminate carbon dioxide from the lungs

Peppermint: Relieves stress;used as herbal tea

Pineapples: Have anti-inflammatory properties and help in digestion of protein

Rose hip: General tonic,good for skin;used as herbal tea

Sea vegetables: remove heavy metals from the body

Sesame seeds: Excellent protein source and assist in formation of blood platelets and with iron, can purify blood

Spinach: Regulate the pH of the blood and levels of certain minerals

Spirulina: Eliminates heavy metal, strenthen immune system and improves gastro-intestinal health

Strawberries:Have anti- carcinogenic effects and good source of iron

Spearmint, Thyme and Witch Hazel: prevents bad breath, refreshing gargle, good for sore throats;used as herbal tea

Tofu: Low in fat and good protein source as well as has ability to bind with heavy metals to eliminate them from the body

Tomatoes: Stimulate the liver to filter out waste and help in production of gastric juices, maintenance of good fluid levels and reduction of excess blood fat

Watercress: Cleanses the blood, improves skin complexion and brightens eyes

Wolfberry: Neutralize free radicals and strengthen the body immunity

Yogurt: Contains good bacteria that cleanse the digestive system and keeps intestine flora healthy

Before actually going through the detox program, one has to be mentally and physically prepared. I will continue with the list of foods to avoid and things to do in the next posting. Meanwhile, I am still waiting for the right time to start a detox program.

The Start to The New Year

Zaty and Afif are now back in their respective Colleges. That leaves only Zay, busy with her work at the hospital.

The house is silent again when everybody, except me, is away. I just turn on the television for company, not that I am watching it.

Today and yesterday, traffic jams occur at schools and kindergartens as parents wait for their children who are new to schooling life. School buses don't start their services till next week.

I spent half the day,today at Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM). My husband and I were accompanying his widowed cousin who has found a lump in her upper chest. (Zay referred to as brachial plexus)She has been x-rayed, CT Scanned and MRIed and on Thursday she will see the respiratory Physician. The final diagnosis has not been arrived at. They are not ruling out either cancer or TB. We are praying that if it is cancer it is in the early stage. The lump has not affected the nerves and bones but seems to be from the lungs. Her late husband died nearly five years ago of lung cancer. His symptoms presented in the late stage and it was too late for him to be saved.

More and more of my relatives seems to be inflicted by cancer these days. Some has passed on because of cancer. Many relatives of people I know have also died of cancer. I cannot imagine the trauma and depression they go through. I can only sympathise and pray hard for them. I also pray that we will be safe from it.

Well, this is certainly not a good start to the new year. But as long as there is life, there is hope.
We can only hope and do our best in the face of the current challenges.

New Year's Lunch

On new year's day, my family from Alor Star visited us. We had rice with grilled terubuk fish and accompanying sambal belacan (pounded by my aunt, Ndak), chicken Thai curry, Mixed vegetable pecal, sweet and sour bawal (sole) and the last of our korban meat cooked in soya sauce after marinating in spices overnight.

I was happy with all the dishes, except that the Thai chicken curry should have been thicker. I should not have put too much water and keep on adding the coconut milk. The problem started because I put too much fish sauce which was very salty. So I had to add more water and then more coconut milk. The terubuk was a bit dry too. Maybe because the fish had been frozen far too long.

I was happy that my pecal was a hot favorite. So far, my spouse and children are the only ones who love the pecal. We had pecal at least 4 times last month .Zaty is beginning to be an expert in cooking and cutting the vegetables now.

As pecal is something I learnt to prepare from my husband's family, I have never served it to my own relatives. I didn't know that they love it too. Next time when I go back to my hometown I will prepare the pecal again. It is easy now that I can buy the peanuts already roasted and grinded, as it saves a lot of time.

As this is my first posting in the new year, I wish everyone a happy new year.

For those whose new year resolution is to lose weight, let us do it sensibly and in a healthy way.

For those wishing to save more in anticipation of tough times ahead, let's learn to cook easy and healthy meals ourselves. Meals bought from hawker stalls are usually not so healthy and could lead to lots of problems later. We should learn to reduce use of preservatives, colouring and mono sodium glutamate. Maybe make our own stocks instead of relying on stock cubes.

My new year wish for all is "Stay Healthy, Be Happy and Live within Your Means"

Happy New Year.