Sexy Italian Pasta in an Asian capital

I call this creation

Italian momma wearing Chinese pajamas
or, what happens when I'm shopping in Asia but got Tuscany on my mind. I guess some would call it "fusion" and charge you half a paycheck just to walk through the door and smell. ; )

"Sweat" sliced onion by covering with a lid. Add sliced oyster mushrooms; and any other mushrooms to give a slightly varying flavor, even chopping the other varieties in chunks for a heightened contrast. Salt, rosemary and oregano went in at this stage. Add each of the next ingredients as they are ready:
- Prep long green beans by cutting off ends and cutting lengths to shorter sticks
- Cut ripe luscious tomatoes into smallish chunks
- Chop veggie "Christmas" ham into small bites
Just before serving, stir in chopped fresh cilantro (or other herbs) and black pepper to taste. Ladle over fresh, cooked noodles. Serve with chopsticks and good conversation.

Treehugger

It had to happen! Someone had to buy a domain named Treehugger! Luckily it was done by an extremely eco-conscious group of writers and designers who doing what they do because they want to see the world survive, thrive and be GREEN!

30+ daily posts about environmentally-friendly planet-inspired events, help-the-earth tips that will save you money, passionate forums and beautiful photo essays, for example Beautiful Edible Plants and Green Roofs.

Check it out and hug a tree or a Jerusalem Artichoke today! ; )

"The Healthiest Foods on Earth"

... as seen on Oprah!



While this information comes from the Dole Nutrition Institute which of course has vested interests (akin to wheat and dairy farmers skewing the Food Guide), nevertheless I couldn't agree more with increasing fresh veggies and fruit in our diets to promote health, and below it tells you just why.

Pineapple	Speeds post-surgery	Promotes joint health	Reduces asthma inflammation
Blueberries	Restore antioxidant levels	Reverse age-related brain decline	Prevent urinary tract infection
Spinach	Helps maintain mental sharpness	Reduces the risk of cancers of the liver, ovaries, colon and prostate	Top nutrient density
Red Bell Pepper	Reduces risk of lung, prostate, ovarian and cervical cancer	Protects against sunburn	Promotes heart health
Broccoli	Reduces diabetic damage	Lowers risk of prostate, bladder, colon, pancreatic, gastric and breast cancer	Protects the brain in event of injury
Tomato	Reduces inflammation	Lowers risk of developing esophageal, stomach, colorectal, lung and pancreatic cancer	Reduces cardiovascular disease risk
Apple	Supports immunity	Fights lung and prostate cancer	Lowers Alzheimer’s risk
Artichoke	Helps blood clotting	Antioxidant Superfood	Lowers “bad” cholesterol
Arugula	Lowers birth defect risk	Reduces fracture risk	Protects eye health
Asparagus	Nourishes good gut bacteria	Protects against birth defects	Promotes heart health
Avocado	Limits liver damage	Reduces oral cancer risk	Lowers cholesterol levels
Blackberries	Build bone density	Suppress appetite	Enhance fat burning
Butternut Squash	Supports night vision	Combats wrinkles	Promotes heart health
Cantaloupe	Bolsters immunity	Protects skin against sunburn	Reduces inflammation
Carrot	Antioxidants defend DNA	Fights cataracts	Protects against some cancers
Cauliflower	Stimulates detoxification	Suppresses breast cancer cell growth	Defends against prostate cancer
Cherries	Alleviate arthritic pain and gout	Lower “bad” cholesterol	Reduce inflammation
Cranberries	Alleviate prostate pain	Fight lung, colon and leukemia cancer cells	Prevent urinary tract infection
Green Cabbage	Promotes healthy blood clotting	Reduces risk of prostate, colon, breast and ovarian cancers	Activates the body’s natural detoxification systems
Kale	Counters harmful estrogens that can feed cancer	Protects eyes against sun damage and cataracts	Increases bone density
Kiwi	Combats wrinkles	Lowers blood clot risk and reduces blood lipids	Counters constipation
Mango	Supports immunity	Lowers “bad” cholesterol	Regulates homocysteine to protect arteries
Mushrooms	Promote natural detoxification	Reduce the risk of colon and prostate cancer	Lower blood pressure
Orange	Reduces levels of “bad” cholesterol	Lowers risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, breast and stomach, and childhood leukemia	Pectin suppresses appetite
Papaya	Enzymes aid digestion	Reduces risk of lung cancer	Enhances fat burning
Plums & Prunes	Counter constipation	Antioxidants defend against DNA damage	Protects against post-menopausal bone loss
Pomegranate	Enhances sunscreen protection	Lowers “bad” cholesterol	Fights prostate cancer
Pumpkin	Protects joints against polyarthritis	Lowers lung and prostate cancer risk	Reduces inflammation
Raspberries	Inhibit growth of oral, breast, colon and prostate cancers	Antioxidant DNA defense	Lower “bad” cholesterol levels
Strawberries	Protect against Alzheimer’s	Reduce “bad” cholesterol	Suppress growth of colon, prostate and oral cancer
Sweet Potato	Reduces stroke risk	Lowers cancer risk	Protect against blindness
Watermelon	Supports male fertility	Reduces risk of several cancers: prostate, ovarian, cervical, oral and pharyngeal	Protects skin against sunburn
Banana	Increases Fat Burning	Lowers risk of colorectal and kidney cancer, leukemia	Reduces asthmas symptoms in children

Singing in the Bathtub...

... happy once again, watching all my troubles go swimming down the drain...

When you are ready for some sweet luxurious relaxation... turn on the tap, fill the bath with water hot enough to melt your tension away and if you're feeling creative, you can

make your own simple
scented bath additions.

The recipes below come from Anita Revel, bringing all things Goddess back into the modern world.
Just for me and others without a bathtub... have a few good soaks for us, would you? Don't forget the candles and delectable music and seriously... turn that phone off. : )

Herbal Bath Bags

1/2 cup dried or 3 cups packed fresh herbs
1 8-inch square of muslin or cheesecloth

Centre the herbs in the fabric, bring the edges together, and secure tightly with string. To soften the water, you can add dried milk powder or a few teaspoons of oatmeal. Add a few drops of your favourite pure essential oil blend to complete the experience. Allow the bag to float in the water as the bath fills, or leave the string on and tie it to the tap so that the water runs through it as the bath fills.

Make Your Own Bathsalts

The basic ingredients are table salt, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) & Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate). Some herbalists also use borax. Add the salts to a large bowl in these proportions:

3 parts Epsom salts
2 parts baking soda
1 part table salt (or borax)
Essential Oils

Mix thoroughly using your hands to stir the ingredients. Some people will tell you to use a spoon or other utensil, although others find the salts work better if you use your hands. This is now the base from which you can create a wide variety of bath salts. You can add colours to bath salts. Use plain food colouring for this purpose, letting it fall drop by drop onto the salt base. If two or more colours are required to mix an exotic hue (such as purple), mix these in a spoon first and then add to the salts to avoid creating a two-toned product, unless of course, you plan on a two- or three-tone salt. Add many drops for a darker coloured salt; fewer for a lightly hued salt. Mix the colour into the salts until it is evenly distributed; again use your hands or you may use a utensil.

Now add the essential oils drop by drop, one ingredient at a time, until the scent seems right. Using your hands and fingertips, mix it until all salt particles are moistened. This may take up to fifteen minutes or longer. As to proportions, rely on your nose to determine the exact quantities. The more potent the finished products' scent, the less will have to be used for each bath. They should be strongly scented.

To use, add from 2 tablespoons to one-half cup of the bath salts to a full tub. Mix with your hands into the water. Enjoy your homemade bath salts!

Buddhism Basics

Cultivate and live in a state of love, compassion,
goodwill (altruism) and equanimity*

*These are the Four Infinite Attributes or Four Boundless Attitudes - from "The Life of Milarepa" translated by Lobsang P. Lhalungpa

Links on Buddhism

Intro page on Crystal Links, various metaphysical research by Ellie Crystal

All things Tibetan Buddhism in wiki format


Links for Buddhist dharma instruments

Tibetan prayer flags and dharma banners

Asian Avocado Smoothie

When we first got to Taiwan, I was wondering how I'd be able to concoct really fabulous dishes with unfamiliar ingredients and lack of international foods which I've so come to take for granted, living in big Canadian cities full of immigrants and their specialty food shops. Here Mexican, Italian, Middle-Eastern and even Indian foods are hard-to-find expensive imports.

Fear not, it seems we have found our groove. Rich made a fantastic Thai-inspired curry coconut soup, even mixing up his own version of a fish sauce.

I blended up a yummy nourishing thick smoothie, almost like a creamy cold soup. But don't wait until the next time you have lychee yogurt on your hands... Just experiment! That's what blenders were made for! :D

Asian Avocado Smoothie
- this made almost a full blender -

* 2 bananas
* 1/2 huge avocado (here they are huge and watery in texture)
* ~ 2 cups non-GMO sweetened soy milk (variable amount)
* 3T lychee yogurt
* vanilla tea (for flavor and to dilute it to desired consistency)
* a few shakes of cinnamon

Support Wikipedia and keep it free!

If you are like just about... everybody I know, you've probably popped into Wikipedia before... possibly many times. Here is the vision they have in mind:

Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge.

— Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia

Jimmy, I'm with ya... Keep the free encyclopedia free and prospering with our gratitude! Click on the button below if you are at liberty to donate a few of your hard-earned bucks:


For a great talk on the birth, functionality, ideals and democracy vs. monarchism of Wikipedia, watch Jimmy Wales filmed July 2005 on Ted.com