A Day for Hemp

With the prospect of returning to the Philippines where growing even THC-free cannabis is illegal, I decided to play with some of the live hemp seeds I bought at a supermarket here in Kathmandu. Yes, a supermarket. A big grocery store part of a local chain that has branches all over Nepal. Not an independent distributor, not a dealer, not a cannabis shop, not a local fresh market, not even a specialty health food store. Freaking Bhat Bhateni Supermarket.

It's well-known that hemp seeds are a serious super food but I read that sprouting them spikes up their nutritional value to a whole new level. Sort of like sprouting mung beans or chia seeds. So I spread them out on a plate lined with wet kitchen paper, watered them daily and after two weeks of patience and perseverance, here they are on three vegan food items.

I hope one day the people who run our country would come to their senses and stop being paranoid sourpuss control freaks over things they don't understand. It is backed by legitimate scientific research conducted by reputable universities that hemp (a) does not alter one's consciousness and (b) is very rich in fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals. Why people are up in arms over this humble plant is beyond me.

Quinoa salad with hemp sprouts and roasted hemp seed,
dressed with homemade toum (allioli)

Crepe with tomato chutney and hemp sprouts

Crepe with toum (cut) and hemp sprouts

A Day's Groceries for under €1

While the prospect of returning home to Bohol excites me for things that I don't get in Nepal -- fresh island breeze, the ocean, deep diving and walking around the beach under the sun without a shirt on -- I will really miss this country for cheap vegetables. More than staring at the snow caps of the majestic Himalayas. This basin with a sprig of coriander leaves, two big bunches of radish greens, two sprigs of scallions, a quarter kilo of mushrooms, half a kilo of tomatoes and half a kilo of onions cost me just 120 NPR. About 60 PHP. That's less than 1 EUR for all this. This just would not happen back home.

In a country where vegetarianism is considered the ideal way of living and with a considerable chunk of the population turning vegan, the demand for plant-based food is high and thus prices are maintained at a constant low. Even artisan vegan restaurants are relatively cheap. This debunks the idea that veganism is a lifestyle for the moneyed. The primary reason for this notion is because it is regarded as a trend in predominantly meat-eating countries where animal flesh is the primary table commodity. In order to rectify this, people must understand the fact that meat comes at a cost far higher than financial capital.

On Coconut Oil

So there's this article saying coconut oil is very bad for me.

OK. Sure. I can believe that. I get it. It can potentially cause weight gain and cardiovascular problems. But, ultimately, what oil doesn't make us fat and clog our arteries if we consume it in large quantities and sit on our asses all day every single day? I'd say even the purest and "holiest" batch of oil squeezed from olive trees lining the border between Jerusalem and Bethlehem (near that damned wall) would do that. Still, though, I get it. Science says it's not as much of a miracle as it's hyped up to be. But will I stop using coconut oil? Hell to the no!

A: I like it;
B: I make my own because it's easy; and
C: Coconut oil, at least for those in countries like mine, is infinitely more sustainable, ecologically sound and compassionate compared to its most convenient alternatives.

Consider palm oil (E. guineensis, E. oleifera, A. maripa). It's a convenient source of vegetable oil that can be used for various things, but it's also depilating rainforests all over Southeast Asia, pushing orangutans and Sumatran tigers to extinction, and is indirectly inciting violence among humans. Don't challenge me; I've lived in remote villages in the mountains of Indonesia and I have some very passionate things to say about this industry.

And need I say anything about how butter and lard are obtained?

By all means, go ahead and stop consuming coconut oil. I really couldn't care less. But don't you dare insinuate that it's as bad as lard and beef fat because, dear, my body thrives largely on avocado, durian and copious amounts of coconut oil, but I have probably climbed more mountains than your entire Sunday running club combined with your Basic Ecclesial Community's Wednesday prayer meeting group.

And have you seen my mother? She's 51; she can cycle 35km straight; she is a combat proficient martial artist; she has the skin of a 30-year-old; and guess what: she swears by coconut oil.

I can say nothing to discredit any statements by the American Heart Association, an organisation created to warn US citizens against habits that lead to obesity, heart disease and stroke, nor do I want to, but I must say that merely stating that coconut oil's saturated fat content, at 82%, is 20 points heigher than butter's, is hardly a delivery of a groundbreaking scientific finding. The problem is not the consumption of coconut oil or butter or lard; it's our sedentary lifestyles which have, by and large, become the norm for city living.

Eschewing the "evil slime" that is coconut oil will probably only give you an extra week, if you're lucky, before you succumb to butter, canola, lard or freaking Crisco. You're not going to live to be 102 just by dropping the coco loco and retaining all your other unhealthy habits. Who are you kidding?



And, oh! Here are articles telling us of the sheer evils of coconut oil:
- http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/coconut-oil-bad
- http://www.bbc.com/news/health-40300145

Be afraid. Be very afraid!

Indonesia Eats: Jakarta

This is the last of the three-part series ranting about food from Indonesia.  Jakarta, the archipelago country's capital, gets its own segment even if it's part of the island of Java because I say so and this is my blog.  Hah!

I was left alone in Jakarta after every travelling friend had flown to their home countries--except me, that is.

Check out some of the food I had in Jakarta:

Kopi (Coffee)

This was the first thing I ordered upon hitting land in Jakarta, after the flight from Semarang.  Like I said, there's no coffee like Java coffee and Jakarta is still in Java!

Tempeh with Peanuts

 This Tempeh was served in what was, for me, an unusual way.  They minced the tempeh and mixed in some spices, chilli, and peanuts.  Then they added some sweet soy sauce for flavouring.  It was really good, though.

Terong Pedas (Spicy Aubergine)

This dish explains itself.  That red stuff on top isn't tomato sauce; it's chilli sauce.  This is very, very spicy but very, very good!

Ancient Coffee

I don't know what the Indonesian term for this particular coffee mix is.  It just said "Ancient Coffee" on the menu.  That white layer underneath is actually condensed milk, while that brownish part is espresso that has been lightened a bit by the milk.

Gado-Gado

This is a very good vegetarian meal!  Unfortunately, I only got to eat it as my last meal in the country before I hopped on a taxi that took me to the international airport.  It's rice with cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, mung bean sprouts and eggs, drenched in thick, heavenly peanut sauce.  It was quite possibly the best meal item I had in Indonesia!

Indonesia Eats: Central Java

The previous entry was on a few food items from North Sumatra and Aceh.  The day after the wondrous night we had out in the streets of Langsa where we feasted on awesome sidewalk snacks, we flew to a place much like the one I live in--only with better roads.

Feast on these food items from Central Java:

Pokok Jeraju Gunung (Sawtooth Coriander / Long Coriander)

I came across this plant growing wildly among the grasses and weeds on a mountain where a coffee processing plant stood and it had an oh so familiar aroma. It took me a good minute to realise it smelled like coriander--only a lot, lot stronger. It reminded me of a green I ate while staying with the Vietnamese refugee community in Palawan several years ago. I picked a leaf and nibbled on it a bit. My conviction that it was edible and that I had eaten it before only got stronger!

It turns out the plant is called Eryngium foetidum, also called Sawtooth coriander or long coriander and it's a common herb used in Southeast Asian cuisine.

Sop Buah (Fruit Soup)

On the last night of one of our fellow travelling friends, we went to the city centre square of Pati City, called Alun-Alun and got our first taste of Javanese street food.  This fruit soup is made with various sliced fruits, condensed milk, pink food colouring and ice.  Stir and experience awesomeness!

Bakmi Jawa (Javanese Noodles)

This is basically boiled noodles with sweet soy sauce, scrambled eggs, cabbage and chilli.  It's a meat-free version of what everyone else on my table was eating.  We ate this along with the item above.

Tempeh, Taho (Tofu), & Telur (Eggs)

This is a typical breakfast plate for me in Central Java.  Tempeh is caked fermented soy beans.  It is Indonesian in origin and is much richer in plant protein content than its Sinosphere cousin, tofu--which here is simply plain fried.  The egg is an omelette with scallions and bits of tomato.

Kacang Buncis (Green Beans) stir-fry

The dish you see is another one of the pure vegetarian options found in a typical lunch table in Pati, Central Java.  It's basically green beans, hot chilli pepper and carrots stir-fried in oil with garlic.  I like to drizzle it with a molasses and soy-based sweet Indonesian sauce called Kecap.

Right next to the stir-fry, you can see small cucumber halves.  They are eaten like a fruit to pipe down the heat of your meal (since Indonesian food is very spicy).  It really helps your mouth cope with the heat especially if you are not used to chilli sauce in literally every single meal.

Tempeh, Telur (Eggs), & Perkedel Kentang (Fried Potato Balls)

I love the way they cooked this Tempeh--thinly sliced, marinated in brine and soy sauce, and deep fried to a heavenly crisp.  The dark liquid sitting on it is called kecap, the sweet soy and molasses-based Indonesian sauce.

My favourite item on this photo is the one closest to the camera--that thing that looks like a dumpling.  It's mashed potatoes with herbs and a special vegetarian sauce, rolled into a ball, drenched in beaten egg and deep fried.  Mmmmm! Amazing!

The brown stuff above are tea eggs--just hard boiled eggs marinated in black tea.

Es Kelapa Muda (Iced Coconut Milk)

This is coconut water with coconut milk and shredded young coconut flesh.  I remember there being a gelatinous thing in there--that pink fleshy thing on top.  They said it's made from seaweed.  So, yeah, vegetarian--except perhaps for the pink food colouring but I didn't give it much of a thought anymore.

Es Jus Jeruk (Iced Tangerine Juice)

This is iced tangerine juice.  It's served with a heap of sugar which they leave you to stir for yourself with a spoon.  People who don't like their tea too sweet just leave the sugar alone without stirring and take gentle sips.  Either way, it's really good.

Nasi Goreng Vegetarian (Vegetarian Fried Rice)

Fried rice sold on the streets usually has chicken or beef in it when eaten by most people but you can tell the vendors not to put any.  What amazed me about this dish is they actually fried the rice in a wok and added the toppings only after we placed our orders.  It was very fast and very efficient.  You always know you're eating freshly cooked food because you see it being made everytime.

Martabak Manis (Sweet Stuffed Pancake)

Martabak is of Indian origin, much like most of Indonesian cuisine.  There are two types of stuffed pancake:  sweet and mealy.  What you see in the photo is the sweet kind, eaten as a snack.  Manis means sweet.  It brushed with chocolate and peanut syrup and then folded in half before being sliced, ready for eating.

The mealy kind is filled with a salty and spicy type of sauce with vegetables, herbs, chilli, and sometimes meat.  It is eaten as a meal, obviously.  It is usually sold in the same stall that the sweet kind is found.

Indonesia Eats: North Sumatra and Aceh

For the whole month of June, I was in Indonesia for a month-long exposure-cum-training with the Alternatives to Violence Project.  Before flying in, I was honestly a bit worried that I might not be able to maintain vegetarianism while there.  The principle is compassion, not fanaticism, so I don't want to bother people about it and if they had to go out of their way to make special food just for one person (me), that wouldn't be very nice.  I was there to make friends, not to become a burden just because of my eating habits.

I must say, though, that food was such a pleasant surprise.  Every single meal had a vegetarian option--a lot of times even vegan--so I didn't have to violate vegetarianism to survive.  On top of it, they have amazing food!  Very, very spicy and too much for those with sensitive palates--as in they spend close to an hour making chilli sauce with about 50 chillies in a mortar and pestle right before they start cooking a meal--but amazing nonetheless!

Here are some food items from North Sumatra and Aceh Province:

Es Teh Manis (Sweet Iced Tea)

This is the only food item photo I have from North Sumatra.  It's black tea, which they simply refer to in their language as teh, meaning "tea."  This photo was taken in a village called Barak Induk in the mountains of Langkat, North Sumatra.  It took me over five minutes to order this at a road-side shanty cafe because I went there alone, with no Indonesian-speaking friends, and the woman running the shop spoke absolutely no English.  I had fun communicating with hand gestures and my less-than-a-shotglass of Indonesian words.  I'm glad she was very kind and patient with me.

This tea is made by soaking dried black tea leaves in very hot water before transferring it onto a mug, with the leaves strained.  Then ice and two to three tablespoons of sugar are added.  I'm not even joking about the sugar.

Kopi (Coffee)

This is kopi (coffee) prepared the traditional Javanese way.  Although we were in Aceh, we stayed in a place run by a mix of Javanese and Acehnese people and they always make their coffee this way.  I guess nobody can beat a cup of Java the way the Javanese make it!  Hah!

They grind the roasted coffee beans to powdery bits, put a tablespoon or so in a tall glass and pour hot water in it before spooning in heaps and heaps of sugar.  The Indonesians seriously love their sugar!  It's interesting to note that, in Sumatra, they always use a handle-less glass to contain coffee even with ceramic mugs lying around.

Roti Cane / Roti Canai

This is Roti Cane, a type of grease layered, popped flat bread.  This is the exact same type of bread Malaysians call Roti Canai.  There is no difference in the composition and way of cooking, just the way the name is said in both Bahasa variations.

This bread is more commonly prepared to go with a meal.  Usually, there is a bowl of some sort of curry or stew where you dip pieces of bread in after tearing them off from the rest of the plate.  In this case, however, the bread was sprinkled with sugar to be eaten as a snack on the roadside of the City of Langsa in Aceh, just opposite the city centre square where a festival was going on.

Teh Tarik (Pulled Milk Tea) with ice

This is Teh Tarik, pulled milk tea of Indian origin.  They make it by pulling milk tea onto one container from another, back and forth for what seems like an eternity to form bubbles and create a heavenly taste.  It's usually just served hot but it isn't a culinary crime to drink it with ice.

Roti Bakar (Grilled Bread)

This is Roti Bakar, grilled bread.  It tastes kind of like waffles from heaven.  I mean, seriously, this was seven times better than the western style waffles I'm used to!  The waffle-like bread is grilled, sliced and then served with some sort of filling.  In this case, the filling is pineapple jam and chocolate syrup.  What was particularly awesome about it was that the chocolate syrup tasted really close to the traditional cacao preparation I'm used to back home.

Acehnese Vegetarian Meal

This was an Acehnese vegetarian meal with a mystery vegetable that was probably a member of the cabbage family.  It tasted really, really good.  It was composed of rice as a staple, fried diced potato in sweet sauce, green beans, cassava leaves (which I didn't even know were edible before I went to Indonesia), spicy omelette, and the mystery vegetable (the green flowery thing).

Why Am I a Vegetarian?

If you want to read the article, click on the link below.  I posted the article in my primary blog because I felt it belonged there more than here.  It's a heavy rant speaking of my reasons for becoming a vegetarian and some people may find it offensive.  It's not a good entry to post alongside my recipes.

Here's a quote pulled right out of that entry:

I don't want to have to kill sentient beings to live because, as far as I'm concerned, I can maintain a perfectly healthy existence without relying on the death of living, breathing beings.  Animals can have a fruitful existence and serve an ecological purpose for the Earth without me killing and eating them.

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE!

Honey, Honey, Honey

Pure Honey gathered by Cultured Bees sold at the Bohol Bee Farm

Before you go ballistic and scream at me telling me honey isn't consumed by vegans, let me give everyone a full disclosure:  I never said I was vegan.

I'm actually an ovo-lacto vegetarian and I happen to love honey.  On the ethical side of this discussion, however, I must say I'm particular about where the honey comes from and whether or not bees had to die.

You see, I only buy honey if I know bees were not killed in order for it to be collected from their hive--that means only cultured honey harvested by bee keepers who house honey bees in wooden boxes and methodically extract the golden juice of the gods without having to commit mass murder.  I believe the consumption of honey is okay as long as bees don't get slaughtered for it.

Anyway, I'm done justifying myself.  I like honey.  Deal with it!  Now, let's move on.

I'll be answering Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) here so do feel free to email me if you have additional questions.

Will my honey ever go bad? 

No.  Pure honey will NEVER EVER spoil as long as you keep it pure and secure.  It is the only food item in the world that will never go bad.  Sealed jars of honey have been found in a number of tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs and they were all found to be edible even after several millennia. 

Honey will only spoil if you do something to make it impure such as add things to it like lots of sugar or water.  It may also ferment with prolonged exposure to humidity.  I'm talking about an extremely long exposure to extreme humidity so no worries about leaving the jar open if you're in a tropical country. 

Another way to ruin honey is by dropping considerably large amounts of food items that have high microbial content into its container.  Things like mouldy cheese and milk are to be kept away from honey.  Then again, the process of fermentation would be inexplicably long so the honey will have been eaten before the impurities you brought upon it will cause it to ferment.

Is it true that honey has medicinal properties?

Yes.  Honey has antiseptic properties, particularly antibacterial and antiviral.  It can be used as a topical treatment for wounds and cuts.  It may also be taken orally as treatment for sore throat and coughs.

Should honey be heated before bottling to kill off microbes and such?

No.  Pure unheated honey contains propolis, pollen, antioxidants and enzymes that have positive physical benefits when taken in.  However, they may die with considerable heat so the honey is best kept away from your cooking devices. 

Honey is not meant to be heated at all!  Again, pure honey has anti-microbial stuff so why would you need to heat it?  You'd be wasting your time and risking to render its good organisms useless.  It's only supposed to be filtered.

What kind of vegetarians eat honey?

There are a number of vegetarians that eat honey.

Ovo-lacto vegetarianism may include the consumption of honey. 

Kosher or Jewish Vegetarianism permits honey. 

Sattvic or Yogic Vegetarianism, 

Sufi or Mystical Islamic Vegetarianism,

Hindu Vegetarianism, and 

Buddhist Vegetarianism all permit the consumption of honey provided that no bees were harmed in the process of collecting them.

Why does honey crystallise?

Honey naturally crystallises in certain conditions.  The idea that only impure honey crystallises is completely bogus so it would do you well to remove it from your noggin this instant.  Crystallisation is a natural state that most honeys are quickly reduced to after they are removed from the honeycombs of the hives.  In fact, honey may even crystallise while still in the honeycombs if temperature drops low and the bees are not standing over it to provide heat.

Here are the major factors that cause your honey to crystallise or speed up the process: 

1. Glucose is a major catalyst in its crystallisation.  Honey is composed of a number of sugars including fructose, maltose, sucrose and glucose.  Most of the rest of it is water.  Depending on what flowers the bees landed on to collect nectar from, there may be a higher concentration of one particular sugar over the others.  The higher the glucose content, the faster your honey will crystallise especially at low temperatures. 

2. If you store your honey in a plastic container, it will crystallise faster than if you put it in something made of glass because the former is significantly more porous than the latter.  Thus, air could more easily permeate. 

3. If your honey was not thoroughly filtered before storage, it will most likely contain pieces of pollen, propolis and beeswax that are larger compared to the bits left after filtration.  They will likely be large enough to catalyse crystallisation.

4. If you store your honey in a fridge or outside your house when it's snowing, it will crystallise more rapidly than if stored in tropical/summer room temperature.  When exposed to temperatures around 20-10°C (68-50°F), it will crystallise much faster than, say, 21-35°C.  The latter range is ideal if you don't want granulated honey.

How do I liquefy honey once it has crystallised?

Expose it to a warm temperature not higher than 37°C (100°F).  If it goes beyond that, its antioxidants and enzymes are at risk of getting killed and it will be nothing more than a bottle of sweet gunk.  We consume honey for its health benefits not merely because it tastes good so please keep this tip. 

Ideally, you could keep the honey close to your body (like under your pits or in the depths of your underpants).  You could also simply put it by the window on a sunny day--removing it periodically so it doesn't get too hot.  I wouldn't advise any other method. 

The catch here, however, is that once your honey has already crystallised and you've managed to liquefy it, it will relapse once its temperature normalises and crystallise again.  That's just how nature works so deal with it!  I personally don't mind if my honey crystallises.  In fact, I sometimes do it on purpose.

How can I tell pure honey from impure/diluted honey?

A lot of people tend to blank out when talking about how to tell whether their bottle of honey is pure or not.  There are a number of ways to determine if honey is pure.  I'll be giving you three methods in this article.

1. Drop a teaspoon of honey into a glass of cool (or room temperature) water.  Never use warm or hot water. 

If the honey disintegrates and dissolves immediately, it is IMPURE. 

If it stays intact and forms a lump that settles at the bottom, it is PURE. 

2. Dip a piece of cotton (or candle wick) onto some honey and try to light it. 

If it does not burn properly, it means water content is high, meaning it is IMPURE. 

If it burns for more than 3 seconds, it means it is PURE. 

3. Put a single drop of honey on your thumbnail. 

If it spreads around or spills right away, it is IMPURE. 

If it stays intact on your thumbnail even if you move a little, it is PURE.

Here's a video of me testing honey purity:

I am in no way associated with the proprietors of the Bohol Bee Farm.