Food Talk Again

But first the sacred mountain/volcano "Gunung Batur".  Very active with lava still seen on the southwestern slope.  We ate some very very unusual fish here. Grilled with Balinese sauce.  Spicy and coconutty.  Lots of very hot Chilies.  Tilapia , that has grown (evolved) an extra set of teeth to eat the OFFERINGS of cow, pig, chickens that are thrown off the temple to appease the gods (so that the volcano does not erupt again).  Carnivorous Fish!!!!!   The village of Batur has been relocated from the bottom to the side of the ridgeline.  Very sacred waters and supposedly the cleanest in the southern hemisphere due to these fish and their  abilities!  We canoed in the caldera and heard some great stories.   (from a very opinionated Aussie with some racist  and deprecating ideas about the Balinese...........yet she has chosen to live here and to raise 6 "adopted"  children- all girls....... such are the complexities and hypocrisies that we as humans at this time in our "evolution" are prone to).  But onto that much more desired topic of food.

Gunung Batur

What a FRUIT! Dragon Fruit, fuschia inside with teeny black seeds and Yummy

"Raw" foods i have been eating and loving:
Everyone knows i am a salad lover; cannot imagine a meal without it (thanks Zena).  Although i started eating vegetarian at age 12 (much to my parents' chagrin), I returned to being an omnivore in my twenties.  After having and surviving uterine cancer in 2009 I decided that I wanted to go back to vegetarianism.  It is a combined health and political statement . (only in first world countries where we have the luxury of stating this,do I dare)  i have had an organic vegetable garden since summer of  1974 and vegetables have always been my mainstay + preferred food.
(unfortunately so have cheeses..... but .........now ...... if I eat any cheese .... it is a petite gout)
There is a Revolution going on in Raw Foods + Vegan cooking.  Creativity  Reigns , Innovation truly emerges time and time again. Why "Top Chef" and all those cooking shows do not reflect this by NOW is truly perplexing.  (oh yeah.... we have a "food industry" that "Supports" these cooking shows) The emphasis on "animal protein" is absurd and only showcases "technique", rarely allowing for other components to be showcased.
Let me tell you......we all know how to roast the perfect chicken by now (if you don't .....contact me)  but do you know how to make the perfect marinated daikon with pumpkin seed "cheese" and roasted tomato sauce ravioli?>?????????????
Well, I don't either...... but i am going to attempt this as soon as i get back to my humble kitchen in Vermont.
It was sumptuous.  i ate it (twice) at kafe in Ubud. (My favorite restaurant in Ubud)  Wow. what bursts of flavor and texture.  It was not pasta........ that's beside the point: it was delicious beyond words, satisfying and wholly nutritious.

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the view from our Lumbung (rice storage house) in Munduk

under the canopy  (mosquito netting)

the glorious black rice pudding and coconut filled crepes

Hey, we dogs gotta eat too!  (actually there is food in every offering for animals. After the incense has burned out the offering is no longer sacred)

 Okay, before i ate this dessert (yep, i confess- i did.... but only after walking 12.5 K along the Campuan ridge) I ate something called "Tunisian Salad" at Indus (another of janet deneefe's restaurants).  Now, I've been to Tunisia........ and i never ate anything resembling this.  okay, chefs like to "borrow" (FUSION) elements..  This again was vegan.
Roasted veggies, (eggplant,zucchini, pumpkin, tomato, ) in a slightly charred fenugreek/coriander/zatar spicing sitting on top of Fuschia something/  Was it beets?   It sure looked like beets and tofu whipped?   (think thick borscht w/ sour cream)  But no, the texture was a a bit mealy...... and so delicious and....... it was Purple Sweet Potato, probably put through a mouli grater/cuisinart.  It played off so nicely with the smoky charred flavors and crunch of the vegetables. And the day-glo color played off the earthy vegetable hues that made the plate alluring and inviting.Purple sweet potato is a staple here.  it tastes very different from our yams/sweet potato.  The color is DIVINE.  Dee had 
purple sweet potato sorbet one day at Sari Organic (another fav).

lime tart with coconut ice cream (and of course Kelapa Muda (young green coconut water)

everything is adorned with handmade beautiful ornaments

When Diandra visited (I had been waiting breathlessly to finally eat some dessert, ie: hers)we finally went to KUE (cake in indonesian).  We were late for the dance performance so we had them box up two pieces to eat after the performance .  WOWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!.  it was worth waiting for.  I had been dying (ok, not dying) but anxiously waiting to try their  Sugarless Chocolate Beet cake. (no, not artificially sweetened) OMG.  There is no way you would feel as though you were not completely INDULGING.  Again vegan.  (no butter- coconut oil). WOW what a light texture bursting with chocolaty goodness,accented with apricots. SUBLIME. 
No I do have a caloric intake on this piece.
When i was in Costa Rica last winter I started eating vegan earnestly.  There was a delicious vegan place in Montezuma called, "organico".  I became friends with the owner, Ozlem (she's Turkish, by way of San Francisco....... a headhunter for major corporations...... who came down to the beach; but i digress) and she was always trying to get me to try some dessert. (i was attempting to alleviate the need for meds for my diabetes, therefore NO refined carbs and sugars* and yes for over 1 year the "diabetes" is now diet controlled).  But one fateful day, 
"Oh Phyllis, this is a new recipe..... I Need Your Opinion"
well , of course she needed my palate..... i had to eat.
It was an almond/date crust (yep, no flour, butter or sugar) pressed into the tart pan with  frozen lime/mango sorbet  filling.  perfectly packaged and Amazingly delicious.  Who knew you could reduce ALL that fat and sugar and still really have deliciously sinful desserts?
(for me , the fruits in Costa Rica were sinfully delicious by themselves)
For years I had used whole wheat flour, reduced sugar in everything (my pies usually have 1/4 c) but Sacred Butter? (dee's first birthday cake was made with apple juice and bananas...... it wasn't until her pastry chef aunt  debbie gave her chocolate a few years later that she looked at me with imploring eyes which said, "what have you been withholding from me???????"
Butter and Sugar =  what makes dessert..... dessert. Rich and decadent.
Needless to say, as I returned  home to VT late April, Virgin Coconut Oil  replaced butter. (boy, were we sold a bunch of 
ersatz nutrition when we were told coconut oil because of it's hydrogenation was the WORST for us) (Avocado too)
{don't worry i still use Extra Virgin Olive Oil for salad}
So, Dee and i also had a chocolate/prune cake. Still successful , and delicious..... but as you can imagine a bit heavy.... and that piece was also a bit dry.  The elevation of Prunes. 
 Sorry there are no more photos...... i guess i'll just have to eat these yummy foods again ..... but take time out first to photograph?
So folks, I'll just give you something to ponder. ........... as the Arab world is revolting themselves into the 21st century demanding change...... you too can demand change........
by creating some Yummy ,Nutritious, good for the planet and your own inner terrain........ vegan, and/or raw foods.
Try it...... you'll like it (or stop by at Sandygate Road this summer)
I'll  be trying out some new recipes...... and i'll need your help!



travelin' woman

Odalan: Happy Birthday Pura Desa Ubud (or do these Balinese know how to party)

Gambling anyone?  this is actually in the temple (sacred takes many forms)

Four days of Partying!  Non-stop!  The streets of Ubud were shut down during the evening so that the People could take to the streets.  It is odalan, the Pura Desa (village temple) Birthday.  Every 210 days (Hindu calendar) there are major celebrations with many many dance performances and music + Gambling!  Every temple in every village is celebrated, but individual human birthdays are not, except infants.
A real carnival atmosphere by the 4th evening.

the ever present barong- friendly spirit/protector

part of the gamelan- flute players

entrance to temple

A huge rainstorm started on the second evening (I was absent on the first evening because i was Pooped ; I had volunteered at the Bumi Sehat (woman's clinic) all day by helping the acupuncturist.  I also witnessed "cupping".
I "lit women up" by inserting cardboard conductors onto the needles and then a "punk" to create fire.  Ergo: heat.  This was way beyond my comfort zone........ but luckily "i did no harm")

children of every age accompany their parents

 There is always a procession to mark the beginning of any upacara (ceremony). In the downpour there are still thousands of people dressed in their finery, carrying HUGE offerings (banten) of pyramids of fruit, cakes and incense- the women always look amazing, balancing it all effortlessly, often an infant in their arms,slippery and wretched footing in high heeled sandals.  Try that!

Legong dance with prepubescent girls

 The mothers are Always hovering (in Ubud).  Helping their girls prepare for the dances, encouraging them.  The dance before had little girls 3-5 years of age and the mothers' didn't want to let go, and the little ones didn't want to be away from their mothers.  They were completely costumed and made-up in heavy makeup.  It reminded me of all those years of Diandra performing ballet.  Mothers will be mothers......everywhere.

sorry the photos are so poor.....  the rain.... and i am definitely ready for an upgraded camera

this little cutie probably just turned 1

yes they TEXT non-stop.  the only light often lighting up the street was each person's cell

a small cast of thousands on Jalan Suweta watching dance

Each night i would attend for 4-5 hours.(in my own temple garb which means long sleeves).... standing, in the heat and being besieged by the smoke of cigarettes (usually the clove ones do not bother me). Exhilarating! It's tight quarters..... pressed against the crowd....... and i was exhausted...... yet i would find out from Nyoman the next morning that it went on until 5 am.  The procession would go on into all the small villages ,with the men in trance.  But I am getting ahead of myself.

The most famous dance of the last night of celebrating is the Calonarang.  i had seen part of this in Paksabali (the trance ceremony).  It is a dance of the forces of evil and the forces of good.   Everything in Bali is played off this trope.  They feel it is always a balance to be reckoned with, whether it is a dispute between family members in a compound, a naughty child or warring factions.  They try and keep the dark (black magic) sequestered/controlled in the background.  But most importantly they recognize it's importance and presence a necessity of life.
The Calonarang features the Barong (good)and the Rangda (the bad).  It features a dance of a duel between the followers of the Barong with their Kris (traditional dagger).
The Rangda casts a spell and they all fall into trance, making them Stab themselves.  The Barong casts another spell to neutralize the harm.  But the powerful black magic is further nullified by carrying the men in trance back into the temple and the Priest who must end their trance by ritual blood sacrifice (this is when i disappear).
On this evening to further purify they take a huge procession  (Barong) to other villages and perform rites of purification.  This is a lot of men being carried in trance.....i just heard  about this from Nyoman as by midnight i was hauling my tired body up Jalan Bisma...... looking forward to the quietude of the rice paddies, the cool breezes wafting and My Pillow!



travelin' woman