Finally, Jon is eating something healthy for a change. And reading! …. a kiddy story book.

A chutney is actually a condiment, and really, there’s all sorts of chutneys, some similar in consistency to jelly, salsa or relish.

But let me tell you, I love chutneys, especially coconut chutneys and coriander chutneys. I can, believe it or not, can eat them by a bowl full if nobody stops me.

There’s this fabulous fresh raw green chutney that’s a favorite of mine, and it just goes very well with everything. If your family is not into raw, then, this chutney is a sneaky way to add more fresh raw greens into their diet. Try it on grilled fish, seared scallops, pompadums, unsalted chips, sandwiches, roasted potatoes, fried eggs. You can try replacing pesto in your pasta with this chutney. Japanese sashimi purists will cringe, but I’ve been told it’s really good topped with raw salmon. The possibilities are endless.

Easy-easy Coriander Coconut Chutney Recipe

1/2 cup washed and chopped coriander leaves and stems

1 large red chilli with the seeds removed. Also rinse the chilli. This will remove the heat, which is good for people like me who unfortunately can’t eat too spicy food.

1/4 cup freshly grated coconut (or if you can’t get fresh grated coconuts, try getting 1/4 C fresh coconut pulp. You’ll want an older coconut pulp that’s hard, and does not have a consistency of jelly)

Salt to taste

A few drops of lime juice to taste (the sourness of the juice is what gives the dish an extra oomph!)

Just put everything into the blender and blend away until the cilantro is completely broken down. If the sauce is too thick, you can add a little bit of water. Season with salt to taste.

Not only is this condiment tasty, all the ingredients for this dish helps you body remain healthy. The coriander leaves are full of antioxidants. Coconut is an anti bacterial, anti viral health food. Lime juice have plenty of Vitamin C among other things.

Chilli has tons of Vitamin C as well, plus it’s an anti parasitic health food, meaning it helps get rid of parasites in your body.  Not only that, I read it’s helpful for arthritic sufferers as it relieves joint pain.

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Note:

About 90% of the human population has some sort of parasite, one time or another. Consider this. Flu bugs are parasites. To read more about parasites and to see if you have some, go to

• Do you have parasites?
• How can you tell if you have  parasites
• Killing parasites with chilli peppers
• Yummy raw Pineapple juice can kill parasites in your tummy
• Protocol For Pineapple Parasite Cleanse
  

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Hookworm image taken from http://curezone.com

Unusual, flat looking peaches I bought from a Beijing street vendor

My goodness. It’s peach season in Beijing. I saw vendors selling them everywhere. And they are so cheap. 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) of the juicy peach was selling for Remminbi 4. That’s about Ringgit 2 or USD0.60 for that 2 pounds of fruit! You can bet I ate them every single day because nowhere else can I get fresh raw peaches this cheap! Those who know me knows I advocate eating more raw food for health reasons. So, it’s a real yummy treat. Anyways, it beats having to eat crappy airline food.

"Tasty" airline food. Today's menu: soggy tuna sandwiches.

Han Seol-Hui (Double quick stage sleight of hand)

Read about what it takes to be good in what you do! On your left is Soma. He’s the Grand Prix winner of this year’s FISM magic competition.

The annual Ramadan month is just around the corner, just a few days more as a matter of fact. It is a special month of the year for over one billion Muslims throughout the world and for non Muslims in Malaysia as well.

According to the website (http://www.colostate.edu/Orgs/MSA/events/Ramadan.html) the Ramadan month is about intensive worship, reading of the Quran, giving charity, purifying one’s behavior, doing good deeds and learning self-control through fasting. Fasting is a way of experiencing hunger and developing sympathy for the less fortunate, and learning to thankfulness and appreciation for all of God’s bounties. Fasting is also beneficial to the health and provides a break in the cycle of rigid habits or overindulgence.

Now, I’m not a Muslim, but I luvvv the Ramadan month. Unfortunately, it is the month I overindulge in food, and can you blame me? It is only during this month can we find special, hard to obtain lip smacking dishes being sold everywhere.

So this year, I resolve to learn a bit of self control and
not binge.

It’s particularly important that I do this because while Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, I think about eating all the time! It’s really not good!

Instead of indulging in heavy, oily, artery clogging, cholesterol laden meals, I will take it slow and eat less of these no-no food and up my intake of raw fruits and vegetables. I will eat more fruits like the rojak (a kind of salad consisting of tropical fruits topped with crunchy crushed peanuts and a sticky toffee like sauce), drink more coconut and sugar cane juice, eat some raw dried kurma and sweet pickled carrots before I dive into my spicy curries and oily Briyani rice.

I will partake in Nasi Ulam instead of Nasi Lemak because Nasi Ulam has lots of finely cut herbs mixed with the rice, making it one of the healthiest rice dishes during the Ramadan month.

I will not step foot at any restaurant Ramadan buffet line because it’s the easiest way for me to lose my self control. Instead, I will buy food from the temporarily set up Ramadan food stands and share the food with my family at home, taking care not to over buy all the fragrant goodies.

I will make a conscious effort to pay attention to the quality of food I put into my mouth, and into the mouth of my loved ones.

Jasmin