My "Moove..ment"

"Movement" : a group of people working together to advance their shared political, social or, artistic ideas.

Most of us champion our ideas everyday, right from the breakfast table down to the company meeting room and even in the bedroom. We suggest, propose, coerce as well as argue to have our thoughts or ideas accepted and implemented.

Many do not understand the course that we are fighting for or simply WHY we do it? Living in the real world, "walking into the blank wall" frequently happens but some of us may not willingly "throw in the towel" when faced with such negative responses. Faith, conviction and perseverance are the motivating factor for anyone who has a course to fight.

So,
what's my movement ?

1. Saving our planet earth
It started 4 years ago when I brought back reusable bags from a supermarket chain in Melbourne and started using them everyday. I highlighted this concept to the newly opened supermarket in Bangsar and soon the ideas caught on like wildfire. They had replicated both the Coles bag and the chiller bag which I saw 2 years earlier in France.

I earnestly congratulate Bangsar Village Grocer for having the guts to pioneer and start this recycling movement. (Of course, all other hypermarket and supermarket started riding "pillion" on this recycle, reuse wave.) I wasted no time suggesting that they should also charge for plastic shopping bags as practiced in some European and one Asian country, though I did have to wait awhile for that to happen.

This August, they managed to surprise me with their "no plastic bags" campaign.
Well done !! Hopefully the lackadaisical but "kiasu"attitude of many Malaysian would change to make the earth litter free.

2. Live, eat healthy, organically.
The human race has never been so poisoned, ever. Polluted air, earth, water and food among all. We have to installed air cleaner, ionizer, water purifier, sanitizer, all in the quest to keep a pollutant-free home. So, shouldn't we have the same concern for what goes into our body? Unfortunately, eating organic food products seem to be unaffordable for many. In the past, mainly terminal illness patients were seen promoting the organic as well as the macro-biotic life-style. Not many of us were convinced. Unfortunately it has to takes the current surge of diseases, eg: heart, digestive, toddler allergy, wheat allergy, milk allergy and a host of other ailments to act as the wake-up call for many.

Modern medical diagnostic methods have also enable us to improve ill health otherwise tolerated by the sufferers for years.

A good example is my eldest who suffers from milk allergy which escalates to a severe sinus problems if unchecked. Although I have resorted to giving him organic oat milk I realized that milk alone may not be the culprit. Additives in processed milk, food fed to commercially- raised dairy cows and the environment could be one of the many reasons. With a series of medical test, a bit of food detective work (keeping food journal) and diet restructuring, my family now consumes about 80-90% organic food.

YES, they look and taste different....
Organic vegetables come with the hint of earthiness which many may have forgotten or never experienced. Root vegetables (carrots, potatoes, turnip, celery, parsley) simply taste deliciously sweet. What an incredible sensation to your taste bud as you bite into it. None of that unnatural sweetness of non-organic vegetables.
(eg: commercially grown carrots are genetically spliced to have a higher sugar content.) They may not look perfect but you do spend less time washing of all the pesticide residue. They are less wastage as you don't need to peel the skin of the carrots, apples, cucumbers where an incredible amount of nutrition is stored.
Kids can safely benefit from eating vegetable in its natural raw state.
but
Please don't take my word, instead do your research before making up your mind to go organic. The good news is, prices are coming down, becoming competitive compared to the mass grown produces and may be cheaper than imported vegetables. More outlets are being established in and around KL, PJ, Subang, offering discounts for regulars customers as well. Buying organic spices, fish or poultry, grains, flour, eggs, baby product, Chinese herbs, detergent right down to cosmetics are not an issue.

The organics lifestyle change, I admit is not for everyone at the moment. Regardless, do take a moment to consider the future we will be leaving for our children...

Eggs, Egg, Eggless

Personally I adore eggs. Scrambled, pan-fried, deep-fried (as in Sambal Telur), soft-boiled even the occasional hard-boiled, I simply love my eggs. My signature breakfast is my egg white omelet with mushroom, plum tomatoes, shredded potatoes spiced with chili, cumin and coriander. Going meatless for me clearly narrows down my option for finding food with a good source of protein, nutrition and taste other than the overly publicized TOFU or soy protein powder.

Recently, eggs have been a welcomed option in our family meals. On days that the kids feel like skipping breakfast, a "special" will be served. It's a hot cup of organic oat milk with an organic egg whisked in till frothy, sprinkled with a dash of cinnamon powder and sweetened with honey.

When I feel indulgent and in need of a little palate pampering, it's definitely the french toast. Slices of danish dipped in vanilla scented egg/milk concoction, grated orange zest, pan-fried to golden perfection and served with maple syrup for the kids. Of course, I enjoy mine simply, with a dash of cinnamon sugar, paired with a cup of Earl Grey.

If there are awards to be given in the super-food category, eggs would get my vote. Growing up in a Chinese home, I've always enjoyed eggs cooked in different ways. Braised tea eggs, eggs custard with mincemeat (chicken eggs, century eggs and salted eggs), chives and egg frittata, fish 'n' egg rolls, barley egg drop "tongsui" just to name a few.

Aside from being a gourmand's choice, eggs have their "other" uses eg: treatment of fever, bruises, bumps in traditional medicine. According to old wives tales and Chinese customs, a hard-boiled egg inserted with a copper coin will draw out toxins from a feverish patient. Rubbing the patient's abdomen will bring down a fever. Nowadays I use the ice-gel bag for fever, microwave bead bag for my aches and pains. If nothing else works, pop some pain killers or consult the doctor.

Unfortunately, eggs have a rather unfavorable position in my husband's family. For any vegetarian who hails from southern India, eggs are considered somewhat taboo however garlic and onions are acceptable. For all the right reasons, the queenly egg will never grace any of our family meals. In the past, during the occasional birthday of any family member, traditional sweetmeats were served. All that has now been overshadowed by the glamor of having a western cake. A cake would be ordered from one of the few Indian ladies who made egg-less cake in the neighborhood. Often they came overly decorated, piled with icing made from margarine in the most unhealthy way.

So the last straw over the camel's back was the horrible soggy cake I had during my friend's party. It was the start of my journey to discover a new horizon in the quest for the egg free cakes.

My very first attempt at egg-less cakes was the strawberry coconut muffin. Then the pandan cupcake and the very challenging semolina cake. Dolly the neighborhood specialist , used to sell her sugee (another way of calling semolina) cake in the neighborhood supermarket and it's always been my hot favorite. The semolina cake is a popular Ceylonese recipe, a rich and decadent masterpiece requiring about half a dozen eggs to make. Many love the richness of this particular cake. To others having sensitive noses, the smell of the eggs is repulsive, let alone eating them. As they say, one man's meat is certainly another man's poison!!

Through trials, errors and countless web searching, I've managed to tweak many cake recipes, turning them eggfree. A foodie friend (He owns 5 restaurant) couldn't even tell the difference with the lemon poppyseed cake. Of course, using good quality ingredient, having the right combination in taste, texture, and the look of the finished product is so very important. The bravado of matching exotic ingredients that goes against traditional ideas can result in newer and sophisticated flavors too. All these I hope, will convince you that the egg-free cake you are biting into is as delicious as the rest.

My next quest? Definitely molecular gastronomy and for that I will have to pick the brain of my dear friend, Chef Horst Futterer.