A Stroll with Jay Jay

I cannot get over the fact that Jay Jay has gentle eyes, but when I look into them, his eyes also reveal a depth of understanding, emotion and communication. 

We were strolling on a street in Baulkham Hills near his abode, and Jay Jay was particularly sensitive and polite to me.  He did not plunge off in a sudden way from his leash, except for one occasion, despite the bark of an occasional neighbourhood canine, or some other diversion - and I quietly appreciated that he took the effort to not cause a disruption to my intent of having a leisurely time with him on a cool winter's day in greater Sydney's north-west. The only exception was when he took an interest in approaching some older teenage girls, who instinctively smiled as they passed by him.

Jay Jay loves the elements and outdoors.  He would enthusiastically sniff off herbs, plants, grass and shrubs along the route we took, as if he was Charles Darwin himself discovering new species in New Holland. Then he would perform what we may think as unsavoury - the urinating - but it was his organic, natural way of placing markers for future reference, instead of building metal towers, drainage holes or radar screens, as modern mankind does. Was Jay Jay also planning a secret garden inventory of Nature's medicine should he need them on a day when he may be feeling under the weather? Maybe it was just a geographical and topographical marker for him.

Jay Jay seemed to be pre-occupied on this walk, but I realised half way that he was also walking truly with me, taking in quietly how I felt, listening to my occasional chat with him, but more importantly soaking in my non-verbal vibes - and then making me feel that it is okay, whatever my thoughts and feelings were then. I was reminded that no matter what, it was just lovely to acknowledge the sunshine, the blue sky, the twitter of the birds and the fifteen degrees in temperature. Jay Jay perhaps just tried to show me to let things be, whether he passed by shouting kids, others doing their sport or the rush of a gentle breeze on a late Sunday afternoon. It was a focused effort addressed to me that particular day, for otherwise he can be active and engaged on previous such walks.

The two of us went up a ridge and then turned around down slope to his home.  Happily he approached the front door and he instinctively knew his job - and mine - was done.  In an unassuming manner, we both basked in the after glow of each other's company.  He did not give me a wink, but his consistent eyes of assurance, when he looked into my eyes, spoke of reliability, on-going friendship and no-fuss approach to what life has to offer.  Think of how many of your human companions can do that to each of us.

Passing Thoughts

Tonight I am blessed with a full moon, with the kind of yellow tinged light and an almost happy celestial look.

The afternoon had been surprisingly warm that made my Kathmandu jacket feel hot, rather than comfortable.
I had tasted a vegetarian risotto first thing for lunch, as the rather unimpressive effects of a cereal breakfast always did not work for me - instead of making me satisfied and defy hunger, they always serve instead as an appetiser to make me look forward to relieve more hunger pangs. The risotto had pumpkin, carrot, peas and things with colours that are meant to be good for health - and was tasty too. Maybe the warm foods preferred during winter time does make one feel truly warm inside. However, at twenty degrees Celsius at teatime, this was definitely not winter.

The pork bites that I had marinated with palm sugar, soy sauce, cooking wine and the lot had turned into a delicious braised serving for dinner. Rain is forecast for tomorrow, otherwise I would have sprayed the weed killers on unwanted leaves already sprouting between the brickwork in the courtyard. The evening before I had managed to get the favourite heritage hand watch going again. Somehow a shopping night out feels better when it is unplanned. Things do get done even if one does not bring the to-do list. I take it as a bright-eyed child goes to a fast food joint as a reward for something well done. The child looks up at the pictures beyond the high counter and realises there are things to aspire for. Nothing else beats that first experience.

The incumbent Prime Minister of my nation had been sacked by a handful of political power brokers in his own Labour Party. I may have an idealistic notion of democracy, but the caucus approach to electing leaders in this country has illustrated its worst facets and extremes.  Why allow a very minority and select few decide the kind of leader to navigate a nation through its fate and history? What has happened to the notion of one person, one vote? It is time to re-think of only electing a party, for a citizen's birthright is also to help choose the person sitting at the helm of the ship taking the country to the future.  You would have thought it logical to encourage a system which reduces factional power and increase the dominance of majority views of the adult population.  Tonight the new and first female Prime Minister of Australia has been warned to be careful of back stabbers and changing fortunes. I hope that this does not reflect the mentality of the majority of denizens of this nation, at whatever levels, whether in the neighbourhood, community, town or region, at the work place or even in the classroom, where especially young an d impressive minds are shaped.

Do We Really Need To?

I felt much warmed up after finishing the clothes ironing and left over pork curry from last night. No need for a heater, as I prefer au naturale approaches to climate management (okay, except for the thermostat heater tube for the goldfish tank, I must admit). No one talks much of the dryness of skin from electrical or other human induced heating, and the effects of searing summer is only for a few unbearable days in Wollongong.  There is so much push by the media on climate change, but they also overload us with plenty of models of electrical gadgets during advertising breaks.

Passing showers fell after I watered the garden beds last night, with precise timing as if I had invoked it once I took out the garden hose. I felt good to see moisture on the sand coloured pebbles placed to try to prevent or discourage weeds. Water flowed over the small stones like a break of drought over a river bed. Flora never go out of fashion as fast as bath sets, tapheads, vanity cabinets, stoves, ovens and sink models. Human beings are in constant drive to modify, change or innovate. Plants and flowers thrive in consistency and gradual adaptation, not sudden drastic changes.

David Mason maintains an engaging enthusiasm as he works through countless numbers of customers at the coffee and tea outlet he works in.  His dark brown hair rises to a natural vertical over his forehead as if he was supporting Mount Matterhorn in the French Alps. His eyes may reflect fatigue but still exude a natural smile for others.  I ask him if he has found his working experience for the past year useful  and relevant to his future plans and dreams. David says he is glad he embraced the ropes, the people, the network and the reality on the front lines. He seems to have a structured purpose to the role he has chosen for himself. Do we need to throw ourselves, I sometimes ponder, to the whims and fancies of formal syllabuses and course demands, when we can shape and sculpt some part of our own preferences in preparing for our future?

 I have been reminded that some specific individuals are not all that reasonable or civil. Maybe, as a title of a catchy tune alludes to in the South Pacific musical, I have been all along too much a bright-eyed optimist. I naturally think of the best in people when I first meet and interact with them. These individuals with negative intent try to impose their demands and influence beyond their actual impact, and must feel good, in their own perverted reckoning, to seemingly be able to utilise laws meant for the common good to apply to their unique personal advantage.  Do they really need to think and act like that?  In the unsaid laws of the universe, every action does bring forth an equal and logical reaction.

The Art of Making Radish Flavoured Cake

Radish Flavoured cake is not a dessert nor for tea time - it is a much looked forward snack for breakfast or supper in food-obsessed Singapore or Malaysia. Inspired from southern Chinese provincial fare, it is a stir-fried combination that provides reliability to quell hunger, be inspired by aromatic flavours and topped by omelette's pieces.

The wok hei- or heat - is important in dishing up tasty stir-fried with a oomph.

here cousin Susan takes the cooking tot he courtyard on a cool winter's night in a Sydney suburb.

Her freshly plucked chillies from her garden are combined into a paste that essentially gives the otherwise plain looking radish-flavoured cake (known colloquially as Kueh Kak) a kick to the palate.

Chives are washed and cut length-wise for blending with the wok-induced aromas from bean sprouts, dashes of ginger, garlic paste, pre-cooked rice-based cubes and eggs.

The Art of Making Chung

Chung in the Cantonese dialect refers to the bamboo leaf-wrapped steamed/ boiled dumplings of glutinous rice cooked with various ingredients. Comfort food steeped in tradition and history, it is wholesome, tasty and essentially a summer delight. The southern Chinese versions feature mushrooms, pork cuts, beans and more - all doused with flavourful marinades of soy sauce to give colour, preservation and principle.

These dumplings tell a story of holding upright principles in feudal China and are linked to the annual celebrations of the Dragon Boat races in most of eastern Asia.

Each bamboo leaf has to be culled and thoroughly washed with warm water and scrubbed. The aromatic infusion of these leaves add to the cooked flavour, and they are not merely used for wrapping.

Glutinous rice is pre-cooked even before being used as fillers in bamboo leaf wraps.

The various ingredients are set out before filling in the triangle shaped delights. Time is of the essence, as there are various stages of preparation, patience and cooking time required. In 2010, the Dragon Boat Festival of the lunar calendar falls on 15 June. This event recalls how a high-ranking minister, disillusioned with the corrupt conduct and politics of his day, threw himself into a raging river and how his loyal subjects tried to divert the fish from eating his drowned body. This was how dragon boat racing and the chungs came into being.

Mushrooms galore, a much valued ingredient in Chinese cuisine.

The steamer, kept snugly down by a stone cap, especially effective during the process.

The Straits Chinese or Peranakan version of the chung offers a more dessert sweet dimension in taste, compared to its original mainland China roots. They offer nutty flavours instead of savoury, and include fanciful blue natural colouring of the rice to reflect integrated cultural influences of the Malaysian peninsular.

(Kindly Yours acknowledge the making of the chung process above to Mrs Ellen Moay and Mrs Charmaine Wan of Sydney)