Food, glorious food....

I have a terrible admission to make...The only cooking I have done since I arrived has been to scramble a few eggs and toast for breakfast a couple of times - and that's it!

And what has contributed to this complete disinterest in cooking?

Firstly the prospect of cooking in the heat and humidity is not appealing at all. Even on the 'cooler' days the idea of using anything that generates heat seems ridiculous.

Secondly and thirdly, there is a huge array of food available here and for comparatively cheap prices so why would I bother?

Balinese food is varied and very healthy, although some of the westernisation of it for the tourist trade  can be a little odd.

I have managed to cook the fabulous french sourdough on this ingenious contraption on the gas stove : once the heat is on it rotates a circular fan under the bread which cooks the toast very well! That qualifies as cooking surely?!

From superb French bakeries to Mexican tacos to Italian pizzas to schnitzels with mashed potatoes to..........well you name it it's probably here!

Many of the westerners who come here could be called feral hippies and are obsessed with vegan gluten free raw food... and above all it has to be organic of course. So the enterprising Balinese have worked out that their traditional farming methods are of course organic, as the use of fertilisers and chemicals is not part of their agriculture. Everyone is very happy ( although there are a few of the fanatical raw food eaters who look as if they need a good feed to me!).

Smoothies: Almost every day I make some sort of smoothie using fresh fruit and vegetables. I started with papaya ( paw paw in Australia) which is supposed to keep all of your bodily systems healthy and create miracles. Then I discovered that if you add 8-10 of the seeds, which taste quite peppery, every day then they help your kidneys and liver. And of course it tastes delicious!
Then I started adding lots of other ingredients: including mulberries from the tree in my garden and lime that grows there too. And of course the colour changes as you can see!
Th latest addition has been moringa powder made from the dried leaves of the moringa tree which grows everywhere here. It is supposed to be the new superfood according to the latest research and its benefits are well known to the Balinese of course. So a spoonful goes into the smoothies turning them an interesting shade of green!
I put some on my muesli the other morning and found it a bit hard to eat green muesli.

Treats: It would be true to say that after eating the local food you do get a bit homesick for some of the  foods that are not part of the local cuisine: cheese , chocolate, schnitzel, salami etc. Cat, my landlady has introduced me to the temptations of the  local 'Deli 'which imports all sorts of foods from far afield to satisfy the expats need for their national food. After purchasing salami, french brie and corn chips Alison, Cat and I had a very nice afternoon tea, feeling a bit wicked !

The 'real deal' Balinese food: Every street here has lots of warungs which are tiny family-run street-side restaurants which often offer a specialty dish. They are cheap and the food is freshly cooked. When we go anywhere with Made, Alison's partner, we often end up sitting on tiny plastic seats ( far too small for large Australian bums!) under an awning whilst we are served some delicious local dish: chicken noodle soup, pancakes filled with banana, the Balinese version of yum cha...or the national dish nasi goreng (fried rice). Sometimes the Warungs have grown into established restaurants but there is something exciting about being jammed in with everyone, whilst we all savour the sounds of the traffic along with the food. One of my favourites is a drink called chendol which consists of brown palm sugar mixed with ice, coconut milk and tiny green pandan noodles. Very sweet but delicious.

However the star of Balinese food is without doubt Babi Gulig  - roast suckling pig. Look away all vegetarians!!!! It is an essential part of any ceremony but is also available at all sorts of warungs and market stalls. The pigs are slow roasted over a fire after having been stuffed full of all sorts of herbs and spices.  It traditionally is served with rice, fried puffed crackling, lots of roasted skin , a bit of blood sausage and some vegetables...and chili of course!

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Jamu: A part of everyday life for the Balinese is a bright orange drink called Jamu. It is a daily health tonic whose ingredients differ with every batch according to what's available and personal likes. They all seem to have turmeric and ginger as a base and then honey, herbs  and spices are added before the mixture is boiled. An ice cold shot every day is great: a Balinese tradition I love! 

I seem to have stopped taking photos of all of the delicious food I have eaten so for a food blog this is very boring!

I have to admit that I have written this entire blog sitting in a vegan raw food restaurant called Sakuri near my house. It was recommended to me by one of the expats but I have to admit that I approached it with some trepidation. However this is my second lunch in a week as the food is fabulous!

Last week I had Pad Thai all made from raw vegies with a delicious coconut dressing and today I have just eaten Mexican lasagne made with beetroot and 'white sauce ' made from ground nuts ( I think!)- delicious. Although I have to say, the cashew nut milk latte was a bit weird. Maybe I'll turn into a vegan hippie too??!!

your willing -to eat-anything correspondent 

Dianne