Why Malaysia Needs "Kindness Camps" Of Its Own

I was surfing the Net out of boredom today and chanced upon a story which enchanted me from start to finish. It was a press release about "Camp Kindness" a summer camp for kids held in New York recently which taught children how to care for animals and cook vegetarian meals, among other things (read the full release here). 

The story warmed my heart, yet saddened me at the same time. I think it's wonderful that camps like the above are held for kids, yet really crappy that we don't hear of such camps here in Malaysia. For all the nation's progress, it's people have yet to lobby for laws that protect animals--domestic and farm-- from being exploited and sometimes tortured by random people or irresponsible owners. One example is a family in my parents' neighbourhood. They keep their two dogs tied in an abandoned house all day and I often hear the dogs barking at night, likely for some love and attention. Then I look at my family dog who is so loved and taken care of and I wonder why the owners of those two dogs are so heartless. You may wonder why I'm taking a back seat with this matter; it's because I've tried all avenues and failed to get these dogs away from their horrid owners and into a loving home. The best I can do now is say a prayer for those two dogs and hope that the next day will be better for them.

Imagine how different life would be for these dogs and countless other abused pets if children were sent to "kindness camps" to learn compassion towards animals. These children would then grow into more caring, conscious adults who know the value of being kind, be it to animals or humans. At the end of it all, all you need is love.

Indian-themed Birthday Lunch

Tomato and Cashew Pilaf. Photo: Sharmila G.

Today is my mum's birthday so I tried my hand at making pilaf, with raita and sambal as sides. The main was tomato and cashew pilau:

Tomato and Cashew Pilau (from Quick and Easy Asian Vegetarian Recipes, published by Periplus)

Ingredients: 

2 tbsp ghee or oil
2 cinnamon sticks
5 cloves
5 cardamom pods
2 onions, finely sliced
3 green finger-length chillies, deseeded and slit lengthwise
2 tbsp ginger paste
2 tbsp garlic paste
3 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
3 tbsp chopped mint leaves
2 1/2 cups basmati rice (washed and drained)
1 can (12 oz/350g) peeled chopped tomatoes
1 cup thick cocount milk
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 1/2 tsps salt
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup raisins
2/3 cup fried or roasted cashew nuts

Serves: 4-6

1. Heat the oil or ghee in a pan. Stir-fry cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, onion, green chillies, ginger and garlic paste until onion is golden brown.
2. Add the coriander and mint leaves. Stir in rice and mix well. Add remaining ingredients (except cashews and raisins) and mix thoroughly. (I did this in a rice cooker).
3. Cover rice cooker pot with lid and cook for 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked and the moisture has been absorbed.
4. Let rice cool once it is cooked. Stir in roasted cashews and raisins before serving.

Zucchini and Onion Raita

Zucchini and Onion Raita


Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups low fat yoghurt
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 zucchinis, thinly sliced
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
3 tbsps chopped daun pegaga
salt to taste


1. Add cumin and chili powders, as well as salt to the yoghurt. Pour into a salad bowl.
2. Stir in sliced zucchinis, onions and chopped pegaga leaves.
3. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Tauhu Sambal

Tauhu Sambal (from Vegetarian Odyssey, published by ARK publications)

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dried chillies, 4 cloves garlic and 1/2 cup sliced shallots (ground to a fine paste)
1 tbsp tamarind and 1/4 cup water (extract juice)
1 onion, cut into rings
2 pieces of fried firm white tofu
3 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp oil
salt to taste


1. Heat oil in a work and stir in chili paste. Keep stirring until oil bubbles up.
2. Stir in tamarind juice and bring to a boil.
3. Add onion, sugar and salt and let cook for about 3 minutes.
4. Stir in fried tofu and let it cook in the gravy for 2-3 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and serve warm.

Thai-Style Green Curry, Long Bean Salad and Mixed Vegetables

Clockwise (from left): Mixed vegetables, long bean salad, white rice and green curry. Photo: Sharmila G.



One of the more challenging aspects of giving up meat in your diet is that certain types of cuisine may appear to be off limits because they are largely meat-based. However, thanks to some creative cooks out there who've 'vegetarianised' meat-based dishes, that is not necessarily true.

9 Foods That Are Not Vegetarian

sugar, a photo by Judy ** on Flickr.

Being a vegetarian is often like a journey down the yellow brick road. It's full of surprises, sometimes unpleasant ones. Take for instance when you're invited to dinner and after enjoying your scrumptious vegetarian green curry, the hostess proudly informs you that she only used prawn paste to flavour the curry.

By then it would be too late to enlighten your hosts that prawn is not vegetarian (especially if you're having dinner at your boss' house!). The lesson you take away from there is to always warn your hosts before hand what exactly vegetarians eat. Granted, things could go awry anyway but at least you know that you did all you could to prevent ingesting a dead animal.

Spicy Vegetarian Aglio Olio and Garlic Toast

Living in a small town has its benefits: fresh air and (almost) kind drivers on the road being two of them. Good quality Italian food, especially the vegetarian kind is one benefit I've been living too long without. Hence the menu for tonight's dinner: spicy vegetarian aglio olio with garlic toast on the side. I tweaked the aglio olio recipe a little to make it a little more Asian.

Spicy Vegetarian Aglio Olio (adapted from Rachael Ray's Spicy Shrimp and Spaghetti Aglio Olio)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup (4 turns around the pan in a light stream) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup fried vegetarian anchovies
• 6 to 8 large cloves garlic, crushed and minced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley, a couple of handfuls
• Coarse salt
• 1 pound spaghetti, cooked
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
• sesame oil (optional)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)
  
  1. Fry anchovies in oil. Set aside.
  2. Fry garlic until slightly brown.
  3. Return pan to heat and reduce heat to medium low. Add 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. Add anchovies, garlic, and pepper flakes to oil. Add a few drops of sesame oil for extra flavour.
  4. Add red chillies to pan. Toss spaghetti in the pan with parsley and the garlic-infused olive oil, then season with a little coarse salt, to your taste. Add about a tablespoon of lemon juice for taste if desired.
  5. Serve hot. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese and chopped cooked vegetarian sausage if you like on the aglio olio when serving.

Here's a photo of the finished dish:

And the garlic toast:

Simple Garlic Toast


Ingredients:


Butter, wholemeal bread, 5 cloves garlic (minced), salt and pepper to taste 

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
2. Mix butter with minced garlic. Spread on the slices of wholemeal bread. 

3. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper to taste (optional).
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until butter has melted and bread is lightly browned.
5. Serve with mushroom soup or enjoy on its own.