COOKING MAY BE A TEDIOUS TASK FOR OTHERS, but I love it a lot. Up here in Albany, I learned to take care of myself by making all my meals. Here are some examples of what I ‘consume’.

My homestays in New York gave me plenty of instant noodles, to prevent me from starving. I tried my best to make those noodles into nutritous meals by adding red cabbages, lettuces, carrots and an egg. I made myself some spaghetti too, with tomatoes, eggplants, bell peppers and vegan beef. It turned out quite delicious, and imagine all that lycopene I will be getting out of the tomatoes. They have some Basmati rice in the house, so I made myself a rice stew with tomato sauce, plenty of onions and chinese cabbages. Another one of my favorites is the tempeh. I bought some tempeh, sliced it into thin pieces, and slightly grilled them with a little oil and garam masala. It was very mouth-watering I can tell you, and a good delicious source of protein. With the leftover spaghetti, I did make myself a fried spaghetti with all the leftover vegetables that I can find in the fridge.

Other than all these, Lisa and Justin gave me organic berries, apples, pears and corn. So much of those that I can practically just eat the fruits and stay full the whole day. Thanks to them, I am sure I am getting lots of fiber and vitamins.

With creativity and a bit of taste, I believe anyone can cook up a gastronomic feast even with a strict budget like me.

*** CAM of the day ***

Turmeric (Curcuma longa)
Next time you dive into your favorite curry, bear in mind that it was turmeric that is giving the curry its yellowish color. Indians used turmeric as an everyday spice for many generations, and now, science has proven it to be quite medicinal, especially towards healing a bad stomach. This spice can help aid dyspepsia, which is term for all sorts of different discomforts that can come from bad digestion. In can come in tinctures and pills and teas but the tastiest of it all would be curry I might say. So, if it’s just for a minor case of bad stomach, a bowl of curry might just help well.