LEMON(Y) KIND OF LIGHT DINNER

Dinner is an important part of our day; this is when body starts to slow down and in a transition to rest. Some say dinner is should be the biggest meal of the day, for most of the time, it is because we have more time to dine with friends or family and to enjoy ourselves. When to eat and what to eat is crucially important.

Having a light dinner once in a week gives break from all the heavier meals, rebalancing your digestive system so it can proper rest already when you sleep. Last night I experienced with lemon, which gives a citrus taste that opens the appetite. Lemon goes great with some salt, and some fresh herbs. In my opinion, it especially goes well with parsley or honey.
A warm salad withcauliflowers, sprinkle with shredded parsley leaves and some lemon and salt. Absolutely delicious. So refreshing, delicious and rejuvenating.
Here’s what I did for a serving of 2
A whole cauliflower….. cut and boil in water for 5 mins, let it sit for another 5
1/3 a lemon juice….. add it in the cauliflower, mix
a handful of parsley….. slice thinly and mix with the bowl
some salt and pepper to taste
Wala! You have a warm salad!
On the side, I have Ikea salmon as my main dish. Oh, Ikea salmon is a treasure I found couple years ago living in San Diego when I could literally walked to Ikea from my place. Their salmon in the food section comes in a pack of four, so fresh, nothing fishy, simply delicious. Heat up the oven to 170 – 180 degree, then places the salmon in for about 15-20 mins, sprinkle with some lemon juice. I don’t even add salt because the salmon itself taste that good. Quick and easy, you have great nutrition without a lot of work.

 

Xoxo,
Paye

TYPICALLY SWISS….?

A few days ago I attended a workshop called „Typically Swiss“, designed for foreigners to understand unspoken Swiss culture or at least to come to an understanding of why Switzerland is the way it is.

Having lived here for awhile now, I have picked up a sense Swiss culture. The country is known for its precision, punctuality and perfectionism. This itself does give off a sense disliking variety, difficult to negotiate with and inflexible, which are true in some sense. However, that there are several factors that must be considered.

First, if you look at the map directly from North to South, Switzerland sits in Central Europe with no connection to the outside world. You see mountains, mountains and more mountains, that means, people take life pretty serious. If the farmers do not have enough to stock up for the winter, they will not survive. Secondly, it is also the hot spot for big industries such as pharmaceutical, banking, logistics, graphic design, watch and jewelry. Therefore doing things the „right way“ would add tremendous value to the people and the country itself. Third, it is perhaps the most, if not, one of the richest country in the world. Switzerland is self-reliant country. We see kids walking to school by themselves all the time, without parents escorting or transporting by the vehicles (I have learned children must walk to school). So this itself already, demonstrates the safety of the country. Although such a controlled, neutral, prideful and transparent country may seemed almost distant, the same lady who yells at you to not drive your bicycle on the sidewalk would escort an old lady who needs help crossing the road. These rules must be followed in order to maintain such a controlled society. Being mindful of what you do and doing it the right way definitely is the their key to longevity and health.

The country is made up of 26 cantons, and it is a federation by choice. The right to private life is so embedded in the culture that almost suffocate me in the beginning. Do people have no social life here? Well, it isn’t that. They value very much to take time off and not being overworked. Thus the stereotype of „everything closes too early.“ In general, Swiss people have a morning break at 9AM (already?) and another one at 4PM. Corporation buildings are built so that employees can take breaks. If your colleague see you eating next to a pile of paperwork or in front of the computer at lunch break, they’ll be worried for you. They think you’ll get sick and it will influence the company.

Swiss also has a very peculiar way of logic. I don’t mean that it is bad, I just mean I am always surprise how it self-organizes. Participants in this workshop have complained about elder generation people tend to like to cut the line, especially in Basel area. If you confront them, they won’t think it is a big deal, they’ll just let you go first. They would think it’s strange if you get upset. Yet, I have been in grocery stores where I only have one thing, and the people in front would let me go first, but it isn’t that they have a whole cart, they may have 8 items. At the same time, people do not mind waiting in lines. So I guess their sense of queuing more or less equal out the right amount of time waiting in line.

3 Rules of Bureaucracy:

1) We have always done it this way.

2) We have never done it that way.

3) No exceptions. Default answer is most likely to be NO.
– When negotiating, seek to understand, prove what you are proposing adds value. And never raise your voice. Oh this I have encountered many times. I ask for something in services or hospitality, the answer has always been „No.“ „No, sorry we cannot do that for you.“ „No, sorry, that is not possible.“ „I know this is not convenient, but at this point, there is nothing can be done.“ Yes, at some point I wonder how customer service works? Do they put employees or customer first?

The population of the country is 8.1 million with 23% foreigners. 40% of the Swiss marriage are intercultural marriage.

Understatement and modesty are big plusses here. So please, DON’T SHOW OFF.

Having lived in many places, what surprises me living in Switzerland is that for the first time I do not feel like a foreigner here. Yes, perhaps a bit of language issues that can cause some misunderstanding. But never have I felt being treated differently because I am not Swiss/European/Swiss-speaking. The transparency and their neutrality in politics (and of course, low tax rate) after all, must be what attracts foreigners, political asylum or expats living in Switzerland.

CHAI SPICE

I swear, I have never been in love with chai tea. In fact, Starbucks was the first place I tasted chai tea and it turned out to be horrifying… I said to myself I would never touch chai tea again.

Two winters ago, I visited my best friend Lizsie in New York City. At the time she was living in an apartment on the 68th floor in Central Manhattan. Her landlord were her roommates, who were an Indian couple. Every morning the husband wakes up to make his wife a cup of Chai tea, the strong
aroma would always penetrate beneath the doors, wrapping us with warmth. The smell was spicy, creamy, sweet and pungent. It wasn’t till 2 hours before my departure I got to try it.

It was the most delicious cup of tea I’ve ever drank in my life.

I kid you not, now every time I think of chai tea, my mouth literally start to water, yes, just from thinking about that chai tea.

It turned out that ingredients weren’t that difficult to find. I’ve always imagine chai tea is time-consuming and requires some sort of „skills“ to make such a wonderful tea. After all, having that authentic, flavorful and exotic tea —  I wasn’t going to settle for anything less.  So I went to a local Indian store to stock up, luckily they had people who knew exactly what I wanted! That automatically added a plus for the making experience.

The thing about buying spice you have never used before was first of all, interesting to examine the shape, second, so cool explore the smell and the aroma. It is an entire experience in itself. Thank you mother earth for preparing these spice for our senses!

For the Masala mix, you’ll need the following:

1/2 cup of cardamon pods (you may crack them with knifes)
1/2 cup of cinnamon (if in stick just chopped them)
1/2 cup of black pepper
1/4 cup of gloves
1/2 cup of fresh ginger
small amount of star anise
small amount of vanilla powder

You may store these in a jar, you’ll only need about 1 teaspoon per cup. So this should last you awhile 🙂

Direction (serving for 2):

1. Add in two cups of water in a pot, turn heat to medium.
2. When it start to heat, asd in two tea bags of black tea (or two spoon of loose black tea), your choice of earl grey, assam or darjeeling
3. Mix the spice, I like to grate the ginger
4. Once its boiling, pour in 1 1/2 cup of whole milk and 2 teaspoon of sweetener (I like honey, or raw sugar)

5. Wait till it boils again, stir.
6. Turn off the heat and wait for a minute
7. Pour into the cups, using a mesh strainer to catch loose ingredients.

Share with your husband/friend/neighbor!

You can now savor your creamy, perfect, homemade CHAI!

Yes…. the chai did made my day! Interestingly, I did a quick research about this tea. These spice has an uplifting and evaluating effect on the mood. For instance, laboratory studies have found that cinnamon may reduce inflammation, fight bacteria and reduce the risks of cardiovascular disease. Cardamon can help lower high blood pressure. Clove have been used as herbal treatment for symptoms associated with diarrhea, gas, and nausea. Ginger is great to treat common cold, headaches, and painful menstrual periods. Star anise’s got rich iron and high calcium!

The whole night I dreamt about going to different places and making chai tea, though Marc did teased how mundane my dream was, I was indeed really happy whilst making my chai 🙂

Happy CHAI night!
Love,
Paye Tina

THE ART OF PUNCTUALITY

Transportation is a big part of our lives, it is a way of how we are being transported from one place to another. Often involves how, when and where. In Switzerland, it is known that the train, boats, trams and buses always depart and arrive on time. Having to grown up in Taiwan and the West side of the US, where I was surrounded by international friends and family. And perhaps having warmer weather adds another factor to being more relaxed and chilled. Time was always a blur. If you say to meet at 3pm usually people arrive around 310pm. It is unlikely that people will show up before 255pm. Punctuality is the norm here — especially with the transportations, they do not wait for you. I was quite amazed by how being precise made things a lot simpler. Over a period of time, it gives a sense of safety, respect, prediction and most importantly, self-responsibility. Contrarily, it could come off as boring, too structured and triggers for anxiety when things do not go right. There has been a few complaints in the past that Swiss started to complain because the train are two or three minutes late. I guess once you are accustomed to good quality, it is hard to not to become attached to it.
I want to writea bout a few experience I’ve had so far with the transportation here in Switzerland. I have lived here for a little more than 6 months, long enough that make short descriptions on what happened so far. First of all, it is relatively self-organized. Living here in Basel, the roads often consist of cars, trams and bikes pathways without distinctive lines to specify which goes where. Some roads have parking on the side of the roads and do not consist of clear line of upcoming traffic. That means, on the road you not only have to be aware of pedestrians, you also have to be aware of other cars, bikes, and trams. And the Swiss are quite clever, near the school area, the roads often have side parking diagonally, that means you always have to drive around the parked cars which will automatically slow you down. Reducing to minimal resources yet being effective is the best talent of being a Swiss.
If you are like me, who never lived in big cities before, first time riding the bicycles on the same road with trams and cars could be quite scary. Are they going to run me over? I might as well stop to let them go first. The difference in lifestyle can be so harsh sometimes. They just started to have metropolitan bikes in the cities in Taiwan recent years, but there are no rules on where the bikes should go exactly. So it be a nightmare when encountering reckless drivers, so best to stay on the side walk. In the US, you absolutely do not need to worry about that! Roads are too big for you to have an accident anyway. Plus, I always got around driving in a car. So as I road home with my bike one night, I hear tram driving right behind me. I started to paddled quickly, assuming the faster I go, the less likely I’ll get run over. That was my first response, until I glanced over my shoulders, I noticed the tram driver carefully slowed down and going with my bike pace. I felt slightly embarrassed, never have I granted such a respect being a biker! If they treat everyone with such patience and still managed to be punctual, I must give them an applause for being self-organized.

Secondly, public transportation network here is tricky with honesty. When going on transportation here in Switzerland, your ticket will most likely not go through a machine to be validated. Except when you get caught, the fine to travel without a ticket is 120 CHF. So I guess some people choose not to pay at all, which is rare, and maybe they get caught once in a while and the fine would add up to what they would normally spend in total anyway. So in the end it is fair. The interesting thing I witnessed the other day was the public transportation conductors were dressed and acted like normal people who hop onto the trams, as soon as they tram doors are locked and heading to the next stop, they would bust out identification to check your tickets. I was told each tram compartment would have one conductor so no one can escape. It is pretty cool to watch how their work is done.

Speeding tickets are cruel in Switzerland. Marc and I were caught one time driving 170 km/hr (the speed limit is 120), not that we wanted to, but because we were running very late. Then few months later we received of 500 CHF fine, with court fees and  billing fees etc etc… blahblah, everything added up to more or less 1,000 CHF. Yeah, 1,000 Swiss Francs, BOOM! Gone. Just like that. It ultimately did had an effect on us, we never wanted to speed again in our lives!
So my conclusionis to say that though there aren’t lots of rooms for flexibility but these rules do apply according to logic and what works most effectively. It make sense and it works beautifully.
How do public transportation work in your country?
 
I’d love to hear from you!
Love,
Paye Tina

A DELIGHT OF SWEET POTATO KALE RICE

So it has been quite a productive day and we’ve got a full schedule tomorrow ahead of us. For dinner I wanted to make something light and healthy so we are not overstuffed (Marc and I love to eat and dine well..). Thank goodness there are loads of healthy green food bloggers out there, I was able to find some useful information using the ingredients available at home.

Yes, it is exactly the sweet potato kale rice, as we all know, we don’t always end up having the exact same ingredients as the recipe. So the smart thing is to use your magic wand of creativity…. Yeah, I am not joking! Cooking can be quite a bit of a creative process, especially the first time trying something new. You really got to trust the process and acknowledge your food will be better than it imagined.

Because this is what happened with my cooking so many times, I warned Marc before he taste the food… I said to him, „this is my first try, I don’t think it turned out to be as good as I wished…“ Yuuuuck, self-diminishing can be very addictive, can’t it? Unless I screw up badly or the meat ingredients have gone bad, it usually turned out to be better than I anticipated.

The rice was delicious. Very light and it fulfilled our hunger with just right amount of carbohydrates. After cooking the sweet potatoes with brown rice and some garlic, you can mix the kale with the rice and drizzle the sauce on top.

To make the rice, you would need the following ingredients…. (servings for 2)

1 cup of brown rice, soak them in water for 10 minutes before cooking
1 medium size of sweet potato, chop them into bite sizes
2 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 cups of water

Sauce:

2 medium size orange, squeeze into orange juice
1/2 cup of apple juice (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoon of maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoon of soy sauce
2 cloves of crushed garlic
1/2 lime
1 1/2 teaspoon of kale
bunch of kale, slice them thin
1 teaspoon of grated ginger

Directions:

If you have a rice cooker, go ahead and use the rice cooker for the cooking the brown rice, sweet potato and garlic together. I usually wait an extra 10 minutes after the rice cooker is finished just so everything wrap in warmth inside.

On the side, you can mix all the ingredients for the sauce together in a heated pan and wait till it cooks and turn slightly golden, and until it becomes a bit thick. Drizzlee the sauce on top of the rice and kale to mix. Make sure to taste as you go so you can adjust the amount of sauce you’d like.

Happy evening!

Love,
Paye Tina

GREEN SAND BEACH IN THE CRATER

 

After driving for about an hour, we arrived on the Big Island’s South Point. Among all the island of Hawaii, Big Island remained to be the roughest, rockiest and most intense island due to its nature. You can find black lava rocks everywhere even on the beach, some beaches consists of black lava sands (such as black sand beach, quite amazing, actually). So no wonder the myth of Green Sand Beach is that it is difficult to access — you’d either have to hike which takes about an hour and half or go on the rockiest ride in your life.
We picked the ride, of course! Along the way, the beautiful seashores continued to catch my attention. On one end it is so rocky, full of lava stones and red dirt, on the other end, you see crisp green plants and crystal clear blue water which were distinguish by a fine line of black lava rocks along the sea shore. The contrast and the colors were incredible!
When we arrived at the spot, I did not see any beach… „Where is the beach?“ „Oh you’d have to hike down there,“ said the lady who drove the four driver. All I could see at that moment was huge volcano crater with a big hole in the middle.
We stayed downthere for two hours, the waves were massive. I could felt somewhat fearful even though I grew up on this island, at some point, I felt the waves could eat me alive. After awhile of getting accustomed to how the waves break and the time between each wave, we had a blast just being smashed by the waves.
I definitely recommend coming here if you are on the Big Island, it is not as „GREEN“ as I anticipated, but I could see how the beach used to be really green and has changed overtime, most importantly, the rock formations were absolutely one of the kind.

Namaste!

Much Love,

Paye Tina

MOMENTS OF GRATEFULNESS

 

Among all the places I’ve lived so far… one thing that draws me closer to nature is sunset. There is something about this time of the day that makes us want to slow down, take a deep breath and enjoy ourselves. You may even notice it without watching the sunset. You may feel your body transition from light to heavy or you may stare at the sunset light shining into your office/room. For a long time articulation of this moment was not possible, I only knew I loved it. Finally, I could named it moments of gratefulness. Have you ever watched the sun goes down without even noticing and apart from being amazed by how the light changes the color? I think this is precisely why sunset are such powerful moments, because it is happening so quickly without us being aware of it. Like any moments of our lives, even right here, right now. We only can watch, and the sun gracefully slips through the horizon, leaving us moments of contemplation, thoughtfulness and gratitude.

There are somany things in life to give thanks for. To people who love, who are the closest to us. Perhaps we do not say it enough… To our parents, our spouses, our dogs, cats, plants, neighbors, teachers, friends and family. To ourselves, who have made it to today despite any hardship, faults and failures. To abundance of life resources, and sister and brotherhoods of all beings.

Love,
Paye Tina

Below are some of beautiful sunset moments capture while traveling… 

BEAUTIFUL KAUAI ENCOUNTERS

 

After an 11 hour flight from Frankfurt to LAX, another 6 hours from LAX to Kauai, we finally landed on the other side of the world. Hawaii, the world’s most remote islands, all the way in the Pacific. I’ve been to Kauai once and remembered it impressed me, although growing up on the Big Island and have seen most of the Hawaii, there was something about this island that I knew one day I had to come back.

We visited the Waimea Canyon on the second day, it is situated on the West side of the island; also called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. Driving into this place was like driving into a magic dome, the energy started to shift drastically and you can see it in the expression of the plantations, the trees, the flowers and the soil. It was magical, and almost mystical.  I especially like this place because of its red dirt and the landscape, where you see canyon on one side and deep blue ocean on the other.
We met this man who was selling seed bracelest made from his garden. He told stories and was a really happy man. Haven’t seen someone with such sparkling eyes in a long time.
Kauai’s climate does change fast. It can start pouring out of no where and in just about five minutes in, you get a sunshine with clear sky. Or, one place can be pouring rain and you drive a few hundred of meters more, the roads are dry like the rain was all a dream. I quite like it, it goes quick — just the right humidity without too much rain and the temperature is perfect for August.

More post coming… xo

ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLES

 

So I have discovered delicious, healthy and quick way to make root vegetables tasty. I think a common misunderstand of veggies is that they need lots of salt in order to make it yumm. Not all all! If you do it correctly with some fresh herbs and a bit of salt, you get taste the original flavor of the vegetable. How to make it is quite simple actually. A light meal like this can really leave you feeling light and rejuvenated.

First you would need some root veggies such as pumpkin, carrot, potato, corn or zucchini. Onion, cauliflower and aubergine (eggplant) are also suitable for this dish.
For servings of 8, ingredients you need are:
1. Potatoes……600g, rinse thoroughly, no need to peel, cut into 4x4cm
2. Pumpkin……600g, no need to peel, but into 3x3cm
3. Garlic…… 16 gloves, cut into half
4. Fresh rosemary…… 2 sticks
5. Olive oil……1/5 cup
6. Salt…… 1t
7. Black pepper…… 1/2t

 

The How To:
1. After cutting the potatoes into pieces, boil them in hot water for 1 minute.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 220C.
3. Mix cut pumpkins, potatoes, garlic, rosemary (make sure the stems are removed, otherwise it can taste quite bitter in the end) and put them evenly onto the oven tray. Drizzle the olive oil evenly as well and sprinkle salt and pepper.
4. Let it sit in the oven for 25-30mins till potatoes and pumpkins turn golden yellow. If you have time, it is best to mix up the veggies during half time so all sides get evenly roasted.

 

Of course your meal can be included with a side of meat, if you’d wish. This way the root veggies balance off the heaviness from the meat and you still feel like you got all the goodies from the carbohydrates!
ENJOY!

GOLDEN CARROT SOUP

On a gloomy day here in Switzerland, it can actually get quite chilly. This weather makes me crave for something that would warm the bodies, and something that is homey. I’ve made this carrot soup before and it was easy and so delicious. So I went by to the grocery down the street and grabbed a few things. What I love about the produce in Switzerland is that everything is so fresh. And as I have expected, it turned out to be just what I wanted.

With this carrot soup (servings for 4), you’ll need:

Olive oil 1/4 Spoon
Butter (without is OK) 2 spoon
Apple about 200g, diced
Carrots about 450g, diced
Brandy (this add spectacular flavor) 1 spoon
Ginger about thumbs side, sliced
Potato 175g, diced
Water about 1 1/4 cc or 1750ml
Salt and white pepper to taste

How to do it:

Use a normal pan that allows to stir fry. Medium heat with olive oil and butter, wait till the butter dissolve add the diced apples to stir fry. About 8 – 10 minutes in the apple will turn to a beautiful gold. Then add diced carrots to stir fry till it’s soft. White pepper and salt to your taste.

Then when the carrots has turned soft, add brandy, sliced ginger and diced potato in. Make sure it is cooked thoroughly so all the flavor and fragrance are mixed together in the pan. You may switch to a pot that is for soup. Add water, when the water starts to boil turn to the lowest heat. Let it sit for another 30mins to an hour depending on your time. Then till everything becomes soft, add pepper or salt to taste.

Lastly, use a instant mixer to juice up everything. It becomes a thicker soup. You’ll get a golden orange color, add some cream on top if you’d like.

The ginger gives a spice kick and warms the body, real good for a chilly weather.

First, the diced carrots. Ladies! If you are in the kitchen and someone is around, do not be afraid to ask for assistant! It’s important that you ask for help (if you need) and not try to be a super woman. I am quite a tiny person and to dice much carrots would be a much easier job for my husband. So do not be afraid to ask for help, people around you are more than happy to be involve with what you are doing and be part of the cooking process and it just makes the process a lot easier.

Golden apple in the pan.

Add the carrots.

Then I switched everything to a bigger pot to add water. Note: I also add a bit of broccoli.

The instant mixer I use is from Migros called Durabase. It’s got turbo or regular button, but any instant mixer will do. A juicer will even be better if you prefer to savor the essence of the soup. Make sure the base is entirely in the liquid when in use otherwise you will get splashed!

Taaaadaaaaa!
Enjoy!

ELEVEN MINUTES PART 2

So I have finished savoring this novel by Paulo Coelho in less a week. I couldn’t wait to find out what where the story was going to take me. The booked spoke about a path of desire and a path of pain, which both enable one to feel closer to the higher consciousness — however you called it, God, Jesus, Mother Mary, Buddha, or… Bob, if you’d like. It seemed to me that the story had more than one message and interested topic of course, but ultimately the central ideas of this book make me rethink about the „norm,“ this standardized society that we live in. Is this standardized beauty, intelligence and efficiency some kind of lies? If so what’s left after this? A string of unhappiness, guilt and frustration? It could be. Look at what is happening in the world right now, we can’t help but to admit that we do live in a crucial moment of the history. This led me ties back to the book, is this how we relate to each other sexually? Because when it comes down to it, sex is an expression of love, of how we relate to one another. Sex can be practiced as free love, conservative, contradictory, or a way of two bodies coming together as a manifestation.

Another interesting topic what Paulo was trying to convey is pain that is imposed by man can be addictive, it leads to pleasure and one may experience feeling more intimate to one another. Yet is it a path we want to go down with? What I am naming is very vague, I know, simply because I want it to be objective. We all know life is not easy and sometimes can be painful, with things that are out of our control. However, it is important that we ponder if we are using pain the right way. There must be some truth and beauty in the pain that life is trying to teach us, otherwise, what is the point of these pains we experience? What is life trying to teach us? We all know in some sort of way enjoyed the pain — the extremes, drunken nights, emotional enslavements, or being confronted by our dark sides.

Ralf, one of the main protagonists in the story said to Maria, „‚ You experienced pain yesterday and you discovered that it led to pleasure. You experienced it today and found peace. That’s why I am telling you: don’t get use to it, because it’s very easy to become habituated; it’s a very powerful drug. It’s in our daily lives, in our hidden suffering, in the sacrifices we make, blaming love for the destruction of our dreams. Pain is frightening when it shows its real face, but it’s seductive when it come disguised as sacrifice or self-denial. Or cowardice… True, no one wants to suffer, and yet nearly everyone seek out pain and sacrifice, and then they feel justified, pure, deserving of the respect of their children, husbands and neighbors… pain and suffering are used to justify the one thing that should bring only joy: love.'“ (p. 201, 2004).

What Paulo was trying to convey is that, pain is only natural and good when it is imposed by nature and not by man. Us, human beings, however, over the century have created stories that we want people to hear, about how salvation is for the better of humanity, and a belief that clearly draw us separate. All we need to know is that „what makes the world round is not the search for pleasure, but the renunciation of all that is important.“ It is easy to go down to the path because it is convenient, so don’t, exploit the choice you’ve got.

I believe a good story has a life of its own and that’s what makes it interesting. I am sure everyone has a way of relating to the story and perhaps, a different contemplation. Nonetheless, this is mine and I hope we can all grow stronger from the mistakes and not fall down into the spiral stairways.

Cheers.

HEALTHY LIGHT LUNCH

 

On Marc and I’s one year anniversary lunch, I wanted to have something light in order to leave room for our romantic dinner in France. I ran to the Asian shop here in Basel and purchased a few things that I learned from the cooking course from the Legacy Program in Singapore — the Vietnamese Summer Roll. Since time was limited, I had to work with my creativity which worked out quite perfectly. Without the shrimp inside, it tasted so fresh still and both of us were content and happy.

Here’s are the ingredients you need for the wraps:

Carrots (use a slicer)
Lettuce
Rice Vermicelli (Boil 10-12mins then rinse with cold water)
Thai Basel
Parsley
Coriander
or
Mint Leaves
Vietnamese Rice Paper
Shrimp (If you are not vegetarian)

For the Sauce (I excluded the traditional ingredients of peanut butter since it is not really an option in our kitchen drawer):

Hoisin Sauce
Fish Sauce
Fresh peanuts (crushed them)
Lime Juice
Soy Sauce
Sesame Oil

Instructions are quick easy, you can find them online. I believe that when cooking you gotta go with what you feel in the moment when you add the ingredients. That being said, it doesn’t have to be 1:1 ratio to the recipe you found. I suggest going with the ideal and just add more or less of what you like. You can’t never go wrong with the food you make that way.

Cheers.