Salt, spice, and everything nice

Monday, June 26, 2023

The 2' white lilies along out street have burst into bloom, as happens a few times a year. This smart householder put shallow concrete flowerbeds full of bulbs over the drainage ditch. It's a pretty and practical way to keep motorcycles and cars from hitting his fence as they round the corner.

After a short walk, I cook some mixed grains. They've been sealed in a bag but are 2 years past the expiry date. Are they good or spoiled? (They're delicious.)

Why hasn't someone invented a timed shut-off for individual stove burners? It would be nice to be able to simmer soup or grains and have an auto-shut-off so one can head out for a walk or do other chores. Without that, I have to hang around the kitchen to make sure nothing overcooks. Invention, anyone?

By 7:30 a.m., I'm off to language school. This is my last week before an extended break. I'm looking forward to catching up on vocabulary. And resting my brain.

There's no urgency to enjoy summer weather when it lasts all year. When we lived in Seattle, as soon as the weather warmed up, you had to get outside. Barbecue, beach, sunbathe, walk with the dogs, and get into your holidays! Blink and the two-and-a-half warm months were over and autumn and rainy season were back.

We eat on the porch once or twice most days, overlooking a lush garden. W leads a study this morning while I'm gone, lounging outside on a chaise while the dogs snooze nearby. We're so grateful to be here.

Shitake Mushrooms:

I soak shiitake mushrooms in the fridge overnight because hey develop maximum flavor when soaked at 41oC, according to Japanese studies. I trust Japanese engineering, even in recipes. This morning, I simmer the reconstituted shiitakes with mirin (Japanese vinegar), a small spoon of sugar, and 1 T soy sauce. Scanning the countertop, I spot a jar of black tea leaves. Toss those in as a secret ingredient? Why not? After a half hour or so I turn off the heat. The broth is delicious.

Potato/Mushroom Lunch

As noon approaches, I throw this and that into a big saucepan. Do the same, adjusting the recipe to what's in your cabinet.

1. Fry a slivers of onion, garlic, and green pepper in 1 T olive oil (or vegan butter).

2. Cube 2 small yellow potatoes, a yam, and 2 marinaded shiitakes (idea above). 

3. After 5 min, add the potatoes, yam, and shiitakes. Cover.

3. After another 10-15 min, toss in 8-10 chopped black olives, a generous pinch of Bay Seasoning (a mixed salt used for seafood), and a splash of Braggs Aminos (soy sauce).

4. Cover for 10 minutes on med-low heat. It has amazing flavor and a good texture.

While lunch is bubbling away, I sort through the spices that have shifted to the back of the storage cabinet. Ah ... we have vegan mushroom bullion? (And Salmon Salt?! That must be W's acquisition.)

What's that over there? Even the Johnny Salt has clumped together in its bottle. When fresh, the mix is orange.Ours has turned brown. We never experienced humidity damage on food until we moved here.

I spread half a bottle's worth of salt onto a cookie sheet and dehydrate it for an hour. Will only the taste of salt survive? It's worth a try - I ease the hard salty spices off the silicon pan liners, into an empty Costco "No-salt-seasoning" bottle. (Must relabel that!) I crush the clumps as they funnel in through the bottle opening. Then I shake the bottle violently this way and that for about 5 minutes to break it back into sprinkles. Let's see if it's had its day.

Tuesday

The day starts with a walk, complete with a dead (run-over) snake that looks like a poisonous Banded Malayan Coral snake.

Then it's off to language school - with a test. Along the streets, goats and sheep are lined up for ritual slaughter on Thursday, Idul Ada. Read more about it here.

The weekly box of sprouts is waiting when I get back. Lunch is a Turkish-style salad.

The afternoon team meeting is at the hall office, complete with cookies. We're close enough to walk there and back. The big old trees create wonderful shade overhead.

Wednesday

I love the weekly insights from the 7:00 a.m. study. The participants are exploring what God is doing in the world and how we are each part of that.

W and I walk to breakfast. Though the weather app says it's partly cloudy, around us it's sunny and 72oF (22oC), perfectly comfortable.

At 9:30, I catch up with Nancy in Penang. "This is more of a debrief than a counseling session," she reminds me. I look forward to it each month. She has a knack for putting her finger on things I need to examine more closely.

Today I'm considering my internal "resistance" to things that bring me joy. I often walk past my paint supplies and canvases even though I enjoy playing with them. I cast a side glance at the keyboard without touching it. And I dread going out for concerts or special events, though I'm happy when I get there. What's that about?

She asks me about expectations. What might people want from me when I'm headed out?  Whose voice/s do I hear in my head whenever I feel I should use up resources or making something easy, useful, and fun for me? (Is making art or music about ongoing loyalty to someone?)

Today she asks directly, " For you, what's the point of playing music or making art?" Hmmm. Good question. I always like the results more than the process. The colors and shapes of finished paintings make me happy.

Filling a canvas with paint chips or releasing the songs in my head into music drains excess energy. The process of creating feels like work if I'm alone but like play when done with others.

W walks to town while I write a newsletter. I move the piano keyboard out of the living room. into my office. Ah, when the furnishing is rearranged, it's more roomy!

Thursday

Today is the feast day to commemorate Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son. (Read the original story here.) There are chanted prayers most of the night and there's ritual slaughter of goats, sheep, and cattle. Neighbors, families, and others share the expense and the meat to atone for sins committed in the past year.

It's an interesting contrast with the Christian faith, where the sacrifice for sins has been completed by God himself through Jesus/Isa. For followers of Isa, good works and religious observations are done out of love and gratitude for the lovingkindness of God. "Love God. Love others. The whole law is wrapped up in these two commands," Jesus said. He also said he came to fulfill the law.

IbuAde drops by to give me and a few neighbors relaxing massages. That relaxes us and helps her with expenses. We have a few online meetings early in the day. I write another newsletter.

For a few hours in the evening, we meet a bride and groom getting married this weekend. We rarely get a chance to see the sunset.

Friday

We have a few early international calls. For lunch, I make wraps with vegan rendang, curry, and radish sprouts. It's yummy but messy.

It's my final language class for a few months, with travel and meetings ahead. Ibu Etsha has been a delight and a helpful teacher.

Still, it's a relief to be done for a while. The words have been swirling around my mind without sticking.

Read more:

*I give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness; for you have exalted your name and your word above everything. Psalm 138:2

*You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:23

Moravian Prayer: We bow before you, O Lord, grateful recipients of your steadfast love and faithfulness. We lift your name above all others, unworthy recipients of a new life in Christ Jesus. We thank you and put all our hope in you, our eternal God, world without end. Amen.

Flowers and a provocative book

Thursday, June 22, 2023

Hiking. It's one of the pleasures of living in Bandung. We drive about an hour to get to the trails.

W takes pictures of the sweet-smelling lemon blossoms beside the trail.

Today's vistas are across farms to distant mountains.

The last half of the hike is rocky, twisting our ankles and pressing on the soles of our feet. There's no need for reflexology tonight!

Lately, more and more farmers are covering the land with plastic. No weeding needed. New split-bamboo stakes will be driven into the ground to support peppers and tomatoes.

The pumpkins and gourds are ripening.

The dogs love the walk and sniff out things of interest.

After, we go to Sedang Reret, a restaurant with boats moored into the floor.

A few of us remark on the adventurous kids and relaxed moms around here. Young kids stroll around on the sides of the boats behind adults who are chatting and seated nearby. The moms don't even turn around. They assume a child smart enough to walk on a 6" ledge will be clever enough to avoid falling off into the lake of algae and big fish. They're right.

When we get home, I check the fridge. IbuS has peeled, cut, and boiled the jackfruit W knocked down earlier. That's no mean feat: nangka's hull is prickly and "bleeds" masses of white glue when cut. You need gloves and a newspaper to keep from being covered in gunk as you hold onto the sides to peel the fruit. To get the glue off, you rub oil into the sticky sap and rinse. "Oil and rinse. Oil and rinse." Until your hands are clean.

I pull out the bag of chopped nangka. The first quarter is marinaded with salt, pepper, and a dash of olive oil. The second batch is mixed with fried onions, green peppers,and taco seasoning, the other spices. The third batch gets a "pork cutlet" marinade of ground mustard, soy sauce, ginger, etc. The bottom of the bag becomes a smoky mound with chipotle peppers and more. I divide each kind into 3 bags and freeze all but one "taco" portion.

Friday

Ugh. Another short night (11-4) is not enough. I skip the walk, though W and I stroll to breakfast close to home. Then I wait on this beautiful porch for a friend. We're headed to a coffee shop, a short and pleasant walk to sweet conversation.

Lunch? a bag of the neutral jackfruit is fried some for lunch. So good! Then it's off to language school, and a trip to the grocer for taco supplies. 5 soft tacos cost over $4 = the base for supper. They'd better taste good.

The editor of an academic journal is in a rush. He's short on editors and the deadline is around the corner. Last night, I said I'd edit an article tonight that he sent earlier this week. I start at 3:00 p.m. and lose track of time. I totally miss the study at 5:00. When I look up, it's dark out, almost 6:30, and my stomach is rumbling. However, the article is delivered as promised. The author needs to add his corrections and clarification. And then it's on to the final editor.

I fry taco-flavored nangka (jackfruit) from last night, and heat the tacos. It's yummy with pea sprouts, cilantro, tomatoes, and green peppers.

Saturday

Today I'm looking at nature on our morning walk.

I love to smell the neighbor's gardenias.

The palms are fruiting again.

These leaf colors and shapes catch the eye.

This hibiscus bush blooms often. The velvety deep red lifts against the sky.

I think about the beautiful hedge near our place and wonder if I should WA the neighbor. Perhaps I can ask to pick flowers for the hall tomorrow. Lo and behold, he's coming up the lane. Permission granted. Thanks, Pak K! PakG takes them to the hall in 12 glass vases.

There's work waiting. Then our houseguests join us to celebrate David's birthday. They'll be on their way to Thailand soon.

Miss Bee is a great place for food and dessert.

We almost beat the lunch rush but cars are parked up and down the streets, with customers waiting to be served at the many restaurants in this area.

After, we send cookies up the mountain for Kirsten, who celebrates her 17th birthday tonight. GoSend is miraculous:the motorcycle delivery guys know all the shortcuts to cut hours off traffic.

Sunday

Chandra speaks. His talk gives me homework I've been avoiding. I'm not looking forward to it.

It's fun to see the kids as part of the community. Falk is a busy little darling, almost ready to walk.

Pak K's hedge flowers look good on the tables and someone asks to take them. Sure. We see them every day.

Round Table Sunday is a favorite, where we discuss questions and then share our observations with other tables. We pray with MJ who is leaving to work in Jakarta this week.

In late afternoon, I write a review that I expect to be unpopular. The book tells a compelling story of an immigrant who explains the difficulty of assimilation and how she earns her way to the top tier of university students. It spotlights the contrast between the mindset of my immigrant parents and the current generation. 

Blending in was our goal = being good citizens who benefitted from our new country and were obligated to benefit others in return. Dad and Mom kept things clean and repaired, trimmed the yard, painted the house, and parked in designated parking spots. (No cluttering up the neighborhood with junk or playing loud music to annoy the neighbors!)

It was pure hard work, with many obstacles and failures. My parents had a persistent will to own a home, raise responsible children, and create a safe community. They worked hard to achieve that. There were no government scholarships based on race or demographic quotas to boost us past other competitors.

The current goals are not so different. The contrast is the high expectations among today's immigrants about what is owed them by society and government (as opposed to what you must earn for yourself and your family). Now many newcomers feel: "You have it so I should have it too," whether that's designer bags and shoes, a hot car, or a house for which they haven't saved for decades ... never mind not stealing or cluttering the neighborhood with garbage or playing loud music all hours of the night.

Life is a challenge for immigrants in every generation. Gutierrez shows how the efforts may cost you your history, your health and ease in the present, but also how such struggles may pave the way to a better future for you and those you love. Her memoir makes the reader ask if the price for success in America is worth the price.

Read more:

*The revelation awaits an appointed time; though it lingers, wait for it. Habakkuk 2:3

*Jesus said, “Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:39

*Therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant love for one another. 1 Peter 4:7-8

Moravian Prayer: Everlasting God, as we wait patiently for what lies beyond the trials and struggles of this life, may we do so as the body of Christ, trusting in you and loving one another fully. Amen.

Birthdays, ants, and standing in line on an escalator

Monday, June 19, 2023

It's our youngest brother Will's birthday: he's 60 today. Yeah, yikes. We're all old. And loving it.

I keep feeling ants crawling on my feet. Sometimes it's real and once in a while it's imagined. We're inundated with ants.

Big black ants, persistent and unstoppable, march over the gate and into the second storey. (Photo found online; these are the big ones.)

Medium brown ones come from the garden onto the porch and inside the house. Hundreds of teeny-tiny light-chocolate ones swarm the kitchen counters. You can't see them unless they're moving = they're so small.

Sometimes trails of ants line up and down interior walls or across the floor. I douse them with boiling water. We try to minimize bug spray, even when they're competing with us for ownership of the kitchen.

W kills a roach, chasing it under the sink and trapping it in the furthest corner. Ugh. It's disgusting to have bugs inside. But it's a lifesaver to have millions of small creatures that eat garden waste and dead animals spoiling in the tropical heat. Just, please, don't come into my kitchen and don't approach me.

On a more pleasant note, the rhythms of the day include an early morning walk before 2 hours of language school. Back home, we study and I write 11 book reviews. My vegan lunch uses up home-made cashew "sour cream." What a great dressing for sprouts and salad.

After a quick nap and lots of tea, it's back to work. Thanks to Jon and Joy who brought my favorite kind of tea from Malaysia last week. We can't find it here and didn't see it on our last trip to Singapore, either.

W and I finish a short series of K-drama: Divorce Attorney Cha. We both liked it. The night falls, a typical Monday except for the added episode onscreen and all those reviews.

Tuesday

It's my niece's 19th birthday in Germany today and she's about to graduate from high school. She's a musician and a great gal. Happy Birthday, Adelina!

W and I walk a couple of miles without the dogs. It's 4 min/mile faster to walk without stopping. By 7:30 I'm off to language school. I'm counting down 4 more sessions to go until break. A countdown is not a good sign. I'm ready for a pause.

Today I write instructions with my limited Indonesian for the helper: bake cookies, but not chocolate chip. She reads, "We're out of chocolate chip" and makes another batch. With eggs in them, they're out of bounds for me.

Seriously. I'm more dangerous with a limited cache of words than I was when I was totally ignorant. Now I mix meanings and provide amusement by swapping the syllables I need with ones that change the meaning. Sigh. Oh well. I'm learning, mistake by mistake.

It's team meeting in mid-afternoon. Most of us are online, though anyone who wants fresh-baked cookies comes over in person.

Wednesday

Walk. 7-8 meeting, breakfast at home. I couldn't sleep last night. There's no sense in just lying there, hour after hour. The mind is pliable at night - whether dreaming or listening. So finally I gave up and listened to a new book by Anne Graham Lotz, on preparing to meet Jesus. 

Midmorning, I call the grandkids to say hi before we head to town.  It's a utilitarian trip. We get groceries at Club Sehat and fleece trousers at a factory outlet.

Many textile and clothing manufacturers are based in Bandung and send wares around the world. Ralph Lauren Polo, Nike, Adidas, H&M, Forever 21, Abercrombie & Fitch, Old Navy, Jones Wear, and many more labels - they're on the outlet racks at a fraction of retail.

Lunch is at Flourish. W praises the bagels for authenticity: "First real bagel I've had here?" I order a salad bowl.

The 6" jackfruit tacos are ok, though the shells haven't been warmed so they're hard. I'll experiment with seasonings at home to see how we can replicate the taste of barbecued meat with fruit from the jackfruit tree in the yard.

Across the street in the mall, we find lightbulbs and spice jars at ACE Hardware. They're celebrating the start of autumn. We're barely south of the equator but Australia and the rest of the southern hemisphere are approaching winter.

The subtlest shifts in behavior defines a culture. In Singapore, you'd get huffed or tapped off to stand on the left if you block the escalator. People are in a hurry so a steady stream of climbers passes on the right. Here, two Sundanese friends happily take up the whole width. Why would anyone rush or want to walk when the stairs are doing the work?

It's overcast most of the day. A hard rain and lightening storm starts after 3:00. Flash-BANG! Bandung hasn't had more than a few weeks of dry season this year, which affects those living with leaks in their roofs more than if affects us. We pull the Porch furniture close to the house, out of the downpour. The trees wave their branches, while the chimes and Spanish moss blow horizontally.

The gardens and vegetable fields love a few hours of hot sun and the rain that follows. The air will be clean for our hike tomorrow but we'll have to choose trails that are flat or rocky. It will be muddy! and slippery on the dirt paths on the steep hillsides by morning.

Read more:

*All who forsake you shall be put to shame; for they have forsaken the fountain of living water, the Lord. Jeremiah 17:13

*The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. The Lord will rescue his servants; no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned. Psalm 34:17-22

*God said, “To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.” Revelation 21:6

Moravian Prayer: Holy One, we give you thanks for your saving water of life, a free gift of your grace. Remind us today, Lord, that you alone will quench our thirst, and give us bodies and souls willing to take a drink. Amen.