Green Juice and Orange Soup

The birds are chirping. This time, my garden friends are a pair of Magpie, a pair of Robin, sometimes a Blackbird, many times some Great Tits, seldom I see some Blue Tits, a friendly tailless female squirrel that  comes everyday for a feed of nuts but if we run out of nuts, it certainly wouldn't mind a creamy nutty biscuit which will melt in your mouth-that I think it prefers more that the peanuts,  a black cat with very few white spots and green eyes that always stares at me slyly, and FINALLY, one big wily fox that pretends to walk on my wooden fence to cross and go to my neighbours yard but I know he is the crafty culprit that broke my paling fence and my clay flower pots when he actually did jump into my little garden. I saw him this morning too ( I did not add other creepy crawlies and pollinators that might amuse your children or the child in you, then I can't put a full-stop to my extremely long sentence). Even if I don't mentioned them, they are all my garden friends except one not so good friend and one foxy foe. I greet them everyday after my morning walk and before be busy in my kitchen or occupied at my work space.

Today, of course it's the lazy-weathered Sunday, so, after saying a quick hello to my garden, I made a jug full of juice with lots of kale leaves and 4 apples (my little son said it looks like mushy pond water. I can't deny- indeed, it is but it will taste good). Then, I cooked some carrots with onions, garlic, ginger, potatoes, tomatoes with a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of my secret spice powder (don't ask me the ingredients for my special spice powder because I said it's a secret - but I won't ask you to visit my quick nosh blog where you can find it there). After whisking my specially cooked carrots into soup,  I quickly cooked a pot of rice and the rest I leave it to my curry-loving husband to put his northern- Sri Lankan culinary skills in practise.  

My garden is full of life-this summer. I have decided to add more edible plants and to certain extend I did successfully cultivated some exciting species-especially those from tropical countries. I remember, seeing my late paternal-grandmother whom each time when she visited us, loved to  to go for a walk around my village-greeting everyone and comes back with a bunch of different type of leafy greens that she will awesomely within minutes cooks them into a pot of flavoursome green curry that none of the best chef in the world can beat. In the evening, she in her white-'kandangi' styled- draped sari will dig, plant, and sometime tutor my dad about know-how and all the different-types of vegetable plants around our house. My dad is an avid gardener. Besides his busy time in school and other chores that he does to earn extra earning, he spends quite a lot of time in his garden. If dad is for all different plants of vegetables and shrubs , my late mum,on the other hand is all for flowers just like her name, Malar (means flower in Tamil). I miss her- I miss them and I miss my dad who is now - might be sprucing up his garden at our double-storey house in an urban town about 23 kilometers away from the Malaysian capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Mum and dad left our village in Perak and came to Selangor to live with us (me - that is another story).

Village life was good ole times that currently, I try to nurture in a best possible way that I can in this contained urban life. You might agree with me, if I say, no doubtfully, today's world is very much different from the lush green luxuries life of past. Modern days' lifestyle has changed so much. We are all dependent on technology and machines one way of other. Everyone is so busy and no one has enough time to spend with their loved ones and others due to work load and competition period. Past life can me described as simple, traditional, happy, warm,  contented, more labour dignity and care-free. Meanwhile, present life, is very complex, efficient, comfortable, and modern, highly technological, but everything surrounds around money. The complexity or sophistication of the lifestyle may however depend on the income level by which the rich person becomes richer and the poor people becomes poorer. The stress of meeting contemporary requirement is so immense that many are drowned in the sedentary lifestyle.

As a mum, I am selfish. I want my children to have the best quality of lifestyle that I had and my parents had given me. It is not easy when you have ends to meet. But I have my little space that I can give them little experiences from the abundance of natural lifestyle that my childhood had richly carried. In every way that I can, I want them to learn humanity first and live in harmony with nature. I want them to feel the rain. dance and drench  in the drizzle, jump in the puddle, learn to walk barefoot, catch the butterflies and then learn to let it go, eat with fingers and run wild in the forest. At least, I have my backward with plants in pots and containers for them to enjoy and nearby nature's park to appreciate the significance of each living being.

It's too cold for summers's day to be out in my garden and it's time to be back to my kitchen. I have some dishes to wash and cleaning to do. However, I have my little and big helpers to assist me. Cooking and gardening is always an art for me. I miss my buzzing village life and home dearly but whenever I miss home, my garden and my kitchen takes me home. If you do miss your home or some one you love like me, do something that reminds you about your home or them or just simply close your eye and breathe. I promise it will make you feel better. Certainly, much better and you will smile. So, smile for now.... It's time for my green juice and orange soup that I prepared earlier this 'now' sunny and windy morning.