ELIXIR OF LOVE: WHAT'S FOR LUNCH?

Saturday, June 13, 2009

WHAT'S FOR LUNCH?

Have you ever wondered what vegetables to buy when you go the market and how to cook them? I know it can be quite a pain in the ass trying to figure out what to cook in order for you to get your recommended daily amount of minerals and vitamins the natural way (I don't like to take supplements by the way). Every time I go to the market, I will try to go to the 'sayur kampung' section first. After all, one does get tired of eating the same 'modern vegetables' (my mother calls them that) day in day out. If I see another plateful of stir-fried vegetables in oyster sauce, I would definitely scream. It is much easier to get these so-called 'sayur kampung' when you live in a small town like mine. Still, there are a lot of these types of vegetables and herbs that I don't see anymore. It was my luck when a friend of mine came to visit me with a basketful of some of these vegetables. I guess that is why restaurants which serve 'kampung' dishes are still a hit everywhere. I'm still learning the names of all these vegetables and the recipes that go with them. FYI, I don't exactly cook but I will try to help my mother prepare the dishes. She can be quite fussy and the dishes have to be prepared her way and her way only (all mothers are like that, don't you think so?). The 'sayur-sayuran kampung' are well-known for their medicinal properties and they are often consumed to remedy certain ailments. But who cares about the medicinal properties when they taste that good? Definitely not me!