Super orange juice

It's been awhile as I've been busy. Came back from a short vacation to Hong Kong and Shanghai to start at my new job on Monday. Unfortunately, the air conditioning was a bit too high, and I caught a bit of a cold. So this morning I am drinking my super "orange" juice smoothie, the recipe which I got from Mate's cookbook while in Shanghai:

Blend together:
1 orange, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/2 mango, peeled and cut from pit
1/2 small papaya, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/4 pineapple, chopped

It's supposedly good for days after a time of over-indulgence. Plus, it's full of vitamin C and good enzymes. The enzymes in pineapple are also supposedly aid the body to heal bruises. The best thing is, this smoothie is super-yummy!

V-day, Green Island, errand girl

Oh my. I may be taking a break, but my days are filled with running errands. More notable events: Taiwan's first ever production of the Vagina Monologues and a trip to Green Island for more scuba diving. I'm off to Hong Kong and Shanghai for a little weekend fun.

Southern Taiwan, Norah, cooking, and more

A re-cap of the past two or so weeks: saw Taiwan's southernmost point, near Kending.



On Monday, I saw Norah Jones in concert. She seemed to be a real sweet gal, and told a clean joke that I enjoyed, even though others thought it was cheesy. Too wholesome for them, perhaps. I'd forgotten my regular camera, thank goodness for camera cell phones.



Thursday night I made Eating Well's arugula and strawberry salad, soft polenta, and pan-seared steak from Everyday Food. Yummy!

Yesterday I hiked about 8 kilometers of the Tsaoling Historic Trail in Ilan County. Great cardio workout, sweat pouring down my face, and pretty stepped fields and a gurgling stream.

Transitioning to Mac

I'm in the midst of transitioning to my PowerBook. I love using it - really so simple and easy, but darn, Microsoft makes doing everything super-hard. A note to myself to work on later: reformatting Outlook Mail messages in Mail.app.

dive baby

I was in Kending this weekend, SCUBA diving again. No underwater photos, but I finally got one from Bali. Enjoy.

Bali beautiful

Bali is a very spiritual place. The temple architecture reminded me of those at Cambodia's Angkor, except that Bali feels like a living spirituality, rather than a historical relic. Everyday, people place small offerings all over the place - on the street, at shrines, in various nooks and crannies. Pre-made offerings can be bought at the market:



In Ubud, I took a Balinese cooking class at the Casa Luna Cooking School.



The cooking school was conveniently run by the same people who ran my lodgings, the Honeymoon Guesthouse. I adored my room my second night there, which overlooked the beautiful, Mediterrannean-style pool. I leisurely enjoyed my breakfast that was delivered to my balcony.



All in all, a relaxing trip in a very lush place.

Happy Year of the Chicken!

Back from a much-needed Lunar New Year vacation to Bali. I haven't yet uploaded photos to my computer, so I will post a more detailed entry later. To tide you over until then, here's a photo from my veggie wedding.



Yes, it looks like there's shrimp tempura, but its all soy.