Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Some Soup and a Summation


The weather in Brussels has been to my liking this past few days, a little rainy, a little dark and cool enough for my fleecy sweater. To compliment this fantastic atmospheric condition I cooked up a little chinese soup for our dinner last night. The slow encroachment of Brussels' summer hours (ie...closed) in most shops has finally enveloped my darling Tsampa. No longer a Lundi option (or Dimarche for that matter), I had to suck it up and head to the non-seasonal land of the conventional grocery store. But, as luck would have it, a shipment of Chinese vegetables had just arrived and supplied me with enough ingredients to make a soup that lacked nothing...except flavour.

Yes, this good looking lady of a soup, had all the right moves, but left little impression. Sesame oil, the lemon grass that I bought but forgot to throw in, or some good old P.C. hot sauce could have helped her out....oh well. Next time I suppose.

Not So Hot Soup
-cubed extra firm tofu
-slivered carrots
-soy sauce
-rice vinegar
-yellow onion
-broccoli cut into little trees
-chinese cabbage
-pea pods
-whole wheat and adzuki bean noodles


In other news, I was asked to review Gillian McKeith's new book, entitled Food Bible: A Complete A - Z Guide To A Healthy Life. I have spent a few agonizing minutes thinking about what to do with this request, and the accompanying hardback book, and I have come to this conclusion - I can't review it. I don't agree with the text, and to review it would be to slander the work of someone who thinks that she is doing the world a favour by providing us with this text.


I have never before felt that an author/life-style guro was more pushy, ostentatious or audacious in his/her writing, and I am also more than a little skeptical of the information or 'facts' that are offered throughout her recent title. I was appalled by subsequent articles and transcripts that show her as harassing people about their body weight and lifestyle behaviours in a way that made me feel nothing but sadness for the people that had encountered this woman on their road to healthy habits. Yikes.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know sometimes when I make Japanese food it can be a little lackluster in flavor which is why I always count on miso and soy.

I've never watched Gillian's show on the BBC, You are What You Eat because as a fat person myself, I don't like shows that exploit fat people and make them cry. That's ridiculous to me. She seems to make people feel bad and I don't like that.

Since starting to lose weight by following a healthy vegetarian diet and by exercising and doing yoga I have found the path to a healthy lifestyle. But that was my choice and that is when it is truly empowering.

Bianca said...

Well, it looks like it tastes good....I'd kill for a bowl of that right now. I'm mid-way through a day-long raw day and hot soup sounds so comforting...sigh...