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I woke up this morning with an overwhelming desire to go swimming. I’ve
only been swimming once, with Ben almost 2 weeks ago. So this morning I thought I’d go off by myself and as I approached the pool the sounds of screams echoed off the pool walls and I near turned around and high-tailed it back to the RV. “Kids”! Now don’t get me wrong, I am not opposed to children, I would rather just have a nice quiet lay by the pool and a relaxing swim in a pool all to myself – call me “selfish”, but if the shoe fits… 😉
But the call of the cool waters and the book I’d been sent for my birthday and not had a chance to start reading yet weighing heavily in my bag, had 
me forging forward and into the pool area.
OK… let me start by explaining, I am a “hijabi” which means that I cover from head to foot and down to my wrists (face showing), so my swimsuit is a birkini (thanks to another dear friend who purchased one for me for my birthday). A birkini comprises of a top that comes down below the bum with an attached hijab (head piece) and then a pair of pants. Now… the first time I wore it and went swimming with Ben, I found that I had an issue with it, er… floating up… exposing my back, totally defeating the entire objective of modesty. I wondered what these two pieces of string was on both sides of the inside of the top, then clued in when I discovered two loops on the pants. Ahhhhh tie the top to the bottom… duh!
So as I walk towards the pool, the three children (two teenage sisters and a younger brother) stop mid-play and all turn with avid curiosity at this woman dressed from head-to-foot in a beautiful navy blue and hot pink suit. The silence that was now prevalent from these children who were, just a few minutes before, quite loud was honestly quite funny. But I found my chair right by the hot tub and a deck chair right there too, and made myself quite comfy and got lost in the book.
And then… the splashing began. These children had obviously gotten over their curious shock and were back at play – with one eye constantly in my direction. I think they may have found it a wee bit “strange” when I turned my deck chair around… in the direction of the sun. Well heck, I wasn’t going to just burn my feet when I’ve a perfectly good face and hands/forearms to burn too. Ahhh time for a wee bit of meditation. The breeze was up and with the pool behind me and hot tub in front of me, I was lost in my mindless meditation and falling deeper and deeper into the space of Zen peace and then… the German’s arrived. Lovely couple from Berlin who I’ve been saying “Hello” to for the past couple of afternoons as we’re taking Winston for his evening walk. I guess that broke the ice with the children and their father – this strange woman all covered up actually speaks… and speaks English too!
I turn my deck chair around and try to get back into my book when the father asks me where I am from. “Hong Kong” I reply and that same look of shock and confusion that I always get when I tell people I am from Hong Kong flashes across his face. “But… you speak English!” Errr yes… So I go into my routine of how Hong Kong was a British Colony until 1997 to which he says “Yes, I know that… But… You speak English” Aie yah… This one is a bright spark. Then I explain that I’ve also lived in Australia and Canada to which he first says “Oh well that explains you speaking English… Boy, you sure are a traveller…” I’m so taken aback by his reasoning that I speak English from having lived in Australia and Canada that I near overlook his second statement.
I think that people in a fair few parts of the world honestly believe that Hong Kong is such a completely foreign land that no one speaks English and that it’s a third-world country (yep, had that one before). The fact that you explain that Hong Kong was a British Colony has them envisioning slaves to British rule and “yessir, no-sir, three bags full sir…” After a long while, it does get a wee bit tedious.
But they left just after 1 PM and I finally had my chance to get into the 
pool and have a lovely swim all by myself. The water was so gorgeous, just a little under bath water warm and I really enjoyed myself. Sat back on my deckchair and let the heat and lack of humidity dry me off before I hit the showers.
Owwie…
As I peeled my birkini off in the shower, I noticed the distinct difference in skin colour of my feet and ankles to the rest of my legs. It looked like I had a pair of pinkish brown socks on! Come home and hydrate and about an hour later go to the bathroom… Catch site of myself in the mirror and the shock runs through me… I am rather burned… My poor feet are toasted red. Just about to break out the apple cider vinegar to soothe the burn and now itch. I might just give tomorrow a wee bit of a break from the pool and let this burn soothe and be a nice undercoat for the next trip down to the pool.
It was a really gorgeous day and I had such a lovely time. This escapee living has something to it, feeling like you’re living on holiday every single day, it’s just wonderful… Except the sunburn…
Yep… I BBQ too…
Why is it that people think that when you’re vegan, you don’t BBQ? Obviously from this blog, it’s evident that I absolutely love BBQ-ing! So, tonight, what did we have for dinner? Yup BBQ. 🙂
What was on the menu tonight? Oh my goodness gracious me, it was super yummy! Ooops I digress… mouth was having a quick flash-back to dinner…Â
Ooops… Was so hungry I almost forgot to take a photo for you all!
Acorn squash, round zucchini, onion wedges, sweet corn on the cob, potatoes (lightly spiced and cooked in aluminium foil with a bit of vegan butter), and vegan burgers. I flavoured the acorn squash with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder with butter and started off with cooking it in the aluminium foil – but the foil kept opening so thought “sod this” and took them out the foil and put them direct on the grill – best thing about that was the butter had almost all melted so poured it over the squash ummmm. I did pretty much the same with everything else (spice-wise) except adding paprika to the potatoes, onions and zucchini with the 
addition of smoked paprika to the onions. With the burgers, I did the same spice (omitting the smoked paprika) and then added chipotle BBQ sauce over top. Oh yaah…Â
But alas… what would our blog post be without at least one “issue”? Today we picked up a bag of charcoal and Ben doused the coals in lighter fluid, but not everything took! So it took another good dousing before we had a good fireball and the coals finally took. Even Jack had a chuckle as I explained the “issues” we’ve been having with this BBQ! BUT… it finally caught and we got to cooking – although Ben was fretful that we’d not be having dinner tonight.Â
One of the highlights was when I came out the vardo and spotted Billy the goat up round our neighbour Ron’s rig and said “Hello Billy” and he came trotting over to me at rather high speed. First thought “Oh shit! Is he going to attack?!!” With a picnic table and BBQ between us, I had a quick thought of backtracking at a relative high speed back up the steps into the vardo. But no, he was just happy to see me and eager to come for his scratch. I guess I’ve felt a bit comforted having a natter with them all while they’re in their pens with a fence between us. But a goat on the loose high trotting it over for a visit…
Vegan candy being sold at Walmart – and only $1!!!
He’s a damn smart cookie though as he realised that he was not able to get round to me with a table and BBQ in between us, so I told him to walk round the table and BBQ and he totally listened to me! Came for a quick scratch behind the ears and then proceeded to munch on the Nopales cactus right behind the picnic table.  Jack came over for a quick visit with Cleo (who I’d been erroneously Chloe) and I told him about Billy’s rushing over to visit and he told me that he only does that with people he knows and likes. Yep… I beamed. Billy the goat likes me! 😀
Even says “VEGAN” right there on the packet! It’s kind of like Starburst candy, but not quite.
Popped up to Anthem today to hit-up Walmart and while we’re checking out, Ben picks up a packet of sweets and gets all excited and exclaims “WOW! These are vegan – even say’s it right there on the packet…!” That’s a pretty big thing for Walmart! Noticed it first with the new packet of Earth Balance (butter), but it’s still a novelty.
If I thought simply wearing hijab to Walmart out here brought out people staring, wearing full abaya (long dress) and hijab brings people to a literal mouth-gaping-open standstill… C’mon, I wore my nicest abaya today and all – they must have been mesmerized by the beautiful designs over it… 😉
It was a rather uneventful day all-in-all other than getting up to “the big smoke”, an incredibly delicious BBQ dinner, and Billy the goat near making me pee my pants with momentary thoughts of being mauled by a goat… But while I love it out here, and Billy the goat is a huge anchor (ha!), I’ve been feeling my feet itching… Ready to move on to the next destination and adventure… Could be the heat getting to me or has the wind changed direction and it’s calling deep within my soul…?
Time for dishes again, it seems to be an endless daily routine over here – with only two of us making dishes too! As I filled the sink with water, I noticed that suddenly the water level was getting lower and lower. Surely this was my imagination yes? No! I tried the plug and it was in pretty securely. So I opened up the cabinet door and near pitched a fit. The pipe was streaming out water, not a steady drip… Oh no, that would never be the situation in the Hur household… Nope, this water was streaming out in a sort of a fountain.
I grabbed the closest bowl handy and sat there staring, as if my magic Romani stare would instantly plug it up, right. Wrong… Contrary to popular myth, Gypsies don’t come complete with magic. *rolls eyes*
Ben moved over on the sofa so that he could see what was happening, and was as lost as I was. He asked me if something was “loose” – how the hell do I know if something is “loose”, you think I’m some handy woman or something? But alas, he wasn’t too far off. I began tightening every and anything that was loose – actually, just one part (shown with the red arrow in the photos) was loose, so I screwed it as tight as I could possibly get it with my bare hands… Maybe Romani have super human strength after all… 😉
Right-side sink drain doo-hickey thingie-majig needed tightening too
I asked Ben if the water level was still dropping in the sink and Hallelujah it was not, and no water was leaking underneath either. WOO HOO Leyla! *pats self on the back*
Ben then congratulated me for fixing my very first sink… I am now ready to tackle anything… except that damn high powered hose thingy down the toilet to flush all the gross bits further into the black tank. Let me rephrase this… I am now ready to tackle anything not gross or nasty. 🙂
After fixing the leak – had to also tighten the same part on the right hand side sink – I then had a literal soapy lake to sop up. That presented another challenge for me… But it was easily figured out (yes, you have it right, I am not the most domestically Goddess blessed) and while I was down there, rearranged things and made it look quite neat and tidy underneath, plus I can now get more stuff in there… hehehe
Two loads of dishes later and the basin I eventually found and placed underneath to make sure there were no more leaks, gave me the big thumbs up by being bone dry.
So let’s see… what else can I fix in here…? Oh the fridge…
The “FridgeCool Fan with On/Off Switch” what we ordered. Now waiting anxiously for it to arrive. Hmmmmm wonder if it comes with instructions and best place to actually put the thing…
The back vents are icing over and only the top two shelves are nicely cold. Had to break down and order a fridge fan from Camping World, while we were at it, ordered a reflective dashboard window shade, let’s hope that’ll cut down on the heat that’s being generated in the vardo in this high heat – and to think, we’re only at the beginning of summer… SO have to get things fixed up so we can move on to some place else… some place cooler…
After a fair bit of research… on Pinterest… I learned that fridge fans are a basic necessity in RV fridges. But I wonder if I still have to defrost everything… It seems that freaky day where the freezer and fridge decided to defrost itself was a one-off. With veggies starting to go off in the bottom of the fridge, I think that we need to do something… Eat them all fast…? Maybe the fridge fan will work? Still have to wait for it to get here though – great getting internet sales, not-so-great having to wait 2 weeks (or more) for it to get here – anywhere else in the country and summer’ll be over by the time it arrives.
Anyone have any knowledge of these things and can give a bit of advise?
With as hot as things have been lately, cooking has been a bit of a challenge – not wanting to heat the vardo up too much, and a nice change from crockpot cooking and BBQ-ing. Plus, I’ve been craving a salad… But not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill salad but a “Leyla Salad”. That means… anything is possible. 😉
Wakame is a seaweed with incredible nutrients and a good source of iron too. Plus, it’s absolutely delicious!
Wakame Rice Salad
2 cups cooked cold rice
2 zucchini, cut into matchstick size pieces
2 cucumbers, cut into matchstick size pieces
3 cups green beans, cut into 1″ size pieces
2 red bell peppers, julienne
4 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 block extra firm tofu, cubed
5 cups wakame seaweed, soaked washed and chopped into sizes you like
Mix all the ingredients in a large salad bowl. Pour salad dressing over it and toss together very well. Let sit for 20-30 minutes before serving.
Dressing
3 cloves garlic
2″ piece of ginger
2 TBSP sesame seed oil
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 TBSP sudachi citrus marinade
1/4 cup Chingkan Chinese vinegar
3 TBSP Tamari
Place all ingredients into the food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Pour over the salad and mix very well together.
I was craving chicken satay the other night… something I have not had in years. Having easy access to the BBQ, I figured that was the perfect opportunity to make these delicious morsels and experiment on my own vegan version of satay. I gotta say… I was so happy with the results. Delicious!
Of course… you have two nimrods operating the BBQ and I swear there must be a You Tube video up featuring us… again. This time, Ben got the 
BBQ started well, but then popped the satay’s on the grill right away instead of letting the coals heat up first… Just another laughable experience on our adventure here. But I gotta say, he sure is learning from these experiences… Eventually, we’ll be expert BBQ-ers. 🙂
Seitan Chick’n Satay
½ Onion
1″ piece ginger
3 cloves garlic
2 stalks lemongrass (white parts only)
½ teaspoon Salt
2 TBSP Sugar
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Sweet Paprika Powder
½ tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Curry Powder
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp Tamari
3 TBSP cold water
2 cups and 1 TBSP vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp Vegeta vegetable bouillon powder
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 cup cold water
3/8 cup vegetable oil
3 tsp Tamari
12 bamboo sqewers (soaked in water for 2 hours)
1. Mix the first 15 ingrediets together in the food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside.
2. Mix the next four ingredients together in a large bowl until very well mixed and then in a separate bowl, whisk together the next 3 ingredients plus the mixture in the food processor. Add it to the dry ingredients and bring together into a dough. Knead for 5-10 minutes and then set aside for 20 minutes.
3. Take 2 TBSP of the mixture and knead the dough very well, then form it into a log shape and flatten out slightly. Sqewer the dough through the bamboo sqewer and set on a tray. Repeat until all the dough is on the bambook sqewers and set on the tray.
4. Steam the seitan in the oven while on the skewers until it is cooked through (20-30 minutes). Place the skewers of seitan satay on a baking tray which is sitting over a basin of water and cover seitan with aluminium foil.
5. Heat BBQ until very hot. Brush about 2 TBSP vegetable oil over the grill
(I placed an aluminium foil over the grill and then brushed the oil all over the aluminuim foil). Add the skewers of satay and then let cook on the BBQ until browned well.
Serve with steamed rice and chunks of fresh cucumber, sweet onions and satay sauce.
Satay Sauce
2 cups dry roasted peanuts (I didn’t have so I used 3 TBSP smooth peanut butter – if you have chunky peanut butter, that would be better)
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup coconut cream (from can)
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp sweet paprika
3 TBSP sugar (I used white but brown would be best)
2 tsp sesame oil
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 tsp dark soy sauce
2 TBSP Tamari
1-2 tsp Sriracha chili sauce
1 TBSP lime juice (or lemon juice or 2 TBSP tamarind pulp)
1. Place the peanuts in the food processor and process until they are chopped and still chunky (do not over process). Remove from food processor and set aside.
2. Put the remaining ingredients (unless using smooth peanut butter, if you are using this, add it now) into the food processor and process until smooth. Add the mixture to the peanuts and mix very well together.
Ezmi and Winston trying to beat the heat
The past few days it’s been uber hot. Phoenix Valley is under an excessive  heat warning today with highs between 109 and 111 degrees Fahrenheit. So when it gets this hot, the furries disappear into the bedroom right underneath the air con flow, or place themselves in the line of the air con flow in the living room.
Ainey and Nari snuggling
Been finding all the girls (cats) vying for top position atop my hijab (scarf) box on the dresser in the bedroom. Last night, I stumbled upon Ainey and Nari snuggied up together on top of it. Total Kodak… er… Nikon… 😉 moment there.
The girl has done gone and lost it
Ezmi’s done gone and lost it. She’s been having some major mood swings stemming from hissing at me if I even look at her, or if I say something to her (um… like… “Hello”), she hisses at me and looks like she’s going to launch a full scale attack. I guess I did something to her that I don’t know about. I’ve not been the only one who has been subject to her moods, all the furries (including her beloved Winston) have fallen prey to her moody outbursts. She then swings into her normal lovie-dovie self jumping on me and wanting me to snuggie with her and hold her tail so she can suck it. Yes… Our little Ezmi is a tail sucker (see video here). But I reckon she’s starting to go through her teenage years… I do not remember the other’s being such little s***’s…
The other night, we spied Ezmi sitting in the kitchen sink simply staring at the blinds. Ben suggested that she was contemplating the bites in the blinds and wondering how to add her own mark. “Hmmm Nari isn’t dead, so maybe I can get away with it too…”
Something evil this mind wanders…
Obituary…
It is with great sorrow and profound sadness (especially after cognition that there shall be no more water boiled for tea [and less painfully, for dishes] or mug cakes made), that we report to you that after 8 1/2 years of dedicated and devoted service, offered with only love to please in his mechanical heart, our dear microwave died suddenly, and without cause or provocation this afternoon after his final act of service… boiling noodles for spaghetti. Several attempts at resuscitation were made but were in vain.
In lieu of flowers, and proficient disposal of dear microwave, donations are being accepted in order to replace said microwave…
RIP dear friend…
Ben went to bed early and I got a desperate urge for dessert – what to do? Ignore my craving, or be selfish…? Selfishness won out… 
easily. 😉
Chocolate cake flashed through my mind and my mad craving launched me on a frantic search for cocoa powder in the pantry in hopes of making a chocolate mug cake. Can’t even blame mid-month hormonal surges or PMS for this… URGH, we’re out of cocoa powder. Damn! What to do…? Ahhhh spice cake, yes I think so.
I raid the pantry in hushed silence grabbing everything that I need to make this secret cake, curbing my midnight mega snack attack, and not wake Ben up – his bed is right opposite the pantry. Mission accomplished, yaay! Who says I can’t be stealth? hehehe
I make my mug of cake and just as I sprinkle some powdered sugar over the top as a perfect finale, the scent of fresh spice cake desperately pleading with me to grab a spoon and dig in, a sound shocks me back out of my reverie and silent preparation of jumping face first into this mug of deliciousness… “Are you making a dessert?!” DAMN! The man has woken up! I then hear a small, child-like voice pleading… “I want sum…” Stealth-mode has been compromised. Here we go… round two.. slaving over a hot… er… microwave. Thank goodness this cake only takes a couple of minutes to prepare and 1 minutes and 45 seconds to “bake” in the microwave.
This is a perfect size individual serving, and I love that I don’t have to bake a full cake, plus not having a stove that works at the moment, this is a great alternative especially when the sudden desperate midnight urge for cake hits.
Vegan Spice Mug Cake
4 tbsp all-purpose white flour
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Mix all the dry ingredients together very well until incorporated. Add the wet ingredients and mix together very well. Cook in microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds. If the cake is still a bit wet after 1 minute 30, add another 15 seconds to the cook time.
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Now if I can only convince Winston that he doesn’t need to go out for a walk… He’s snoring, maybe I can pop into bed without him waking up? But then again, I do need to walk these calories off…
Now does this look like authentic meat or what? Very authentic in taste and 100% plant-based
Oh yes, I am obviously enjoying the break from crockpot cooking as we used the BBQ again tonight in an experimentation that went very well. 😉 Tonight’s dinner was a combination of Ben and my cooking. I did all the prep work and Ben BBQ’d it all. I only turned the seitan over on the BBQ and turned the veggies over while Ben got busy working on something with the car, but other than that… he took care of it. 😉
When Ben first married me, I introduced him to a lot of authentic Chinese food. I remember at one point his father came over to visit and he opened up one of our cupboards and pulled out a few items and said to his Dad “In all my life, I never would have thought that I would have something that looks like black wiry hair or seaweed in my pantry!” Those early day introductions were sometimes quite “interesting” dinners for this poor meat-and-potatoes American boy. But 10 years later, he’s as comfortable with many of these items as I am.
One of Ben’s absolute favourite dishes (from our pregan and non-Muslim days) was char siu – roast BBQ pork – often found in dim sum restaurants and hanging up in the
window of the restaurant kitchen along with hanging roast duck and chicken. I’ve made char siu in vegan version before, but never on the BBQ which gives it that added authentic flavour and crispiness of the flame roasted parts. This is one dish that Ben gets an actual craving for, and thank goodness I’ve developed a recipe that satisfies his appetite and craving. But, as I mentioned above, tonight was the first time I’ve actually made it on the BBQ, and oh my goodness gracious me… I am in very much love. 🙂
In fact, the smell of the food cooking wafted over some great distances… Just before dishing up and sitting down to dinner, I took Winston for a walk down to the doggie park. On the way back, I hit the area just before the swimming pool and oh my! My olfactory senses were in a heady spin and my stomach began to talk to me quite loudly as I could smell our BBQ’d food all the way down at the swimming pool. I wonder what others in the park who know we are vegan must think when they get hit with the delicious scent of what is cooking on our BBQ…? I wonder if they get jealous! lol
It’s a bit of a haul in preparing the seitan, and quite honestly, I suggest making the seitan ahead of time and then keeping in the fridge overnight, but if you didn’t have a chance to do this, then it’s no problem cooking it earlier in the day and then putting it on the BBQ.
Here is the recipe…
Char Siu BBQ Seitan
2 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten flour
1/2 cup plain white flour
1 packet “Hor” brand Char Siu marinade mix
1 TBSP garlic powder
1 TBSP onion powder
1 1/2 cups cold water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 TBSP tomato paste
3 TBSP light soy sauce (or Tamari)
1. Mix dry ingredients together until very well combined. In a separate bowl, mix together all the wet ingredients until very well combined. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix together until it combines into a glutenous dough. Knead for 5-10 minutes. Set aside and let it rest for 20-25 minutes. Shape it into a log that resembles a piece of meat.
2. In a crockpot, add 1 1/2 cups cold water, 1 TBSP each onion and garlic powder and 3 TBSP Hoisin sauce. Mix very well. Add the seitan log into the crockpot and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours until cooked through. At the half-way point (either 1 1/2 or 2 hours) turn over the seitan log and resume cooking.
3. Once seitan is cooked through, remove from crockpot to a large tray. Pour 2 TBSP Hoisin sauce and 1 TBSP sesame seed oil over the seitan and let sit while the BBQ is heating up. Once BBQ is hot, add the seitan and cook on BBQ for 15-20 minutes each side until the outside is cooked to your perfect desire.
Rabbit sitting underneath our next door neighbour Ron’s RV this afternoon. I took this photo while sitting on our sofa.
While the seitan was cooking in the crockpot, I was sitting on the sofa crocheting a blanket – figure it’s good to get blankets and such made so that when we move further north – and when we hit winter time – we’re all set. So I was sitting here crocheting and Ben says simply “rabbit”, I look up and see this rabbit hop under our next door neighbour, Ron’s, RV. Of course, I’ve always got my camera handy, and had to snap a couple of pics. I’m still in awe of this wildlife that is so close and living among it all.
Bouncin' Around 