Japanese-English questionable quotes

bonsai

On a menu: “Rare cheese cake.”

On a menu: “Cheese washed potatoes.”

On a white t-shirt with a pink kitten worn by a preteen on the subway: “Beat me.” (She wouldn’t have known what it meant.)

On a peach t-shirt with flowers: “I love him truly. He is handsome and rich. He makes jokes at my expense.”

On a t-shirt: “Individuality. I’d like to be familiar with fashions, but I won’t be carried by them. Those who are sticky about their way of life are nonethe-less wonderful.”

On a water glass in a restaurant: “A glassful of drops. Each drop is tomorrow’s dream. Sip your dreams by drops.”

Sports announcer on TV: “When I watched the first game I felt the world cup games had begun.” No further comment.

News announcer wrapping up a news report on land mines in Egypt: “You can feel the terror as the people walk through the fields-but they have to live here. That is their fate and that is all we have to say.” That’s what my bilingual TV translated.

A group of male Japanese teachers inviting a visiting American teacher out: “We’re going to get prostitutes tonight. Want to come?”

High school class answers the question: What is a disadvanatage of being good-looking?

– The good-looking seem to be tired.

– Good-looking is threatened by storker (stalker).

Very advanced student: “I turned and toasted all night.”

And my favourite: “Big scream TV.”

More uses for Turkish salce

More uses for Turkish salce

Eggplant wrap with dolma & olives

Turkish French fries

Eggplant wrap with dolma          Turkish French fries

Chickpeas
Chickpeas

Salce recipe

A bit of salce (pronounced salje) in the fridge makes simple meals easy this summer.

1-      Turkish French fries:

4

Cut 2 -4 potatoes into even-sized chips, any style. Fry them in hot oil (I use coconut in a shallow cast iron pan). Maybe two batches.

When the potatoes are golden-crispy, remove & blot with a paper towel to soak up excess oil.

Option 1-

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Mix  2 Tablespoons of salce with juice of a lemon, so that it’s thin enough to dollop over the fried potatoes like ketchup. Heap the whole thing with chopped fresh parsley. Think of parsley as a vegetable. Eat it with a fork or pick it up with ripped pieces of French bread.

Option 2- messier but worth it

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Drain most of the excess oil from the pan and add 2 or more Tablespoons salce (I don’t know! How many potatoes did you cook?) Heat, add the juice of a lemon, stir.

Add the fried potatoes, stir to cover in salce mixture and leave to fry a few moments at a time, turning when the salce blackens. Add ripped fresh mint or sprinkle lightly with dried mint.

Serve with about a cup of chopped fresh parsley on top.

2-      Eggplant wrap

Slice an eggplant, sprinkle with seasalt, set aside.

Peel 6 – 8 cloves of garlic.

Heat olive oil in a fry pan.

Dap eggplant with a paper towel to dry as the salt draws out moisture. As the oil comes up to medium heat, add eggplant slices and garlic cloves. Add olive oil liberally as the slices fry to sticky brown and you move them all in and out, turning them and the cloves until browned and soft.

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Eggplant, garlic, onion

Spread tortillas or flat bread with salce. Mash or cut up the garlic cloves and add to sandwich with eggplant slices. Roll.

Lotsa options: add a few potato fries from above, maybe black olives, blackened green/red pepper, fried onion, parsley, any leftover chicken in the fridge?

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salce is already spicy-hot and salty

 

3-      Chickpeas and salce:

Rinse a can of chickpeas (or white beans)

Put them in a pot with 2-3 Tablespoons of salce, 3 or 4 cloves of garlic (whole or sliced) and just cover with water. Boil until most of the liquid evaporates.

Optional- add ripped fresh mint or crushed dried mint during cooking or as a garnish.

Serve with lemon.

Holographic Healing 1

Holographic Healing by Laurie Fraser

published by Tone Magazine, November 2011

I don’t know where I learned to heal by holograph.

I tap into a client’s energy by muscle-testing (kinesiology) and their energy leads me through menus of possible healing methods to the procedure they desire. I often see/know things intuitively, yet I still check for permission from the client’s energy before proceeding. I make no decisions on my own.

So when I started to see holographic images, I just added them to my menu. This method of healing is often chosen by client’s energy, leading me to understand it is very effective and powerful.

When I see the image, it is in the air, about a foot over the client’s body. I am guided always to work directly on the image. For example, I saw a 3-dimensional image of a client curled into a ball, darkness around her, and felt deep sadness. I then ask questions by muscle-testing (getting yes or no answers). Comfort her? No. Stand her up? Yes. I did so. Clear away the darkness? Yes. I did so. Bring her light? Yes. I put a sun above her. Complete? No. Send her love? Yes. I did so. Complete? Yes. Tell the client about the holograph? Yes. This client was struggling with the loss of a loved one.

How does it work? I don’t know! It fascinates me. And, no doubt, it does work. Take a peek at more intriguing examples:

Depressed client: holograph of big black muddy hole, only her muddy arms visible, hands gripping to the edge of the hole.  I pulled her out, cleaned her off.

Overwhelmed client: I saw him as a puppet, stick arms and legs attached to strings. I cut the strings to free him.

Angry cat: red kerchief tied to her head. Removed kerchief and disposed of it.

Emotional issues: holograph of client as a young girl in a tree. Take her down? No. Go up there? Yes. I went to join her, talk and keep her company. At one point I said, “Do you ever pretend you’re a bird up here?” “No, I pretend I’m invisible” Holograph complete, tell the client.

Persistent cough:  dark damp evergreen forest. Found client in the forest. Led him out to a sunny meadow, instructed him to take deep breaths. Open mouth, let sun in. Dry out.

Angry client: saw her in a Ku Klux Clan outfit. I removed it and disposed of it. Tell client about holographic healing? No. (It wouldn’t help her with healing and was unnecessary.) Note here that this woman was probably no more racist than the next person, but to work on it, the image had to be obvious and how else recognize racism? Also, this client made a point of calling me to describe her relief and sense of balance and happiness afterward. (I did more work than just the holograph, but it was only one session.)

Client dealing with a break-up: saw her at a picnic table. I brought her all sorts of treats and healthy food to encourage her to enjoy, to eat. (She later told me she hadn’t been eating.)

Me after a decadent Christmas: at a picnic table but the food I brought myself was all cleansing- lemons, greens, water. No treats were permitted.

Communication issues: saw client at a great distance. Brought her closer. Chatted a little.

Depressed client: saw her daughter, young sad girl. Brought her close to Mom. Told client, “She misses you; she needs your attention”.

Depressed client: saw an angel and slowly realized it was an actual angel, not an image. She said her name was Carrie and she wanted the client to know that she always with him, he is never alone.  This had a very emotional effect on the client. Tremendous gift.

Child with allergies, emotional issues: saw him wearing a green hoodie. Took it off. I was guided to understand that this was an actual item of clothing that he owned and that he shouldn’t wear it anymore; it made him feel sick. Told the mother and she said, yes he had one; it was second-hand from an autistic boy. She threw it away.

A client struggling with addiction: saw her in a jail cell. I unlocked it and gave her the key to keep.

There are so many more! Often I see uneven colour and I smooth it around the person evenly. I’ve seen all kinds of problems with feet- heavy boots to be removed, feet slipping on ice, chained ankles. I’ve seen clients in pieces like a puzzle and I put the pieces back together like a mannequin and smoothed out the lines where the connections showed. Often body parts are out of proportion- the head is too big or the arms are too heavy and long. Often I help a client, for example, over a crack in the ice or the earth, or I give them an oar because they’re in a boat with none.

Sometimes I’m directed to give something to the client- an umbrella, a red parachute (newly single woman), a yellow tricycle (he wanted one in the past), a red wagon (so she wouldn’t have to carry so much) etc.

Usually the holographs come out of the client’s heart, but lately, more and more are coming out of chakras.

So, I still don’t know where I learned to do it. I figure I’ve always known and have recently remembered. And I am grateful.

More info.

Love answers 2

DSC00387    What Have You Done for Love?

One Canadian reader answered: “At the age of 15, I met a Turk online.  We fell in love and I married him under an Islamic contract. It was a passionate and intense relationship. We understood each other with all our quirks and we created a safe environment for each other. We alternated visiting each other regularly for 4 years.  I got to explore Turkey and that sense of novelty and freedom added to the emotional intensity of our relationship. He was 6 years my senior.

Our ivory tower was soon destroyed by the realities of life: citizenship, religion, logistics…  We were comfortable with our romance but everything outside of it tore us down.  I was a young, stubborn idealist and my naivete and immaturity ended our relationship. If only I was a bit wiser at the time…

A few years later, I converted to Islam. I married a man 11 years my senior with an almost opposing personality.  It was not love but a rational decision to marry in order to complete half of my religion.  I have 2 children from him and we live in Yemen.  I sometimes I miss the love and passion I had with the Turk, but my current husband provides stability and a nourishing environment to raise healthy children.

As a person who thrives on connecting on a deeper level with people, this relationship has not been easy. However, my first love showed me the depth and potential in loving another, and the dangers of our shadows projecting unto another. It made me wiser, and I’m hopeful that a more mature and healthy love can be found again, perhaps at another junction in my journey.”

Another Canadian wrote of an affair:   DSC00381

“Thirteen years ago I fell in love with my neighbour. He told me he loved me and that was it – I was hooked. I was married with two small children and so was he. On New Year’s Day, after four months of passionate sneaking around, we told our partners we had met our soul mates and we were leaving.

24 hours later, after threats from his wife, he called it off.

My husband came to where I was, picked me up off the floor and whisked me off to a hotel where he held me while I wept in anguish at losing what I thought was the love of my life.

What I did for love was stay with my husband. I realize now, after 22 years of marriage, soul mates are the stuff of fairy tales and his love is the stuff of life.”

I wondered how those 2 families managed to be neighbours after that, and the reader answered me thus:   “He moved a year later. Thank God.  My husband and I are still in the same house though. We laugh about it now.”

Wow! Thanks for the stories guys!

To participate, please read “Love and You” and share with us- everyone has a love story. Or two.

 

Cold Tofu – Japanese and Korean Versions

tofu-recipe-2 tofu-recipe-1

Both recipes use silken tofu. This delicate tofu comes in a small plastic container. Remove the plastic cover and drain the tofu, then rinse by pouring a bit of fresh water over it and draining gently.

Cut the tofu into serving squares. Tofu is fairly tasteless, but soaks up flavour easily, so cut the squares small- about an inch or 2.

Cover with a few spoonfuls of sauce and serve cold. Refreshing on a summer’s day.

Japanese sauce:

What is simpler than pouring some tamari sauce (or a little soy sauce thinned with water) over the tofu and sprinkling with chopped green onion?

I was in a bar in Hiroshima and this was the complimentary snack. Better than peanuts!

Korean sauce:

Slightly more effort as you will need a pot and some heat.
tofu-recipe-3

Into a small pot:

½  cup tamari sauce (or ¼  cup soy sauce and ¼  cup water)

1 teaspoon honey

2 chopped cloves of garlic

Chili to taste

Optional: chopped green onion

Heat for a few moments, then spoon over cold silken tofu squares.

Another option- throw chopped firm tofu into the pot (or fry pan), heat in the sauce and stir.

“Here be your Now!” calls Crow

“Now is the time.”

off Mont Royal

off Mont Royal

Gorgeous day on the beach this morning- sunny & fresh after 2 muggy weeks. My head has cleared too. There is no perfect way to launch a crowd funding campaign and according to the advice-givers, I can never do enough, or have enough contacts.

But when I settle and stand in the sun facing the river, I know that anything done with courage and heart is done right. I always say, “If you’re going to leap, do it with joy!”

And so I give you my favourite story…and with this act, fulfill an 18-year-old promise.

I’m grateful to so many of you for helping me reach this moment, my Now. Thank you very very!

Love Laurie

Vegetarian Turkish Dolma (stuffed green peppers)

dolma-01

Okay, I’ve seen the dolma recipes online that call for meat, cumin and other spices. I guess those are the fancy versions for guests or rich folk. When I lived in Turkey, my husband and I were very poor, and I was taught this simple recipe. It’s the easy and cheap family supper, I suppose. This dolma is a tasty nutritious meal, and I still cook it this way today.

dolma-02

You will need:

4 medium-sized green peppers – hollowed out from the top

1 ½ cups cooked brown rice (see below, or use leftovers or substitute white)

2 heaping Tablespoons salce (see recipe in this blog)

1 bunch of parsley- chopped

2 cups garlic yogurt (2 c yogurt- Greek is nice- mixed with 1-2 crushed garlic cloves)

dolma-03 dolma-04

1-      Mix the rice, salce and parsley

2-      Stuff the peppers about ¾ full

3-      Stand the peppers in a pot so they stay upright. Put about an inch of cold water in the pot, around the peppers, so that when it boils it will not get the inside of the peppers wet. Add salt to the water. Cover the pot.

dolma-05

4-      Boil the water. The bottom of the peppers are boiled, the tops are steamed. About 5 – 10 minutes- you’re just heating it through and softening the peppers to your liking.

5-      Serve dolma whole smothered in garlic yogurt.

Perfect brown rice:

1:2 rice & water. (For example 1 cup of rice and 2 cups water or ½ cup rice and 1 cup water)

1-      Pick over the rice looking for hard husks. Rinse it several times in cold water.

2-      Add about a Tablespoon of olive oil and cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes. When it starts sticking to the bottom of the pot, add the water.

3-      Boil on high for a few moments, then cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and leave it until all the water has been absorbed (30 – 45 minutes)

Love Answers 1

love-answers-1

A woman, 45, wrote to say, “I gave up air conditioning (house and car) for the whole 6 years that I went out with an environmental activist. It gets really hot and humid here, so it was a real sacrifice. I also slept on the floor when I stayed at his place. (He’s minimalist too.)”

She adds: “I also stopped killing bugs, because it offended him to take any life. Yesterday I enjoyed a killing spree with a fly swatter in my house. A few years ago I would have captured them in a jar and released them to the outside.”

I received this answer from “Sharon” in Chicago. “I’m a chameleon. I give up whoever I am to become whoever he wants. I adopt my lovers’ hobbies and lifestyle. If he’s social, or a drinker, then so am I. If the next one is health-conscious, then so am I. I spent so much energy trying to make them happy. Now I think, after all this time, I don’t even know who I am or what I want.”

Check out “Love and You” and drop me a line at thewordnotspoken@gmail.com

Turkish Salce – a handy tomato sauce

turkish-salce-picture

Having salce (saljeh) on hand sure makes cooking Turkish easy. Keep a container in the freezer and just take out a spoonful as needed.  Salce is used in recipes coming soon to this blog: dolma (green peppers stuffed with rice, parsley and salce), Turkish French fries (salce is so much better than ketchup!), mercimek (lentil soup), and easy chickpeas. Salce is full of cancer-fighting lycopene. It’s used a spice paste, so it’s very salty and spicy.

Most families I knew in Turkey dried their tomatoes in the sun on the roof of the house. But, we will use tomato paste.

salce-ingredients

You need: 1 small can tomato paste

1 teaspoon fresh chili sauce (or more) You can substitute with the chili you usually cook with- chili powder, blatt paprika or fresh green chili- adjust the amount but make it very hot.

1 teaspoon salt

Mint (optional) 2 teaspoons dried or 1/2 cup chopped fresh.

1-      Heat:  2-3 Tablespoons olive oil in a pan (Tomato really picks up iron in a cast iron pan)

2-      “Kill” the tomato paste by adding it to the hot oil and stir to mix.

3-      Add chili and salt. When the tomato has absorbed most or all of the oil, add the mint.

It should taste very salty and spicy-hot.