Sari’s Place

It happened that the cat met the fox in a forest, and as she thought to herself, He is clever and full of experience, I should say Hi to him.  So she spoke to him in a friendly way.

“Good day, dear Mr.Fox, how are you? How is all with you? How are you getting through this season?”

The fox, full of all kinds of arrogance, looked at the cat from head to foot, and for a long time did not know whether he would give any answer or not. At last he said, “Oh, you silly mousehunter, what can you be thinking of? Do you venture to ask how I am getting on? What have you learned? How many arts do you understand?”

“I understand but one,” replied the cat, modestly.

“What art is that?” asked the fox.

“When the hounds are following me, I can spring into a tree and save myself.”

“Is that all?” said the fox. “I am master of hundred arts, I feel sorry for you, but come with me, I will teach you how people get away from the hounds.”

Just then came a hunter with four dogs. The cat sprang up a tree, and sat down at the top of it, where the branches and foliage quite concealed her.

 ”Run and hide, Mr. Fox, Run…,” cried the cat to him, but the dogs had already seized him, and were holding him fast.

“Ah, Mr. Fox,” cried the cat. “You with your hundred arts are left in the lurch!  Had you been able to climb like me, you would not have lost your life.”

Once upon a time, there was a king who loved riding horses as well as riding horse carriage. He got his skills from almost every horse trainer in his country. Every time, he got a new carriage, he was anxious to try it out to compete.

The next day, a new carriage came to his palace, and as usual he asked the trainer to compete with him.  The trainer agreed..The same day, they raced.

The king tried hard, but no matter how much effort the king made, he was still far behind the trainer. He started to become very angry and told him off, “Why didn’t you teach me all of your racing skills?”.

The trainer replied, “Sire, I taught you everything I know”, the reason that you didn’t win, because you were trying too hard, you were thinking of winning and had no patience at all. Your only thought about winning, made you become frustrated, and that made you forgot everything I taught you. You  whipped your horse again and again to make it go faster. You never thought about her feelings and safety, while I always look at the physical condition and feelings of my horse before and during the ride. You need to work with the horse not against it. That’s why, Sire, I always win the race.”

One day the queen and her ladies came down to a lake for a swim. When they were all ready to go into the water, they left their jewels to the servants, and then went down into the lake.

There was a girl monkey sat in the branches of nearby tree who watched the queen as she put her string of pearls away. This girl monkey wanted to get the queen’s string of pearls, so she sat still and watched, hoping that the servant in charge of the pearls would go to sleep.

At first the servant kept her eyes on the jewel box. But by and by she began to nod, and then she fell fast asleep.

As soon as the monkey saw this, as quick as the wind she jumped down, opened the box, picked up the string of pearls, and whoosh….she was up in the tree again, holding the pearls very carefully. She put the string of pearls on, and then, for fear the guards in the garden would see the pearls, the monkey hid them in a hole in the tree. Then she sat nearby looking as if nothing had happened.

Finally, the servant awoke. She looked in the box, and finding that the string of pearls was not there, she cried, “A man has run off with the queen’s string of pearls.”

Up ran the guards from every side.  The servant said: “I sat right here beside the box where the queen put
her string of pearls. I did not move from the place. But the day is hot, and I was tired. I must have fallen asleep. The pearls were gone when I woke up.”

The guards told the king that the pearls were gone.

“Find the man who stole the pearls,” said the king. Away went the guards looking high and low for the thief.
After the king had gone, the chief guard said to himself:

“There is something strange here. These pearls,” he thought, “were lost in the garden. There was a strong guard at the gates, so that no one from the outside could get into the garden. On the other hand, there are hundreds of monkeys here in the garden. Perhaps one of the monkeys took the string of pearls.”

Then the chief guard thought of a trick that would tell whether a girl monkey had taken the pearls. So he bought a number of strings of bright-colored glass beads. After dark that night the guards hung the strings of glass beads here
and there on the low bushes in the garden. When the monkeys saw the strings of bright-colored beads the next morning, each monkey ran for a string.

But the girl monkey who had taken the queen’s string of pearls did not come down. She sat near the hole where she had hidden the pearls.

The other monkeys were greatly pleased with their strings of beads. They chattered to one another about them. “It is too bad you did not get one,” they said to her as she sat quietly, saying nothing. At last she could stand it no longer. She put on the queen’s string of pearls and came down, saying proudly: “You have only strings of glass beads.
See my string of pearls!”

Then the chief of the guards, who had been hiding nearby, caught the girl monkey. He took her at once to the king.

“It was this girl monkey, your Majesty, who took the pearls.”

The king was glad enough to get the pearls, but he asked the chief guard how he had found out who took them.

The chief guard told the king that he knew no one could have come into the garden and so he thought they must have been taken by one of the monkeys in the garden. Then he told the king about the trick he had played with the beads.

“You are the right man in the right place,” said the king, and he thanked the chief of the guards over and over again.

You need:

• 2 muffins buns/hamburger buns or just 4 normal bread would do.
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• butter
• 12 thin salami slices
• 4 thin cheese slice (I use Singles)
• a sprinkle of dried oregano (optional).

How to make it

1. Cut the buns in half.
2. Brush them with butter.
3. Put in griller to toast.
4. Brush toasted buns with tomato sauce.
5. Put a slice of salami and cheese each and sprinkle oregano on top.
6. Put under the griller til the cheese melt.

Enjoy

You need:

• 200gr Margarine/butter
• 4 egg yolks
• 50 gr refined sugar
• 1 table spoon milk powder
• 250gr sifted flour
• 25gr sifted maizena flour(corn flour)
• 1/4 tea spoon salt
• 1/2 shredded pineapple
• 100gr sugar
• 2cm cinnamon sticks
• cloves for decoration (if you want to).

How to make it:

1. For filling, cook pineapple in a small pan until the water runs out. Put 100gr sugar and cinnamon sticks. Mix well til thick.
2. Beat melted butter, refined sugar, 3 yolks and milk powder til soft.
3. Add flour and maizena flour, mix well.
4. Roll heaped teaspoonsful of mixture into balls, cut it in half and fill it with the filling, close it and place on a baking tray with 2-3cm in between.
5. Brush with yolk and decorate it with clove.
6. Put it in a oven 160 degrees Celcius for about 15-30 minutes, til cookies turn goldie.

Once upon a time, there was a crane standing next to a pond filled with fish. In those days the water used every summer to fall very low. Catching sight of these fish, a crane said to himself,

“I must find a way to eat these fish.” So he went and sat down in deep thought by the side of the water.

Now when the fishes caught sight of him, they said, ” What are you thinking about ?”

“I am thinking about you,” was the reply.

 ”And why are you thinking about us ?”

“ The water in this pool’s almost gone, no food, and the heat intense, I was wondering to myself, as I sat here, what in the world you fishes would do.”

” And what are we to do ?”

“Well, if you’ll take my advice, I will take you up one by one in my beak, and carry you all off to a fine large pool covered with the five varieties of lotuses, and there, I’ll put you down.”

“But,” said they, “no crane ever cared for us fishes since the world began. Your desire is to eat us one by one.”

” No, I will not eat you, trust me,” said the crane. ” If you don’t take my word that there is such a pond, send one of you to go with me and see for himself.”

Believing the crane, the fish presented to him a great big fish (blind of one eye, by the way), who they thought would be a match for the crane whether afloat or ashore; and they said,

” Here’s the one to go with you.”

The crane took the fish off, and after showing him another pond, brought him back again and put him in along with the other fish in his old pond. And the fish told them how great the newer pond.

After hearing this report, they grew eager to go there, and said to the crane,”Very good, please take us across.”

First of all, the crane took that big one-eyed fish again and carried him off and then he pecked it to death, and let the bones fall at the foot of the tree.

Then back he went and said,”I’ve thrown him in, who’s next ?” And so he took the fish one by one, and ate them all, till at last when he came back, he could not find another left. But there was still a crab remaining in the pond; so the crane, who wanted to eat him up too, said,

” Mister crab, I’ve taken all those fishes away and put them into a fine large pond covered all over with lotuses. Come along, I’ll take you too.”

“How will you carry me across?” said the crab.

“Why, in my beak, for sure,” said the crane.

“Ah, but you might drop me like that,” said the crab, “I won’t go with you.”

 ”Don’t be scared, I’ll hold you tight of all the way.”

“Thought the crab to himself,  He hasn’t put the fish in the pool. But, if he would really put me in, that would be great. If he does not, why, I’ll nip his head off and kill him. So he said to the crane,

” You’d never be able to hold me tight enough, my friend, cos we crabs have got an astonishingly tight grip. If I could hold your neck with my claws, I could hold it tight and then I would go along with you.”

Not suspecting that the crab wanted to trick him, the crane gave permission. With his claws the crab gripped hold of the crane’s neck, and said, “Let’s go.” The crane took him and showed him the pond first, and then started off for the tree.

“The pond lies this way,” said the crab; “but you’re taking me the other way.”

“Yeah right,  I suppose you thought me as your slave to lift you up and carry you about ! Just take a look at those bones at the foot of the tree, I ate up all those fish, so I will eat you too.”

Said the crab, “It was by their own stupidity that those fish were eaten by you, and there’s no way you are going to eat me.. For you,,did not see that I was tricking you. If we die, we will both die together. .”

And so saying he gripped the crane’s weasand with his claws, as with pinchers. With his mouth wide open and and tears streaming from his eyes, the crane, trembling for his life, said,

“Please, I will not eat you! Spare my life!”

“Well, then, just step down to the pool and put me in,” said the crab.

Then the crane turned back and stepped down as directed to the pool, and placed the crab on the mud, at the water-edge. But the crab, before entering the water, nipped off the crane’s head as deftly as if he were cutting a lotus stalk with a knife.

What you need:

• 400gr flour
• 200gr butter
• 150gr margarine
• 1/4 - 1 tea spoon salt (suit your taste)
• 200gr grated cheese ( I use Edam cheese)
• 50gr grated cheese for sprinkles
• 4 egg yolks

How to make:

1. Mix butter and margarine til soft.
2. Add 3 yolks, mix it.(leave 1 yolk for later)
3. Put salt, flour and cheese, mix all together well to a soft dough.
4. Make the dough as long sticks.
5. Cut neatly.
6. Brush left over yolk on the sticks, and sprinke the grated cheese
7. Put in the oven 160 degrees Celcius for about 30-40 minutes
8. Serve cold

Try Cooking The Indonesian Way.

Once upon a time, in Southeast Asia, two young wild geese searching for food met a turtle, and by and by they became friends and lived in the same pond.   They enjoyed a peaceful life and hardly fought with each other. 

After few months, the water dried up.  The two geese decided to move and asked the turtle to join them.  The turtle liked the idea because he did not want to be all alone.  But, he could not see how this was possible since he could not fly.  The geese, who were smart, came up with an idea.  Each of them could hold the end of a wooden pole in its beak, and the turtle could hold onto the middle of the pole with his mouth.  Then the three of them could fly to another pond which was full of water.

A few days later they went on their trip.  When they flew through a village, lots of children looked up at them.  They started shouting and laughing, and said “Look, two geese are holding up a turtle so he can fly.”

Upon hearing the children, the turtle became angry and embarrassed.  He wondered why the children were staring and laughing at him.  He got so annoyed and then he shouted, ”Mind your own business.”  As he spoke, he lost his grip on the pole and fell.

From The Short March to Wisdom

Since ancient times, artichokes have been used as a digestive aid and to treat poor liver function.  New research reveals that they may also lower cholesterol.

FIGHTERS IN THEM

Cynarin, an organic acid, may have a beneficial effect on the liver by preventing fat accumulation in the organ, and also by helping to promote bile flow, which assists in the removal of toxic substances from the body.

In addition to preventing certain birth defects, the B vitamins folate may help lower heart disease risk by reducing levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that has been linked to atherosclerosis.  It may also help to prevent cancer, since low levels of folate can be harmful to DNA.

Luteolin is flavonoid, a powerful antioxidant phytochemical that may reduce the risk of heart disease by preventing the oxidation of LDL cholesterol.  Preliminary studies suggest that luteolin may also block the release of histamines, which trigger congestion and inflammation.

Eat yourself healthy, read The Low GI Diet (Lose weight with smart carbs).

The fruit’s deep golden colour indicates the presence of carotenoids, specifically beta-carotene, an important antioxidant that has been linkd with cancer prevention and is also thought to guard against cataracts.

Fighters in them

Ellagic acid is a compound that may reduce damage caused by carcinogens such as environmental toxins.  Its potential to inhibit the growth of cancer cells is also being studied.

Potassium, and important mineral, helps to prevent high blood pressure and reduce the risk of stroke.  Your body needs it to maintain healthy nerves and muscles.

Lycopene, a powerful antioxidant, is believed to reduce harmful LDL cholesterol and to protect the prostate against cancer.

Lose weight with smart carbs, read The Low GI Diet.