my body lies in Paris
my heart lies in Paris
is my heart broken?
or is my foot broken?
is it both? or is it none?
i am lost
“what a stupid thing to be lost in”
but I am lost even in these uncanny thoughts
// i fractured my right foot so I am stuck in Boulogne-Billancourt. Oh Paris, I miss you dearly though I am already in your city.
What do you do when you feel really lonely?
When you’re feeling so down and lonely
That you feel an empty hole has weighed down all your happiness
And everything around you feels so weightless and empty
I wrote about veganism a couple of posts back and I thought I should update my standpoint on this topic. I’ve been vegetarian/pescatarian for a month now and one positive, enlightening aspect to this has been being able to reflect and ponder on veganism from an altered perspective. My thoughts that meat is not necessary remains, particularly adamant from the environmental point of view – agriculture takes up 60% of water usage in the world. I firmly believe that the balance has been stretched too far and with the growth of Gen Z and Millennial ruling, this is one change I actually look forward to.
Next, the cleanliness of the meat produce industry takes up a big chunk of my natural avoidance towards meat. I appreciate that with veganism, I have control and yet, I am allowing myself not to have control too. Balance is crucial in our lives, and by that, it is essentially in our minds that we should think we possess this (balance) or are closer to possessing it (or else we’ll go nuts!) Therefore, if the first sentence of this paragraph is perceived as a disgust, mind you, it is not a disgust that forces the joystick in our bodies to deviate from meat negatively and sadly. Instead, it’s an instinctive avoidance with health as the purpose, like how we stay away from smoking even if it feels cool because of health.
I’m a bit iffy with seafood and meat products in Asia (or possibly, Asian restaurants in USA – I know this is probably a stretch but still). By this ‘iffyness’ I refer to it as an ambiguity derived from the lack of knowledge or awareness. I shall update the blog after I learn more about this. Therefore in the mean time, I am still consuming seafood. Don’t put entire fault on this blithe ignorance just yet, because this part of my diet is the only thing saving me from totally inconveniencing my dear friends. With meat, more than 70% of the Asian cuisine’s authentic deliciousness come from meat (pork mostly, or Peking duck!) but do we carry out the same processes at our own slaughterhouses? Does all the meat come from the same slaughterhouses (in the US)? Where do these meats come from before the marinating of salt, sweet sauces, soy sauce? I want to know…
Lastly, dairy products just get me right in the heart and when I say get, I really mean stab. With force. I don’t think eating dairy is right, in any way. Drinking other animals’ milk when we have our own is almost unfathomable when you put this concept in another animal species’ shoes (or feet? since they don’t wear shoes), and so there is no part of my consciousness that agrees this event is natural. With yogurt, it’s the same with milk except with a secondary layer of fermentation. Next, eggs. I still eat these unfortunately and my standpoint is not too expressive just yet. I’m confused with eggs being period to this day. So I still eat this. I’ve completely cut out yogurt this year and with milk, powdered milk is still consumed and the occasional milk inside products is too (especially if I’m unaware). I eat pastry and lots of bread in general so milk would still count in those products. I think… with this, that’s it for dairy.
These have the sectors that I wanted to touch on and I think this update is pretty inclusive for me so far. If clothing or accessories come to mind, I do not approve skinning animals for pleasure, a materialistic pleasure, at all. (Fox skin and coyote skin – personal ouches to my heart). Leather, in my opinion, is luxurious for the richer but shouldn’t be a craze that the mass public should be chasing after, nor should it be encouraged or shown off by those who wear it. In this ideal situation, I believe leather does help in the long shelf life of products and waste reduction. I could change my mind with further knowledge but this is where I am with leather.
Goodbye for now!
Yes, the title could have been inspired by The Carters’ new album release, Everything is Love. But everything is art – whether you believe it or not, that’s up to you. I like space, physical, mental, emotional, whatever the context it is, it creates a dynamic and brings change. For example, I like seeing colored dots on paper and space is the secret to its aesthetic.
This is a short list of what I particularly like to look at. Feel free to imagine how space plays a role in each of these.
a mechanical blink of an eye
added technological interference
a capture of a millisecond
even you can’t do the same
every millisecond is too short but
every second is too long
i cannot wait anymore
inside my mind i count
i cant tell time anymore
oh that’s too bad
on demand we try to make it on time
only to question if we were on time
u can think whatever suits you
u are in charge of your happiness (but don’t forget)
u are also in charge of your thoughts
//
a muscle of my finger click
the screen next a blank
how long the delay
i cant rewind the clock
the physical act an stupidity
a similar event us humans do
with our minds every time
time is relational
i dont know what is and isnt appropriate for gratitude
at this very moment
i cannot be happy
because i dont know for how long
this moment will last
i dont know what i will gain and lose
from this moment
without a sliver of future telling in our consciousness,
without the photographic memory that treasures our past,
i am unlimited and limited in my expressions
the abstract space is too large and too narrow at the same time
i could be happy
this saddens me
Hi!
Turning vegan has been something that I have been contemplating about for a long time. It’s definitely easier said than done. I could see myself turning vegan but in reality, meat always crept into my diet one way or another. I had to be really aware of what I was eating and it’s difficult to do that when you have a lot of other things to worry about, such as assignments and your social life. I believe that I had begun seriously contemplating veganism two to two-and-a-half years ago. Changes that I have already implemented since college was cutting out dairy milk when grocery shopping and since moving to the States, I have never bought meat in the grocery store. The vegan options are delicious and the few ones that I have ventured to try were the Boca nuggets and meatless patties. I loved both of them. I make sure to buy a lot of fresh and frozen veggies and I love buying fruits too. I’ve realized that potatoes aren’t for me as I can never finish eating them mostly because I just don’t crave them. I tried making kale chips, didn’t work out for me. With time, trial and error and following what feels right slow and steady, I know that veganism is achievable. In addition to that, my wish to have a clean and organized fridge (like shutthekaleup’s one on Instagram)!
*Disclaimer – shutthekaleup is not vegan, hence the eggs and dairy and meat in her fridge.
morganizewithme and withloveandveggies’ fridge inspo.
Tofu Tofu Tofu!
My friend, savior, trusty food guy. I love its texture, color, nutritional content of being protein-powerful, and its ease to use in cooking!!
Pancake recipe by moi, here we go:
Ingredients: 1/2 block of tofu, 1/2 cup flour, water to get the consistency to how you imagine pancake consistency to be, 1 egg, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp garlic powder
Add the flour and incorporate the baking powder.
Crumble the tofu into the flour and then add the egg.
I added water for consistency as well as to make the batter less yellow because I didn’t want the egg to overpower the recipe.
I added garlic powder last and mixed the batter well.
I honestly didn’t know what I was doing at the time I was making it so making this comes with potential risks (of failure or.. potential new love).
During the first trial, I tried to make it a sweet treat but it didn’t work so I added the garlic powder and it turned out much better as a savory dish, which I ended up spoiling by adding carob powder in efforts to make it into a sweet dish again with a chocolate taste. Conclusion: savory is the good result. I love tofu and I’m happy I got to make it into yummy pancakes – my go-to type of food I like to make!
it’s 2am, i need to sleep. goodbye.
Hey there! Been a long while since I’ve posted one of those easy-to-whip-up food recipes here! So here are three of them. Personally, I have not tried all of them out but they’re easy and sound like they would be tasty so what’s there to wait?
Sweet Potato Pancakes
Ingredients: 2 eggs, 1 medium sweet potato, (suggested to add: 1 tsp baking powder, drop of vanilla, dash of cinnamon)
Poke holes into your sweet potato and microwave it for 4 minutes – tip #1 is to cover your bowl with a wet paper towel when microwaving your sweet potato, tip #2 is to fill your bowl with a little bit of water to keep the bowl moist
Peel off the now soft sweet potato and mash it.
Combine with the eggs and prep is done!
KEY: make your pancakes small. think ‘mini’ pancake sizes, then they will come out perfect! Wait 1 minute before flipping. Serve with maple syrup!
Avo Pancake
Ingredients: 1 avocado, 3/4 milk. 1/2 flour, 1 egg, (suggested: salt, lime too)
Combine milk, flour, egg.
Add the avocado and mix well. Add the suggested if you’re feeling fancy. If not, move straight to the stove and wait-flip-wait and voila!
Potato Pancakes (savory, wow, that’s a rare find in sylv’s books)
Ingredients: 3-5 potatoes, 2 green onions, 2 tbsp flour, bit of cheese or nuch (nutritional yeast 1 tbsp), 1/2 tsp salt, 1 egg
Rinse, peel and grate the potatoes in the food processor. Squeeze the liquid out and drain the potatoes in a strainer after its out of the processor.
Finely chop the green onions and use the white portion of the green onion to incorporate with the egg, cheese, flour and salt in a large bowl – mix well.
Fold in the potatoes and combine.
Pour half of the batter into the pan and wait 5 minutes before flipping! The thickness should be 1/2 inches. You can use the green portion of the green onion as your topping and yum, sounds scrumptious and filling for the tummy!
disclaimer: the recipes are not mine but instead, from multiple inspirations online – mainly from fromyourbowl (esp. for the potato pancake) !
I made tofu pancakes once eyeballing the whole recipe but they turned out so cute and absolutely filling, which is something I get satisfied about. Tofu pancake recipe (somewhat) up next!
Sylvia 