Finally the labels are ready and we can proudly present our food product line Garden of Eva:
Home-made Basil Pesto, Tomato Pesto, Chilli Pesto, Rambutan Jam, Hummus and Flax Seed Crackers. More products are soon to come. Soo healthy and yummy :)
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So the other day we had the vets from the Langkawi Animal Clinic over for dinner. These people are doing a fantastic job here - not always easy in a country where dogs are seen as dirty, untouchable and often get mistreated and neglected. They took wonderful care of our little kitten Carlo which we found on the streets, so we invited them to a candle light dinner (obviously also for promotional reasons).
So when they left, we must have said something like "if we can help with anything, let us know" (as we do when it comes to animal welfare). So literally the next day we got a call from them. 6 little puppies had been dropped at their door (this is what usually happens). Unfortunately they didn't have any more capacity for more pups so if they didn't find people to adopt them as soon as possible, they would need to euthanize them :( So what are we supposed to do!? Driving our scooter to the clinic, and saying YES to one of the little pups - one life saved! Happily in the end they found owners for all of them!! So after a few days and all their vaccinations, we could pick up our new little fellow. We named her Romy, and she and Rebecca, the German shepherd, immediately became good buddies. We met a woman on Langkawi who lives with her husband on a sailboat on Rebak Island, just a ferry trip away from Langkawi, and she invited us to come over. So we did!
Rebak Island had been hit harder than Langkawi during the Tsunami of 2004, with water coming all inside the lagoon and boats being pushed on the land and destroyed. We loved Rebak! It is a tropical quiet paradise, and we were hanging out a bit on a private beach of a hotel. On the 10th of July Ramadan started this year, which is the fasting month for the muslims. Since most people here in Langkawi are muslims, that means that most of them are fasting now for a month from sunrise to sunset. This time should raise awareness for the poor, and originally the fasting should be broken with a very light meal like dates after sunset.
Well, in reality it seems that Ramadan is used to actually CELEBRATE food. Already before the sun sets, the people go to the special Ramadan market to buy their food. And then after sunset the big feast starts. Everywhere in the streets you see the special food stands with food food FOOD! Funny. But we enjoy the night markets in general. Usually every evening there is one in one part of the island. At the night markets you find lots of stalls with typically Malaysian foods, it is like little snacks or meals everywhere. The famous Laksa Soup (my favorite), lots of fried stuff, chicken sate, tofu, sweets like pancakes, cakes, and rice and noodle dishes... We enjoy it regularly because it is a nice way of eating out in the evening, and trying new things. Unfortunately the amount of plastic used in these markets is horrendous :( We finally got our first chickens! Not sure yet if our chicken shed construction helps them to feel comfortable in their new environment, but we hope so. Now waiting eagerly for the first free-range eggs!
After the Cable Car we drove to the Seven Wells Waterfall with a 91 m drop and several natural pools...
We enjoyed another day off and headed to the Oriental Village in the West of the island. It is really very touristy, but of course we wanted to see the famous Langkawi Island Cable Car! Unfortunately, at the time when we were there, the sky-bridge was closed due to renovation. It is a cable-stayed bridge high above the surrounding jungle, and the cable car takes you right there.
But at least we could take the cable car (that is, I could, since William has a fear of heights). Well, I wasn't too lucky with the weather though. Big fog ruined the views. But neverthelss I did enjoy the ride. At the Frangipani Resort in Langkawi you can join every morning the green walk, which is an educational tour around the property, showing you all the things the hotel is doing environmentally. And that is a lot.
Starting from small things, like using energy saving light bulbs and enhancing them with aluminium foil, or separating all the garbage, trying to re-use as much as possible. Or building walls with glass bottles inside, installing solar panels, collecting rainwater and the water dripping from the air conditioning to irrigate the plants, growing lots of plants to create cooling shadow and to attract butterflies, compost a lot and growing their own organic vegetables, and they have their own water cleaning system, consisting of water purifying plants that make the dirty water from showers and laundry almost drinkable clean, in just 24 hours. The effort this hotel does for the environment is amazing, and it is all these small things together that make the big change. The walk is highly informative and inspirational, so we try to learn as much as possible and implement some of it also at our own place. Recycling, planting, composting, and maybe someday even a fish pond... Zuraidah, who is leading the eco-department of the Frangipani-Resort, has become a really good friend of ours, and an advisor on how and what to plant, plus she donated lots of plant to our project. It is durian season in Malaysia. And oh I am in love! I knew the durian from before, as I had been a raw foodist for some time, and you can actually buy frozen durian in Asian shops in Hamburg. The shop owners used to make fun of me for my love of the stinky goodness, because that's how it is: either you love the durian or you hate it. Especially foreigners usually don't like the smell (rotten eggs) nor the taste (garlicky vanilla pudding).
WHat can I say - I love the durian!! And Malaysia is known to have the best! The locals here too laugh at how much we love them. There is actually a durian tree on the property here too, and they usually fall from the tree in the early mornings, so a few times we got up super early and sneaked to the tree to get one, because later in the day the property owner comes and collects them. But now that they are in season and all over the roads, no need for stealing anymore! So yummy. |
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