Light
She held her red scarf, and lovingly wrapped it around her waist for the rest of the day, shielding her fat, naked thigh from the piercing eyes of the world. It was a tragedy, pure and simple that this could ever have happened to her.
In the same moment though, she was thankful that she no longer had a choice. If she wanted to live, then something had to be done. A hard message, brought about in so shocking a manner but she was grateful for listening to her spirit that morning even as she struggled to rouse herself from listless sleep.
For some reason, the going down of the sun had brought with it many questions and cares – her burgeoning waistline, heavy breathing as she took the first set of steps yet still on the ground floor and her love of food. One thing would have to give she was sure, as she tossed and turned, creating chaos with her cool, white Egyptian cotton sheets (from Ikea). And so she spent the entire sleeping hours thinking, dreaming and wishing for the days of old, when she was a girl and thin.
And as the golden rays of the morning dawned, so did her hopes and dreams, of getting back to health and a life of vitality. A life where she didn’t feel hopeless and drained, or fat and foolish – a new dawn of being was what she hoped for.
Hasty to put the wheels in motion, she donned her clothes – her favourite black silk trousers, which her mum gave her a year ago. She loved those pants – they fitted just right: hugging her ‘child-bearing hips but in a manner so graceful and flattering, she wanted to have these trousers for ever. She especially loved the way they fell straight to the ground – not too short, only a tad too long and straight-legged. She felt like a star, even as she struggled to tuck tummy and chest in to do up the side zip. ‘One day, these trousers will tear’, she giggled to herself, wondering where she would be when it happened. Exhaling and properly dressed at last, face in place, hair properly coiffured, she ran out the door into the cool spring morning snatching her black leather bag and her red shawl.
She didn’t know then that this would be the day.
When her dreams came true. Or nightmares shall we say. When her best-loved trousers would split and her shawl would be her salvation.
She sat at her desk, working her morning away – exchanging emails amidst meetings, cups of tea, bathroom stops and hard graft.
It was about 11 am when suddenly, without warning, she felt a draft caress her inner right thigh, accompanied by a gentle, ‘prrrrrrrring’ sound – the precursor to the main event – fabric being divorced from fabric. It had begun. The death that had to be died for new life to reign had started. This was the call she needed…..to get up, en masse (flesh, flab and all) and take a stand for her life. Her precious life. If she still wanted it, that is.
As that chapter closed, with the last page slipping out of her fingers, she let it go, let the back cover shut with nary a sound to show for the momentous occasion it was. And she embraced the new dawn, complete with bells and whistles, lots of body movement, greens on the plate and the occasional dessert.
Light had come….an amazing dawn.
I am sending this on to Sleep is for the weak’s writing workshop #28, which I discovered through a post by Sarah of Maison cupcake. Thank you, Sarah.
—–♥♥♥♥♥—–
Ladies and gentlemen, it happened to me. For real. And I live to tell the tale. To many.
Of course, push has come to shove. I refuse to let shame defeat and overcome me, instead I’m standing up, 3 years after my last baby…..all excuses worn thin. I’m standing up to say – I’m embarking on a lifestyle change. A change in food and in movement. I’ve danced Zumba 3 times in the last 3 weeks and even though my hips can’t sway the way I want them to, I have sweated and enjoyed terrific music.
What does this mean for me, you and Kitchen Butterfly? Healthier recipes, loads and loads of experiments and discoveries (plus the odd failure or two :-)). I only wish my camera were back with me as this is already day#2 of our new lifestyle and I have already made so many new dishes with Butternut squash, amongst other things. Anyhow, I am keeping a journal of every single thing we eat and I’ll share a summary of the dishes I cooked at the end of each week. Some of the recipes are definitely repeats like the Butternut squash gnocchi we had for lunch, and the carrot salad and lamb (both adapted from deb@smitten kitchen). As soon as the camera is back, I owe you – big time!
The recipe is one I can make in the coming weeks that fits the dictates of my our eating plan (husband and I) in ‘The Maker’s Diet’ (more on that later in the week).
It is a delicious and easy coconut sambal recipe which is great with rice, in salads and with all manners of meat. Its spicy Thai flavours permeate the dessicated coconut, leaving it moist but not wet, fragrant but not overly hot and just plain gorgeous. It reminds me so much of a similar side I had at an Indian restaurant in London last year….and desperately wanted to recreate, remember? Glad I got a chance to.
Here it goes:
Coconut Sambal from new wave asian by Sri Owen
Ingredients
For the spice paste
2 shallots, chopped 2 garlic cloves, chopped 2 – 6 red chilies, deseeded and chopped 2 red bird’s eye chilies, chopped (optional) 2 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger 2 Makrut lime leaves, shredded {or lime zest} 2 teaspoons tamarind water or lime juice 2 teaspoons vegetable oil 1 teaspoon saltOther ingredients
115g dessicated coconut 115ml waterGarnish
Red chillies, sliced Coriander leavesHow To
Make the spice paste: Put all the ingredients for the spice paste into a blender and process until smooth. Then transfer to a saucepan and cook on medium heat for 6-8 minutes, stirring now and again
Make the sambal: Stir the coconut into the spice paste, along with the water, stirring more often now until most of the liquid has been absorbed but the sambal is still quite moist. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
To serve: Best served at room temperature as a relish, dressing or garnish .
To store: Keeps for 2 days, refrigerated.
[wpurp-searchable-recipe]It could happen to you…too – – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]
[…] To replace keffir lime leaves. In Curries. Sambals. […]
Oh, man, Oz, I know what you mean. I’m there too. I’m going to check out your diet plan now. Ahead we go, shoulder to shoulder!
[…] pancakes adapted from Passionate about Baking, patiala chicken, coconut sambal and coriander […]
Lol, it has happened to me. Great post as always. Sometimes it hard to contain those thunder thighs!
After enjoying blogging and eating for the past year, it’s time to get control of just what goes in my mouth. I’ll be joining you on your journey to a healthier life.
Mimi
YOU ARE A TEASE!
First of all – lovely creative piece… and then your little photos leading… leading… leading … and finally, the recipe. It looks delicious, and I didn’t expect those flavours when I followed your trail of photos!
YUM!
Valerie
I’ll continue the theme, healthy and flavor are not good vs evil or vise versa. They go hand in hand and they feed upon each other as one get healthier one can appreciate the foods and flavors more.
What an awesome post, and can’t wait to follow you on this journey.
[…] for Sleep is for the weak’s writing workshop #28 discovered aqui. thank you, kitchen butterfly! cheers~ Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)almost […]
and btw, yay for the zumba! dance dance dance 😉
wow!!! i was blown away Ozoz~ very nicely written. and i am excited for you! look forward to experiments and new recipes! you can do it. you can! hope!!!!!
I am on the same path….and it is so hard…
Lots of encouragement. I need to take this journey with you! Maybe you’ll keep me inspired!
The most important thing you can do for yourself is take charge of your health. Focus on eating real, whole foods, take out the processed junk, and it’s amazing what you find! In my case, I found a 35-pound lighter me, simply by getting rid of the junk and working on some muscles! Remember, the more muscle you have, the more you burn at rest!
Good luck – I’ll be keeping my eye out for any tips you can share with me so we can progress together!
Thank you for every single comment, wishing me health, strength and courage (not to turn to the cookie jar!). I know it is a trying journey but the fact that I have a lot of learn and rediscover is intriguing and motivating. I appreciate it. LOL
Ozoz,
Great post and a wonderful looking recipe to accompany it. I can’t wait to read the upcoming recipe posts. One of my favorite things about your blog is experiencing your exploration process with new ingredients and ideas. I just love that you live near me, that means that if you can find the ingredients and make then so can I.
But the croquembouche stays on the bucket list right?
Have fun,
Lisa
🙂 Lisa. My new BFF – Best Friend for Food!!!!!!!! :-). Thank you for your comments
Good for you, dear friend! All the best with your journey!
Love your writing style describing this embarrassing situation! I’ve had it happen to me too – pants that split down the backside. Had no shawl to save me – only a male boss, to whom I had to embarrasingly tell I needed to duck out to change. Good luck with your healthier eating habits! I’m right there with you – trying to watch my portions and be sure my “treats” are just that – treats – and not something I eat too much of.
Alta – superb that we share a similar experience. And I had to write about it cause it pushed me to consciously make a change! Glad we can laugh now!
Ozoz–good luck with this quest! Eating healthy is what keeps me feeling good…just remember it’s all about balance!
Congrats to you for deciding to make this lifestyle change!
Whenever I need to drop a few pounds (like, uh, now) I turn to butternut squash as well! It’s sweet and so it’s incredibly satisfying but also SO low in calories and delicious! I love this sambal. Coconut YUM.
Yeah for healthier ecipes!!
That’s good for you & for me!! I just lost 5,5 kg!!
Enjoy that healthier & easier lifestyle, my friend!
Congrats Sophie, superb job…..and healthier eating is my future. Amen!!!!!!!
Oh fabulous honey, I can’t believe you’ve written something for this week already!!! I saw the prompts yesterday and haven’t been inspired yet, all I kept thinking about for “light” was stuff that was really about the dark (what does this say about me?!) and boy, to interpret it as lightness re weight certainly never occurred to me. I guess your skin saw a bit of light it didn’t expect to that day…?
My baby flab is still with me too, I get rid of half of it then some crisis hits and it all comes back. Up and down the same 10-14lbs three times in two years, never managing to stick at it to shift all 20lb and keep it off for good.
We’re on a downward trend at the moment and I mean that in a good way!
I’ve never eaten sambal but it looks right up my street!
🙂 With you chic. This time, we shall do it for good! And you know, I had this post all written up, stopped by yours and then headed to ‘Sleep is for the weak’ – the stars were aligned on this one!
As for this sambal, it is one with coconut but there are some made from chilie peppers, common in Indonesian cooking!
I love the post Oz. Good luck with your plans! I had similar plans couple of months ago, even got cross trainer because I could not find enough time to go to the gym… but few days after I found out I was pregnant. So now I’m only waiting for the baby to arrive (3 more months) before I will start my exercise plan. I have already placed cross trainer next to baby cot so I will be able to exercise and watch her at the same time 🙂
Oh wow – congrats, all the best ok. When you get back to ‘normal’, we shall talk! LOL
You writes so well…eating healthy and staying fit have been my goal since long.
All the best,
Angie
Love the writing at the beginning of the post.
I have been making healthy changes too. You should try quinoa, its sooo tasty.
Of Stephanie, it is on my list of things to eat when! Thanks
Same here. I must eat healthier or rather eat less even though I have a food blog. Let’s do it together.
Welcome partner. We all need encouragement, and I think thats the beauty in blogging, that we find the support we need!
Changes are always difficult. I find that when I make the decision to stop obsessing about it…all of a sudden everything goes into its rightful place.
Baby steps…remember those?
Interesting post and very different indeed.
Flavourful wishes, Claudia
Congratulations, I too need to make a change. You have made the first step, and that is the hardest- good luck- I wish you all the best!
What a great read. Good luck! I’m always looking for some great healthy recipes to add to our family meals. I’ll look forward to your posts.
Dear Ozoz, I’m SO proud of you! What a beautiful post. You’ve inspired me. I’ve been so sick the last two years I haven’t exercised much at all. And I miss it. Miss how I look and feel when I do it. I will start again. Thank you. 🙂
I’m all for eating healthy! Just because it’s healthy doesn’t mean it lacks flavor! Lovely story and photos!
Too right – I have had some great meals this week and only one horrible one which we ate, out of hunger!