the laws of attraction

When I was in Malaysia (my home country) recently, i did the unspeakable and went off-road mountain bike riding in one of the rainforest reserves there. unspeakable cos i knew that it would involve a lot of pain and sweat and discomfort, things which repel me, being a creature of comfort myself...

At certain points in the trail, the sides of the trail were pretty steep and if one was not careful, would veer off the edge and into the deep unknown rainforest below. this i mentioned to my brother, who was the one who convinced me to mountain bike. he said, "well US mountain bikers know that when faced with this kinda danger, we need to only THINK of where we ARE headed to, NOT where we MIGHT CRASH into."

Words of wisdom indeed!!!

similarly in life, it is all one big self fulfilling prophecy. You need to focus and visualise and fantasise on a daily basis about what/how/where you want your life to head. some people call it positive living. my brother calls it his do or die maxim, quite literally. hahaha!

quite simply, taking ownership of our life and being personally responsible for creating a happy life is an EVERYDAY business. if we cook our own fresh food everyday to feed our physical bodies, how could we ever neglect to feed, something as important as our mind, fresh, happy mind-food every day? it is one of life's paradoxes, i think, that humans neglect the very thing which, intuitively, we should know to be doing. maybe this is because, like the mountain bike riding, it would involve quite a bit of pain, discomfort and sweat. but my observation is that mountain bikers are by nature pretty masochistic, putting themselves thru this all the time, yet they are a pretty happy bunch of folk. so, there's my evidence for you. be a bit of a masochist. it is worthwhile sometimes.

Below are some tips i found online for cooking fresh pasta. there are many ideas you can get here on how to cook your own happy food, like washing, draining, stirring, making from scratch, using a slotted spoon, using fresh ingredients, etc.

You might want to visit http://san-remo.com.au/ for more fresh ideas!

Cooking Tips

Whipping up a San Remo fresh pasta meal is easy. All pasta varieties cook in 6 minutes or less, whilst our fresh sauces can be ready in just 3 minutes.
We’ve offered a few tips below but if you have any more, we’d be delighted to hear about them or any questions you may have atmailto:atinfo@san-remo.com.au

How much water should I use? The general guide is 1 litre per 100g of pasta. This ensures the pasta won’t stick together and will cook in the quickest time possible. For 375g of pasta, use 3-4 litres. For 625g of pasta, use 6 litres.

Salt – to add or not to add? When cooking dry pasta it is generally recommended to salt the water to add flavour. However, with fresh pasta there is so much flavour in the filling that salt is not necessary. It is really a matter of personal choice.

How can I bring the water to boil more quickly? Cover the pot with a lid while you are heating the water. However, do not cover the pot while cooking the pasta.

Should I stir the pasta every now and again? Stir the pasta as soon as it’s placed in the water and every now and again during cooking. This ensures all sides cook evenly.

How do I prevent pasta from boiling over? A good trick is to place a wooden spoon across the top of the pot while the pasta is boiling.

How do I drain the pasta? It’s always best to scoop the pasta out using a slotted spoon. However, if you don’t have one, gently pour the water into a colander and shake gently to remove excess water.

What’s the quickest way to make lasagna? With our Traditional Fresh Egg Lasagna Sheets. There’s no need to cook them first so you can place them in the baking dish as they are. First make sure the dish is covered in a layer of tomato sauce (San Remo Beef Bolognese is ideal) then layer with the fillings and remaining lasagna sheets. Cover the top of the lasagna with more sauce.

I love cannelloni, but they’re always so hard to make! Did you know you can use San Remo Fresh Lasagna sheets to make cannelloni? Place the lasagna sheets in warm water for 15 seconds then place on a clean towel. Prepare your favourite filling, then spoon a heaped tablespoon onto the centre of the sheet. Lay a slice of mozzarella cheese on top of the filling then roll up. Spoon a layer of tomato sauce into a baking dish, place cannelloni on top, spoon more sauce over the top then cover with aluminium foil. Bake in a hot oven 40 minutes.

My friend Su commented recently that her cats would surely scratch her cos she forgot their fresh cat food and they had to eat dry packet cat food. why, even cats know this wisdom of fresh food!!! too much stale, unfresh food for our minds, and watch how your mind eventually turns around and scratches YOU!!!

I'll leave y'all with this great quote i read recently about true power, which i have forgotten the verbatim but i'll give you the gist of it. here it is:

~ True power is knowing that you have problems in your life, and having the guts to do something about it~ (or something to that effect, you get my drift)

PS if any of you need further convincing re the benefits of being a masochist, try dating a mountain biker. here is the FB link:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1365973&id=738985757#/group.php?gid=2339018334

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