Grungry Tumbles

I thought today that it would be fun to share a post from my personal travel blog. If you are interested in following along, the URL is: www.zoomzoomizumo.wordpress.com! … In a moment of disbelief that I was actually incapacitated by the scooter accident, I decided to sign us up for a cooking class in Ubud. (This of course was before I was resigned to staying in to recover). We went/hobbled to the local tourist center in Ubud, and the brochure that caught our eye was that of the Green Kitchen. The brochure was full of gorgeous images of rice paddies and happy customers, and the menu listing was far more impressive than competing schools whose offerings included such basics as Nasi Goreng and Chicken Satay. E was also intrigued that the brochure was bilingual… both in English and Japanese. So we signed up for a class the next day. We were picked up bright and early the next morning by Nyoman and his Japanese wife, Yuka. They were both extremely personable and talkative as we made the 40 minute drive to the countryside village of Sideman, where Nyoman had grown up. Before arriving in Sideman, we stopped off at the famous KlangKung Market to shop for desserts and fruits to complement our lunch.



At the Market in KlangKung Then Nyoman kindly took us to the home he had grown up in (which was also where he and Yuka had gotten married). After the tour of his home and his family’s temple, we walked through his family’s rice paddies to arrive at the site of our cooking class. Amazing. Breathtaking sites and good story-telling to accompany the journey.

At Nyoman’s Family Home in Sideman. Each Family home has an adjacent family temple/shrine, which is where all family ceremonies (from birth to cremation) take place.

The only rule Nyoman had about the rice fields? “Don’t fall in.” Oops. Here he is cleaning my feet, because I couldn’t bend down to do it myself.



Approaching The Green Kitchen The cooking class was set adjacent to Nyoman’s family rice fields, in his newly planted vegetable garden. Nyoman and Yuka built the outdoor kitchen with a traditional wood fired stovetop, which infused the food with a uniquely rich smokiness from the coconut husks used in the fire.



Prep Station + INGREDIENTS! Because my wrist was still extremely swollen from the fall, I was mostly the coconut grater, and picture taker that day. And here is the Menu of the day… and pix of the meal: Jukut Nangka- Pork and Banana Stock Soup Jukut Urab- Vegetable with Grated Coconut (MY FAV!) Tempe Manis- Tempe with a Sweet Chili Sauce Pepes Ikan- Spiced Fish, Steamed in Banana Leaf Gule Ayam- Curry Chicken (Chicken was first chargrilled over open fire) Sambal Tomat- Delicious Spicy Sauce which is served with everything here Sambal Matah- Raw Spicy Sauce (Eugene’s FAV!) Bubur Injin- Black Rice w/ Coconut pudding



















The meal is still one of the best we’ve had in Indonesia! After we ate, Nyoman asked if I wanted to go to a healer for my wrist injury. I was intrigued, and agreed to go to the local Balian Healer in his village. Once we arrived at his house, it was like something from a movie. The healer and several of his friends lay on his front stoop, smoking cigarettes, while their children and chickens scurried around the yard. As we approached with our offering (a traditional Balinese religious basket with flowers and crackers for the Gods), the Balian quickly put out his cigarette.



He took my wrist, and turned my arm over and over to evaluate. Then, he called his wife to make me some medicine. She swiftly came out to pick some leaves from several bushes, and went back to the kitchen to start chopping and grinding the pickings. After about 2 minutes of his pulling and kneading, I felt a pop just about where my thumb meets the hand, and another at the wrist joint just below it. The swelling immediately subsided. He asked me to move and bend my wrist so he could observe. He then made a couple more quick adjustments, just as his wife appeared with the green leaf concoction. He took the mixture and started spreading it over my arm and massaging it in. The affects were soothing and cooling on my skin. Amazing.





My wrist is still recovering greater mobility day by day… but the Balian gave me a huge jumpstart on my road to recovery. So pleased with the discovery of the Green Kitchen as well as the Balian that day. Zoomzoom.