Weekend Jungle Walks...

Jungle Walks...

A 20-minute walk from my front door leads me to the trailhead (a dirt path alongside a busy road) and the start of a rejuvenating time... both for my mind and body. The jungle near my home was once a rubber plantation. The rubber estate has been abandoned for years and the rubber trees are now mixed within an emerging rainforest. There are about 20 km of trails created by mountain bike enthusiasts. They've created many of these trails following the old plantation paths.

On a typical walk I may encounter 1 or 2 other people, but usually never see anyone. What I do see are scores of monkeys (usually 2 or 3 packs), eagles, turtles, snakes (cobras and tree snakes), monitor lizards (reaching a length of 5 feet and longer), small streams, bamboo groves, birds, and bugs of every description.

The many different trails allow me to vary the walk each weekend. Hills abound and the highest elevation is about 900 feet. From this summit I get a great view of Kuala Lumpur... if the haze isn't too bad.

I typically walk at around 11:00am and finish around 2:00pm... the hottest time of day. But it's really not too bad under the trees. Humidity is a problem and I have to bring at least 2 liters of water for each walk.

The pictures below were taken with my Treo600 phone. Not the best quality but you can get a feel of the environment...


Snakes & Ladders Trail


Bamboo Grove


Bamboo Grove


Bamboo Size


Small Stream


Small Waterfall


Kuala Lumpur from Summit


Snake


Monkey on Rock


Tapping Rubber

Abdominal Breathing

The lung's lower regions are the most distant from your windpipe, and the most dependent on the breathing activity of the diaphragm. As a result, the lung's lower regions are the most likely areas to suffer disuse. This exercise is designed to bring air to these underused areas of the lungs.

On top of our navel area and our stomach muscles, lies the diaphragm and this is where the lungs sit. So as one expands the abdomen, the diaphragm drops, pumping air to the bottom of the lungs. If the diaphragm muscle is squeezed, the abdomen contracts, the lung is squeezed upward and stale air is forced out of the lungs.

Lying down on your back, place both hands over the lower abdomen, focusing approximately two inches below the navel. Inhale and extend the abdomen as far as possible (at this stage the chest should be relaxed and not moving), hold your breath for a count of four seconds. Commence a controlled exhale through the mouth over a count of six seconds, as you squeeze in the abdominal muscles as far as possible, to expel all the air. Hold your breath for four seconds before inhaling again. You should feel your hands rise and fall with each breath.

This exercise should be practiced for half an hour each day until deep diaphragmatic (abdominal) breathing is automatic. An option with this exercise is to have the feet raised slightly above the level of the body.

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Hope you find this beneficial.
Brian

Chicken Gumbo

What you'll need:

- about 3/4 of flour,
- 3/4 cup of oil,
- 4-5 large yellow onions chopped fine (it's ok to cry sometimes),
- smoked sausage (say around 4 big ones - total length 40-50" and 1” diameter),
- chicken (I always use breast meat with the bone, my preference, but whole chicken will make it taste better),
- chopped ham (optional but I like it… adds more flavor)
- oysters (ok, this is optional. I don't particularly like oysters but it does give it a richer flavor. My dad shucks his own oysters and saves the 'juice'. He puts this in the gumbo... and wow... what a difference),
- chicken broth (again, adds a bit more flavour),
- gumbo file (dried sassafras leaves ground to a powder. This is used to sprinkle on the individual bowls of gumbo for flavour. You don't cook it with the gumbo),
- cooked rice.

Now here's what you do:

First, let's make the roux. This is the base for a lot of cajun dishes. Pour in the oil, 1/2 to 3/4 cup, in a big heavy bottom pot. Mix in the flour. A rule of thumb is equal parts flour and oil. Stir over medium fire continuously. You don't want it to stick and burn on bottom. You need to continue doing this until it almost turns the color of milk chocolate, like a hersey's kiss... mmmm.... hersey kisses... OK, this takes time. Making the roux is the most tedious and time consuming part of making the gumbo. When it's almost chocolate colored (be careful not to burn it... stir, stir, stir), mix in the chopped onions and keep on stirring. You gonna have to stir for almost the same amount of time. You want the edges of the chopped onion pieces to turn slightly brown. If you get impatient and don't brown the onions, they will float in the gumbo. When browned, they won't float. OK, done? Now you should have a really great smelling kitchen and a pot of dark brown gunk. That's the roux you're looking at. You did good.

Now the easy part. If the sausage is fatty, either microwave it a bit or cook it a bit in another pan to remove some of the oil. Chop the sausage into pieces about the size of a standard checker... you know the game? Throw it in the pot. Mix it up. Next, throw in the ham and chicken and mix it up a bit. I know, kinda hard to stir this stuff up, so why don't you add some chicken broth and/or oyster juice and water. Add enough so that you have a soup. I don't like it too 'watery', but my dad really does make it as consistent as soup. If you're gonna add oysters, wait until the chicken is cooked to add. If you add too early, the oysters will be overcooked. Add salt to taste, put the cover on, sit back, visit the Q, and stir occasionally. When the chicken is cooked, so is the gumbo. Let the gumbo 'sit' for a while. Excess oil will float to the top and you can scoop it out.

To serve, put just a bit of rice in a bowl and lotsa gumbo on top. Remember, gumbo is more like a soup. It's not a rice dish. The rice is added to fill up us poor cajuns. You can sprinkle some file on top and enjoy. By the way, it will always taste better the next day.

Hope you enjoy... cajun cooking is more about 'feeling' than precise measurements. Your next gumbo will be even better!!!

Note: I like to add a lot of sausage. You can add more chicken, sausage, or ham. It really doesn't make a difference.

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For seafood gumbo, instead of adding chicken, add peeled shrimp, crabs (cleaned but not shelled… remove back, pull out gunk, and break in half), oysters. This is also yummy.