Next time I’ll train…..

09.12.2015 by Trish // 5 Comments

A number of years ago, on a whim, my girlfriend and I decided to do the 14km Sydney City2Surf. We were having a great time, half walking, half jogging (well maybe half jogging is an exaggeration) when a lovely lady who looked just like anyone’s elderly gran ran past us and disappeared off into the distance. “Next year we’ll train” we both agreed. So what did we learn from that experience? Not to have a large coffee before you set off on City2Surf, even if it is freezing cold, because the lines for the toilet are very long! What I have never really learnt is that the best time to train for a run or trek is before the event

Sure I walked 6km to and from work in my work boots almost every day for a couple of months before doing Everest Base Camp. Work was out in the hot, flat Australian bush, can’t say it really helped when I was out trekking in the Himalayas. But I was pretty fit after 3 weeks!!

Yep, I walked 5 km every day with my backpack and boots before Camino, along the paved water front in my home town. Really prepared me for day after day of 25km up and down hills, rocky and sometimes muddy paths…..not!!

So I’m sitting at Brisbane Airport waiting for my flight to Japan to join my daughters who have been trekking the 88 Temple Shikoku Pilgrimage for a few weeks now, and I’ve seen some photos of some pretty challenging mountains. What sort of training did you do I hear you say. Well for the past two weeks I’ve worn my backpack every day when I go and get my morning coffee. A couple of Thursdays ago I walked to my son’s, that was about 8km, and last Sunday I walked 13km to breakfast. I’ll be fine!!!

So I have a sore foot

08.30.2015 by Trish // 4 Comments

How did this happen?? Well part of the trail required me to walk along the beach for about 800m and for this I was stoked beause it was a lovely change from walking along the road. It was a fairly warm day that day and a lot of people were out at the beach swimming and surfing and having a good time.

Ōkinohama beach. I don't know why there aren't more surfers here, the water and waves are beautiful — Ōkinohama beach. I don’t know why there aren’t more surfers here, the water and waves are beautiful

So I was just walking along, enjoying the atmosphere when I suddenly tripped over a piece of drift wood.

My beach walk. I was enjoying the walk, unaware of the danger lurking up ahead. This picture reminds of that poem, Footprints in the Sand, that seems to be stuck to the fridge at a LOT of old peoples houses.

By this stage I had already walked around 20kms and had a another 15 to go. “No big deal”, I thought, “it’s only 11:00, I’ve still got half a day to walk and I don’t seemed to have hurt anything. I’ll be fine!” At this point it was an honest assessment, I’m quite a fast walker and I didn’t feel sore. My prediction was i’d be at the temple by 2:30-3:00. Fast forward one rocky shore walk, a couple of quite tricky short but steep rocky ascents and descents, a few long winding roads and my foot was hurting! At this point it was 3pm and I still had about 2 and half km to go. I knew it my heart that those kms were going to take me for forever so I flagged down a car and the driver very kindly drove me to the temple. I then did my thing at the temple (very half heartedly, by the way!) and then hobbled 550m to my hotel. The next day (yesterday) my foot seemed fine, so I decide to walk to my next location which was only 20kms away. Big mistake, about 10km in my foot was hurting again, so I got a taxi ( a bus was out of the question, non Japanese speaker/ reader here!) and again was driven to the place I was staying. It cost me about $35 Australian but i’m worth it 😜

So what did I learn from all this? The previous couple of days I had walked around 40kms a day because I wanted to push myself see what I was capable of. And what I’m capable of is a lot it seems but if I push too hard I will hurt myself. This is a journey, not a race and I need to remember that if I want to enjoy this experience 🐉🌊🎎🚕🇯🇵

P.S. On a brighter note I’m writing this at Nakamura train station, waiting for my younger sister Sah, who on a whim decided to come and join me! Seriously, just over a week ago she msgd me and asked whether she should come over! So proud of her!😀

And now some photos for your enjoyment!

On the shore near the whaling port. So Japanese!

This was just sitting outside, neglected. I find it unbelievable than no one wants it, I'd take it home with me if I could! — This was just sitting outside, neglected. I find it unbelievable than no one wants it, I’d take it home with me if I could!

This is Kōbo Daishi, founder of Shingon Buddhism in Japan and the Big Dude of the Shikoku Trail. He is talking to a turtle. I know there is a ninja turtle joke in here somewhere..... — This is Kōbo Daishi, founder of Shingon Buddhism in Japan and the Big Dude of the Shikoku Trail. He is talking to a turtle. I know there is a ninja turtle joke in here somewhere…..

John Manjiro. He got shipwrecked on an island and was rescued 143 days later by Americans (America, Fuck Yeah 🇺🇸). He went and lived in the U.S. for 10 years and then came back to Japan. He was the translated and interpreter for the Japanese government when they were forced to open Japan to the rest of the world.

Me cooking my dinner. And let me tell you I cooked the shit out of it!!!

What is this?? Should I eat it? I don't know about this....... (I did eat it, it was fine!) — What is this?? Should I eat it? I don’t know about this…….
(I did eat it, it was fine!)

Getting in the mood for Japan – Chicken Doria reconstructed

08.30.2015 by Trish // Leave a Comment

You know how it is, you find a recipe and tear it out of a magazine or print off the internet, it spends the next 6 months attached to the fridge with a magnet from a holiday 5 years ago, then you finally take it off the fridge and put it in the folder of “Recipes I am Going to Cook One Day”, having transferred the name of course into the “Recipes to Try” box on the white board or into Evernote on your phone

In my house one recipe that made this journey is Adam Liaw’s youshoku dish, Chicken Doria. Youshoku cuisine takes Western dishes and adapts them to something uniquely Japanese. Doria originated in France but is now found almost exclusively in Japan. Like a lot of people, when I think Japanese food I think sushi or miso soup, so when I read this recipe for Chicken Doria at goodfood.com.au (definitely one of my fave recipe websites) it didn’t actually leap off the page as Japanese. It is basically chicken, veges and rice covered in white sauce, sprinkled with cheese and grilled until bubbly and golden brown. But it did sound rather yummy, so when I found some chicken on special I retrieved the recipe from my file and gave it a try.

I have to say that I am the microwave master of the white sauce. However, this time I did what the recipe said and heated a clove studded onion in the milk before making it the traditional way. It was definitely worth the effort, the hint of cloves through the dish was gorgeous.

It was definitely a winner taste-wise, but probably only about a 5 on the healthy eating scale of 1 – 10, so I thought I would have a go at adapting Chicken Doria and pushing it higher up the health scale.

The first thing I did was replace the rice with quinoa, my favourite food of the moment. I used the Tri-Colour Macro which mixes white, red and brown quinoa.

Instead of making a white sauce I used ricotta, but because I loved the taste of the clove studded onion in the white sauce I added a clove to the water when I cooked the quinoa. I couldn’t really taste it when I tried the dish straight from the grill, but it must have infused into the dish overnight because when I had some leftovers for breakfast the next day you could definitely taste the cloves. Maybe it is one of those dishes that just taste better the next day.

All the rest of the ingredients were the same, except on top I sprinkled some finely grated manchego cheese. Healthy versus traditional doesn’t always go down well in my house so I cunningly served it up without saying what it was, and it went down a treat. Definitely a lighter meal and more healthy, just as delicious as the original in its own way, but probably not quite making it to the comfort soul food category. On a cold and wet winter’s day I think I’d be going for the traditional version.

CHICKEN DORIA RECONSTRUCTED

Ingredients

600g chicken thigh fillets, sliced into bite-sized pieces

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 brown onion, finely chopped

1 cup frozen peas

2 cups sliced button mushrooms

8 cups cooked quinoa

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp tamari

1/4 cup tomato sauce

500g ricotta cheese

1 egg yolk

finely grated cheese such as parmesan

finely chopped chives, to serve

Method

Cook the quinoa as per instructions on the packet. Place the clove-studded onion and bay leaf in the water with the quinoa. Remove the onion and bay leaf when the quinoa is cooked.
Heat the oil in a large wok over high heat. Add the chicken and fry until lightly browned. Add the onion, mushrooms and peas and toss until the onions and mushrooms are softened. Add the quinoa, salt, soy sauce and tomato sauce and toss for about five minutes until the quinoa is coated and fragrant.
Stir the egg yolk into the ricotta.
To assemble the doria, place the quinoa mixture into a gratin or baking dish and cover with the ricotta. Scatter the top with cheese and grill under an overhead grill until the cheese is browned and bubbling. Top with chives and serve.

So here it is, my healthy version of Chicken Doria, a Japanese dish, adapted from a French dish, with just a hint of Spain. I know that many of you adapt recipes to make them more healthy. I’d love to hear about it.

Maccas and a few other photos

08.29.2015 by Trish // 2 Comments

No, Liz wasn’t blown away in the typhoon that hit Japan a few days ago. I have been distracted from blogging and Liz has broken her phone. But I am back on track now and Liz of course is trekking on!

Aug 15th:

How many countries have you eaten McDonalds in now Liz?

Aug 20th

Just a few photos.

Whenever Kochi City is under attack these guys come to life!

Ben Anderson, a woman?? In the temple? I'm surprised they let this happen!! — Ben Anderson, is this a woman?? In the temple? I’m surprised they let this happen!!

Ok someone’s nana was let loose at this shrine

Yes Jess, they actually worship cat shrines

A care package from one of the temples, I was so excited about the m and m's — A care package from one of the temples, I was so excited about the m and m’s

Watch out, Fat Buddha is on the road!! Look at his boss helmet.

This dude just came up and started talking to me in not bad English. He worked on the boats in Australia about 35 years ago and learnt English from the radio. I reckon he would've stayed and talked all day if I let him 😀 — This dude just came up and started talking to me in not bad English. He worked on the boats in Australia about 35 years ago and learnt English from the radio. I reckon he would’ve stayed and talked all day if I let him 😀

This cat just GLARED at me the entire time i was in it's sight 😾😾😾😾 — This cat just GLARED at me the entire time i was in it’s sight 😾😾😾😾

There a mini shrines scattered across trail similar to this one. It is tradition u leave an offering of some sort. Some hero decided to leave a bag of chips, HAH!!

Finally Japan is letting their women folk work in the traditionally male dominated area of road works. It's about time!! — Finally Japan is letting their women folk work in the traditionally male dominated area of road works. It’s about time!!