Sunday 23 September 2012

Bali- Ubud (1/2)

Daily offerings to the gods- Ubud


I have now been back from Bali for 2 weeks and finally get myself together to start telling you a bit about it! 
I went to Bali to go on a little adventure, discover, challenge myself, do yoga, explore, and eat well! I wasn't disappointed...

It all started in Ubud, where I ended up spending a large part of my stay. Ubud is considered the cultural centre of Bali, where artists, dancers and healers live together. It is quite touristy but still seems to remain true to itself and the Balinese culture is definitely not lost. 
Bali is the one island in Indonesia to be Hindu ( everywhere else being muslim). And they surely are dedicated to their gods. Daily offerings are prepared using natural leaves and flowers, incense and rice  to worship the gods and protect their homes and shops. Get up early and wander the streets of Ubud and you'll see the Balinese gracefully place their offerings. 

There are many celebrations in the Balinese calendar and I was there just for Galangan, celebrating the ancestors's spirits coming back to earth for 10 days. At the end of the 10 days, this is Kuningan, saying goodbye to the ancestors. This celebration occurs twice a year and is a pretty big one. Balinese people spend  a lot of time preparing decoration for their house, their temple, their streets. It is rather beautiful and I was lucky to see it! 
It was amazing to see how people take time to celebrate and prepare, spend time with family and not worry about closing their shop for a few days. I soon started to feel relaxed and enjoying life without worrying too much about what's next to do on the list...

My first homestay's owner, preparing offerings for Galungan


But I was also there to do yoga and eat raw food, so on I went to Yogabarn to enjoy a class in a studio half open to the outside. Simply feeling the heat felt like heaven! And nothing like a good sweaty class to get rid of jet lag (or at least diminish it..). Now the great joy of this beautiful studio is that you can have lunch straight after your class, with a wide range of raw and cooked vegetarian and vegan food, de-li-cious drinks- my favorite being a mix of aloe vera, lime and natural soda. I definitely recommend it. Nothing better to feel regenerated!


Yogabarn- Ubud
Raw food at Yogabarn- Ubud

In between yoga classes and delicious meals I did explore Ubud a bit, its rice fields, its motorbike-crowded streets, its market and shops where negociating hard is a rule, its forest full of monkeys ready to jump on you... 
The first few days were full of discoveries, trying to get to know the place, find my feet by myself, contemplate the mixture of challenge and joy of traveling alone, and simply just to BE. 

This is the end of part 1, enjoy the pictures and I'll be back with more...



Ubud

Ubud- Family house temple

Sweet treats at Ubud's market

Ubud Market

Organic Nasi Campur at Sari Organik- Ubud- Fried Tempeh, Green beans and carrots with coconut, veggie fritter, tofu curry, sambal, red rice.

A beautiful place amongst the rice fields Sari Organik, organic farm and warung (little restaurant). Definitely worth a little walk to get there!

View from Sari Organik- Ubud

Freshly picked garden salad at Sari Organik- Ubud

Fresh young coconut, drinking the coconut water from a bamboo straw- Sari Organik Ubud

Coconut tree

Rice fields- Ubud
Bali Buddha- Ubud- another great veggie & raw friendly place

Ubud




Monkey Forest- Ubud

Wednesday 19 September 2012

Raw fig and blackberry tart


Hi guys!

So I am back from Bali and before I tell you more about it and some delicious foods and great yoga I had there, I wanted to share this recipe I made this week, with deliciously ripe fresh figs, one of my favorite fruit in the world...
This is a very easy one, raw, so no need to cook and no risk of burning the tin!

Raw fig and blackberry tart

Crust
1 1/2 cups Almonds
1 1/2 cups Medjol Dates
1 tsp Sea salt
1 tsp Vanilla essence

Put everything in a food processor and mix until sticky (I like to keep some chunky almonds for some crunch). Press the mixture in a tart tin and reserve.

Filling
1 vanilla pod
2 1/2 TBSP Agave syrup
5 fresh figs
1 small punnet of blackberries

Make a syrup by mixing the vanilla beans and the agave.
Slice the figs and gently mix them with the syrup. Add the blackberries.
Nicely place the figs on the crust, add the blackberries and drizzle with the rest of the syrup, if there is any left. 
Enjoy!!