A False Tour and Cooking with the Locals

This morning we were going to head out on a tour that was supposed to be a discovery of Bali's artistic soul. It sounded like we would visit all kinds of different artist(s) such as painters, jewelry makers, sculptors, etc. We would get to meet them, learn about their craft, and then purchase some of their items. At least that is what the brochure made it sound like. Instead we ended up in what can best be described as a water color painting class.

After 20 minutes or so I checked with the guide to see if this was all that we would be doing. When I heard his answer I felt it was best to bail and just enjoy the day in town. I just had to wait for Riley to finish the blue parts.

This actually worked out for the best as Riley could shop around town while Kim and I enjoyed a massage back at our resort that was included with our stay. The massage was in this amazing open air sanctuary with a brook running through it. I was relaxed before she even started touching and rubbing. Afterwards we enjoyed a nice dip in our private pool while we waited for Riley to return. With the morning's tour a disappointment we were a little concerned to see how our afternoon activity would go. However, it would more then make up for it. Tonight we would be going to a local family's home to cook with them.

Mr. Dewa, our host, picked us up and took us to his home in the Keliki village. This would turn out to be one of the highlights of our trip. Not only was the cooking and food amazing but Mr. Dewa had a lot of great information and stories about Bali and it's people. He was not repeating the tourism stuff that a lot of guides do but giving us real information about their lives. As we walked to his house we passed the local grave yard. Normally you think of this as your final resting place. However, in this village it is more of a temporary storage place as every three years they dig everyone up and have one big cremation event. I wonder how Aunt Bunny looks after being buried for three years.

Mr. Dewa then had us put on some truly organic bug repellent, lemongrass spray, and it really worked as none of us were bitten once. Much safer then the chemicals found in the western world products and it's basically free. I noticed that he did not apply any and I asked why. He said they drink lemongrass tea and that keeps the bugs away as well. Once we got to his home and started cooking we too drank lemongrass tea and it tasted great. If only I knew this secret all those years when we went to the cabin in the summer time. The whole village is pretty much self-sufficient. They have all the livestock, fruits and vegetables, grains, etc all growing right in their village and never really have to go to the market.





He even said that they all used to have their own cows in or near their home. But they decided to bring all the cows together in one place so that they could use the methane from their poop to create electricity for the village. So while they don't need to go to the market and don't have any electric or water bills they could use the service of garbage collection.

To their credit they do recycle paper and plastic and this is the recycling center.

We finally arrived at Mr. Dewa's house where is dog was waiting for him. The dog acts as a kind of doorbell and rather then giving him a name they just call him "doggie".

Their house was beautiful. Simple, yet they had everything they would need, such as an egg dispensing vending machine.

And fresh fish (ok, so this was more of a pet then food).

And of course all the herbs, vegetables, and fruits you would need.

This is their bedroom. I love that it has no walls, but then he told us that all three generations sleep in this one "room". The grandparents get the bed while the rest are on mats on the floor.

Mr. Dewa has a great setup and we could not wait to get started. But first he told us that what they cook is based on what they need. It is not always what tastes best but rather what is best for their body. I started to get a little worried about how our dinner would come out but then I remembered that famous Hippocrates quote: "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food".

Jero, Mr. Dewa's wife, preheated the oven while we began chopping, cutting, and mortar and pestle'ing.

This was a lot of fun and our hosts were some of the most amazing people we would meet on this trip. For an appetizer we made Bregedel or what we would call corn fritters fried in coconut oil.

I prepared Jukut Urab which is a kind of salad that makes it's own dressing by squeezing the ingredients together. Riley put together Be Kuah which is chicken in coconut milk and kept trying to get me to eat one of the small peppers which were super hot.

Kim wiped up some Tempeh Manis which is fermented soybean in palm sugar. I actually eat tempeh about once a week but it has never been as good as this preparation.

We also made Tum Ayam or what we would call chicken in a banana leaf for a total of five dishes. Not only was the experience amazing but the food tasted unbelievable. In fact it was better then our incredible dinner at Plataran Borobudur Resort which says a lot. If you are ever in Bali and even have a small interest in cooking then I highly recommend hanging out with Mr. Dewa. We added some red rice, which is much better for you then white rice and enjoyed our dinner.

Feeling very satisfied without over eating Mr. Dewa then took us back to our resort and we could not have thanked him enough for this wonderful evening.