I just came back from a trip to Navajo Country and the American Southwest. Here’s a video timelapse of the various places I visited: Joshua Tree National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Horseshoe Bend, Monument Valley, Canyon De Chelly National Monument, Petrified Forest National Park, and Sedona. Enjoy!

For photos from the trip, please visit my photography website, Evosia Photography.

A seasonal Chinese cooking class with

Henry Jun Wah Lee, M.S. Oriental Medicine

Register online

Class Highlights:

1. Learn how to make healthy eating a normal and effortless part of your daily life.
2. Enjoy a delicious bowl of Chinese Herbal Chicken Soup prepared by Henry.
3. Participate in and see a live demonstration of the entire preparation and cooking process. The class will be held in a working kitchen.
4. Learn where/how to shop for ingredients – including how to get sulfur-free, pesticide-free and/or organic herbs.
5. Learn the philosophy behind Cantonese cooking.
6. Gain a deeper understanding of the properties of foods which will help you decide how to shop and modify dishes for your specific constitution or condition.
7. Receive useful handouts and a bag of herbs you can take home to make your own soup right away.

Class Information:

In this class you will learn how to cook one of the signature Cantonese soups for the winter time: the winter Herbal Chicken soup. This soup is used as tonic in the winter as it warms the body, boosts your Qi or vital energy, builds blood, and strengthens the immune system. More importantly, in the context of this cooking class, this soup tastes really darn good!

That’s right, eating healthy doesn’t necessarily mean you have to compromise on taste. Over thousands of years, the Cantonese from Southern China have refined and mastered the art of integrating food with medicine to make tasty dishes that you and your family/patients will love to eat. So why reinvent the wheel trying to figure out what to cook when the Cantonese has been integrating natural medicine with their cooking for centuries.

You don’t have to be a good cook nor do you have to have any knowledge of Chinese Herbs or Chinese Medicine to take this class. This is a beginner cooking class for people who want to play an active role in their own health and well-being. This class is designed to be fast, fun, practical and informative.

Day and Time: Sunday, January 24th, 2010 from 10:30am to 2:30pm.
Location: Silver Lake in Los Angeles, California
Class Fee: $40.00 (before Jan. 18) or $45.00 (on or after Jan. 18).

Class size is limited to 12 people maximum so reserve your space early!

Register online

For more information please contact Henry at 310-980-8645 or email info@henryjunwahlee.com

Full moon over Ancient Bristlecone Pine Tree

View larger photo and learn about the oldest living trees in the world over at Evosia Photography

Snow Leopard Cub

View larger photo and learn more about snow leopard cubs over at Evosia Photography

Turtles contemplating together

I was shooting in the Los Angeles Arboretum a few days ago and wandered upon a group of turtles perched on top of a floating log. At first glance, the turtles don’t seem like interesting subjects. They don’t move much, standing in the same spot for hours at a time sun bathing and perhaps contemplating the meaning of life. I never paid much attention to them. But this time I decided to sit down nearby to observe them and do a little contemplation of my own.

Finish reading and view photos

This is the first in a series of cooking classes on making healthy and delicious meals with Chinese Herbs. Learn authentic Cantonese style cooking from a Cantonese Chef.

Class Information:
Eating healthy doesn’t necessarily mean you have to compromise on taste. Over thousands of years, the Cantonese from Southern China have refined and mastered the art of integrating food with medicine to make tasty dishes that you and your family/patients will love to eat.

Beginning with How to Cook Chinese Herbal Chicken Soup, chef/instructor Henry Jun Wah Lee will introduce you to Cantonese cooking and how it can help you make wellness, and longevity a normal part of your everyday life.

Benefits of the Chinese Herbal Chicken Soup:

The herbal soup you will be learning to make is a tonic that is perfect for the coming winter as it warms the body, boosts your Qi or vital energy, builds blood, and strengthens the immune system. You will also learn several modifications include one for post partum women to aid them in their recovery after child birth.

In the class How to Cook Chinese Herbal Chicken Soup you will:

1. Enjoy a bowl of Chinese Herbal Chicken Soup. Trying to buy this at a quality restaurant can cost you $15-$25 a bowl, if you can find it.
2. Participate in a live demonstration of the entire preparation and cooking process. The class will be taught in a working kitchen.
3. Learn where to shop for ingredients – including how to get sulfur-free, pesticide-free and/or organic herbs.
4. Learn the philosophy behind Cantonese cooking.
5. Gain a deeper understanding of the properties of foods which will help you decide how to shop and modify dishes for your specific constitution or condition.
6. Receive useful handouts and a bag of herbs you can take home and make your own soup with right away.

This is a beginner cooking class for people who want to play an active role in their own health and well-being. You don’t have to be a good cook nor do you have to have any knowledge of Chinese Herbs or Chinese Medicine. Henry will guide you through the whole process in this fast and fun half-day class.

Class Fee: $58.00 (before Dec. 1) or $68.00 (on or after Dec. 1). Fee also includes a bowl of soup, handouts and herbs you can take home.

Day and Time: Saturday, December 12th, 2009 from 9 am to 1 pm.

Location: Los Angeles, California. Exact location to be determined.

Class size is limited to 12 people maximum so reserve your space early!

For more information or to register, please contact Henry at 310-980-8645 or email info@henryjunwahlee.com

About Henry Jun Wah Lee
Henry Jun Wah Lee is a Medical Qigong instructor with a Masters degree in Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. He has been cooking since he was a child, learning and honing his skills in his family’s Chinese restaurant in Philadelphia, PA where he grew up. His bicultural background provides him with unique insights on bridging the gap many westerners face when learning Chinese Medicine, or integrating Chinese wellness practices into their lives. For more information, please visit www.HenryJunWahLee.com

About Cantonese Cuisine:
Southern Chinese (Cantonese) cuisine is renowned both internationally as well as across China for its delicious flavors, diverse and exotic ingredients and health benefits. Cantonese cooking has been refined for more than 2,000 years – much longer than most civilizations have existed. Its depth, history, and wisdom are revealed not just in its flavors but also in its integration with other aspects of living – health, culture, art and philosophy.

For the Cantonese, food isn’t just something tasty you put in your mouth. Food is life. Food is medicine. It is how we can nourish our bodies as well as our minds and spirits. Thanks to the influence of the Taoists, developers of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Cantonese cooks look not just for flavor and freshness but also for taste, temperature and other medicinal properties of foods. Chinese herbs are a natural part of everyday cooking and goes into soups and dishes. They can be used for prevention, overall wellness, longevity and for specific illnesses.

You have to brave the cold temperatures to enjoy the night sky in Joshua Tree National Park.

I nearly froze my butt off during my recent trip to view the Leonid Meteor Shower in Joshua Tree National Park. Read some of my tips so you don’t make the same mistakes.

Link: Packing for a Night Photography or Star Gazing Trip

Evosia Photography: The Night Sky in Joshua Tree National Park

I did a crazy midnight run to Joshua Tree National Park to view the Leonids Meteor shower. Fun trip. Lots of meteors. But even without the scheduled meteor shower, the dark night sky in Joshua Tree makes for spectacular stargazing. Check out my photos and trip blog on my Photography site: Evosia Photography – The Night Sky in Joshua Tree National Park

Autumn colors in Owens Valley near June Lake, Mono Lake, Lake Sabrina, Bishop, Rock Creek, Big Pine, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest and more.

View the gallery on my Photography website: Photography.Evosia.com

It’s apple picking season! If you live in the LA area, you can head to Oak Glen, CA to pick Apples and drink fresh cider. Oak Glen is 80 miles from Los Angeles, or about a 90 minute drive. This day trip makes for a great family outing or a unique date. Enjoy nature and the cooler and fresher mountain air. Pick organic apples, raspberries and blackberries. Eat apple pie. Check out the petting zoo at Oak Tree Village. And visit the cute alpacas at Peddler’s Pack Ranch.

Gravenstein and Red Delicious are in season now. McIntosh, Jonathan and Spartans coming within the next few weeks. I was there a few weeks ago and went to Riley’s Apple Farm. They have organic apples and raspberries to pick. There was also a ton of wild blackberries growing along the side of the road near the farm — free for the picking but bring your own containers.

I suggest getting to the farms early to avoid crowds and the mid-day sun. Places open up between 9 and 10am, and close between 4 and 5 pm. Bring a hat, sunblock, water and comfortable shoes. Keep the sandals and flip-flops in the trunk when you are out picking. There are plants and insects that can hurt your feet. Have fun!

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