Paella in my view is a statement dish that is prepared to feed families and friends. A myriad of colourful ingredients, be it meat, seafood and/or vegetables, can be added into rice and stock/water and cooked together over the stove, resulting in a visually appealing and appetising main dish.
I used to think that this dish was challenging to make because I get confused easily with rice-to-water ratios. The wrong rice-to-water ration will cause the rice to be either under or overcooked, and it won’t be a pleasant dish to consume. For my recipe, I stick to 2 cups water/stock to 1 cup risotto rice (either Arborio or Carnaroli is fine). In this recipe version, I used ingredients that are readily available and affordable, hence anyone can make this dish without breaking the bank.
Regarding how I got treated for depression, I will talk about the medication that I was prescribed by my psychiatrist and going through cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with my psychologist. Yes, both treatments go hand in hand, one cannot go without the other. At present time (i.e. the time when this video is uploaded on to YouTube), I am now close to remission.
The recipe for paella is as follows. As always, use the ingredient quantities as a guideline, except for the rice-to-water ration.
Ingredients:
1 cup risotto rice (Arborio or Carnaroli is fine)
2 cups water/stock
1 large white onion (or 2 small red onions)
1 stalk leek
2 cloves garlic
1 capsicum (any colour is fine)
5 long beans (or 1 package French beans)
1 tomato
250g porchetta (or chicken thighs, sausages etc.)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 no. lime (or lemon)
Method:
1) Prepare one large pan with lid. Everything will be cooked in this pan.
2) The lemon/lime will be used as a garnish. Cut it into wedges and set aside.
3) Cut the rest of the ingredients into small dices or sticks. Rule of thumb is that all the ingredients are cut into bite sizes.
4) Heat up the pan and add olive oil. Stir fry the ingredients in this order: onion, leek, garlic, capsicum, long beans, tomato, porchetta. (If you’re using raw chicken and or sausage, sear i.e. brown these ingredients first, remove and set aside before stir-frying the rest of the vegetables)
5) Add risotto rice in and mix well.
6) Add water/stock and distribute the ingredients evenly, ensuring that they are level and submerged in the water/stock.
7) Cover the pan with lid and cook over medium-low heat for the next 18-20 minutes. The rice should absorb all the liquid by then.
8) If you want to achieve the crispy rice effect on the bottom of the pan (aka socarrat), turn up the heat and let it cook for a further 5-10 minutes.
9) Turn off the heat and let the paella rest covered for the next 5-10 minutes.
10) Dish out and serve with a wedge of lemon/lime.
For any enquiries, email me at christianxavier@gmail.com
Hello welcome to mindful cooking by Xavier where explore mental health issues coupled with my passion for culinary arts today the visuals will show me preparing baa not exactly the authentic Spanish paa that is famous worldwide but I’ll show the preparation method of cooking this rice dish which
Can be replicated with many other rice dishes the culinary term for this cooking method is the peeloff method with this cooking method you can adapt it to various kinds of rice dishes such as briani or claypot rice and add your favorite ingredients in to make a complete meal earlier in one of my
Previous videos I shared how I got treated for thisa or persistent depressive disorder or PDD in short in the commentary in this video I will dwell into the specifics of what and how my psychologist and psychiatrists treated my condition I’ll will add a disclaimer here the this treatment that
I received is tailored specifically to me perhaps there are others who are receiving the same treatment but there will be subtle differences between any two cases because anyone who experiences depression will record different experiences no matter how similar they seem when observed from an external viewer therefore if you have depression
Or experiencing symptoms of depression and are watching and listening to this video please seek expert opinion from a qualified person for a proper diagnosis okay let’s begin after I got officially diagnosed as having PDD my psychiatrist prescribed me a medication called Wellbutrin Wellbutrin is an anti-depressant medicine that is
Supposed to work in the brain and nerves on the chemical Messengers no epinephrine and dopamine in layman terms it is supposed to relieve my depression symptoms and make me more alert and focused I am prescribed to take well boot Trin twice a day once in the
Morning and a second time in the early afternoon I visit my psychiatrist about once a month and within each visit he’ll ask me how I was feeling and if I notice any fluctuation in my moods over the past period from there he will adjust the medication accordingly whether it
Was a new prescription or increased dosage I went from one tablet of wellb trer day to two I was given Lexapro to another type of anti-depressant but Lexapro gave me nausea and gastritis even after taking an anti-gastric peel for prevention so I stopped laxa proo the third medication I was prescribed
With was result an atypical antis psychotic in summary I take well vrin and result in the morning and wbin alone in the afternoon I’m continuing to take this course of medication today when I took bin I didn’t notice a sudden change in my mood as if my mind
Did not suddenly become active it probably did lower my incidences of low moons I had slightly more occasions of positive thinking but I wasn’t like super happy or anything like it when I took result I did notice myself being more alert and focused so I used this
Periods to be the most productive and do more work such as creating these YouTube videos there were many occasions when I just took one dose of thein and no result and I didn’t notice any drastic change of moves but my psychiatrist advised me quite a few times against lowering my dosage prematurely he
Explained that me taking well will Trin and to a sust extent result regular helps to store up energy in Inver the Commerce it in my muscles and this in energy will be used when my brain needs it to combat the low moons hence I have to continue taking the medication for at
Least a year more to be able to be considered depression free to complement my medication treatment I went through cognitive behavioral therapy with my psychologist CBT in short in layman terms again CBT is a form of talk therapy that is Guided by principles from behavioral and cognitive Psych
Ology I quote from the American Psychological Association regarding CBT CBT is based on several core principles including psychological problems are based in part on faulty or unhelpful ways of thinking or unlearn patterns of unhelpful behavior people suffering from psychological problems can learn better ways of coping with them thereby
Relieving their symptoms and becoming more effective in their lives CBT treat treatment usually involves efforts to change thinking patterns these strategies might include learning to recognize On’s distortions in thinking that are creating problems and then to re-evaluate them in light of reality gaining a better understanding of the
Behavior and motivation of others using problem solving skills to cope with different situations learning to develop a greater sense of confidence in one’s own abilities CB treatment also usually involves efforts to change behavioral patterns these strategies might include facing one’s fears instead of avoiding them using role playing to prepare for
Potentially problematic interactions with others learning to calm one’s mind and relax one’s body unquote not all CBT will use all of these strategies rather I will work together with my psychologist to develop an understanding of the problem and to develop a treatment strategy CBT places an emphasis on helping
Individuals learn to be their own therapists through exercises in the session as well as homework exercises outside of sessions I helped to develop coping skills where I can learn to change my own thinking problematic emotions and behavior my psychologist emphasizes what is going on in my
Current life rather than what has led up to my difficulties a certain amount of information about my history is needed but the focus is primarily on moving forward in time to develop more effective ways of coping with life I went through a couple of CBT sessions with my psychologist and after each
Session I tried to put into practice the coping strategies when facing my periods of low moods is a combination of medication and CBT effective in keeping my depression in check the jury is still out sometimes I still wonder if all my low moods were due to ual weakness in my
Character that I could be just plain lazy however I trust in a healing process some will advice just pray to God and all will be well I believe that God wants me to be well so if God sent my psychiatrist and psychologist to heal
Me I have to trust God that this is the way forward now back to the visuals of the preparation of Haya very often I get confused by the ratio of rice to water this is because the amount of water needed if you use a rice cooker will be
Usually less than what you need if you use a pot or pan over the stove this rice to water ratio is further complicated when you factor in different rice varieties I used resoto rice in this recipe it can be either the aoral or canari variety if you have Spanish
Bomba rice go ahead and use it though it’s expensive to get it in Singapore hence for this P I used two cups of water to one cup of rice practically anything can be added into a PIRA therefore this is my go-to meal when I’m not sure what to cook for dinner for the
Day give it a try God bless