Peter Green

happy anniversary!! my rule is unless it is on the gift list on the fridge it has to be edible or potable. gift certificate to a favorite coffee shop? bottle of champagne? box of chocolates?(never mind - i did see your stash). have fun and celebrate each other and what makes you special as a couple ← I had a brilliant idea! Given that it was the 22nd anniversary, I could get her a small calibre hand gun. Then I figured that would probably be the worst of choices.

Where to shop? This is another question that’s going to become fairly partisan. Everybody has their own preferred spots. And when we say shopping, we ‘re talking groceries. There are a lot of things which you generally need to get from the markets. These are the local greens and such that the supermarkets often don’t stock. Try asking for bai cha phloo (wild betel leaf) and (if I happen to get the tones right) I’ll get looked at like I’m some grandpa from the sticks. (You need this for miang kham, the little appetizer made by dropping a number of items – chili, ginger, lime, coconut, etc – into a small cone of this leaf). Getting to and from the markets can be a chore, however, so be prepared to invest some time. Me, I never have enough time. So, unless I’m going to a market anyways for fun, I tend to rely on my friends to do this sort of shopping for me when they’re out there anyways. (Yeah, I am getting lazy in my old age). So that puts us into the realm of the supermarket. What are our choices? Well, on the truly monstrous side, there’s Tesco. Everything in one place, huge, and generally with parking, as these are located outside of the downtown core. There’s one down on Rama IV and soi 24 that’s convenient enough, and you could hit up the one at On Nut without straying too far from the BTS. I think there’s one up at Ratchada, too. These are getting blamed for putting the mom and pop places out of business by undercutting their prices, but that’s a rather facile argument. It’s more a case of the changes in Thai (or Bangkok) lifestyles that’s doing this. People don’t have the time they used to have to go from one shop to another, and maybe get what they need. That said, I take no joy from shopping in Tesco. I could be anywhere. The same goes for Carrefour. So, where do we shop? There’s a selection of high end food floors in the big malls. These have their uses. If you’re looking for decent cheese, then the Emporium and Paragon Gourmet markets are a good bet. You’ll also find foie gras (at least as torchons) and caviar at hand. At Paragon I saw the most beautiful octopus tentacle. I was sore tempted to bring it back with me, but didn’t have the right packing material, so passed rather than bring it to a bad finish. Central World is supposedly quite posh, and a lot of my friends prefer it. I didn’t mind Paragon, as the aisles are wide and navigable, while Emporium is a little crowded, but very convenient (and they’ve got a great selection of stuff just outside on that floor, too). I find, though, that these really high-end spots are lacking in the low end ingredients, and don’t really want to entertain queries about them (“Are you from Nakhon Nowhere or what?”)…….Maybe I should start dying my hair and stop speaking Lao…… The mid-levels are usually my preferred spots. Tops, Foodland, and Villa, especially the Villa 33 on Sukhumvit (I’m less than thrilled with the one on Lang Suan). These provide a good range of functional foodstuffs, with an eye to Western needs as well. And then there’s Fuji, the Japanese expat place, back down the soi by Villa 33. Go all the way down, dog leg to the right, and you’ll hit a very Japanese enclave of shops, restaurants, STD clinics, and food stalls. And then there’s Fuji. I am, I’ll secretly admit, while all the Koreans are out of the house, a Japanophile. It’s just so much fun. You go into Fuji, the temperature drops a dozen degrees (at least) the aisles are wide, there are housewives leisurely pushing their carts about and reading packages, the staff are quiet and respectful, all with long white gloves and uniforms, and there’s that soft sort of 1960’s music we hardly ever hear anymore, even in elevators. I just want to dress like Cary Grant and study the backs of bottles of Yuzu sauce and check out the yama imo and different brands of mirin. Many of the hotel shops are also good for food shopping. Besides their baked goods, which are usually excellent, they’ll have speciality imported items. The shop at Nai Lert, for instance, brings in jams from the Royal kitchen of Bhutan (after the visit of the young Crown Prince of Bhutan last year, the city is still rather Bhutan-crazy). There’s a third path for shopping, as well, but one that requires more time. There’s a whole network of food delivery in Bangkok. Some of my friends keep very up to date on who’s importing what on what days of the week, and also who’s baking what on what days. If you’re plugged in, then you can draw upon very high grade ingredients quite conveniently. Of course, if you work really hard, get in the good graces of people like Classic Fine Foods Angliss. They’re supplying most of the high end restaurants in town. The two sisters there, the Hame-ung-guls, have achieved an excellent reputation for sourcing whatever needs finding. When I talk to people like Herve at Beaulieu or others, this is who they rely upon. It’s a pity I don’t have pictures for this section, but there’s a growing movement of “no photos” in a lot of the shops, and particularly the malls. The security guards seem more concerned with a video camera than a shoplifter, but I suppose there’re a lot of foreigners about casing the joints (I shouldn’t joke. There was a particularly nasty robbery a few years back undertaken by elements from the former East Bloc). This should draw a certain amount of flack. I have my preferences for shopping, as everyone does. Let’s hear from the audience.

Ce'nedra, How was Blue Dragon handling the service? All at once, or are they staging the dishes out one by one in the "new" manner? Cheers, Peter

I'm not certain of any one particular reason. I can see their position from a safety point of view. Right now, the main cause of domestic fires is "chip fires", where "certain groups" of expats leave the oil on hot for their chips (French fries, frites, freedom fries, or whatever you care to call them), and forget to turn it off when they go out. As the house aren't generally stand-alone, I'd hate to be at the mercy of neighbors. The othe reason would be distribution. We've got butagas in a can for the bbq (we've got a Napoleon out back), but we have to go into town to get that refilled (I keep a spare filled and ready. I learned my lesson in Cairo). It's easier to have us supplied from the electrical grid, rather than having a lot of comings and goings just for cooking gas. I've thought of getting one of those gas driven outdoor wok burners, but then I realize that while I could have a novel way of adding salt to the food in a continual flow, I don't think my guests would find my sweating into the wok to be that appetizing. "He puts a lot of himself into his cooking" can be taken several ways.

We’re back. Serena’s finished her art class for the the morning, and the missus and I got a few laps in at the pool. There’s a brief intermission before the next activities (dojo time for us, and a hair spa for Serena and Yoonhi), so time for some lunch. I wanted to do something quick, and I wanted to use up more of the fresh ingredients, which included some very nice basil. There’s some chicken breast in the fridge, too, so kai phat bai krapao (chicken and basil) seemed like the right choice. First, line up the requirements…. I’m tossing in some of the cowslip creeper as well. No sense letting it go to waste, and it’ll add a nice touch. Garlic and chilis (the little devils), then onion and chicken, and then nampla, soy, vinegar, and palm sugar. Drop in the creeper, take it off the heat, and hit it with the basil. Edible. A little on the wet side (electric ranges are all we’re allowed – and they’re never hot enough) but Yoonhi likes the sauce with her rice, so we’re okay with this. Now, with that inside of us, the important issue is …..what to do for dinner?

Dining at the Mall By the mid-90s, in the grip of the boom of development that had swept over Thailand, I was pretty much driven off the streets, at least as far as dining went. These were the bad years, when pollution was, really, getting unbearable, and the skytrain only existed as a glimmer, the monolithic remnants of the Hopewell project out to Don Muang the only hint that rapid transit was ever going to come to Thailand (The best description of the Hopewell LRT podiums is still “The Stonehenge of Asia”). It wasn’t just the noise and the smell and the carcinogens, but bits of “stuff” were getting in the food. It was putting me off my diet. However, I wasn’t about to give up eating the dishes I loved, most of which you can’t find in the enclosed restaurants (the open air standards were also suffering from the fumes). As I was wandering around MBK (Mah Boon Krong – a great mall, and my primary source of Maxx Boy Hawaii shirts), I ended up at the food court, staring out the window at a fire in Siam Square. As an aside, the excellent private museum, the Jim Thompson House, is just across the street. They used to have one of the most beautiful bars in town, overlooking Klong SamSem. The only downside is they closed early, when the museum closed. I wonder if the bar is still there? I should find out That put me in the mood for some grilled meat, oddly enough. After some initial confusion about the vendors not taking my money, I figured out that I needed to buy chits. With these in hand I went about having a perfectly good meal of pork leg and grilled chicken. It was clean (there’s running water and toilet facilities), and it was fresh, as the horde of office workers I was sharing space with were stripping pretty much everything to the bare bones. After, if you have any excess tickets, you just change them back in. So, now, if we want a quick meal, or a variety of foods in one convenient location, or you just plain don’t want to leave the mall, we go to the food court. Of course, this being Thailand, there’s competition as to which Food Court is the best. First, I’d say I’m not a big fan of the “new” food courts. This would be the ones I’ve seen in MBK and the Emporium, where the outlets are larger, and you have a “credit card” that is swiped at each station. I just find the food more homogenized, and the feel more like the standard food courts we’re used to elsewhere. Nope, I still head for the courts with outlets that’ll only allow three or fewer people to work inside. This gives you the best variety, and, for my money, the best atmosphere. As for favourites…..gone is the food court on the 6th with the windows at MBK (I think it was 6. This was before the cinemas went in). The court there is okay, and will do in a pinch. I’m partial to the Emporium, as you get that great view of the park through those tall, tall windows. The selection is good, and you get a huge turnover from the attached office tower. Robinson’s has a loyal enough following, as does Central. In fact, Central probably has more fans than anyone. And then there’s the Paragon. Over the top sums it up, once again. The food court here is just a small part of the whole floor, which I believe was developed in direct competition to the Emporium’s Gourmet level. I described the mall in 'Eid and the Angels last year, so I won’t recover old ground. Yoonhi and I had strolled over after our regular binge at MBK across the corner. I’d stocked up on loud shirts and various other materials that I won’t discuss for fear of the WTO kicking in my door. Paragon has one of the best book stores around, a large Kinokuniya outlet, so it was worth a visit on my part. But first we needed to eat. Decisions, decisions. For our first pass, Yoonhi had her eyes on the sticky rice with stuff, cooked in a banana leaf. I was feeling light, and so went for the rolls. We do these often at home, but the wraps we use are the Vietnamese ones, that are more delicate. With these the rice roll is more like the “blankets” we get at dim sum in Vancouver, and there’s a good feel of rice noodle in your mouth as you chew and ruminate. Something about the rice noodle, fresh and “white” in flavour, always makes me think of Luang Prabang when I was first there….. Yoonhi was content with her rice in terms of flavour, but it wasn’t going to be enough food, obviously. She went back for some of the oyster omelet they were making at another stand. This is what I expect from a food court. Sizzling dishes like this for a buck or two. (How will I ever go back to plastic plates?). And the oysters I was disappointed in raw at Good View worked excellenty in here, cooked through and buried in the egg. Three dishes, a couple of drinks (Thai iced tea for us), a few baht, and we’re in and out in twenty minutes and happy with the flavours. And it’s air conditioned (yes, I’m a wimp)

Sabai Mak In Thailand, there are meals and, not surprisingly, there are “meals!” In the first instance, you’re eating because you’re hungry. You have work to do (well, sort of) and you need something in your belly to get you through to the next meal. Street vendors and food courts are good for this. And, as the Thai are far more discerning about their food than the average Westerner, these options are generally of a very good standard, and many have a cult following, but that’s the material for several books. You could write one volume just on who has the best Isaan roasted chicken. When the Thai go out for food, they’re going out for the evening. Like the food, there should be a proper blend for the tongue, the eyes, the ears, and the nose. And you want company. You want sabai as much as you want sanuk. Sanuk is fun. That’s easy. In fact, it’s pretty hard not to have sanuk in Bangkok (at least if you have money). Sabai is more a description of everything working together in harmony, with a cerrtain fullness of well being. I suppose the German gemutlichheit might be close. One of the best options for sabai in Bangkok is the river. The Chao Phraya buffers much of the noise that blankets the city (unless you’re right at a pier, when you have to deal with the whistles – but those are only for short bursts). There are no buildings to obstruct the view, or the breeze, and there’s usually the soft traffic of boats to provide movement, and the bridges to provide anchors for your vision (and to be lit up at night). And, as many of these restaurants are built out over the river, space for you and your friends isn’t as big a problem as in the city. Up North, in Chiang Mai, this is considered de rigeur. An evening out would be held alongside the Ping, or up by the reservoir. When I was up in CM a couple of years ago (my first trip back since 1991), scouting for a longer stay for the family, I asked the local Thai where the best place to spend the night was. Uniformly, I was told The Good View. I loved the place. Big, clean. Simple wooden tables, but well kept up. And excellent Northern cuisine. And beer. And live music. And just perched alongside the river, across the bridge from the hustle and bustle of the town. Did I mention beer? In late 2004 we took a small house for the month of December, just beside Wat Gate on Thanon Charonraj. This placed us just five minutes walk from The Good View (and a host of other restaurants and bars on Charoenraj). We were there so Yoonhi and Scud could study at a massage school. The purpose of this being so that Scud could provide his mother a proper massage, and so that Yoonhi would know if he was doing it right. Meanwhile, Serena and I were taking Thai language lessons, something I’d wanted to do for ages (and which Serena turned out way too young for). Our classes were only half days, and invariably Serena and I would end up at the Good View for quiet lunches and treats. While there, I talked with the owner. He’d had a large Thai restaurant in the US, in Ft. Lauderdale, if I remember correctly, and had been approached to sell out. He figured the money was good, so he took the offer and came back to Chiang Mai to build the sort of place he’d like to go to with his friends. That was in 1996, and he was still going strong. Well, this trip I was leafing through the “where to eat” guides, and I saw that he’d come through on his plans to open a place in Bangkok. He had a place on the river, and away from the crowds (or as away as you can get in Krungthep Mahanakorn). First step to getting somewhere in this city: how far can you get on the Skytrain or Underground? As I’d mentioned earlier, I swear by Nancy Chandler’s maps. (When I don’t have one on me, I swear a lot more, but that’s a different matter). This gives us a good overview of Bangkok proper, without the extended area of Greater Bangkok. I needed to get down bast the Krungthep Rama III Bridge. You see the Good View just below that. Our best option was to get to the Saphan Taksin station, and then get one of Bangkok’s “readily available taxis” to take us the rest of the way down Charoen Krung. Good plan. No taxis. At least not until we crossed the street and took one going into town empty in the rain, and worked with him for a few kilometers of one way traffic to get in the right direction. But that was a minor matter. We made it to the Good View, and it was what I’d hoped for. The grounds looked good. A lot of open space, lit softly to highlight the trees and greenery. Big tables, so you can easily fit a dozen or more together, or break off a separate table for three heft sized farang like us. And inside, at a nice remove, there was a live band playing the blues. The music was piped out through the restaurant, but not at the deafening levels that kill conversation. After the traffic, I was feeling sabai. First thing on the table was stir fried ivy gourd leaves with mushrooms. Good mellow flavours with rice. And, as we’d been lusting after the oysters that Paul Wilson had prepared, we decided to go with a half dozen fresh ones, with the appropriate Thai condiments of basil pesto, chili paste, fried shallots, and fresh greens, limes, ginger, and chilis. Now, I have to say, I was disappointed in the oysters. I should’ve known bettter. The fresh ones we get in Bangkok tend to be extremely large, with the consistency of something a tuberculosis patient might bring up on a real bad day. We’ve got these in Vancouver, too, but there they’d go into a chowder or something (and would probably be excellent in Wilson’s oyster pannacotta). An oyster should be more like the ones from Brittany, or Fannie Bays, or Sydney Rocks…. Okay, I wasn’t thrilled. Note to self, stop ordering oysters in Thailand unless you know where they’re from. Then they brought out the kranab, a fish mousse grilled in banana leaves, and stir fried coconut tips. I love coconut tips, with their crunch and the background of sweetness. A nice bit of duck came out, too, with a very rich sweet sauce to acccompany it. One of the guys wanted fried rice, so we ordered the khao phat poo (crab). And I’d come particularly for the Northern cuisine. Fried smoked fermented sausage is one of those things you really have to hard to find down here in Central Thailand. You can get a lot of good Isaan food, but this stuff is not on the readily available list. Somewhat easier to source down here, the sai eua were good, too, with lots of herbs worked into the mince. And Lanna cuisine always keeps your fingers busy, niblling at the accompaniments that come with the dishes and are need to complement the flavours and textures. And grilled pork neck. This may be my favourite beer food. Along with som tam, which we also ordered (but didn’t make it into this shot). And that’s probably my only beef with the Good View here. Up North, you could order beers in these tall dispensers that looked like the old gas station filling tanks, where they would pump the fuel up to a set level, and then top you up. Here it was by the bottle. And beyond that, I’d had my heart set upon a bottle of Maekhong (local whiskey – although I think it tastes more like rum) with soda and coke. It’s a good drink for the burn of Thai food, and I enjoy the whole ritual of the pouring and receiving…… Sigh….you can’t have everything. But, as we leisurely worked over our dinner and drinks, what I did have was the appropriate feeling of content. Sabai.

Also, as I recall, I'd promised a shot of the Balsamic. I'm cheap, so I didn't go for the really aged stuff. I found this in a small, new shop that has opened recently in the Seef Mall in Manama. They sell olive oils, balsamic vinegar, and parmesan. And that's about it. Good quality material. I just hope there's enough of a market to keep them going. They're just around the corner from Paul, the new French bakery that's opened up, so, along with the cinemas, there's a good reason to go to Seef now. (and there's still a rumour that the abandoned Blue Elephant structure may be reopened as a Buddha Bar).

&view Sorry, Sandy, I’m confusing at the best of times, I know. Daen jang is my butchered translation of the Korean hangul (script) for their bean paste, used in a number of their dishes. As I’m going to Korea in a week, I’ll stick by my strident nationalism and state that this is very much a Korean ingredient, being much more robust than the mild Japanese miso (ask me again when I'm going to Japan ) I do have a pair of slippers, but I never remember to put them on, except when I have a long cooking bout on the go (the tiled floors get to me). And these are hot. And I’ll have to look for Eco’s collection. I do admire his writing. We were “raided” by PETA during the 2006 WGF. It’s hard to take such a thing seriously when they’re giggling, but I do know that things are getting out of hand in North America (see also the latest thread on the FDA and unpasteurized cheese ). Maybe that’s why I go there so seldom anymore. Never having been on the East Coast, the ShopRite connection had gone over my head (a lot of things do, probably explaining the thinning hair up there). I’ll check out our local grocery for more, but I suspect that the goods are coming through one of the big French chains we frequent here (“Zut allors! Les produits Americaines ici?”)

Thanks, Dejah! I've just got to figure out what to do for Yoonhi today, seeing as I don't really have options in terms of buying presents (I tend to give them out right away, rather than hording them for occassions - as opposed to food items). Maybe if I just let her sleep in? Sleep is a good thing. Cheers, Peter

It's dawn again over here, and I realize it's our 22nd wedding anniversary. For Yoonhi's last birthday, I was told to get her flowers. I came back with whole wheat and all purpose. That's probably not going to cut it today.

Tagged it! The cheap-o balsamic in the cupboard. Darned if I can remember where we bought that. It might be from the local Geant or Carrefour here. Either that or our local grocery. I'll post a picture tomorrow of the decent balsamic we picked up in Bahrain last trip. As for the gnocchi, if Yoonhi's talking to me tomorrow, I'll bug her for the procedure (but they're good gnocchi).

I lifted this from The Asian Cookshop Chinese Lily Flowers (dried) 30g Also known as golden needles and tiger lilies, dried lily buds are the unopened flowers of day lilies. The lily has been used in China as both a food and medicine for over 2,000 years. Dried lily buds are yellow-gold in color, with a musky or earthy taste. Two dishes featuring lily buds are Muxi Pork, a stir-fried dish, and Hot and Sour Soup. Store them in a jar in a cool and dry place. Before using, you may need to cut off about a quarter inch at the bottom to get rid of the woody stem. Like many other "woodsy" Chinese vegetables, lily buds must be soaked in warm water (in this case for about thirty minutes) before use. They can then be left whole or cut in half crosswise as called for in the recipe. Or, for better flavor, try tying them in a knot. What's Up Tiger Lily? I'd like to say that I feel a Woody Allen moment coming on, but would that be kosher in a heavily Thai Korean thread?

I am ignorant on both counts, I must admit. I would suspect the grubs are alive, or close to it. It'd be too much trouble to kill them. I still think the symmetry of the grub has more to do with it. Which direction would they curl? For the particular lily blossoms the Thai use, I'm going to have to do some searching. Anybody out there want to chime in?

Uh-oh, I heard a yell from the kitchen.

Okay, dinner. Normally, I’d do this sour curry as a steamed curry, but I wanted to try this instead. First, I broke down the curry in oil with some kaffir lime leaf to soften the bite. Meanwhile, the mushrooms, lily flower, basil, and fungus was ready. meanwhile I reduced the fluid in the meat, which was fried first to a medium done before the stock went in. The idea is to reduce to dry, but there was probably too much fat in there, so it wasn’t going to dry. Close to the finish, I tossed in the fungus and lily flower. at the last mintue I tossed in the ‘shrooms, while Yoonhi pulled the meat off the heat. The end result? The gaeng hung lay is so soft, squeezy, juicy soft with a crust of sugar. No bite, though, but that’s okay. It reminds me a little of the pork I’d had at Sarah Jane’s earlier. And the mushrooms had that odd, coconut milk free tang of tamarind, with the dirt/earth of the fungus. It’ll clear your mouth and your sinuses easily enough, but you can still sense the mushroom in there. Yoonhi’s happy for now.

No umbrage but I'm curious about one point. When you say Korean curry, do you mean that the packaged roux formulas taste notably different from the Japanese ones? (Bearing in mind that both Glico and S&B are Japanese companies.) Is the heat level just higher? I had always assumed they were the same or at least pretty similar. ← Nope, no difference whatsoever. (They are Japanese companies) I'm just trying to "curry favour" with my favourite Korean here.

"overrun by the advance of civilization" I'm getting me a loin cloth. (Hmmm...that's not exactly a pretty picture)

Hey, cool! I just tried a google on bamboo worms (they live in the roots) and I picked up a link that I'm blocked from that suggests that they may be hallucinogenic! www.erowid.org/animals/bamboo_worm/ 1984_britton_j-ethnopharmacology.htm Anyone want to follow this up? (I'm still excited about finding out that Uncle Scrooge was an MDA addict, hooked on nutmeg, and so wired he had to send Donald and the boys to the jungle to secure his supply)

They do taste like some standard North American deep fried snack! Honest! Nachos is what comes to mind, but more flavour. You have them as a beer snack, ideally with the Ping River flowing lazily past your table and those little acts of arson the Northern Thai set adrift into the night lighting up the night sky..... Sorry, I was drifting off again. The worms, as far as I know, do live in the bamboo, and will burrow through, feeding on it. They probably damage it a fair bit, but this is bamboo. It's a weed. Sort of like lemon grass. And the pickled garlic......they're produced with a blend of vinegar, soy sauce, and cloves of garlic. The soy sauce is brought to a boil, heat turned off, and the garlic is thrown in when its hot (but not at boil - you don't want to cook it, just kill anything on it), and the vinegar goes in when it's warm. Leave it open. Outside of it looking like something that's just fed on your blood, these are really tasty. The only downside is that if you go on a binge of these it starts coming out of your pores in the middle of the night. Compare that to my friend's wife at the WGF who was smelling of cabernet when she woke up after the Gala dinner, and I think I'd go with a wife smelling of red wine. (I'm probably going to pay for that).

Thanks, Johnny! Thanks, Mark! I'm going to pay for this kitchen tour, though. I can feel the daggers as Yoonhi finds that I've pulled things out and moved them around. The lecture about "we have to stop buying things when we travel" is just around the corner........

good question! No answer, other than that, yes, they are really worms. I wonder if it's the symmetry of the grub that keeps them from curling. Most of the things that curl have differential densities, or else they're cooked in a medium with a strong thermal gradient. You'd have to do these in big bundles, too (although I have this image of someone sitting there, frying the grubs one by one), so there wouldn't be a lot of heat differential. I thought the scorpions we had in China were more cutting edge, though.

This is just way too good! Sabaidi Gourmet Tea. We picked up a box of their pandan tea, and Yoonhi started reading the description. The usual stuff about health and quality of ingredients. Then they get to “one of a kind teabags”. My immediate reaction was “So, how many tea bags are in that box if each one is one of a kind?” But when we open it up, what we get is a stitched tea bag, each sachet with its own individual little bead (polished coconut husk?) attached to the string. And from the back label, I see I should've picked up a Sabaidi tea hanger for my bag to suspend from between dips. Which is what the bead is for. A nicely lacquered little thing with a graceful curve. When it comes to style and going over the top, nobody does it like the Thai.

Yoonhi’s returned from grocery shopping. This means that I’d better figure out what I’m going to cook, now that she’s actually got things here on the counter top. I’ve gotta stop winging it. A bunch of this will be for tomorrow. I’ll do some satay and a yam with the prawns (they didn’t have any pomelo. I really wanted to do a yam som o). After a bit of panic, I’ve decided on a Northern dish. Gaeng hung lay. This is a dry curry, relying on the hung ley curry, which is chili, galanga, lemongrass, garlic, shallot, shrimp paste, salt, and tumeric. That and brown and palm sugar, tamarind juice, a little nampla, and ginger, garlic, and shallots all get rubbed on the meat and then let to sit for an hour or so. It also calls for pickled garlic in the recipe, so I pulled out a couple of those evil looking black things that Yoonhi’s had sitting in the pantry. Nice and soft, they dice well. Sort of look like leeches…… I’ll throw together a sour vegetable curry as well to use up those mushrooms (although I’m tempted to do a risotto with some of them). And, at the family’s request, we’re making more ice cream. This one will be the usual touristy mix of kaffir lime leaves, galanga, and lemon grass. Clicheed, but it tastes good. Heck, I could probably put those pickled garlics into ice cream and it’d taste good. Now there’s an idea……

Ktichen update – Bakin’ With Serena I know you’ve all been waiting for this. Serena’s pound cake. It actually doesn’t look like a disaster. I’m shocked. Don’t ask about the ears. Sometimes I think that Serena lives in an alternate reality that only tangentially intersects ours. When it does, there’s usually a Hello Kitty somewhere nearby. And here’s the finished result, the lifeguards’ dietary supplement for today. I hope they wait a half hour before going back in the pool.