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@KennethT Were using the exemption program, lighting a direct flight. We need to spend a night at a SHA+ hotel, but the quarantine time should be around 6 hours - just until the test results arrive. Since AFAIK both the US and Singapore are on the list, you should be able to do the same.

Dakos - barley rusk with tomatoes, feta, capers, olive oil, Greek oregano, some garlic. That huge dakos was enough for us both.

Simple noodle with home made kimchi, sesame paste, eggs, ginger, garlic, chili, scallions, a bit of sugar and MSG.

It worked quite nice, if a bit too mild compared to the sweet and nutty squash. So maybe next time I'll go with a squash in hazelnut pesto. And the hazelnut custard can be served on its own - either made sweet, or kept savory. The latter option can be nice topped with some sage butter, or maybe roasted squash cubes and parmesan.

Basbousa (with semolina, coconut, sour cream, a bit of lemon zest and cinnamon), carambola preserve (a runny one) instead of syrup, a bit of rose water.

Sushi rice bowl with avocado, tofu (braised with ginger, soy sauce and sugar), edamame, cucumber, eggs, chili, lime juice and zest, some cashew and sesame, basil and mint.

Acorn squash filled with hazelnut custard. Some blue cheese and tarragon.

One of my favorites, actually... Have you tried picking it? It will reduce the natural flavor, and it has some nice texture.

@KennethT Beautiful - thanks so much!

Thanks 😹 lots of pics will follow, for sure. We did get quite lucky with the country opening up, and with vacation days aligning well with the new year.

I'm super excited - we got a pair of tickets to Thailand scheduled late December. We plan spending 2 weeks in the area of Chiang Mai and Pai, and a few days in Bangkok. We'll probably take a car from Chiang Mai, so we can get around easily. Tips will be more than welcomed, food related and otherwise

Khachapuri adjaruli, with plenty of cheeses, and an egg. Khachapuri guriani, with hard boiled eggs, cheese, and scallions. Simple bread baked from the same dough. Salad with spinach, tomato, cucumber, onion, walnuts, pomegranate, cold pressed sunflower oil, wine vinegar. Yellow pea pkhali - split peas, walnuts, garlic, spices (mostly coriander seed, fenugreek), tarragon. Semi-dry (more of a semi-sweet, IMO) Georgian kindzmarauli.

We have a plant, but we only use it for infusions, herbal tea and rarely in simple syrup. I'll give some young leaves a fine chop and try it. What else goes in the salad? I'll have to give this a pass. I don't really enjoy lavender - I find it dusty and acrid.

Sounds lovely. Added to my notes.

How do to use it in the salad? Lemon verbena is not particularly edible. The flavor combination sounds great. I'd love to try it.

I'm thinking dishes that star those herbs that are often playing a background role - sage, oregano, thyme, rosemary and the like. I'm thinking of those herbs in their fresh form. Sage and butter sauce is one example, rosemary on focaccia is another. I recently had some tomato salad with nothing but fresh oregano and olive oil. Any other dishes that you like?

Eggs en cocotte of sorts. Black lentils, eggs, mushrooms, bechamel, cheese. Thyme, garlic, nutmeg. Crisp bread. Tried to get a yolk action shot.

Lemon and poppy cake with Greek yogurt. Recipe below. With the variation of using only lemon (rather than lemon and mandarin). A little poppy inside and plenty as a topping.

Filo pie filled with split peas, feta, rosemary, browned onion, confit garlic, some oregano and pepper. Eggplants with mushrooms, tomato, bechamel, thyme, nutmeg. Tzaziki. Also made a smaller pie and more eggplants, that were baked later same week.

Banageldahi eggplant curry with a paste of sesame, coconut, poppy, peanuts. Also some onion, tamarind, chili, ginger, garlic, coriander seeds, mustard, curry leaves, turmeric, fenugreek and cinnamon. Cabbage and lentils with browned onion, chili, cashew, garlic, ginger, a decent amount of hing, mustard seeds, cumin, curry leaves, coriander seed, coconut, turmeric, cilantro, lime juice. Yogurt and home made mango chutney.

Sesame noodles with tofu and green beans. Sesame sauce, with black vinegar, chili bean paste, sesame, scallions, MSG.

Mushroom and walnut ragu bolognese. Carrot, celery, onion, tomatoes, wine, milk, plenty of bay leaves, some sage, garlic, pepper, parm, basil.

Cold sushi rice, stir fried champignons, wood ear, shiitake, marinated tofu, wakame, kombu, some cucumber. Sesame oil, a bit of soy sauce, some ginger juice, garlic, chili. Eggs. Warm baked eggplants with a lightly sweet glaze of miso, ginger, a little garlic.

Salad for dinner. Beans, artichoke, tomatoes, croutons, pesto, toasted pine nuts. Wine.

I've never seen the cultivated variety. Here it grows as a weed, mostly where we plant other things and water. Since it's easy to manage, I'll let it grow wherever it won't block other plants. The wild version is quite fleshy, and I like it best sauteed with eggy, tomatoes, feta and garlic; but also in salads.