Ma cuisine !

Welcome to my kitchen !
Enjoy some of my food shots as slideshow! I cook all of those savory dishes.. BUT..sure you know well. ..I don't eat sweet/desserts. So...I didn't cook them myself !

Bon Appétit !

Poo Jom Pon or Red Powder Puff flower

This Evergreen shrub can be up to 10 feet tall (3 m), 10 feet spread (3 m). She loves full sun and regular water when growing.

Most Powder Puffs grow fast and can become really big if not trimmed constantly.Calliandra haematocephala 'Nana' on the other hand is a slow grower and only reaches the height of about 5'-6' (if not trimmed.) It can easily be kept smaller as a potted plant.Another good advantage is that it blooms most of the year, blooming almost all the time during the warmer months of the year.Even though it is slow, with time it makes a beautiful bonsai.It will grow well from filtered light to full sun and requires average water (a little bit less in the winter.) The soil has to have very good drainage, which will be important especially in the winter when some plants have the tendency to become yellow leaves.

I took this shot from a shrub infront of my front door. I planted her in an eathen jar (2' diameter) and she gives the flowers for almost all year.

Songkran festival - Thai New Year's Day

Songkran is a Thai traditional New Year which starts on April 13 every year and lasts for 3 days. Songkran festival on April 13 is Maha Songkran Day or the day to mark the end of the old year, April 14 is Wan Nao which is the day after and April 15 is Wan Thaloeng Sok which the New Year begins. At this time, people from the rural areas who are working in the city usually return home to celebrate the festival. It is one of an important festival especially for FAMILY because at present it is an elderly day on April 13 and a Family day on April 14 as well.
Songkran is a Thai word which means "move" or "change place" as it is the day when the sun changes its position in the zodiac. It is also known as the "Water Festival" as people believe that water will wash away bad luck.

The Songkran tradition is recognized as a valuable custom for the Thai community, society and religions. The value for family is to provide the opportunity for family members to gather in order to express their respects to the elders by pouring scented water onto the hands of their parents and grandparents and to present them gifts including making merits to dedicate the result to their ancestors. The elders in return wish the youngsters good luck and prosperity
The values for community is to provide the opportunity to create unity in the community such as to jointly acquire merits, to meet each other and to enjoy the entertaining events. And for the society value is to create concern upon environment with cooperation such as to clean houses, temples, public places and official buildings. Thais value the religion by means of merits acquisition, offerings alms to monks, Dhamma Practice, listening to sermon and monks-bathing.

In the afternoon, after performing a bathing rite for Buddha images and the monks, the celebrants both young and old, joyfully pouring water on each other. The most-talked about celebration takes place in the northern province of Chiang Mai where Songkran is celebrated from April 13 to 15. During this period, people from all parts of the country flock there to enjoy the water festival, to watch the Miss Songkran Contest and the beautiful parades.

As some of you might seen in TV. or any media that some people enjoy splashing or throwing water into each other. I really dunno when it was happened BUT it's NOT our tradition and it is really impolite. So, I'm glad that the Department of Culture raised this matter as a problem to be solved !

Light and healthy meal : Meang Pla-too

One of our tasty light meal is Meang. It is to eat some meat with herbs wrapped with greens. There are many kind of Meang over here and all are tasty !

I just ate this Mean Pla-too again on Saturday and here's the recipe :

Meang Pla-too (Fried Mackerel and herbs wrapped with Greens)

Ingredients :

- Fried Mackerel (or other sea fish that you can find)

- Roasted or Fried Peanuts

- Ginger, cut into small dice

- Shallot or Red Onion, cut into dice

- Lime, cut into small dice (optional)

- Bird pepper cut into small piece (optional)

- Fresh cilantro or Coriander leaves

- Spring Green leaves or any greens/lettuce of your choice

Sauce (Hot and Sour) :

- Lime juice

- Bird Pepper or green chilli, pounded

- Fish sauce (if you can't find Fish sauce, try Soya sauce instead)

- Added some sugar to taste.

To eat :

- Wrapped them with greens and added sauce

It's one of a good dish for both children and adults !

Almost broke !!

" Bangkok International Book Fair 2007 งานสัปดาห์หนังสือแห่งชาติครั้งที่ 35 "

We went to the 35th Bangkok International Book Fair 2007 held at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre on Tuesday. Yes, Tuesday 'coz I took a day off and intened to buy some new books. Spending around 3 and a half hrs. rushing browsed through 1,000 booths (approx.) and I almost broke !!! LOL

I bought around 10 books back home. There are 2 valueable books about shrimps and crabs in Thailand (sea creatures) which I’m waiting for more than 5 years and a book of flowers and plants in Thailand that made me so happy to get them!
I also bought some books that I already have but I bought them again. Those are about sea fishes in Thailand and I’ll give them to friends as a gift.

Hehheee….almost have no money left !!! Might stole some from my husband when I wanna have some Ice-cream while reading those books!!! LOL LOL

Wax rose is not a rose

กุหลาบพุกาม Wax Rose or Rose Cactus is NOT a rose.

Wax rose or Pereskia Wax Rose or Pereskia Rose Cactus is a deciduous, leaved cactus that is native from Mexico to Panama. Although the plants resemble wild roses, they are actually primitive cacti with leaves. The stems are not succulent, and have prominent spines. The vegetative plant hardly resembles the typical desert cacti, nor is it as drought resistant. She can reach up to 12 feet (3 m) in height and a width of about half its height. The dark green leaves can reach 8 inches (20 cm) long by 2.5 inches (6.5 cm) wide. They are easy cacti to grow and should be in every cactus collection.

Blooming Time : Native, in spring to early summer, the Orangish-red, 2 inch (5 cm) blossoms open late in the afternoon and last only one day. They are very showy. If fertilized, they create a waxy hemispherical fruit that is quite conspicuous. SO LUCKY!!! In Thailand she gives her vivid orangish-red flower for ALL year……yippieeeee !

Culture : Wax rose needs full sun to partial shade, with a rich, well-drained soil.
I found in many articles said : In the greenhouse, they use a soil mixture consisting of 2 parts peat moss to 1 part loam to 2 parts sand or perlite. During the spring and summer, the plants are kept moist and fertilized on a weekly basis. Since the plants are fast growers, you may have to keep them pruned to keep a desired form. In the greenhouse, they will grow up to 2 feet a year. In the winter months, the plant should be watered only enough to keep the stems from shriveling.

** Flower from home

Larb : Hot and Spicy Slad - Thai style : An authentic recipe

Larb Moo or Hot and Spicy Minced Pork Salad – Thai style

" ลาบ " Larb is a Thai north-eastern hot and spicy minced meat dish. Authentic recipe DIDN'T add sugar in it 'coz it’s not our north-eastern taste. We eat it with sticky rice and fresh veggies, eg. Long Bean, Chinese lettuce, Cabbage, Basil leaves and other north-eastern veggie (I dunno their names and I don’t eat them. OMG !!!.....I can’t stand their strong smell :S).
Here, I’ll give you an AUTHENTIC one! :)

Ingredients
1 cup chicken stock or water
½ cup pound coarsely ground pork (beef, chicken, duck, charcoal-grilled Catfish or Mushroom or Bean curd – if you are a veggie)
½ cup coarsely chopped shallot
3 tablespoons finely chopped green onion
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
A handful of fresh mint leaves
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons Fish sauce
2 tablespoons roasted sticky rice powder
1 tablespoon coarsely ground dried red chilli
½ finely ground Galangal (option)
A few lettuce leaves (or Chinese cabbage), Basil leaves
2 wedges green cabbage
6 green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise

Method
In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the stock to a boil. Add the meat and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, tossing often with a large spoon to break up the meat and cook it to fairly evenly. When the meat is cooked, remove the pan from the heat.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a medium bowl, leaving most of the liquid behind. Stir in the shallot, green onion, cilantro, galangal and most of the mint, reserving a few leaves for a garnish. Add the lime juice, fish sauce, sticky rice powder and chilli, stir to combine everything well. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed for a pleasing balance of sour, salty, and hot.

Serve
Normally, serve together with fresh veggies and steamed Sticky rice in separated dishes and eat together. Here in my shot, I just stylish it for photograph, however, I love to serve as shown here for sometimes. If you don't have Sticky rice, you can eat only with veggies or steamed rice. I almost eat only with veggies 'coz I don’t like sticky rice….hehehee…that’s what many friends said..”You are a real city girl!!” LOL LOL