All Purls. No Swine.
The detail is from a History Channel recap of important events on July 10 throughout history. Obviously, some are more recent than others. Some are so recent that I was an absurdly small "extra"--merely a unrecognized bystander--in their resolution. As fate and fortune would have it, I was in Chiang Rai, Thailand, the week that… Continue reading On This Day, Six Years Ago, “Mission Possible for Team Thailand”
Today, I claim executive privilege and repost with considerable emendations, one from the past. It's a personal anniversary, my sixth--in wedding anniversary terms that would be "iron"-- and I'm in a bit of a reflective mood: I don't think any of my sentiments have changed in the intervening years. I haven't been to any "far… Continue reading Far Away Places–2024
If I'm doing the math right (always a dodgy proposition) about one in every five posts here has to do with food or recipes. Stuff I've eaten, stuff I've cooked, or stuff I've thought about cooking. And a few of them even have to do with the gorgeous Thai food experience and my attempts to… Continue reading Say What? No, Sai Oua!
I originally published this post (which I've since very lightly edited) almost two years ago, in June 2021. I'm reposting it today because, when I went looking for inspiration on the web, I discovered that April 21, 2023 is the 241st anniversary of the founding of the city of Rattanakosin, now known internationally as Bangkok. … Continue reading Kap He Chom Khrueang Khao Wan 2023–กาพย์เห่ชมเครื่องคาวหวาน
The news today is peppered with stories of Thailand’s deadliest mass killing by a single individual, one perpetrated by an ex-policeman at a children’s day-care center. Apparently, this former cop was dismissed from the force last year after allegations of drug-dealing,** for which he was facing imminent trial. According to Reuters, he had been in… Continue reading Thailand’s Shame
It's been exactly four years since a day I remember with great affection, the day on which my friend and I attended a full-day cooking school in Chiang Rai, Thailand and--with a lot of effort, hard work, and a great sense of fun--made some of the loveliest and most delicious food I've ever eaten. A… Continue reading Suwanee’s Cooking School, Chiang Rai, Thailand: Revisited
Today, I claim executive privilege and repost one from a year-and-a-half ago. It's a personal anniversary, and I'm in a bit of a reflective mood. I don't think any of my sentiments have changed in the intervening months. I haven't been to any "far away places," since I wrote the following, and--truth be told--I'm glad… Continue reading Far Away Places
TBH, I've written on a similar topic before in my post The Right Tool for the Job. But today I'm asking a slightly different question: What is the one single-purpose tool in your kitchen for which you are most grateful (pun intended) when you have to accomplish a job which, without said tool, would be… Continue reading What’s the Most Useful Tool in Your Kitchen?
I wrote recently about my visit to Thailand in 2018, and of a visit to Chiang Rai's spectacular White Temple. Competing for the role of "most famous Chiang Rai tourist attraction" (unless you're a golfer, in which case it's probably the Santiburi Country Club, which is also quite lovely--and the food is very good too--even… Continue reading Photos, Or it Didn’t Happen: Part Two
The title of today's post, Kap He Chom Khrueang Khao Wan, means, in English, "A Procession Poem Admiring Sweet and Savory Dishes," and refers to a poem written by Siam's (now known as Thailand) Prince Itsarasunthon--later King Rama II--in 1800. The opening stanza, translated by Heather Arndt Anderson, goes like this: Massaman, a curry made… Continue reading Kap He Chom Khrueang Khao Wan–กาพย์เห่ชมเครื่องคาวหวาน