Nibbles in Nakhon

So the big supermarket in Nakhon has changed hands and it now stocks some staples of my pre-Thailand diet, like Italian basil (YAY now I can make pesto!), eggplants, zucchinis and tonic, gin and lemons (wonder what i'm making with those?).

My hero Ms Julia Child, in her AMAZING kitchen

I have made zucchini soup a few times, and I have been frying garlic and eggplant to have on salads but this week I have a reason to make (or try to make) Baba Ganoush - JOY!

The reason I have an excuse to make this dish is because the girls of Nakhon are having the 2nd clothing swap of the year. We all get together at my pal Ali's place, eat and drink then dump the baskets of unwanted or unworn clothes on the ground and fight over them. Ha! So much fun! I am actually wearing something from the previous clothing swap as I write. It's a lovely little kaftan and my friend Kait was done wearing it, I think she had worn it so much it had lost it's appeal to her but I LOVE it!

The clothing swap is a great way to refresh our wardrobes without having to buy more and more stuff. It fits in nicely with my impending new years resolution (yes i have decided on my resolution already) which is to consume less; less stuff, less food, less alcohol etc.

This is the recipe I will follow, it's from David Lebovitz's food blog. I love his writing and his cooking so I thought i'd try his Ganoush over all the other recipes I found online.

My Introduction to Fiery Isaan Food.

My fellow diners - Clare, Allison and Marelise

I have been hearing great things about Isaan food (the cuisine for the North of Thailand) since I first arrived in Thailand in 2009, yet I have never sat down to a meal at an Isaan restaurant. Well, not until a few nights ago.

The Isaan Provence is located in the North-Eastern Part of Thailand, bordered by Cambodia and Laos on the Eastern sides. The Provence is one of the poorest in Thailand and because of that, the ingredients are more varied and unusual. Sticky rice (served in groovy individual, hand woven pots) is a staple of Isaan food because of it's abundance and because it helps to diffuse the heat of the dishes.

Pork neck and the yummy tamarind (?) sauce
and left over SomTam behind it

The SomTam (it didn't last long)
the plate of greens behind contains greens
like beans and cucumber to cool the mouth

To the meal: spurred into action by the fact that during my brief visit to Sydney earlier this month, my parents seemed to know more about Isaan cuisine than I did (thanks to this article) and that there is a new Isaan restaurant in my town, I finally took the plunge and dined at E-San Inter, the newest Isaan place in town. 

Our Isaan feast was a cacophony of different flavours, spices, and textures. It was amazing, so flavourful and oh so fresh!

Clare serving Allison some Tom Yum Gong

Although I had heard that Isaan food is very spicy and can often be too hot, only the SomTam (spicy green papaya salad) was hot, the rest were fine. Having said that though, I like spice and I have been living in Thailand for 8 months so if you're not usually a fan of spice it may be best to ask for mild on your first visit to an Issan restaurant.

Marelise enjoying some SomTam
and Tom Yum Gong

The meal before we demolished it.
Note the amazing whole fish on the left - YUM!

My favorite dish was the whole grilled fish with a sweet and sour tomato sauce - amazing! The fish was so fresh, it tasted like butter. I also really enjoyed the spicy SomTam made with apple, grape and pineapple instead of green papaya. The fresh, cold, sweet fruit mixed with the salty fish sauce and the spice of the fresh chillis was a fantastic combination.
I also had the best chicken and cashew nuts I have ever had (and Aussie/Thai is full of chicken and cashew so I have eaten my fair share). I can't tell you what they did differently but whatever it was, it worked!

Clare and I mucking around with basil

I am really excited to go back to this restaurant and sample some more delicious Isaan dishes. I have had larb before (I have had catfish, chicken and pork larb) and loved it! Larb is a spicy salad with ground meat, spices and onion. It's really tasty, and remains to be one of my favorite Thai dishes. 

By the time we got to the restaurant they had run out of a few things, like a fried ground fish and mango salad and sun dried pork with a sweet sauce, so you see, I need to go back to try them.

Clare, Allison, Marelise (taking the pic) and I
DOMINATED E-san Inter!

I Love Floating

As I wrote in my previous post, Monday December 5th was a national holiday in Thailand so we all got a 3 day weekend - yay!

I am blessed to live in a town with a lot of super groovy people and one couple in particular who are really proactive when it comes to organising big group outings to interesting places. Last weekend was one such outing. About 40 of us (including my pal Clare who is visiting from Sydney) went to the Ratchaprapha Dam about 5 hours away, and spent 2 nights staying in floating bungalows. It  was one of the most beautiful places i have been in Thailand, so peaceful and quiet. The water was crystal clear and we were surrounded by untouched rain forest. I was actually told that the dam itself is 1/3 the size of Singapore, HUGE!

Here are some photos of this fun weekend.

Allison, Clare and Laura on the bus to the Dam. Laura and Andy (out of frame) are playing with a bat and ball.

Andy, bat in hand :)

Me and my pal Marelise on the bus.

Clare and I waiting to leave the pier on the long tail boat that took us to the bungalows.

One of the other longtail boats (there were 4 in total) heading off.
Note Bert, up the back, with his massive inner tube for floating on .

Me and the beautiful mountains in the distance.

I named this 'Camel Island'

The bungalows we stayed in. They were literally floating on the water. So peaceful.

Clare at the bungalows.

Sad Clare, having just slipped of the bamboo walkway and  fallen in the water :

Wine and cards = fun

Me and my wonderful friend Jane

Meaghan, Omar and Sami

Me and Berret (who along with her partner Maew, organised the trip)

Clare and I goofing around

Clare and I, sad to be going home.

December 2nd, a Photo Diary

My beautiful friend Sabina has a blog and whenever i'm feeling a bit beige, a tad blah, I click over to it for some inspiration. She's such an amazing soul, a really wonderful friend and SO creative!
Recently she posted a sort of photo story about her recent move from Sydney to Germany and it inspired me to do the same.

Here are some pictures I took on Friday December 2.  December 5th is the King's Birthday (he turns 84), here in Thailand which makes it both Father's Day and a national holiday (woot!) so there was a little Father's Day concert at school to celebrate Father's Day.

The choir

My colleagues in the English Programme enjoying the presentation

My friend Amy's daughter - Issara (Issy), meaning freedom in Thai

Me and my very well behaved class

Kindergarten ballet dancers

Their costumes are so ornate!

Zeeu-Ziu (facing the camera, right) sits quietly. She's such a beautiful little girl.
I really enjoy  the random hugs she gives me. She's a very caring person and a pleasure to teach. 

Praew (laughing) is another amazing girl in my class.
She is so bubbly and warm, and she's my top student.

My class hamming it up for the camera 

Pleum (1st boy on stage) from my class presents his father (seated left) with a Father's Day gift.
The kids are lower then their parents out of respect. 

Pleum (far left) pays respects to his father while his little sister looks on in front.
Note the massive picture/shrine to the King. They really love the King and Queen here.

Pleum, his sister and his proud father

After the ceremony we all planted a tree in the garden. What a sweet idea!
Here Chul (holding the spade) and his Grandfather plant the first tree.

Zeeu-Ziu - she loved planting and watering the trees

My class planting their trees

The lovely lady who sells fruit from here motorcycle cart

She insisted I have a go :)

The wonderful woman i call 'fried chicken lady' who sells chicken (or 'gai' in Thai) outside  my school

There's a temple opposite my school and we often see monks wandering into town 

I had to put this one up, it's my friend Clare, who is visiting me from Sydney.
 We found these fantastic animals by the side of the road on Friday night and had to stop to pat/ride them :)