Mussel Night

I steamed some mussels last night in a white wine, tomato broth. 

And for sides, it was hand cut fries (frites) and garlic-butter toasted baguette. 

 

 

Gogi Berries, a Superfood

In Thailand, goji berries are often put in soups.  I do that from time-to-time when I cook here in the United States.  You can buy by the berries at most health food stores.  Whole Foods actually has a few different brands, including the type shown in this video.  For breakfast, try adding some goji berries to your oatmeal.

Give Me Some Chocolate Cake!

I followed Ina Garten's Beatty's Chocolate Cake recipe. 

I shared some of the cake with a colleagues and they said it was very delicious.  I used cacao (healthier) instead of cocoa powder (recommended) and local Dynamite Sumatran coffee for the icing instead of an instant coffee listed in the recipe.  The key is try to improvise a bit.

"The cake was out of this world delicious.  Best chocolate cake I've ever had.  Seriously, no kidding."  Ralph

Chia Fruit Jello

 

Chia Seeds are a superfood.  In Thailand they are put into desserts and soy milk.  Here in the US, I made a some Jello dessert cups using chia seeds.  It was quite refreshing, and healthy.  Click here for a recipe I followed.

 

Homemade Kimchi

This is after I mixed it all together and packed it into jars.

Then I let it sit outside at room temperature for almost two weeks.  The fermentation process can be done in different ways.  I would study the video below and also research online.

This is the final product.  Of course, I now refrigerate it.

 

 

Click here for a very interesting article on ways to cook with Kimchi.

Shrimp Cakes

I made these for a Christmas Party!

 

 

The Essentials

These are the essential cooking sauces I use.  In fact, for my husband and me, these types of sauces, and the quantity, are exactly what we need for a year.  And I would guess that we eat Thai or Asia 70% of the time when I cook at home.  Nowadays, we're eating at home more and more.

Custard Banana Pudding

Southern Comfort Foods

Potato Salad, Baked Chicken, Broccoli Casserole

 

 

Here's the recipe I used for the broccoli casserole recipe.

Lasagna

 

 

Crab Meat Omelet

We bought our last batch of lump crab meat at Cape Fear Seafood in Asheville.  Best to go fresh!

 

Cakes & Pies

Hard to believe this was ten years ago.  My mother-in-law showed me how to bake my first ever pound cake.  She also taught me how to make a fresh strawberry pie.  I will post her recipes here in coming days.

Here's a flyer I used for my Thai cooking class in those early years in Asheville, NC.  I am pictured with my mother-in-law.  This time, I was showing her something:  how to wrap a spring roll.

International Potluck

Occasionally we have friends over for international potlucks.  Here's the spread from one such event. 

 

 Thai Spring Rolls (w/ ground pork and shrimp)

 an Indian chickpea dish plus Raita  (vegetarian)

a Venezuelan entree (w/ meat) 

a Korean side dish (vegetarian) 

Russian Beet Salad

Southern Peach Cobbler

Russian Beet Salad

This is a salad my husband loves.  In fact, he entered this one in a international potluck competition at a gathering in Asheville several years ago, and won first place.  He says he ate this a lot in Tashkent, Uzbekistan back in the '90s.  And I know we had a variation of this on our visit to Moscow in 2007.  It's very good, and can be a great complement to other dishes.

Here's a simple recipe:

Boil and peel a few medium-sized beets
Cut them into small strips (or grate them) and put in a big bowl
Let the sliced beets chill in the fridge for at least an hour
Add mayo, a dash of salt and some fresh minced garlic
Mix together, taste, and then adjust ratio of mayo and garlic to suit your taste

If you need something more exact, here's a recipe for an easy Russian beet salad. 

Here's the write-up from the competition in 2008:

I do want to recognize the winners of the international potluck food cook-off. They were awarded fun prizes at Zambra's.  Well, those who attended claimed prizes!  Belated congratulations to the following:

Most #1 Votes
Russian Beet Salad, yours truly, 4 votes
Moroccan Lentil Soup, James 2 votes
French Crepes, Tracey, 2 votes

Most Total Votes
Russian Beet Salad, very yours truly, 8 votes
Japanese Aveline Kushi, Lesley Anna, 7 votes
Lebanese Fatoosh, Sarah, 7 votes

Just to show how interesting Asheville is, the people there (at the cook-off) were from Alabama, Long Island, Brooklyn, Canada, South Florida, North Carolina, the U.K., Chicago, Oregon, etc.,  

Red Velvet Cake

This was my first ever Red Velvet Cake.  Everything made from scratch.  I used a friend's recipe, but the cream cheese frosting was something I adapted from a few ideas I got online.  My husband and friends said the cake was delish.

Yum MAMA (Spicy Noodle Salad)



 

 

This is one of our favorite dishes, and it can be eaten hot or cold.  It's a modern Thai dish using instant MAMA brand noodles.  You can do many variations of this salad.  Experimentation is desired!  For example, we love fresh apples.  The texture and taste of apples gives the noodle salad a very nice touch.  Once you view the video, take a look at this recipe. 

Packaged instant Ramen noodles are also being turned into some amazing dishes.  See here.

Pork Satay

A few summers ago we went to an Asheville park with some friends.  We each brought a dish.  My dish was Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce.  I did all my marinating at home, and set the skewers for the barbecue ahead of time.  Although it was my first time preparing this dish, everyone said it was quite good.  See the video below to learn how it's prepared.  In Bangkok, people eat this dish all the time.  It's a comfort food.  The pork satay is usually served with a pickled cucumber salad - vinegar-based, sweet and a little spicy.  

 



Here's some Pork Satay we tried on a trip back to Thailand

 

a video we made of our favorite Thai comfort foods 

Food, Beer & Friends

Cucumber Bites*, Matcha (Green Tea) Cake Balls**, Nut Mix, Cherries

Red Curry with Chicken
Jasmine Rice
Spicy Seasoning Sauce

Kale Cole Slaw

Strawberry Chocolate Tart

Wicked Weed Beer (courtesy of Anthony)

Bouquet of Flowers (courtesy of Lisa)

I will link my dishes to some recipes soon.

  

* a raw food I make at Greenlife

** sent to us from Kana, a Japanese friend from Kyoto