November 7, 2010
Another month passes by, another milestone for Spud as she hit the 3 month mark today.
When I hear stories from other moms, I have to say that Spud has not been the easiest baby.
These days though, while she can still be somewhat cranky, she has been mostly smiles, drools and gurgles and most times, pleasant to be with. When not fussing, she is quite a happy baby and has started to let out strings of big laughs as well.
I reckon she has started to recognise her environment and beginning to sort out who’s who in her life. We know she definitely prefers me and Silver Bullet. She accepts the nanny and while acknowledges other people and strangers talking to her, she will not tolerate them carrying her. On this, I foresee a big challenge ahead as, at present, we have a major nanny issue at such untimely period when I have to go back to work! (A rant for another post, another time).
They say it gets easier once babies get to the 3 month mark. We can only hope it holds true for us.
Here’s another mugshot taken for more documentation and coincidentally (again!) just a few days shy of being 3 months old. It seems quite hard to get a flattering mugshot…and on this one, I have no idea where she got those hideous ears from!
November 7, 2010
Thailand is such a baby-crazy country that almost every Thai on the streets would coo, giggle and probably ovulating at the same time as soon as they see a baby.
These days, it is so easy to elicit a smile from people on the streets just by having Spud around with us. I swear that every turn we take, there’s almost always someone smiling at us. This is what they usually do:
Look at me (or Silver Bullet).Look at baby. Look at me (or Silver Bullet) again.
Grin.
Coo.
Giggle. (Ovulate)
Smile.
Look at Spud again. Look at me (or Silver Bullet).
Grin.
Coo.
Giggle.(Ovulate)
I’m telling you it is almost like clockwork!
What struck me as plain weird (and even annoying) is that while they remember to smile whenever they see a baby in tow, for some reason they forgot the most sensible thing — like holding the elevator door for you while you struggle to get into it with a baby that is either in the stroller or strapped to you.
Sometimes I wonder if this happens only when you are in Thailand.
November 5, 2010
This dish does not look visually appetizing, but the taste definitely over-compensates what it looks like. It is a dish that does not include chillies for a start. For a dish that is usually served on special occasions, it definitely is easy to make without much hassle!
Opor Daging
2015-07-14 17:15:41
- Chicken or Beef
- 2 tspn ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- half an inch fresh ginger peeled and coarsely sliced
- 3 roasted candle nuts or raw almonds or macadamia nuts (I used mac nuts in my dish and it was heavenly!)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 6 shallots, sliced
- 1 tspn ground white pepper
- 160 ml of coconut milk
- 1 thick slice of galangal*, bruised
- 1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
- 1 piece cinnamon stick
- 2 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 tumeric leaf (sliced finely)
- 2 tablespoon tamarind water
- 1 teaspoon of palm/dark brown sugar to taste
- salt to taste
- Cut the chicken/beef into pieces
- Grind/blend coriander, cumin, ginger, chosen types of nuts, garlic, shallots and white pepper into a paste
- Toss in the blended paste in #2 in a wok with about 2 tablespoon of oil and fry till fragrant
- Add the chicken/beef pieces and stir fry into the paste
- Add in coconut milk, galangal*, lemongrass, cinnamon, lime leaves and simmer gently, uncovered until the meat is cooked and gravy is thick.
- Add tamarind water, sugar, salt and stir on low heat
- Lastly, throw in the finely sliced tumeric leaf and continue to simmer for 15 minutes
- Serve it with white rice or ketupat (rice cakes)
Grubbs n Critters https://grubbsncritters.com/
The recipe is taken off “Southeast Asian Food” book, and as always, I have modified it a little bit by playing with the portions. My version did not have any galangal in it simply because I only realised that I have run out of galangal after preparing everything else and they have all gone into the pan. Somehow, I don’t think it made much of a difference without it.
This is truly a case of never judge a book by its cover. For, as hideous as it looked, it tasted absolutely yummilucious and worth a repeat. Definitely one of those recipes for folks not too fond of spicy food.
