The Adolescent in Koh Samui

The Adolescent, on the other hand, is fully immersed in himself which is, I guess, what he's supposed to be doing at this stage in his life. He moves with the speed of molasses that's just come out of the fridge. He mumbles. He utters one word grunts. He casts us occasional looks of disdain. Sometimes I question the sanity of my dogged insistence in "family time".

But then something passes between brothers and they are hugging or holding hands or the Adolescent is doing some other nurturing act for the Beamer.

I decide to put up with him for just one more day.

Bangkok You've Been Good to Me!

We visit the Grand Palace in the middle of Bangkok. It is truly grand and ornate and typical of Thai architecture.

Our hotel is a serene oasis in the middle of this busy, steamy hot, chaotic city. Every day, in our room, a bowl of locally grown fruit such as mango, mangosteen, longan, passion fruit and dragon fruit, as well as a plate of hand made chocolate truffles, are left. EVERY DAY! There have been different kinds of truffles. Today's offering had little slivers of crystallized ginger in it. Yesterday's were mocha.

I shall view the daily truffles as an offering to the Tourist. And this particular Tourist, with Rice Goddess tendencies, is very appreciative!

Bangkok Part 3

We visit my cousin Lisa and her husband Bob who have lived in Thailand for the past year. They are teachers and have taught and lived all over the world. Zimbabwe, Malawi, Singapore, Lebanon, Ecuador, Japan, and China, to name just a few. They are warm and welcoming hosts and have a lovely home just outside of Bangkok. Bob is originally from Virginia and has Southern charm. He has made dinner of ratatouille, rosemary chicken, and apple crisp for dessert. It is delicious and earns you at least one Perfect Man point, Bob! The chicken is moist and flavourful, all the more impressive because it was baked in their odd oven contraption! Although Lisa and I haven't seen each other in 10 years there are deep and familiar familial connections. When we were kids Lisa proclaimed that I was bossy. So perceptive at such a young age!

Bangkok Part 2

There is beauty everywhere. As well as experiences that are unfamiliar. I have a Thai massage.  I lie face down and put my face on the "donut" headrest. Beneath me, instead of the usual view of the floor, there is a perfect lotus blossom. The massage therapist crawls on her hands and knees up and down my back!

We walk the busy crowded streets at night. Barely enough room to squeeze the Beamer's stroller through. He is captivated by all the people, as are we. We are challenged by how to cross the street. Bumper to bumper cars, taxis, and mopeds following seemingly secret rules of the road.

We visit a floating market. We take a longboat through narrow canals to get there. We marvel at people's homes right along the water. Birds of paradise and other colourful flowers grow wild in giant bushes. Local farmers and merchants bring their goods by boat to the market to sell to locals and tourists alike. It is a crowded and vibrant place.

Welcome to Bangkok!

The Goddess of Rice is apparently a sensitive sort. Knowing this, the farmers pray to her regularly and bring her offerings of food and other riches. They do this before planting, harvesting, and before doing anything to their rice fields. They want to keep her informed about what's going on in order that she not get annoyed. They want her to be in a good frame of mind so that she will nurture and protect their crops. I can relate to the Goddess of Rice.

The Thai culture is rich in spirituality and symbolism. 95% of people are Buddhist. Temples abound in Bangkok and are beautiful and ornate with giant statues of Buddha to which people bring offerings of fruit, rice, flowers, and money. They stick small pieces of gold leaf on Buddha and then make wishes. The monarchy is very important to the people. The King is seen as a representative of God. Tomorrow is the Queen's birthday and it is a national holiday. She was born on a Friday and therefore her colour is blue. Her portrait is everywhere and Bangkok is awash in blue. The King's birthday is in December, again a national holiday. His colour is yellow. The Adolescent was born on a Tuesday and his colour is pink. He can consider pink his lucky colour. And just to be clear, the mention of the Adolescent at this particular place in this posting is not meant to imply any connection between the monarchy and the Adolescent!

Dessert Refusal

Sinikka, the Dessert Refuser, Richard

The unfathomable has happened. The Hubby refused my dessert! He says it's because he's on a diet and wants to lose weight. He's even given up drinking for a few months in an attempt to shed pounds. The precipitating event for this incredible lapse in judgement is that the Hubby just got a road bike. For those of you who don't know road bikes, the more you pay for the bike, the lighter the bike. So you can go faster. And the Hubby likes to go fast. He just thought it didn't make sense that he would pay all this money to get a light bike but then neutralize all the benefit by carrying an extra 20 lbs on his body. It probably didn't help that he couldn't find a pair of road shoes that fit. The store is ordering in a special pair. In size Mega Wide.

Me and my father-in-law

Now the Hubby might have crazy ideas but he's still considerate. He did ask me if I would mind if he didn't eat my dessert. I told him I definitely would mind. I told him I wouldn't be able to trust him (see sidebar About Me). No it doesn't matter that we've been married for many years and I've never had reason not to trust him before. He's never refused my dessert before! I try not to take it personally but, like most things that involve people who are important to me, it's impossible. I don't know why I have such an issue about my desserts. But I do. I can't stop myself from thinking that unless you're allergic to it, or it's going to make you sick in some way, that you should at least try a little bit of it. Just because you know how important it is to me.

My dad and Sinikka: Trusted dessert eaters

Sinikka doesn't usually eat dessert. But she eats MY dessert. She always asks for "just a sliver" but at least she still eats it. That's devotion. 

The Adolescent, Scarlett, and the Beamer

My sister eats my desserts. She eats all my whip cream and butter-ladened creations and she's lactose intolerant! That's loyalty.


My dad eats my desserts. He'd better. He's the one who got me hooked on them in the first place.

So for the Hubby, my previously most loyal supporter, not to eat my dessert: that's mutiny!







The Hubby did manage to eat the other things I made for the dinner with our extended family. Green Shawarma Salmon was marinated in an easy and delicious sauce of fresh cilantro, garlic, and spices.








Fingerling Potato Salad can be made ahead and served at room temperature which is always useful when you're trying to put a big dinner on the table with everything served at the right temperature at the same time. Leeks and mustard seed made it very flavourful.







For dessert Berry Cobbler is served warm with vanilla ice cream.

Ready for grilling brushed with olive oil

The Hubby said the meal was delicious. But, as I can no longer trust him, who knows for sure?!

Donut Day

Any man rolling dough is a treasure in my eyes!

Treasure has a craving for donuts. Most normal people would just drive to their neighbourhood donut shop and buy some. Not Treasure. He decides that he will make some and invites me to help. I jump at the chance. Who ever heard of actually making your own donuts?! It's an experience I can't pass up.

In the final rising stage

Apparently doing things like making donuts is not an unusual idea for Treasure. His wife's family are farmers and from the sounds of it they are extremely hard working, very competent and self reliant, and they do things in a big way. Treasure's mother-in-law bakes a dozen pies, all different kinds, all at once. Every year they roast a whole pig, for dinner, just like that. Treasure's brother-in-law makes gallons of ice cream, just for the fun of it. Treasure made his own dining table from wood from his in-laws' old barn. So, to Treasure, making your own donuts is nothing out of the ordinary.

Frying

In case you were wondering, Treasure is not his real name. The 3 year old girl who lives next door calls him this. It's probably because 3 year olds have trouble pronouncing certain sounds. But maybe it's a proclamation of what she knows to be true, as little kids and really old people can do.  All the little girl knows is that one night she gave Treasure 11 raspberries that she picked herself and the next morning he gave her back a raspberry pie.

Glazing

In case Treasure sounds like the Perfect Man I want to be clear that he, as all men, has significant flaws. He is generally risk averse although today is surprising me with his risk taking. Making donuts for the first time knowing that they will end up on my blog is pretty risky. He also makes lunch for us. He skims the August issue of Food & Wine magazine and decides on Zucchini - Ricotta Fritters. He makes those for the first time, with me watching, and he doesn't even like vegetables! He does peel all the green off the zucchini to perhaps trick himself into believing he is not actually eating vegetables. But still...going outside his comfort zone.

Finished donuts

Treasure is also a bit of a control freak. But so am I. So although I understand and respect this quality I also wonder how we'll do in the kitchen together. Surprisingly, all goes pretty smoothly. Control freakishness is held in check by both of us. 

And one last, but significant, flaw is in the area of expression of feelings, which is a major criteria in my definition of the Perfect Man. The word "feelings" is like a swear word to Treasure. His own personal F-word.

Freaky beans

My faithful readers may be wondering how the Hubby feels about me making donuts with a man called Treasure. Now the expression of feelings IS a strength of the Hubby's. Usually the Hubby really likes Treasure but the donut making is a little hard for him to stomach. It must be the manly competitive thing. He puts on a brave face and a big fake smile. He's almost fooled me. Until I come home with all these gorgeous donuts, regale him with stories from the day, and then pull out a jar of pickled beans that Treasure made last summer with his friend. It's just too much for the Hubby. All he can mutter is "Freak!".









The recipe for the Donuts is Treasure's mother-in-law's. She knows it so well by heart that it's a little tricky getting the details necessary for neophyte donut makers like me and Treasure. Treasure has previously been involved only in the glazing stage of donut making. The ingredients are clear; it's the technique that requires some guesswork on our part. We decide that next time we will make our donut holes smaller and roll the dough out thicker.



In the end, it was relatively easy to make donuts although it took us all day. There are many steps. There's the mixing, the rising, the punching down, the rising again, the rolling, the cutting of shapes, the rising yet again, the frying, and the glazing. The last stage, the eating, is the easiest and fastest of them all.

I would highly recommend donut making for those of you with a lot of patience and a Treasure to work with.