Josephine's Birthday Party--Friday, December 13th

On Friday evening John, Rose and I had a Memorial service for Josephine who would have celebrated her 95th birthday. In her honor, we played Pinochle and toasted her with a delicious Prosecco that Som had stashed in the frig.

Mom was over my shoulder and I took the first 3 hands with spectacular cards.

But the game was going too fast, so I let Rose take the bid and she found what she needed right in the kitty. Cheers, Josephine! We sure do miss you. Thanks for all the miracles and, "Bye bye, mom mom."

Outgoing--Friday, December 13th

The next day we saw the plucky New Yorkers off to the Phuket airport and they airlifted to Bangkok for a couple of days. That afternoon Chris and Som led us on a hike up the path right outside our door. Up, up, up to the waterfall at the top of the mountain.

Rose passed a remote screen that would serve well as an al fresco office for her. Anything is possible.

A fine hike led by two strong men! But I had to ice my knees afterwards.

After Class

On the way home from the class John stopped at the viewpoint with the stray dogs and we peered in on the "secret beach" that had no access except for a hike in or a boat ride. We wanted to go. And then we cruised over to the Elephant Beach, but they were off duty that day at low tide. We had dinner that night with the cooking class leftovers and some more dishes that Som picked up and just hung out poolside in the back yard. Pat made friends with the local boys who peered in over the wall by giving them some candy. Wise man! It's their 'hood, after all.

Brass Wok-Lā k̀xn, Chef Pui!

K̄hx k̄hxbkhuṇ! Goodbye and thank you! We enjoyed every minute of your class and know that we will meet again to discuss more things culinary. Thanks for sharing your secrets--and for demystifying Thai cooking.

Brass Wok--Finishing the Dessert

This meant making a thickened coconut sauce and coloring it with our blue pea flower dye, then carefully tossing the cooked sticky rice in it to infuse the color. It worked like a charm!

And after all those many steps, we enjoyed the best dessert ever, topped with some toasted mung beans for crunch.

Brass Wok--Sticky Rice

Two Vids show what to do with that sticky business

Brass Wok--Green Curry Time

The clock was ticking. We had half an hour left and two dishes to complete. Time to make and toast the green curry paste that we started with at the beginning of the class--and time to finish that dessert.

The secret ingredient this time was a gooey coconut sugar that tasted like fudge. Bam!