"Pea" and "Ham" "Soup" (by Biggs)

Welcome to Budget Week!

Part challenge, part necessity, has resulted in attempting to spend as little money as possible on groceries this week so tonight was a $2 tin of pea and ham soup. Looks appetizing doesn't it?

It didn't taste like anything but I was tired and grumpy so it probably suited my mood. Ironically there is a ham bone, a bag of peas and some vegetable stock in our freezer so I probably would have been better off, in terms of both flavour and budget, cooking it in-house.  You live and learn. Or, perhaps you don't.

Stay tuned for more horror shows during Budget Week.

Pork Belly Fried Rice (by G)

I am a man of simple pleasures and getting the opportunity to cook for myself while overseas is one of them. This was my last night in Nongkhai so predictably I went back to the riverside hole-in-the-wall bar for a mid-afternoon drink.  I was on about my 4th beer when Nong (the owner and cook) called out to me 'G, help!'. There was a bit of a rush on food and the two little tables needed clearing - so I did that.

Then I helped prep - okay, I only sliced some spring onions and did a pretty decent job considering I was squatting over and esky. When the rush died down Nong asked if I wanted to eat something. I did. 'Okay, you cook', she said.

We decided a pork belly dish would be good for me so she chopped up some pre-roasted belly while I fried off some garlic and chilli. The pork belly was added and fried, then a ladle of stock and some greens.  Nong took a call at that point so, though it was supposed to be a noodle dish, I added some cooked rice.  I ran into a little trouble at that point because the rice wasn't as dry as I'd assumed and it started to stick a little so I added a bit more oil and persevered.  When Nong returned and saw where I what I was up to she said, 'Oh well, do what ever you want'.  I added some MSG and one of the 4 dark sauces on hand (they all tasted very similar and soy like - I went with the mushroom sauce).

At the last minute I added some mung bean shoots and little slices of bean then plated and topped with some crunchies - crushed peanuts and (I think) fried onion and garlic).

Nong and her son tried a little bit and concluded it was 'Okay' and 'Spicy'.  Personally I thought it was okay, far from the worst thing I've ever cooked. 'Undeniably Edible' is perhaps the phrase I will use.

I was a bit stingy with portions so afterwards I finished a bowl of a sour chicken soup. Nong also brought some pork balls (delicious) and boiled cow sphincter (less delicious) for us to graze on.

At about 6pm it was time to close down the kitchen. I helped clean the tables and pack them and the umbrellas away. Then Nong got started on a MOUNTAIN of washing up. She insisted I sit and drink but I couldn't leave her to tackle the washing alone so off came the shoes, pants were rolled up and I rinsed and stacked the dishes.  It is probably one of the most unpleasant things I've done, the tiles were slick with oil and as slippery as ice.  For my day's labours I was paid 10 baht (37 cents) which was far outweighed by my expenditures on beer.

Leftovers (by Biggs)

I know that G plans to never repeat a meal on the blog but I have no such desires.

After a big day out I came home hungry with no motivation to cook anything. Fortunately there were enough leftovers from last night to satisfy my tummy. A lot of meals taste better the next day but it turns out this is not one of them. The sweet potato got a bit soggy, the chicken got a bit watery and the honey in the dressing made everything a tad gloopy.

In saying that, the flavours were good and for the very little effort I put in it was most excellent.

Nothing further to report.

Last Minute Street Food (by G)

After Friday's effort you would think I'd leave the booze alone for a little while. All I can say is that I was much more restrained this night, though I did have about 8 beers.  I got a bit too comfortable and forgot to eat again but there was an open air market on the river that had food stalls so I picked up some Pad Thai and Samosas to have back in my room.

The Pad Thai was not excellent, the texture was good but the flavour was oddly fishy so I didn't finish it.  The Samosas on the other hand were excellent. No real twist on a regular samosa just potato and onion and flavour (one surprisingly had rice noodles in it but the flavour was the same).  I'm not really pushing the boundaries of Thai cuisine here - and I probably won't tonight either but I'm having a good time (and at this point I'm just grateful to be alive and in posession of all my posessions and with most of my mental faculties intact).

Cajun Chicken and Sweet Potato Salad (by Biggs)

Tonight Bonnie came over for dinner and I made my stock standard "friend over for dinner" fare of Cajun Chicken. It's literally oven-baked chicken tenderloins sprinkled with cajun spice from a jar. Simple but effective.

I also made a salad of spinach, bacon, fetta cheese, pine nuts and sweet potato. The sweet potato was sprinkled with cumin and oven baked.

Up until tonight the dressing was top secret..... however, it is tahini, honey and orange juice. Sounds gross I know but it's very complementary of the salty, sweet, nutty goodness that is the sweet potato salad.  

For dessert I made Chocolate Ripple Cake. If you don't know what this is check out the back of a Chocolate Ripple Biscuit packet. Turns out if you sandwich the biscuits together with cream, lay them out like a log and cover the log with more cream, after six hours in the fridge it turns into dense rich cake. I first discovered this cake about 25 years ago and it still blows me away with it's black magic witchcraft.

Beer and... (by G)

I found a small bar and restaurant I like in Nongkhai on the banks of the Mekong, after drinking a lot of beer and helping the owner cook some meals I have a slight mental blank for a few hours.  I may have eaten something in that time but I'm pretty doubtful so dinner consisted this night of a couple of dozen beers and (I later discovered, though I have no recollection of it myself) 5 shots of Thai Whiskey.

The night ended with me wading back to my hotel through ankle deep water during a violent thunder storm - the point of my story is this: DON'T DRINK THAI WHISKEY.

Hot Sesame Chicken and Avocado Salad (by Biggs)

I got home late tonight but was prepared for dinner with the assistance of "Healthy Food".

Deep down I'm not entirely convinced this was actually healthy but there was lettuce and at least one "superfood" (whatever the fuck that is) so I'm going with it.

I oven roasted a full chicken thigh in grain mustard, honey, lemon and soy (which wasn't in the recipe) and served it on a bed of lettuce and avocado, sprinkled with toasted* sesame seeds and sesame oil.

I was pretty happy with the outcome.

*burnt 'cause I lost concentration for quite some time.