Local, easy, healthy, yummy lunch

OK, so I won't be winning any awards for photography or food styling...but I was HUNGRY when I took this picture, so it was a quick snap so I could EAT! :)

I just wanted to share what is one of my favorite lunches recently.  I find myself making it quite often, because it's quick, easy, reasonably healthy and delicious!

I finally gave in and we bought a rice cooker- mostly because of the burners that can't be controlled to go low enough not to burn my rice when cooking in a pot.  So, first step when making this lunch- rinse rice and through it in the cooker.

Next I tear apart and rinse the bok choy.  I do make sure to separately rinse each leaf, because they are often dirty at the bottom, and I missed that one caterpillar that one time... ew.  This is the probably the step of making this meal that takes the most time.

While I'm rinsing, I rinse off my tomato (or tomatoes, in the case of using the cherry tomatoes today- usually I just use one whole one), and then dice it (or cut into halves today).

When I'm ready to cook I throw the tomatoes on a pan with a touch of sesame oil and some other taste-less oil.  I throw the bok choy in the wok with a couple crushed garlic cloves and some oil.  I throw the bok choy in wet, as it adds some moisture to the whole thing.  Once the greens start reducing I throw in a shot of soy sauce and about a tsp of sugar as well.  I let it cook for another few seconds, and then it's done.  As for the tomatoes- once they've sort of melted in the pan, I push them to one side and throw in my one or two eggs (depending on my appetite that day).  Sometimes I scrambled them first, and sometimes I scramble them in the pan with chopsticks.  Once the egg cooks, I mix it all up together, and throw some soy sauce on there too- just a little bit.

That's it!  It's all done!

As far as I know this is Chinese food (which I say because I first ate it, and learned to cook it while living in Shanghai)- but, given what simple dishes they are, I'm guessing they might be common throughout Asia just because of available ingredients.  I really like that I can get all these ingredients locally, cheaply, and like I said before..... all delicious!

Oh, and Beni has never actually eaten egg before.  I've tried to give it to her, but she's always spit it out.  Well today, she was eating just the rice from this meal, but I decided to offer her some egg, and she was gobbling it up!  It's probably because it had the soy sauce on it, and she loves salty things... but either way, I'm glad for her being willing to gobble up some protein!  (Beni = total carbaholic!)

What's you fave quick, easy, local food recently?    

Why driving in Vientiane is EXCITING

Disclaimer: Understand that I may be using exciting as a substitute for scary, dangerous, and nerve-wracking...and sometimes I actually mean exciting! :)

 The Roads
The roads in Vientiane are unpredictable.  One minute they are smooth and drive-able, and the next they are full of potholes craters, some of which seem big enough to swallow my little car.  What's worse is, because of the ever present rain (in the rainy season) and the fairly poor manner in which the roads are constructed, potholes are formed literally over night.  One night of storms leaves 50 new holes in a what was a smooth road yesterday.  This includes both dirt roads and paved roads.  Sometimes, the ground beneath the concrete just gives out, and boom- pothole.

The Dogs
Stupid frickety-frakkin dogs.  This country (ok, this city, at least) is over-run with dogs.  I don't think they are all stray, in fact, I think most of them might have owners- BUT most of them are "free-range."  Dogs wander the streets like they own them.  They are cheeky and confident.  They stand in the middle of the road watching you approach, and you must swerve around them (never mind oncoming traffic!).  If you were to hit one, believe me, especially as a foreigner, you'd be expected to take care of it, pay the vet's bills, etc.  So it's not worth playing chicken with them- but let's just say, I've already wondered aloud what eats dogs, because this city could use a few dog-eaters on the streets.  There are cows too, but, so far I have never seen a cow IN THE ROAD, only grazing on the side of the road, so so far, I'm ok with the cows.

The Drivers
I don't know what it takes to get a Lao driver's license if you're Lao.  I'm assuming you might have to take classes or pass a test.  I'm not sure if most driver's have licenses or not.  But in any case, the basic rule of the road seems to be, "Do as you like, react to that which is in front of you, don't look back."  Drivers drive as fast or slow as they like, sometimes they drive on the wrong side of the road (often to avoid potholes), they stop to do road-side shopping by parking their car in the right lane of traffic *maybe* half pulled off the road.  The only thing you can count on from any driver here, is that you cannot count on anything.  

Stupid rules
There are a few roundabouts in town, which, most people will agree are useful traffic aids.  They help traffic move along at a generally faster clip than lights do.  BUT, the rule for roundabouts here is that you have the right of way to ENTER the roundabout, but once you are IN IT, you have to yield to those cars entering from the next entrance!  Yes, I know.  Really.  Yeah.  STUPID.  Basically, completely defeats the point of a roundabout.

Also, most main roads in Vientiane are 4 lanes- two headed in one direction, two going the other way.  All along these roads though, instead of having left turn lanes (except at a couple lights) they just have openings in the medians where you can either turn or do a u-turn- so you end up stopping or slowing down all traffic as you turn.  Also, because as far as I can tell, these spots are used to do u-turns more often than not, and the roads are not that wide, the car turning has to make a wide turn, thereby blocking their whole side of the road.

Because the general attitude on the road is a bit everyone for themselves, turning in general can be tricky.  To turn left across traffic, or to turn left onto a road from another road, you won't generally get any kind of assisted opening to do so.  What you have to do is slowly inch your way out, pushing the nose of your car further and further out, until the oncoming traffic has no choice but to stop and let you turn (as they react to what is in front of them, and don't look back).  But, if you perhaps are being slightly more cautious and looking for an actual break in the traffic (so sue me, I'm just not used to driving that aggressively, and I'm not opposed to sitting for 30 seconds waiting for a break in traffic!) people will just turn right behind you!  That is, they'll come up your left side, and just snake you- so of course, it always happens that you've just spotted that break in traffic, but the person behind you had to be impatient, so right as you are turning left, you almost turn into them!  Not cool!!!!

Lack of signage
They are quite a number of fairly busy intersections in Vientiane that simply don't have ANY traffic control on them! No stops signs, no yield signs, no lights, no NOTHING.  You just have to approach them slowly, evaluate, do the whole inch your nose out slowly, and then go and hope other cars yield to you.  I have to admit, my stomach always does a little clench when I get to these spots!

Parking and road-side shops
The curbs in Vientiane are painted all sorts of ways- red and black blocks, black and white blocks, solid yellow, solid red (I think).  I honestly don't know what they mean.  But mostly, it seems to me like people park wherever the heck they want.  On some roads people will just park on a busy road taking it from a two lane road, down to a one-laner.  But also what often happens is that shops either set up their merchandise all the way out on to the sidewalk, or sometimes they just set up right on the side of the road... so in spots where there used to be parking, there is now a store, so parking is pushed into traffic again, and roads are minimized down to one lane.  You get the picture.

Variety of vehicles/other things on the road
There are cars, trucks, semi-trucks, mopeds/motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, stupid freaking dogs, tuk-tuks, converted tractors and other farm equipment, and ice-cream carts as well as the local version of hot dog carts (I don't know what they sell exactly, but it's a moving food vendor) all on the road at the same time.  Add in the potholes, and OH BOY!  Add in again the amount of these drivers that choose to drive in the wrong direction and OH BOY OH BOY!  There is more to look out for than you can imagine.  

Lighting  
It gets dark in Vientiane between 6 and 7, so, inevitably, sometimes you have to drive in the dark.  I think most main roads have street lights, but, they vary in quality and brightness and being burnt out.  Smaller roads (like our road) have no street lights.  But that is what headlights are for right?  Well, yes, except add in all those various vehicles and pedestrians I mentioned before, many of whom don't have lights on their body/vehicle, and driving in the dark can often feel like.... well, driving in the dark, hoping you spot other road occupants before you hit them. Also, a lot of people here drive big trucks (whether pick up trucks or like heavy duty dump trucks and stuff) because of either the work they are doing or just because they handle the roads better, and because those cars sit higher, their headlights just shine RIGHT into my eyes while driving.  I am much like a deer in that I cannot look away and get blinded.  It is stupid.  The extra attention I have to pay to keeping my eyes on the road instead of staring into the light is stupid, and certainly makes for more dangerous driving!

Given all of these issues that make driving exciting, I'm nonetheless, glad to be doing it.  Driving yourself around has a sense of freedom that you can't get any other way in a city that doesn't have public transportation.  So I'm adjusting to driving a little crazier than I ever have- because believe it or not, this is the first foreign country I've ever driven in (well, except Canada, but that doesn't really count!).  I never had the opportunity to get behind the wheel in any of my other foreign posts- mostly because I never had a car available (especially because I don't know how to drive a stick).  So it's pretty cool for me to be a driver here.  I even have a Lao license.  All I had to do was turn in my American license for a day, and I got it plus the Lao one back the next day.  So I'm enjoying it, and every successful trip out boosts my confidence a bit more.  Finding my way around, not getting lost, and not getting in accidents are all highlights of most days. :)

What's the craziest place you've ever driven???

The peas are winning!

Here they are!  Lovely peas growing right in a row.  They are winning the growing race right now for sure.  The plants are tall- they look healthy and green and strong.

Peas!

There are some other sprouts coming up- but I'm not 100% sure it's all things I WANT to have sprouting.  I had to do some weeding today, pulling out new grass shoots.  Those puppies have LONG roots!
So anyway... one thing I didn't pull up were these....but I have no idea if I should have or not.  Anyone in the know able to tell me if these are baby tomatoes or not??? (The sprout I'm talking about is right in the MIDDLE of the photo- two longish thin leaves)

Tomato? Or weed? 

The bok choy seems to be coming up easily, though the leaves are already discolouring.  I think maybe they need more water.  I haven't actually watered in a lot of days, because it's been raining/storming heavily pretty much every day.  But, maybe they need even MORE water than that?  All my seed packets are in Thai you see, so I don't really know! I guess I should do some more research.  I know I have way too many little plants all together right here, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that- will they kill each other off?  Goodness, am I the most uninformed gardener there ever was?  I will be so excited if these actually grow into real life bok choy though, cause I love that stuff.  Bought two big bunches at the market again today!

Bok choy! 

All in all, I'm very happy with the growing so far!  Tonight I planted cilantro, lettuce (Grand Rapids lettuce!) and basil in the second bed.  I hope they grow fast too.  :)

Beni was amused for like 2 minutes when I let her splash in the watering can, and then she was like, "I'm outta here" and went to the front of the house totally unsupervised (ok, someone followed her...).

Mamma's little non-helper

Even though our soil seems incredibly rich, we have these bags of soil that we bought, so we have been turning a couple bags into the beds.  Joel is hard at work here...

Willing to do the back-breaking work for me. Thanks, Joel! 

Hopefully I'll have another good update soon!  Oh, good news- I have bought spinach twice in the last week, so, it obviously can grow here....but, where to get seeds?????  

Also... we have ANTS.  Lots of ants.  They are all over the beds.  Some are small and black.  Some are smallish and red.  Some are LARGE and red, and they scare me the most.  I've been spreading my coffee grounds on the beds, because supposedly, ants don't like coffee.  But, the ants are still there.  I read about making tobacco tea and pouring it over the beds... as ants also don't like tobacco... but, is this safe/good for for my plants?  The most common suggestion I have read about getting rid of ants is to use the borax/sugar mix, but, I can't find borax here.  Also, I still don't really get if that is safe to use directly on the bed/around the plants.  Apparently ants also don't like mint. I'm sure you can get mint here... but again... I need seeds.  Don't know where to look for them!  So... yeah... that's the good news and the bad news I guess!   

Failing or par for the course?

Who wants to write about their failure as a parent?  Not me really.  I've tried three times to start this post and then thought I shouldn't write it here, and then decided it should just be an email to my mom, and then maybe a post on my other blog, and now I'm back here.  And I'm still not convinced I should write it, but, here goes nothing....

Today was a shitty parenting day.  My daughter made me crazy, and I found myself wanting to just get away from her before I did something I knew I would regret- like spank her, or really yell at her.  Who wants to admit that?  Not me.

But I guess, it feels necessary to get out, because it is such an ugly feeling.  And maybe it feels necessary to get out because I need to know I am not alone in sometimes feeling like I am obviously totally failing my child.

Because today was the kind of day that made me question all of the parenting choices I hold dear.  The parenting choices that I believe in 100% because I believe in what they give my child now and for the future.

But there I was, and I realize now, what made me feel crazy, was the feeling of total loss of control.  Beni is no longer an infant that passes out at the mere scent of breast milk.  She is no longer the baby that drifts off to sleep no matter how much she doesn't want to just because she's in a carrier.  She is a toddler, and she may be transitioning to one nap, and she is definitely exploring the whole concept of being an independent entity from her mother- something admittedly, that feels new (and totally scary?) to both of us.

My sweet baby, who used to be happy as long as she was near me, as long as she was in my arms, no question if she was nursing, now sometimes chooses to scream and bite and kick and hit and claw (you should have seen the scratch I had under my eye last week!) for what seems like no reason!  Today it was nap time, and I nursed her, I laid with her, I cuddled her, and still, she chose to react by screaming at me, kicking me and generally being completely nasty.  She was so clearly tired, but just wouldn't sleep, and I was out of control.  There was nothing I could do, except walk away, and let her father deal with her.

And then I cried, about how I'm obviously no good at this, how it seems to all be for naught and my ungrateful child hates me, even though she's not even two yet, and I have never done anything but love her and do everything in her best interest.

And then of course, I step back and realize how silly that sounds, but how real it feels.    

I don't know if every parent feels these things.  It seems like I have some friends and acquaintances who never seem to have issues like this- maybe they just keep them behind closed doors.  But I think it adds to the feeling badly about myself, when it feels like other parents don't go through this.  Especially, because many of the parenting choices I make may not be exactly mainstream.  So undoubtedly, I find myself wondering if she is the way she is because of me- or is she just going through something, developing her own personality, would she even still be the way she is if she was bottle fed, slept in a crib and spent her days at day-care?

The thing is of course, that I'll never know the answers to those questions.  You don't get do-overs in parenting.  So I just have to keep parenting in a way that feels right to me, which for me, doesn't include bottles or cribs or day care.  And I suppose if every once in a while I get a disapproving look or a "you asked for this" kind of comment from someone who does things differently, I just have to let it roll off my back, because I can't change who I am as a parent, just to fit the modern mold if it doesn't feel right.  And of course, I have to hope that it'll all pay off in the long run.  That Beni will grow out of the phase she's in right now- that she will learn to assert her separateness by sleeping through the night, rather than kicking me when she should be napping!

Ah.... I already feel better.  I'm pretty sure this whole thing today has been par for the course... that these things will happen again in the future, and that the issues will be bigger, more serious, etc, etc... like just wait til she's a teenager, right???

I'm not really sure how to wrap this one up... I've bared my parenting soul, which can be a scary thing to do, but I feel better for having done it, because it has brought me back to my center, back to a small confidence that even if my path isn't always the easiest, it's the one that is right for me and my child.

So that's the end of my bad day...maybe a small failure, maybe par for the course...certainly full of hope that the next day this bad, doesn't come for a while!

Trying our luck at growing our own

I've started a few seeds of each plant in pots.
They are lined up on the back porch in case of rain or wind. 

We know we grow beautiful babies- just look at Beni!  But neither Joel nor I have ever had much luck growing anything else.  Our indoor plants have mostly died fairly quick deaths, and the only time I tried to garden outdoors was in Angola in pots, and that failed too.  But, we're giving it another go here in Laos!  Wish us luck!   

I picked up some seeds at the market yesterday.  I got cherry tomatoes, bok choy, cilantro, sweet peas, lettuce (which I had to buy cause it's called Grand Rapids lettuce!), and basil. I really want to grow my own spinach, but, I couldn't find any spinach seeds. I may have to try to bring them in at some point.  

The two beds we dug up today. 

This whole digging up garden beds is HARD WORK.  I already can barely sit at the computer tonight- my fingers don't want to type anymore, because holy heck...my arms are like jello!  I dug the outer edges of both beds, and then Joel took up the top layer in the middles.  I broke one shovel along the way.  But, in my own defense, the shovels we bought today came with BAMBOO handles...no solid wood or metal, oh no.  Bamboo!  So as I was trying to push down on the handle to push dirt up, the handle just cracked down the middle.  Grr.  Funny how you find out some little things that are obviously hard to come by here by not being able to get them... like a solid wood handle for a shovel, a rake and a back hoe.

Little helper wanted to be in on all the action- here you can see she's using
the screwdriver to help drive the stake of the fence into the ground.  

We were happy to see such dark rich soil as we started digging though.  I suppose our spot right on the river makes a difference, but the soil is very moist too.  Also, absolutely EXPLODING with worms.  I didn't really like coming across them, but there were so many, I kind of got over it.  Plus, worms like to live in good soil right, so it's a good sign that they are here.  So I am going to learn to love worms.

They just look like graves right now, don't they?  But I hope not for long! 

So we waited until Joel knew for sure that Essendon was losing the AFL match today, and then headed out to the nursery, followed by several road-side tool/building/hardware stores to find everything else we needed.  By the time we got home, it was already 2:30.  I had to put Beni down, and so by the time we both got to work it was 3.  We busted our butts until 6, and then we were all getting hungry, we were all incredibly stinky and the mozzies were coming out.  So we packed it in.  But, we managed to get one bed seeded, and Joel built two sides of the chicken fence.  No, we don't have our own chickens (though it is also a thought we're considering...) but there are some chickens that come into our yard from the river's edge and spend most of their days here.  If I see them out pecking out my seeds or worms in the morning, I'll be screaming at them!  So yeah, that is why we're building a fence (just with chicken wire) around the garden.

Joel sawing the ends off the wood to make the stakes...Beni using
 the screwdriver to imitate the motion. 

Both Joel and I have done a little bit of research here and there about this whole gardening business.  I started collecting egg shells, coffee grounds and veggie peels for compost.  Joel researched raised beds, and then we decided we didn't need that.  Joel also talked to his brother, who said something along the lines of, "Just stick some seeds in the ground, anything grows here!"  So, let's hope he's kind of right.  Cause really, we don't know nothing about nothing...but I think we're doing fairly well so far. :)  I'll keep you updated!

I know gardening can be very different depending on where you are... but, anyone out there have advice for us???

I stopped wearing make-up

My younger brother got married on July 3 this past summer, and that was the last time I wore make-up.  For a girl who used to sneak her mom's make-up from a very young age, and started wearing it full time in middle school, this has been a very long time make-up free.  Three months- very long time for the girl who basically used to not go out of the house without AT LEAST mascara.

I'm heading you off right away for thinking this is about having a baby.  No. It's not.  I don't subscribe to the notion that having a baby stands in the way of hygiene or self-care.  Ok, yes, in those first few weeks you're covered in spit-up and poop, and drooling on yourself because you're pretty tired.  But after that- I just don't buy it.  We all make time for things in our day.  I make time for showering and putting on clean clothes.  And I used to for the first 14 mos of Beni's life, also make time to put on make-up, even if it was just my mascara.  It was part of my routine, like brushing my teeth, and I just did it.  While I'm sure it won't be as easy once baby #2 comes along (hypothetical baby, no announcements here!), I am confident that I will continue to make time for it, because as I've mentioned before, I am a person who likes to be clean.  And my babies won't die from sitting in the bouncy seat for 10 minutes while I shower. :) 

So why did I stop wearing make-up?  It was a step along my journey of self-love.  And let me be very clear- this is about me- I'm not advocating that anyone else give up their make-up.  

For years I have dealt with poor body image, (over-)weight issues, disordered eating and a whole slew of other personal, internal struggles.  Whether it stemmed from my parents divorce when I was 6, or a few choice comments some men in my life have made along the way, whether I am a cliche of a woman affected to the max by the media chock full of size 0 women and a very narrow definition of beauty- regardless of how I got here, this is where I was.  A woman, 31 years old, unable to see myself beyond a comparison to someone else, a dress size, a bra size.  Unable to love myself in almost any way. 

Make-up factors into this because for me it was one of the few things that made me acceptable.  At least if I wore make-up, I was a little spruced up, making a step in the right direction of "beautiful".  I used to say that if I wasn't wearing mascara, you couldn't even see my eyes.  I thought I looked, and often felt, invisible. 

Something struck me back in July- maybe even late June- and I decided, enough.  My "morning routine" was being cut down to shower, comb hair, put on deodorant, go.  

My hope was that if I stopped wearing make-up long enough, I might start to see myself differently.  I might start to see some of what other people say they see when they look at me- a beautiful woman, a woman with worth beyond her looks.  

It wasn't easy at first. In fact, at times it was hard.  My brother's wedding a perfect example... it just didn't seem right to me to go to such an important, dressed-up event with a bare face.  But that is because in my head, getting dressed up goes along with a face full of make-up.  It's just all part of putting myself together.  So I wore make-up for the wedding.  But I haven't worn any on any day since. 

Actually, even though my make-up really only took a couple minutes at most, it's been really nice to be able to be "out the door" almost as fast as my husband.  It's a weight off my shoulders not having to worry about it. 

Another hard part?  We came to Laos only shortly after I made this choice to stop wearing make-up.  Of course my BIL and SIL knew me, and knew what I looked like, but, all these people at school... this whole new community... I would be meeting them with a bare face, not hiding anything (at least not with make-up)- my first impression would be JUST ME.  This was, I'm not going to lie, quite scary for me!  But of course, I did it, and in most of the moments I was actually meeting people, I didn't even think about the fact that I wasn't wearing make-up. 

And the best news?  I have eyes.  I mean, I see them.  It worked.  When I look at myself in the mirror now, I see something totally different than I did 4 or 5 months ago.  Features that I never was able to see, now stand out for me.  I have eyes, eye brows, lashes, freckles. Even my cheekbones, blushless, make an appearance now and then.  

Stopping wearing make-up improved my self-image.  I learned to appreciate who I am, just me, by myself.  Part of it came down to accepting what's so... it was the step before being able to love it.  Stopping wearing make-up made it possible for me to see what was really there.  And for me, because I was at the point where I was, seeing it every day, over months was necessary.  

Now, I'm not saying that I have reached a point of total self-love.  But, for someone who has struggled like I have, being able to look in the mirror, and not think nasty thoughts is a huge step forward.  Being able to look in the mirror and think, "I'm doing OK... I AM OK" is a leap beyond what I might have once thought possible.  

As a mother, of course, I wonder how this all might effect my daughter, now or later.  It's been almost a year since I colored my hair as well- that however, was mostly a laziness decision- I'm just sick of the maintenance!  I still wear nail polish almost always- but nail polish to me, has always been about fun, not a necessary measure toward beauty (the way I qualified make-up).  The other day, my daughter picked up my toe separators (used when painting toenails) and tried to put it on her foot.  She knew what it was for.   No doubt she is watching, and she is picking up messages about all kinds of things every day.  I find myself torn between indulging her obvious desire to somehow take part in the activity when I paint my nails... is it too soon to paint her toes?  Would she understand that it was just fun, unnecessary and doesn't make her "better"?  

I have always loved being a girly girl, and I don't necessarily want to give that up- make-up is and can be fun, getting dressed up in pretty dresses and high heels- or any clothes that make you feel gorgeous- is a blast.  But I do, very much, want Beni to know that she is worthy, and gorgeous and absolutely the most perfect her that anyone ever will be, just as she is, forever and always.  Hopefully, getting myself back on a path of caring for and about myself will help to pass this message on to Beni. 

Will I not wear make-up forever?  Nah.  I think I am one of those people that reserves it for a special occasion, or for when I feel like it.  But am I glad I took the plunge, and gave it up even for at least these three months?  Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes! 

What have you done to take care of yourself lately, mamma???          

                  

Kitchen Snob

The last two summers I have spent in the States- having my baby, attending my brother's wedding- doing important stuff State-side.  My primary residence both summers has been at one of my mother's and step-father's rental houses.  This means that my mom and step-dad have gotten to know how I live, and what it takes for me to be comfortable.  Long story short, my step-dad labeled me a kitchen snob.  :)

Now, I share this with you because I'm actually a-ok with the label.  I love my step-dad, and he's allowed to call me such things. :)

So I thought I would do a post about how and why I earned the label...  Obviously this starts with knowing that I love the kitchen.  It's definitely MY room in the house, and above all others, I have to have complete say over where everything lives, how it's set up, etc. I love to cook- for myself, for others, for my kid, for my family, for friends.  I love to cook.  I also like to try new recipes and new techniques.  I love eating something at a restaurant or someone's house and then trying to make it at home.  So the base for earning the label kitchen snob has to be my love of food and cooking.

As someone who loves to cook, I want to be able to make the best food I can without having my tools stand in my way.  I am definitely not a person who wants to buy the most expensive anything just because.  Sometimes I want the most expensive thing because it's the best, and because you can't get the same result with anything less.  Sometimes, I really don't care.  Here are some examples...

Skillets and fry pans...  Now, I don't have Le Creuset pans... but I wouldn't mind if I did.  But this is one thing that I don't NEED the best, but I can't stand the worst.  Why?  A cheap pan is a thin pan.  A thin pan equals burnt food no matter what you do.  If the pan is too thin, the heat just penetrates right through, rather than spreading around and cooking food evenly.  Cheap pans are just not worth it.  My in-laws got me two fry pans for my birthday this year and I LOVE THEM.  They are a lovely heavy weight, they are non-stick, and haven't burned a single thing in them, even with my stove top burners that have two settings- off and high. This same argument can be made for pots, although it's not quite as important to me.  I often use pots just to boil water, most often for steaming vegetables.  But, if you're cooking a sauce or soup or something, you want a pot that heats evenly as well, instead of just burning right through the thin metal.

Speaking of cook-tops and ovens... you've seen what I have right?  Look closely... ok sorry, I realize it's too small to really see anything...but I'll tell ya.  It has THREE burners, which as I said can be either off or on high- maybe medium if you're lucky, and it only has three burners!  Did I mention, three burners? Also, the oven has on, off and a dial that ranges from big flames to little flames.  That's right, you can't set the temperature! Thankfully, because I realize that even ovens that have temperature gauges aren't always accurate, I brought an oven thermometer with me.  But let me tell you- the guessing game necessary to find the right temperature means having to turn the oven on about an hour before you need it to have time to turn it up and down as needed, until you find the right temp!  So anyway... here's what I'd like:
 Oh yeah, baby.  6, yes you read that right, 6 burners!  Not only would that be nice for being able to cook many things, but it also means that even when you want to use only a few burners, you can use large pots and/or pans and they all fit.  Because that drives me crazy about our current stove.  I can really only use two of the burners at once, because I don't have small enough pots and pans for three to fit at once.  And a large oven... ah.  I brought a nice cookie sheet all the way from the States only to find that it doesn't even FIT in our oven.  So it's useless. Big- big is definitely better when it comes to ovens and cook-tops!

Nothing compares to a Vita-Mix that I know of. I got my mom a Vita-Mix for Christmas two years ago and she loves it, and I loved it when I lived with her.  A Vita-Mix will easily run you about $500, but as I said, nothing compares.  It obliterates anything you put inside of it.  Smoothies are COMPLETELY smooth.  You can even make your own flour from grains.  Unfortunately, not only are Vita-Mixes not available here, but, as I said they cost $500.  That's not an amount we can spend on a blender right now.  So I got a $100 blender, and it's pretty good.  It is a "professional grade" so it has a big strong motor, but, it has left a few chunks in my smoothies.  But, it'll do.

Now, for my coffee, I just got a cute little $40 maker (the cheapest the store had).  Cause when it comes to coffee, I'm pretty sure it's the actual coffee itself that matters.  Of course it would be nice if my coffee maker talked to me, or turned on by itself or something, but, mostly I just need it to make coffee without grounds in it.  And it does that.  So I'm happy.

A few more little things...

I got this awesome little tool for my birthday when some of my in-laws got me an Amazon gift certificate (Thanks again J, J, L and G!).  I love avocados and this little slicer just makes it so easy to get nice even slices, and to scrape all the fruit out of the peel.  Just makes life easier. Not a necessity, but, for only like $7, it's worth it!

Stainless steel measuring spoons!  They don't have to be expensive (some are, some aren't), but, when you use your measuring spoons as much as I do, if you have plastic ones that have the amounts printed on them in ink, the ink wears off!  And then you're left guessing, or trying to remember what is what!  These stainless steel measuring spoons have the measurement engraved on the arms of the spoons.  No washing away or wearing off.  Same goes for measuring cups.  Also, these things can be dunked in hot stuff, withstand a flame, etc... I mean, stuff happens sometimes in the kitchen.  Plastic melts.

One thing I don't think I have ever had is a very, very nice knife.  But so far, I have done ok with the knives I have as long as I have a good knife sharpener!!!  Probably if I ever got a truly nice knife, I would never turn back, but, for now, as long as my knives are sharp, I make do.  Sharp to me means you can slice a tomato without squishing it.  I almost lost my mind when someone in Angola told me they just use serrated knives to slice tomatoes.  So not right.  When I couldn't find a knife sharpener in Angola, that was one thing my in-laws had to send us.  I was thankful!  Also, must have a bread knife.  Nothing worse than having your bread squish down because you're using the wrong kind of knife to cut it!

Another thing I'm particular about is cutting boards.  I like to have several.  One is a designated meat board.  It is the only board meat gets cut on, and it is a plastic board, not wood.  Because, ew, germs.  I like to have a small one for cutting things like onions, garlic and other strong foods.  Because what is worse than digging in to the mango you just sliced up only to taste onion on it?  Ew.  So yes, I like to have a few boards, and I make sure that my husband knows which one is the meat board.

I have to have some wooden spoons in addition to other cooking utensils.  They don't have to be expensive or special, but I have to have them.

I really love my metal steamer basket.  It's simple and easy to use and cheap and fits in most pots.  And yum for steamed veggies.

This is the actual one I have, and I love
that the bowl comes off.  Means you can wash
it easily, or use something else in its place. 

My kitchen scales have become very important to me.  The set I have are electronic and can handle more than a kilo of weight (I'm not sure on the max weight, but my point is that it's not just for spices, etc).  Being able to measure food by mass, instead of volume is a relatively new concept for me, as I grew up using only measuring cups and spoons.  But there are some times when the scales are so much easier, so much more accurate. So I love them too.

Now, just in case there is anyone out there looking for gift ideas or something...


I don't have and really, really want a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer.  
This is the kind of thing that I want desperately, but, I will refrain from buying, or asking for as a present until we settle down.  It's a big piece of machinery, and I couldn't bear the thought of the cost of shipping or having it and then selling it when I was going to move.  Someday.  This puppy lives in my dreams for now.

One thing that I would like, and I think could be attainable here is a Crock Pot.
 A cool piece of machinery, I'm intrigued by the one pot meals that are possible as they slow cook... and I like the idea of not burning stuff on a too hot burner, etc.

So there you go... now you can decide for yourself whether or not you think I'm a kitchen snob.  As I said, I don't need expensive just for the sake of being expensive.  I think people who get the most expensive just because are people who have more money than they know what to do with.  But these are the things I like and want in my kitchen because they make a difference to what you can achieve in the kitchen.  Of course, this stuff is all in addition to the local, organic raw ingredients that I'd prefer to cook with as well! :)

What about you?  What's a gotta-have item for your kitchen?  Does it have to be the best?

ETA: I've just been informed that there exists such a thing as a tomato knife and it has a serrated edge.  I've googled and confirmed, but I'm not convinced that such a thing is necessary if you have sharp knives.  Hmmm... I know one person who loves hers... anyone else???

Today's market haul

Starting from the front left... 2 zucchini, 1 bag of mushrooms, 1 capsicum/red pepper, 3 carrots, (2nd row) 3 heads of broccoli, 1 BIG bunch of asparagus, 1 very big bunch of bok choy, (3rd row) 2 pineapples, 1 watermelon, 3 mangoes and 1 bunch of tiny little bananas!

Total cost 135,000 kip. At first it seemed like I spent more today than I usually do- specifically on the vegetables.  My SIL wasn't with me today, but, it's not like she negotiates or anything either, so there is no reason for them to try to rip me off when I'm on my own versus her being with me.  I don't know.  In the end though, I calculated that 135,000 kip is still only about $16.50USD.  And really, that's still not a bad haul for only $16.50, right?

Oh, also, I washed the bok choy as soon as I got it home.  Gave it a good thorough rinse without tearing the leaves apart.  Because you know, just in case there were any uninvited guests still hanging around in there...I hope I got them out! :)

Road works

The road just up from our house.
You can see why road works are necessary.

This morning while Beni and I were eating breakfast I heard quite a lot of noise coming from out the front of the house, so I went half way up the stairs to look out the window that faces out the front to see what was going on. I'm pretty sure our landlord's family was out there filling in a big pothole right in front of our driveway!

Since we've been in Laos, we have seen what has seemed like almost constant road work on some of the smaller roads, like ours.  Our road is partially paved.  Maybe at one point it was fully paved.  Rain is a powerful thing though- and I'm fairly certain that over the years it's enough to simply wear away the pavement- especially when the earth around the pavement keeps moving too.  Also, when the roads do get paved, they aren't done as properly as they are back home- to hear Joel talk about it, the don't pack down the earth, they don't "box the road".  I don't know what these things mean... but I can get that it isn't done in a way that might last.  

So honestly, about once a week, we have seen huge trucks dumping loads of dirt and rocks in different places along the road.  Our road forks off of a larger road, and right at the fork, we've seen huge loads go down.  There are a few areas like this that were they at a steeper grade, are so full of deep potholes, that it could be a mogul run on a ski mountain! You can imagine, Little Blue doesn't have the easiest time of these potholes.  But, we make it.

The fixes in front of our house this morning... 

Another time we saw the men that live along our street, including the monks from the emerald Buddha temple, mixing cement in the street, and roughly patching up craters.  Some of the heartier women might have been involved there as well.

We've heard from BIL/SIL that their main road used to be in horrible shape, but that last year in November the whole road got paved.  It's a pretty good road now.  So, it will be interesting to see what happens when the rainy season ends.

The road in the other direction from
 our house... Not as bad, until just beyond
 the boy in orange where the groove across
 the road is deep enough to bottom out the car!

I've said this numerous times anyway... but, we arrived in the rainy season so for us, so far, this is what Laos is like.  Hot, frequent, hard rains, humid, and pretty rough road conditions with road repairs happening once a week. But, the rainy season is going to end in about a month... and then it won't be raining enough to wash away the road.  So maybe the road works will lessen?  Maybe they'll do a major repair (apparently the government isn't too bad about actually getting these things done....) and it'll last.  Who knows.  I guess we'll see.  It'll be interesting to see how our general impression of Laos changes as the rainy season comes to an end.

Highs and lows of the last two days...

What's say we start with the lows and just get them out of the way, and then end on the wonderful highs?

Last night I was making some bok choy for dinner.  I rinsed it quickly because Beni was already over-tired, wanting to take a bath and go to bed. I cut off the ends (where lots of dirt gets stuck sometimes).  Then I threw the bok choy in the pan to stir-fry, when all of a sudden I noticed THE WORM that fell out of my boy choy and was now sizzling in the wok.  I was using chopsticks to stir, so I just picked up the worm, threw him in the garbage, swallowed that little bit of vomit that was creeping up my throat, and finished cooking my bok choy.  Then I ate it.  Finding worms in my food = seriously lowest point of the whole day yesterday.

I can only hope that today's low point has already happened... here's how it went.  I have to start by saying that the whole garbage situation was never really explained to us- and maybe it's never really explained to anyone, but, the point is, we don't really know how to handle it.   Last Thursday, Joel had already left for work, when he remembered that it was garbage day.  So I got a text asking to put the garbage out, and I did it.  I took the fancy basket we received the other week, filled with our stuff, and put it at the end of our driveway, as it seemed other people on our street were doing.  Well, a few minutes later, I see the maid from across the street come over and drag our garbage on to her side of the street.  OK.  Maybe they only pick up from one side.  Fair enough.  Well, they didn't pick up until fairly late in the day, but then, at the end of the day, I realized that all the garbage receptacles, including our lovely basket, were cleared from the side of the road....except they were just gone.  As in, OUR BASKET was not in our driveway, yard or anywhere else.  So, now we don't have a basket.  Also, last week, when I was putting the garbage out, there were a couple boxes left over from our packing that had been left out in the driveway in the rain.  Needless to say they were a sopping mess, and I didn't feel like dealing with them, so I left them.  BIG MISTAKE.

So this morning, I get another text from Joel, "Just realized as I'm driving down the street- it's Thursday and garbage day!  Can you put the garbage out?"  Urgh! But of course, what am I going to do...have to put the garbage out!  We had more empty boxes to get rid of, so, I already planned that I would take one of the empty boxes outside, pick up the mess of leftover boxes from last week, throw them in there and then haul it all out.  Good plan.  And it worked.  But it almost made me skip eating today at all, and I have washed my hands like 10 times since, and I'm pretty sure I did puke.  Because, in the last week, there happened to have been a bag of kitchen furniture in those boxes as well.  So when I went to move them the ants swarm nearly ate me, and the inch long maggots started dropping out left and right.  Oh FFS I just threw up again.  And now I need another shower.  DISGUSTING.

I don't like bugs.  Ask my husband, he would lives with me in climates where bugs abound, and he has to kill every roach I come across.  He's well and truly fed up with my inability to deal with a bug like a roach when I come across it, but, I just can't.  I'd have to take another shower.  ICK.

So there you go, as I said, I can only hope that I don't have any moments that are lower than that today!

Now, the high points!  Yes!  The last two days have had some very, very high points!!!

Yesterday was a fun day because my SIL and I took the babies and went to Thailand!  Just for the day.  Just for some shopping and a stop in at Starbucks!  Oooh yeah! I just think it's cool that I can go to Thailand for a day trip. I mean, ok, I get it, going to Thailand conjures up images of laying on a beach, drinking cocktails and eating phad thai, and that is hardly what we were doing, but still... we went to Thailand for the day!  The amazing thing is how, for whatever reason, you can have shops and order and cleanliness and what not that you just don't have over here just over the border.

So SIL and I went to a big cash and carry (Americans, think Sams or Costco) and picked up random bits of things in bulk- things like chips and Coke for a certain someone, for the house things like dish soap, hangers, toilet paper and a few more kitchen gadgets (some serving bowls, serving spoons, a whisk, a small pan...).  Then we went to a grocery store that is a proper grocery store plus more- Meijer, Woolworths, Shoprite

After a long day shopping in those two stores- at one point even carrying a sleeping Beni in one arm while shopping/pushing the cart with the other arm- I was tired, and LORD did I need to use the bathroom.  We made our way to the Starbucks right there in the same shopping mall, and took a much needed break.  I got my favorite drink- a caramel macchiato made with soy milk...and savored it as much as you can when you have to keep track of a fussy, over-tired 1 year old! It was lovely.    

When we got home, only a short time later, Joel came home with the highest high of the day.  Our new car!!!   It is a 4 door VW Golf.  It has a hatchback- but a surprisingly large trunk space.  It's a late 90s model, but has less than 74,000kms on it- so less than 45,000 miles.  It has a few little things that need fixing, and it's not fancy, but, I tell ya what... it holds the lot of us- and will be big enough for two cars seats if there is the need ever.  It has room for our stuff in the back.  And it GOES!  And the air con works.  Thank goodness. :)  

So here she is... 

As I said, nothing fancy, but it is clean, doesn't look overly worn... 

(the floor is already dirty from me driving two trips...)

Plenty of room for Beni in the backseat...

From behind...

The only challenge Little Blue is going to have is dealing with the pot holes around here.  The only reason I really wanted an SUV type car is because it rides higher, and would deal with pot holes better.  I have to crawl down some streets as I navigate around the craters in the road...but, I've been up and down the road a couple times now, and made it just fine.  So it's all good.  And yes, I have driven into town twice- once last night with Joel and Beni, and once this morning just Beni and I.  I didn't hit anything, didn't break any major traffic rules, and didn't get lost.  Yay! (This is actually the first time I've driven in a foreign country, if you don't count Canada, which really, you can't. ;) I have been trying to pay attention when we drive around here knowing that I would eventually be driving myself, but of course, there is a certain amount of learning that can only be done once you're actually behind the wheel.  So far so good though!