10/29/2017 - Home Cooking Lesson

Oh what an amazing day with Pink & A...  😄 

We visited Samut Sathorn, about 45 minutes from Bangkok. Our hosts, Pink and “A” ,(he said his brother’s name is “B”😊) guided us in assisting them in preparing an authentic,Thai meal for all to enjoy.  After a day with Pink and A, we now have some new recipes, new friends, and quite the wonderful memories. 

Pink and A

A and Pink...                                                                                          

The ingredients for our meal were all from Pink and A’s garden (fruits, vegetables), lemon grass from edge of pond and lotus flower stalks from the pond.                                                                                                                  

Slicing - Chopping - Dicing (looking goofy and having fun!)...                                         

A, peeling garlic...                                                                                                              

Crushing and grinding spices with mortar and pestle (a very serious moment)...            

Cooking tofu for the spring rolls...                                                                                    

Sharing in the fun...                                                                             

This morning when we arrived, the Gardner was out on the pond in the back, in a very small boat, gathering lotus plants. The stem, (similar to a “root” except it grows under water), is having the skin peeled off before cutting into pieces for the salad. 

Even though the lotus is rooted in mud. growing in fresh water ponds and lakes, it continues to float on the water without becoming wet and muddy. 

                            ...There can be no lotus flower without the mud.  —-Thich Nhat Hanh

 

Crushing more spices with the mortar & pestle...coriander root, garlic and fresh pepper...the fragrance of the herbs and spices is incredible...

Must be a sneak taste...                                                                     

This is a banana flower. If the flowers are left on the tree, they blossom into bananas. We learned today the blossoms are edible and delicious. Pink is taking out small banana stems for our salad.                                      

Fresh flower petals arranged intricately for the spring rolls...all the flowers we used are edible

Flower Spring roll making 101...the wrappers are prepared from rice paper, then filled with a combination of flower petals, tofu and a combination of sweet basil, coriander, spring onion, mushrooms, cilantro.                    

Spring rolls ready to serve...                                                                                            

Ahhh, the presentation...                                                                                                 

For the rice, we placed purple flowers in water and squeezed the petals until the water turned a beautiful blue. The water was then used to cook the rice.