Mango cardamom pancakes with mango-lime coulis...a guest post for Como Water!

20+ hours and two flights later...we're back in Bangkok! I'm curious to see how long it will take us to get over the jet lag and 11 hour time difference, not to mention getting out of vacation mode and back to work! All of this might mean that I don't post very much this week, but not to worry....the lovely Tiffany of Como Water invited me to do a guest post on her awesome blog as part of her month-long tribute to spice. Como Water is one of my favorite vegetarian (and mostly vegan) blogs out there...so I was delighted to whip up some spicy mango cardamom pancakes with a mango-lime coulis to share with Tiffany and her readers. Check it out, and be sure to follow Tiffany's blog if you don't already!

Caldo verde

When I'm longing for comfort food, I reach for dal and rice, macaroni and cheese or rice and beans. Luis, like any typical Portuguese, longs for caldo verde. This legendary soup made with potatoes and the Portuguese green known as couve galega originated in Portugal's Minho region in the north (the same region where vinho verde - Portuguese green wine - comes from), but over the centuries it has become a national dish, truly food of the people. Though a piece or two of chorizo typically garnishes a bowl of caldo verde, the soup isn't cooked with it, making it a perfect vegetarian starter. Caldo verde can be eaten at any time of day, so don't be surprised if you go to Portugal and have breakfast at the counter in a neighborhood tasca (little bar) and see your fellow customers ordering a bowl of caldo verde to go with their bica (espresso) and breakfast pastry of choice. Actually whenever Luis makes caldo verde I am instantly transported back to Lisboa, one of my favorite places in the world.

Thai corn fritters with cucumber relish

So our lovely vacation is drawing to a close. It's sad, but you know what they say...all good things must come to an end. I'll miss the lazy days of rolling out of bed at 10am, my mom's cooking, good Mexican/Tex-Mex food, walks in the woods where my parents live, watching the Food Network and the Cooking Channel (not to mention some shows that I am too embarrassed to mention), the taste of sweet Georgia peaches, corn and other summer produce, Trader Joe's (of course) and being able to understand everything and communicate effortlessly. But at the same time...I'm looking forward to going home. Home to Bangkok! I miss our lovely apartment, our swimming pool, work (hmmm) and OF COURSE I miss Thai food! The trendy restaurants in our neighborhood, the mall food courts, the street food...I just can't wait to savor it all again. We purposely avoided Thai food in the U.S., but decided to have my cousins over the other evening for a homemade Thai dinner, made by Luis and I.

"Chicken" 65

Here in Atlanta, we continue to enjoy our summer vacation. Other than relishing in my mother's great cooking and enjoying all of our favorite American food, we have spent a fair bit of time at our favorite grocery stores, stocking up on favorite products which are either tough to find or expensive back in Thailand. My favorite grocery store is of course Trader Joe's, where I love to peruse the aisles and check out all the new products (as well as old favorites) and dream up new recipes using them. This time my imagination was peaked by the Chickenless Crispy Tenders, which basically seemed like imitation chicken nuggets made with soy protein, vital wheat gluten and organic "ancient grain" flour. 

Abesha gomen (Ethiopian collard greens)

After some of the other places that I've lived, I feel pretty lucky that we are now in a super cosmopolitan city such as Bangkok, where you can find just about everything that your heart may desire. Bikram yoga? Check. Peruvian-Japanese fusion cuisine? Check. Flax seeds and quinoa at the supermarket down the street? Check. Well...just about everything that is except Ethiopian food. Bangkok's one and only Ethiopian restaurant apparently closed some years ago, and I occasionally get a big Ethiopian food craving, having enjoyed it regularly during the years that I lived in Washington DC, which has the world's largest Ethiopian population outside of the country itself. We're currently visiting my parents and brother in Atlanta and spent a few days in DC just before, where you can bet that a good Ethiopian meal was on our to do list. Dukem, at 12th & U Streets NW, was our restaurant of choice...and it was just as good as ever!

Southwestern risotto

It's hard to believe that it's been almost 6 months since we made the big move from Paris to Bangkok. We're pretty much all settled in, loving our apartment and neighborhood, meetings lots of nice people, enjoying work and relishing the heat and sunshine (though we're technically at the beginning of the rainy season now, we only have quick afternoon showers and an occasional all-out downpour). Needless to say, we've been feeling uber-stimulated when it comes to food, discovering the full range and deliciousness of Thai food from its street food to fine dining incarnations. I admittedly haven't posted that many Thai recipes since moving here, but rest assured that this is only because I'm in a learning phase, absorbing all kinds of new flavors and dishes to share with you soon!

Introducing...the Mango Ginger Supper Club!

One of the loveliest things about being a food blogger is the amazing worldwide community of people that you become a part of...people who are just as passionate about food, cooking and entertaining as you are. Every now and then, you might be lucky enough to meet some of those people "in real life". Case in point: Vanessa, a fellow Bangkok-based blogger who dishes up some awesome Asian fusion cuisine on Mango Ginger. Other than the blog thing, Vanessa and I happen to have several other things in common, including both working in development, having lived and worked in different parts of Africa and Paris and apparently even our husbands have similar personalities ;-) So you can imagine that I was excited when Vanessa decided to launch her Mango Ginger Supper Club to share some of her delicious cuisine, which we had the good fortune to join on Thursday night.

Kaima idli

As I've mentioned before, the Indian restaurant chain Saravana Bhavan (SB, as I call it) is a slight obsession of mine. I have so many fond memories of childhood vacations in India eating there, and when a branch opened up in Paris a couple of years ago my world changed! We ate there or got takeout to go at least once a week (it didn't hurt that they were just two Metro stops away from us). Unlike most Indian restaurants in Paris, SB didn't tone it down for the average French palate and had a genuine mix of South and North Indian fare as well as lots of Indo-Chinese dishes, which I love! Here in Bangkok, there's no SB but unlike in Paris, there's plenty of good Indian food. But none of them serve up the curious SB dish known as kaima idli.