I couldn’t find the right eyes and face shape. Other than that, it’s quite me. I love Thai architecture and wanted something from my part of the world. Again, thanks to all the people who shared this link.

Are you going to watch Venus too?

For Sunday supper, we made a Thai Feast of Gai Yang [BBQ Thai Spice Chicken], Larb-Woon Sen [Fusion Salad of Seasoned Ground Pork and Glass Noodles] and Thai Iced Tea [brewed fresh].

The recipe for Gai Yang was found in this month’s (Jul/Aug 2004) issue of Cooks Illustrated. Mike already had a chicken in a brine so it was a perfect recipe. We butterflied the chicken, rubbed on a fragrant spice mixture [coriander, white pepper, black pepper, cilantro, ginger and lemongrass] and set it on our trusty grill.

The salad was a fusion put together by yours truly. I used 1 cucumber (shredded), 6-8 pieces of green leaf lettuce (shredded), 2 bunches of broad glass noodles, 1 lb ground pork, 1 -2 tbsp grated lemongrass, 1-2 green chillis, some cilantro and scallions chopped up. To season, I used fish sauce, lime juice and some sugar. I’ve developed a sort of tactile feel of how much seasoning to use so I might not be able to provide a good measure here.

I added some oil in a pan to stir fry the ground pork, lemongrass and fish sauce. A little sugar should go into this. When cooked and fragrant, scoop out and let it cool. The glass noodles should be soaks and boiled to al-dente as well. All that has to be cooled before tossing in with the cucumber and lettuce. Add more fish sauce and lime juice to the mixture when assembling it. Garnish with scallions and cilantro.

Glass noodle salad, dipping sauce and Gai Yang

Gai Yang & Glass Noodle Salad

Watched Under the Tuscan Sun recently and loved the amazing cinematography and the beautiful Diane Lane. The men were cute, the country gorgeous but one thing struck me the most. It was her lovely marigold silk dress at the end that won me over.

I made triple chocolate fudge cupcakes and topped it with a fine frosting inspired by Mlle A.

Bailey’s Irish Cream Frosting

1 pound powdered sugar
5 1/2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream

[Update: I added a picture once the frosting has somewhat set on the cupcake]

We went Carribean tonight with a recipe from Cheryl Smith. [I first saw her on Melting Pot (now discontinued on Food TV) and loved her easy-going attitude and those dreadlocks]

Here are some pictures we took:

Instead of the Scotch Bonnet pepper, I used green chillies and some slices of ginger. It was delicious with steamed white rice.

I might have mentioned it before but I have often dreamt of making a trip to India [see map in extended entry]. My good friend Salma is currently enjoy her stay there and I find myself imagining which state she is in and what she might be doing – or eating.

My narrow knowledge of the vast country only allows me to imagine saris, chapatis, spices, trains, tea plantations, gingerly oil* and the smell of jasmine flowers. I am sure that a lot more exists that I have yet to learn about.

[An oil made from a seed with a black covering called "ellu" in Tamil. This oil has a different smell from regular vegetable oil. This oil is also commonly used in oil lamps. This oil is applied to the skin only after it is prepared by boiling the night before with cumin seeds and peppercorns. The oil should be boiled on low until the spicy smell is present.]
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I got this from Mlle A who got it from several others and now, I want to hear it from you:

1. Who are you?
2. Have we ever met?
3. Give me a nickname and explain why you picked it.
4. Describe me in one word.
5. What reminds you of me?
6. If you could give me anything, what would it be?
7. Ever wanted to tell me something but couldn’t?
8. Are you going to put this on your weblog and see what i say about you?
9. What do you love, like a fat kid loves cake?
10. What makes you come back here?

Mike is making shrimp quesadillas tonight and I thought I would take some pictures.

Gotta go eat now – can’t wait anymore.

Last night, I was in one of my nesting phases. I clean when I nest. I never noticed it before, until Mike pointed it out to me. I guess when I was single, the occasion when I decide to reorganize my makeup and CDs was not a big deal. When I have to reorganize around Mike, it makes him nervous because he doesn’t know how to help. I just tell him that I enjoy the busywork and reassured him.

So I cleaned out my entire cabinet under the bathroom sink, wiped down everything, threw away old bottles of stuff and found some samples. Out of the samples, I decided to try this scrummy smelling shampoo & conditioner that was given out to me at the mall (when we were up in Atlanta). Mike also got some of this and this but he didn’t like the idea of Nettle being a part of his hair regiment (if he could, it would be Pert Plus all the way).

The shampoo & conditioner smelled so good but I felt that the shampoo was a little drying despite it being for dry/chemically treated hair. The conditioner helped it out though. I always think that any company that would sell a shampoo for a type of hair will accompany that with a conditioning product to match. Although seemingly catered to different hair types, to me, it really is just trying to sell more products.

So anyway, today, I am just pleased to have my lovely smelling hair to follow me around. *grin*