chez pim

Oh this is so funny.

Oh this is so funny. I just found out which Monty Python character I am.

Mean lil fellow, arn't you?

Say which Monty Python Character are you?

Sticky Rice, Kao Niew

make about 4-5 cups cooked sweet or plain sticky rice

This recipe, as other Thai recipes, is merely an approximation. Start with these proportion, but let your sense be the final judge.

Ingredients:
3 cups sticky rice (You can buy it from your local Chinese or Thai market. Make sure you buy sticky rice or glutinous rice rather than normal long grain Chinese rice or Thai jasmine rice.)

The following ingredients are for sweetened sticky rice only
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup sugar
salt, to taste, or about half teaspoon

1. Soak the rice in water over night, then strain
2. Wrap the rice in cheese cloth and put on top of a steamer.
3. Steam for about 20 minutes--make sure the boiling water doesn't touch the rice. You probably should start checking after about 15 minutes. The rice should be very nearly done, but not completely cooked through--similar to the texture of al dente pasta. (For unsweetened rice, just continue to cook until done.)
4. While the rice is steaming, heat the coconut milk and add the sugar and salt. Be careful not to let the coconut boil too much as it will separate. Taste the mixture. The sweetened coconut milk should be a little sweeter than what you want your finished sticky rice to be. You should also be able to taste, ever so slightly, the salt. Add more salt if needed. Keep this mixture heated, it must be hot when the rice is ready.
5. When the rice is ready, al dente, put the rice in a large bowl, pour the coconut milk over it. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Serve with the sweetest mangoes you could find.

-----------------
If you find this recipe useful, please consider giving a few dollars to help my charity drive for Doctors without Borders by clicking on the picture below.

I guess Yishay is shaming

I guess Yishay is shaming me into writing again. He wrote that I'd complaint that he had neglected his blog---and you guys noticed how much I'd been writing on mine lately, huh?

Both work and life have been so busy I hadn't much time to write. Let's see, what's been happening....

We celebrated Thai New Year two weekends ago, with about 40 of our closest friends. I made ridiculous amount of food--all Thai of course. There were chicken and tofu satays and my secret peanut sauce, Golden Bags (which are basically spring rolls but tied into little bags instead of rolled up in the traditional Poh Pia shape), Curry Puffs, Pla Koong shrimp salad. For dinner we had Kao Soi, a curry noodle dish from the North of Thailand. Sticky rice and mango, what else, was our dessert. I promise I will post my recipes as soon as I get around to it.

Melissa lamented that the celebration wasn't authentic because there were no water balloons! I said tough luck--there's no way I'd let my living room look like this.

And to appease our yuppie guilt for having fun while bombs were being dropped on another country, we put out a collection jar and raised almost $300! Half of the amount went to UNHCR, the other to Médecins sans Frantières. Guilt is good sometimes, no?

The party was so much fun, and as I said before in another blog, so good for my ego. Not that it needed any help, mind you. The language count this time tied the last record, at Chris's birthday party, of nine. There was no dancing this time because evidently no one could move after all the curries and sticky rice! There were, on the other hand, reports of "smoking" going on up on the roof---I missed all the fun apparently!

Rena's Greek Aubergine in Tomato Sauce

I learned this dish from my friend Rena at her summer house on the island of Zia. It has become my favorite way of preparing eggplants, which Rena insisted on calling by the French name, Aubergine---much more appetizing with that name she argued. I think I concur.

This dish is extremely versatile. You can serve it as a side dish for lamb or chicken, or toss with some pasta. It's even good on its own with crusty bread. It even gets better on the second day, and can be kept for a week in the fridge.

Ingredients
5-6 medium size aubergines
1.5 pounds tomatoes, or 1 1/2 12oz-cans of tomatoes
1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 cups olive oil---this will suffice, but more will taste better. (I often use more, but then Benjamin once said I used obscene amount of oil. You be the judge.)
salt and pepper to taste
4 sprigs of thyme

Mise en place:
1. cut the aubergines cross-wise into about 2-inch chunks
2. If using fresh tomatoes, peel, seed and cut into small chunks
3. finely chop the onion
2. mince the garlic

Now you make the dish:
1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan. It will be better to use a pan with at least 3-inch high side with a lid. Make sure your pan is hot before you add the oil otherwise the aubergine will stick.
2. Brown both sides of the aubergine pieces in the hot oil, do this in small batches so as not to break up the chunks. If you oil is very hot, the aubergine will not soak up that much oil. Add more oil to the pan if it runs low between batches. Keep the browned aubergine pieces on a large plate and salt them slightly. Don't try to drain the oil away, olive oil is good for you!
3. After all the pieces are brown, lower the heat a bit and add the chopped onion into the pan. Cook the onion until translucent and a little caramelized, then add the minced garlic.
4. Add the tomatoes into the pan, throw in the thyme, turn up the heat and wait until the tomato sauce is nice and bubbly, then arrange the aubergine pieces back on the pan. Spoon some sauce over the aubergine, taking care not to break up the pieces. Add 1/2 cup of water or stock if the tomato sauce seems too dry.
5. Cover the pan, lower the heat and let simmer for at least one hour. Add salt and pepper to taste. Don't forget to fish the thyme stems out before you serve.

Voila, close your eyes and you will be transported to a sunny greek island.

note on the aubergines:
I find that the long japanese eggplants most closely resemble the aubergines we used in Greece. The giant, fat eggplants will make just as tasty a dish but will disintegrate into a mushy sauce rather than staying in beautiful browned pieces.

-----------------
If you find this recipe useful, please consider giving a few dollars to help my charity drive for Doctors without Borders by clicking on the picture below.

I had my little moment

I had my little moment of "Eureka" this past weekend: throwing a party is so good for one's ego.

Really, think about it. Even if you served hideous food and the party was abominable, polite society would still compliment you.

"The food's great, Pim"
"This is lovely, Pim"
"Thanks for having us at your wonderful party, Pim"

Way better than happy pills if you ask me.

All these years working for

All these years working for The Man and I'm still bothered by corporate lingo. Someone just emailed me asking if I could "spend some cycles looking at some documents."

Funny he couldn't just ask if I had any time?
Easier to say than cycles, or perhaps it's just me.

For those of you who

For those of you who haven't heard, Chris will be giving a demonstration this weekend (Sunday 12-3pm) at the the Legion of Honor museum. This is in conjuction with the exhibition Leonardo da Vinci and the Splendor of Poland.

The museum's advertisment for the demo reads "Christopher will be painting in the Rodin gallery and demonstrating various techniques similar to those used by the European master painters of the 16th century..."

"Yeah, right", responds l'artiste.

And here's another one from

And here's another one from The Onion.

Bush Thought War Would Be Over By Now

I guess "HOLY FUCKING SHIT" is in order, Mr.President?

Has the whole world gone

Has the whole world gone absolutely mad?
Two homicidal maniacs are going at it like there's no tomorrow.

One cannot resist to invoke his God at every turn,
even as his portentous army blasts away at cities full of people.
The other has just called for a Jihad against the infidels invading his holy land.

This reminds me of a poignant story published on The Onion just a few days after 9/11.

God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule

Responding to recent events on Earth, God, the omniscient creator-deity worshipped by billions of followers of various faiths for more than 6,000 years, angrily clarified His longtime stance against humans killing each other Monday.
....
"I'm talking to all of you, here!" continued God, His voice rising to a shout. "Do you hear Me? I don't want you to kill anybody. I'm against it, across the board. How many times do I have to say it? Don't kill each other anymore--ever! I'm fucking serious!"

Do you think they'll ever listen?