Thailand summer of 2013

Reclining Buddha, train station in Hua Hin, room with a few near Chaing Mai, temple in Chaing Mai and a spider. 

Beaches all over Thailand

Here are some pictures from our summer 2013 trip to Thailand. We traveled north to south from the mountains near the Burmese border to the beaches in the south. Thailand really is a land of beautiful places, people and excellent food. Can not wait to go back!

Boston

Boston!

Really good cupcakes at Sweet.

Shabu-shabu

Brunch at the Island Creek Oyster Bar

A few weeks ago I was in Boston. I hadn't been there in 10 years or so. I really enjoyed the city. Didn't really do much. Just walked around and tried not to get to wet (the weather is not great in March). As always food was one of the highlights of the trip. First we stumbled upon a cupcake bakery called Sweet. The red velvet cupcake was really really good, and it inspired me to bake cupcakes when I get back to Paris. Let's see if they will be as good...

Then we had dinner in Chinatown at a hotpot restaurant. Shabu-shabu is what the japanese call it, but I think this restaurant was more Taiwanese. Of the two broths that we tried I like the spicy one (can't remember what it was).

The last morning right before I went to take a plane for Ann Arbor, Michigan, we had brunch at the Island Creek Oyster Bar. Oh it was tasty. Started with some oysters and a Bloody Mary then I had the lobster omelette while PT had the crab cake with a poached egg. Accompanying this we had a honey lemon biscuit and a blueberry muffin. What can I say it was an excellent way to end a really nice weekend.

Food

Grilled eggplants with mint

Stuffed tomatoes

Marinated sardines

Just a few pictures of some typical italian antipasti. These were made by one of my mother's friends who happens to be a really good cook. They were delicious!

Florida Food

Breakfast Smoothie on Miami Beach

Cuban Coffee

Taqueria Morelia in Homestead Florida

Key West

Oysters and Drinks in Key West

Unhealthy and semi-healthy breakfast at First Watch in Sarasota

The last trip we took was back in February, we went to Florida. We spent a week traveling around the southern part of the state, from Miami to Key West and up to Sarasota. The weather was nice and for the most part warm. Here are some pictures of food and drinks we had during the week.

Later I am going to post some pictures of the actual trip, beaches, canoeing and of course driving.

Torino

Last weekend I left the city of lights for a relaxing few days in Torino Italy.

Torino is a city in the north west of Italy best known as the birth city of Fiat and it was the first Italian capital. The region around the city produces wine, cheese, and hazelnuts, which are then transformed into yummy gianduiotti chocolates (topic for another post). One of my favorite places in the city is Porta Palazzo probably the largest outdoor-markets in Europe. Here a whole week worth of fresh fruit, vegetables and fish can be bough for under 10 euros. It's a lovely chaotic place where the vendors scream to sell their products.

A bit further down the road is an ice cream parlour called Gelateria Popolare. This small shop sells gelato made with real fruit. The flavours are always varied and range from classic cream and lemon, to orange with cardamon and faire trade coffee. While I was there I had camera problems, so I did no take as many pictures as I would have liked.

Tabouleh

Tonight I decided to make tabouleh.

Ingredients:

2 cups of chopped flat leaf parsley

1/2 an onion chopped in small cubes

2 tomatoes chopped in small cubes

1/4 of a cup of cooked couscous

1 lemon

2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil

salt to taste

Directions:

Chop the parsley, onions, tomatoes and add to a small bowl with the pre cooked couscous.

Add lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Mix and leave to rest for an hour or so. Serve chilled

Dinner: Sunday evening

After a day of walking around Paris in the rain, I decided to head over to Tang Frères* on Avenue d'Ivry and buy what was needed for an asian inspired dinner. After much hesitation here is the menu I came up with.

Entrée: Yellow Melon and Ham

This is not an asian dish at all but the ingredients were in the refrigerator.

Main Course: Green Bean Coconut Curry and thick Rice Noodles

Ingredients:

1 pack of fresh green beans

1/2 a pack small corn (frozen)

1 onion chopped in thin slices

garlic to taste

1 pack of hard tofu

fresh ginger to taste

1 tsp of vietnamese hot sacue

1 tsp of paprika

1/2 tsp of cinnamon

1 tsp of dried basil

1 tsp of dried estragon

1/2 tsp of frozen mint

1 tsp of frozen cilantro

lemon juice to taste

1 can of coconut milk

Directions:

To a big pot add 2 tbs of vegetable oil, once the oil is hot add the garlic and the fresh ginger. Stir in the onions and cooke them until tender (5 minutes). Add the cinnamon, paprika, estragon, basil and stir. Now add the green beans, stir for approximately 5 minutes then add the coconut milk and 1/2 a cup of water. Cover and let simmer.

To a frying pan add 2 tbs of vegetable oil, heat and add the tofu (cubed). Cook the tofu until brown. Add the tofu to the green bean curry and simmer while the rice noodles cook.

Rice noodles: follow cooking directions on the pack.

We were all so hungry that I forgot to take a picture of the final dish!

Dessert: Ginger Candy

These were bought at Tang Frères

* Asian supermarket in Paris