Archive | She Rants and Muses RSS feed for this section

My Book – Simple Thai Food: Classic Recipes from the Thai Home Kitchen

Simple Thai Food by Leela Punyaratabandhu
Remember when the Zealous Water Buffalo told you many months ago that I was writing a book? Well, it’s done. Simple Thai Food: Classic Recipes from the Thai Home Kitchen won’t be available until around mid-May, but if you preorder it now, you will be among the first people to get it.

That’s not all, if you preorder the book now, you will be given access to a video tutorial on how to make red curry from scratch, from the homemade paste to the finished dish. I do not intend on making this video public on the blog or elsewhere, at least within the next year or so. So it will be available immediately to only the early birds among you and no one else. So, please be sure to keep the email confirmation from your bookseller of choice (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, iBooks, and Google Books) when you preorder.

You have until Thai New Year (April 13) to do so which is when I will tell you how to redeem your gift.

But first, let me tell you a bit about the book so you know what you’re investing in. In keeping with the theme of simplicity, I will sum up this book into one sentence. Continue Reading →

Comments are closed

Shrimp Paste Relish with Lime Rind (น้ำพริกผิวมะนาว) and a Little Ghost Tale

Thai Shrimp Paste Chili Relish
What criteria do you use to gauge how much you understand another culture? How do you rank these criteria in terms of their importance? How objective is your ranking and what are the factors influencing it? What characteristics must someone from a different culture exhibit – what knowledge must they possess for you to consider them well-assimilated or at least well-versed in your culture? What are the things you need to do or say or prove in order to assure someone that you really understand their culture? What criteria do you think someone else from a culture different from yours may use to measure your understanding of their culture? I often wonder about these things. Continue Reading →

Comments are closed

Thai Tea Cheesecake with Chocolate Crumb Crust from The Heart of the Plate: A Tribute to Mollie Katzen

Thai Tea Cheesecake from The Heart of the Plate by Mollie Katzen
This post is about three things: a wonderful dessert, a great new book, and how the work of one woman—Mollie Katzen is her name—put me on the path that had led to this blog. I’ll address them one by one, in that order.

The Dessert:
I used to say that I didn’t think tea and tangy cultured dairy products belonged together. This cheesecake has proven me wrong.

This is an easy dessert to make. There’s no baking involved. And it is delicious. Continue Reading →

Comments are closed