Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Thailand Dreams and Tea Towel Endings

So Travel Tuesday is also going to include some photos of places i'm desperate/dying/destined to visit!


Today we are going to Thailand, at least we are in my head and since i have no plans to go there in the immediate future, while there we are going to have homemade Thai Meatballs, mmmm


My desire to go to Thailand comes from a mix of seeing the Beach about 18 times and my undying love for Emerald Curry from my local Thai restaurant 


These are a few of the places I would LOVE to visit



Doesn't it look beautiful?
Thailand (pronounced /ˈtaɪlænd/ TY-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/;[6] Thaiราชอาณาจักรไทย Ratcha Anachak Thai, IPA: [râːtɕʰa ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k tʰɑj]( listen)) (formerly Siam ThaiสยามRTGS: Sayam), officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.
The country is a kingdom, with most recorded reigns in the world; a constitutional monarchy with King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the ninth kingof the House of Chakri, who has reigned since 1946, making him the world's longest-serving current head of state and the longest-reigningmonarch in Thai history.[7] The king is officially titled Head of State, the Head of the Armed Forces, an Upholder of the Buddhist religion, and the Defender of all Faiths. The largest city in Thailand is Bangkok, the capital, which is also the country's center of political, commercial, industrial and cultural activities.
Thailand is the world's 50th largest country in terms of total area (slightly smaller than Yemen and slightly larger than Spain), with a surface area of approximately 513,000 km2 (198,000 sq mi), and the 21st most-populous country, with approximately 64 million people. About 75% of the population is ethnically Thai, 14% is of Chinese origin, and 3% is ethnically Malay;[8] the rest belong to minority groups including MonsKhmers and various hill tribes. There are approximately 2.2 million legal and illegal migrants in Thailand.[9] Thailand has also attracted a number of expatriates from developed countries.[10] The country's official language is Thai. Its primary religion is Buddhism, which is practiced by around 95% of all Thais.
Thailand experienced rapid economic growth between 1985 and 1995 and is a newly industrialized country with tourism, due to well-knowntourist destinations such as PattayaBangkokPhuketChiang Mai and Ko Samui, and exports contributing significantly to the economy.[11][12] SOURCE
_________________________________
So yesterday (Monday) I did 3 new things


- I found an organic cafe in my neighbourhood by googling Wonder Kombucha, so i had to try it out, immediately, my sister came with me and almost peed her pants when she saw they had vegetarian French Onion Soup, I will be going back soon with BF and will do a proper review and take pictures next time but i will say this smoothie was heaven, kind of made me imagine i was on one of those Thai Beaches


- I made my roasted chickpeas and added in peas for variety, they look good but something died in the progress, more on this later


- I ate Kale, yummmm!  I am going to be adding this to more meals instead of my usual spinach so look forward to a lot of Kale recipes ahead on the blog
_________________________________


Asian Turkey Meatballs with Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce
Todays Recipe comes entirely from Ginas Skinny Recipes, i halved this recipe for BF and I

Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup wholewheat bread crumbs
  • 1-1/4 lbs 93% lean ground turkey
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp ginger, minced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (i chopped up Kale instead because i HATE cilantro)
  • 3 scallions, chopped
  • 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tsp sesame oil

  • 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 1 chopped fresh scallion


Dipping Sauce

Directions


1. Preheat oven to 500°F
2. Mix ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, salt, scallions, cilantro, 1 tbsp soy sauce, and 2 tsp oil and mix with your hands until combined well
3. Shape 1/4 cup meat mixture into a ball and transfer to a baking dish
4. Repeat with remaining mixture
5. Bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes
6. For the dipping sauce 
mix together lime juice, water, soy sauce, scallions and remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in a bowl
7. Transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Stir sauce, then drizzle meatballs with sauce.



My favourite part is you make sauce to go with it!  I'm a saucy girl who likes her food not to be dry, oh god i was going to write wet but that sounded WAY too dirty
_________________________________

RIP tea towel


I'm sorry i set you on fire reaching in the oven for my roasted chickpeas
I'm also sorry i prolonged your death by pouring oatmeal pot water on you
I would like to thank BF for putting you out of your misery by placing a pot over you
May you rest in peace in your final resting place (well when you get there, right now you are smoldering in the snow on our deck)
I would like to dedicate the song "fire starter" to you
I would also like to request BF stop walking around saying "no oxygen, no fire" while shaking his head at me


That is all xox
 

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those meatballs look delish. I came across your blog this morning, I am enjoying looking around.

Hilary said...

Mmm...the meatballs look yummy...and much cheaper than the flight to Thailand I'm guessing! I love kale too!

Katie@Real Food Katie's Way said...

I also share your hatred for cilantro...There was a southwestern bean and corn salad incident... ;)

The meatballs look incredible!

Stephanie said...

I'd love to go to Thailand some day! Oh my gosh, I laughed out loud at your apology note to the dishtowel. The loss of a dishtowel is a sad, sombre event.

Courtney (Pancakes and Postcards) said...

Thailand is amazing I highly recommend it :)

Post a Comment