Welcome!

Hi All!

So this is my mom (Daisy) and my (Darin) new project.  It will not only help us bond and become closer, but it will also force me to have to teach her computer stuff (which means lots of headaches, cranky calls and headbanging on my kitchen table since she is not too great with computers),  us to cook together--ie. I have to listen to her (which means lots of headaches, cranky shouting and headbanging on her kitchen table since I am very territorial in the kitchen, even if it is technically her kitchen), write together (which mean lots of headaches, cranky typing and headbanging on our respective computers) and eat together (which means me blaming her for making me fat immediately followed by me asking her to rub my tummy because I ate too much again).

Yep.  It will be tough.  But for some reason we feel the need to do it.  Which again reaffirms my belief that every human is innately masochistic.  Really.  Think about it.  See?  Told you so.

Despite that belief, I sincerely hope that you will enjoy our bog.  My mom has amassed a vast wealth of knowledge in Thai and Chinese cooking and I love cookies so we will both bring our talents to the table.  Obviously her more than me.  This is as much of me trying to absorb and document as much of that knowledge as possible as it is to share our recipes and love for food with all of you.  So we will both be learning!  It's okay, she's a really patient teacher.   Promise.

So off we go!

-Darin


I have to cook and cook better.  Why?

My son is a Giant. No, no.  Not in size.  But he is a good boy, who never bothers Mommy.  Just eats and gobbles anything and goes to sleep.  So I like to prepare ahead of time authentic meals for him.

My older daughter?  She is like a chef.  She has good taste.  Even a very simple ethnic dish can satisfy her but I have to make it well.

My little daughter?  Do not look down on her.  She is in training!  Her nose is very sharp!  Just walks into the house and is able to tell that I cooked chicken curry!

As for my mom, when I was young my father would always take us to try any new restaurants, and after that my mom would recreate the new dishes for us at home.  Now that my mom has grown old and cannot cook anymore, I hope I could try to write down all the recipes and tips that she still remembers because she is the second generation of Teo Chew (Chao-Chow) in Thailand.

As for me, I have lived here for a long time.  My memory has also gotten...complicated.  Some ingredients might not fit my children's taste or I cannot find specific ingredients in my area or I have to exchange/alternate for my own health.  These recipes have been  adapted to be my own recipe so everyone, please feel free to adjust to your tastes.  But what I have to say is try to use the ingredients made from the country that you are cooking.    For example, if cooking Curry, the red curry paste should be "made in Thailand".   If you are using curry paste that was made in Malaysia, the paste would be very hot and spicier than the one from from Thailand and so is not really authentic.

I hope this blog will help me collect all of my family's favorite recipes before my mom's or my own energy is gone and I hope this blog will introduce us to people who would love to share this food with us.  Some recipes will keep my chilhood memories alive and some recipe will keep me alive so can see my children's chilhood become alive again before my eyes.

- Daisy