oNe PhOtO a DaY aUgUsT 2024:

AUGUST 1st ON MY PLATE: is my favourite breakfast: Shakshuka. This prompt made me realize almost all our meals are served in bowls as was today’s breakfast so this is from several days ago

AUGUST 2nd FRESH: a portion of the platter of finger food I just assembled to enjoy with drinks on the terrace tonight. 

The see the whole platter

AUGUST 3rd A BUSY CAFE: at brunch time in a trendy part of the city this morning

AUGUST 4th A CLOSE UP OF FOOD: enoki mushrooms actually

AUGUST 5th HOT: chillies in fact those claimed to be the hottest in Bhutan. An archive shot from our travels in Trashiyangtse. These  were drying in the sun on market day

AUGUST 6th FRESHLY PICKED: basil from the back balcony pot that even survived the heat wave

AUGUST 7th COLD: Frozen Khmer coffee and it was very cold. This was a first for me and at a newly discovered cafe with $1 coffees on Wednesday. Perfect especially accompanied with cold rolls for a late lunch

AUGUST 8th GOOEY: This is a local sticky rice patty filled with garlic chives and one of the very few street foods in Cambodia that we are absolutely sure is vegetarian. There was a vendor right outside the entrance to our apartment block today and I love them

*The pan of them frying in a street vendor’s mobile stall

AUGUST 9th COLOURFUL FOOD: a meal I assembled at home earlier this week. I’ve been an advocate for eat a rainbow since I first read about it in Japan in the 1990s

AUGUST 10th A COFFEE CUP: with a few stains, and scratches but still a favourite and the well loved one I use everyday

AUGUST 11th BREAKFAST: Nothing is quite like starting the day right with fresh tropical fruit, probiotic yoghurt, a homemade muesli cookie and coffee

* unexpectedly this one made it into the Fab 4 on Insta

AUGUST 12th MY FAVOURITE FOOD: is mushrooms. In this shot are shimeji, king trumpet or eryngii and shiitake fresh dried and simmered. Homemade mixed mushroom pasta and risotto on the menu for us this week

AUGUST 13th SLICE: A slice of the simple yoghurt and lime cake I recently added to my baking repertoire

AUGUST 14th HOMEMADE: I missed having an oven so much in Bhutan I seem to be on a bit of a baking blitz at the moment

AUGUST 15th LUNCH: I rarely eat lunch these days but if I do this one is my favourite. It quick, easy and delicious

 

AUGUST 16th FRESHLY BAKED: zucchini, spinach, capsicum and cheese savoury muffins with salted black peppercorns. Had to try one while it was still warm and they are definitely delicious

AUGUST 17th FOOD IN MOTION:Wow Now food delivery in a torrential monsoon downpour

AUGUST 18th A STACK: This prompt inspired me to attempt a stack of roasted veggies with couscous. Of course it required a skewer to make it stand up but it tasted great. Embracing imperfection

AUGUST 19th INGREDIENTS: for one of my signature dishes - Lotus Root Salad. We never tire of it

AUGUST 20th MOUTH-WATERING: selection of salads for a simple picnic dinner outdoors tonight. We are hoping to see the blue, sturgeon, super moon rise tonight if there isn’t too much cloud cover 

AUGUST 21st CRISPY: tempeh and veggie skewers with spicy peanut sauce as a post table tennis and swimming treat today. We are quite taken with this little cafe with its quirky location, decor and menu

AUGUST 22nd FOOD & PEOPLE: The street side stalls and vendors of Phnom Penh always have a ready smile whether you buy or not

*Update this was a selection for the fab 4 on Insta

AUGUST 23rd DINNER: Homemade spicy tofu and veg dumplings for us for dinner tonight. It’s a two person job. I can’t make the wrappers and Ian can’t form them up. Team work is dream work

AUGUST 24th MY FAVOURITE DESSERT: Actually I’m not big on sweet treats but this is one that I do make for special occasions and special guests The Moosewood’s Montana Momma’s Double Baked Cheesecake with a tropical twist. I just can’t resist adapting things - halve the sugar bake with lime zest and juice and serve with puréed mango and passionfruit pulp. Yum

AUGUST 25th A BOWL OF: eat a rainbow salad for dinner tonight

AUGUST 26th A PERFECT PAIRING: Freshly made flat bread with leftover salad for a simple wrap for lunch

AUGUST 27th FRUIT: the mostly dried fruit component of the muesli cookies I am baking right now. Add seeds, coconut, oats and even chocolate chips sometimes, but not today and they are the perfect breakfast with fresh fruit or afternoon tea pick me up. A must have in our household these days

AUGUST 28th CHEESY: A delicious plate of grilled halloumi with micro greens. This is a favourite dish of mine and an archive shot as we don’t actually have any cheese in the house today and I’m too lazy to go buy some

AUGUST 29th VEGETABLE: one of my favourites is red capsicum and it makes its way into many dishes in our household

AUGUST 30th GLASS: How about a glass of chilled Sauvignon Blanc or two? Don’t mind if I do

AUGUST 31st A MARKET STALL: we frequent in our local area and one of the many different vendors from whom we regularly buy specific 

*second update Just discovered this one made it into the Fab nine on Facebook as did Ian’s on the same day 

THE PROMPTS

on the streets where we live

“I need an update on the state of the crèche.” I make this request when I spot Ian peering into the street below from the terrace. We now know the 4WD ute, parked in the street just below our place every evening, operates as a child minding service. The children who often occupy it happily skylark, shout, play and eat instead of being on the road. I was sorry to know clamps were being removed from it by the police early one morning but glad that this run of local businesses with young, working women have a small, safe urban playground for their children and a grannie who oversees and engages those children, at least until their own grannies arrive to take them home. That’s the primary use for the back of the ute. There are always at least three and sometimes many more kids so while it might not be ideal it’s better than nothing and certainly an ingenious solution to a problem that is not going anywhere anytime soon.

There is a foreigner who walks these streets daily: something we also do but with very different intent. We have spotted him while returning home from the market in the early morning, wandering back from a riverside stroll and on our way to and from many local places we frequent. He looks clean and pretty well dressed and often has one arm in a makeshift sling, created from a krama. Several times in the late afternoon we have noticed him quickly scoop something up and stash it in the sling. Finally we realized he was taking the offerings made at the temporary, street side altars many local businesses set up on the footpath, at the entrance or on a table nearby, for their businesses. It’s a daily practice and no one really seems to react or mind that he does this. “Is he really destitute?” I hear the naysayer in me ask. Some mornings he is out wandering without his sling and at least a couple of times we have seen him quietly sharing a beer with a mate in one of the many bars nearby, as we ourselves have been known to do. I’m not judging. It’s just an enigma. 

Recently a friend enlightened us about the wobbly financial scenarios many young Khmer are entangled in. There are tales of exploitation by loan sharks, accountants taking advantage of the loop holes and minimum transparency in the banking system and dubious community based financial arrangements between locals. In a society where so many are financially vulnerable or locked into generational poverty, this kind of predator behaviour sickens me. Financial literacy which might help avoid those kinds of traps and help people see the inherent danger in over burdening themselves with loan repayments, isn’t easily accessed and no doubt costs money those who need it most can’t afford. I’m no wiz kid on the financial management front myself and tend to oscillate between absolute frugality and unnecessary indulgence. However I do realize one can get into very difficult financial situations by refusing to compromise about what is actually affordable. Realistically the micro finance business is unscrupulous and leaves people with debts they might not be able to pay off before the next financial crisis hits.  That situation won’t negate the debt and so the spiral begins.