THE PROMPTS FOR THE MONTH
THURSDAY 1st ON MY PLATE: The standard breakfast at our house: half toasted baguette with Vegemite, chilli jam, amaranth, cheese and tomato garnished with black pepper and holy basil.... yum, yum, yum. And yes just a few little Bhutanese treasures from our recent trip which now adorn the dining table
FRIDAY 2nd A VEGETABLE: Lotus Root a favourite of mine and one I’m somewhat obsessed with now that we live in a country where it is once again available fresh in the market
SATURDAY 3rd A FRUIT: A quick trip to the market to buy mangosteens for this prompt today. Trying to showcase Cambodia with this food month by selecting local favourites
SUNDAY 4th BREAKFAST: Since we always have the same breakfast and it’s almost the only meal that we don’t eat from a bowl, I posted that for the “on my plate” prompt. This was the final breakfast of our trip in our hotel room in Phnom Penh and purchased the night before to ensure our early departure. Delicious pastries and real brewed coffee made in the room, in my keep cup
MONDAY 5th LUNCH: We rarely eat lunch and that was the case yesterday so when it came to dinner I made way too much. Today’s lunch was last night’s leftovers with the new addition of enoki mushrooms - local noodles with veggies and tofu in miso soup. I think I enjoyed it more today
TUESDAY 6th DINNER: tonight, was homemade Buddha Bowls. It’s my go-to-choice in all the restaurants, which we know that serve them and I love making them at home too
WEDNESDAY 7th RAW: The raw vegetables for a rainbow salad, always seem so much more photogenic arranged like this before they are tossed together and a dressing added
THURSDAY 8th COOKED: Straight from the oven homemade sweet potato and black lentil pasties. We were inspired by the near constant rain and slightly cooler weather and cooked more wintery food today. Experimenting with ideas for a food fundraiser for our little monks
FRIDAY 9th IN MY PANTRY: We have a tiny galley kitchen and live in a rental house which had no shelving when we arrived. I had this unit built to measure locally to contain all the crockery, glasses, saucepans, dry goods and appliances. The rolling plastic boxes which, slide underneath serve as a pantry and store the items we don’t use daily and all the supplies we cannot buy locally and purchase in the capital. The top creates bench space at a height not made for dwarfs. It works well for us. Organisation is the key and we’ve got it down now
SATURDAY 10th DESSERT: We don’t really do dessert but I do bake a sweet treat most weeks. Our no lunch but afternoon coffee break usually includes something sweet. While being held hostage by the monsoon rains yesterday I did an experiment with a carrot cake. We deserve it today as we took a chance and did a mad dash to the shops and market on our bikes and loaded up on supplies in a rare rain free opportunity. Now we have the taste test with a couple of last week’s chocolate chip shortbread cookies added to the fun!
SUNDAY 11th MY FAVE RECIPE: is this dish I refer to as Beijing Salad. I first tasted a version of it as street food in Beijing in the ‘90’s and got the university students, I then taught, to show me the basic ingredients and to help me learn to replicate the taste. Then of course I applied the eat a rainbow Japanese principle to include more colourful raw ingredients and finally it evolved in to what I now call my signature dish. I love it and once again live in a country where all the ingredients are available locally
MONDAY 12th A GREEN FOOD: Right now, the Thai basil growing in Ian’s kitchen garden is flourishing. It is regularly converted into peanut pesto, is the fragrantly delicious final addition to sauces, salads, noodle and stir fry dishes and a staple in our diets: a simple green food we enjoy almost daily
TUESDAY 13th SNACK: The little monks of Kep are back in class and trying their best. Every time we teach them they get treats or snacks and today it was milk and locally made wafers. Doe looks pretty happy with his share
WEDNESDAY 14th MACRO: A macro ingredient that packs a punch: the Carolina reaper is supposedly the world’s hottest chilli. Ian grew these two and I’m afraid to even touch them. Wooo eeee they are hot
THURSDAY 15th INGREDIENT: The go to ingredient in our house would have to be garlic. It’s almost never missing in any cooked meal
FRIDAY 16th KITCHEN: A little ingenuity goes a long way in a tiny, galley kitchen with no storage space. The metal, security frame in the window provides ample hanging space and the window ledge is perfect for keeping all the utensils handy........What true blue Aussie doesn’t have a jar of Vegemite in the kitchen?
SATURDAY 17th TWO THINGS: that go deliciously well together are Sunshine Pie and ice cream. Today was one of those rare occasions when we had dessert because we had friends over for lunch
SUNDAY 18th A DRINK: Late afternoon in our favourite bar. Despite the fact that we are doing Arid (alcohol free) August, we do still stop by for a drink and to catch up with our mates
MONDAY 19th A WHITE FOOD: In fact, my favourite white food would have to be mushrooms but a very close second is feta cheese. These enoki mushrooms were fresh in the market this morning and once again the prompt of the day has dictated our eating choices
TUESDAY 20th SWEET: We always take sweet treats to the little monks’ class. Today I topped up the sweets bag to use as rewards but no one got any. A few too many distractions with monks from other pagodas arriving, many community members present, construction trucks rolling in and a huge banquet being set out in the eating area. We had to abandon class and admit defeat without treats
WEDNESDAY 21st A RED FOOD: I can’t go past a red capsicum. There is almost always at least one in our fridge. A red food that features heavily in our eat-a-rainbow diet
THURSDAY 22nd SAVOURY: Greek Salad with a twist. I know the amaranth and capsicum don’t belong in there but a little extra crunch with all the creamy feta just can’t be a bad thing
FRIDAY 23rd IN MY CUP: Vietnamese style black coffee speciality of Mangroove Guesthouse Kep
SATURDAY 24th A FOOD ON A STICK: BBQ fish are a big feature of the beachside offerings and many of them are various food on sticks. This stall was gearing up for a busy weekend’s trade as the foreshore picnic spots started to fill this morning at Kep Beach
SUNDAY 25th COOKING: The lazy cook in me sees all these veggies roasting in the oven as way to prepare 2 or 3 meals for the coming week. Already, roast pumpkin hummus is made and last night’s Buddha Bowls contained some but there are still plenty for risotto, couscous or salads. Spending one whole day cooking is a joy and it’s always appreciated in the following week
MONDAY 26th ON MY FORK: Despite being confirmed chopstick users, tonight I did eat my dinner with a fork! Stir fried veggies and rice features regularly on our dinner menu but tonight’s version contained the delicious addition of melted feta
TUESDAY 27th YUK: I have no idea what this green food on a stick is but Gam is thrilled to have it. It’s not cucumber - he confirmed that. Nonetheless it looks like yuk to me.
WEDNESDAY 28th I SHOP HERE: in Kep Market and mostly from this one stall and super friendly vendor, who always seems to have the freshest produce and most variety to satisfy our need to eat a rainbow everyday
THURSDAY 29th THIS IS DELICIOUS: My birthday treat at Terrazza - vegetarian pasta flambé in a whole wheel of parmesan cheese. It was undisputedly the best meal I have eaten in Cambodia. I can’t wait to eat there again. As we have been held hostage by torrential rain and dinner will be a whatever is in the fridge concoction, I had to find an archive shot
FRIDAY 30th MESSY: The whole process of making Kimchi is a bit messy as far as I am concerned but bottling it up to ferment is definitely the messiest. Ian’s current favourite fermentation experiments revolve around Kimchi - this batch has Thai basil in it!
SATURDAY 31st IN MY HAND: When we are in Kampot on a shopping run the priority is fresh ground Rumblefish coffee. A cold brew while they roast and grind a month’s supply makes for the perfect break
