oNe PhOtO a DaY jUlY 2026

JULY 1st A CUP: A little Japanese lidded teacup I spotted in the lobby of our hotel. There are lots of secondhand Japanese household items sold in Cambodia and they appear in hotels, cafes and restaurants all over the country. Our kitchen contains several too

JULY 2nd IN THE FRIDGE: in our hotel room is the picnic dinner we plan to consume on our eight hour train journey tonight. Travelling in style 

JULY 3rd SOMETHING SAVOURY: a huge plate of raw, steamed and antipasto Italian vegetables. On the menu it’s simply called big salad and it’s 100% delicious but let’s find another adj! Ginormous 

JULY 4th SOMETHING CRUNCHY: loaded nachos for dinner. I had other ideas but corn chips on special and the idea of 4th of July meant Tex-Mex took over. Guacamole on the side and I’m so glad it did, deliciousness in every bite 

JULY 5th A VEGETABLE: that I adore and recently a lot more varieties have become available here too so that’s good news for me 

JULY 6th A SPOON: a rustic, long handled, teaspoon. I love a handmade, wooden item and I’m sure this one came from Vietnam

JULY 7th A MEAL ON A PLATE: This was a tricky one for me as we eat almost every meal in a bowl and with chopsticks. However tonight’s dinner of dukkah spiced, scrambled tofu and eda mame and salad was a plate to share before we ate it

JULY 8th A DRINK: Latte one hot one cold. I love those serving gourds - sure beats plastic!

JULY 9th A HOMEMADE MEAL: Breakfast done right with Vegemite, cheese, tomato and micro greens on homemade sourdough ciabatta and I was the lucky recipient

JULY 10th A TREAT TO SHARE: Khmer style peanuts fried with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and garlic mixed with cashews, walnuts and almonds for our afternoon ginger lime sodas on the terrace is the treat of choice on AFDs (alcohol free days)

 

JULY 11th  A BAKED GOOD: mushroom, zucchini, string beans, capsicum and rice patties for dinner tonight. Not the greatest photo but this prompt inspired me to try to bake patties rather than fry fritters today 

JULY 12th I MADE THIS: Asian fusion dinner of buckwheat noodles with dipping sauce, kimchi and vegetables 

JULY 13th BREAKFAST: When I make breakfast it most often looks like this

JULY 14th A SLICE: of heaven. Absolute decadence here. We have double chocolate brownie slices with ice cream and passionfruit pulp with affogatos. The justification was we needed to finish the dregs of the ice cream so the new tub will fit in the freezer as we have a dear friend, who is an absolute ice cream fiend arriving tomorrow

JULY 15th A STAPLE: coffee. There are many things I can live without but coffee isn’t one of them. It’s not just a staple, it’s an essential 

JULY 16th A JAR: of Kalamata olives with a serving suggestion. They were once impossible to find here so now that I have I do like to create more cheese boards 

JULY  17th A FOOD YOU’VE NEVER TRIED: Not one of these particular snacks has ever passed my lips but I’ve tried similar and others in this range and I’m aiming to try all of them. They were gifted to us by our current guest who knows us very well 

JULY 18th A COLOURFUL DISH: in the making - Frittata but actually not so colourful once assembled. Just part of tonight’s fare for a dinner party with an Italian theme 

JULY 19th A BOWL: of last night’s dessert for breakfast. Someone was too full to eat it at dinner but happy to have it at 8:30am

JULY 20th A CIRCULAR FOOD: limes  feature heavily in both drinks and dishes for us. They are cheap, delicious, plentiful, seed free and very juicy 

JULY 21st SOMETHING ICONIC: rice noodles are the staple of so many dishes right across SE Asia but these I refer to as lace noodles as they are sheets made of the tiniest rice noodles, in that pattern. They are the principal ingredient of a sensational Khmer dish and the only one I can make a vegetarian adaption of 

JULY 22nd A COMFORT FOOD: for me is a monster sandwich. Whenever we take a long bus, car or train journey I make this eat a rainbow brunch for the journey and these days it’s on homemade ciabatta sourdough. It was an early train to Kampot this morning. Perfection in every bite! 

JULY 23rd A PACKET: of famous Kampot pepper in tradition style packaging is the perfect souvenir of Cambodia and we just happen to be in Kampot today too

JULY 24th A SAUCE: Soy sauce is a staple in our household and I’ve only ever seen these fun, retro look images in the Pot where we just happen to be

JULY 25th ON THE BENCH: in the kitchen is the huge haul of fresh produce we just returned from the local market with, after a few days away. That’s US$11 worth and a supply for us eat a rainbow vegetarians and our guests for the next few days. Everything was in cloth bags, or boxes we provided too so not one plastic bag came home with us. So many reasons to feel grateful and love where we live 

JULY 26th  FROM THE FREEZER: into a coconut already half full of shredded coconut flesh, warm sticky rice with sweetened beans, and palm fruit pieces and then dusted in crushed, blanched, roasted peanuts, that’s a street stall serve of coconut ice cream  

*chosen in the Fab Four on Facebook 

JULY 27th A FAVOURITE MUG: as seen at breakfast this morning 

JULY 28th UTENSILS: Chopsticks are the much preferred option in this household

JULY 29th A RED FOOD: Pomegranates in season now and fresh in the market today

* it even got selected for the Fab Four 

JULY 30th A COOKBOOK: from a restaurant and cafe we have supported through many reincarnations for over 13 years. Their work training marginalized young people in vocational skills, supports children families and communities in Phnom Penh city. I just bought the recipe book as a gift for some avid cooks currently visiting us 

JULY 31st SOMETHING MESSY: food pre earlier today 

PROMPTS