We're not worth... we're not worthy

Was strolling through the supermarket this evening when made an impulse buy of fresh gingko nuts... I had just treated some guys at the office for birthday lunch and for some reason their yam pudding (oh nee) didn't have any of them nuts. So if I ever get ambitious I might make some this weekend (it would be better if the secret of the whole thing wasn't 2/3 cups of oil per yam), but I'll probably end up boiling them in syrup.

I was back home searching for some recipes, and quite serendipitiously came across this very nice blog, Little Gingko Nut. Of course I'm darn humbled by all the nice food 'Ling' cooked up and also I finally know what a luohan guo looks like.

Thanks to the interconnectedness of the blogosphere, Little Gingko Nut opened a window to a great big community of food blogger. He he... looks like I'm not the only crazy one taking pictures of his food before eating.

Some of the best I've found so far (recipes all included it seems)

• English Patis - 'A Filipina living in the UK. Dreams of cooking for a living.' Don't we all? I love that she's so eclectic with her food but also lovingly features that the little known cuisine of her country. I love this dessert - sort of like the Thai kao tom mut best eaten but a topping of butter!
• She Who Eats - Photography in this site positively beautiful it borders on food porn territory. She's based in Japan, but seems to have quite a big interest in Western food, ice cream, jams, tarts and all kinds of desserts.

There's a whole lot more, I think I still need to digest. There's the great big Holiday Cookie Swap. Food crazy in Malaysia with masak-masak.

I guess I should leave you with the immortal words of Wayne and Garth... "We're not worthy... we're not worthy!".

Blogger vs Ung-aang Talay and other finds

Some new findings in the blogosphere to share with you.

1. Sa·ra·son·teh (http://sanpaworn.vissaventure.com/?s=log)

Through the magic of Googling I rediscovered this blog that I came across a long time ago and found quite engaging, in a weird way. Good clean web design, frequent and timely updates, an engaging, articulate prose style in both Thai and English.

But the draw is that Mr. Tom hold political views completely and utterly in opposition to mine!

• He despises the Democrats and their demagougery.
• He accuses Anand Panyarachun of Kerry-esque flip-flopping. Anand! Doesn't like his speeches much either.
• He's not too fond of the Nation. Nor the Post. Nor any media outlet apparently.

Reading him makes me feel a bit annoyed, but if you read pass the venom for his pet hates and his ranting, of course he make some good points. Good exercise for me since I've been afraid that my media consumption is sometimes skewed towards people who hold pretty much the same view as I do.

*****************************************************

This post is a classic - our blogger attempts to take down the New York Times, food writers R.W. Apple and our very own “Ung-aang Talay” at the same time!

So there's the typical opiniated dressing down and nit-picking... which is probably a right given to bloggers everywhere.

Loyal blog-fan 'poststaffer' joins in with the chorus and so it goes. But the absolute twist of the narrative comes with the list of the comments - the Ung-aang himself has the final word. I can imagine Mr. Halliday, the season journalist, sitting at his computer composing half with anger and then with no little joy with vignettes like this:

Mr Vamvanit seems to view humankind from a very lofty perspective, indeed, so lofty in fact that it makes me wonder just how he was raised and educated. There is some consolation in the realization that those motorcycle taxi drivers (who, incidentally, seem to be expert papaya choppers) would probably find Mr
Vamvanit just as distasteful, with his Chez Michel and his Connecticut phat thai and his more-farang-than-the-farangs, dek nawk posturings.

Hehe... you'd never what can happen over in blogosphere. More on Ung-aang-talay later

2. Mr Wang Bakes Good Karma (http://www.commentarysingapore.blogspot.com/)

Maybe he's a bit Singapore specific, but I like Mr Wang's gentle style of commentating on current affairs.

3. The Reader's Eye (http://readerseye.blogspot.com/)

A poetry blog. The decor is littered with Degas, Van Gogh, Matisse - may be a bit too classy for my tastes, but I do like the simple poetry. One of my favorites here - "A Completely Safe, Good Poem".

Maybe after years of trying, I'm more ready now to appreciate poetry. Maybe it comes with age and a bit of patience.

Pizza Dinner

I'm back cooking again, courtesy of Jamie Oliver. Thanks to some very kind friends, who generously gave me his new book, Jamie's Italy.

It's nice to finally have some company for dinner. The new fellow expat is a big eater, he likes to cook plus finds everything tastely. Just listen to him rave at the food at the local Kopitiam.

We cooked some pizzas with two toppings (salami/ zucchini/ basil and anchovies/ capers/ chili/ parsley). A nice rocket and cherry tomato salad to go along with it. Turned out quite well I should say.