use real butter

I’ve never bought tamarind juice concentrate before. I picked up a jar of this while I was getting shouted at by the asian store owner in Boulder. I mean, if you’ve got her attention to look for preserved salted turnips, why not ask for the tamarind concentrate too? She never showed me where it was, she just began yelling to herself in her dialect (I don’t know what she is, to be honest – but she ain’t chinese) and then emerged from one dangerously crowded aisle with “LASJAR!” She meant the last jar.

to make thom kha kai (chicken coconut soup)

serve hot!

**Jump for more butter**

Dinner tonight was Chinese hot pot, or Japanese shabu shabu. When we entertain, or if it’s a special occasion, we have chicken, shrimp, scallop, fish, beef – but since it’s just week night dinner, I sliced up flank steak. It’s pretty simple and especially delicious on a cold winter night. The bean thread noodles (also called cellophane noodles) are from China. That’s not good, according to Grandma. She says their texture sucks compared to better quality noodles from Thailand or Vietnam. Unfortunately, the Boulder store only had brands made in China.

spinach, cellophane noodles, green onions, flank steak, mustard green, tofu, fish balls

jeremy, master of the chopsticks, begins cooking the flank steak in the hot pot

ladel the soup into your bowl of goodies

The new DSL is fabuloso! Jeremy said we can tell our ISP to cancel our account on Monday, after one week of comparison. I was ready to tell them to stuff it after 12 hours. Blasted stoners…

Today was a soup day for sure. Overcast, cold (like 30 degrees cooler than yesterday’s high), and by this evening, raining. We have ice on our deck right now! All the better to be making soup. Tortilla soup!

sauté leeks, onions, garlic, celery – squeeze fresh lime juice

add broths, lime juice, chicken, a sprig of oregano

toss in the carrots, tomatoes, cabbage and simmer: serve with tortilla chips and jack cheese