Day 36 - What's Cookin'?

It's been a month and a half since we moved out of our Morningside flat, and since I have packed up our kitchen. And anyone who knows me knows I enjoy cooking and baking. It's no surprise that the "Great Return" to the kitchen today had me grinning like an idiot. We were picked up at our Hotel at about 8am. A Canadian lady and her daughter were already in the back of the van. We picked up a few more; another Mom-Daughter Combo from the UK, and a French lady who spoke very little English. Our teacher for the day was a very smiley petite woman with a shrill laugh that was infectious. Soon we were all grinning like idiots.

The first stop was about 30 minutes out of Chaing Mai; the market. There are very few grocery shops in Thailand so this is where all the good stuff is sold. Our teacher took us on a tour showing us the kinds of spices, sauces, rice varieties, and other ingredients we would be using throughout the day. When she told us we'd each cook 5 dishes, Phil and I snuck off and got very strong cups of coffee; a long day of slaving over the gas stove awaited...
   

The Thai Farm Cooking School was another 20 minute drive from the market. It was more of a big veggie garden then a farm, but it was lovely nonetheless. Organic. Decked in our straw hats and aprons, we had a lesson on the Asian vegetables and herbs which sprouted up in neat little rows.

After sampling a few flowers, buds, and chillies straight from the garden we were introduced to our kitchen. Each person had an individual little station and gas burner. We started out making our own curry pastes which we would later use in our curries. I chose green and Phil, yellow. And trust me, the pestle and mortar workout is recommended for the biceps!

But that was just the beginning. When the day was done, and our bellies were positively stuffed, we had made the following:

Luisa's Menu A'la Thailand:
Chicken & Coconut Soup
Green Chicken Curry
Chicken & Cashewnut Stirfry
Vegetable Springrolls
Mango, Sticky Rice & Coconut Sauce

Phil's Thai Teaser Menu:
Shrimp Tom Yum
Yellow Chicken Curry
Sweet & Sour Chicken Stirfry
Phad Thai
Banana's in Coconut Milk

We both had such a sense of satisfaction, we learned something new and had such fun doing it. The best part though... we got recipe books too! 

We got dropped off out our Hotel at about 4pm and spent the rest of the day watching back-to-back episodes of Law & Order. A very very good day indeed!

Until next time,
Luisa