Jet Gorgon

I never made gravy from bisto or (sorry, Jayenram) Oxo in me life. It's time for...the gravy wars.

I was at a small pub one night with Thai friends and two young English tourists, one of whom needed the toilet. He went and came out freaked, saying there was a HUGE spider in the loo and could he go somewhere else. ??? Back lane was also out of the question for him. A bit later, I went to the loo, looking for a HUGE spider. While squatting down, I looked up and saw a death mask spider (dunno, guys, the white one with the skull and crossbones design on its back) hanging on the wall about a hand's breadth from my face. Oh, nice spider, I thought, and then noticed it was missing a few legs. Mr Spider took no notice of me, I finished my business and went out to join the table. Noted I saw a spider (body as big as two peas, leg span maybe a big hand span). Ya! The young English lad was going crazy with fear. What? I had spiders everywhere in Thailand. Never bothered me, took care of bugs in the shower room. That side is yours, this side is mine, except when I clean. Never a problem.

^ A jetski is a high-powered rugged motorcraft? C'mon.

The newer PWCs (4 stroke, fuel injected) are very reliable, and reasonably fuel efficient. The safety factor comes mostly from the person, and if you are sensible rider, pick a good weather day I think it would be an easy ride. Bophut to Haad Rin is roughly 13K by google earth. Good luck and be safe

Ya, and it's only a couple miles from Katmandu to the next mountain. I've been across the strait from Haadrin to Bophut at least 300 times. You know the currents and conditions, maybe, but I bet you'll be calling for rescue.

Oh, I forgot, knew many "Olympic swimmers" who tried to swim across, too. SBK, you remember which beaches they washed up on? I'm a little hazy on that; there were so many.

^ true, Ignis. Thai filet was only Bt250 for the whole piece.

I always pulled them off. Twist and tug. Never a prob. Or you can pour cooking oil on them to suffocate them.

^ ah, so I did. Thought I was back at the bank with ceteris paribus and mea culpas. Never mind. Yes, you need chick peas for cous cous, no? Where's Tutsi?

Yep, I love Thai beef. Could never trust an English "chef" who said Thai beef was crap and then made gravy for his Sunday roast out of Bisto cubes. That ain't gravy. Oh, but Bt650 a kilo is WAY overpriced. More like Bt250.

Crikes, I just read that web info again and it really differs from my Thai experiences. Im my bungalow, mommy tick laid her eggs behind my paintings (the pretty bronze blobs). Then they turned into little black ovals that moved like a sick VW on an autobahn. No food was around -- ie, hosts to feed on -- but I found the little black beggars on my dogs, too. Then they sprouted six legs and could scurry hilly nilly everywhere. Those are the ones I found most between paw toes, along with a few of the big grey dirigibles, but all seemed able to live without a host for long periods (I found one alive in my suitcase after six months in Vancouver). I used to cut strips of masking tape and stick all the picked ticks on them and then fold and squish. The Dettol cleaning seemed to work for the bungalow. Now there is Frontline and pest control. Good luck, Y'all. I know what a pain these suckers are. Also, my Lab loved going to the river, but even with Frontline, he got infested with ticks there.

Spay or neuter the kitties unless you are assured of homes for the litters.

Give them a bit of food, they don't harrass you and never poo in your yard.

I agree that the very small dogs can be more aggressive than bigger dogs but IMO, I can't really understand buying a dog in the first place when there are so many good, intelligent, local dogs, supremely adapted to the climate. Big dogs won't last long in the heat, tend to live shorter lives anyway and purebred dogs often have health issues. Our local dog is 13 years old, and his only health problems (other than a bit of arthritis and going a bit deaf) result from attacks from the neighbor's german shepherd. (attacked my dog and blinded him in one eye when he followed his owner to our property).

I also agree with Ratchabuild that some owners get a big dog to prove they are a big man-- but can't say all, just a few. Most, I think, do so out of habits that they have brought from home.

Totally agree with SBK on all points here. Had many strays adopt me in Thailand; they were fiercely loyal, amiable to weekly baths, hardy and good protectors, besides being loving. Most were ridgeback crosses. Had one Lab who was left by the feckless owners. He lived about ten years, but not without pain. Local dogs are the best.

My granma. She left the wealthy family home to study art and took on maid jobs to support herself while in school, circa 1910. Unfortunately succumbed to Cupid via my grandpa and ended up as a settler in Western Canada.

Lots of women broke the mold. Shelley and her mom come to mind. Not really a gender specialist, so leave it to you all.

Oh, nice dogs. I hope you let them in aircon sometimes, but definitely get kennel fans for them. Don't tell the neighbours or anyone how much your kitties are worth or they might go missing! Have fun!

Ensure there are life jackets onboard before you get on the boat. Most local police check for that now.

Roo speaks true: get them made -- open fencing for walls and a covered roof. Hope you have a fan for each one and you're not bringing pit bulls.

MMCulpa, you don't have to apologise for anything here. (BTW, where was that post?) Anyway, welcome to TV and thanks for the fish recipe; nice addition. I guess one could get fish from the market and freeze it rather than buying from Tesco?

And thanks to Jimmyd and RoietJ for those yum recipes, too. Roiet, expect Tutsi here shortly to complain about cooking kidney beans.

With all the seafood in Thailand, a nice boillabaisse might be good, too. Just reading a recipe book with this one from the Crescent City Brewhouse in New Orleans. I changed it a bit to fit with what's available locally.

cayenne, paprika, garlic salt

butter

12 clams

12 mussels

crab to replace the lobster

12 jumbo prawns

1/4 kg tuna cut into bite chunks

small red snapper (no salmon here) cut into bite chunks

big bottle of lager beer

diced white onion

three or so handfuls of green onion, chopped

three tomatoes seeded and diced

3-4 cups of fish stock

two cubed potatoes

manao juice

Use a big pot and put in the butter over medium heat. Add the shellfish. Saute 3 min, then add shrimp for a couple more min. Turn up the heat to med-high and add the beer; cook about 10 min. Add the tuna and snapper, cook a few mins. Take out any clams or mussels that have kept their mouths shut. Add all the veg and seasoning. Cook until spuds are near tender then add the soup stock and simmer for a few more mins. Add the manao juice. Remove from heat and let rest a few mins before serving.

I think it needs some other taste zip -- maybe cilantro or Chinese celery? What about the salmon/lobster replacements? Anything better?

I agree CM and SBK. I think Oxwill just likes to pontificate and extol his self-appointed genius among the stupidity that he presumes to see around him. I doubt he has applied his use of logic anywhere outside of belittling students in a classroom or perhaps cashing in royalty cheques from Logic for Dummies. AutoUnit, conversely, presents lucid and valid arguments, without appearing pompous or arrogant, perhaps because he uses applied logic and lives in the real world.

Pure logic has its place in theory, but most people actually live and interact pleasantly with others in the real world. Beliefs, ghosts and intuition cannot be quantified, so they are dismissed by "thinkers" as irrational. For that reason, I do love Buddhist thought. Spiritual and real world. I think Oxwill would learn much from meditation, but I believe his ego would never permit his mind to be calmed.

Dead is dead and the only "ghosts" are the legacies of the actions we take while we are alive. Any belief to the contrary is evidence of a weak or defective mind: that is, lack of intellectual rigor, susceptibility to suggestion, or physical damage to or a chemical imbalance in the brain.

ghosts ........

I was going to say he must be dead already.

Will, I think you got your grounding in logic from "Logic for Dummies" or wikipedia summaries.

Logic is not some sort of optional alternative world view. Everyone uses logic every day

Really? Sounds like the opening line from that TV show Numb3rs, except it says "people use numbers everyday..." People make "choices" everyday based on what they think will be the best outcome for them; these are not necessarily logical moves.

How do you prove things to me? You make a logical argument! such as: If Will is a human, then will is mortal since all humans are mortal! Will is a human, so therefore will is definitely mortal!

Pity you got your clauses mixed up there, but yes, another Logic 101 class opener.

As I have been trying to communicate, logic and truth are not the same thing. Logic is merely a machine, whereby truth can be turned into more truth.

Nope. Where did you glean that little nugget from? False premise; logic can be used to twist the truth to fit.

As I said one of my favourite thinkers is female.

Well, who is your fav woman thinker? Cannot be de Beauvoir coz you don't have much existentialist thought and said nothing of ethics; and Germaine Greer don't seem your type.

A little phenomenology may help you, Will. Hurry, run to wiki and gather your ammo. I expect your next post to contain reference to a man, a fox, a chicken, a bag of chicken feed, and a boat that only carries one passenger/freight at a time. If you're studying for your LSAT, I suggest you go back to the drawing boer.

Some good points, ex Oxwill's comment.

Untreated sewer waste used for fertiliser is toxic. The Chinese learned this during the Cultural Revolution when they used night soil to fertilise. I think it's hepatitis (like you get from swimming in the ocean near resorts that have ringed septic tanks near the beach). Also, e coli, which was in fresh spinach in North America this summer. There are warnings here not to cut into melons or avocado -- remove the skin first and wash because of some disease. I also remember several years back going to the morning market and all my Thai neighbours were checking out the veggies like they were murder suspects. Asked them what's going on, and they said, "Jettie, make sure it has a worm or bug on it, otherwise it's been sprayed with super pesticides" -- which is very true. Ah, fresh veg covered in DEET or whatever they use and it lasts for weeks in the fridge, along with the chemicals.

Militant vegetarians are as bad as militant anyone. I've know many that are lethargic, b*tchy and cantankerous. I always think of the vegan girlfriend of the guy who did the "Supersize Me" documentary. No thanks; I think I like myself as is.

Agree, we are omnivores. I can do vegetarian and I like the clean tastes, but I need protein from meat or fish. Give me a gun and I'll shoot, skin and eviserate my kill. And tan the hide for my moccasins.

I had to resurrect this thread, because I knew someone posted a pesto recipe on it and I've got tons of sweet basil in my little garden. I did check a few sites, as I worried about freezing it with the cheese. Found a few good recipes, one in which the chef totally denounced the use of a food processor to chop up the ingredients. Big no. Apparently, chop up the basil, nuts and garlic and then get the som tam lady to pound the crap out of them with her mortar and pestle to release the flavours. Mix with the olive oil. To freeze, leave out the parmesan and pour in an ice cube tray; when rock solid, shuck them in a freezer bag and take out when needed. Add the cheese when thawed.

Make your own Pesto.

2 cups fresh basil leaves. (Italian Basil can normally be found at Foodland)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup Olive oil

3 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts. In Bangkok at Villa, in Pattaya sometimes at Friendship.

3 garlic cloves, finely minced.

Place basil leaves in small batches in food processor and whip until well chopped (do about 3/4 cup at a time). Add about 1/3 the nuts and garlic, blend again.

Add about 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese; blend while slowly adding about 1/3 of the olive oil, stopping to scrape down sides of container.

Process basil pesto it forms a thick smooth paste. Repeat until all ingredients are used, mix all batches together well. Serve over pasta. Basil pesto keeps in refrigerator one week, or freeze for a few months.

Reading this thread (Thanka Alex!) reminded me that I still have some in the freezer, guess what I am having tonight!

Boy, I dunno chefs, adding lard to hamburger? I reckon a bit of bacon drippings would be better and add good flavour if really needed. (My Mom has always kept a mug of bacon fat in the fridge.)

I just read a fancy Vancouver food mag; here's a sampling for you chefs to giggle over:

Baked tomatoes: cook at 300 degrees for two to three hours, depending on the size...(huh? globs of burnt red crisp?)

roux: this chef uses skimmed milk to cut down on fat (milk in feking roux?)

Then my favourite: shopping in a convenience store in a small town for those delightful new culinary finds (when the fek did 7-11 ever have ingredients for anything more spectacular than extra spicy instant noodles?)

hehe

^ hehe. That's a refreshing post.