remembrance

thai green chicken curry or emerald curry

Today is Remembrance Day and it is a typically awful, yucky day. Cold, raining and windy. I do try and take in the service at our little cenotaph/memorial. It always makes me cry - it's horrible to even try to imagine what those young men (practically boys ) suffered through. When I was young (and stupid), full of myself and my own ideas, and as far left thinking as I've ever been, and in the throws of my pseudo political days in art college - I wouldn't wear a poppy. I had convinced myself, in that youthful, indignant state of ignorance, that to wear a poppy was somehow a glorification of war. I am ashamed now that I ever thought that way ... I make sure that I wear a poppy, I stop dumbfounded when they roll the faces of Canadian soldiers who have died in Afghanistan on the television, with taps playing in the background and if I don't physically participate in the ceremony at the memorial at 10:00 am this morning, I will participate in spirit, I will stop, close my eyes, and be silent for 2 minutes and be thankful that all those men could be so brave.

What's been cooking on Black Street? I made this very easy recipe yesterday, found in the December issue of Bon Appetite or search epicurious.com (although I did just try to link to the recipe and it seems the December recipes aren't up yet). Special ingredients, which can now even be found in my little village grocery store, are green curry paste, coconut milk, fish sauce & fresh basil (which I froze in little cookie shaped blobs when I had my pesto making pulse-fest) . Be warned the green curry paste is not for the faint of heart - it packs quite a punch. I added green beans, broccoli and frozen peas (I'm a pea freak I'll add frozen peas to almost everything) all those beautiful bright green vegetables create the super green or emerald curry. I'll serve this with steamed Jasmine rice, a squeeze of lime and a sprinkling of crushed peanuts.

This photo was taken in day light, an overcast day, on my very deep office window sill. I use white bond printer paper to give the look of a seamless backdrop. My camera was set to super macro and the flash was turned off (this is how I take practically all my photos). When using the super macro function you get a very shallow depth of field, or shallow depth of focus - which is what gives this photo that cool, kinda trendy look.

Sunday, all day ... always my favourite day.

6:30 am - just beginning to get light out and the weather forecast is saying 10-15cms of snow for my area. I'm still in complete denial that it is nearly mid November, this happens every year, the times passes way to fast ... I still have 36 tulips to plant (yikes!).