In lieu of a substantial post, photos...

I haven't posted in a few weeks; classes have started and suddenly there's no time. But I will not let this blog die. It has been a source of pleasure, consolation, and a great deal of narcissistic supplies.
I have been photographing my food, expecting to be able to find time to draft detailed posts. And my geographic inspiration has shifted a bit, from South Asia to Southeast Asia. There's lots to share. Failed and successful experiments. New and abiding spice obsessions. Reflections on budget cooking. Lots. For now, let me share some photos from the past few weeks. Don't look for narrative threads or underlying unity. And please understand that soup is difficult to photograph.

I went through a dosa making phase. Developed a taste for unfilled ghee-crisped dosas sprinkled with dosa masala powder.

I have been making Thai curries lately and serving them with Italian pastas. Here's a minted Thai green curry with chicken breast and penne.

I learned from reading a Thai food blog that you can bruise the lemongrass with a hammer and then tie it into knots so you can fish the lemongrass out of the soup more easily. Stringy mess otherwise.

Sweet potato spice muffins. Made with a pungent homemade spice mix of mace, cardamom, fenugrek, clove, cinnamon and tellicherry black pepper. Intense and a resounding success. I'll post the recipe soon.

Sweet potato spice muffins. My friend, Philip, who tried these right out of the oven said they taste like Christmas.

Shrimp tom yum soup. I learned that I prefer to make this soup with chicken or fish stock, even though most Thai people make it with water.

Strawberry rhubarb trifle. Made with leftover birthday cake, Mexican vanilla custard, Texas strawberry sauce, and rhubarb sauce made with rhubarb from my mom's yard in Seattle.