We’re Cookin’ Now!

This seems like an appropriate time to make mention of the terrible affliction that is “Vacation Eating”.

Va•ca•tion Eat•ing |vāˈkā sh ən|ˈē-tən |
An extended period of recreational eating. Physical symptoms include: not reading food labels, eating things one normally finds appalling, eating appalling foods at regular intervals, eating appalling foods in unacceptably large quantities. Mental symptoms involve delusional self-talk: “Hey, it’s ok if I eat this… I’m on vacation!”

Artificially flavored snacks, florescent colored deserts and MSG in every dish have become cornerstones of our diet. Kim eats so much bacon that she knows how to order it in the northern Thai dialect: grob grob! crispy! We are in the vice grip of a pack-a-day Twix addiction.

After six months of rationalizing our vacation eating habits, we decided it was time to learn to cook for ourselves. We chose two vastly different cooking classes. The first was Thai Farm Cooking School , a one-day intensive class geared to bored tourists. The second was You Sabai , a four-day vegetarian retreat to a remote farmland.



Thai Farm Cooking School
First stop: A local market to learn about the ingredients used in Thai cooking. We roamed through beautiful displays of exotic produce interspersed with a gory massacre of assorted animal flesh, offal and disassociated pig heads.

Once we arrived at the farm, we donned multi-colored straw sombreros (or Siambreros as our friend Dylan calls them), and took a tour of the grounds. The enterprising farmers grow every imaginable herb, vegetable and fruit—organically—on acres of smoothly cultivated land (hey Whole Foods girls, we even saw a real, live neem tree!).

The instruction and organization of the cooking class was impeccable. We each had our own cooking station and created dish after delicious dish… everything from pad thai to deep-fried banana spring rolls (sooooooo good!). We pounded chilies, herbs and spices in a mortar and pestle to create homemade curry paste which we then fried and added coconut milk and veggies to make an amazing curry. By the late afternoon, we were too full and fat to taste our own creations. We wrapped our leftovers in banana leaves and piled into the songthaew for the ride back to Chiang Mai.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You Sabai
After months of lusting at their flyer, we finally called owners, Krit and Yao and signed up. 50 kilometers from Chiang Mai, they have built a beautiful space for people to live, cook vegetarian food and enjoy the natural life. You Sabai neighbors Pun Pun Organic Farm which grows organic veggies of different varieties for a seed-saving project and—even cooler—run workshops on earthen building where interns stay for months and learn to build amazing structures out of mud and straw. Also next door is Panya, an organization that focuses on permaculture. The three groups combine to create an inspiring community of people—both Thai and foreigners—with the shared vision of simple, beautiful and sustainable living. In short, a hippie nature-lover’s paradise.

The course includes 3 nights accommodation, two full days of cooking class, all your meals, and sunrise yoga (for those early-birds). To expand on “accommodation”, these people actually gathered mud and straw and who knows what else and actually constructed a little village of a dozen little hand-sculpted mud huts with a thatched roofs! Without electricity or running water (communal toilets outside, up the hill), it felt great to breathe freshly circulating air through our living space, and to not have electricity pulsating through the surrounding walls. Without electric lights, night fell naturally, our only illumination was the glow of several candles… perfect.

For our first morning, we were treated to a breakfast of homemade bread, freshly baked in a wood-fired earthen oven. It was crusty, warm and delicious, dripping with butter and honey. The first thing on the agenda was to make soy milk, and from that, tofu. Soybeans had been soaked overnight, in preparation. We fed them through a grinder with water, and out came soymilk! We strained the soymilk through cheesecloth, squeezing and “milking” the cheesecloth bag. It felt obscene, milking the cheesecloth like some vegan cow teat. Krit informed us that the ground up soybeans that were leftover from straining made a great body scrub. We set the big pot of soymilk over a wood fire and brought it to a boil. Then we added a bit of vinegar, and just like when you make homemade cheese, the solids separated from the liquid. We strained away the liquid, and let the solids drain until they formed a solid mass: tofu!

The mornings were spent cooking dishes for lunch, and the late afternoons cooking dishes for dinner. We pounded garlic and chiles with shredded green papaya, lime juice and peanuts to created a refreshing papaya salad or “som tam.” We sliced juicy, sweet mangoes over sticky rice sweetened with coconut milk and sugar. We chopped veggies, minced pungent garlic and galangal. We sliced lemongrass. We tore leaves of fragrant holy basil. We were cooked. We stir fried. We became the stuff of legends.

The highlight of the days, however, was the afternoon “rest time” where we had several hours to do as we pleased. One could hang out in the delightful coffee shop sipping fantastic freshly brewed dark coffee or a refreshing banana-papaya shake, one could stroll the farms, or learn the art of batik. Kim set up a private lounge on the deck of her hut and spend hours alone meditating, reading, and listening to her favorite tunes on her trusty iPod. Dan ventured to a reservoir with some Brits and Poms (Neil&Jo / Steve&Hannah) for some long distance swimming. Those afternoons were some of the most splendid and peaceful times we’ve had on our trip. Just being away from the city and breathing fresh air was wonderful.

One evening, Dan treated the whole community to a screening of “Into The Wild.” About a dozen of us huddled around a laptop in the coffee shop, and enjoyed the film adaptation of the fantastic book written by Jon Krakauer about a young man who leaves society and follows his dream of “The Great Alaskan Adventure.” It is an inspiring film with a great soundtrack featuring Eddie Vedder and Kaki King. Both the book and the movie are highly recommended.

Unfortunately, we managed to sleep through sunrise yoga every day (seriously, who wants to get up at sunrise when you’re enjoying the best sleep ever?). We spent 3 days stuffing ourselves full of brown rice, tofu, organic veggies, and enough sodium to kill a small horse—every single-serving dish we made had at least 1 tablespoon of soy sauce in it, and we made 6 dishes each day… what is that, like 6 billion milligrams of sodium a day? No wonder Kim is bloated.

To Sum it Up
For organization, efficiency and tasty recipes, Thai Farm Cooking School is far superior. For the beauty of experience, You Sabai is incomparable. It is so mellow, beautiful and relaxing, we could have stayed there for weeks, soaking up the fresh air and sunset vistas.

Now we turn our travels south, to the paradise islands of southern Thailand. We’ll let you know how it goes.

Love,
Dan&Kim

Beth posted on 2008-03-10 at 9:33 am

You two are amazing. Every time I check the site and see you're next adventure I think, "oh this is the best one yet!" and then that of the next one. I'm so happy for you both. Seize the day! I want a thai massage and yummy thai food when you come home. We need to have a girls gathering of "whole foodies". I can't wait to see more and hear more about your last year.....safe journeys to you both! ps...in your "books reading" I saw Paolo Coelho's, "Zahir". I loved it. He's my favorite author. I love everyone of his books. Check out "Eleven Minutes". You'll love it. He writes monthly in the "Ode" magazine too!

---

katerina posted on 2008-03-08 at 11:19 pm

you aren't ever coming back, are you? as always, i love your words and pictures......missing you!

---

Mom posted on 2008-03-04 at 2:42 pm

Apart from the sodium, the food sounds very healthy.We just had chinese food (Flo's) and my feet swelled up right away so I can relate to that.I love the simply life style,and in a way I had that in Malta when I was growing up, here in AZ it feels like the more you have the more you think you need.Looking forward to enjoy paradise island with you. With love hugs and kisses. oxoxxoxox

---

~jenn posted on 2008-03-04 at 2:00 pm

well, at least you have a good excuse. i have to resort to things like: it's monday. and now you've made me starving. ;) i love the vibrate-y paw paw photo. and all of the others, too.

---

posted on 2008-03-04 at 3:01 am

Lovely cooking update! it needs some pictures of my expert dishes though! We're now south of cambodia lapping up the life of warm sea, BQQ fish and plenty of relaxation....gosh traveling can be hard! Just to say and hope you dont mind, I'm just writing a little on our blog about S21 and the killing fields, it's all getting a little too much for me to put into words the whole experience, so I hope you dont mind but i took some inspiration from your write up....thought you put it into words with such respect and solitude...hope that ok? big love to you both. xxx ps. We've been swimming in the sea lots-you'd be proud!

---

Jenny K posted on 2008-03-02 at 10:50 pm

i love the morning coffee photo !

---

Auntie Wendy posted on 2008-03-02 at 3:46 pm

OKAY! I'm definitely expecting an invitation for dinner when you cook Thai food and I will even be your sous chef. YUMMY! I think that Thai food is my most favorite because of the bursts of fresh flavors from the vegetables and spices. I may even be able to procure some real Thai lime leaves for us as I know a purveyor of such. Happy Cooking (and eating, of course.) Love to you both!

---

Nash! posted on 2008-03-02 at 10:36 am

"It is a curious thing ... that every creed promises a paradise which will be absolutely uninhabitable for anyone of civilized taste." - Evelyn Waugh

---

Anna posted on 2008-03-02 at 8:06 am

one more thing: I've always wondered about the subtleties of oyster sauce! maybe you can fill me in when you get back. ok, who am I kidding, I've always wondered what the heck oyster sauce is even made of!! ??? Kim, I love "your favorite chair" :)!!!

---

Anna posted on 2008-03-02 at 8:01 am

I would love to know the same thing as Lisa - how are you ever going to get yourselves to get on that plane home?? It sounds amazing there... I actually had wondered if there was some use to those soybeans (after the vegan cow was milked - awesome!!). well, sorry, but you've asked for it; when you get home, there's no way your friends and family are not going to demand a home-cooked Thai meal from you guys. :) I know, I know, it won't be the same... SO GLAD you are enjoying it so much. It truly always sounds like heaven - and THAT is because of how YOU are able to appreciate it all! Looking forward to more! :)

---

Lisa Glattman posted on 2008-03-02 at 5:50 am

How will you ever come home? I want to yank Brett out of NYC and send him to you for a complete makeover! What, if anything do you miss about home (no, not the people!)

---

RSS Feed Subscription