Saturday, March 6, 2010

Fido: Tastes like Chicken

 Before you get your panties in a twist:
World wide eating dog meat has only recently become a social taboo.
Blockade mutton was not outlawed until the 1980's in Europe.
I suspect our Grand and Great Grand parents where less squeamish with their diets.  
Animal rights is also a term coined in the last few decades. We're civilized now !!

It's personal taste and upbringing.

If you had a pet porker running around your house, sleeping on your bed, laying at your feet, then you'd probably be inclined to eat something other than pork.
The pig has more intelligence than a dog, yet most people have no problem eating pork.

Even though the practice was outlawed some years ago, certain parts of Isaan, especially Sakon Nakhon Province have a reputation of eating dogs.  It's still prevalent, just more discrete.


Haven't eaten it myself and have no inclination.  If it tastes like chicken, I had better stay away.  I'm severely allergic to chicken (shingles).

Someone showed me their purchase for the evening meal.  Raw meat in a bag.  That's as close as I've come to the meat.  Even though invited, I did not attend that diner party..

A friend of mine was invited to an evening of drinking and dining in a rice field. He really enjoyed himself :  Out in nature, under the stars,booze, pleasant people, really great food. When he staggered  home they told him what had been on the menu: Dog!

Someone else recently had some.  Said   ...tastes like chicken...  read it hereYummy dog

Saw this guy catching sparrows.  He had about six or seven.  Spent an hour plucking.
Let me tell you there ain't much body after plucking and cleaning.  Evening stew for a family of four.

Was offered to eat snake at a restaurant one time.  They wanted me to pay for the entire snake.
I have never eaten snake.

I've eaten buffalo, caribou, bear, goat, deer, boar. Most of it in Alaska.

Tasted my first cockroach in 1963.  Compliments of a German Hot Dog vendor.
Ate half the hot dog and noticed part of a cockroach in the uneaten portion.  That bug was huge. 
Tickled my tonsils with my index finger behind a tree.

Don't care for the fried bugs either.
They are available during the dry season around here.
Instant bad breath.


I'm not sure, but I have probably eaten horse meat. Think down south U.S.A.,they were called 5¢ent burgers.
During my army days "shit on a shingle" (chipped beef) was always subject to rumors of origin.

I look at garden slugs, the slime trail in disgust.  I just can't picture them on my diner plate, but some people love 'em.  They give 'em a fancy name "escargot"

Dried Squid.  You can smell it from twenty paces.
Brought a suitcase of triple plastic wrapped dried squid through US customs, years ago.
 
My Thai friends in the US had made a special request.  

That customs dog was all over the suitcase like flies on ..it. 
I started to panic.
The dog handler calmed me down; she could tell by the dogs irrational behavior...
...Processed food ... proceed."

Rabbit  was a regular diet during my childhood in Germany.  
Living up to their reputation, they multiplied like... (oh take a guess).
The biggest one was kept for the Easter feast.  
I stayed out of the way when it came to slaughtering. I could do the skinning and gutting, but not the assassination.
The rabbit cage was my favorite playground, better than any sandbox.  Three dozen pets.

What sort of meat you eat is a matter of upbringing.
My favorite is t-bone, which some people consider a sin

For your Entertainment

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Zap... snap.. crack... pop... zap

No it's not a breakfast cereal commercial
at 6 a.m.. mosquitoes are searching for breakfast.
My neighbor starts her daily "mosquito wars."

My mosquito hunt is later in the morning.
When the nasty bugs have started their daytime nap.
In any battle I prefer my enemy napping and drowsy.

Fifteen minutes in the morning is a great light exercise, especially if you have one of those electric zappers in each hand.

Expat shopping
Saw some swimwear tagged 198 Baht.
I needed ten for use by daily pool guests.
I suppose I could have bartered the price down half way to 100 Baht.
Sent my Thai friend to do the shopping. Fifty baht each.  Savings of 1,000 to 1,480 Baht



Mekon running on empty 
read about it here  THE NATION

Think I mentioned before we might be able to wade across soon.
If the water level at the local lake "Nong Hahn" drops down this year, we might be able to see the centuries submerged temple.  They tried to recover some artifacts a few years back, but did not have the right equipment.

Hot hotter hottest  Thailand meteorological department suggest average temperatures for end of March into April at 43C  -  109F.  Tropical storm watch March 7-10, Southerly winds 10-30 km/hr. .

Further smoking restrictions pending: will include religious centers, gas stations, schools, clinics and hospitals.  Some facilities may provide open air smoking areas.
Smoking in condominiums will be outlawed.

Pool Days at the Welcome Bar

It's been unseasonably hot for the past week.  

    

 

The real pool competition is Fridays at the Welcome bar

Thailand's Asian Cup qualifier hopes shattered

action in the 89th minute of pay

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Comforter nights ahead

Recent nights have been warm enough to go to sleep with two fans running.
There were even a few nights when I cooled down the bedroom with the air conditioner for an hour.
Was just about to wash and store the heavy blankets.  Then I saw the forecast.

 Predicted Daily low temperatures
   25   24     24    25    23     18   16 17 22 25 26  29 26

Thai meteorological forecast calls for increasing chances of thunder showers
10% 0%   0%  10% 20% 30% 30%

Thai Ant's Don't Bite...

... at least that is the story I heard a few years back.

A Thai lady convinced her fallang boyfriend of that fact.
Well in that case there must be a lot of immigrant ants in Thailand.

Some years back, waiting for a parade to start, I had inadvertently stood on an ant hill.
Within seconds, hundreds had climbed up my legs, they where headed to the 'bell tower.'

I was given a bottled water bath on the spot by my Thai friends.
Lesson: "carry bottled water when traveling."

Fire ants are a variety of stinging ants with over 280 species worldwide WIKIPEDIA
In the garden they tend to favor certain trees. Mango trees seem to be their most desirable, at least in my neighborhood.
A garden hose sprayer filled with diluted dish soap does the trick for me.The soap washes away ants and the trails they leave behind.  Soap also loosens the soil.
Remember DILUTED dish soap, you're not washing your car.


Then there's those real tiny ants. That's ten ants between quotes. ".........."
They love any kitchen.

My mistake in planning the kitchen counter: Granite.
I suggest white of bright colors. so you can see the invading forces.

When you see ants in the kitchen, wipe all areas where they may have been.  They leave a secretion trail so other ants can find their way to your food.
To prevent new invasions sprinkle baby powder (talc) around doors and windows.
Cleaning with vinegar  around cooking surfaces seems to work quite well.
They don't like the smell of vinegar and stay away.  AGAIN: DILUTED.

Some Thai's of course do not kill ants.  Reborn relatives from another time .  At least that's how it's been explained to me.
They spend effort "rerouting" the ants to another food source in the back yard.
Then of course some locals cultivate certain ants for their egg production.

Crunchy, tasteless.  Tried 'em NO THANKYOU


Video by thaipulse