Foods we are missing....

This past week was a great week. We had friends come from a neighboring country to visit. We also had a short visit from our supervisor one day. And on Saturday we had a great birthday party for Hattie (more to come on this....stay tuned). Today I was just reflecting on the things that we did this past week to help us with the things we are missing here.

When we get ready to go out to eat somewhere we always ask the kids where they want to do. This past week here is what I heard:

McDonalds
Chik-Filet (can't remember how to spell it....oops!)
Jason's Deli

The list doesn't look very long, but I heard these names multiple times. We asked them what they missed about these places, and they always replied with their favorite foods. I am sure by now you are asking why I am telling you this.....well it is because we have had some great food this week prepared by Harry that has helped us with what we were missing.

On Wednesday night last week, Harry made his usual Chicken with mixed vegetables (Thai style)....(ok...it is only usual for us here. Harry never made this while we were in the states). This, of course, was yummy. I can't wait for some of you guys to come visit, and Harry will cook for you too. He has really learned to cook Thai food great!! He has been taught by many people around town, and (as many of you know) he keeps working on it until he has perfected it.

On Thursday night, Harry cooked us fajitas. Yep, we had mexican food. We had tortillas that were brought to us from Bangkok, and we were able to get beef and sour cream from a city nearby. All the other things we needed were right here in our town. Harry made homemade salsa (YUMMY!!), and he had all the fixins' for fajitas. After this yummy meal was complete (the grill was still hot), so Harry made us all smores. Nope, we aren't able to get this stuff here. We received it in a care package. Yummy!! What a night!! Our friends who came to dinner enjoyed it tremendously, and they were very grateful for all the effort to collect the items needed for this evening. Thanks to all who helped gather these items!

On Friday night, we had to go out to our favorite street vendor. We call it "Spaghetti Guy". This vendor serves spaghetti, hamburgers (fried pork/chicken burgers), and steak w/ salad. He has some great spaghetti that really hits the spot, and the steak is a big hit with Harry. The steak isn't a ribeye or T-bone, but it is yummy. We aren't sure if it beef or water buffalo, but oh well. Here they do not normally have much beef, so they serve water buffalo as a substitute. Emma and Harry love the fried pork burger. They just gobble them up. We love to see them eat good. Hattie eats the spaghetti. Nellie loves the fried pork burger and the steamed vegetables. BTW, if I have told you yet, Nellie eats just about everything. She is a great eater, and all the Thais are just amazed at how much she can eat. (snicker snicker)

On Saturday evening, we had Hattie birthday. All I will tell you now is that we had hamburgers and hot dogs to eat. I will tell you more about the party later. We had fun gathering all the goods for this meal also. We can usually buy hot dog and hamburger buns at our local Lotus (aka "Wal Mart"), but they were out....argh!! So we went to the bakery, and they made the best buns we have ever ate. I will not buy buns at the store anymore. We were able to get everything else here with no problem. We had baked beans and Som Tham (Papaya salad) also. The hot dogs were also a hit with the kids. What fun!

So as you can see we have been filling in the gaps with many types of foods. Why is it that we find such comfort in foods? Well, first I think it is because it is a necessary item in order to live, but also I think that these flavors and smells just give us a bit of what it was like to live in the states. We get so excited to recreate these items here, and we love sharing them with others.

Ok...that's it for now. I will get Hattie's birthday party story posted soon.

We miss you guys!!