At the moment, I don’t feel like reading, I can’t get any TV episodes to load, and I’ve just been messaging a friend from college about her wedding this summer. At the moment the thought running through my mind is, “What the heck am I doing with my life?” (Small potatoes, I know. Yes, I’ve heard the news about California. Yes, I talked about it with my very concerned and frustrated students today.)
But in the spirit of honesty, I wanted to share that life overseas isn’t always temples, beaches, beautiful places, and tasty food. Sometimes, it’s really hard to be away. I’m not homesick, I’m just alone with my thoughts. There is a difference.
I begin to question my choices when I feel sort of blue like this. My life would be in totally different place if I were back in the US. It would be in a totally different place if my boyfriend were here. (Yes, I am insecure watching friends’ relationships move forward and mine remain 9,534 miles out of reach. Yes, I feel like I’m getting old.) There’s a void, a feeling of emptiness that rises every now and again; it’s a feeling I really don’t like.
So I’m going to stop talking about it. Instead, now that I’ve fulfilled my promise to myself to be an honest blogger, I’ll make myself a warm beverage, return to my book, and take comfort in knowing that I’ll feel better in the morning.
I don’t have a photo for tonight’s dinner, unfortunately. While a picture might be worth 1,000 words, it doesn’t do much about taste. These recipes, on the other hand, will more than make up for the lack of photos in this post.
Halloumi salad became part of my mother’s culinary repertoire in the summer of 2007, when we travelled to Israel for the first time. We encountered halloumi cheese served with grilled vegetables while there and couldn’t get enough of it. Upon learning that our local grocery store, the one and only Wegmans, carried halloumi, this salad because a regular part of our summertime meals. It’s best when you can get fresh mint and eat outside.
Grilled Vegetables Salad with Halloumi
What you’ll need:
Olive oil
Halloumi cheese
Your favorite vegetables (I used eggplant, green zucchini, and red pepper because I like all the colors together)
Fresh mint, chopped
What to do:
1. Slice all vegetables into moderately thin slices
2. Slice halloumi into strips about 1/4-inch thick, set aside
3. Heat grill pan on medium-high heat
4. Toss all vegetables in olive oil (I add the eggplant last and sometimes on its own because it will absorb all the oil)
5. Lay vegetables flat on grill pan in batches, flipping once when char marks appear (level of char is up to you)
6. Once all vegetables are ready, grill the halloumi, flipping once when char marks appear (this will happen much more quickly than it did for the vegetables)
7. Toss halloumi and vegetables together in a bowl
8. Add mint
9. Enjoy while warm or at room temperature
I made the halloumi salad as a side for my favorite salmon, the recipe for which follows. I could honestly just eat the halloumi salad and be a very happy person, but eating a block of cheese for dinner is far from healthy. This is probably the easiest way I’ve ever prepared salmon, and it’s also the most delicious.
Lemon-Sugar Salmon
What you’ll need:
4 salmon filets
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon zest
Salt
Pepper
What to do:
1. Preheat over to 450°
2. Combine sugar, lemon zest, salt, and pepper into a dry rub
3. Rub on both sides of salmon
4. Place salmon into lightly greased baking dish
5. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes until salmon flakes easily with a fork
This is the first in a series of three posts chronicling my October break trip with my dad. You can read my introduction to that trip here and you can read about my first trip to Bangkok here. The destinations that followed, Hanoi and Hoi An, can be found here and here.
Thailand’s idea of how to wire a city. I couldn’t stop taking pictures of these the first time I was there!
We landed in Bangkok late Friday night and were up at and it early the next morning. Our first stop was Wat Pho, which is a beautiful temple complex. Dad struggled a bit with the heat, but he persevered admirably. My guidebook (Lonely Planet’s Discover Thailand) had a really good walking tour, so we simply followed that. I liked Wat Pho a lot because each temple was different. There were shaded areas throughout the complex, which also made it very pleasant to walk around.
We took a small water taxi to get to Wat Arun, which is an experience I think everyone should have.
And then we arrived at Wat Pho:
After a delicious lunch of pad thai, green curry, and Thai iced tea, my Thai favorites, we crossed the street to visit the Grand Palace. Mitch and I were in Bangkok a year ago, as I mentioned, but it was fun to go back and see it all through my dad’s eyes this time. Now that I’m used to certain aspects of life in Asia, and certainly now that I’m used to traveling in Asia, I’ve somewhat lost track of what used to make me uncomfortable or strike me as new or different. I revisited all of that during my weekend in Bangkok with my father.
I did warn Dad that he’d have to don a pair of elephant pants over his shorts to be allowed access to the Grand Palace. He was skeptical, but elephants pants suited him. The Grand Palace itself is only used today for ceremonial functions, but visitors are are restricted to viewing from the outside. The temples on the palace grounds, however, are what make the site spectacular:
No palace is complete without a guard:
Why are silly hats a guard requirement?
The next day we visited the Jim Thompson House, which was a new spot for me. Jim Thompson made his home in Bangkok after years of working in Thailand for the Office of Strategic Services, a forerunner to the CIA. He is responsible for turning Thailand’s silk production into an international industry and his house, which includes a rather impressive collection of Asian art, is now a museum. Photos are only allowed outside of the house:
Jim Thompson House
While I appreciated the guided tour and learning about Thompson’s art collection, which was unlike most art that I’ve seen because I’ve mostly seen art around Europe, I also really enjoyed the views from the house’s windows. They provide an insight into real life in Bangkok. I do expect the scenery was a bit different when Jim Thompson moved into his house, however.
Finally, I was glad for the opportunity to revisit Chatuchak Weekend Market. We were actually shopping for souvenirs this time and got a lot better at bargaining each time we did it. Learning from mine and Mitch’s past mistakes, Dad and I went to the market hungry and tried some tasty food. Live and learn, right?
The clock tower at Chatuchak Weekend Market. Not only is it iconic, but it’s also a useful orientation tool.Exterior of Chatuchak Weekend Market. My interiors photos couldn’t possible capture the size and scope of this operation, but the exterior should give you an idea of the resourcefulness of many of the vendors.
Since I’d been to Bangkok before, I took the fewest number of photos while we were here. We stayed from late Friday night to early Monday morning, which was more than enough. Bangkok is loud, busy, smelly, chaotic, and a wonderful experience. I’ve now been twice and I’m glad; the first time let me see the city and the second time let me take a closer look because I was no longer surprised by what I saw. A very good friend is spending a couple days in Bangkok next month and I can’t wait to hear his thoughts about it!
By Rebecca Michelle 