Merry Christmas from Ciejay and Me

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family , have a great holiday season with your friends and family and remember that Jesus is the reason for the season

House makeover 2008 and now new paint --update

Here's another repost with a up-date , we started to makeover in 2008 , to me till 2012 to get it done on the outside and this year we got the inside all painted too --sssss0000 the make-over is done at least for the next 1o years OR until Ciejay comes up with another house HONEY DO list .LOL It's been six years since we remodeled the house and moved into when we came to the LOS in 2004 , We did a lot as you have seen in the past post , we did what we knew we could do quickly, so we could move in as soon as possible and have been satisfied with the way it looked all these six years . Paint doesn't last forever in the Los with the ho

t and humid weather and of course the long rainy season, sooo it (the house ) was in need of a fresh coat of paint . We call our house (home) a bungalow , and have been happy with it , but now after all these years we thought we would like something a little different , and as we talked about it and looked around we thought we would like a cottage style house , of course we can't just tear this one down sooo we had to turn this one into a cottage . We have started and the following pictures are some of the work already done and still in progress , some folks say it looks like Disney Land and I think it does a little , but we love it so far . There is lots more to be done to complete the the Make-over, and then a fresh coat of paint (not sure the color yet), and every time we look at what was done , we see something else we want done , we are going to do work also on the decks and steps and will redo the waterfall and pond , and some (not a lot ) on the landscape and garden , I like it to look as natural as possible with out getting out of control I like wild grass and flowers and vines and even some weeds , I don't want it to look all manicured and perfect , If we don't cut the grass for a month I still think it looks good ( that's just my opinion) and Ciejay likes it too and that's all that matters ,really . I will take more pictures as we go along , and will put up, with a short post , take a look at the pictures and Please live a honest comment about what you think . I alcolmknow to some it looks like I've lost it , but what the heck , we like it , and here in the LOS we can do what we want and don't have to worry about the neighbors , the laws and the , restrictions and permits and no Bureaucrats telling me what and how I can do with the property and house that we own I guess that's another reason why we are" Retired in Thailand and Loving it." Malcolm and Ciejay

Bamboo Shoots ( repost from a few years back) but a good read.

We ( Ciejay and Me ) went up to the mountain behind our house (three hundred yards) and dug some fresg bamboo shoots and brought them home to boil, and peel and cook for dinner , plus freeze a little for later meals . I was going to write a post about it , BUT , I wrote onr 5 years ago and it would be the same , same soooo, here is the repost , and I'm happy to report that it was just as much fun and the shoots were just as good as back them , some things never change . Every season in Thailand ,brings with it a special fruit or vegetable that can be harvested during it's time, usually for a couple months.This time of the year is no exception (the rainy season) and with it comes two of my favorites.And additions, to use in cooking many Western and Thai dishes .Mushrooms and Bamboo Shoots are plentiful this time of the year , and can be found at every Tuesday and Thursday market here in our small village of Whang Pho , you can also find then for sell on roadside stands all along the highway between here and Kanchanaburi , with most of their customers coming from Bangkok, after a trip in the country ,to visit the many caves and waterfalls and the famous hot springs ,up the road from us .They love to stop on their way home and buy fresh veggies along the side of the road and from the country farmers , they just taste better than the supermarket veggies for some reason, maybe it's all in our minds. Last year Ciejay and me grabbed a bucket and a long knife and headed up to the mountain just a few hundred yards, from our house. Ott, our neighbor always goes there every few days during the rainy season and ,always comes back with a rice bag full of bamboo shoots for the meals she cooks for her family , and she always shares fresh bamboo shoots with us . But , one day last year, I wanted to give it a try for myself and also to be able to write home to my family back in the USA , that I had cut,boiled and peeled and cooked bamboo shoots fresh, right out of the jungle , what an adventure. And what a adventure it turned out to be , noone warned me about all the mosquitos, that we would encounter while cutting fresh bamboo shoots, I thought they were going to eat me alive, we got a bucket full and then got out of there . I did it one time and that's enough for me , now it's Market Day for my bamboo shoots from now on. We haven't given mushroom picking a try yet because, most of the places where they grow are closely guarded, and also a secret known only to the gathers, because mushrooms are a real money crop for lots of the Thai families in our area,lots of mushrooms grow around our mountains and jungles. Today ,while we were visting a neighbors new home being built , the workers were taking their lunch break and they were eating fresh bamboo shoots , they invited me to share (and you know me when food is offered ) so I joined in and what a wonderful tasty dish they had prepared right there on the construction site , fresh bamboo shoots and scrambled eggs with thai chilies and onions, of course. WOW, was it ever good.. When we were leaving the boss came up to me and gave me a bag of fresh bamboo shoots to take home and cook and enjoy, which I did . A bamboo shoot is the start of a young bamboo plant,if not harvested, it will grow into a tall bamboo plant.The leaves that cover the shoot are black and covered with tiny hairs. The black leaves are peeled off untill you can see the off-white meat inside.The white meat turns yellowish after it is cooked.When the shoot is cooked on the day that it is harvested it is very sweet. There are many different types and sizes of bamboo shoots depending on the plant. Big ones are usually sliced and used as an ingredient in a main course dish.The little ones (half a inch in dismeter) are cut into finger size pieces and eaten as a vegetable with sauces like nam prig gapi. In Thailand, bamboo shoots are available during the rainy season,May through October.Otherwise,they are available in cans and jars . In the US,bamboo shoots come in cans and glass jars, pickled or sour, non pickled. When I lived in America ,I never saw fresh bamboo shoots for sell ever, but then again, I was not married to my sweet Thai wife ,except the last few years we lived there .And I had never visited an Asian Market until , I married Ciejay, and even then before ,moving to Thailand ,I was not use to the spicy and smelly (sometimes)Thai dishes, or their way of cooking things .Ciejay's sister would come for a visit and bring all kind of strange stuff with her and when they started to cook , most of the time ,I would leave the house until all the smells were gone ,and I would try and eat a little of what they had cook and act like I was enjoying it , some things I did , but some things I endured, for my sweet Ciejay's sake . Now I am happy to report , that after 5 years here in the LOS , that, I not only love the Thai food (almost everything ) , but I also love all the strange and wonderful , spicey and pepper, smells that come out of the kitchen when Ciejay is cooking . One of my favorite dishes of course ( the reason for this post ) is FRESH BAMBOO SHOOTS, added to many Thai dishes and also to eat as a fresh veggie dish with various sauces that Ciejay mixes up, I love them hot ,drizzled ,with fish sauce and served over a steaming hot cup of Jasmine rice . Wow I'm making myself hungry, glad dinner is almost ready , and of course there will be several dishes made with the fresh bamboo shoots from our friends, the builders. For those of you living here in Thailand, do you like fresh bamboo shoots? and do they grow in your area and do you or your Thai family or neighbors harvest them for cooking at home or as a money crop ? Some of my info came from a site that has lots of recipes using fresh bamboo shoots , visit them sometimes if you have a chance or need a recipe for a Thai dish, you can find them at http://www.thaitable.com/ . Thanks for the read and hope you get your fill of fresh bamboo shoots before the rain stops . Malcolm

Kaffir Lime Tree ( also known as Makroot leaf tree)

These folks come a couple of times a year to harvest the leaves of the huge Kaffir lime tree that grows in our back yard , they sell the leaves to the local restuarants and also send to the market to sell , the leaves are used for lots of Thai food dishes and a must for the Thai soup call Tum Yum , one of my favorite spices for cooking a lot of stir fr

y dishes. Ciejay likes it when they come to gather the fresh young leaves , they pay her. Have you ever tried or cooked with the makroot leaves , if not give it a try you'll love the flavor it will add to your dish . Kaffir limeFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Citrus hystrix, commonly known in English as kaffir lime, is a fruit native to Indochinese and Malesian ecoregions in India, Philippines, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, and adjacent countries. It is used in Southeast Asian cuisine. Contents [hide] 1 Common names 2 Description 3 Uses 3.1 Cuisine 3.2 Medicinal 3.3 Other uses 3.4 Cultivation 4 Main constituents 5 See also 6 References Common names[edit source | editbeta]English: kaffir lime; French:[2] citron combera, citron ridé; Indonesian/Malay: jeruk obat, jeruk purut, limau purut; Khmer: krô:ch saë:ch;[2] Thai magrood;[3] also known as combava, kieffer lime, makrut lime or kabuyao/cabuyao.[4] Description[edit source | editbeta]Citrus hystrix is a thorny bush, 5-10m tall, with aromatic and distinctively shaped "double" leaves. The kaffir lime is a rough, bumpy green fruit. The green lime fruit is distinguished by its bumpy exterior and its small size (approx. 4 cm (2 in) wide). Kaffir lime leaves are used in some South East Asian cuisines such as Indonesian, Lao, Cambodian, and Thailand (มะกรูด).Cuisine[edit source | editbeta]The rind of the kaffir lime is commonly used in Lao and Thai curry paste, adding an aromatic, astringent flavor.[3] The zest of the fruit is used in creole cuisine to impart flavor in "arranged" rums in the Martinique, Réunion island and Madagascar. However, it is the hourglass-shaped leaves (comprising the leaf blade plus a flattened, leaf-like leaf-stalk or petiole) that are used most often in cooking. They can be used fresh or dried, and can be stored frozen. The leaves are widely used in Thai[3] and Lao cuisine (for dishes such as tom yum), and Cambodian cuisine (for the base paste "Krueng"). Kaffir lime leaves are used in Vietnamese cuisine with chicken to add fragrance. They are also used when steaming snails to decrease the pungent odor while cooking. The leaves are also used in Indonesian cuisine (especially Balinese cuisine and Javanese cuisine), for foods such as sayur asam, and are used along with Indonesian bay leaf for chicken and fish. They are also found in Malaysian[5] and Burmese cuisines. The juice is generally regarded as too acidic to use in food preparation. In Cambodia, the entire fruit is crystallized/candied for eating.[2] Medicinal[edit source | editbeta]The juice and rinds are used in traditional Indonesian medicine; for this reason the fruit is referred to in Indonesia as jeruk obat ("medicine citrus"). The oil from the rind has strong insecticidal properties. Other uses[edit source | editbeta]The juice finds use as a cleanser for clothing and hair in Thailand and very occasionally in Cambodia. Lustral water mixed with slices of the fruit is used in religious ceremonies in Cambodia. MaxRoot gel is made of kaffir lime extract and has been used since old age in the northern parts of Thailand in a particular and secret way of preparation to maintain health and beauty of the Siam people’s shiny hair. Cultivation[edit source | editbeta]Citrus hystrix is grown worldwide in suitable climates as a garden shrub for home fruit production. It is well suited to container gardens and for large garden pots on patios, terraces, and in conservatories.

Retirement and planning and money matters

RETIREMENT and MONEY Money frees you from doing things you dislike. Since I dislike doing nearly everything, money is handy. -Groucho Marx "Early to bed and early to rise -- till you get enough money to do otherwise. www. One thing I learned about retirement very quickly was that you needed money and lots of it , and that there is no retirement fairy that comes along and zap

s you on the head with her or his magic wan and says "now you are retired, do what you want when you want and where you want." Retirement as I have already said" takes money", and you have to plan to save it ,retire from a job that gives you a pension , win the lotto, sell a business, marry someone rich ( if single) inherit from rich relative , or as I did start drawing your SS check when you reach the ripe ole age of 62. And at 62 the check is not enough to live on and especially if you have a wife , which I had when I reached retirement age .I took a look around me and and at my SS check and I knew that with that amount of money coming in every month, that there was no way we could live in our present location . My brother lived in Tennessee and offered to let us build a small house or put a trailer, or manufactured home on a little piece of land on his property and we went there to check it out , I loved the idea of being close to my brother and living in the country, but Ciejay just did not like the area, and expressed that she did not think she would be happy ( and her happiness was very important to me ). I think we could have lived there on my SS check (bearly getting by), with the amount of MONEY we would have coming with each check . I could do like a lot of folks that say they are retired and work another full time job just at a different company or they get a part-time job and their wives get one too , Soooo they say they are retired , but in reality they are working just as much as before , just drawing their SS check, (selling the house that they bought for twice what it was worth (when the banks were loaning money to anyone that breathed and had any credit (good or bad) young or old )moving to a different location , most of the time only renting and to a warmer climate and calling themselves retired, with the MONEY they had saved (if any) and the MONEY gotten from the sell of all the things they had collected over the years , the yard and garage sells, and their SS checks . All of this adding up to the Money that it takes to retire. If you don't have the Money or a way to get it, then you really can't retire and will have to work till you drop dead , paying for that new car and big house that you bought and really didn't need in the first , but you have no choice because nobody will buy that used car , not even what you owe on it and the house that you bought for $250,000 dollars, now with the collapsed housing market is worth half what you paid for it , and no one wants to buy it because you owe more to the bank than it's worth , but you still have to make the payments because the banks want take it back , or file bankruptcy, Which means your. credit is ruined and you can never buy anything on credit again ( the thing got you into this mess in the first place ) which means you can't retire , Because to retire takes Money. I hope you have thought about these things way before it's time for you to retire and have started to save as much as you can every month and started living a little more frugal that you did before you started getting close to your golden years, and remember , when you retire you want need all those TOYS and THINGS you spent your hard earned Money for , Heck most of them you 'll be to old to play with anyway , get rid of them!!!!!!! Now!!!!!! while you still can .When you wait till retirement time , folks know it and will try to steal them from you , remember their not retiring you are and your down sizing is their Wind -Fall. It's all about Money yours and theirs. When we (Ciejay and me ) retired,in 2004, we had not been married bur two years and I had never saved a penny in my life and had no thoughts of retiring at all , I planned on working till I dropped dead, but when I meet Ciejay all that changed and I wanted to spend all my golden years with her , laughing , loving and enjoying life and the blessings of the Lord to the fullest, and that did not include working every day from dawn till dark, 6 or 7 days a week and not even a part-time job, but how to do this was the problem , because as I stated in the first of this post it takes Money and that was something I didn't have much of , and very few toys to speak of .And as I said before there was just noway I could see us retiring on our small SS check . I know that there are lots of folks in the same boat we were in and are wondering how they can retire and enjoy their golden years ,and not have to work themselves to death . I hope they have a plan and the MONEY to make it work, I didn't , BUT----- God did and in my next post I'll tell you all about it , this post is getting way to long and I don't want to loose any one along the way , stay tuned for the next post . Malcolm ps: I know some folks will not agree with the things I have said ,BUT some will relate and these are the folks I hope this post gives a little inspiration to.

Market Day in Wang Pho and the hunt for a Pork Belly

Today is Tuesday and that's market day here in Wang Pho , a place to buy anything you might need to eat , or to prepare  to eat , and they have the freshes veggies in all the land , this Kanchanaburi  valley is so fertile that everything grows here soo easy , I've said before "stick it in the ground and it will grow ," with a little tlc. We were doing a little shopping because we are going to the big city in a couple of days soo , not a lot of buying today , except I was on the hunt for a fresh pork belly so I can make some more bacon , found a great one and after trimming it up a little looks great , I'll be mixing my rub in a few minutes, and starting the curing process , It takes 7 days for a good cure and then a couple of hours in a cool (warm) corn husk smoke and "wala"  it's bacon, ready to cut as thick or thin as you want and it is great in beans or soup as a seasoning.Do you have a weekly or Saturday market near where you live ?, if soo give it a visit and buy fresh, if you can,lots of the produce sold at Sat markets are organic, and better for your health, and it really helps out the folks that raise it and bring from their garden to sell and make some extra income .
I took a few shots of the folks at our market today hope you enjoy, and if you're interested in making your own bacon give me a shout or leave comment , and you can also google "making bacon " for lots of videos and recipes.

The 4th of July-----God Bless America

Happy 4th of July to all my blog readers, and may God bless our men that fight for our freedom all over the world. Hope you get to spend a little pick-nic time with family and friends. Stay safe and have fun , remember if you go swimming , Never swim alone , and if you're going out on a boat always wear a floating device.
The 4th is special to me and Ciejay too , it was on July the 4th 2002 that we said our "I Do's" , and these have been happy years for the both of us.

Cooking with Banana Leafs

There is nothing I love better than a good fresh banana , we grow our own , the banana trees after they have fruit will die , but they will send up a couple more little trees to grow and produce .The banana tree will  fruit once a year, BUT you can use the leafs for lots of purposes  year round , we use them just like tin foil, and they will add a great flavor to anything that you cook with them. Below is a post from the web site About .com , I thought you might like to read , thanks Darlene for the great article.

Cook with Banana Leaf


By Darlene Schmidt, About.com Guide

Banana Leaf Boats - great for cooking and serving!

Banana leaves serve many purposes in Asian cooking, from adding flavor to foods cooked inside them, to simply being used as a colorful and exotic background for serving-plates and party platters. Banana leaves are beautiful, fun to use, and easy to cook with! Find out how to buy banana leaves, how to cook with them, how to decorate your platters with them, and how to store extra banana leaves for use next time.

1.Buying Banana Leaves

Banana leaves are very inexpensive to buy - roughly $3.00-4.00 for a large pack. Buy banana leaves fresh or frozen in large, flat plastic bags at your local Asian supermarket (check the freezer if you can't find them on the shelf or in the produce section).

2.Cooking with Banana Leaves

Banana leaves can be used for baking anything "wrapped" - in the same way you would use tin foil or parchment paper. However, note that banana leaves are porous (unlike tin foil), so some of the "sauce" or juices from your food item may seep through. It's therefore a good idea to place your banana leaf "packets" in a glass casserole dish, or a tray that has "sides" on it, so that the juices don't drip to the bottom of your oven.

3.Banana Leaves for Grilling/Barbecuing:

You can also use banana leaf as a kind of "mat" for barbecuing fragile fillets of fish, smaller shrimp, or vegetables that have a danger of falling through the grill. Simply lay a piece of banana leaf on your grill, then cook your food items on top of it (as you would with tin foil). The banana leaf will turn bright green at first, then brown as you cook. It will give a nice hint of flavor to your food that is very pleasant.

4.Banana Leaves for Serving:

Banana leaf also makes a beautiful background on which to serve various Asian dishes - excellent for party platters or finger foods. They can also be made into Banana Leaf Boats as pictured above - great for serving salads, rice, fish, and other dishes. Or, simply cut a banana leaf (rinse well with hot water and pat dry) and use it to line a platter, serving plate or bowl. Banana leaf dresses up the dish, adding an exotic touch to any Thai or Asian recipe.

5.Eating on Banana Leaf!

This is perhaps the "funnest" part of using banana leaves in cooking - eating off of them! Any dish that has been cooked in banana leaf can also be served in/on it - in fact, this makes the dish even more beautiful to serve and to eat. It also makes for a wonderful conversation-starter at dinner parties!

6.Storing Banana Leaves:

Usually you will have leftover leaves after you've finished making your recipe or serving your food, as they are sold in large packs. To keep the rest for use later, simply wrap up in plastic (a plastic bag will do, secured with elastic), and keep in the freezer. Banana leaves only require about 30 minutes to thaw, so this is a convenient way to keep them fresh. If using within a week, store them (wrapped in plastic) in the refrigerator


Here are a few pictures of banana leafs and their uses . These picture are gleamed from the net and I saw no copyrights attached ----  so enjoy

HERE COMES " THE PEDDLER TRUCK"

Never before have I lived in a place where folks sold so many things in front of their homes ,shops, the side of the roads, also a lot of them take their wears on the road, and drive up and down the streets and by-ways peddling their wears.I love it and many times it saves me a trip to the market . It brings back childhood memories when my Uncle Oren use to take

his produce and put in the back of his pick-up and take it to sell in the Big City of Union S.C., and in the streets and at the market place, and us kids would ride along with him, and go door to door and tell the people that the produce man was here , and we got to eat all the apples we wanted, what a side benefit that was for us kids that normally only got apples at Christmas in our stockings or when we could grab one off the neighbors tree on the way home from school. I remember those days well. I remember that later my Uncle Oren was the Watkins man and he sold all kinds of house wears and supplies. I remember my Mother buying from him plates and stuff and I can really remember the vanilla flavoring he sold , was in a big brown bottle , wow how these memories popped into my head ,when the peddler man came by . Do you have memories of the peddlers coming thru your neighborhoods , or do you still have a few that pass your way???
I took a few pictures of the Peddler Man and his truck  , hope you enjoy the pictures .Ciejay is picking out some plants and potting soil and I think see's getting a few new orchids .

Mango Season is Here in Thailand

More mango's are eaten fresh all over the world than any other fruit
I thought that was quite a statement, but after going on line and checking different web sites about mango's , I now firmly believe it to be a somewhat true statement

This is mango season in Thailand and almost everyone I know has a tree or two in their yard . We wait for the winter season to end so that the trees will flower and then watch, with amazement and anticipation as we see the fruit develop from a little pea size, to a full grown ,baseball size, ripe fruit ,to be relished and enjoyed . I say relished and enjoyed because since moving to Thailand I have come to love the flavor and smell and taste of this fruit. It starts to get ripe about the middle of March here in our village and around the area , tho some parts of Thailand have Mango's growing all the time and you can really enjoy them year round , But they do get pricey when out of season in our local area. I really don't care how pricey they get I have to have my Mango Fix as many days a week as possible . We here in Wang Pho are in the middle of our Mango season now and the folks that eat theirs green and in green salads and with sugar,chili peppers crushed, and a touch of salt have already raided the trees and what they couldn't reach or left on the trees are for us folks who like ours ripe and juicy. We have 4 mango trees (3 different varieties ) in our yard and get lots from them , and the neighbor has about 50 trees that they sell the green mango, every year to folks from Bangkok and they tell us to eat all we want once they have moved on. They have a couple of different varieties that I don't have , one being a mango called black gold and the fruit inside the green peel is as golden as can be and the taste is to kill for . The season here in Wang Pho starts in mid March and will run till April end, with a few varieties that hang on till May or mid May , we have a tree with a mango called a Gaull that will last clear up till mid June , they are a last resort mango for me as they are not as sweet as most . But they are better than no mango at all . And as my Mother use to say "beggars can't be choosy."
I only knew of the great taste of the mango and never really thought of the health benefits , till I did this research , and now I know that they are not only good to eat -- but they are Good for you and your body and can promote good health
The follow information was Googled and gleamed from the net and as far as I know is not copyrighted , so I am going to copy and paste for your reading enjoyment and enlightenment . I hope you enjoy the read .
I know I always say it, BUT!!!!!! this is just another reason why we're "Retired in Thailand and Loving It."

Mango trees are evergreens that will grow to 60 feet tall.

The mango originated in Southeast Asia where it has been grown for over 4,000 years. Over the years mango groves have spread to many parts of the tropical and sub-tropical world, where the climate allows the mango to grow best. Mango trees are evergreens that will grow to 60 feet tall. The mango tree will fruit 4 to 6 years after planting. Mango trees require hot, dry periods to set and produce a good crop. Most of the mango's sold in the United States are imported from Mexico, Haiti, the Caribbean and South America. Today there are over 1,000 different varieties of mango's throughout the world.

A comfort food. Mango's really can make you feel better! Beyond being delicious and rich in vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants, mango's contain an enzyme with stomach soothing properties similar to papain found in papayas. These comforting enzymes act as a digestive aid and can be held partially responsible for that feeling of contentment we experience during and after our daily mango ritual. Yes, it is quite natural to crave those mango's!

Mango, both in its green and ripe form is a very good tenderizing agent due to these same enzymes, therefore ideal to include in any marinade (see Mango Marinade under Sauces category in our Recipe Guide). In India they use a sour mango powder containing ground up green mango's called Amchur, both as a seasoning and tenderizing aid.

We all know the importance of fiber in our diets. If you are eating your mango-a-day, irregularity is not a problem for you and so we'll spare the gruesome details regarding constipation, piles and spastic colon. Research has shown that dietary fiber has a protective effect against degenerative diseases, especially with regards to the heart; may help prevent certain types of cancer, as well as lowering blood cholesterol levels. An average sized mango can contain up to 40% of your daily fiber requirement. For those of you who are physically active, whether working out or constantly on the go, mango's are also a great way to replenish that lost potassium. Deliciously rich in anti-oxidants, potassium and fiber - the mango is the perfect fruit! Truly 'the king of fruit'