Our Thai Wedding

Sometimes I lose track of the days. I can't believe it's been three weeks since our Thai wedding! Without further ado, here are some of my favorite pictures from that night.

Morning blessing ceremony with our moms in the foreground.

Making our offerings to the monks.

Our reception hall.

Introducing ourselves and starting the party.

Dessert table.

Appetizer table. 

Start of the Water Ceremony.

Back row: Best man, best brother, Maid of Honor/best sister, mom's friend's daughter.
Front row: Us, sitting on hard cushions.

All smiles during the ceremony.

Our best man got to go up twice! Once with his wife and again at the end.

My friend, Amy, pouring water on my hands.

Our family and friends who helped on stage.

A group of my friends.

Our first dance. Our song was My Girl by the Temptations.
Our best man karaoked for us.

A lot of kisses that night.

Also a lot of laughter.

Our favorite couple joining us during the second song.

My family. <3>

Standing next to my mom's beautiful cake. Each layer had a different flavor.

Loving that face...

Feeding the cake!

I hope you enjoyed my selections of pictures! There's more to be seen in my Picasa web album: Our Thai Wedding.

Patti

Stories about Columbus Day Weekend

Okay, so I have a lot of stories to get down before I forget everything. I also have two new Thai recipes, but we'll see how long my attention span is today.

Story #1: Apple Picking on Saturday

So my mom had this great idea to go apple picking at the Lewin Apple Farm on Fresh Pond Avenue in Calverton/Riverhead, NY. Great. I decided to join the trip since I haven't been to an apple farm since I was 15 or 16 years old. That's a very long time ago, well, maybe not that long ago, but you get the point. Back to the story, I decided not to bring along my hand bag because I hate carrying unnecessary items around with me. So I stored it under the front seat. My mom saw what I was doing and did the same and so did my mom's cousin (I just call her aunt instead of my first cousin once removed).

We took some cash and our cameras and headed into the farm. We managed to bag about 6 lbs of apples. It was slim picking since it was late into the season. While heading back to the car my mom realizes that she didn't bring the car keys and none of us had our spare keys or cell phones. Oh man. So I borrowed people's phone and called my neighbor. He has a spare key to our house and can retrieve our spare car keys. While waiting for him my mom and I decided to go pick more apples and left with another 10 lbs. It took my neighbor 2.5 hours to get to us (we were only 30 minutes away). Oh man. What a waste of a good two hours that could have been spent at the mall.

I decided to walk to the nearest cross street (2 miles down the road) while I was waiting for our back up key. I ended up going to this Poultry Farm on Rt. 25. My family had bought turkeys from them in the past. It's been a good 12 years since the first time we visited. My mom ended up picking me up from the poultry farm and we bought an apple pie. It was delicious.

We went back to the car and realized that my right rear wheel was flat. It had a nail in it. I ended up changing the flat with the dummy. My mom and I drove to the nearest service shop and had them patch it up. Pretty quick. Then we head to Stony Brook to go shopping. So the lesson of the story is: Don't get too excited about something that you only bring cash and camera and not your keys and phone. And check for flats before you drive.

I got the goods...

... and so does my mommy.

Story #2: Yarn Freak

Okay, when I get really into a hobby (usually for some short period of time) I end up buying everything necessary to participate in that hobby. My current hobby is crocheting. I ended up going to Michael's and AC Moore while I was home and buying $80 worth of yarn and accessories. OMG. They were on sale so I bought them. It amounts to something around 10 lbs of yarn. I couldn't help myself. They had all these pretty colors. I also bought two volumes of Crochet Today magazine (Sep/Oct and Nov/Dec). My current project of choice are hats and caps. I'm making my mom and my aunt one. They're super cute. I'll take pictures and put it on here later.

Thai food - upcoming recipes include Gang Som (Sour Curry) and Kaow Mun Gai (Chicken with Rice). Okay, I gotta go get ready for bed now... after I kick my sister out of it. She likes to come over, talk, and fall asleep on my bed while I type away on the computer.

Adventures into Thai Cooking

Thanks Elvin for letting me know that gratification is a word. I probably knew it was in the back of my head, but I didn't check to make sure I used it in the correct context when I made the video. Here's the wikipedia definition of it: Gratification is the positive emotional response (happiness) to a fulfillment of desire.

Okay, so I started making my own Thai food after I don't know how many years of eating it. Probably 22 years since I've been eating my mom's cooking since I was a baby. I usually make the trek home to Long Island just for my mom's yummy Thai food. My favorites are Lad Na (also known as Rad Na), Pad See Ew, Gang Som (aka Sour Curry), and Fried Tofu with Sweet Chili dipping sauce. The desert menu can go on forever... my mom makes the best deserts on the East Coast. Okay, that might be stretching it, but hey, she's amazing and I'm not being biased. She usually sells her cooking at the local Thai temple when they're having the monthly Buddhist celebrations.

Anyways, I started making Lad Na (twice now) and Gang Som. So far so good. =) I'll take pictures next time I make Lad Na. I believe I'll try making my mom's awesome Tomato Soup next. Here are some of the recipes. I'll probably edit it until I get them right. You can find most of the ingredients at Chinese and Asian grocery stores.

Lad Na (2 Servings, maybe 3) - Modified version of www.thaitable.com

1 package (3/4 lb) of fresh flat rice noodles
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
6 tbsp vegetable oil (I usually use olive oil)
1/4 lb of pork, chicken, or beef, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic
4 tbsp tapioca flour
2 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce - mushroom (or Thin Soy Sauce)
1/2 lb of broccoli or Chinese broccoli

Coat the pork with 1 tablespoon of tapioca flour. Mince garlic. In a bowl, add water to the rest of flour. This will the base for sauce. Cut up the Chinese broccoli into 2 inch-pieces.

Slice the noodles into 1/2 to 1 inch wide strips. Break the clumped noodles into strands.

Heat up 4 tablespoons of oil in a non-stick pan or pot. When the oil is ready, put in the noodles and stir. Add 2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce on the noodles. Stir again until all the noodles are broken into pieces. Keep stirring for 5 more minutes. Set the cooked noodles aside.

In a pot or pan that is big enough to hold all the ingredients, heat up the rest of the oil. Add minced garlic and coated meat. Stir for a minute or so until the meat is getting cooked. Add the flour water. Stir quickly to keep it from forming chunks. When cooked, the flour will turn from white to clear. Add soy sauce and sugar. Stir. When the sauce is bubbling, it should have a consistency of thick gravy.

Put the noodles on a plate and pour as much gravy on it as you like. Add a bit of white or black pepper and some boiled vinegar with pickled chili, for the experienced.

I'll put up pics and more recipes as I semi-perfect them. Taste definitely depends on the cook. I love the way my mom's cooking tastes so I emulate it. Okay, time to go eat!!!