Watermelon and Coconut in Thailand

On a recent trip to Thailand I saw this truck: full to the brim with watermelons. 

Watermelon never goes out of season around here. 

It is always delicious, juicy and sweet.

 

We love watermelon and so do elephants! 

Here I am feeding this "baby" elephant watermelon.

We all ate our fill of fresh fruit while in Phuket, my son enjoyed a fresh coconut each morning with breakfast.   

Coconuts in the tree. 

Each morning we watched a man climb the trees and cut down the coconuts. 

 

Coconuts used as decoration.

We stayed at a fabulous resort. The JW Marriot and Vacation Club in Phuket, Thailand. It was the best

resort I have ever been to. It hit all the marks-there was nothing I would have done differently.  I had no negative comments. I cannot wait to share more details on this fabulous resort. My husband and I began planning our next trip to Thailand half-way through our visit.

Santa's Whisker's Cookies

http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/1180/santas-whiskers

My friend Betsy and her mom make these every Christmas. I remember eating them at their house as a child and loving the chewy cherries and the name of the cookies more than anything.  Betsy sent some to me when we were living in London, but this year, since we are so far away and cookies taste best when right out of the oven... I think I will give it a go and make my own...

Makes 60 •  

Ingredients

3/4 cup Margarine
2 cups Flour
3/4 cup Sugar
1 tablespoon Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3/4 cup finely chopped candied red or green cherries
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
3/4 cup coconut

Directions

Beat margarine with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add about half the flour, the sugar, milk, and vanilla. Beat till thoroughly combined. Stir in remaining flour. Stir in cherries and pecans. Shape into 8-inch rolls. Roll in coconut. Wrap in wax paper; chill 2- 24 hours. Cut into 1/4-inch slices. Place on an un-greased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden. Cool cookies on  a wire rack. Makes about 60.

iShop.

 I have been frantically on-line ordering things I cannot find in HK to have them waiting for me when I am home this Christmas. Bras that fit, white shoes for my son, etc.
When I am not coming home or do not have someone to tote things all the way here, hard to find items get shipped to my mom and then she ships them to me. What a process. Sometimes this is the only option.

But, I came across this on-line store today and I am thrilled to know about it.  It is called iShopUSA and it is a collection of shops from the US that will ship internationally.

McDonalds is OK.

There is nothing wrong with a little McDonalds 

when you choices for food are the following:

 

Snake.

 Cicadas.

 and Starfish...to name a few.

Crawfish...China Style

Harvest Time in China

My toddler seems a bit shocked by it all!

Chicken on a Stick...China Style.

I went to college at Ole Miss.  We eat chicken-on-a-stick there. It comes from the Chevron station, is deep fried tenders marinated in crack something fabulous on a stick and and its  addictive.  It is very popular with Freshman and drunk people and sober people and pretty much everyone who is lucky enough to be on Oxford.

There are facebook pages for this Mississippi delicacy, odes and songs. 

For Example:

  

Ode to Chevron's Chicken on a Stick

By Peter | June 15th, 2008

Oh crunchy delight !

so crispy, so juicy

so deep fried with love

it’s like you’ve been sent from way up above

So easy to eat, and so quickly consumed

can, though, sit in the stomach like a full blown balloon

Take heed, dear gals, as you inhale this perfection

as, minutes later, it might feel, quite like you’re expecting

A key component to every frosh 15

it’s also rumored to be polio’s alternative vaccine

A no finer snack can be found after midnight

for locals and students needing assistance to stand upright 

www.oxfordmississippi.com

But, there is a lot of distance between Oxford and Beijing....

And this gives a whole new meaning to chicken-on-a-stick.

Before and After

These are the beautiful orchids my hubby sent for my 30th birthday in August.  

It is 3 months later and here is what they look like now.  

oops.

Baked Peaches

 We don't get many fresh peaches in Hong Kong, so I used half peaches from a can, sprinkled them with cinnamon and sugar and a tiny bit of butter. Once they bubbled and browned, I topped each one with granola. This is simple and I always have these ingredients on hand for a quick dessert. It will work in a pinch and would be even better with vanilla ice cream. 

Candy Apples...China Style.

 

I ate one and it was very good. It was not too far from the
candy apples wrapped in wax paper sold out of stolen grocery carts on the Avenue during Mardi Gras.

Things that are cheap in Hong Kong:

Hired help.
Most food.
Transportation.
Having amazing portraits painted.

This was done over 3 weeks, my sweet son sat for this with the help of suckers and goldfish. I am very pleased with the portrait and so was my pocket book. This cost right around $60 us dollars.