With a lot of hungry kids hanging around the house today, I knew today's lunch would have to be a big one to satisfy everyone.

A Bittersweet Lunch 😋

Because we are vegans most Cambodian guests don't show any interest in our food, and I've learned not to offer my Indian style food because it sometimes puts people in an awkward position of feeling obliged to eat something they think they won't like. I've found children to be less dogmatic in this regard, and if something smells good and looks visually appealing, they'll usually give it a try.

With a few neighbors coming and going, and also my daughters' two friends spending the day with us, I decided to make a double-sized batch of my wax pepper curry. While I fried the tofu and roasted the okra, tomatoes, and wax peppers, my wife cracked open a coconut to scrape some meat for my recipe.

Although this is not a recipe post, just to explain the flavors a bit, this curry starts by frying a sesame seed/peanut/coconut paste with cumin, kalonji, and mustard seeds, then adding a tamarind/ginger paste with turmeric, chili, garam masala, and enough water to make a slightly soupy curry.

My inner chef sensed we'd need a big curry, and I was right. Just as I placed the steaming wok on the table, one of the neighbor girls entered our house sobbing. I asked her what was wrong, and she said her Grandma left on a roadtrip without providing her breakfast or lunch. This was very upsetting to me, especially because this woman is not poor, and spends her days covered in gold chains and bracelets, playing cards and chain smoking cigarettes.

She's already with her grandma because her mother abandoned her, and unfortunately the grandma doesn't seem to show any pride in raising this intelligent young girl. I felt bad that all I had was a vegan curry, especially knowing she's used to simple foods like grilled meats with white rice. I told her she can stay with us as long as she needs to, and she can eat as much as she wants if she likes my curry. Luckily it was a hit with all Cambodian diners, tears quickly became spicy smiles, and we had a really nice curry party.

💪 Time To Be Manly 🪨

After so much time with so many ladies, I needed to feel manly, so I went down to the river to cut the logs that speared the first hammock hut during the flood. After cutting the logs, I began piling rocks to shore up the corner of the hut that is now extremely eroded.

I had spent a month piling rocks before the flood on this very corner, and it was probably this project that saved the hut, although I didn't have time to do this for the second hut which is now basically destroyed. What was once a difficult but doable descent to the river is now a leap of faith. Restoring easy access to the river is now a priority, and more so now that the monsoon is starting to fade.

Monkey-B Got Jealous 🏸

When I returned from the river, I was told by Srey-Yuu that the girl's uncle had came and hit her with an electric wire and told her to return home. Upon hearing this I felt rage, so I asked Srey-Yuu if had done this on our property, but it hadn't, so I wasn't in much of a position to do anything. 95% of the men in this tiny village are employed by the military outpost, and it's a tight loyal club. Pissing off one of the guys is like opening a can of worms, and doing this as a non-military resident and foreigner could cause more problems than I can solve.

I had to take some deep breaths and wait a while for the feeling to pass, but I can sense a confrontation with this family is looming on the horizon. In other non-happy news, I played badminton with Srey-Yuu after returning from the river, and this angered Monkey-B who said....

"You never do anything fun with me ever!"

I then gave myself to Monkey-B for a solid hour, playing mostly CandyLand, and in the process emasculated the macho-ness I had brought back with me from the river after lifting manly rocks and cutting manly trees. Hive posts get created and published at 2am after everyone is sound asleep, the time when I try to earn some income so that I can continue cooking and chilling in the daytime with all these lovely ladies.