Thursday – three days to go…

I woke up this morning after an unsettled nights sleep having dreamt I missed my flight out…this is surely a common thing to do. Right? Although, probably more common for those taking early morning flights not one at 9.30 in the evening!

The start of the trip is fast approaching and I have not finished packing yet. In fact it looks a bigger mess; they do say things get worse before better. Ugghh, I hate packing….

Writing this blog has taken place of doing all other jobs….It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be and certainly taking a lot longer.

It is the penultimate day in the cafe before I leave the guys in charge.

This is the first time I will be away from the cafe for more than 3 consecutive days therefore, I have planned for just about everything imaginable. Planning is good and as I talk through every possible scenario that could occur in my absence, I hear myself say “what on earth are you doing?”. Simultaneously I look up and see the look of intense attention, perhaps an attempt to please me too much in the hope I might shut up soon. I should have more confidence in them and deep down I do so I shut up. I’m not entirely sure it’s a good sign that the supervisor left in charge has actually begun to repeat phrases I use!

Today’s special is hand rolled pork and chicken meatballs in a rich spicy, tomato sauce spiked with fragrant curry leaves and fresh coriander, served with steamed basmati rice and a fresh crunchy slaw type salad with a squeeze of chilli sauce drizzled over it.

Seems to be popular today..

Friday – one day to go…

Last day in the cafe. Not much time to do anything else today but last minute double checking for next week and saying farewells to some of our lovely regulars…
Today is special fish curry day. It’s been very popular since we started introducing this on the menu.

The fish we use is basa (part of the pangasias family), more commonly found in Asia however rare to find in the UK until a few years ago. It’s a flat fish with a lovely soft texture and sweetness, keeping its shape quite well during cooking. If you’ve not heard of it before I would say it’s similar to sea bass but I much prefer basa. If you cannot find basa then any white firm fleshed fill will be a good substitute.

We first pan fry the fillets in thin slivers of garlic and julienne of fresh ginger until fragrant, then add fresh peppers, tomato slices and the rich spicy tomato sauce, spiked with lemongrass and curry leaves, which has been prepared that morning. Lots of chopped coriander and a few slices of fresh chilli to finish off. A full recipe will be posted later.

 

It’s Saturday! I fly out this evening…

Tadah!…..

This will be a short post and the last one for a few days until I reach Burma.

I spent today relaxing but somewhat at a loss as everything is now done. I still have hours to go before I need to leave home for the airport.

I decide to acclimatise in my garden for the rest of the day as it’s a beautiful hot day in Chorlton about 23 degrees centigrade but feels more like 28, pondering why we love talking about the weather but mostly mulling over what adventure might lie ahead and most importantly, thinking about all my favourite dishes I plan to eat as well as discovering new ones. Yes, you guessed it, I have made another list! ….

See you all in a few days time!…..