Comfort food

After almost a week of not having a voice, I am almost fully recovered. I still am hoarse, but I took my phone at work off of "Do Not Disturb" which means I, begrudgingly, will start accepting phone calls again. BOO.

While I was in the throes of sickness, I ate some dee-lishus food. Last week before I left for Memphis, I made sinigang. I found a tamarind soup base at Central Market that I'd never used before, but I think I'll use exclusively when I make anything with tamarind. I purchased a block of tamarind pulp, seeds and pods included, from My Thanh and to use it, I had to dissolve the pulp in hot water and strain it a couple times. This soup base was just liquid and it was cheaper than buying the pulp block. I also used lamb knuckles as a couple chicken thighs for the meat in the soup. I usually use oxtail or just generic "soup bones" but the lamb knuckles looked meatier than the beef shanks they had, and they were also a little cheaper. It's weird how people charge so much for cuts of meat that shouldn't be expensive at all.

It was a Filipino food fest too when I was in Memphis, but since I didn't bring my camera, I don't have proof. Tasty cupcakes from Muddy's in East Memphis, dinuguan and those crunchy coconut casava things from Mekini, siopao that I brought back on the plane. YUM all over.


When I got back to Austin, Clinton had made Tom Kha-type soup with chicken and clear rice noodles. I love, love, LOVE kaffir lime leaves. I warmed some of it up last night and drank just the soup broth for dinner.



Then Yaz had made chicken pot pie and brought a serving for me on Monday morning. I debated for about twenty minutes at 9 in the morning as to whether I should save it for lunch or annihilate it for breakfast...at about 9:21 I ate that pot pie up like nobody's business. So rich, so creamy, yum yum yum. No picture of that one though. Just memories of a happy belly.