Saturday, February 25, 2023

Part 3 - 4 Day at an Organic Farm

 Day 3 - The Animals

Today I’ll talk about the animals they have on their organic farm and what purpose they serve.

Sunny’s sister Tat, manages the animals.  






She has chickens and ducks and 


Actually, 5 puppies! She keeps them in with the chickens and ducks for the chicken and ducks’ 
PROTECTION.
Now, how can puppies protect the chickens and ducks?
They are 
NOISY!
If something is wrong they will cry and whine. And, of course, they are so cute!
The problem Tat has is the predators. One of which is the python snake. 
A python would try to enter the pens from on top of the pens but Tat was too smart for them! She put wire mesh on top of the pens and at a 45 degree angle the snakes would fall off! Clever, right?
Also, again, the puppies would whine or
cry if they didn’t like something. And again, with 
5 puppies, that is a lot of noise!


They also have these (water buffalo)



And these (cows?)
I believe it is the cows that
are taken to slaughter and some Buddhists 
want to save their lives 
so they buy them and donate 
them to a local farm.
Sunny has a couple of these 
that were donated to
the farm

The also have a herd of goats. I don’t have any photos 
of the goats. Thai people aren’t really into 
goat cheese so goats are bred for their 
meat but they also clear a
field by eating the remainders
after the field is harvested,



They also have a production area and a workshop area where they can teach classes on various subjects pertaining to health and natural farming and remedies. If you would like to contact them, 

here is their contact information;

New Life

Organic Farm

+66 091-670-0302


Friday, February 24, 2023

Part 1 - 4 Day Stay At Organic Farm

 Hi all! This was a fun adventure! A friend of a friend (the new friend is Sunny) has an organic farm in Phetchabun province and I was able to stay with she and her sister for 4 days. It was an incredible adventure!

THE BUS

So, as you can see these buses are modern and nice inside and out. The photo is of the back of the bus because we had one rest stop along the way. It was a 4+ hour ride from Bangkok, and I wanted to make sure I got back on the right bus when we re-embarked. It does say on the side of the bus the province you are going to. In this case it was Phetchabun province. 


As you can see the seats are very nice and comfy. The seats recline and the foot rests come up so that you can lay back and enjoy the ride. And, my ticket was only about $14 one way. 


I made some new friends along the way. The blonde lady loves to scuba dive and the couple in the background - the boyfriend is from Kentucky, lives in Thailand with his girlfriend and is a school teacher.



Along the way I spotted this truck carrying sugar cane which had just been harvested.





As well as this Buddhist temple I could see from a distance that was set in a hillside 

THE FARMER’S MARKET IN NONG PHAI

Sunny took me to lunch when I arrived and helped me navigate the menu to get not spicey food. I like it really mild.


At one point we went to the local marketplace in Nong Phai.  I’ll show you lots of photos with a few explanations.







The white plate in the center. What is it? Yes, rats. I guess there are rats that are safe to eat there. The government helps to regulate the quality of that meat.


The yellow chickens were dipped in saffron. The customers like it that way.



And guess what? They are big on waffles! They sell them everywhere! And they make breakfast sandwiches out of them. It actually makes sense.



Mice this time.


Pigs feet


These bags contain ingredients to make your own homemade meal. See the fresh ingredients? 



I loved this license plate. Ultraman. The super hero. 



A basket maker displaying her wares.


Snakes, anyone?


Street Food is very common and very popular here. You see it everywhere!

Yeah! Now to the sweets


They cook this dessert inside of bamboo


These colored jelly bean looking things are made of bean curd. Very colorful! 



These desserts are wrapped in banana leaves. This is what is inside. Mushed rice with a sesame paste inside. You eat it warm. It’s good!


This is a tamarind seed. It’s flavor is used a lot here. At this particular time of year there is a very small window that the seeds are soft and you can eat the whole thing. Kind of like the texture of a date. 


These are yummy too. They are a crispy puffed rice with coconut sugar on them. Yum!

I think I’ll make this a Part I 
because the organic farm 
is the real highlight 
Stay tuned for 
Part II

Thursday, February 23, 2023

Yummy Desserts! Farggi - Ponche de Segovia - Segovian Pastry

 Okay, so whenever I go to a new city or country I love to try the unique food. I went on a one day 13 hour tour of 3 cities. One of which was Segovia.

I stayed in Segovia many years ago. Our tour guide suggested we try the local pastry “Ponche de Segovia”.



Farggi Cafe


So, I tried it. The cake is light and fluffy with a rich pudding style filling. I also ordered Spanish hot chocolate. It is similar to American chocolate pudding but just a little bit thinner. You can drink it or use a spoon to enjoy it.


Here are some other delicious looking options. Waffles are very popular here as well as specialty coffees.


And here are the 2 owners of the cafe. Good food, clean modern environment, nice ladies!

Fargo Cafe
Calle San Francisco 1
40001 Segovia, Spain
farggicafesg@gmail.com


Sunday, January 29, 2023

Na Aroon - A Vegetarian Restaurant in Bangkok

I found this restaurant through another American traveling in Thailand. She met the owner. A lady who is educated in interior design. And you can tell. This place is beautiful! And there are rooms available, some of which look out on the beautiful patio. The interior and grounds are just as artistically arranged.


I’ll send a few more photos so that you get a feel.






    

      Do you get the picture? Elegant, tranquil.


This a traditional Thai salad called
Pomelo salad. It’s made with a Thai type of large grapefruit, green onions, fried crispy onion rings, cashews, tiny red chilis, which you can remove if you like, and a tamarind salad dressing. The tiny red chilis are not super hot and widely used here in Thailand.
It is wonderful! 

My friend had a soup she orders frequently called “Kao soi Ariyasom”. I tried it this time. It has noodles, broccoli, coconut milk or crème, fried tofu, and you can add lime juice, bean sprouts, red onions and something else that I did not recognize. As with most Thai foods, it has some chili or curry in the sauce.

We ate outside, about sunset, by candlelight. This restaurant gets very busy. Since we came early we got a table. But by the time we left, it was packed.

Try to fit this in. You’ll LOVE it!