You're home, exhausted but elated - sated in the tastes, sounds, and experiences of your journey. What do to now? Well, after unpacking, you catch up on your jetlag. And then, head to the nearest Asian grocery store, to stock up on goodness and recreate some of the best dishes you had while in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Invite some friends over - you know you want to share the goodness that is Thai cuisine!

One of my favorite Thai dishes is Massaman Curry. It's a silky brown curry that is extremely flavorful. You can make it with any kind of meat (or tofu). The key ingredients are lemongrass and coconut milk. Serve with rice.

1 pound of meat, chopped into bite sized pieces
2 potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 can coconut milk
1 tomato, sliced (optional - can use 1-2 T tomato paste if you are like me and don't like tomatoes out of season)
2 T coconut oil
1 onion, cut in half and sliced into moons

now the spicy goodness:
1 2 inch piece of ginger, grated
5-6 cloves of garlic
1/2 t chili flakes (or less, if you're a hot wimp like me)
1 stalk minced lemongrass (or 3T bottled prepared lemongrass)
2 bay leaves
1 t turmeric
1 t ground coriander
1/4 t cardamom
1 T lime juice
1 t shrimp paste
2 T fish sauce
1 T brown sugar (or tamarind paste)
1/2 c chicken stock

chopped nuts for a garnish (cashews or peanuts are good)
a few spinach leaves
chopped fresh cilantro

Heat your pan (have a wok? get it out!). Scrape in the coconut oil, and stir fry the ginger, garlic, onion, and chile flakes. After a minute, add in the chicken stock and all of the spice ingredients. When it is lightly boiling, add in the meat, potatoes, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil again, and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 40 minutes or so, until both the meat and the potatoes are done. Stir in the tomato paste and the chopped red peppers. Cook for 10 minutes or so, until the red peppers are done.  Taste it - does it need more spice, sourness, sweetness? Adjust your ingredients to suit your taste.

Serve with rice, and sprinkle on a few nuts and fresh cilantro. Delicious!

Massaman Curry 

For dessert, there's nothing like mango pudding. It's easy to make - and extremely delicious. And, you probably have everything on hand.

Mango Pudding

2 ripe mangoes
3 t gelatin (usually one packet)
1/3 cup hot water
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup coconut milk

Do you know how to cut a mango? Slice it down the side, right next to the stone. Slice it on the other side, as well. Cross-hatch the fruit within each shell, and then scoop it out. For the fruit around the pit, peel the skin away and then cut away the fruit as you can.

Put the mango pieces into a food processor and whiz it until it's a puree (or slightly chunky, if you prefer). Add in the coconut milk and pulse to combine.

Heat your water, and then add the gelatin. Whisk until all the gelatin dissolves, with no lumps. Dissolve in the sugar, stirring briskly.

Add the gelatin water to your food processor. Pulse until the ingredients are smooth.

Pour into beautiful bowls and refrigerate 2+ hours. Garnish with a drizzle of coconut milk, and a fresh mint leaf if you have them. Serve with a smile!

Note: If you don't have fresh mangoes available, you can use frozen or jarred. Thaw the frozen mango (about 2 cups) and heat up 1/3 cup of the juice instead of water, for your gelatin mixture.

Mango Pudding