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This was the song that originally attracted me to Leon Russell's music -> "Stranger in a Strange Land" (I guess Russell had read the Heinlein Novel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land

Well finally (I promise) while we are at it a version by Leon, Ray Charles, and Willie Nelson of "A song for You".

The Ray Charles version of "A Song for You".

Leon Russel - "A Song for You".

I did the Google search and got the following link. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2015/04/13/ask-the-expert-concerns-about-canola-oil/ What I got out of skimming this article is one should buy a brand that one has confidence in. I buy the Wesson Brand for my Canola Oil. I have been buying this brand for 15 years. Can be difficult to find at times in Thailand. VM may or may not have it stocked. I buy mine through Lazada. Not cheap, but I get what I want and also what I have confidence in. With regard to the cooking factor having confidence in a product is important to me.

Olive oil is a bad choice for high heat. That is because it has a relatively low smoke point. If one is doing a saute or light browning, Olive oil can be a very good choice, particularly in Italian and French recipes. I have found a wide variety of tastes between the various moderately priced brands of olive oil that are sold. Back in the states I used California Ranch Olive Oil, but that is not available here in Thailand. Also I have read that the quality of this brand has suffered in part due to the costs associated with olive farming in CA. Here in Thailand I use Colavita Olive Oil. This brand can be difficult to find. I buy mine from Lazada, but frequently have orders cancelled due to availability from the seller. For high heat cooking I use Canola Oil. It has a very high smoke point and a completely neutral taste. I have heard very good things about both Sunflower and Peanut oils for high heat cooking. I don't use them as I do not want to sacrifice additional kitchen space for multiple oils. I do keep a small bottle of peanut oil on hand as I have a few recipes that call for it as an ingredient.

Steak au Poivre and Baked Potatoes I decided to prepare something fancy to keep the New Year spirit going. I have made this dish many times, but I see that I never posted it here at Tx24. Steak au Poivre https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/steak-au-poivre-recipe-1916730?desktop-device=true&desktop-device=true& This is certainly not an inexpensive dish to prepare. The small fillets were 400 each. A large bottle of Remey Martin VSOP Cognac was 3000. The good news is that not much of the cognac is used in the cooking so there will be a goodly number of late night sniffers to be addressed over the next few months. Just had one. 🙂 An important point for anyone who decides to do this is that for the flambe step get the pan to an open area and keep you eyelids etc out of the flame zone. For the baked potato I follow an ATK recipe that yields the best baked potato that I have ever had. ATK Baked Potatoes.pdf I have to say that he meal was absolutely delicious. Those are browned pancetta bits on top of the potato. They really work well with the sour cream. Tough keeping the Mrs out of them until the food is served. 🙂

A Bolt ride should be doable. I would guess about 500 each way.

Jeff Beck is remembered for discovering Rod Stewart as well.

Things without all remedy should be without regard: what's done is done. William Shakespeare 'Macbeth' (1606) act 3, sc. 2, l. 11 Also quoted in S04E16 of the TV show Fringe. 🙂

To each his own, but IMO Bang Sare has become over developed. Traffic is a problem. Bang Sare used to be a quiet fishing town with the charms associated with a place like that. As @forcebwithu mentioned my wife and I live about 15 minutes North of Bang Sare. We get over there from time to time as the seafood stands are pretty good. We prefer the larger seafood market nearer to our house, but it is not always open. Bang Sare is our backup place. When seafood is on the dinner menu, one needs to go out and buy some seafood. 🙂 We also get over to a few restaurants over in Bang Sare from time to time. The Thai Seafood places out on the piers are worth a visit. We used to go to Aow Talay (others seem to prefer Ruan Talay). Both are decent, but we have found better choices closer to home (Preecha (Na Jomtien), Sriuan (near Preecha), and the Mum Aroi near Buddha Mountain). We do stop in at the Beach Restaurant in Bang Sare from time to time. This is a inexpensive place with both Farang and Thai food near the North end of Bang Sare Beach Road. You can drive in on the North end access road and avoid the main Bang Sare traffic irritations. The Bang Sare traffic is nowhere near as bad as Central Pats or even Jomtien for that matter, but one would be well advised to keep their wits about them due to very narrow roads, crazed motorbike drivers, and embolden delivery trucks. I have noticed quite a few MPs around town. I tried one called "Full Moon Massage". They were glad to see me and offered extras, but I was not interested based on the current offerings. Service was so-so IMO and the up sell pressure was a little annoying. Still they were drawing a few regulars for foot massages etc. Foot massages are just not my thing. On my first trip to Thailand (2002 ?) I tried one in Bangkok and found it to be painful. Just me I guess. As far as finding a companion goes, you would be diamond in the rough hunting IMO.

Nice looking place.

Jeff Beck - "Beck's Bolero"

Paul McCartney doing "Blackbird".

Cat Stevens' biography. One of my favorite Cat Stevens songs. And there is this. And this as well

I take it you are a Cheese Head fan. The Packers-Bears match-up is an interesting game for a lot of statistical reasons. I have read that the GB Defense is suspect. They are ranked #21. Fields will be playing for a $22 M contract. The Pack on the other hand will be playing for a win and you're in Playoffs spot. It also sounds like there is a fair chance that it is a lose and you're out game, but I am not sure of that. Actually that seems to be dependent on the outcome of the Seattle, New Orleans, and Tampa Bay games. In any case GB, if they win, would likely draw Dallas. Bye-bye quickly I suspect. Looks like the opening line has the Packers up 3 due to home field advantage. Personally, I would like to see Da Bears lose a thriller with Fields doing well. That would secure the #10 draft spot. If they win, they could fall back to 16. I despise the Packers. I will never forget the cheap shot teams that were coached by Forrest Gregg. https://www.tankathon.com/nfl With regard to Forrest Gregg this is what I am talking about. But Gregg wasn’t making much progress both in games won and discipline. His rivalry with Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka seemed to consume him and when Ditka ran nose tackle William “Refrigerator” Perry on the goal-line for a touchdown during an October 1985 game in Chicago, Gregg never forgot it. It started a series of games in which Gregg’s team embarrassed itself with late hits and blatant cheap shots. Just weeks after the Perry game, the Packers, frothing at the mouth from Gregg’s constant prodding, took cheap shots during a game against the Bears, the worst being safety Kenny Stills’ shot on fullback Matt Suhey as Suhey walked back to the huddle. Gregg wouldn’t condemn Stills’ hit and actually condoned it, setting up the ugliest of all incidents the following year. Prior to the ’86 season, Gregg purged the team of veterans such as Dickey, end Mike Butler, tight end Paul Coffman, linebacker Mike Douglass, linebacker George Cumby and tackle Greg Koch and let offensive coordinator Bob Schnelker go. The team went a club-record six straight games without a victory to start the season. And during a Nov. 23 loss in Chicago, defensive lineman Charles Martin waved a towel with numbers of various Bears players written on it, suggesting he had a bounty on each of them. Martin later body-slammed quarterback Jim McMahon to the turf long after McMahon had gotten rid of the ball and was ejected from the game. Taken from https://www.packersnews.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/2019/04/12/hall-fame-packers-tackle-former-coach-forrest-gregg-dies-85/1689677002/

NY Day Dinner - Rack of Lamb, Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes, Roast Broccoli, and Hagen Dazs Ice Cream We had another couple over to start the New Year. I was the cook once again. All said that I did an admirable job. Rack of Lamb - this dish drew the most compliments. There was a second serving dish at the other end of the table. Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes - These were pretty good, but I prefer the Garlic Roasted Potatoes that I served on Xmas. The dark liquid left of the potatoes is a red wine sauce for the lamb. Roasted Broccoli - I was a little disappointed in this dish and will go back to steaming broccoli. Plated Well that's it for the Holidays. Time to put away the fancy dishes and become concerned about the 2 kg I put on.

I remember the 1963 NFL Championship Game between Da Bears and the NY Giants. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1963_NFL_Championship_Game It was a bitterly cold day in Chicago and the game was not televised. My uncles and myself listened to the game on the kitchen radio after a big Eastern European Dinner. When Richie Petitbon intercepted the game ending pass we all went nuts.

Agreed to a large part, but it looks like things might be getting better. Only time will tell.

First off I have to make a confession to the board. I have been an NFL Chicago Bears fan for the last 65 years. The last 20 of which have been absolute misery. The main problem has been terrible QB choices and just as bad draft picks at other positions. A couple of years back the Bears drafted Justin Fields at number 11. He had a rough start in the NFL. He has been routinely criticized by fans and the press for the team's lack of success, despite the fact that management gave Fields a terrible OL, poor receivers, and worse coaches. The last few weeks Fields, with a better supporting cast, has started to show who he can be. Check out this vid. This may be one of the most electrifying runs that I have ever seen. Da Bears hold Carolina's draft pick (locked in to be number 1). I assume they will trade that down and commit to Fields. If not, I am looking for a new team to be a fan of.

I have previously written a complementary review of the Mum Aroi out near Buddha Mt. We met up with a few of the Mrs' mates for a NY Eve lunch today. The compliments stand, but we tried a couple of items on the menu that were really good. I thought I would pass on a couple of recommendations. I tried their Salmon roll. It was delicious. A few side dishes. Again observe the quality of the Fried Rice with Crab. Kaou Phat Poo. A gorgeous looking Som Tom Salad Two Fried Fish dishes

Sorry for your loss. I hope you can begin to put the pain behind you and mostly remember the good times.

Offer and acceptance occurred with regard to the motorbike sale today. I am not foreseeing any problems with finishing off the paperwork, but if that were to occur I will reopen the sale notice.

Just to add a little background to the Xmas Dinner post. The husband of the other couple is French. He also is fairly deep into Stage-4 Alzhiemers. The doctors had predicted earlier this year that he was unlikely to make it to New Year's. Good chance he will prove them wrong it looks like. Probably not by a lot. I was amazed at how the taste of the food brought him out of his fog, especially the Belgium Chocolate Ice Cream. His Thai wife is about the nicest person I have met in my life. I initially met her at the VT2A pool and tried to hit on her. That was 7 years ago. She indignantly told me that she was married. OK, time to move on. A few months later, my now Thai wife and I were at the pool and I introduced the two ladies. Over the years they have become BFFs. Life remains a long song, I guess. All due accords to Ian Anderson.

Xmas Dinner We had another couple over for Xmas Dinner. I did the cooking. I did pretty well, if I do say so myself. Compliments were given and there were zero leftovers. The main entree was Roast Duck. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pan-roasted-duck-breast-recipe0-2013578?desktop-device=true&desktop-device=true& The link describes several side recipes. I did not make these, only the duck. One side was Garlic Roasted Potatoes https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/garlic-roasted-potatoes-recipe-1913067 A second side was Honey Butter Roasted Carrots. I should have made more of these. https://cafedelites.com/honey-garlic-butter-roasted-carrots/ All in all it was a nice table setting using the fancy dishes that are brought out maybe twice a year. Not shown is the Belgium Chocolate Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream, which was also well received. Also not shown was a tart cherry sauce, which was an accompanying condiment for the duck.