Although I might not be having adventures of the traveling kind, I am certainly having an adventure of the weather kind — we’re experiencing an arctic cold front that has brought the temperature forty degrees below normal for the area. I can’t say it’s a fun adventure, but it is an adventure, this trying to stay warm in the chill temperatures. Luckily, I don’t have many reasons to go out and brave the cold, though today I did have one of those reasons.
I was invited to lunch at a friend’s house, and that was an adventure of a different kind — a culinary adventure spanning the gamut of Asian countries. First we had an appetizer of vegetable rolls — various vegetables wrapped in edible rice paper and dipped in a wasabi sauce.
Next we had a deliciously spicy clam-in-the-shell stir fry. After that was grilled eel on a bed of rice topped with a special eel sauce. An interesting taste experience, that’s for sure! I can’t say eel will ever be one of my favorite foods, but I did enjoy it this once, mainly, I think, because it was so different from anything I’ve ever eaten. It wasn’t slimy, as you might expect, but it wasn’t flaky like fish, either, though it did have a mild fish flavor.
To drink, I had Thai cream soda, which is nothing like American cream soda. I don’t know what flavor it is, actually, perhaps similar to an Asian fruit, like rambutan or lychee. Which, incidentally, were served for dessert.
That’s plenty of adventuring for me for now. Tonight, we’re supposed to get snow and even colder temperatures. Tomorrow’s high will be zero. Or maybe 1 degree above zero if we’re lucky. I will have to go out to clear the snow from the ramp and the sidewalk in front of the house, but that will be it for me. The rest of the day I will snuggle under a comforter to read and drink hot tea and be grateful for the warmth inside my cozy little house.
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Bertram's Blog 
February 13, 2021 at 5:18 pm
Good appetizing and dietetic lunch. It seems to me Thai or vietnamien food. You would have eaten your fish with something naturally with rice or vegetables I presume. It is always a pleasure to eat in a friend house than in a restaurant. Except for a few exceptions. ( I have a little doubt with the usage of “ except for a few exceptions”). Bonne appétit ! for the next time.
February 13, 2021 at 5:22 pm
My Thai friend cooked the clams. I helped make the Thai vegetable rolls. Her husband grilled the eel Japanese style. It was quite a meal!
February 13, 2021 at 5:45 pm
Thank you it is an appetizing team work “deliciously spicy clam-in-the-shell stir fry” is missing in your photo ! It is okay. It is nice to have a blog of culinary. Like music and painting there is no limitations for culinary.
February 13, 2021 at 5:41 pm
Those veggie rolls look really good. Not so sure about eel, but I suppose I’d give it a go at least once.
You probably already know this… but as a word to the wise, be careful shoveling snow in the cold. I’m just back from a walk. It’s ~ -20f here at the moment. Breathing heavily in these temps can cause problems. I got a bit carried away with shoveling some years back, and the cold did something to my lungs that gave me a nasty cough for some weeks after. Like the sea, the cold deserves respect. FWIW
February 13, 2021 at 7:59 pm
Thanks for the suggestion. I won’t shovel all at once. Probably wouldn’t be able to, anyway, since we’re going to get 6 to 10 inches of snow, and the wind chill will be -35f. One good thing — if it takes a while to clear off the sidewalks, I don’t suppose it will matter. I doubt anyone will be out there walking.