Mey-Yii survives at home on a diet of white rice and grilled meats mostly because these are the easiest foods her grandma can prepare.
Tomato Curry With Fried Okra 🍛
Our new place has terrible lighting, so I didn't even try to take artsy photos of this meal, and besides I already shared the recipe on Hive a few years ago. Our new family friend Mey-Yii hasn't been blessed with a variety of foods in her life, and because of the meat and rice diet her grandma lives on, Mey-Yii views vegetables with a suspicious eye.
As you can see in the thumbnail, obviously the meal was a hit with this sweet little girl. When she saw me cutting the okra, I asked her if she'd eat it with us, and she said no, but then changed her mind after the okra was dipped in besan and spices, then deep-fried. I saw her nibbling on the fried okra before I got the tomato curry on the table, and as a cook, this is the most rewarding gift of all.
The Morning Pre-Commute Rituals 🪞
There are mornings when Mey-Yii arrives before we've woken up, and I have to assume these are the days when she either missed dinner the night before and/or had no breakfast, but most often the latter. If my daughters are at peace with each other, Srey-Yuu will help Monkey-B with her hair in the mornings.
Monkey-B watches big sister with skeptic satisfaction, and Srey-Yuu works as fast as possible to get the unpleasant task over as soon as possible. The mutual love is so thick that you could cut it with a knife.
Another Meal, Another Mey-Yii Appearance 🍜
On this morning Mey-Yii was hungry so we gave her a bowl of mushroom noodles before piling in the tuk-tuk. It was a pleasant surprise for her, and I'm learning to read her face quite easily because she won't always say when she's hungry or not feeling well.
A Full Circle ♻️
I've been parking on abandoned land and setting up a mobile office in my tuk-tuk while the girls are in school. This move saves me $2.50 a day in diesel, and even though it's extremely uncomfortable, it's the smart decision. I only have to make the roundtrip once like this, but 4 hours crammed in the tuk-tuk trying to Hive in contorted positions is not enjoyable. Anyhow, I bring the girls home and Mey-Yii stays until dark, then we repeat the process.
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OMG, tugs on the heart strings! First, the one precious daughter fixing the other's hair is just warm & fuzzy & sweet! 😊 Then, the "third daughter" being marginalized for so long that she "won't always say when she's hungry or not feeling well." 😢 The girls look like they're enjoying their tasty mushroom noodle breakfast! 💜
Okra is wonderful! So glad you have it there and have introduced Mey-Yii to it! I like okra steamed with onion, lightly breaded in cornmeal & fried, baked with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, & pepper, or even pickled! It's perfect for thickening stews like gumbo, and pairs so beautifully with tomato in curries, succotash, or your idea of a curry! Yum! 😋 It's not fun to harvest from the garden, though... 😬 ...but worth it in the end!
Wow, a mobile office — what a concept! I've often wondered what kind of Internet connection you had over there, and it sounds like you might be 'hotspotting' your phone and connecting your computer to the WiFi signal. That's my Internet, too, connecting my laptop to my phone's hotspot signal! It's not as fast as broadband, of course, but a heckuva lot cheaper, and I have truly unlimited data — no cap! — with my carrier (T-Mobile), which is fabulous. I sometimes see a teeny slowdown during peak periods, but that's to be expected. I hope the mobile-office setup continues to work for you!
Three lovely girls indeed, and when it comes to Mey-Yii, I have to think to way back when I met Srey-Yuu and Monkey-B, and how I interacted with them the first few years. Mey-Yii is a precious soul, and I can sense she has a strong will, so with some positive influence she's sure to flourish.
I was so surprised she was disgusted by the sight of okra, then gladly munched on it after being prepared. Yes, I'm hotspottting when away from home, and kind of technically hotspotting at home too, because our only internet comes from a 4G SIM modem. The modem performs better than a phone hotspot, and we can all share it without destroying the batteries of our phones, but unfortunately no company in Cambodia offers an unlimited data plan yet. 3Speak is a long forgotten friend nowadays, and basically any kind of video content. We're a podcast family until the day comes when an internet data cable gets strung along the highway in front of us.
Oh wow! I'm glad that you are letting her eat nutritious food. I remember that my grandma used to make a drink out of the okra.
It's cool that you were able to make a mobile office that would make you save, but don't forget to stand up and stretch from time to time to avoid some pain.
Hope that you are having a great week.
!PIZZA
Interesting! I have never heard of a drink made from okra. It's so versatile!
I think she used to make Okra Water, I remember she would soak them overnight
When I saw your comment, I thought the same, an okra drink? Very interesting, and that could definitely be part of a post, grandma's legendary okra drink 😉.
Haha, it's usually so hot that I drink so much water and I find myself taking a pee break every 15-20 minutes, so those are good opportunities for stretching and getting rid of the back pain.
wOW.. Your office sounds like an adventure.. haha.. I am sure that after some while it will slowly have a coffee machine and other stuff.. It's great to read a post about daily routine with pictures.. Mei Yii is quite fortunate that you've taken care of her ... =) I hope one day she studies well to go and get a good job and enjoy life as it should be..
As most things go, a new routine is difficult to adjust to, but already I find myself more productive in the tuk-tuk because I can work unimpeded for many hours, something that never happens at home. The only problem is the heat and rain, so I still need to find the perfect land with a tall tree to park under.
I do hope Mey-Yii has a brighter future because of her time with us, and I also hope to always keep in touch with her no matter where she goes. I 'd really like to see what kind of an adult she will become and what kind of work she will do.
God sends her few people with beautiful souls.
Haha, thanks, but I think she is a beautiful soul sent to us 😁.
Okra is one of those things that I don't think about a great deal. It ended up on my plate as part of a "mixed vegetables" from a dinner I ordered and it had been so long since I had any of it I forgot what it was. I instantly enjoyed it and wanted more.
I hated it as a kid, especially the way my family made it, always sticky and stringy, not appealing to a young kid. The first time I had breaded and fried okra though, well that is an entirely different love story.
On my Airbnb trip, I want to live in your cabin for 1 full day. And you'll have to send me to school together 🤣
We would have some epic adventures I'm sure, and if you ever come I am sure we can stuff you and your family in the tuk-tuk with ours, and if necessary strap excess children to the roof 😂.
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