and along came a spider — wishful thinking. Actually, flies. Lots of them.

The other night — as in, three nights ago, one of the evenings to the beautiful over-15-deg-C days — a fly tickled me. That was just odd. They usually don’t “bug” me. The next day, there seemed to be a slew of them around, big ol’ “houseflies”. And easy to swat. And then I realized — I was swatting them in pairs. Apparently being in “fliegre\anto” dilecto makes ’em slow.

It didn’t end there, though. By the end of the day there were flies all over the place. We don’t have window screens in this little burg in Germany, and no matter what I tried to convince them to LEAVE the house, they refused. No way was I going to leave the windows closed on such beautiful weather, either.

So began the long siege. I began to wonder what was lying in the floorboards, or in a window casing, that brought on the infestation of the flies. The kitty toilet was cleaned out. There was no rotting anything hiding anywhere that I could find.

Some friends came by to help me eat that marvelous Panang curry (previous blog post), and I broached the subject of the flies. “OH!” my colleague said “They’re terrible! Apparently there is some bird that keeps them under control but the weather was too warm so the flies came early and the birds have not arrived yet”.

Well. I could use a hungry spider right about now. Or a bat. Or do they only eat mosquitos?

Panang Curry

So the Caustic One really loves Thai food. The most favored are the salads and soups, but there are some other things she loves, including curries. Of the curries, Panang is the best. It is spicy, yet flavorful. The blend is not so sharp as to remove tastebuds or to burn the ears.

Thai food is one of those things that the Caustic one can actually cook, thanks to her friend Moi from way-back-when. Moi, from Thailand, took the time and energy to teach the Caustic One how to cook Thai food. Thai food is also NOT one of the things one finds in this little town in central Germany. So when that crave came along, that skill of being able to make it oneself really came in handy.

This one is pretty simple.

Coconut Milk
Panang Curry Paste
Lychees
Green Beans
Onions
Garlic
Rainer Pepper
Leek
Beef Strips (in this case, fake beef strips made from soy — non-GMO soy)

Simmer everything and serve over jasmine rice.

This pic is from the last time I made it …
Coconut Milk
Panang Curry Paste,
Green Beans
Mushrooms
Chicken
Onions
Garlic
Leek
Cranberries
Cherries
panangSuppe