A picture book!

You know in the movies where someone walks into a room or turns their head to see something and it becomes slow motion and looks as though the heavens have opened up to shine a light on the most beautiful thing they have laid their eyes on and they have a look of sheer excitement on their face? That happened to me yesterday....

It all started because two nights ago I drank some expired milk (which passed my smell test, I'll have you know) which likely what made me feel ill (perhaps I need to modify my test). I ended up awake for a good portion of the night, slept a bit in the morning, but woke up still not feeling very well. My entire torso felt like it was in turmoil, so I stayed home from work. I'm generally not one to laze around when I'm not feeling well. I always think that getting out and doing something will make you feel better. I suppose I can now legally call that the "Dr. Morash theory of healing". So, according to my theory, I decided to go for a walk around town and see if I could find a cheap backpack because my duffel bag was not working out on my bike. Luckily for me, it was one of those rare sunny days, and I just made it out to enjoy the last bit of sun.

I walked almost all the way to my gym because I had passed by a store there that I was sure would have them, and sure enough they did. On my way home I decided to go the long way around and take a trip through the "ethnic" part of town and check out the shops. I came across some nice flower shops

 

Then I found exactly what I was looking for, and suddenly my stomach issues seemed far away.

Asian Shop:

Then, right next door, Indian/Sri Lankan Halal Shop:

I went into the Asian shop first and browsed around. It was a lot larger than it appeared from outside and it had every Asian ingredient that I could think of. Naturally, I picked up a few standard items...

1) A wok
2) Tamarind paste
3) Red curry paste
4) A large bag of whole dried red chilies

Then I went next door to the halal shop. Again larger than I anticipated with all of the standard items one would normally find. Then.... I saw a little door.... barely high enough for me to walk through standing up straight... and as I walked through the door I had my movie moment...

The whole room was spices and rice and sambols and pastes, oh my! I almost passed out! I don't know how long I was in there... I lost track of time because my mind was focused on the "hot" vs "very hot" chili powder, the vanilla beans, the cardamoms, the turmeric, the cumin, the.... I'll stop, because if I don't stop now I'll list them all which may lead to excessive drooling and potential over stimulation induced tears.

I checked out the rest of the store in anticipation of when I start to really get cooking. They have a nice butcher in the back of the store, and loads of other great stuff, including this beautiful piece of work

I have had chili chocolate before but not with lime. This is a whole new experience. Its like chocolate with the flavours of Thailand. It's soooooo good. I'm eating it right now. First comes chocolate, then comes lime, then comes chili...in the baby carriage? This rhyme doesn't seem to work as well as the original... let me try again... First come chocolate, then comes lime, then comes chili in it's good time. It's so sweet, it's so sour, it's so spicy I need a shower. Well not really, it's not that hot, but it's noticeable and it's delicious.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm..........