Yesterday was Monkey-B's 9th birthday, and I had previously promised her all of my freetime and agreed to say "yes" to every request.
Obviously, Swimming First 🏊♂️
I have been sharing way too much swimming content lately, but that's basically how I spend any freetime I have with Monkey-B. On her birthday, she wanted to take a dip with Dad right after arriving home from school, and of course I said "yes."
Puri Pizza, Yes 🍕
Puris are a traditional fried south Asian flatbread, but I used puris to invent a snack many years ago that my family and I fell in love with and still enjoy to this day. I call the creation "puri pizzas," and it's one of Monkey-B's favorite foods, and her meal request on this day. I made 32 puri dough balls and began frying them like a robot in a factory 🤖, saying "bleep bloop blop" as I watched them inflate in the wok.
Monkey-B was ecstatic since our swim, and I aimed to keep her in this mood until bedtime. She loves playing with and creating her own food, so any meal that involves building is pure joy for her. There is no recipe for puri pizzas other than having puris on-hand and putting any ingredients on top of them that you enjoy, then eat.
After many years of research and development, I have scientifically determined that the best toppings are shredded carrots (the cheese), thin-sliced tomatoes, lime juice, salt, roasted sesame seeds, fresh thin-sliced shallots. pickled onions, and a hot sauce made from vinegar, green chilies, olive oil, and vinegar.
Puri pizzas are nothing like pizza other than being round, made from dough, and eventually going in your mouth, but I actually prefer them to our favorite vegan pizza, the clasic pizza marinara.
We shared some with the neighbors, and I made 32 because there is nothing worse than not getting fully satisfied and having the puris run out of your life. I highly recommend you make a puri pizza spread some day, they are out of this world, and an awesome pre-campfire food.
Dad, Make Fire 🔥 Yes
Monkey-B has actually been asking for a fire for many months, and I'm ashamed I've never felt I had enough time to enjoy life moments like this. Lately though I've been caring less and less about financial problems and focusing more on being the parent my daughters need. On this day I had already decided I wouldn't be posting from my blog, and that ASEAN Hive work can wait until after the kids are in bed.
I surprised Monkey-B with a mini firepit, and her joy charged my soul batteries to 100%. We summoned our inner caveman, caveteen, and cavechild, and entered the meditative state that fire seems to put most humans in. We spent hours just playing with sticks and staring at the fire, and I am thankful to have a daughter that values my time more than any gift I could buy from a store.
Starting a fire for pleasure is a weird thing in Cambodia, where 99% of all our fires are usually mounds of plastic bags and bottles, and full of carcinogenic dioxin fumes. The site was so rare that even neighbors came by to marvel at our pleasure fire, haha, silly foreigner.
Monkey-B eventually got bored and wanted to play with a piano app on her iPad, and with this being a 9th birthday, I welcomed a mix of tech and primal. After putting Monkey-B to bed, I was so drained that I couldn't stay awake to make a blog and ASEAN Hive curation post, so I drained enough voting power to cover 6 hours of sleep and called it a night.
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Happy birday! Pizza is not pizza without that mouth watering cheese. I don't know how near a coconut with you or how rare the commodities in Cambodia. If I didn't mentioned one of my ex-girlfriend, her brother was a vegan chef, he literally made cheese out of coconut extract 🤪 and it's fawesome tastier than the milk cheese imo.
Campfire is alright, with that setup, I see myself grilling corn stalk, painting it with oil and dusting curry powder after grilling 🤣 don't ask me how, that few years of my semi vegan life was adventurous enough with various kind of meatless meal, and yet I had to put on 20 pounds before she ditch me.
Oh and broccoli, mushrooms, carrot cubes, capsicums, with a cube of butter(margarine in your case), wrapped with foil paper and grilled. It's a perfect salmon replacement!
We do some vegan cheese-ish things from time to time, some of them I like, some not so much. A really interesting product is nutritional yeast, which is basically our umami powder, it has a bit soy sauce qualities and a bit f parmesan cheese type flavors too, and we add it to many things. Combined with cashews and blended with coconut oil, it makes something very similar to liquid nacho cheese.
Grilled corn is popular here, but the Cambodians prefer to coat them with sweet coconut milk and green onions, some very strange flavors that I think don't belong together. I prefer just a coating of good oil and a sprinkle of salt before eating. This reminds me, I grew up in the land of corn actually am from a popcorn farm myself, and just like you can find a rice cooker or pressure cooker in nearly every Asian home, you can find these things in almost every Indiana home.
As a kid, I would put one on each end, and then you could eat your corn when it's too hot to handle, burning only the inside of your mouth, but not your precious hands. Every house has the exact same style, skewers shaped like corn to help you eat corn.
That's one forking good looking corn fork!
happy 9th birthday monkey-B
May you always be healthy and given a long life by the almighty God,
having a father like you my best friend @justinparke must be very coveted by all children, because you really think about time together with them, because it is really needed by a child, especially for now our assistance from a father is needed,
it is clear from the expression on monkey-B's face that he is very happy because the bonfire he has longed for today has been lit for his birthday,
and I noticed your beard and mustache are very thick and thick,
whether that long mustache and thick beard do not interfere when you enjoy something food.??as night fell the light from the bonfire illuminates all around you who are relaxing near the fire, there you can see @sreypov is very cold, maybe that's why he is sitting so close to the fire,
Haha, I had to trim my whiskers the other day because soup was getting difficult 😉.
As always, thank you for your considerate and kind words. I feel lucky to have such a loving daughter, and it also good that we are buddies and enjoy many of the same activities. I hope this birthday was a very memorable one for her.
Happy Birthday Monkey B!!! 😊
Fire has been my wonderful toy when I was a kid. The adults are always running to stop us once they noticed that we're playing with fire. 😁 I also don't know but even now, fire is mesmerizing to look night specially at night.
Here is a !1UP gift from the Cartel family.
Yes, and it's also one of the few natural toys that modern kids are impressed by. Give thanks for the support my friend.
Happy birthday monkey b😊 You and your family are always wonderful. I haven't been following my friends' stories for the past month. But soon I will start reading more stories of my friends if I have more free time.
Thank you for the birthday wishes, I will tell Monkey. I too sometimes get behind on engagement, but that is life, no problem, I understand.
It's a great moment of birthday celebration. Such a wonderful gift of surprise.
Pizza looks so yummy! 😋Happy happy birthday Monkey-B! 🎂🎉 You are so blessed having a father like sir @justinparke!
Aww, thank you, I feel lucky to have such a loving daughter. I hope this one was a memorable birthday for her.
Yeah a loving daughter with a loving father. For sure that was her memorable birthday celebration. 🤗
Happy birthday, friend, I hope you are happy and given a healthy body and mind so that you can carry out activities or be able to work in posts or in your daily work, friends. I only pray to you that I can give and I say.
Thank you for the encouraging words, Hive friends sure bring me a lot of joy and positivity.
She looks so cute..Happy birthday to you cutie..
But I am not comfortable with that name " Monkey-B "..It sounds weird to me...why is she called that name?? Cutie B is a better name...lol..
Monkey-B, haha, yes it is a weird name but we are a strange family. When Sakana was young, she used to enjoy climbing me like a tree on resting on top of my shoulders, and this caused me to call her "Monkey," and this later changed to Monkey-B to give her name a little hip-hop flair 😁.
HBD monkey-B, with increasing age, hopefully they will be more successful and grow older, more importantly, they can be devoted to both parents.
Yes, that's right, haha, and I hope Monkey-B will begin to post a little more often.
Sounds like you did a great job making sure that Monkey B's birthday was extra special! The Puri Pizzas sound really yummy, and the fire looks so cozy! 😊
The best kinds of foods are the accidental gems that turn into family recipes. The puri pizza may not be an accurate name, but they are delicious regardless. Thanks for stopping by with your usual kind words.
Wow Happy birthday Monkey-B! I can see that she's having fun celebrating with daddy. I'm always happy whenever I read blogs like this. Thanks for sharing.☺️
Thank you my friend, I am glad we enjoy so many similar activities together, I am a lucky dad.
You're welcome☺️
Wish You many many happy Birthday Dear Champ. God bless you dear. You will achieve big success in your life.
Thanks for stopping by, I will relay your birthday wishes to her 🙏.
Happy Birthday Monkey B!!! It looks like such a wonderful time. Puri, and ambient fire. This is all I could ask for.
I know "cold" is relative, but at night I wear fleece pajamas and sleep under three layers of sheets and blankets while still shivering myself to sleep. I have no idea what the temps are here because there are no scientific measurements taken anywhere near us, but some day I'd like to buy an outdoor thermometer just to know. It's probably low 60s F, but to us that's cold, so the nightly fires are a welcome addition. 🙏🙏🙏
Happy birthday Monkey-B. I can tell from her smile she had a good one, did the things she had wanted plus your undivided attention.
She knows we adults are always busy, so a day of undivided attention was a gift she was more than happy to receive.
Happy Birthday, more blessings to come and may you grow being a discipline and God-fearing child
Thank you for the birthday wishes my friend.
Sounds like the most precious of gifts without a doubt. Litte ones are getting big...
Monkey-s now 9, another year and she'll officially be pre-teen status, oh my 🤐.
I would say everything before ten is pre-teen and 9 is closest ;^)
Before you know it, they are grown up. It's crazy how time flies. I witness that with my niece and nephew(s) too, who are 6, 8 and 9.
Belated happy birthday to dear monkey B! She no doubt had a blast. ❤️
I hope there were some good memories made, and I'm lucky that my kids don't expect expensive gifts, and instead enjoy time together and special foods.
🙏🙏🙏
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@bee-curator, @vyb-curator, @pob-curator, @neoxag-curator
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Belated happy birthday Monkey-B🎂
🙏🙏🙏
Belated Happy Birthday Monkey-B!
🙏🙏🙏
Belated Happy Birthday @sakana !🎂
She hasn't been active on Hive lately, but I'll be sure to relay the message 🙏🙏🙏.
It was a nice day.
Nothing better than family fun.
I gifted $PIZZA slices here:
(16/20) @curation-cartel tipped @justinparke (x1)
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