Of Facebook and a Thai Recipe

I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. I love how it has allowed me to be connected with many friends that I’ve lost touch with over the years. It’s amazing how many old high school/college friends I’ve come to know again just from looking up different connections. And Facebook also allows me to keep up with all these friends via their status bars. In a time when we barely have time to shoot emails to each other, this little status updates have helped me to find out which friends are having children, which friends are travelling, which ones have just broken up with their significant others or gotten engaged. It’s amazing how much we can know from that little status bar!

But then again, do I really need to know what is going on with everyone? And do I need to get “cyber hugged” and gifted dimsum, or flowers, or good morning wishes or any other “cyber” thing in the one million and one applications that can be found on Facebook? And then, there are all these polls—which city/country/continent should you live on, what superhero are you, what does your color say about you, etc. (many of which are surprisingly accurate, but not so grammatically).

And then there are causes. The (Lil) Green Patch that donates money to save the rainforest (has anyone really confirmed this?), the charities that we can support (I support one called LSV-an orphanage in China that takes in handicapped children). Though a great way to showcase some charities, others are more likely time-wasters.

And the games on Facebook! Like quick trends, some start off really fun and after a while, they get tedious or lose their following. And again, a real time-waster as well as something that will cause your eyes to strain too much and your wrists to get carpal tunnel. I speak from experience. Yes, I’m as addicted as most of you out there to these games. Every so often I tell myself that I’m only going to play one game…yeah, you see where I’m going already right? WHO plays only ONE GAME?!?! C’mon, you know who you are…just for five minutes, you say and the next thing you know, it’s a whole hour that has gone by. Time wasting device at its greatest.

And what do you do when you receive a note in your email saying so-and-so wants to befriend you and you don’t even know who on earth they are? Or even worse, you know who they are but you don’t really care to know them that well and indecision grips you…should you not dis them and accept them as a friend and then they will know everything about you and what is happening in your life OR should you ignore them and hope they have forgotten that they asked to be your friend?

I’ve done both, and now I have too many friends to know what to do with. It makes it hard to be really honest in my status bar so most times I end up talking about what I cooked that day (safe, shouldn’t offend anyone). And I don’t really know how I feel either about those friends that have befriended me and then somehow didn’t think I was worthy and defriended me. Yup, Facebook doesn’t tell you when that happens, but you find out eventually. Ah well…do unto others…(yup, done that too). Sorry if that was you and you’re reading this.

So, why am I going on about Facebook and what does this have to do with House of Annie? Nothing I guess, except this is a blog after all and I have the right to talk about something non-food related right? To make it relevant, I will say that I won’t give up Facebook because of the fact that I can indeed get connected with people I haven’t been in touch with for a while. Case in point, I just reconnected with another old friend from my days in the graduate dorm in Hawaii and I couldn’t be happier. The reconnection helped me to remember the good times we shared in the kitchen and how she shared this Thai dish with me.

So here it is, Nat’s Pumpkin with Egg and Green Onion recipe. It’s a simple homey recipe which calls for kabocha squash (I’m sure butternut will work just as well). Like most Thai dishes, it has that interplay of sweet, salty and savory working. Unlike most Thai dishes, this one doesn’t have any heat to it (which isn’t to say you can’t go ahead and add some).

Pumpkin with Egg and Green Onion

Ingredients
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
half a kabocha squash (or other similar squash or pumpkin), cut into 1 inch cubes
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar, or more to taste
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp fishsauce, or more to taste
3-4 green onions, cut into 1 1/2 inch length pieces

Method
1. In a frying pan, heat up vegetable oil over medium heat. Add garlic and lightly brown for a minute.
2. Add kabocha squash to pan and add water. Partially cover pan and cook till squash is just tender.
3. Add sugar to dish and mix it in.
4. Add in beaten eggs and a little bit more water if it looks like it’s too dry.
5. Season with fishsauce and taste. The pumpkin should have absorbed the flavors of the sugar and fishsauce nicely and the eggs should have a nice savory flavor.
6. Add in green onions and allow to wilt.

Serve over rice and enjoy!

(Sorry, no pics. Next time I make it, I’ll put the pics up.)

Cheers, Annie.

So…Facebook…are you glad for it or mad at its amazing ability to suck up all your time? Share your stories with us!

19 thoughts on “Of Facebook and a Thai Recipe”

  1. >People rave about Facebook. I too signed up but who has time to read all your friends' comments and pictures everyday about everything? I like my privacy and prefer dealing with my friends on a one to one basis.

  2. >Your Facebook story made me smile. I follow some friends quite a bit, others I catch up on once in a blue moon. I have no time to play the games or trade little dealies back and forth. I know folks are probably upset with me because I didn't respond to their "being kidnaped" whatevers but honestly, I just don't have the time!

  3. >I hear ya about Facebook. I tell myself I'm just going on it to answer the five messages in my inbox. Next thing you know, half an hour has passed, after I've accepted virtual cupcakes from friends, found out what type of shoe I would be if I were one, and become a "fan'' of way too many organizations. Facebook is definitely a lot of fun, and a good way to keep in touch with people. But is best to limit the amount of time you spend on it OR else you'll find yourself getting little else done.

  4. >I check FB 2 or 3 times a week, usually before I goto bed or when I'm having a quick meal. I prefer to find out what is happening in chunks of information, as opposed to some of my FB addict friends who are on it all day!

  5. >And, here I thought I was wasting way too much time reading blogs and emailing. I get enough forwards to delete in a day as things are, so who needs more silly input?

  6. >Funny, but so true about Facebook. I use my husband's one to link up with friends, that way people who knew me in high school don't search me out (unless I look for them.) My husband and I also decided to have fewer friends but just the real ones. I also have the blog facebook, but I am not real good and keeping up with it.

    And, this squash with egg is really interesting. Would never have thought of it.

  7. >I am currently using the Embassy Suites free internet kiosk. They block all access to FB. I guess I'll have to keep all my second-by-second vacation updates until I return. By then, I'll forget everything, so I'll end up writing nothing.

  8. >I am bad at FB. I only open it once a month if I remember. I never search any of my old friends. I am still happy with just blogging. Gather my thoughts for few days, and start writing about it.

  9. >Totally with you on Facebook. It's fun but the send-your-friend-a-cupcake thing and all their other apps can get crazy really quickly. I will admit, however, a slight addiction to Bejeweled Blitz.

  10. >I am the worst Facebook friend in the world. Don't friend me I am only likely to send you the wrong little fishy for your pond, or whatever the heck it's for….GREG

  11. >I only accept the people I know in FB as friend not "ah chu,ah kow"(tom dick and harry) no offense but who got time to read all the messages that have nothing to do with me…beside that I never play the games,maybe I think I'm so "old" not cool!! lol!

  12. >hahaha i'm addicted to facebook, i dont play the games, but i just like to refresh the page and see what the others have posted. lol

  13. >I'm on Facebook all the time, and I tell my friends who are not so into it … don't feel guilty, you can use it as much or as little as you want. No one cares, and if they do, then they definitely have too much time of their hands. I don't friend everyone who contacts me, and I have defriended people and have been defriended. It's all okay. 🙂

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