Thai basil drives me crazy. It's difficult to find in a regular supermarket and impossible to grow. (My Italian basil grows like a weed indoors, in a crummy plastic pot.)

Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, has a somewhat different cuisine from the rest of Thailand, partly because it’s close to Myanmar, China, and Laos…

I’m a big fan of fast food. No, not the crap you buy from a drive-through. Not even those salt bombs you pick up at the supermarket because you are pressed for time. 

This is a simple one-pot dish with Vietnamese flavors. A clay pot is a great tool for making this but you can also use a Dutch oven or heavy sauce pan.

There’s generally not much beef in Vietnamese diets but this recipe is a classic. And it’s simple to make.

Szechuan Chicken is tasty and quick to prepare. A little chopping, a quick stir fry, and it’s ready to eat. Serve it with some steamed Jasmine rice.

There are a zillion Chinese stir-fries. I've been trying to perfect a few favorites for weekday meals.