Thai on the Inside?

So about 6 weeks ago, we attended the Kaysville farmers market where I tasted the most delicious Som Tom ever before. See earlier post HERE. There I met two wonderful Thai women who know how to cook! Ever since then, I have been making Som Tom every week from watching them make it.

Well, on Saturday night, I went to the Ogden Harvest Festival on 25th street where I found these same two wonderful Thai women selling their mouth-watering food!!! What a pleasant surprise!!!! The woman on the left is grandma (We call her "Mom". Her name is Gohnkamohn.) and on the right of me is Kanita (She goes by Gah, pronounced Gay).

They happily fed Bella and I what they had left before they closed, while we talked about everything. There seem to be no barriers to their hearts and I loved talking with them!!! They seemed more like old friends than new acquaintances. We talked about Mormons, being an asian minority in Utah, making friends, job searching, and being a mother.

What a fun reunion!!! At my departure, Gah invited me to her daughter's 15th birthday party the next night. OF COURSE I'LL GO, I told her!!! How fun!!! And of course, they didn' t let me leave without taking home their last few spring and egg rolls.

So we went...

And it was a blast.

Herbs and spices blended, then boiled for quality flavor in the dish called "Laab". Lots of mint, ginger, and onion. Good smells all over!

Hacking away at the pork for the Laab.

"Mom" chopping up the bamboo for one of the dishes.

Kanita and her 6 year old daughter Deana, and Deana with her friend.

YUMMY!

Green papaya and carrot...the beginning of making Som Tom!

Kanita showed me how they make Som Tom and I've been doing it all wrong!

Kanita snuck an extra red pepper in my Som Tom and my whole face was perspiring!!!! What a stinker! All the little Thai ladies thought it was hilarious and seemed impressed I kept eating it!

Pringle sandwich anyone? This was what Bella chose to eat and we totally didn't feel like fighting it.

This is called "Laab" and is wonderfully delicious!

Some kind of curry noodle with chicken and veggies...SOO delicious!

All of these wonderful Thai women made me feel so at home! I remember most of their names, like Ad and Took (pronounced Dook), Lue (pron. Lou), Kin (Pron. King), and "Mom" is the adorable short one hugging me. My favorite little old lady was Kin, wearing the aqua/blue color shirt, who talked about her "honey" in Ogden and other hilarious things. We felt a mutual adoration for each other at the end of the night. She's so cute!!

Dream was the birthday girl, and she was super friendly and sounded more american than the others. She only learned English 5 years ago, too!

This is Ad. She was hilarious and spoke English really well for having never been to school!

Bella played in Deanna's very girlie room, and loved playing with "Nong".

Ty was sassing me for taking his picture...and this tree was begging for a picture!

The connection with these wonderful people was instant and I am so grateful for their hospitality and love.

Ad told me she thought I was born into the wrong culture. I think it's true! Maybe I'm Thai on the inside?