Princess cooks up a treat - from her diary
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn prepared spinach-cheese toast yesterday for visitors to Book Expo Thailand 2006.
The dish was based on one of about a dozen recipes from the Princess and her grandmother, which have been published in a newly released diary titled "Krua Sa Pathum" (The Kitchen of Sa Pathum Palace).The Princess went on to sell copies of the 2007 diary, with proceeds going to flood victims via the Thai Red Cross Society. "I have written in the diary that if the dish is not delicious, it's the cook's fault, not mine," the Princess joked while cooking one of her dishes, which she called "Ya Pok Hua Dek", because it was a trick to get children to eat vegetables. It also offered protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, minerals and fibres. In this recipe, the boiled spinach is mixed with fresh condensed milk, butter, salt and pepper to produce a nice paste for the toast. The diary contains photos of the late Princess Sri Nagarindra, the Princess Mother, and Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn while cooking in the Sa Pathum Palace - plus their hand-written instructions for 12 recipes. Published by the Queen Savang Vadhana Foundation, each diary costs Bt299. Queen Savang Vadhana was the daughter of King Mongkut (Rama IV) and was Queen Sri Savarindhira to King Rama V. HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has resided in the Sa Pathum Palace, where her grandmother the Princess Mother had taken up residence. The Book Expo kicked off yesterday at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre with the Princess chairing the opening ceremony. It runs till October 29. After that, she browsed through an exhibition about His Majesty's bid to encourage Thais to read more books. The display featured nine mock-up books, each with a speech by His Majesty about reading, education and books. The "Phor Son Arn" book, which contains His Majesty's speech about reading, education and books, was also on sale for Bt99 each at the Expo. The Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand has printed 20,000 volumes to celebrate the 60th anniversary of His Majesty's Accession to the Throne. The association's president Thanachai Santichaikul said net proceeds from sales of the book would be presented to His Majesty for use as he deems appropriate. The Princess said libraries should contain a variety of books for readers from a very young age to around 100 years old. She also suggested that librarians receive training on how to select good-quality books. Volumes about vocational skills and how to produce handicrafts should be made available to ensure underprivileged children could use them to earn extra income. The Nation
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