Queen Mother of the Western Flies
"Why am I eating YOU?" asked the colossal squid upon being questioned by his inquisitive dinner of chunky Maine fisherman. "Well human, why do YOU catch fish, that moments before, were happily feasting on the bloated remains of drowned sailors?"
- Excerpt from Hell and Hopefully High Seas: A Memoir
Like an unfolding sensory drama, the sophisticated flavours of which are totally lost upon those who had suffered to become part of it, the tantalising aroma of hot sizzling peanut oil meeting citrusy slices of galangal root and sultry crushed bulbs of lemongrass emanates from the fiery wok. Casually stirring these seductively hissing ingredients, I drop delicate sticks of Ceylonese cinnamon, an intoxicating handful of star anise and a chaser of pounded green
