I get a cup of hot coffee and a piece of cake
The roads are not so bad today, but in the rainy season it can be quite difficult,” said Glennis Setabandhu as we waited for a battered truck to slowly make its way down the steep boulder-strewn road. “Sometimes their trucks can't make it all the way and guests have to hike down. Once they get here, I get a cup of hot coffee and a piece of cake in them and all is well."
At just about 5ft tall, slightly stooped with age, dressed in a long navy skirt with a flowered cardigan, 81-year-old, Australian-born Setabandhu, or Pa Glen as she’s known locally (pa being Thai for ‘auntie’), is not the type of person you’d expect to find running a guesthouse deep in the wild mountain forests around Pilok in western Thailand. But she has been for almost 30 years.
The entrance to Setabandhu’s guesthouse displays stickers, banners and T-shirts of the off-road driving clubs who have stopped here over the years. Inside, a small glass chandelier hangs over dining tables set with lace doilies. The walls are hung with old photos of Setabandhu’s family posed in their best finery, as well as snapshots of her son Narin, her grandchildren and the numerous visitors she’s welcomed over the years.
Wondering how much your travel contributes to climate change?
There are groups of scientists and members of the public who have decided to give up flying or who fly less. Virtual meetings, holidaying in local destinations or using trains instead of planes all are ways to cut down.
Wondering how much your travel contributes to climate change? Measure your carbon emissions in this calculator by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
7. Should I be shopping differently?
Most likely. That’s because everything we buy has a carbon footprint, either in the way it is produced or in how it is transported.
For instance, the clothing sector represents around 3% of the world’s global production emissions of CO2, mostly because of the use of energy to produce attire. The hectic pace of fast fashion contributes to this figure as clothes are discarded or fall apart after short periods.
600g/1lb 5oz calf’s liver, trimmed and any thin membrane removed
Ingredients
For the Parmesan polenta
115g/4oz polenta
40g/1½oz unsalted butter
75g/2¾oz Parmesan, finely grated
salt
For the liver
600g/1lb 5oz calf’s liver, trimmed and any thin membrane removed, cut lengthways into slices
olive oil, for frying
450g/1lb small onions, thinly sliced
30g/1oz unsalted butter
4 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Bring 900ml/1½ pint water to the boil in a large saucepan. Pour in the polenta in a slow, steady stream, stirring or whisking all the time. Bring to a simmer and leave to cook gently, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes until cooked. Add the butter, Parmesan and a little salt and mix in.
Meanwhile, cut the liver slices across at a slight angle into short strips, about 2.5cm/1in wide.
Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until they are soft and deep golden-brown. Put in a bowl and keep warm.
Add 1½ teaspoons of the oil to the pan and heat over a high heat. When the oil is sizzling hot, add a quarter of the liver, season with salt and pepper and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until lightly browned. Tip onto a plate and repeat three times with the remaining liver.
Return all the liver to the pan with the onions and any juices from the plate and toss over a high heat for another 30 seconds. Spoon on to a warm plate.
Add the butter to the pan and scrape up any browned bits from the base. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped parsley. Spoon over the liver and onions.
To serve, put the polenta on warmed plates and spoon some liver and buttery juices on top.