She spots some obscure vegetable in Makro (looks like a cross between a lettuce and a cabbage), whoops with delight and buys half a sackful (100 baht only though). As soon as she gets home, sack on back terrace, vegies emptied onto sack, closes door and apparently forgets about them. I should point out it was a stinking hot day and the back terrace faces west - hot, hot, hot!
Next morning, opens door, tut tuts 'cos trusty hound dog had rummaged around in vegies overnight. Not to worry, collects all the scattered vegies up and removes sack and vegies to the top of a hedge out of the way of said hound. Another day passes.
More activity the next day - there she is sitting on kitchen floor chopping vegies up. Very bad smell, so there she next is sitting outside the house chopping veggies up.
Trip to market - comes back with quantities of what looks like some sort of evil looking black fungus. Boils them up in large pot for very long period. Whether veggies were also boiled I don't know - I don't think so though.
Next boiled fungus and veggies are married in a large plastic bag, which is then put in another large pot and put outside on the eastern side of the house - feng shui?
Now all this time I've been trying to get the lovely TGF to explain what on earth she was doing, but her English wasn't up to the task and my Thai is utterly deficient. All she did tell me was the pot needed another week out in the sun before its contents could be considered finished.
Now my question is does anyone know what she is concocting - exotic delicacy, herbal potion, hooch, aphrodisiac, or what?
No 
It could indeed be something like that though. Pete 
Still I know the interloper has a good stash of fine wine which will be raided at some point!