Vietnamese Beef Pho

Pho'd out yet?

Culinary peer pressure happens.
Pho'realz.

I saw the rush of Vietnamese Beef/Chicken Pho recipes
from the Daring Cooks
being published all ova the place.
Like a little wannabe I ran to the store like a dog looking for a bone.

My Pho is a little less traditional because ...

• I live in a small town.

• Things like Thai Basil and good fish sauce well,
• that makes me laugh, I was lucky to find star anise.
  

• I'm not a picky eater but I like what I like.

Which may make this very "unpho".


However...

It tastes damn good.


Let me give you the link to the
original recipe I found over on Jaden's page
"Steamy Kitchen"
[yeh click that]

Actually I found 23456574556 recipes.
Hers is based on a cookbook I happen to love.

I know.
How lazy am I...
She does all the work of
laying out the recipe and I say here click the link.
Hey, I'm all about credit where credit is due
not a copy and paste cheat.
She's well worth the click and has a cookbook
recently published you can find it on Amazon
yeh click that too.

I made a few changes.
I went to the grocery store and the guy
tells me his flank steak is frozen.
I opt for another cut and he says well,
I can't use the meat slicer because I'd
have to sterilize it we're slicing hams for people
right now. They only have one? okay okay I'll be nice.

[charring vegetables for stock is new for me. i like it ]

I ended up running to a butcher who operates out
of a gas station. Really. True story.
His flank is frozen too.
BUT he'll thinly slice whatever I want.
Instantly I like him.
Shrugging my shoulders I say what the hell, I'll have the filet mignon.
That's right people. FILET MIGNON.
I figure what it cost me for that was equal to a pig n jig. : )
OMG, in the pho, it was melt in your mouth.

[fennel, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, mr. coriander was late for the party]

I used lo mien noodles.
I used spinach instead of basil.
Green onions instead of white.
Purple instead of yellow.
Green peppers and mushrooms because I wanted to.
I let my stock sit over night,
in the frig after simmering.
Which made it easy to skim off the fat.
Come to think of it wouldn't the scum
stick to the fat? Making for easy removal of scum?
Call that an afterthought, more like an after question.
Charring, not Charo. I used the broiler.
Top shelf and door semi open.
Lime is good, I liked lemon best.

Maybe my dish is more like a Japanese Hotpot.
Honestly I'd eat this every night
with a basic beef broth and a little sesame oil.

I love winter I do.
But I miss the warm summer light for photographs.

KAT! Yes you! C'mere.
Don't look at the beef.
Don't look up.
Look down.
Do you see????
I know. Right?!

You can make this.
Vegetable broth baby.

It's a cold rainy night.
Dancing with the Stars is on tonight,
paying tribute to Michael Jackson.
I have a bowl of nice warm soup.
And to think I spent the last month
eating lean cuisines. What was I thinking?
I dunno I was child free and didn't have to cook.
Don't say I it. I already know.
My frig is filled with vegetables.
I promise.

If only someone would bring me
an ice cream bar and a kiss...

it'd be a perfect night. : )


















One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Ramblings...

It's funny how lessons remain ever present.
I'm watching what I say to someone at work,
and well the same words flow to personal life.

This week its about trust and respect.
We show it in action.
Its the only way.
Words are too damn easy.

And I think to myself let my actions always
reflect my heart, where it counts the most.

It's been an interesting Fall.
Snow before the leaves are done falling from the trees.
Reminded me to not waste a second.

I'm not a fan of getting sick.
But I don't mind it.
I know when I need to slow down.
So does my body.

In two weeks I have another show
up at the Coho, up on the north shore.
She wants food.
Leave it to me to come up
with a new approach at the last minute.
I'll be hustling to get this done.

Food shots are great, but c'mon,
who's going to buy a fabulously photographed
plate of calamari for their kitchen wall. right?

Mostly I just want to wish all of you a
wonderfully peaceful Sunday....













One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

On the Subject of Being...

You are not what happens;
you are the space in which it happens.
You are not your thoughts; they come and go.
You are the vastness in which these thoughts appear and disappear
because underneath all your thinking there is the stillness of pure being,...
pure consciousness, the timeless dimension of yourself.

Eckhart Tolle

















One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

On the Subject of Giving...

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.
~Mother Teresa

















One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.