Bò lá lốt : Grilled Beef Wrapped in Betel Leaf

December 27, 2016.Reading time 5 minutes.

Đồ ăn nhậu is Vietnamese for ‘drinking food’ or snacks/appetizers. Think of this like tasty small plates to share and enjoy all the flavors. Thịt bò nướng lá lốt or bò lá lốt is one of my favorites but there are variations of flavors. The basis is beef (thịt bò), variations of spices, fish sauce (nước mấm) and wrapped in […]

Best Irish Soda Bread: Beer Me the Recipe!

December 26, 2016.Reading time 2 minutes.

I made my first loaves of Irish soda beer bread in college in the tiny dorm kitchen of the hallowed Knowles Hall (Go Griz!), Pretty sure it was with a can a PBR too. To this day I still enjoy fresh warm beer bread but now I love it even more (and so does the reluctant […]

Mama Truong’s Fish Sauce: Nước mắm recipe

December 26, 2016.Reading time 6 minutes.

Nước mắm (fish sauce) or more officially Nước mắm pha (mixed fish sauce or fish sauce ‘vinegarette’), although never really referred to as such, is THE cornerstone dipping sauce to Vietnamese cuisine. This simple yet complex sauce is the marker by which I judge Vietnamese restaurants and cooks (yes, I am also silently judging you if you […]

Reach & Read: Bears, Whales and All the other Noisy Animals

December 4, 2016.Reading time 4 minutes.

Three book reviews lumped into one post – made for a fun day Sunday. Want to Know. Whales by Barbara van Rheenen is a lovely book to introduce a young child to these amazing marine mammals and maybe inspire a future biologist? Geared towards older toddlers to early readers, the book is set up to be […]

Reach & Read: The Dim Sum Field Guide by Carolyn Phillips

November 29, 2016.Reading time 2 minutes.

Cute little book that if paired with a gift card or IOU to a tasty local Chinese restaurant or bakery would make a great gift. The content of the book was tested with the hubs and some friends of Asian descent: first we would try to guess based on the illustration which common dim sum item was […]