Home Sick: Part 2 - Pho Ga

Since I'm breathing out of my nose now and starting to feel better, as promised, here is what the soup looked like:

5 things I learned:

1. Contemplate: "Are you in the mood for cinnamon, ginger, and clove flavored chicken soup? Or did you just want a Ginger Snap?"
2. Follow the recipe.
3. Don't use ground spices, only whole spices as shown on Wandering Chopsticks.
4. Don't substitute Raman for other noodles.
5. Don't try a new recipe while fighting a head cold. You can't even taste it properly.

If you want the recipe, please use the link I posted in the previous post. I had no mint, but I did have spinach, that's what you can see swimming around with the green onions. I think Pho is sort of like a palette to add good stuff to. Kind of like a baked potato. You know, the toppings make it shine! I think I'll have to try this soup at a restaurant to see what it was really supposed to taste like.

Suz

Home Sick: Part 1 - Pho Ga

I recently skimmed an article about Pho (Vietnamese chicken soup) then saw a video about it "Fun With Pho." I have a cold + chicken soup = I decided to give it a try. Starting out with garlic, onion, cinnamon stick, cloves, and ginger (no star anise in the cupboard).

I turned up the heat to help the spices "unlock" flavor, then added broth, water, chicken tenders, and brought it to a boil. I chickened out on the cinnamon stick when the broth began to smell like hot chocolate around the holidays. The cinnamon stick had to get out of the pool, then I skimmed off the strange spice/chicken foam (I only had ground ginger and cloves).

The soup on simmer, getting soup-y for lunch.

I'll post the recipe and what it looks like in Part II... when I'm feeling better. If you want the recipe I'm working from visit the Wandering Chopsticks blog. The recipe is "Pho Ga Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup."

Outta-here to find a tylenol and sleep. Suz

Sour Cream Blueberry Muffins

Do you have a favorite fruit? I mean seriously favorite. It didn't come to you after you high school, or when you were at the farmers market, but when you were in elementary school? A time when skinned knees, and your bike were more important than your day job? Right. Okay then. We're on the same page. Enter blueberries.

There's the Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins, January's Blueberry Muffins, Banana & Blueberry Quick Bread, Blueberry Pancakes, Blueberry Buckle (I haven't posted about this yet?!?) I think you get the idea. Turns out there's a new blueberry recipe in town, and me, blueberries, and organic sour cream? Turns out we're all friends here. This recipe was very good (fluffy muffins, crunchy Turbinado, and of course blueberries) and easy to make. It's a keeper.

Sour Cream Blueberry Muffins

2 C Bisquick

3/4 C sugar

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

1 C organic sour cream (organic was seriously creamier)

1 C blueberries (heaping cup.)

1-2 T Turbinado sugar

Combine ingredients, adding the blueberries last. Scoop into prepared tins and add a blueberry or two where needed--just press the additional berry into the muffins (this ensures that the muffins -look- like blueberry muffins). Sprinkle with "Tarantino" sugar and bake at 375 until you toothpick test them, and they pass.

Recipe Source: All Recipes, Tory Ross

xo, Suz

Jamie Oliver's TED Prize Wish: Teach every child about food

Jamie's talk is only 22 minutes. Things to watch for:

• The sugar wheel barrow, & pile of sugar related to chocolate milk
• The "plus size" coffin both shocking and sad
• Elementary school kids who can't identify a potato (He then helped teach these kids about veggies)

Watch the movie below. (Read the TweenCraft post.)

Planet Blueberry...

Not at the grocery store, or the juice bar, but in the kitchen tonight, right around dinner time, the overripe bananas met the frozen blueberries in a quick bread.

Banana & Blueberry Bread

During the countdown to launching the recipe "Favorite Banana Blueberry Quick Bread" (from All Recipes) well, I hit a couple of glitches like, running out of flour... er, and no pecans, no applesauce... my version is listed below. 4, 3, 2, 1 . . .

This photo was affectionately dubbed "Planet Blueberry" by Eric

Banana & Blueberry Bread

1 C frozen blueberries

1 C unbleached flour

1 C whole wheat flour

1/2 C oats

1/2 C walnuts (chopped)

1 t baking soda

1/4 t kosher salt

1/2 C shortening (maybe applesauce would have made this better?)

1/2 C brown sugar*

1/2 C white sugar*

2 eggs

3 mashed bananas

1 t vanilla

Blend shortening and sugar, eggs, bananas, and vanilla. Mix all dry ingredients, with oatmeal, nuts, and add to wet ingredients. Add frozen blueberries and then pour into 2 loaf pans. Bake for about 30-45 min at 350 degrees. (toothpick test)

(*I used the 2 sugars instead of one type as suggested by reviewers of the recipe on All Recipes.)

Review: My house: not so much. My mom's house: they liked it.

Suz