Skype Addiction?

Well, I wouldn't say it's quite an addiction... but I do love skype.  I love that I can hop online and "see" and talk to my friend in Minnesota, show my momma something real quick when I can't make it over, talk to my cousin late night while he shows me his college diploma over Skype, talking to our baby cousin as she tells us a story of her day, or just connecting to family that live out of state and don't get to see on a regular basis...  As busy as my days get, and as much texting, email, and phone calls we do, I love being able to see people.  I know it can never take the place of physically seeing someone and running over to give them a hug, but it helps when I can't see them in person.

Upsides:

• All the above+
• Free video chat one on one, can go up to 10 people (with a paid subscription)
• Works from PC to Macs and vice versa
• You can share your screen (I use this with my mom in law when we do tech support or work stuff)

Downsides: 

• Skyping when you look like crap, sometimes when you're at home and just woke up or just worked out...
• I don't have a lot of people on it... at least not all my family is on it.
• Group video chat requires a subscription (We tried the 3-way video chat and I could only see one of the persons we were chatting with, but we could all hear each other) 

Does anyone else use Skype?  What do you use it for?  What are your experiences??

XOXO-

skype image via

Pho Real

Ok, so anytime I cook something Vietnamese, I usually post it on Facebook and everyone always comments.   We've gone so far as have a "Friends, Family, and Pho" Night at our house.  Everyone has asked me my recipe on how to make pho, otherwise known as Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup.  To clarify how it's pronounced, it is pronounced "Fuh-uh", no "Foe".
Pho is a staple in my family. I grew up eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and it NEVER got old.  It's my comfort food (and a great hangover cure)!  It's like chicken soup- a cure all.   It's not too hard to make, it just takes a lot of prep work and time to make. Most of the time is just the waiting/simmer time.
When you cook it, the smells of the spices permeate the house and smells amazing!  So here's my mom's recipe with a little variation from me.
Getting recipes from anyone in my family is really hard. Most of me learning to cook from them goes something like this:

Mom: ok, so you put some of this in here...
Me: how much?
Mom: a little bit
Me: how much is a little bit? like a tablespoon? a teaspoon?
Mom: to taste
Me: (sigh) 

So without further ado, my mom's pho recipe as adapted by me...

Here are your ingredients:

·       Pho Bag Seasoning OR (6 whole star anise, 3 sticks cinnamon, 1 tablespoon cardamom pods, 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns and 8 whole cloves)

·       Pho Hoa Seasoning (in orange box found in Asian stores)

·       Pho Bouillons (yellow box, optional)

·       Chicken Broth

·       Chicken Bouillons

·       3 whole onions (2 to roast, 1 to slice)

·       Beef Bones or Ox Tail

·       Fresh Ginger root

·       Fish Sauce (Nuoc Mam)

·       Sugar

·       Black pepper

·       Pho Rice Noodles

·       Round Top Roast

·       Thai Basil

·       Bean Sprouts

·       Lime

·       Cilantro

·       Green onions

·       Hoisin Sauce

·       Siracha Sauce

 Steps to make the broth:

1. Dry Roast Seasoning to release flavors
2. Put roasted seasonings into steeping pouch or cheese cloth or tea infuser ball (leave out cinnamon stick if it doesn't fit)
3. Peel and stab onions to help release flavor and roast sliced fresh ginger until slightly cooked.
4. Par boil the beef bones (put bones in a pot, cover with water, boil for 3-5 minutes, a scum will come to top, discard the broth and scum, keep the bones)
5. Bring chicken broth and steeping pouch with seasoning to a boil
6. Add and season to taste:
1. 1 bag of the pho hoa seasoning
2. 1-2 pho bouillons
3. 1-2 chicken bouillons
4. 1 tbsp of black pepper
5. 1 tbsp of sugar
6. the roasted ginger
7. A splash of fish sauce 
7. Once the water comes back up to a boil, add the beef bones or ox tails
8. Add the 2 roasted whole onions
9. Simmer broth for a few hours.

Prep-work for garnishes etc...

• Slice the round top into thin slices (hint: put the meat in the freezer to just about frozen... makes it so much easier to cut)
• Chop Cilantro and Green Onions together
• Slice an onion in half and then into paper thin moon shaped slices
• Slice Limes into wedges
• Rinse and dry bean sprouts and Thai basil
• Boil Dry Pho Noodles (wide rice noodles) according to package directions or until al dente.. make sure to rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process. OR if using fresh noodles, dip fresh noodles in boiling water until soft.
• Just before eating, make sure to bring the broth back to a boil so you can cook the meat.

Putting it all together:

1. In a large bowl, fill with desired amount of cooked noodles.
2. Take a ladle and fill with the raw thinly sliced top round beef.
3. Dip ladle in boiling broth with chopsticks and cook the beef to medium rare or desired done-ness, careful to not lose any in the broth! :)
4. Pour the cooked beef and some broth over the noodles.  Repeat for more meat, otherwise just add broth
5. Garnish with Hoisin Sauce, Siricha Sauce, bean sprouts, Thai basil, thinly sliced yellow onion, green onion and cilantro mix, lime juice from the lime wedge, and if you'd like- jalapeños or hot chili peppers.
6. ENJOY!!!!

Note: you can also add and experiment with other meats like: Vietnamese Beef balls (pictured above), tripe, flank, tendons.

Bowl of Pho :)

I'm not really good at writing recipes, I write them so I understand them, so if you have any questions, or if I've left something out, let me know, and hopefully I can help you.

XOXO & Enjoy!

-

Wordless Wednesday

XOXO

Final Blast Off

There is just something amazing about space shuttles going into space.  Ever since I was a kid, and as far back as I can remember, watching a space shuttle take off to outer space is was the COOLEST thing ever!  So watching the final space shuttle take off was really exciting and sad for me.   I'll admit, I had a few tears.
I woke up and watched it from the beginning.  Hearing all the final checks, listening to the "It's been great working with you", and the "it's a go" to the final count down was emotional. 
Am I a geek and the only one that still thinks this was the most awesome thing ever?  My DH, Tommy,  didn't care all that much about the launch, but thought I was just too cute because I was so into it and cared.
This morning he brought in the paper with the front page covered with the picture of the Atlantis, and said "Here you go honey, I thought you might want to keep this one." How'd he know I'd probably throw it into my collection of important history newspapers (the day Pope John Paul II died, OJ's trial, Bin Laden, Princess Di, and the Wedding of 2011)

We'll that's my post on my feelings about the history making event of this week.  This weekend we have one of my BF's in town from DC, and we're going to the beach! The weather was not that great yesterday, so we couldn't take them out on the boat.  Let's just hope today stays gorgeous, so they can experience Va Beach (they've never been).
Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
XOXO

Happy Fourth of July!

From our home to yours....

Happy Fourth of July!!!

I hope that everyone has a great weekend filled with fun cookouts, family, friends, and all things patriotic.

Remember that as we celebrate our Nation's independence, the men and women, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins and friends that are serving our country so we can keep our Independence and Freedom!

And to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice-  We salute you and will never forget!

I got this in an email the other day... it said it was created by a 15 year old.

(It's a real tear jerker)

XOXO-