Preparing for a Super Phun Pho Adventure

What a week. This Friday, I submit the final assignment of my masters degree career. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one. That does mean, though, that I'll have more time to do what I love: cook and eat. :)

Tomorrow, Matt's driving the 7.5 hours to Springfield, IL for an interview for a graduate assistantship, so please send good vibes his way. I'll be here in Lincoln. Alone. With the dogs.

I've begun digging into the insanely interesting world of Asian cuisine, thanks to cookbooks lent by my mom and mom-in-law.

There are a lot of really great recipes out there, but I'm trying to find a good balance between one that's exotic and authentic and one that won't break the bank buying the ingredients at an Asian goods market.

I'm thinking that I'll try a new recipe tomorrow, when I'm here alone without Matt. :( I can tell you that the dogs are pretty excited about it...

Did you pick a recipe yet?

No really...can you start cooking now?

It'll be tough to pick a recipe, but since I'm not feeling too great, I think I'll go with pho (pronounced "fuh"), a Vietnamese soup that tastes like heaven in broth form. It's like Vietnamese comfort food (or phood...see what I did there?), and it beats chicken noodle soup five to one. Don't believe me? Listen to celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. He kind of takes it past awe and wonder and into weird and a little disturbing, but you get it...pho is GOOD.

I'll most likely need to run to the store tomorrow to pick up a few ingredients for the pho, and I know just the place; a Vietnamese market was recently built in Lincoln right next to an AWESOME restaurant aptly named "The Pho Factory," and I'm pretty sure they'll have all I need to make my own version.

Stay tuned! In the meantime, enjoy Anthony Bourdain and his almost-too-enthusiastic-it's-over-the-top pho food porn.