Oskar

You know you're tired when you forget what day of the week it is, what state you're in.. or even what time zone you're in.  I guess interviewing will do that to ya.


Something else interviewing will do to ya - change your eating habits. All I've been eating is interview food (which has actually been quite good), and fast food [which has (not surprisingly) been horrible].  I'm ready to eat some home-cooked food again.  And vegetables!  Oh broccoli, oh spinach, how I miss thee.  My 6-year-old self is saying, "what the hell, you want vegetables?!"  Yes, 6-year-old Nhu-Y, I'd give all my french fries for something green right now.


Anyways, during my interview preparation, I stumbled upon this video and wept the entire time.  Ok, I didn't weep, but I did shed a few tears.  The budding ophthalmologist in me just wanted to reach out to this tiny kitten. I am such a softie for animals.  Watch the video, you'll see what I mean.

That is all for now.  I'm really going to prepare for my interview tomorrow morning and try to stay away from youtube.


No wait, that's not all - I miss you guys.  Promise I'll be back soon.


xoxo <3
Nhu-Y

Thanksgiving

Cám ơn

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I hope you guys are with your loved ones having wonderful food!  I've eaten 2 (ok, 3) times, and now I'm watching Charlie Brown and waiting for midnight to roll around so I can go shopping!  Can you believe that stores open at midnight this year?  It just gets earlier and earlier each year.  My little brother told me that people were waiting in line at Best Buy since Tuesday.  As in 2 days before Thanksgiving.  Skipping Thanksgiving dinner to buy a TV?  That's bonkers. 


I wasn't anticipating on going shopping this year (you remember the 30-day shopping ban, right?), but this is the first time in years that my mom has Black Friday off and I really wanted to rekindle our Black Friday tradition before I start residency (and will no longer have time to shop.. or even time to go home).  I love my mamma and, really, what could be better than a little mother-daughter shopping?


Speaking of my mamma, I am extremely thankful for her.  As a matter of fact, the title of this post, "cam on" means "thank you" in Vietnamese.  My mom is the greatest woman I know.  She has sacrificed  everything - her time, her energy, her career - to ensure that my siblings and I are happy and successful.  And for that, Mom, I'd like to say "cam on".  Also, I am thankful for my mom for cooking American Thanksgiving foods when I asked her for them in my youth - turkey and mashed potatoes were not in my mom's repertoire of recipes, yet she went out of her way to give us the Thanksgiving that we wanted.  And now I am thankful that my mom cooks Vietnamese food for me on Thanksgiving, because that's what we really like.  She's the best.


I'm also thankful for my wonderful friends and family, for my Mikey, for my sweet kittens, for my cuddly puppy, for my education, and for all of the opportunities that I have had.  I am so blessed.


Happy Thanksgiving, my friends.


xoxo <3
Nhu-Y

A quick hello

Sneak Peek

Missed you guys.  No recipe today, but I decided that I would give you a quick glimpse into my life :)

First, the animal loves in my life:

This is Max.  My first pet.  Isn't he handsome?

Vietnamese pork chops

Chicago

Guys, I have a confession.  I have a love affair with Chicago (don't tell Mikey).  I've been to Chicago a bunch in the past, but the last time I was there, I could actually picture myself living in the city.

Banana bread

Bananas

Sing with me guys: "This stuff is bananas, b-a-n-a-n-a-s, this stuff is bananas, b-a-n-a-n-a-s! (Let's keep it PG, my mom might be reading this.)  Things are starting to get bananas around here. I have 3 interviews in 3 states next week, and Mikey has 4 interviews in 4 states.  That's a crap-ton of traveling.  And a crap-ton of money, let me tell ya.  It's like a rite of passage that all fourth year medical students have to drop several thousand dollars every single year to get into residency.  As if we weren't in enough debt.  I'm po'.  That's right, I'm so poor, I'm just po'.

Spam musubi

Spamalot

So... how do you like the new look?  I spent half a day with my little brother trying to clean up my blog a bit (thanks Mickey!). I'm still working on it, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know!  Or, if you know how to work a blog, please come help me!  If my little brother wasn't around, you wouldn't be reading this today.  Note to blog newbies - don't try to edit the code! 

Bun Bo Hue (Beef and lemongrass noodle soup)

Hallo-weenie

Hello my friends!!!  Oh how I've missed you.  I sincerely apologize for being a bit of a weenie lately, last month was a real "b" (I'm sure you can guess what that letter b stands for). To make a long story short, the month in Dayton was not exactly relaxing, and I had no time to do any of the things that I planned on doing (blog, cook, sew, make jewelry, etc).  Nope, it was never ending work.  And the worst part was all of the crap that I had to see.  Literally.  I worked with a gastroenterologist.  I can handle gross stuff - I want to touch people's eyes for a living - but last month was just icky.

Cha trung hap (Vietnamese steamed egg with pork)

Leftover remix #2

Welcome to my second installation of recipe remixes.

Cha gio (Vietnamese egg rolls)

Ayo Technology

It would be more apt to title this post "lack of technology" (but I really like that song, and this is my blog, and I can name it whatever I want!).  I am back at my mom's for a month for a rotation, and I didn't have my computer, cable TV, or my iPod.  But guess what?  I survived.  But since I didn't have my computer, I couldn't post.  But now I'm back and ready to cook my heart out!  Here's the post that I promised last week - Vietnamese egg rolls.  

Bun thit nuong (Vietnamese grilled pork with noodles)

Welcome back

Here comes the recipe you've all been waiting for!  Mikey finally came back from Chicago, so I cooked his favorite Vietnamese dish.  A Vietnamese meal from his Vietnamese girlfriend :). Suffice it to say, Mikey enjoyed his welcome back meal.  The way to a man's heart really is through his stomach.

Canh rau muong (spinach soup)

Autumn

Happy Friday!!  It's the first day of fall, I finished my anesthesia test in 10 minutes, and Mikey is coming back from Chicago today!  It's gonna be a good day.  Remember, I'm cooking Mikey a special meal for tonight and I have been prepping for a few hours.  

Fried rice

Leftover remake #1

Good evening, my lovelies.  Remember when I said that I would spice this blog up by having themes and challenges?  Well, here's theme number one.  Every two weeks, I will post a recipe remaking leftovers.  I constantly have leftovers, and sometimes it is fun to change it into something else.  It's like I'm tricking myself into eating something new.  Yes, I am like a child and I need to trick myself into eating food.

Banh xeo (Vietnamese crepes)

Moving

It's been a crazy busy two weeks, but I'm finally back.  I've missed you guys! In the past two weeks, I moved, completely unpacked, intubated several patients, visited my momma, and visited Mikey in Chicago (pictures to come!).  It was the most stressful move EVER.  I won't go into details, but let's just say there were so many trips to and from my third floor apartment that my legs felt like jelly by the end of the two days it took me to move.  And the next day, I felt like I had run a marathon.  Did I tell you that I HATE MOVING?  This is the eighth time I've moved in eight years.  And I have to move in 10 months when I graduate. Boo. Note to self: hire movers next time. Or buy an elevator. Or make friends with some big burly men (but Mikey probably wouldn't like that :))

Indianapolis

The city of states

Howdy y'all!  How have you been?  I've been great, thanks.  Fortunately, I have pictures from Indianapolis, as promised.  Unfortunately, you're not going to get much more than pictures.  I have an exam tomorrow.. and I've been napping all day.  Oops.  But you're not here to read, right?  Well, actually you're here for recipes, but do you think you can settle with some pictures of food for now?  

Let's begin our mini journey through Indianapolis - so keep your hands and arms inside the carpet, we're outta here! (Get the Aladdin reference?)

Friday night, we went to a pizza joint called Bazbeaux.  Interesting name, interesting pizza (our pizza had dollops of ricotta cheese). We had garlic-cheese bread and 4 cheese-bacon-mushroom pizza.  You can't get any better than bacon and cheese. And that is all I have to say about that.

beer number one.

waiting patiently for dinner. i was really, really hungry.

cheese bread. it was bomb.

pizza. 

crispy bacon and gooey cheese.
are you salivating?
because i am.

mikey.

the view from outside the restaurant. that little lady on the corner dances.
her name is veronica.

 The next morning, we had brunch at Hoaglin To Go & Marketplace.  While their daily grind is fine catering, they make a mean brunch.  I had the best omelette ever.  Seriously, I died a little when I bit into it. It was fluffy and filled with applewood smoked bacon, sauteed red onions, sun-dried tomato pesto torte.  I'm not even sure what a sun-dried tomato pesto torte is, but I can tell you that it is good.


Mikey had a stack of red velvet pancakes. Dessert for breakfast?  Don't mind if I do.

best. omelette. ever. 

the magical filling.

red velvet pancakes.

Then we went to Starbucks, 'cause brunch made us sleepy.  Why the heck is Starbucks so expensive?!  I spent $5 on a tall skinny caramel macchiato with soymilk.  Secondly, why the heck are the names so long?

almost broke the bank on these babies. 

 Then, the Indiana State fair!  It was a glutton's dream.  There were so many places to get food that we almost got overwhelmed.  But no worries, we put our fat hats on and braved the crowds.  Despite the abundance of food, we didn't end up eating very much.  It was just nice walking around with Mikey. But I did give in and try a deep fried Snickers bar with him.  He really liked it.  I, on the other hand, thought that I could have gotten the same effect by popping a Snickers in the microwave for 30 seconds. I mean it was good, but not $4 good.

$15 and 7 darts later, mikey won a prize for me!
 i shall call him squishy, and he shall be mine, and he shall be my squishy.

i found a wand.
and.... 

magic! i've always wanted a unicorn.

yes. that is indeed a burger between two doughnuts.
(we didn't try this one)

deep fried butter? deep fried kool-aid?
only in the midwest, my friends

and here it is. deep fried snickers.

The last day that I was there, we went to a cute neighborhood called Broad Ripple. There was a strip of pubs, and we ended up choosing Broad Ripple Brewpub because there was a stout there that Mike liked.  I had the fish and chips.  Silly me thinking that fish would be lighter.  I ate about a third of it and promptly became sleepy afterwards.  

fish 'n chips

And that was my weekend.  It was like you were there, right?  


Now that I have mesmerized you with these pictures, I gotta break some bad news.  I'm taking a short break from blogging.  I am moving soon, and I have to eat the random food that is left in my pantry.  And I don't think that you want to hear about canned soup, tortilla chips, and Chef Boyardee.  I'll be back full force in September.  Promise.

we're funny.

xoxo <3
Nhu-Y

Ghetto lo mein

If ramen is wrong, then I don't want to be right

I know what you're thinking - "Ghetto lo mein?  What the H does that mean?  Is it from the hood?  Is Nhu-Y from the hood?"


Well let me answer those questions for you, my friends.  Ghetto lo mein is a concoction dreamt up by my kitchen-illiterate cuz.  I love her dearly, but she's no Julia Child.  So it is not from the hood, it's from a little asian girl from the 'burbs.  And no, I'm not from the hood either, but I lived pretty close to some not-so-reputable places when I was a kid (one time, I even wore my hair in cornrows - and that's hood).

Let me preface this recipe by saying that it is not lo mein. It's just what my cousin calls this dish.  In no way does this resemble lo mein, with the exception that it is composed of noodles and grease.  So if you are looking for something that you can get from your favorite Chinese restaurant, check back later.  But if you are looking for cheap eats, read on.  


Now, don't judge.  I know ramen is the fare of a college freshman.  But hey, I am a medical student in lotsa debt.  I can't always afford to eat foie gras, truffles and gold.  Besides, I haven't cooked in about a week, and I feel guilty not posting something that I didn't cook.  That's how much I like you guys - I feel guilty when I eat things like burgers, ice cream, and deep fried Snickers bars that I can't share with you :)

When my cousin makes this dish, it consists only of ground beef, ramen noodles, and ramen seasoning.  Yes, only 3 ingredients. Really, only 2 ingredients because the noodles and the seasoning come together. But surprisingly, it tastes good.  Maybe it's the pound of grease they pack into each tiny bag of ramen noodles.  Or maybe I can taste the memories from my good ol' college days, I'm not sure.  I did decide that this recipe was a little too ghetto for me, so I added some greenage in the form of scallions and broccoli. 


Try it, you'll like it.  And if you don't, you've spent a dollar - you probably have more money lost in your couch. 


Ghetto Lo Mein
Serves 4
Print this recipe


Ingredients
4 packages of beef flavored ramen noodles
1 pound of ground beef
1 tablespoon oil (optional)
If you want it fancy, add:
2 scallions, cut on the bias
1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets


Directions
1. Boil 2-3 quarts of water.
2. While waiting for the water to boil, brown the beef in the oil on medium-high heat (if you use a nonstick pan, some nonstick spray should do).  Break the beef up as well as you can. Drain the beef once it is cooked through.
3. Stir one package of the ramen seasoning into the beef and add the whites of the scallions.  Cook for an additional minute or two. Reduce heat to medium-low.
4. Once water boils, cook the broccoli for 3-5 minutes, depending on how crisp you like your broccoli.  Remove the broccoli from the water with tongs or a slotted spoon and add to the meat (leave water in the pot for the noodles).
5. Bring the water back up to a boil and cook noodles for 4 minutes (or 1 minute less than the directions on the package).  When noodles are cooked, drain and add to the beef and broccoli mixture.  Turn heat back up to medium-high and stir in 1.5 - 2 packages of ramen seasoning to taste.
6. Top with the greens of the scallions. 
7. Eat with a your hat cocked to the side, an oversize white tee, and some gold teeth.  


I promise a sophisticated recipe next time. Until then -- 


Peace out homies. 


xoxo <3
Nhu-Y

Me and my lovely cousin

Hiatus

Louers


I apologize for not posting in so long!  I spent the weekend in Indianapolis with Mikey, and I ate like a queen.  A hillbilly queen.  We went to the Indiana state fair and we had a corn dog, beef tips, and a fried Snickers bar.  Pictures to come.


I have a paper to write and it's due tomorrow, so I will have to post on my trip another time.  I was supposed to work on this paper at Mikey's, but the food was not conducive to studying.  What do you do after you eat a corn dog, beef tips, and fried Snickers?  Sleep.  And that's what we did.


So in lieu of a food post, I will post a picture of my pup, Louie.

Doesn't he look comfortable? He is napping next to me, and he is in doggy dream world.  He's squeaking/barking and making raspberry noises (you know, when you purse your lips and force air out).  I wonder what he's dreaming about.  Eating I bet.  My dog loves to eat, and I bet he gets it from his mama (me, not his biological mama).  Here's another two pictures for your to illustrate how much he loves to eat.

Standing up and trying very hard to balance himself with his knubby legs
 (imagine him flapping his little legs as he attempts to balance)

Finally balanced, and with his very best "look at how cute I am" face on

Louie is pretty smart and he does a lot of tricks, but his favorite thing to do is stand up.  He'll stand up for anything: if he wants to eat, if he wants to be pet, if he wants to hop on the couch, if he is jealous of another pet and wants attention - he's a needy dog.  And he does it because he knows that we looove it.  It's just so cute to see a dog with such short legs stand up.  It's a gravity defying stunt, I tell ya.  So of course, since he is defying gravity, we can't resist it and give him whatever he wants.  I'm a bad mama.  In this case, he wanted the (super cute) hot dog treat that I got for him from a cute shop on Mass Ave.  A hot dog eating a hot dog.  Wait, is that morbid?  Cannibalistic?  Oh well, it's too cute not to post. 

Ok loves, gotta go work on my paper.  Wish me luck.

xoxo <3

Nhu-Y

P.S. If you're wondering if Louie usually sleeps with a pillow and a blanket, the answer is yes and no.  He does love to prop his head on a pillow (I let him sleep with me every night and I think he thinks he's human sometimes), but I put the blanket on him.  His underside is fur-less, so his private puppy goods were showing.  It was a leeettle indecent, and I didn't want to flash my pup's goods to y'all.  That would make me a really bad mama.

P.P.S.  Louers is obviously Louie's nickname.  I add "ers" to many names to create nicknames - Mikers, puppers (another Louie nickname). My name rhymes with Louie, so sometimes Mikey calls me Nhuers.  Random, I know, but now you know how to pronounce my name and you are one step ahead of 99% of this world.

Northstar Cafe

Nostalgia

Source: mywedding.com.
Do not be alarmed, this burger is supposed to be pink (it's the beets).

Hello friends!  As promised, a post!  But I didn't promise to write an awesome post :) (hey, it's hard to write award-winning material at this hour). 


Now you may be wondering why I titled this post "nostalgia".  Well, here's why - number one: today I went thrifting and sifted though tons of clothes from the 90s, shoulder pads and all. And since I am a product of the 80s, I remember the 90s (does that make any sense? I don't really remember the first five years of my life). Number two: On my way home, I heard a No Doubt song on the radio, and No Doubt makes me think of middle school days in typing class (where we'd listen to music and NOT type). And number three: I had a date with my long-lost cousin today!  


My sweet cousin just turned 18, graduated high school, and in a month she's leaving for college. Sad face. I'm so glad I had a chance to see her and catch up with her before she leaves.  It's been several years since we have seen each other (due to some parental issues), but I was delighted to see what a beautiful young woman she's grown into!  And the fact that she wants to be a doctor is pretty great too :)

Turkey Sandwich. Source: yelp.com. It was HUGE

We went to Northstar Cafe for dinner, and Jeni's for dessert but..... I forgot my camera!  So I am borrowing some images (and crediting the sources, of course).  I had the freakin' delicious Northstar burger, and my cuz had a Turkey sandwich with a wild rice salad.  

Source: fitsugar.com. I like mine sans the ketchup.

At this point, I would talk about the food, but it's quite late. All I'll tell you now is that the Northstar burger is not the kind of burger you think it is.  Mikey ordered it a while ago, expecting a nice juicy beef burger, and he was quite upset when he took a bite and didn't get beefy goodness (he obviously did not read the menu, typical man thing to do).  The Northstar burger is a veggie burger.. but it's not the kind of veggie burger you're used to either!  It's made of rice and beats, and maybe some sort of legume.  I'm not sure.  I think it has some sort of mystical ingredient mixed in, 'cause it is damn good. I ate it so fast that I hardly had time to analyze the flavors, so excuse me for this hasty "review".  Sorry..  But at least you know it tastes good!  And is good for you too.  And besides, I think that the Northstar Burger is something that you just have to experience. 


Here are some (borrowed) pictures from Jeni's.  Interesting fact: my cousin's friend works for Jeni's kitchen, and she labels the containers by hand.  And when they misspell something, the pint is deemed a reject and the employees are free to do with them as they please.  I'm sure glad I don't work at Jeni's, because I would be rather fluffy (read: fat).

Source (for both images): dishtip.com

Eeek, it's late!  I need to get up in 4 hours, so I will say goodnight for now. 


Goodnight.


xoxo<3
Nhu-Y

Sitting, waiting, wishing (and wondering)

My second post of the day. Sort of sad, but I skipped out on my rotation today and spent the entire day perusing the internet I had a lot of time to think.  Here goes..


Med school has been a time machine, of sorts.  Some people even joke that it's like being in high school again because we spend all of our time with the same 200 people for two years straight and it can get a bit clique-y.  I have definitely grown and matured in my 20+ years of school, but I still feel like I am far behind my friends.  Every time I get on Facebook, someone else is getting married, or having a baby, or doing something big in their life. While I am still in school. (but hopefully something big will happen to me in 5 months - namely, matching in ophthalmology!) 


I've been reading a lot of blogs lately, and there is one that I particularly love.  I love her style and her quirky posts, but I think I sorta love her life too.  At times I find myself a little... jealous.  She's 28 (a mere 2 years older than myself) and she has a husband and three beautiful children.  And here I am, not packing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for my (hypothetical) kids, but packing them for myself. At least I'm not packing a juice box too.  Really, I'm not sad, but I just wonder what my life would be like if I followed the same path as my friends - or my mom (when she was 26, she had me!)  But, I have no regrets.  My dream has always been to become a physician, and I am well on that path.  And even though I long for children, I know that waiting will ensure them a better life than I lived when I was a kid.  


Mikey's dad has a simple saying - "delayed gratification". I just have to remind myself every so often.  


But I digress.. this is a food blog after all! I don't have a recipe for today since I ate salmon leftovers (which was DIVINE), but I promise to have a post tomorrow.  I am having dinner at Northstar Cafe with my long-lost cousin.  Ok, she's not long-lost, we've actually been in the same city for 3 years, but I haven't seen her since she was a kiddie.  And in less than a month, she's leaving for college. College!  I'm getting old, I tell ya. 


Ok, enough for now.  Goodnight!


xoxo<3
Nhu-Y

Fettuccine Alfredo

Let's spice it up!!!

Good morning! I have the morning off so I decided to get a quick post in :)  I spoke to a friend from college a few days ago, who has a great food blog of her own.  She has tons of great recipes and I asked her where she finds the time to cook so often.  And what she said -- when cooking is a hobby you enjoy, it's not work -- really made me think about this blog.  I don't want it to turn into work. I love cooking so much and I want you all to know how much I love it!  I delayed the start of this blog because I was so busy with school. But medical school is not an excuse anymore!  I'm telling you now - I will make the time to cook most of the week, and I will try a new recipe at least twice a week.  Accountability!  And I'll cook even more when Mikey gets back in town, because it's way better to cook for two :)


I've also been thinking about ways to spice up this blog.  Here are some ideas: Posting weekly menus (planning makes cooking so much easier!), weekly themes, and some sort of challenge.  I read a lot of fashion blogs and I often read about "remix challenges", "color challenges", and even "no-repeat challenges".  I think that I can translate those challenges to food.. eek, I'm so excited now!  More details to come.. 


Ok, here's a quickie recipe for you all.  Fettuccine alfredo.  It's not the typical Americanized fettuccine that you have in the restaurant with thick and goopy (is that a word?) sauce.  Folks, this is the real deal. It's how fettuccine alfredo started in Italy.  That's right, Italy, not America. Here's a really interesting post on the original fettuccine alfredo. The ingredients are simple: pasta, butter, cheese.  What could be bad about pasta, butter and cheese?  Oh right, the fact that it's pasta, butter, and cheese :) But who cares?  We all need to indulge every so often. This isn't as heavy as restaurant fettuccine, but it is definitely rich - and absolutely delicious. 


I've said this before, and I will say it again because it is of utmost importance - since this recipe is so simple, it is important to use quality ingredients.  Parmigiano Reggiano, real butter, freshly ground black pepper.  You can use fresh or dry pasta, but I think that fresh pasta holds on to the sauce better. This recipe does have an option to add cream - for those of you who can't quite say goodbye to cream :). Bon appetit!

Fettuccine Alfredo (adapted from Simply Recipes)

Serves 4
Print this recipe

Ingredients

1/2 pound fettuccine noodles

3-4 Tbsp unsalted butter

2/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Black pepper

Additional, for creamy version:

1/2 cup cream

Nutmeg

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salty water to a boil and drop in your fettuccine.

2a. Plain version Melt the butter in a large sauté pan set over low heat. Once the butter has melted, turn the heat off.

2b. Creamy version Melt the butter in a large sauté pan set over low heat. Add the cream to the butter as it melts. Stir often to combine the two, do not turn off the heat, but keep the heat at its lowest setting while the pasta cooks.

3. When the fettuccine is al dente (cooked, but still a little firm) lift it out of the pot with tongs and move the pasta to the sauté pan. Do not drain the pasta. You want it dripping wet with the cooking water. Turn on the heat under the sauté pan to medium and swirl the pasta and butter together to combine. Add half the cheese, then swirl and toss the pasta until it has incorporated into the sauce. If needed, add a few spoonfuls more of the pasta cooking water. Add the rest of the cheese and repeat.

4. Serve at once with either a little black pepper (for classic version) or nutmeg (for creamy version) ground over the pasta.

I ate this as a side dish, but if you add some meat and veggies, it would be a (very filling) entree. 

That is all.

xoxo <3

Nhu-Y