Pho Weekend

I couldn't tell you what I've been so busy doing lately, but it seems like time has been going a lot faster (despite the longer daylight hours). It was busy time at work, so there was that. Then there's the whole ... I don't think my cooking has been as good as it was before. Kind of a bummer.

In one weekend I,

• Slept. I earned it.
• Made english muffins. They were only OK. Stupid whole wheat flour.
  
• Went to Tuesday Morning. I've heard about that store for years, and finally went. That place is cracked out and I will not be back. I thought I'd pick up a mandoline on the cheap; the only one they had there was $80. I got mine from Target for $9.
  
• Did my shopping. There was a lot to do.
  
• Attempted to finish my wedding scrapbook. If only I could be more decisive on paper. The scrapbooking aisle(s) are just way too overwhelming.
  
• Started my container garden. No more 1" pots sitting in front of the window! Now I have an array of 6" pots seeded and tomatoes started again.
• Ordered some bookshelves I've been meaning to order for, oh, maybe a couple of months. Crate and Barrel had the ones I wanted for $139 each, plus delivery. I found them on Overstock.com (not exactly the same, but so close I had to put them side by side to tell the difference) for $80 + $1 shipping. Win.
  
• Ran. For the first time in over a week.
  
• Vacuumed the whole house, scrubbed the floor, and cleaned. I feel so much better.
• Visited Food 4 Less for the first time ever, despite our old apartment being just blocks from one. It was FUN. I don't think people there have ever seen anyone actually say "ooh!" out loud when looking at the spice shelves.

It's been a cool summer. The perfect weather for pho, actually.

I don't usually have meat bones sitting around, so I boiled some giant fatty chunks from the roast leftovers. And, I didn't have nice little spice baggies for boiling, so I dumped the spices in two coffee filters and tied them off with thread. Luckily they didn't explode, and the chunks didn't melt! It even got a little frothy on top, which seemed to be a good sign since the sites I looked at online complained about it.

I boiled the chunks and packets for an hour, meanwhile slicing the roast (cold, straight out of the refrigerator) with my shiny new mandoline, chopping up the green onions, and softening the bean strands.


True story: as I was chopping the green onion, I kept looking at the little white bulbs. Ultimately I picked the three most viable-looking (green tops left, and longish roots), came running upstairs, and stuck them in deep holes in an unseeded pot. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that they'd grow again. Husband didn't find any of this peculiar.