Ambition

Ambition is poor excuse for ... not having enough sense to be lazy.

Does this recipe work?

I found this in Master Cook. Has any one tried this?

                              VIETNAMESE PHO

Recipe By     :
Serving Size  : 4    Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    : Soups

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
   5       lb           Beef bones with marrow
   5       lb           Oxtails
   1       lb           Flank steak
   2       lg           Onions -- unpeeled, halved,
                        -and studded with 8 cloves
   3                    Shallots -- unpeeled
   2       oz           Piece ginger -- unpeeled
   8                    Star anise
   1                    Cinnamon stick
   4       md           Parsnips cut in 2-inch
                        -chunks
   2       ts           Salt
   1       lb           Beef sirloin
   2                    Scallions -- thinly sliced
   1       tb           Cilantro -- chopped
   2       md           Onions -- thinly sliced
     1/4   c            Hot chili sauce
   1       lb           Rice noodles 1/4-inch wide
                        -(or banh pho)
     1/2   c            Nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish
                        -sauce)
                        Black pepper -- freshly grnd.
   2       c            Fresh bean sprouts
   2                    Fresh chili peppers -- sliced
   2                    Limes cut in wedges
   1       bn           Fresh mint
   1       bn           Fresh Asian or regular basil

  Soak bone overnight in cold water.  Place bones,
  oxtails and flank steak in a large stock pot.  Add
  water to cover and bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes,
  drain and rinse pot and bones.  Return bones to pot,
  add 6 quarts water and bring to a boil.  Skim surface
  of scum and fat.  Stir bones at bottom from time to
  time.  Add 3 more quarts water, bring to a boil again
  and skim scum.  Lower heat and let simmer.  Char
  clove-studded onions, shallots, and ginger under a
  broiler until they release their fragrant odors.  Tie
  charred vegetables, star anise, and cinnamon stick in
  a thick, dampened cheesecloth.  Put it in stock with
  parsnips and salt.  Simmer for 1 hour. Remove flank
  steak and continue simmering broth, uncovered pot, for
  4-5 hours.  Add more water if level goes below bones.
 
  Meanwhile, slice beef sirloin against grain into
  paper-thin slices, about 2-by-2 inches.  Slice flank
  steak the same way.  Set aside. In a small bowl,
  combine scallions, cilantro, and half the sliced
  onions.  Place remaining onions in another bowl and
  mix in hot chili sauce.  Soak rice noodles in warm
  water for 30 minutes.  Drain and set aside.
 
  When broth is ready, discard bones.  Strain broth
  through a colander lined with a double layer of damp
  cheesecloth into a clean pot.  Add fish sauce and
  bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer.  In another
  pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil.  Add noodles
  and drain immediately.  Do not overcook noodles.
  Divide among 4 large soup bowls.  Top noodles with
  sliced meats.  Bring broth to a rolling boil, then
  ladle into soup bowls. Garnish with scallions mixture
  and black pepper.  Serve the onions in hot chili sauce
  and remaining ingredients on the side to add as
  desired.  Also, you can add Hoisin sauce as a dip.
  Serves 4.
 
  Source: "The foods of Vietnam" by Nicole Routhier
  (Stewart, Tabori & Chang)
 
  From the rec.food.recipe archives.
  From: nguyenc@rtsg.mot.com (Chuong M. Nguyen)
 
  MM format by Judi M. Phelps.
  jphelps@shell.portal.com, juphelps@delphi.com, or
  jphelps@best.com

Found in student science test answers

You can listen to thunder after lightening and tell how close you came to getting hit. If you don't hear it, you got hit, so never mind.

Someday we may discover how to make magnets that can point in any direction.

Water freezes at 32 degrees and boils at 212 degrees. There are 180 degrees between freezing and boiling because there are 180 degrees between north and south.

A vibration is a motion that cannot make up its mind which way it wants to go.

There are 26 vitamins in all, but some of the letters are yet to be discovered. Finding them all means living forever.

Wanted: Anaheim, CA pho?

Wanted: suggestions for the best pho in Anaheim, California. Bonus points for good Viet or other good Asian supermarket recommendations (no Ranch 99 please).

Slow Food

Since 1996, the year the first Salone del Gusto was held, Slow Food has evolved and grown significantly, developing new initiatives and expanding its horizons. Thanks primarily to the institutional backing of the Piedmont Regional Authority, the Salone has always reflected these developments, so much so that it is now at once a showcase, a springboard for initiatives and a celebration. Slow Food’s commitment to defending biodiversity (hence endangered foods, occupations, production methods and local areas) was founded, formed, defined and internationalized through the Salone. The Ark of Taste, the Italian and, subsequently, the International Presidia, the specific features of local areas round the world, undefended small-scale artisanal production, outstanding virtually forgotten products—these were the main themes of the Salone in the past. People came, forged contacts and also, why not, did good business. Now get ready for the 2004 Salone, which is up and ready to go. Our ‘festival of responsible taste’ has grown in scale and is now ready to host greater cultural diversity and welcome a more informed public. After highlighting wine, food, processing and consumption, this year we focus our attention on people. The people who are behind what we eat and enjoy, producing it with their precious labor, frequently insufficiently respected or rewarded. The men and women who cultivate, grow and process what we eat: in short, food communities. This is the term that will be circulating at the Salone: round the pavilions, the Buon Paese Market, the Enoteca, the World Kitchens and the Presidia and Biodiversity spaces. You will hear it a lot because this Salone heralds a revolutionary new initiative: "Terra Madre – World Meeting of Food Communities". Five thousand people – farmers, fishermen, nomads, artisans – will be arriving to Turin from all round the world to represent all the many communities that grow and produce food sustainably. They will come to Turin and Piedmont to describe their experiences, to learn from their counterparts from elsewhere, to compare and to analyze common problems. This will be a first, unprecedented attempt to gather together and bring to the fore people whose work involves a wiser form of agriculture based on the traditional practices and knowledge that are emerging as the most appropriate solutions to ongoing problems. It will also be a valuable experience for the for participants themselves, people who face economic hardships and for whom just to travel to the meeting is a considerable sacrifice. In short, this year’s Salone, which looks to a future that one day we hope will materialize, will be more interesting than ever. And thanks to the people who wish it, maybe that future has already begun.
	Carlo Petrini Slow Food International President

So Doku

It's late and I've put down a few of the local microbrew, so you'll have to excuse me for the alliterative title. I thought a brief rundown was in order as the 51st annual Fancy Food Show closed up shop yesterday afternoon. This is the second FFS that I have attended, and it felt markedly different from last year's - in fact, it was different from most other food conventions I have attended recently. Often times, a food show can quickly degenerate into a public feeding frenzy with cynical salesmen and hopeless producers caught in the mix. I felt this to be especially the case at last year's FFS (#50) and at the 2004 Salone del Gusto in Turin. While the array of products is impressive and the goal of matching producers and retailers noble, invariably samplers, grazers, moochers, and filchers sully the event with ruminant efficiency. By noon on the second day, most exhibitors have given up hope, if not on their displays as well.

At this year's show, there was a palpably new vibe in the air. Business was afoot - prices were quoted, exclusives were sought, deals were made. Even as exhibitors closed up shop and traded wares, the usual end-of-show swap meet was muted in intensity. Instead of the disingenuous pandering that bruises the enterprising nature of the show, salesmen were on the whole gentle and knowledgeable, and buyers were genuinely seeking the "next big thing".

This isn't to say that there wasn't an abundance of slobs, gimmicks, and hacks - this is inevitable. Roving samplers decimated displays, hardly knowing what they were shoveling into their mouths. Booths upped the ante this year by hiring more belly-dancers, off-hours strippers, and models to hawk their wares. One could hardly go 10 yards without being accosted by a flirtacious bimbo who no doubt couldn't spell the name of the product she was selling. And snake oil peddlers abounded as much or moreso than other years.

Stand-out products include: Brent's Beer Brittle, Ciao Bella Gelato, Luigi Guffanti Cheeses, Neal's Yard Dairy and 3D Cheese cheeses (specifically Jasper Hill's aged cloth-bound Cabot), and many others.

Fancy Food Show links:
http://www.specialtyfood.com/do/Home
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8546733/