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Pho at home with @PacificFoods Pho Starters
OK, I’ll admit…I just tried pho for the first time about a month ago. I was starving and happened to pass this Vietnamese spot and decided to pop in. I ordered the phở bò (beef pho) to-go and rushed home to dig in. Ohhh my, it was delicious. The tender beef, all of the different flavors–it was a taste explosion!
In case you don’t know pho (pronounced “fuh”), it’s a popular Vietnamese soup with an aromatic broth that involves an 8-10 hour cooking process! It’s usually served with beef or chicken over rice noodles. Various toppings can be added based on your tastes, including mint, cilantro, basil, lime, bean sprouts, chilies, green onions and hoison sauce.
I’d been having pho cravings ever since, so I knew it was time to make my own pho using the Pho Soup Starters that the the great people over at Pacific Natural Foods had sent me. At this point you may be wondering why I hadn’t already made the pho if I had it at home. Simple–I wanted to try the real deal first so I’d have a comparison point.
Pho Soup Starters provides the soup base and all you need is 20 minutes of spare time, a protein (beef, chicken, etc.) and ingredients for the toppings. It comes in Chicken, Vegetable and Beef and the ingredients are all natural and organic.
I used the chicken broth…
Easy directions (click on image to enlarge)
Step 1: Cook the chicken and set it aside
Step 2: Boil the broth and add the chicken
Step 3: Chop some onion (I didn’t have green onion, so I used a Vidalia onion), lime, and wash bean sprouts, cilantro and basil
Step 4: Cook the rice noodles
Step 5: Spoon noodles in a bowl, add broth and chicken, and add your own fresh toppings
Step 6: Enjoy! I added hoisin sauce and chili sauceTHE VERDICT
It was delectable! The flavors were rich and complex–I was impressed and thoroughly enjoyed it. I must admit, getting restaurant phở is easier and cheaper (at least at the place I went to), but if you don’t have a Vietnamese restaurant near by, or better yet, a Vietnamese grandmother, this is definitely the next best thing!! Try it for yourself!Want to know more about Pho Soup Starters? Visit www.pacificfoods.com.
xoxo, Olisa
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Whats Your Forte Presents: Soul Food on Thursday!
Join us for the cooking collaborative consisting of culinary artist Adrian B.Forte (Whats Your Forte?) and Bryan Butler (Massive Catering) brings to you a southern style gourmet dining experience accented with the right ambiance and soothing sounds orchestrated by some of Toronto’s elite DJ’s playing the best in 90’s R&B.
THURSDAY, JUNE 23RD
…DOORS OPEN AT 6:00 PM
TICKETED EVENT!!!
LIMITED $40 TICKETS AVAILABLE
$40 TICKET INCLUDES APPETIZER, MAIN COURSE, DESSERT & ENTRANCE INTO THE AFTERPARTY
RSVP IMMEDIATELY via whatsyourfortetv@gmail.com
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PICK UP @ TOTA LOUNGE
(592 Queen W).RESERVATIONS ARE NOT VALID WITHOUT TICKET!!1st Seating
6:30 PM – 8:00PM2nd Seating
8:00PM – 9:30PM3rd Seating
9:30PM – 11:00PMAfter party as well after 11:00PM Seating.
Music by :DJ Kicks & DJ Fame
Soul Food Menu
Starter
Southern hospitality
Traditional cornbread made with Jalapeno & cheddar, kicked up a notch or ten
Tender Mac-a-roni bites
Signature 3 cheese macaroni pie, shrunk down into appetizing bites of heaven, still big on taste
Entrée
Dirty Bird
A big o’l quarter piece of boneless chicken lightly dusted & deep-fried, topped with house sauce
Memphis sole
Blackened pan seared Sole in a plethora of herbs & spices with sautéed vegetables
Chocolate
100% Certified Angus Beef ® short ribs, grilled to perfection & tossed in homespun savoury chocolate BBQ sauce
Drop Top
Over-roasted Poblano peppers stuffed with an assortment of mushroomsDessert
Georgia peach
Sweet & succulent Georgia peach slices topped with buttery whole grain oats & graham cracker crust, finished with in-house whipped cream
Side Dishes
Golden mash
Yukon gold potatoes mashed with garlic cream & an abundance of butter
Dirty rice
Long grain wild rice tossed with Creole seasoning, with morsels of chicken, beef, onions & peppers
Bayou Salad
5 leaf salad with a Cajun Creole twist
Join us at Tota (592 Queen Street West)
Follow @missamandachen and @AdrianBForte
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Colorful benefits!
I was always afraid of green peppers as a little girl. I guess this could be attributed to the fact that every time I ate green pepper, a horrible rash would break out on my arms; so I grew up avoiding green peppers as well as all other peppers. A few years ago I had a tri-pepper omelette that totally rocked my world (in a good way), and the best part? There was no allergic reaction. Needless to say I’ve been hooked ever since. I enjoy sitting down and snacking on a bowl full of green pepper strips… dunking them into a creamy ranch sauce…mmm yummy.
Even though I already knew that peppers were a healthy snack, I didn’t know just how amazing they really are. Did you know that ALL peppers are rich in vitamins A, C and K? Why should you care? Well, vitamins A and C are antioxidants and they help prevent cell damage, cancer, as well as diseases caused by aging. They also support the immune system, and help in reducing inflammation caused by arthritis and even ashtma. Vitamin K strengthens bones, and helps protect cells from oxidative damage (changes seen in living organisms in response to excessive levels of cytotoxic oxidants and free radicals in the environment). Red peppers are an excellent source of lycopene which aids in preventing prostate, cervix, pancreas and bladder cancers. The benefits don’t stop there; the Beta-cryptoxanthin found in red peppers, helps prevent lung cancer from both smoking and secondhand smoke. Peppers also provide a decent amount of fiber, and the heat in both hot and sweet peppers contains substances that have been shown to increase the body’s heat production and oxygen consumption for about 20 minutes. That’s right, simply eating peppers helps your body burn extra calories.Get your eat on!
peace, love and health
♥Bella♥
*HeyDoYou is for the cute, clever and connected* -
HCB #53: fried rice loving!
I loves me some celery and adore sweet peppers, and sometimes I love them with my rice. So I put 2 and 2 together… or 3 and 3… Whatever, I was feenin’ for some fried rice, so I did the damn thing!
You know I had to have some craisins in there!Why is fried rice so damn good?!
Happy cooking lovelies!
peace and love
♥Bella♥
*HeyDoYou is for the cute, clever and connected* -
HCB #52: Cococococonut Curry Rice!
I was feenin’ for some rice and peas… but I also wanted some curry rice. So I brought the two together, and mmm mmm mmm! So GOOD. I love making spice blends, so it was fun bringing my rice and peas spice blend and curry spice blend together. T’was a good move.
This was delicious. And the raisins? oh… my… gosh… the raisins. They just make everything extra tasty! The coconut milk offered a delicious delicateness that I simply couldn’t put into words.
My rice and peas/curry rice craving was WELL satisfied.
Happy cooking!
peace n love
♥Bella♥
*HeyDoYou is for the cute, clever and connected* -
HCB #51: put that carrot in my coconut…
There are many great things that I learned during my time in chef school, and one of the many things that I learned and keep so close to my heart, is the art of making A DAMN GOOD SOUP. For some this doesn’t sound like anything special, but believe me when I tell you that there is an art to making a GOOD soup.
I cooked the carrots in soy and coconut milk, along with some garlic, onion and other special ingredients, then brought them together…I used to HATE soup, and dreaded ANY and EVERY occasion that involved soup… until I went to chef school.
Anyway, this soup was the BOMB! It was like Christmas in Heaven… only in your mouth! Yes.peace and blessings
♥Bella♥
*vegan friendly 🙂
*HeyDoYou is for the cute, clever and connected*
