Our First Pho Try And Women’s Hair Revisited

I’ve never eaten Vietnamese Pho or any other Oriental noodle bowl that I can remember but I was inspired to try it by watching TV.  After seeing it made on several Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives shows, I realize the key ingredient in Oriental noodle bowls is the broth but I didn’t want to put in the effort for a first try as my main goal was to use up the case of ramen noodles that Bev bought.  As Blondie might say to Dagwood – “I know we never eat Ramen but I saved a lot of money by buying a case of it.”  I looked at several recipes online then made up the one below.  Since Madison was here with her no-gluten boyfriend, I cooked some rice noodles as well.

Pho

Ingredients for 5-6 bowls:

6 cups water

6 tsp. Harvest Vietnamese Pho Broth Mix ()

2 pkg (3 oz each) dried Ramen noodles, split between 4 bowls

3-4 oz/bowl sliced deli roast beef, room temperature – see note

2 tsp rough chopped cilantro/bowl

Small handful bean sprouts/bowl

1/8 cup sliced green onion (both parts)/bowl

Note: we had some pork rib-tip meat, with a Chinese glaze, left from another meal so each person had the option of just beef, pork and beef, or just pork.  The rib tip is the bottom piece that I removed from the St. Louis cut spare ribs – I sliced it thin and let it come to room temperature.

Instructions:

Add the water and Pho broth mix to a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer.  Taste and adjust for S&P.

Cook the Ramen and rice noodles according to package directions.

Let everyone build their own bowl beginning with the noodles, then adding the other ingredients followed by the hot broth.

This is my bowl with both noodles kinds of noodles and both meats.

We didn’t have chop sticks or oriental soup spoons so we just used spoons and forks.

The Verdict:

I thought it was pretty good for a first try and regular Oriental noodle bowl person, Madison, liked it.  Bev thought the broth needed more flavor.  While we need to eat up the Ramen, I preferred the rice noodles and both meats worked well.  I believe for the next try I’ll go with a Chinese version and use our homemade broth.

Women's Hair

Way back in December 2020, I posted this about women’s hair styles:

“And now the important part of this post -  my long awaited opinion on women’s hair.

We all have our personal views on things and I have one on women’s hair (not that anyone else cares)  – my whole life I have thought long hair on most women is way more attractive, feminine, and sexy than short hair and I’m really glad I have lived long enough for it to become popular again.  This is not to say that I think long hair looks best on all women or that I think all women look better with long hair but in general, I love the long, soft, feminine hair look.  Bev wears hers a little long but I don’t really know if it’s for me or because it’s the way she likes it.  But I do know that at 74, it’s great to be married to a hot, long haired, redhead.”

Well, alas, judging from what I see on TV, long hair seems to be on the way out and replaced with shorter styles which I’m sure have official names that I don’t know, but the three I see the most are:

No 2.

Often worn by the Today Show's Dylan Dreyer.

No 3.

I have sure enjoyed the long sexy hair while it has lasted and even Bev is wearing hers shorter in what I call the “Cleopatra Hair” look.

Bev

And while long hair may be on the way out, plunging necklines seem to be on the way in. Always interesting to watch how styles change thru the years.

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

9/20/24 Meal date.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry