Dinner 365 | Faux Pho

Faux Pho from Bon Appetite

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 small onion
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 3x1" piece peeled ginger
• 2 1/2 cups low-salt beef broth
• 1 whole star anise
• 1 3"–4" cinnamon stick
• 4 ounces(2 cups) mixed mushrooms (such as oyster or stemmed shiitake), thinly sliced or torn (These were omitted for us because mushrooms cause a revolt and/or gagging sounds in this house)
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt
• 2 packages instant ramen (preferably not fried; noodles only)
• 1 1/4–1/2-pound piece beef eye round, sliced crosswise 1/8" thick
• Bean sprouts, basil leaves, and thinly sliced serrano chiles

Preparation

• Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onion, cut side down, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is golden, 3–4 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups water, broth, star anise, and cinnamon; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until flavors meld, 7–8 minutes. Add mushrooms; simmer 2 minutes. Add scallion. Season with salt.
• Meanwhile, boil ramen until tender but still firm to bite. Drain; divide among bowls.
• Add beef slices to soup; simmer until just cooked through, about 20 seconds. Using tongs, transfer beef to bowls.
• Discard ginger, garlic, star anise, and cinnamon; ladle broth into bowls. Garnish with bean sprouts, basil, and sliced chiles.

Dinner 365 | Lentil Soup

It's not like I'm not cooking, but I didn't really have the time to photograph food like I wanted to last year. Other life/work things took over.

I was looking for an 365 Photo project for 2012 and I have decided to shoot my dinner or other interesting meal with my iPhone every night. So far, so good.

The photos certainly aren't as pretty as the ones I take with my SLR, but I promise to throw in some 'good' ones as the year goes on. I hope my little project helps you plan your dinner if you're stuck or makes you feel better when YOU have pizza or a piece of toast with avocado on it for dinner (yep, done it several times already this year).

Let's get started!!!

January 1, 2012 - Lentil Soup from The Engine 2 Diet Cookbook (I halved this recipe)

This is a vegan, but crazy healthy, easy and delicious soup. The original recipe did not include any salt or oil, but it does help the flavor a lot!

A bit of vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
4 tomatoes chopped (can also used a can of diced tomatoes or a package of cherry tomatoes)
2 1/2 Cups lentils
5 cups vegetable broth
5 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste
2 large head of leafy greens chopped (kale, collard greens, spinach, Swiss chard, etc)

In a large soup pot, add onion, celery, garlic and carrots. Stir-fry for about 5-10 minutes, add the tomatoes, cook for 5 minutes more. Add the lentils, broth, water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil uncovered on high. Cover and simmer on low for 45 minutes. Add the greens and simmer for 10 more minutes.