Comforts of Vietnamese Food

Way back when I was disillusioned by the robotic sweatshop of a theatre's costume shop, I considered going into culinary arts. I even sent for an info packet from the CIA. Sure, I love to cook and entertain, but after reading how many hours you have to put in at a restaurant, I decided just live vicariously via Top Chef. Plus telling people that I sell sex toys for a living is way cooler.

Now that I'm finally in my second trimester, I can actually eat again. Whew! I lost 8 pounds thanks to first trimester queasiness and lack of appetite. When I'm not feeling well, there's nothing like good old Vietnamese food to comfort me. I ate a lot of pho. Thank goodness there's a pho joint in walking distance. My absolute favorite is something you can't normally find in Viet restaurants, bun rieu. The pork and crab/shrimp meatballs in a tomato-shrimp broth topped with fresh cilantro and bean sprouts over bun noodles. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

My mom didn't enjoy cooking when I was young, so she discovered many shortcuts to her favorite dishes. I have no idea how authentic these dishes are with the shortcuts, but they're the flavors I grew up with. Heck, even my non-Viet hubby loves these dishes. I'm just amazed how resourceful my mom was with her meals. Both she and my father worked long hours so it was a necessity. She taught me how to cook rice (on the stove not the rice cooker) when I was 10 or 11.

Growing up, our family was pretty close. My mom had a gazillion brothers and sisters and they in turn had a gazillion kids (ok not that many but a lot). Our family was on the small side since my parents only had 2 kids. Every Sunday, we went over to my oldest aunt's home. The women would cook enough food to feed us all day. Every week it was something different, but sooo yummy. The men would sit on the floor in the living room, drink, eat, and gossip. The women would sit with the kids, always serving themselves last. After we ate, the oldest girls did the dishes (meaning mainly me).

Then we'd pull out the cards or the Viet bingo cards and spend the rest of the afternoon gambling, laughing, and nibbling on leftovers. As we older kids became teenagers, these afternoons weren't cool enough for us, of course. We didn't get together as often anymore. Family started to move more further away. That magic seemed to dissipate. I guess that's just how things evolve.

Even though we're too far away to join my parents for their monthly family gatherings, somehow eating my childhood Vietnamese comfort foods make me feel closer to them. Especially as DH, Sophia and I sit at the dinner table together. Sophia loves pho and many other Vietnamese food. I'm glad to be passing on this tasty part of her heritage to her.

What's with all these thoughts about comfort foods? Over at Silicon Valley Moms Blogs, we're reading Kate Jacobs' newest book, Comfort Food and talking about comfort. Check it out!

Photo from sushi4viki via Flickr.

My Kid Is Adorable Too!

Since I live far away from most of my family (my sister lives near me) and my husband isn't Vietnamese, I try to expose Sophia to as much of my culture as possible. Thankfully, the DC area has a large Vietnamese population so food is easy to find.

Yesterday we attended a local Tết Festival. Tết is the name of Vietnamese Lunar Year. (Everyone calls it Chinese New Year, which is really annoying since other cultures celebrate it too. But I digress) Tết is a fun celebration. You get to wear new clothes, eat great food, and the best part, you get special red packets of money from your elders, called lì xì. At the festival we were able to buy bánh mi, egg rolls, and the lucky new year bánh chưng. All comfort foods for me and newly loved foods for my husband and daughter. YUM!

My mom even bought a traditional áo dài for Sophia to wear. For the Adorable Kids Contest. That's right. Adorable Kids Contest, cash prize of $50! Sounds fun and innocent enough right? So we registered for the contest, got our number tag (#12), and waited offstage for our turn. All the kids had to do was walk on stage and answer a few questions. What is your name? How old are you? Did you want to sing or show off your dress?

Sophia is a natural performer. If she sees a stage, she'll jump up and put on a show. She was very excited to walk on stage (all by herself, she told me). She did a great job and was very adorable. She decided to sing one of her favorite Vietnamese songs. Everyone laughed and applauded. She loved it! My mommy brain thought, oooh, she might have a chance at winning.

I guess I was a bit too naive about the "contest." It really was a mini-pageant. There were 4 and 5 year olds wearing make-up along with their áo dài. They even had props! Who knew carrying a basket of fake fruit made a kid more adorable? One girl even recited a long philosophical poem in Vietnamese! I doubt the 5 year old even understood what she was saying.

Don't forget the stage moms! As we waited, there are harshly whispered coaching (in Vietnamese of course). Smile! Don't step on your dress. Hold your fruit basket on the side so they can see your pretty dress. Don't step on your dress!
There were only 4 or 5 stage moms out of the 20 kids in the contest. Was I out of my element? I just wanted Sophia to have fun. Costumes? Props? Poetry? Thank good nothing had been choreographed.

Ever since Sophia was born, many people (strangers too) have told us to put her in modeling. DH and I decided that if she wants to model, she can decided when she's old enough to make a good decision. Participating in this contest reaffirms our decision. Even at 4 & 5, even 3, I think kids can totally sense that how they look to others is more important when they are in pageants (or "adorable contests"). Even more important than what their moms think. The judges decide if you are adorable or not.

That's too young for a child to evaluate her self-worth. Especially girls. What are we teaching our children by putting them in pageants? Your cuteness is what matters? Who cares if you're smart, artistic or can create the Eiffel Tower with your blocks? What does it teach our boys? Girls should be put on display and judged by their looks? I know that it's prevalent in our culture, but why not take these early years and instill in our children confidence and self-love?

Everywhere we go, people stop and tell Sophia (or me) how beautiful she is. They gush even. I've been teaching her to reply, "I'm smart too." Now she gets so excited when she learns something new. She runs to me, proudly proclaiming "I'm so smart mama!" I know that might change when she's a teenager, but I'm laying down the foundation now so it'll be easier for her.

Sophia didn't win the contest, but she had no idea it was contest. She just wanted to sing and dance on stage, especially since there was a large audience for her. Guess who won? Not the girl with the fake fruit. The one who recited the long philosophical poem. And though there were other biracial contestants there, why did I get the feeling that Sophia never had a chance? But that's another blog post.

One girl even recited a poem in Vietnamese! I doubt the 5 year old even understood what she was saying.

Day 24: What does my body say about me?

Yesterday I felt so rushed and busy. Which in turn made me cranky. It took me a long time get out of that mood. Today I decided that I would slow down. We didn't have to do what we usually do. I ran some errands I've been meaning to run for 2 days. I even took Sophia to the library. Shared a bowl of pho for lunch. Pho is the most amazing comfort food. Even napped together for a little bit.

It's amazing how that one decision took the weight off my shoulders. My steps felt lighter. I felt freer. Maybe other people couldn't tell how I felt, but I noticed a difference. Have you ever stopped to people watch? It's amazing what you can tell about people just from their walk, their body language. Hubby & I like to make up stories about strangers' lives.

On my thirtieth birthday, I knew my walk was different. There was a spring in my step. I event got hit on! LOL.

I wonder if changing your walk and how you hold your body can change your mood. So if I were in a cranky mood but made a conscious decision to walk in a happier way. Hmmm.

P.S. If you haven't had pho yet, you are missing out! Run, don't walk, to the nearest Vietnamese restaurant or pho restuarant. There are many different varieties so you'll find one you'll like. And don't forget to ask your waiter/waitress on how to dress your pho.

photo by foodmuse