Pho me? Why, thank you!

Wow, what a beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest!  I started my day with a jog down to the Tulalip Marina in Marysville, Washington.  It is a little over two miles from my sister’s farm so it was about a 4 mile run, and it was awesome.  The air was crisp and cool.  The sun peaked at me through the trees, and then I reached the bay.  It was GLORIOUS!  The mountains with their fresh snow caps in the background, the sun rippling across the water, the boats swaying with the gentle breeze, it was seriously like right out of a novel.

Down by the bay

I made it back to the farm and got a little work accomplished.  It is nice to be able to be here and still take care of my customers back home.  It would be so frustrating to be in the middle of a home purchase and your only contact for your transaction being like “see you in a week folks, hope it all goes well!”  Yeah, that would not be cool.  So I feel very blessed I have this ability and I am sure my customers appreciate it too.

We met my parents in Everett at a restaurant to eat some Pho.  Pho, pronounced “fuh”, is Vietnamese and is basically broth and noodles.  But it would be a shame to leave it at that because Pho is so much more.

I ordered the small Veggie Pho, and let me tell you, it was anything but small.  It could have fed me and one other person.

Here is me right before I ordered my Pho, excited fo-sho!

The broth is sweet and very hot, not spicy hot, temperature hot.  It is so hot that if you order it with meat they will throw thinly sliced uncooked meat in it right before they bring it out and by the time it reaches the table it is cooked.  So when you get it you have to wait a little before you can really start digging in.

Here is the family enjoying their Pho...

The noodles, made from rice, sit in the bottom of the bowl and you bring them to the surface with your chopsticks.  They present you with a beautiful plate of sprouts, basil, and lime wedges with your Pho, so that you can add it if you so desire. 

You can also add a squirt of Hoisin sauce which is a very sweet and similar to a plum sauce.  Every once in a while I would dip my chopsticks in the Hoisin sauce before going in for a bite of noodles.  I added very little of anything to my Pho and just enjoyed the perfectly cooked veggies and tofu, and slurped up the delicate broth.

The broth is really where it’s at.  It is the signature of the chef and is infused with their family traditions and is passed down and cultivated over time and generations.  I got to sneak in the kitchen of the restaurant and snap a few pictures of the reluctant cooks preparing the Pho and puff pastries that this particular restaurant serves in tandem. 

They are very proud of their little tasty treats as they are “Mom’s” recipe, and they serve them at the same time as the Pho.  And whew, soooo good!  They are filled with a vanilla custard and melt in your mouth.

We left full, full, full of Pho, and each one of us was a happy camper.

Here is Caleb checking out Grandpa's sweet ride.

After enjoying so much tasty Pho we needed a walk.  So we headed down to the Tulalip beach and caught some rays (they are rare in these parts).

Here is Tall Timber Farms the Baker family (my sister’s) homestead.

New Barn

The White House

New addition, the pond

Playing Catch with Uncle Shane



My sister Robin, so fashionable matching the flowers and all.

It is a beautiful place and I am blessed to be here.


Well folks, I don’t think they have a Pho restaurant in Joplin, Missouri, so all you “Joplers” will have to find it elsewhere.  But all you Seattleites, you need to try it now that you know what it is.

YUM!

Xoxo

Ronda