I don’t know what I’m doing.  But I’m going to make this dish tonight anyway:  Pho Pork.

Almost every week, I go to this local Pho place and order one of two things -- the dish above or a bowl of curry chicken noodle soup.  I tried making the soup a couple of years ago and didn’t get the thickness or consistency that made it worth putting together a second time, so who knows what will happen with this one.  I’m going to give it a try though.

Here’s what I plan to buy (or we already have in the refrigerator) that are visually required for the dish (since I’m relying on how it looks and tastes to recreate it):  Two pork chops; Pho noodles; cilantro; lettuce; baby carrots; cucumber; bean sprouts; peanuts; hot sauce (I know what the bottle looks like, but not the name; it’s orange and complicated to pronounce).

Pound the pork with a hammer until very thin.  Marinate in hickory liquid smoke, light barbecue sauce and a bit of garlic (here we go).  Grill till cooked.  Take it off and slice in one inch by one inch squares (as much as you can cut it evenly; you could cut it in slivers, too).

Chop the lettuce and cilantro.  Cut the carrots and cucumbers into small strips.  Boil the noodles.  Crush the peanuts until crumbly.

Layer the bottom of a big bowl with the lettuce, cucumbers and bean sprouts.  Add the noodles on top.  Cover that with the pork, then add the peanuts, cilantro and carrots.  Mix it all together and add the hot sauce to your taste.

To me, the hot sauce is critical, but I know for many people they don’t like their dishes that way, so you may need to come up with another flavor to add that extra zest.  Maybe some barbecue sauce or something else you can pick up in the liquid spice section of your local market.

Let me know how it goes.

There are lots of ways to eat salads. You can make it all veggies.  You can put meat on top to make it a more substantial meal.  When you’re looking for something light, you might just mix several fruits together for a sweet salad.

This one is a bit of a combination. Start with your favorite lettuce to make the bed. Then add some sliced strawberries, pecan slivers, walnuts and pistachios, along with mandarin oranges (canned and pour the juice on, too).  If you feel daring, add a bit of diced red onion.

Toss this together, pour on vinaigrette dressing along with ground pepper and you are good to go.  You’ll get some good protein.  It will be a change of pace from your typical dinner salad and you don’t have to cook anything.  That’s nice.