Vietnamese Cooking - the basics

Dear Babyboomers   (Warning - this post will most likely contain spelling errors - Blogger, in their wisdom, have removed Spellcheck along with the Video function.?????????  Not a happy blogger but others feel the same so hopefully these functions will be restored.  I was in the Spelling Remedial class at College in the days when spelling was important and only squeaked through in the last session - I used to spend so much time studying the spelling demons- perhaps this is why I didn't have much awareness of Vietnam.)

Re - Cook Books
R -  I have been searching for the dish you cooked from 'The Silver Spoon - and have just found it.  Florentine Beef Stew - Straccotto Alla Fiorentina.   We were really happy that you and B (Husband) have adopted this bible of Italian Food  too.  The recipes are always deliciously simple. By the way I received a lovely thank you note from future MOG after the Italian dinner so please tell B it was worth the risk. 

There are so many fabulous books out there which guide us re cooking and eating.  Can I ask B, why it is that even though I have heaps of Cook Books, and am confident re producing great food, that I somehow desperately want to still buy YET another one, which looks to be exactly what I have always wanted and needed.  This is the only area where these symptoms show through strongly.  Do I have a syndrome? There is absolutely no more room on the book shelf and the other day I was guilty of storing some cooking magazines under the couch so things are getting desperate.

Now that I have confessed I feel better and ready to start on  Dinner Party, Vietnamese Style, since it is obviously topical and G might be encouraged to pick up a few local hints (or at least buy me a regional cookbook).  it's good also to plan when you don't have to deliver.

I love Asian food and could eat it every night. 

Gỏi cuốn - Summer Rolls are a good example of tangy, crunchy.
Recipe tomorrow
Vietnamese cooking style has taken the lighter aspects of Chinese and Thai cuisine, and combined them with the subtlety of the French. It's all about mixing tangy heat with herbs, crunchy salad vegetables and seafood.
Wikipedia - Vietnamese cuisine is a style of cooking derived from the nation of Vietnam with fish sauce, soy sauce, rice, fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables all commonly used. Vietnamese recipes utilize a very diverse range of herbs, including lemongrass, mint, Vietnamese mint, long coriander and Thai basil leaves. Traditional Vietnamese cooking is greatly admired for freshness of the ingredients and for the healthy eating style.

The most common meats used in Vietnamese cuisine are pork, chicken, fish, and various kinds of seafood. The Vietnamese also have a strong vegetarian tradition influenced by Buddhist values.  The cuisine of South Vietnam has historically been influenced by the influx of southern Chinese immigrants, French colonists and other nationalities.
The basics include:-
Herbs - Basil - (Thai basil is available from Asian Grocery stores), Mint (Vietnamese Mint is really easy to grow and is quite peppery) but the ordinary varieties will suffice.
Sprouts - Mung-bean sprouts add crunch - they have a short shelf life so ensure there is no browning.
Green Mangoes  Should be hard to the touch - an unripe mango - the harder the better, can substitute.
Fish Sauce - an essential condiment

Ready to go - 
More tomorrow with extra local hints from G
Cheers Clara

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Visit my website on http://www.babyboomerconnections.com.au/

Good Morning Vietnam

Good Morning Vietnam http://www.projectvietnam.com/

G wrote Hello Darling - Always great to get your thoughts on return from dinner in the evening, Na Trang is very busy this weekend as they have a big celebration on as part of Vietnam 1000 year celebration with Ho Chi Minh centre stage. much loved father of modern Vietnam. Ian and  a couple of the others from past years projects have special invitations to attend, so tomorrow we all 7 do this then move on on Sunday to Vung Tou.

In answer to your question - The beer is quite good, in Hanoi they have 2 - 3 kegs on the side of the footpath; they put in the top valve then a tap and pour the beer straight into your

glass, Fresh and cold, I don't know how they get it cold.
In Na Trang it comes from the traditional tap on the Bar, a bit more upmarket. 

Other than that, the way they do things on work projects, deliveries etc is as different to our world as is Venice, except it's all done on bicycle!!

Clara - We could sell  both cars and just ride bikes.  1000 year celebrations - mind blowing.  My knowledge of Vietnam is mainly in the context of the Vietnam War and even then that is scant.  I began Teaching  in the mid 60's, and perhaps the busy process contributed to me missing out on a lot of background so this is a great opportunity to extend  my knowlege and do some googling.


How is the food?  Is it very spicy and hot?  Are the French bakeries still there or indeed is there much French influence?  How does it feel to be back there after all this time?

Keep safe Darling



Members of 7RAR disembark from a landing craft at Vung Tau for their second tour of duty in Vietnam, February 1970.

Already a popular resort before the war, Vung Tau came to be used by Australian and American servicemen as a rest area.

To view or add comment, click on comments at bottom of page or send an email - clara@babyboomerconnections.com.au or visit my website at www.babyboomerconnections.com.au

Recording first time baby says 'Granny'. Granny or a Nonna like me?

Dear R and other Babyboomers out there,

R wrote (she is a COG - crazy old Gal, like me and is going to be a granny soon - yeah!!!) -


- I'm toying with the idea of a camcorder, perhaps as simple as the kodak Zi8. I like the idea of the external microphone to capture sounds like, yes, the first time baby says granny! Didn't find one at Walmart, so the search is still on, with that being half the fun. I use a nikon D200 that was a gift from B back a few years. I love it, and admit to also not beginning to use all its features. I need to get back to the basics of depth of field and all that good stuff again. So much to learn. My problem is not what to do with my time, but how to find time to do everything I want to do. So perhaps we should add time management TM to our SR list. I often feel like a jack of all trades, master of none because I love so many things. My blog project has been great as it pulls everything together for me. There is much to be said for having a full plate. No time to wallow in the mire. Now that leads me to .....

you guessed it... Come on Baby light my fire, now is not the time to retire. List of words that rhyme with retire:


admire, buyer, dyer, dire, fire, higher, hire, liar, mire, plier, sire, tire, wire
Feel a song coming on?        Clara -   .....Your Energy I admire........
Talking about recording Grandchildren's first words, are you going to be a Granny, Nana, or a Nonna like me?
The name I chose for myself in this role , which I know suggests, correctly, that I was struggling somewhat with the whole concept, ..... was 'Nonna". Why not "Nana" which was the traditional name for the role in my family? Probably because I was in denial at the time and could not yet relate to the image/stereotype. I was not ready for the role; circumstances were complicated.   I am now really comfortable with the role-name as it allows paternal grandmothers to be 'Nana" and be different from me the 'Nonna'.


Nonna is of course, Italian, for grandmother (grandfather is Nonno) and even though I am not Italian, I feel that I have a soul / mindset that embraces what it means to be a nonna. The extended family is still alive and well in Italy and in Europe. People don't travel to the extent that they do from Australia, NZ or USA. I believe that children grow well in an extended family situation and recent studies suggest that children who have influence / caring from grandparents are ahead of the rest.


My grandparents were there for me or at least the grandmothers were. By the time I had any real awareness the grandfathers had passed away as many of them did in those days - silent sufferers who probably ignored symptoms until it was too late, except for Great Grandpa (paternal) who lived to 100 and received a telegram from the Queen. He said to me as we were about to move on to Australia "You are so fair that you could be an albino except for your eyes." Sometimes grandparents talk like that, as though you are really not there and that you are like a family specimen to be examined for your attributes etc.


A cot in your studio sounds lovely.  Using discarded broken pieces from another life as in today's piece, Flotsam, is a beautiful concept. Not only 'Everything old is New Again' but more than that when 'discarded, broken' becomes beautiful.
Cheers Clara
ps - I am not ignoring your TM - Time Management - just haven't had enough time.
Welcome to my journey as I photograph something I create everyday for a year... RRT




Flotsam...March 20th

Flotsam, discarded odds and ends. Pottery shards are just that, discarded broken pieces from another life. A land fill of sorts that pops up through the soil much like the first green shoots of spring. I decided to finally make something of my favorite shards in hopes that they will last in time in someone's collection, rather than become flotsam.

To view or add comment, click on comments at bottom of page or send an email - clara@babyboomerconnections.com.au or visit my website at http://www.babyboomerconnections.com.au/