Last-Minute Sautéed Veggies and My Trip To Monterey

Near Cannery Row in Monterey, Ca.

When a vacation rolls around, it always bugs me when I end up with food left in the fridge that has the potential to spoil (especially produce).  Normally, if I didn’t have time to eat it, I would just freeze it and call it a day; however, before this particular trip, there was scarcely a square inch of space left in my freezer! (One of the reasons why re-organizing the freezer is on my to-do list.)  My mom had sent me some beautiful homegrown veggies shortly before an upcoming vacation, and I was scrambling to figure out what to do with them. 

Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup (Pho Ga)

Who in their right mind makes soup in the middle of summer when it’s 110+ degrees outside? ...Oh, that’s right, I do.  Actually, call me crazy, but I made TWO different kinds of soup because I had a large batch of chicken broth to use, and I was in the zone.  Not exactly ideal for the current weather situation; but delicious, nonetheless.  

Perfect Baby Back Pork Ribs

I was trying to think of a title for this post that wouldn't sound pretentious or arrogant, but the only word I could think of to accurately describe these ribs was indeed "perfect."  I'm talking fall-off-the-bone, melt-in-your-mouth, perfect!  Now, I have eaten my fair share of ribs.  Ask any one of my immediate family members about it and the first thing they will tell you is the Chili's story from when I was fourteen and I ate an entire rack of ribs by myself (in addition to all the french fries that came with it and two lemonades…but I digress.)