http://vickypham.com My Blog Sat, 21 Jan 2012 01:08:18 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Prepared fish sauce is the Vietnamese equivalent of ketchup. We use fish sauce for many Vietnamese dishes: Vietnamese crepe, spring roll, egg roll, vermicelli with grilled pork, and so on. It’s a simple sauce to make. However, I can never get the right ratio of ingredients. Too much ... http://vickypham.com/archives/406 Three months ago, I dropped off my son for his first day of pre-school. He clutched onto me as tightly as possible when he thought he was being abandoned. He screamed, wailed, and tried to escape. When I went to pick him up, tears stained his little cheeks – evident ... http://vickypham.com/archives/405 As I was making my way through the grocery store the other day, I noticed that a lot of the products are smaller in sizes yet higher in prices. Ice cream cartons have drastically reduced in size but prices have remained the same, if not, higher? Candy bars have gone ... http://vickypham.com/archives/398 My 3-year-old son must have somehow knew I was threatening to sell him on Craigslist if he doesn’t behave. Almost immediately after the last post, he started to eat properly, sit properly and my God, listen when I tell him to do something. Here’s a conversation we had just the ... http://vickypham.com/archives/395 Sometimes I feel like I fail as a mom. I used to think that once I become a mom, I would be the best mom ever. I would have the most obedient children in the world. They would listen to my every command and do my every request. Parents all over ... http://vickypham.com/archives/387 It’s that time of year again! No, not the holidays. It’s crab season! I have searched high and low for the best price for live crab in the Bay Area, and the cheapest has been $2.99/lb this year. That means I’ll be eating crab for some time until that price ... http://vickypham.com/archives/384 Making a delicious meal doesn’t have to  be difficult and time-consuming. Now with two kids in tow, I don’t have much time to slave away in the kitchen, but with a little planning, I was able to get this delicious dinner on the table in minutes. Burger Meat: ... http://vickypham.com/archives/379 Today we are making Dragon Rolls! Why is it called a Dragon Roll? Well, because it looks like a dragon! The sliced avocado and barbecued eel on the outside of the role resemble the scales of a dragon. Place some red flying fish roe on top and you got yourself ... http://vickypham.com/archives/373 Are you invited to a BBQ this weekend and not sure what to bring? Well, here's a very simple recipe for pasta shells with grilled sweet corn, roasted bell peppers and my all-time-favorite-go-to-meal-when-I-don’t-feel-like-cooking, Spam! No fuss. No refrigeration. Best of all, sweet corn is in season so it's ... http://vickypham.com/archives/358 When I met my husband in our early dating days, I tried to impress him with my baking skills...or lack thereof. My first baking project was chocolate chip cookies...from scratch! I figured since everything will be going in the batter, why not just skip reading the recipe, go down the ... http://vickypham.com/archives/354