In a small saucepan, combine the fish sauce, vinegar, tamarind juice, and sugar. Cook over medium high heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Set aside until needed.

In a large bowl, soak the dried rice noodles in warm water until somewhat tender but still firm to the touch, about 1 hour, drain well and set aside until needed.

Place the tofu on several layers of paper towel and press firmly to remove all excess moisture. Heat a wok over high heat. Add 2 T of canola oil and heat through. Add the tofu and stir fry until golden brown. Set aside until needed.

Place the wok over medium high heat until it is smoking hot. Add the remaining 2 T of oil, and then toss in the garlic, shallots, shrimp, radishes, and red pepper flakes. Stir fry for 30 seconds.

Add the drained noodles and ¼ c water to the wok, stirring and tossing quickly to separate the strands. Pour in the fish sauce mixture and paprika, tossing well to coat the noodles and keep them from sticking. Stir fry until the noodles are tender and the sauce has thickened slightly, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the cooked tofu, and cook another minute, tossing to combine and warm the tofu through. Garnish with all of the bean sprouts, green onions and chopped peanuts. Place a couple of limes wedges on each plate. Add a squeeze of lime and additional fish sauce to taste. Serve immediately.

In soup kettle, combine chicken broth, lime leaves, lemongrass, ginger root, and straw mushrooms over medium high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then add the coconut milk, dried chile and chicken.

Immediately reduce the heat to medium low and simmer gently, uncovered, until the chicken cooked through (2 min)

Just before serving, stir in the fish sauce, lime juice, salt green onions, and cilantro.

The kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and whole chiles are for flavor only and are not to be consumed. You may wish to place them in a sachet while cooking and remove before serving.

Find a kettle that has a lid and can go from the stove top to the oven.

Preheat oven to 350 F

Place the rice in a fine mesh strainer and rinse over cool water under water runs clear.

On the stove top over medium high heat, bring the liquid to a boil.

Turn off heat and add the rice.

Put the lid on, place the kettle in the oven and cook for exactly 17 minutes.

That’s it. Your rice is done. Perfect every time! You can remove it from the oven and leave the lid on to serve when you’re ready.

By the way, cooked rice freezes very well. Place individual servings in sealed sandwich bags and freeze. Microwave each serving for about 1 minute when you are ready to enjoy it.

In a small saucepan over medium high heat, bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Gently boil for another 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cooled vinegar mixture, mayonnaise, cream, salt and black pepper.

Toss dressing with coleslaw, green pepper, red cabbage, red onion and parsley.

Cover and chill for thirty minutes before serving.

Over medium high heat, melt the butter in a large pot. Add the sirloin and cook until the meat is browned. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic and sauté for 10 minutes.

Stir in the broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.

In a separate saucepan, melt 3 T butter over medium high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook 1-2 minutes, then add the milk and continue to whisk, working out all the lumps. You need to work fast on this step.

When the flour mixture is smooth, add it to the soup broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add in the pesto, shredded cheese, ketchup, mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir until the cheese is melted.

Remove from heat and serve (chopped pickles on top of the soup add a nice flavor…I know…it seems odd…but give it a try).