banh what?? BANH XEO!!

So everyone here basically knows I've been craving some sort of Asian food since i arrived in Europe. Since i could not rely on the Asian restaurants here, i decided to make my own. FINALLY, something thats good and satisfies all my cravings. Savory (with a hint of coconut) meaty goodness was in my tummy last night.

It took my friend Nate and me a good hour or so to prepare all the chopping and mixing but i think it was really worth it in the end. Super tasty. So basically, banh xeo is the Vietnamese version of a French crepe if ya'll don't know what it is. The crepe is made with rice flour, regular flour, scallions, and tumeric. Tumeric is what gives the crepe the eggy yellow color. Apparently, tumeric is very healthy for you and can help with memory and Alzheimers. You first mix all the ingredients together with coconut cream and a little bit of water until it is easy to swirl around a pan. Start with sautéing some shallots and garlic is some cooking oil. Then you add seasoned shrimp and pork pieces and just let that heat through. Then you put a ladle full of the crepe mixture and you spread it out and put a cover on that to let it cook for a good two minutes. Next, you add bean sprouts and let those cook. Fold it in half and VOILA, you have just made Vietnamese food. Of course, the meal would not be complete with all the fresh veggie sides and the nuoc mam sauce for dipping. I also made a crap load of pickled carrots and I'm not entirely sure what i should do with them. Perhaps i will make some vietnamese sandwhiches with a fresh baguette and some pate and grilled pork meat.

Oh, and that last picture is a picture of fried bananas and coconut ice cream. I put some sesame seeds in the batter to get that toasty nutty flavor going. Sinfully tasty. Yeah i know, ya'll be jealous of the good food I just ate last night ;)

I think I might be making french toast today. nomnomnomnom.

BAH. I start school on Monday. I don't know whether I am more nervous or excited. But I am excited to go to my first French soccer game here. Football (French word for soccer) is supposedly a huge thing here so I am going to pay fifteen euros just to see what all this fuss is about.

*as a side note, you guys can expect to see pictures of Brussels, Antwerp, Brugges, and Amsterdam by the end of October. I just booked my flights!! And I will be spending my birthday is Amsterdam. Is there a better place?? I don't think so.