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So about a month ago I went home for the weekend to help my mom with a dinner they've been doing at church called By Reservation Only.  Before I left for home, I went out to lunch with Mike to try Vietnamese for the first time at Pho Hoa, which is randomly tucked in a couple blocks from my place.  This is what I had!

The big bowl is a steak bowl, which was really awesome.  They had herbs and sprouts to add, and some sauces and sriracha for a little kick.  I really liked it, and it's pretty healthy.  Then above it are some spring rolls we shared, and a peanut dipping sauce.  I found out i definitely like vietnamese food.  yay!

Then I went home and spent a couple days working in the kitchen at church with my mom and some other church ladies.  They started doing these dinner in conjunction with the community theater's performances so that people have a place to go for a nice dinner before going to the play.  This was the third one, and mom was in charge of the food, so she figured out the menu and everything that went along with getting things ready.  For the appetizer we made a roasted red pepper dip, and had an assortment of crackers and pita chips.  Then they had a spinach salad with strawberries, croutons, and raspberry vinaigrette.  For dinner they chose between lasagna and green beans or golden mushroom chicken with garlic smashed potatoes and green beans.  I tried both and they were both delicious.  Then for dessert they chose from raspberry sorbet, blueberry bread pudding, and a toffee brownie sundae.  Everything was really good, and I actually really enjoyed helping out in the kitchen to get everything put together and get it plated up and ready for the servers.  It was also really cool to see our fellowship hall transformed into a beautiful space to serve church and community members. 

Here's mom and I in the kitchen!