Shrek's geste d'amour

Shrek diligently and constientiously woke up at the ungodly hour of 5am in order to prepare the stock for 'Pho*? bo`' **, undoubtedly our family's favourite dish. He managed to cook pho*? on his own like a pro with the help of his assistante ( without whom he would not be able to get anything done from the horse's mouth himself).

Shrek washed the beef bones and the oxtail, blanched it under high heat to get rid of impurities, drained the self-same bones and put it in a massive 15L stockpot. He then boil it at high heat briefly and leave it simmering away with the addition of oignons piqués avec clous de girofles , gingembre, étoiles d'anis, batônnets de cannelle, graines de coriandre et graines de fenouil for 7 hours scenting the house with hints of cinnamon, star aniseed and cloves. From time to time he had to skim the stock in order to rid off the impure froth.

He then spent an hour and a half going to and from the nearest Asian grocery store that is open in order to purchase the necessary accompaniments/herbs : bean sprouts, spring onions, coriander, sawtooth herbs and Vietnamese basilic.

It was with his assistante's preparations : chopping up herbs, grisly tenderised meat and raw beef etc... We finally dégusté our effort at half past noon.

I am extremely and especially proud of Shrek today as he lovingly prepared and executed/cooked a delicious meal for the whole family. Lil Miss N declared that she loved the pho* bo` so much she requested that we prepare pho*? bo` three times a week. To that my reply was 'everything in moderation' so we can have it from time to time but three times a week would lose its appeal, not to mention the time and cost involved. Making pho*? bo`is a laborious process with lots of little hinging tasks involved, it is a time intensive and laborsome dish, not one I can whip up daily at beck and call. Petit Suisse ate a big bowl and still had room for more. He drank the bowl clean. It was a success on all counts. Pho*? ga` *** on the contrary is not so time intensive and that could be our compromise as the ingredients are more readily available.

Shrek topped the summit when he vacuumed and mopped the floor and then prepared from A to Z two bowls of piping and delicious pho*? for his and my consumption when the kids have gone to bed so we can savour and enjoy the fruit of our labour after a tiring and long day.

I loved it !!!! Ta muchly Shrek, Je t'aime mon coeur wholeheartedly !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!