Bún Chả

Three days before we arrived in Hanoi back in May, Anthony Bourdain — author, chef and host of the TV show “Parts Unknown” — posted a photo on Facebook of him and President Obama having dinner together in a tiny noodle shop in Hanoi. So when I arrived in Vietnam, I was determined to find out what they were eating, which turned out to be Hanoi’s famous Bún cha — a mind-blowing rice noodle dish served with caramelized pork, fresh herbs and a sweet dipping broth.

Bún Chả in Hanoi

Fortunately, our friend Owen, who manages the Slipway restaurant in Thomaston in the summer and works in a Hanoi restaurant kitchen in the winter, gave us directions to his favorite bún cha stand in Hanoi. As soon as the taxi driver realized where we were going, he decided to drop in for a bite along with us. We knew we were in the right place! Bún cha is a very simple dish, which you can prepare ahead of time if you are planning to have an end-of-summer picnic. This week I’d like to share with you my recipe for this delicious Hanoi favorite.

Ingredients:

Serves 4 people

1 bag of rice noodles (8 oz)

For the Pork:

1 lb. ground pork or pork belly or both

2 Tbsp. caramel sauce ( 1:1 sugar and water see recipe below)

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. oyster sauce

¹⁄₂ Tbsp. fish sauce

¹⁄₄ tsp. black pepper

¹⁄₈ tsp. salt

1 glove garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

For the dipping sauce:

1 cup fish sauce

1 cup sugar

6 cup water

pinch of salt

For the pickles:

2 carrots

1 kohlrabi

1¹⁄₄ tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar

1 tsp. sugar

Toppings:

minced hot pepper and garlic

handful of basil

handful of mint

handful of cilantro

handful of bean sprouts

handful of perilla leaves (optional)

Direction:
Start by making the caramel sauce for the marinade. In a sauce pan, melt ¹⁄₃ cup sugar over medium heat. You can swirl the pan occasionally, but try not to stir it. Be careful not to walk away because it can burn pretty fast. Once the sugar has completely melted and turns into a dark amber color, stir in ¹⁄₃ cup hot water until it’s combined. It will splash, so be careful while stirring. Set aside and let it cool. This sauce is what’s going to caramelize the pork when you grill it. It is used in many marinated dishes and you can usually find the sauce in the Vietnamese grocery store or you can also substitute it with honey or molasses.

Once the caramel sauce has cooled to room temperature, mix in the remaining ingredients for the pork marinade. Traditionally bún cha is served with both grilled pork belly and grilled pork medallions. If you can find pork belly at your local butcher, I’d encourage you to make the pork belly too. But I wasn’t able to find them this week so I’m only working with the ground pork. Try to get the ones with more fat on so it doesn’t dry out when you grill them. Marinate for at least two to three hours or overnight.

To prepare the pickles, cut the carrots and kohlrabi into thin sticks. Toss them in a teaspoon of salt and let them sit for 30 minutes. This will allow the carrots and kohlrabi to sweat out some water and make the pickles nice and crunchy. Traditionally the pickles are made with carrots and green papaya, but since green papayas are hard to get around here, I’ve found that kohlrabi makes a great substitute as it tastes really similar and has the same texture.

After 30 minutes, rinse and drain the carrots and kohlrabi sticks and mix in the remaining ingredients. You may add in a few dried chili flakes for some extra heat. Keep it in the refrigerator until you need to use it.

To make the dipping sauce, mix together all ingredients for the sauce, bring it to a boil, then remove it from heat and let it cool to room temperature.

To cook the rice noodles, bring 6 cup water to boil in a sauce pan, cook the noodles for 3 minutes, and immediately shock them in ice cold water. Set aside until ready to serve.

Once the pork is marinated, scoop about 1 Tbsp. each of the ground pork and shape them into medallions. Set aside in the refrigerator until it’s ready to grill.

Preheat the grill to a high temperature. I’m using a grill pan here but if you have an outdoor grill with charcoal, you should absolutely use that to give it that extra smoky flavor. Grease the grill or the pan with a little oil and grill the medallions for 3 minutes on each side until well cooked.

To serve the dish, in a small bowl ladle the chilled dipping sauce and add the pickled carrots and kohlrabi.

Dunk a few pork in the sauce along with some rice noodles, fresh herbs and minced garlic and hot pepper; make sure you get a bite of everything.

Get more Vietnamese inspired recipes on www.thewayriceshouldbe.blogspot.com

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RESIDENT, PROTESTS HAVEN’T IMPROVED BLACK LIVES

by Marshall Frank on SEPTEMBER 18, 2016 in GENERAL, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT

President, protests haven’t improved black lives

Marshall Frank, community columnist12:05 a.m. EDT September 18, 2016

I’m one American citizen who’s heard enough of the rhetoric about black oppression and white supremacy. Race baiters continue to stoke the flames of hatred because it intimidates and garners attention.

Fact: Race relations in this country have taken a nose dive since the inauguration of Barack Obama. And that’s not because more people have become racist.

Despite being led by a first-black president, little has improved for poor blacks in America today, than in 2009. Obama has made some black appointments in high places, hosted lots of rich celebrities in the White House and made lots of speeches, but the fact remains, black unemployment remains dismal today and the plight of violent, inner-city criminal activity among black youths has soared.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rate for young blacks up to age 24 stands at 20.6 percent, more than double that of white males in the same age bracket. According to the Pew Research Center, the rate of blacks living in poverty is 27.2 percent, higher than in 2009 when the rate stood at 25.8 percent.

The Department of Commerce reports that in 2012, 13 percent of recipients of federal aid such as Medicaid and housing assistance are white, 23 percent are Hispanic and 41.6 percent are black. The median income among black households has declined 1.5 percent in the seven years President Obama has been in office.

So, what has Obama accomplished for people of color?

The National Review published an article on March 24 that cited the backslide of black people under the first black president. Pandering for votes, Donald Trump has asked the black community, “What have you got to lose?”

A question worth pondering. Conditions certainly haven’t improved under this president.

Oppression and discrimination against blacks is a shameful part of American history, no one can dispute that.

However, the racial disparities of the mid-20th century have been vigorously addressed by government and educational institutions and for the most part, are eliminated. The Black Lives Matter movement was born of a sham, an absolute lie from which the anarchists have capitalized, making things worse, not better, in police/community relations.

I personally witnessed the arc of change from my early days as a police rookie in Miami-Dade in the 1960s to modern times. Black oppression and white privilege absolutely existed.

But big changes started in the 1970s through the turn of the century. School busing programs were enacted. Blacks have been awarded special consideration for college scholarship programs. Revised hiring and promotion systems within public and private sector organizations were instituted to ensure opportunities to blacks, Hispanics and women.

Many civil service jobs once had a strict process for promotions, which included testing and performance. They were amended to allow appointments up the ladder based on color, sex and ethnicity, not just performance. I know. I was there. I watched when minority officers were catapulted to top-level commanders in order to equalize disparities there. Cops, in general, accepted the new thinking as part of the evolution. Some resented having followed the rules for years only to find themselves working under people who did not.

Today, blacks have made enormous progress. Besides a black president, and many blacks heading government departments, minorities successfully lead in a wide range of work places including big business, politics, media, sports and entertainment, banking, military and more.

But that has not elevated millions of other blacks out of the morass of welfare dependency, nor has it improved family environments for kids, where 75 percent of infants are born out of wedlock, leaving mothers to find low-level jobs, glean what they can from welfare, and leave their teenage kids to be raised and influenced by others in the ‘hood. The beat goes on.

We need to end the guilt trips and the blame game, and start creating more opportunity for everyone.

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Engraved in stone

By Tabitha Korol

The Children of
Abraham of the Southern Tier, an interfaith organization in Johnson
City, has taken offense at the 9/11 memorial raised in the nearby Town
of Owego, New York. This association of misguided multiculturalists
and Muslim moderates allege that identifying the perpetrators of the
worst individual act of aggression on American soil would encourage
Muslim hatred, never once excoriating the very act that resulted in the
death and injury to more than 3,000 American victims
and 453 responders and boundless grief for their families and for all
Americans.

Did the moderates ever
attempt to apologize for the horrific crime that forced people to jump
to their death rather than be burned alive? Did they express their
sorrow for the victims and heroic rescue workers,
or atone in a way to benefit the families that suffered such tragic
loss? Do they even acknowledge that Islamic terrorists continue their
march of evil, putting America and Europe on high alert for 9/11, or
that this was part of Islam’s perpetual holy war
against every living being on the planet. No. And the city manager’s
overtures were also snubbed.

The Muslim residents
of Johnson City may be moderates who never take up a lethal weapon for
Allah, but they are engaging in a subtle act of civilizational or
settlement jihad. Such people are comparatively discreet
in Western society, going about their lives inconspicuously, but
effecting regime changes in gradual increments. By their refusal to
acknowledge the obvious links between Islam and 9/11, they shield those
who spew hatred against America, Israel and democracy;
they empower the academics and students who vilify Israel and Jewish
students on campus, and they facilitate the crossing of borders for
hijra (conquest by increased population). Under the guise of injured
sensibilities, they insist on the removal of anything
that may identify those who pursue our destruction and conquest with
Islam, hoping to erase the ugly truth that fourteen centuries of
barbarism continues unabated in every country where Islam is found.

They would have us believe that a tiny minority is to blame, but a recent

Pew Research poll shows that 51 percent of American Muslims choose
to be governed by sharia; 30% believe it is legitimate to use violence
against those who insult Muhammed, the Koran, or Islam; 25 percent
believe violence against Americans can be justified
as part of the global jihad; and nearly 20% believe the use of violence
in the US is justified in order to make sharia the law of the land.
When presented with a choice when sharia conflicts with the US
Constitution and Bill of Rights, 33% say sharia should
be supreme. That’s some minority! Politically, 48% are Democrats, 19
percent Independents, and 19 percent Republicans.

Islam already
regulates our speech through our government, our media, and the constant
hazard of being damned as Islamophobic to those who dare to speak up.
They cover their tracks through leftist academics,
a strong BDS movement, and textbooks crammed with indoctrinal and
fallacious material. Continuing along those lines, the Johnson City
assemblage is working to remove from future knowledge the history of
9/11 that was carved into the granite. If we fail to
yearly observe significant events as the bombing of the World Trade
Center, the signing of our Declaration of Independence, our victory in
World War II, and more, our youth will be robbed of their identity,
their heritage, and America as we know it. Wisdom
is defense. Ignorance of our journey through history is the greatest
threat to our survival.

It should be
noted that this interfaith group’s complaint was not that they, too,
should have paid homage to America’s fallen or, specifically, to Owego’s
citizen, Derek Statkevicus, who lost his life
that day. Neither were they inspired to erect a monument in their own
city or to join Owego residents in a fight against the greatest scourge
of mankind with its unspeakable crimes done in the name of their
religion. Rather, they express a phony outrage that
the criminals have been identified with Islam! Often enough, other
Islamic groups attempt to blame 9/11 on American citizens, on Jews or
Christians, but this one is working to eliminate the obvious first, to
claim that the 19 were unknown, came out of nowhere,
and bombed America for no specific reason. Removing the offensive
truth from the monument will leave room for revisionism later, just as
Major Nidal Hassan (Fort Hood Massacre) was called anything but what he
was, and his jihad massacre was officially named
“workplace violence.”

Instead of
condemnation or owning up to the demands for death inherent in the
Koran, these individuals hope to gradually erase the event from our
memory and from generations to come – just as Islamists have
obliterated or renamed many artifacts and historic tombs to create
their own narrative, just as their counterparts in Israel are trying to
stop archaeological excavations from revealing more of Jewish history.
These Children of Abraham may well be the Islamic
families that escaped tyranny but, unfortunately for the rest of us,
they nurture their children with intolerance and harshness, creating a
new, young generation of jihadists. These offspring may become the young
men enticed online to join ISIS’ executioners,
or the young women lured to sexual slavery for the Palestinian cause.

We must continue to remind ourselves of the anger, the tears, and the patriotism that were triggered that day of September 11^th,
fifteen years ago, and realize that we are in more danger now than
ever before. The Middle East has grown bolder and more violent.
Islamists are acquiring newer, deadlier weapons, and more of their
numbers are making their way into Europe, North and South America,
bringing with them new plans to terrorize and infuse their
way of life into ours. Islam has been at war with the world since the
seventh century. Their holy book is a dedication to brutality and
conquest, so that even their own people are condemned to grope in the
darkness of oppression and poverty. In the name of
their god, they must erase the past to support their own
supersessionist narrative, and we must never oblige them. The more that
Americans accommodate such requests and attempt to correct or crush our
own speech, the more power we will hand to them. Unless
we weigh the long-term ramifications of the growing adjustments we make
to our lives for the sake of theirs, we will lose our freedoms to their
tyrannical sharia laws.

In the words of Hassan
al-Banna, creator of the Muslim Brotherhood (1929), “It is the nature
of Islam to dominate, not to be dominated, to impose its laws on all
nations and extend its laws to the entire planet.”
If the hate feared by the Children of Abraham does arise, it will be
because of Islamists’ deeds, not the attribution on a memorial stone.

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INNOCENCE LOST

by Aynaz Anni Cyrus -- Sept 7, 2016

Fourteen years ago my life changed forever as I arrived in the United States, holding tightly to hope and a promise.

That promise was freedom and a dream of a better life.

I entered this beautiful country as a documented immigrant at the age of 18 in August 2002, almost on year after 9/11. after suffering 15 years of oppression under Sharia in Iran, I felt older than my years. I had seen too much and I knew all too well the suffering of those who were subjected to Islam. What I had witnessed and experienced had left my soul weary. But in America, I felt safe. I was able to breathe, and I could stop looking over my shoulder and living in fear.

I could now believe in miracles. Here I was, the newest member of the greatest country in the world. It was my rebirth into freedom. I was in a new place that viewed me as a human; someone of value to society. Finally, my life mattered. I was a daughter of liberty, a citizen of the U.S.A.

I've never forgotten those who I left behind -- and I have dedicated

my life to them. How could I turn my back on them when I know all too well the vicious suffering women endure in Islamic-ruled countries?

At age 9, Qur'anic teachings and Islamic traditions forced me into womanhood. My thoughts, my actions were no longer my own. From that moment on, I lost all rights as a person, as my instruction in preparation to marry and bear children became my only purpose in life. No longer would I be allowed in public without my hijab; prayer and submission would dominate my days. My life as a carefree child at play came to an abrupt and sudden end.

For the next nine years I would suffer terrible cruelty under Islam. Rape, lashings, arrests and beatings were my way of life because I was considered property to be "handled" rather than a human being to be loved. During those nine years I was sold into marriage to a much older man who abused me terribly. A bruised body and broken bones became a common reality for me, and there was little I could do to stop it. Divorce was not an option. Islamic law offers women little support in abusive marriages.

I was trapped, like so many other young girls and women around me. My silent screams of desperation would be unheard -- until the day I decided that I would rather die escaping than continue to live my life as a slave.

Fourteen years have now passed since I gained my freedom and began my mission to help and liberate those still trapped in Islamic countries. I do my best to be a voice for the voiceless who are still living a nightmare under the tyrannical rule of Islam.

I also fight for my fellow Americans. The present danger that Islam poses to this nation is very real, despite what our leftist government and media would have you believe. And because of the willful blindness and corruption within our government and media, America is in grave danger vis-a-vis Islamic Supremacism and Jihad. I am witness to the hidden war between Islam and the West, and I see clearly, with great sadness and fear, that we are losing.

There are those voices among us that will argue that Sharia is compatible with American life, and can coexist harmoniously alongside the U.S. Constitution. Sorry, but I know Sharia. I know Islam. The coexistence of Sharia with the U.S. Constitution is impossible. And it is crucial to crystallize this fact and to expose exactly what Sharia is because it is now making significant gains on our territory.

Sharia severely limits individual rights, and every country ruled by Sharia forces its citizens to adhere to a strict code of living in accordance with the Qur'an, Hadith and and the Supreme leader's ruling. The concept of free speech, for instance, is anathema to Islam. So is the notion of the individual. In Islam, it is "Allah" who dictates and defines the limits on acceptable and unaccceptable actions. In Islam, it is the Qur'an that dictates the lives of the believers., and they have no freedom of choice in regard to anything they do.

Sharia denies its followers basic human dignity. In Islamic countries, women are second-class citizens, mere property, and denied many of the rights Americans take for granted. The right to initiate divorce, travel alone, or own property unless permitted by a man, is denied to a woman in Islam.

Submission of the individual is also evident in Islam's denial of freedom of religion. Under Sharia, you must practice Islam. Anyone born in an Islamic country is, by law, a Muslim, regardless of heritage. Attempting to change you faith is punishable by death.

In my homeland, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Sharia is the law of the land. To speak out against it has dire consequences. Because of Sharia, Iran has one of the highest numbers of executions in the world. Reports and evidence of crimes against humanity come out of the Islamic Republic daily. Many from released prisoners and their families. Patterns of torture, abuse and death of political prisoners are an undeniable truth.

I am saying all of this because today, as I look at what is happening in America, I see our freedom gravely threatened. Islam is at war with us, and it will stop at nothing in its deliberate and sustained attack on our freedoms. Islamization of the West is occurring at a very fast pace, and one of the vehicles Supremacists are using to achieve it is the flooding of Western countries with Muslim refugees. Obama has opened the floodgates, and Hillary intends to escalate the process.

Our leadership and media, meanwhile, perpetrate the lie that accepting these refugees is somehow about tolerance. It is not about tolerance --- it is our values that are being exploited by our enemies to assist us in cultural suicide and leaving us vulnerable to jihadist attacks.

The dire danger to America is in the lies told by our leftist government and media and the ignorance of many Americans about Islam's true character and purpose. I fear that Americans have become blind to how precious and rare freedom is, and how it must be protected and fought for without pause. I can't help fear what is coming to America is what came to my homeland in 1979 -- and I refuse to be silenced again. And, because I refuse to be silent today, I know that certain Islamic forces have targeted me. But I will continue to speak out.

I tell you these things not to gain your sympathy, but to help you understand that our freedom is under fire. Our country is headed down a very dangerous path. The Left has succeeded in making resistance to Islamization appear to be racism and hatred. We must fight this malicious lie. We must fight to become well-informed and educated about Islam in order to defeat leftist and Islamist propaganda. By remaining silent, being afraid to be called names and ignoring reality, we will be surrendering our freedoms to the enemy.

Time is short. Every day that passes is one day we cannot spare. My hope for freedom and a better life was realized when I stepped on American soil fourteen years ago. But what frightens me, is the pernicious evil I escaped from is now coming here. I see it with my own eyes -- and catastrophically this nation is sleepwalking like a zombie into disaster. I will not allow my freedom to be taken away again without fighting till my last breath. I hope my fellow Americans who love their country as well as I do will join me and other freedom fighters in our battle to save it.

Aynas Anni Cyrus is an Iranian-American human rights activist and founder of....

LIVE UP TO FREEDOM. She is the producer of THE GLAZOV GANG And Hosts Its Feature, THE UNKNOWN.

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INNOCENCE LOST

by Aynaz Anni Cyrus -- Sept 7, 2016

Fourteen years ago my life changed forever as I arrived in the United States, holding tightly to hope and a promise.

That promise was freedom and a dream of a better life.

I've never forgotten those who I left behind -- and I have dedicated

my life to them. How could I turn my back on them when I know all too well the vicious suffering women endure in Islamic-ruled countries?

Aynas Anni Cyrus is an Iranian-American human rights activist and founder of....

LIVE UP TO FREEDOM. She is the producer of THE GLAZOV GANG And Hosts Its Feature, THE UNKNOWN.

___ ___

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Bún Chả

Ingredients:

RESIDENT, PROTESTS HAVEN’T IMPROVED BLACK LIVES

President, protests haven’t improved black lives

INNOCENCE LOST

by Aynaz Anni Cyrus -- Sept 7, 2016

INNOCENCE LOST

by Aynaz Anni Cyrus -- Sept 7, 2016