Smoked Salt & Pepper

We had a crawfish boil the other weekend. It was my first time doing one solo (no family help), and it was a success. Good times with good friends, good food and beer, and good weather.

We had corn, potatoes, and crawfish/crayfish boiled in some lemony, Louisiana seasoned water. I topped a few off with my butter-garlic dipping sauce.  Next time I'll have to do some sausage, too.  I tried to keep it simple since this was our first one, but we were definately hurting for some sausage.  I think our German friend would've enjoyed some sausage, too, since he didn't really care for the prehistoric looking creepy crawlies.

Beautiful pics taken by our friend, Marcus.

Every time we go to any Vietnamese restaurant, I already know what Reid will order; Bun Cha Gio and a Cafe Sau Da.  I don't think he'd even look at a menu if it wasn't to look for what order number it is.  Yea, he orders by number at any Asian restaurant even when I try to encourage him to practice his Vietnamese.  So since bun cha gio thit nuong, or Vietnamese BBQ Pork with Eggrolls, is his fav, I decided to give it a try.  Usually, if my mom is making this dish at home, to save some time she will purchase ready-made thit nuong and cha gio from the countless of delicious shops in Houston's chinatown. Since I don't really have that luxury in Austin, I decided to try and make the thit nuong myself.  Traditionally, the pork is charbroiled over a grill, and sometimes has lemongrass in it.  Traditionally northerner's thit nuong has to have lots of lemongrass.  Since I don't think my backyard grill even works, I decided to try this recipe I adapted from Hungry H…

This is one of Reid's new favorites, which is awesome because it is quick, easy, and I usually have most the ingredients on hand. Plus, it's protein packed and makes yummy left over lunches. Last time I brought it for lunch one of the other vets asked for the recipe, and I knew I had to stop procrastinating about posting it. I call it "chili" because Reid argues real chili doesn't have anything but meat (more on that later...if I can ever convince him to publish his family's competition winning chili recipe). Anyway, because of that, we call it turkey and quinoa stew or turkey and quinoa fiesta at home. It takes about 25 minutes to make, so it's a great weeknight meal.

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
15 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz can diced tomatoes
14 oz can chicken broth
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 tsp each: chili powder, ground cumin, oregano (or you could use one of those taco seasoning packets)
3 g…