Grandma's Lunch

My grandma sometimes spends the afternoons at my dad�s office, helping with odds and ends. I stopped by the other day and saw that she had packed herself a home lunch to eat. Isn�t it neato?! It�s a very simple Vietnamese meal of noodles topped with bei (her own blend of pork skin with thinly sliced grilled pork chops and roast rice powder), slices of cha, and crushed peanuts.

Here�s what it looks like after she tosses all the chopped lettuce, bean sprouts, and cucumbers hidden on the bottom. I wished she had packed me this kind of lunch when I was younger, instead I got my dad, who stuffed a Saint Germain baguette in my backpack every time we had elementary school field trips. I was the only kid with a foot of baguette sticking out of my semi-closed bag - I suppose I have him to thank for breeding my love for baked goods!