Author: A. J. Forget

Vietnamese Pork Burger

Vietnamese Pork Burger

The idea for a Vietnamese-inspired pork burger has been living in my head for a long time, and I am super stoked that I finally got to bring it into reality (and my stomach).⁠ ⁠ A ground pork patty flavored with chilies, fish sauce, scallions, 

Bun Cha

Bun Cha

This dish is a Hanoi native. Flattened pork meatballs are grilled until caramelized and served atop a bed of vermicelli noodles alongside lettuce and fresh herbs, with the whole lot dressed in that ubiquitous Vietnamese sauce, nuoc cham. It is a light and delicious dish 

Our Patreon

Our Patreon

Hey everybody! We’re sending out patreon gifts today and I wanted to take this opportunity to share a bit about our patreon subscription (and patreon on the whole).

For those of you that have never heard of Patreon, it is a web service developed to help creative folks like us. The initial concept was to create stable income for creatives to allow them to fully lean into their work, like the patronages of old. In this modern format, we set up a series of tiers with exclusive rewards, and folks like you can subscribe to receive these monthly benefits in exchange for helping us to make ends meet. Below I’ll detail our particular subscription tiers, but I hope you’ll go to patreon.com/letsliveeverywhere and check it out for yourself, it’s a really cool service that they provide.

Continue reading Our Patreon

Quick Pickles

Quick Pickles

Pickled vegetables are a staple in many different cuisines, adding a sour, salty, and slightly sweet crunch to myriad dishes. They are delicious, keep a long time in the fridge, and are thankfully also quick and easy to make.

Thai Green Bean Stir Fry

Thai Green Bean Stir Fry

I developed this recipe to serve as a vegetable side for a large dinner I was putting together, though it could equally be served as a main. When I cook Thai meals at home, at least in my standard, day-to-day cooking, I tend toward a 

Shrub Cocktails

Shrub Cocktails

After all of the holidays, travel, and events of the past few months, I am taking around six weeks off the booze, which is not an easy thing for me to do. During the early days of covid I think a lot of us developed a habit in which the only way to turn off work at the end of the day was to have a cocktail. There was something about the ceremony of making a drink that allowed us to mentally shift gears into relaxation mode. Being self-employed, and thus able to convince myself that I ought to be working 24/7, that habit has persisted, making these breaks from alcohol more necessary, but also more difficult. In practice, however, I have found that a mocktail or a non-alcoholic beer does exactly the same thing for my brain. The ceremony still flips that internal switch and I am able to turn off work for a while. So, here’s my favorite way to make mocktails: shrub syrups. Continue reading Shrub Cocktails

Red Curry Loco Moco

Red Curry Loco Moco

I read some time ago that we were entering a period during which the term fusion would no longer be sufficient to describe the combinations of techniques and cuisines showing up on restaurant menus. This article said that we were entering an era of food 

Pad Kra Pao – Thai Holy Basil Stir Fry

Pad Kra Pao – Thai Holy Basil Stir Fry

If you think that Thai food is all about curries, prepare to have a new favorite Thai dish. Pad Kra Pao (often called holy basil stir fry) is a quick and easy stir fry with amazing flavor. A good base of aromatics and a quick 

It’s SALE time!!!

It’s SALE time!!!

This week, two really big things are happening. On the same day, actually. January 22nd marks both my 35th birthday AND the 6 month anniversary of the release of The Buslife Kitchen. So, I’m having a little sale about it. From now until the 23rd, books purchased on both thebuslifekitchen.com and Amazon will be $4 off! Only $18 and you can pick up a copy of this killer cookbook.

There’s another reason that I’m putting on this sale, and it is one that I hope you can help me with. When I put this book out, I set a goal for myself of selling 1000 copies in the first six months. It is a big goal, and one that I really had no idea whether or not I could finish, but we are soooo close. Right now we have sold 921 copies of the cookbook. We are only 79 away from meeting that goal which might just help me land an agent and a publisher for the next book. So, if you are feeling the love, now would be a great time to buy a book for a friend (or at least point them in the right direction).

Thank you all for your support and for always spreading the word. Here’s hoping we make it to 1000!!!

You can shop at thebuslifekitchen.com/shop and amazon

Pao de Queijo

Pao de Queijo

This dish is a Brazilian cheese bread made with tapioca flour. It is gluten free and uses the stretchy nature of tapioca starch to create a gorgeous, stretchy bread. You’d swear it’s stuffed with cheese the way it tears, but that’s actually the tapioca (parmesan