Three Great Things on Tuesday

1.) I made the world's best homemade chicken noodle soup complete with homemade egg noodles.  My family said so, so it must be true, right?  It was something that I have been craving so I was pleased. :)

2.) I made my first trip to the outdoor fish vendors.  My sidekick Little Sojourner and a good friend of mine tagged along.  I was brave.  I bought.  I came home with fish.  I am so excited about what I am going to make.  I'll share more about it later this week!

3.) I read this great blog post by a very talented lady who I always enjoy reading.  I think she does a wonderful job of portraying and defending biblical womenhood.  You should go check out her blog Boundless Treasures.

What great things happen to you this fine Tuesday?!

Kind regards,

International Cooking

I stumbled across this website with some great international recipes.  I have found quite a few that I can't wait to try!  We love trying new recipes around here.

Just in case you are interested I looked up some of my favorite West African recipes:
Zome
Poulet Yassa
Rice & Peanut Sauce (very important: make sure you use natural peanut butter not regualr!)

What is your favorite international or ethnic recipe?

Kind regards,

I Could Eat My Weight in Stawberries

I love this picture.  Picture Credits.

Last year I had not one strawberry.  Ok, that is a little dramatic.  I did buy a few while we were in the States in mid December.  But, that was barely in the year.  And really I had none from June 2009 until mid December 2010 so that is the truth.  Strawberry season in super short here and is over in the blink of an eye.  Litterally last year it was maybe a month (it was not a good rainy season and therefore not good crops), I don't even think it was that long and I missed me chance!  This year that was not going to happen!

I LOVE strawberries.  Well, I love fruit period, but strawberries are my favorite; have been ever since I was little.  I'd pick fruit hands down over anything else offered to me.  Still will.  So, needless to say, this lack of strawberries has been rough.

So far this year to make sure my lack of stawberries would not do me in again I have: bought a deep freeze, purchased 18 kilos of strawberries (paid a little over $100), and spent 6 hours in the 90 something degree kitchen washing, treating, sorting, cutting, preparing, and storing them.  Would I do it all over again?  Yes, in a heart beat.  I will get to enjoy stawberry smoothies, or strawberry shortcake, or some other strawberry creation sporaticlly throughout the year!  I am siked about that (and so are the other Sojourners)!  All until next strawberry season when we will do it all over again.

What is your favorite strawberry recipe?

Kind regards,

My Friend: The Crockpot

So sorry I have been MIA for almost a month now!  I guess you have figured out by reading this that I am still alive.  It's been a busy month combined with nausea and fatigue (it feels like someone zapped all the energy out of me!).  I am hoping since my second trimester is quickly approaching that these things will magically go away.  A girl can hope, right?  And, really my nausea is getting much, much better.  So, that is giving me hope too!

Anyways, I have been doing a lot of crock pot cooking.  I usually use it at least once a week because of the convience and ease of it, but lately it's been more like a couple of times a week!  When you are nauseous it is really awesome to throw all the ingredients in and not have to deal with the smells very much!!!  When you are tired it is great to just have dinner magiclly ready without much work. :) So, yeah....the crockpot is really my friend right now.

One of our Africa friends was over one day while I was putting stuff in the crockpot and he asked what it was and I explained it to him.  He thought about it for a second and then he dubbed it "the lazy women's cooking pot" while smiling very big.  My friend: the lazy women's cooking pot!  It sure gave me a chuckle and hopefully it did you too.

So, I hope to be back to posting more regularly again.  Hope to "talk" to you again real soon.

Kind regards,

P.S. As I was posting the crockpot picture I ran across this picture:

It made me really want one again.  I think it has to do with the pickles.  We can't get dill pickles here and they just sound so tasty with that awesome chicken sandwich! ;)
P.S.S. Please excuse any spelling errors (of which I am sure there are MANY).  My spell check thinks I am French at the moment and is not being much help.

Delicious Chocolate Cake

Super moist.  Super chocolaty.  Super yummy.

Chocolate Cake:

2 c. sugar

1 ¾ c. flour

¾ c. baking cocoa

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 c. milk

½ c. vegetable oil

1 c. boiling water

Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Stir by hand.

Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer on med. Speed until smooth. Stir in boiling water. Stir by hand (batter will be thin). Pour into pans.

Bake 30-45 min. or until wood pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans. Remove from pans to wire rack. Cool completely.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:

8oz. cream cheese, softened

¼ c. butter

2 tsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

3 c. powdered sugar

6 Tbs. baking cocoa

2 Tbs. oil

Mix cocoa and oil with spoon in the bottom of a large bowl. Add cream cheese, butter, milk, and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer on low speed until smooth.

Gradually beat in the powdered sugar on low speed, 1 cup at a time, until spreadable.

Note: You can freeze the left over frosting and use it again.

Major Chocolate Lover,

Sharing on Saturday: Something Fun & Something Serious

Something Fun:

I ran across this great recipe for Roasted Plum Tomato Sauce  at Family Balance Sheet and stopped by one of my favorite vegetable ladies last night to pick up some great looking tomatoes in preparation for today's festivities.  By festivities I mean I will be cranking up the tunes, cleaning, and trying this new recipe.  You know you're jealous.

Something Serious:

Some of the beggar boys that we see every time we leave our house.

I enjoy reading Kristen's blog Rage Against the Minivan from time to time.  She has tons of great info and insight into adoption and she shares real life, down-to-earth, and often hilarious stories.  She has also been sharing a series of guest posts called "What I Want You To Know" that have been quite enlightening and thought-provoking.  You should definitely check those out.  Then, this week, she shared about some of the not-so-pretty, nitty-gritty truth about orphans and adoption that frankly, many people don't like to hear/know about.  ("Do Orphans Need 'Saving'?")  In that post she shares a post by Heather in Haiti.  One of my "favorite" (by "favorite" I mean I literally shouted "Amen, Sister!" not that it is a warm-fuzzy, feel-good kinda favorite) quotes from Heather's post is this: "While many American churches are worrying about the lighting on their stage, or fussing over the displays in their foyer, children are suffering in orphanages, groaning...aching...for someone to come redeem their lives."  This hits a chord with me for several reasons.  I will share a few:

1.) Over the passed probably five years, I have struggled with why the "church" in America (and I am talking ALL of them: each denomination, non-denominational, emergent, big, small, traditional, non-traditional, conservative, liberal, etc.) looks the way it does = not like the New Testament example that we have.  The NT church gave sacrificially for one another, helped the poor, took care of the widows and orphans, and were salt and light to those around them and to the ends of the earth.  The "church" in America looks nothing like that.  What's the deal?

2.) Why does the "church" in America spend so much money on superficial, unimportant stuff?  It's seriously sickening after living in a third world country for a year and a half.

3.) (Warning; this is a bit political in nature.)  When the health care craziness is going on in America we watched a little to try and keep up with things but again it was something that sickened me.  The best argument that I heard for the issue of heath care was that "every person deserves health care."  But, the truth is that in comparison to lots of other counties no one in America would actually be denied heath care.  If an American (or anyone else for that matter) walked into an American hospital (by the way there would be one a relatively short distance form their house), had no money, and no insurance they would not be turned away.  (I have, in fact, had to do this in my early years of marriage.)  In contrast the country I live in, if in fact they were able to get to a hospital (because there is most likely none nearby) then they would not be seen if they could not pay.  This is why you see people dying of curable things like Malaria, malnutrition, etc.  So, if you believe that "everyone deserves health care" then can we start somewhere where they may die without it?  And, as far as the very small percent of Americans without helthcare, that do not already qualify for some kind of govt. health care, the "church" should be stepping up to the plate to help them instead of building bigger buildings.  (On a side note I am not saying that health care reform is not needed in the US; I just thinking we will realize in several years that this was not the way to get it properly done.  Sorry, that's probably as political as I will get on this blog and I am sure that I would never have gotten into this debate if not for having lived in Africa.)

So I realize that none of the things I shared about actually directly talk about orphans, which the post I shared is about, but I think they do hit on the bigger issue: how followers of Christ are not impacting the world for Christ as we were called to do.  I hope and pray that this will change as people realize, even in recession, we are blessed in abundance compared to the rest of the world, and that we are called to share our blessings.

This post is definitely inspired in many ways by Radical as well.  David Platt does a much more eloquent job on addressing some of these issues.

What are you up to this Saturday?  What great posts have you found around blog land this week?

Hope you have a wonderful Saturday!


Linking up to "Share Your Faves" at It's a Blog Party & "Saturday Stumbles" at It's Come to This.

The Best Mac & Cheese Ever & Awesome Green Beans Too

A few years ago Mr. Sojourner and I spent two weeks in the Netherlands for a master's class that he was taking.  (Some dear friends of ours watched the girls for us.  I am not sure who had more fun; them or us).  The original spot the school had worked out to do the classes in the mornings did not work out and so we ended up having to do them at Hard Rock Cafe in Amsterdam.  Poor us.  After class we would all eat lunch there too.  Again, poor us.  This is where I fell in love with their "Twisted Mac & Cheese" (which I thought was about the best thing I had ever tasted).  They have it in both an entree and a side.  I found the entree to be an overwhelming portion so I opted for the side and would split green beans with Mr. Sojourner too.

At the end of May/beginning of June, for our 10th anniversary, Mr. Sojourner an I took a trip to London.  Just the two of us.  (It was amazing and I will have to share about it someday soon.)  We decided that we would have to hit up the Hard Rock Cafe London for some awesome mac & cheese and free soda refills (free refills are mostly an American phenomenon that we miss living overseas).  Oh, and because London is the original Hard Rock Cafe.  (But mostly because of the mac & cheese and free refills.)

Anyways, after that trip I started thinking about how I would like to attempt this mac & cheese.  I found this recipe (scroll down) at CopyKat.com.  (I will, by the way, be attempting more recipes from there in the future.)  I convinced a few loving friends and relatives to send me a care package with Velveeta and red pepper flakes.  I patiently waited for them to get here.

TWISTED MAC AND CHEESE

2 cups cavatappi pasta, any pasta works (I used shells)
1/3 cup whole milk
4 oz Velveeta
1/2 cup shredded cheddar (I had white cheddar)
1/2 cup shredded monterey jack (we can't get this here so I added mimolette)
1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper (I didn't have this so skipped it)
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup diced roasted red bell pepper (We can't get this so I used red pepper flakes and it worked pretty well, I was surprised)
2 tsp seasoned breadcrumbs, italian style (I grated crackers similar to melba toast)
2 tsp grated parmesan
1/4 tsp finely minced parsley (I used dried)

1. Use a large saucepan to cook pasta following the directions on the package, then drain
2. Combine milk, Velveeta, cheddar cheese, jack cheese, cayenne pepper, and black pepper in the same saucepan, and heat over low heat for about 10 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Add pasta and roasted pepper to the pan, and then toss to coat pasta.
3. Combine the breadcrumbs, parmesan and parsley in small bowl.
4. Pour pasta into a serving bowl and then sprinkle parmesan breadcrumbs over the top.
Serves 4

We also had green beans.  I cleaned them and snapped off the ends.  I boiled them in chicken broth.  When they were about finished, I fried up small bits of bacon and onion.  I drained the beans and then poured the bacon, onions, and drippings over the beans and combined.  Then I served them and the Little Sojourners ate every last one.

This was probably my favorite meal this year.  Seriously.  (Okay, second to our meal at Gordon Ramsay's Clairidge in London.)

Kind regards, 

*Linking up to Try New Adventures Thursday at Alicia's Homemaking.

Homemade Egg Noodles & Chicken Noodle Soup

After my first attempt at sticky chicken (and yummy chicken broth) I decided that homemade chicken noodle soup was in order.  One problem: we can't get egg noodles here.  So, I set off to search for egg noodle recipes and stumbled upon this one, which I thought I would try.

 2 cups flour.

 1/4 teaspoon salt.

 1/4 teaspoon baking powder.

 1 whole egg (suggested from the comments on the recipe).

 4 egg yolks.

 A tiny bit of milk or water (also suggested in the recipe comments).  {I opted for the milk.}

 Work the dough together and turn out onto a floured surface.

 Cut the dough in half and roll out (a half at a time).  {I love my Pampered Chef rolling pin.  With all this cooking from scratch it has come in handy!  Next time I will roll it very, very thin.}

 Cut it into desired noodle size.  {A pizza cutter works great for this.  Next time I would make the noodles much smaller.}

 Set the noodles out to dry for several hours.  {If you make long thin noodles you can hang them to dry.  I did not allow enough time in my prep time for very much drying time.  I will try it with the proper drying time next time and see if it makes much of a difference.}

 Heat the yummy chicken broth.

 Cut up some carrots.  (And celery if you have some/want to.)

 And, dice up a small onion.

 Add the veggies to the heated broth.

 Add your pre-cooked (possibly frozen) chicken.

Serve.  Candlelight and place cards optional.

This may have been the world's best chicken noodle soup.  The noodles were good, but need a little tweaking (as I noted above).  The chicken broth was amazing.  Words can't quite do it justice.  Go try it.  No seriously; go put some sticky chicken in the crockpot and then make some broth.  You will not be sorry.

Kind regards,

Linking up with Try New Adventures Thursday at Alicia's Homemaking.

Pad Thai

This is becoming one of our family favorites.  To make this a fairly quick and simple meal I cook a whole chicken, de-bone it, and freeze it in meal size portions for making this great dish.

Dice up what ever extra veggies you would like to add. We usually do carrots and onions. (You can also do green peppers, cabbage, etc.)

Dice up some green onion and set to the side.

Gather your brown sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar for making the sauce in just a minute.

Saute your extra veggies together in a little bit of oil.

Get however many eggs you would like.

Whisk 'em together.

Get out your bean sprouts.  Not sure why, but we really like these in there.

Get out your rice noodles and start boiling your water.  (They won't take long to cook so don't put them in the water until your other ingredients are just about ready.)

Scramble the eggs with the sauteed extra veggies.

When the eggs are coked through add the green onions.

Then the bean sprouts (if they float your boat).

Then the pre-cooked, and already defrosted chicken.

While that is heating up mix up your sauce ingredients that you already gathered.  Bring them to a boil and then let them simmer over low heat while you get everything else together.  (About now is when I add the noodles to the boiling water.)

Add the cooked and drained noodles and the finished sauce into the pan with everything else.  Toss it all together.

Serve it up and enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup oil

1/2 bunch green onions

eggs

chicken

extra veggies

bean sprouts (if desired)

rice noodles

Sauce:

3 T brown sugar

2 T soy sauce

1 T vinegar

Saute diced veggies.  Add eggs until cooked through.  Add green onions, bean sprouts, and then chicken until heated through.  Bring sauce ingredients to a boil and then simmer on low until thickened.  Boil water and cook noodles.  Drain noodles and toss noodles, sauce, and other ingredients together.

(We usually triple the sauce and use a whole package of rice noodles which makes about 6-8 servings.)

Do you have a pampered chef chopper?  If so, are you in love with it as much as I am?



I use this think at least once a day, but probably closer to two or three.  I dice up veggies in just about everything I cook; except maybe cake.  Haven't tried that one yet.

What are your favorite kitchen gagets?

Kind Regards,

*Linking up to Delicious Dishes at It's a Blog Party.

Organization

This has been one of those weeks where I am running around crazy busy and at the same time feeling like I accomplished nothing at all.  Ever have one of those weeks?

So today I am playing a little blog catch-up.  I love participating in Alicia's New Adventures Thursday and I worked on this project, took the pictures, and never got it posted this week.  So a few days late here it is:

This week I came up with 13 things I want to accomplish before I turn 30 in less then 10 months.  Because #11 on the list is likely to take every single minute of that I went ahead and started working on it right away.  The cabinets in the kitchen in our new house are kind of a joke as has been the task of keeping them organized with the help of three eager Little Sojourners and Amelia Bedelia our sweet and well-meaning part-time house helper. (Have I shared about her yet? I think a little bit, but not the whole story, I'll put that on my "to blog about" list. Trust me on this...having a house helper is not as glamorous as it sounds.) 

So, I came up with a plan which I hope will put us all on the same page.  I pulled everything out, wiped down the cabinets, re-organized everything into it's own place, and then proceeded to label in English (for the Little Sojourners) and the local language (for Amelia) what was on each shelf.

Re-organized cabinets with little labels on each shelf.

I am really not an organized person.  Never in my life have I labeled a shelf before.  It's only pure desperation which brings me to it now.  For my sanity, I sure hope it works!

A close-up with lots of glare.

So now my kitchen cabinets are organized and I am on my way to accomplishing #11!  Sure hoping it stays organized!

Doesn't it look tasty?!

And, since my new adventure of labeling shelves was not so exciting i also decided to throw Sticky Chicken in the crock pot and give it a try along with the broth that Alicia raved about.  I can't wait to try it tonight!

 Kind regards,