.Kimchi.Sauerkaut.

Eat the World 13: Bahrain

2011-12-03T06:52:00.000-08:00

Week #13

Bahrain Menu

Appetizer:

Uukkous Al-Badinjan w/Flat Bread (A yummy eggplant based dip)

Main Dish:

Fish Curry w/Basmati

Dessert:

Quamar-el-Deen (Apricot Fruit Leather)

Tuesday we will be celebrating the country of Bahrain! I am so excited since we have been on a hiatus of sorts (November was a crazy month full of weddings and what not) and this will be our Eat the World meal in what seems like ages. Okay, maybe just a few weeks. Nonetheless, stay tuned!

Note: Please also forgive me for not posting the last seven countries--we left you at "A Countries" and now we're on B!" Apparently I am that lame. I just may post a roundup of photos from those other countries just to give you all a little idea of what we did.

New Job: Employment Specialist

2011-12-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

Hello all. It's been a while...

Just wanted to update a little bit about what's going on in our little corner of the world.

* Nellie So turned one on November 30th!
-She is a crawling champ and has moved onto pulling herself up on EVERYTHING. Ada and Moses have
had quite enough of it and it's only just begun...
-She'll stand holding your hands and then gets mad that her legs don't move. She wants to walk so badly but
hasn't quite figured it out yet. Only time will tell.
* Ada is LOVING Head Start. Riding the bus, having "jobs" and brings home wonderful works of art!
* Dylan is still chugging away at school--Fall 2011 semester is almost over. *Phew*
* I started school this Fall (Communications with a Nonprofit Minor) and am excited for my upcoming conference in Kansas City, MO. It's for my nonprofit minor and should be pretty informative.
* Thanksgiving was wonderful--we were able to see both sides of the family. :D
* My little brother got married! Can you believe it? He and Nina (the new sister-in-law) had a beautiful wedding that Ada and I were able to participate in. I'm excited to post the fancy pictures of it soon.

* I started a new job! Lutheran Social Services hired me on as their Employment Specialist in their New American Services department! I'm pretty pumped about it (today was day #2 on the job) and look forward to working with the Bhutanese and Somali populations that we settle.

I guess that's a brief wrap up of the Dachtler shenanigans for now. I promise to get pictures up someday when I'm not so lazy. And I have been feeling sad that this blog has been ignored for so long, so I pledge to make a comeback and ring out 2011 with regular posting!

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Birthday One Year Old!

2011-11-30T11:25:00.000-08:00

Where has the time gone?

Arroz de Coco e Papaia Recipe

2011-08-23T07:42:00.000-07:00

Arroz de Coco e Papaia

2 cup rice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 cups coconut milk
2 papaya, de-seeded, peeled and cut into small dice

Add the rice, 1/2 cup water, salt, cinnamon and coconut in a pan and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the rice is done. Fluff the rice, take off the heat and leave to stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Mash half the papaya then add this papaya mush and the remaining papaya cubes to the rice. Place back on the heat to heat the mixture through then serve.

Camarao Grelhado Piri Piri Recipe

2011-08-22T07:35:00.000-07:00

Camarao Grelhado Piri Piri (Grilled Prawns with Peppers)

Serves 4

4-8 prawns
4 cloves garlic, crushed
4 green onions, chopped
1 minced habanero
1 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup water

1. In a small food processor, combine all ingredients except prawns. Pulse until mixture forms a loose paste.
NOTE: This step may be done the day before, just cover and refrigerate. The habanero will get stronger overnight as its hot oils mix more with the other ingredients. Depending on the habanero, this recipe is fairly mild.

2. Brush prawns with about 1/3 of the marinade, reserving the rest for dipping. If prawns are frozen, thaw completely.

3. Grill prawns about 3 minutes per side or until no longer transluscent. Serve immediately with dipping sauce on the side.

Eat the World 5: Angola

2011-08-21T07:24:00.000-07:00

Week #5

Angola Menu

Appetizer:

Camarao Grelhado Piri Piri

Dessert:

Arroz de Coco e Papaia (Rice with Coconut and Papaya)

*Please note that this week we will be pairing down our menu (no main dish as you can see) because we will be eating over with friends on Sunday! And because we are doing this for fun, I don't want to feel tethered to always prepare a 3-4-5-6-or whatever kind of meal. The point is to enjoy the experience, not to stress about it. So we will be bringing our humble offerings of Angola to said friends' house instead of hosting. :D

Honeydew Melon with Caramelia Sauce Recipe

2011-08-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

Honeydew Melon with Caramelia Sauce

Serves 4-5

1 Medium honeydew melon, peeled, de-seeded and cut into 2cm cubes
4 tbsp Sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup White or red wine
1 tbsp runny honey
The juice of half an orange
The juice of half a lemon

In a large frying pan, cook the sugar until it melts then add the honeydew melon and stir to coat in the sugar before adding the remainder of the ingredients. Continue cooking until the sauce begins to thicken and bubble then serve immediately with vanilla ice cream

Bluewater 2011's End

2011-08-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

Lael's First Tubing Experience

2011-08-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

Girls on the Beach

2011-08-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

Escudella Recipe

2011-08-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

Escudella

2 cup Dry White Beans

1 small Ham Bone

1Marrow Bone (veal or beef)

1/4Chicken or 2 small serving pieces( I used 2 breasts skin on and bone in)

1lb package raw Pork Sausage(I used Neese’s Country Sausage brick) Formed into 1” balls 2 slices Cured

ham thin slices, (about the size of the palm of your hand)

8-12 cups Cold water (ingredients need to be covered with water)

1/2 head Cabbage cut in chunks

1 large Potato cut in eighths

1/4 cup Raw Rice

1 cup Noodles (thin recommended but nice results may be had with shells)

1 cup Cooked Chick-Peas

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

1 tsp Salt

Pepper to taste

Gently cook sausage balls in cast iron Dutch Oven or pot/casserole w/vegetable oil over medium heat till

cooked and browned.

Rinse the beans in cold water and tie the bones in cheesecloth.

Put both with the chicken, cooked sausage and ham in the pot or casserole with 8 cups of cold water

and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce flame, and cook gently, covered, about 2 hours or until beans are cooked and

chicken very tender. Remove ham and marrow bones and discard them. (Some recipes call to extract and use the marrow) Put chicken aside. If there is only a little liquid left, add a bit of water for the cooking of the remaining ingredients and bring soup to a rapid boil.

When it is boiling, put in cabbage, potatoes, rice, noodles, chick-peas, and pepper to taste.

Continue cooking over medium flame for 30 minutes (or until newly added ingredients are cooked

through).

A few minutes before serving, put chicken meat, removed from bones and shredded, in the pot to heat.

Season to taste and serve w/ fresh French Bread.

It should be as thick as split pea soup.It is as much stew as soup and constitutes a hearty one-dish meal

Pa amb Tomaquet Recipe

2011-08-18T13:53:00.001-07:00

Pa amb Tomaquet

Serves 4

4 thick slices country bread

4 garlic cloves, peeled

1 heirloom tomato or vine ripe tomato, halved

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt

Fresh cracked pepper

1. Toast bread under broiler (or on a hot grill) for about 30 seconds per side

2. Bring to table. Give everyone a garlic clove to rub onto their toasted bread. Then rub tomato halves

on toast.

3. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Enjoy while still warm!

Bluewater: Day 3

2011-08-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

Saturday brought Daddy, Grandma Sheila, Grandpa Terry and Uncle Caleb to Bluewater. Here are double Grandmas watching some girls build a sand castle.

Ada made a new friend Ami this summer. They were a month difference in age and quite the pair. Where Ada is loud and gregarious, Ami certainly is quiet and shy. But by the end of the weekend were sad to say goodbye.

Dylan, Grandpa Terry and Uncle Caleb took the boat out to go swim during "non swimming" hours.

Double Grandpas with Nellie. Notice Dad's eyes...no...he didn't get into a fight with Mom. Barefooting bested him this go around...maybe he needs to take some pointers from Banana George?? ;D

OH Grandpa.

REALLY?

Ada could not get enough of the retaining wall. She loved to walk/balance on it. So naturally Lael did too.

Cousin hugs!

Walking again on the wall...

Lucy thought it looked pretty awesome too and decided to give it a try...

Er, well, she did try.

The following photos may promote cannibalism. As in, "You are so cute, I could eat you with a spoon!"

There are two chapel times each day at Bluewater during family camp. The kids are excused after the music to Kids Church in which they play games, listen to stories, etc. Here are some photos taken after adult chapel was dismissed.

A little bit of free time...

Such a tired baby. But she was so SO good. :)

Ada and Lael went tubing!! This was Lael's first time and Ada was more than excited to go too.

Lucy kept loosing her sandal this weekend.

Reading stories was a huge part of Bluewater this year...dressed as a princess, naturally.

Listening to music with Uncle Caleb.

Waiting in line for supper on Saturday night.

Two princess cousins.

What's going on up there?

Are we ready to eat yet???

Princess Grandpa.

Princess Grandpa Pete and Princess Ada.

Eating the raindrops and making friends in line.

Anddddd still waiting.

But don't worry. We did get to eat.

Bluewater: Day 2

2011-08-16T05:16:00.001-07:00

Great-Grandma Phyllis, Aunt Terrah, Lael and Lucy also joined us on Friday. The girls were excited to see each other as it was the first time since the Suttons moved to Wisconsin.

Great-Grandma Phyllis tried reading the three (where's Lucy?) a story...

My cute youngest niece. What a card she's turned out to be. :D

There were SO many girls at Bluewater this year! Which was great for us of course. Here's a pic of some of the girls/sisters playing with dolls in front of the dining hall. Notice Nellie trying to get in on the action.

Bluewater: Day 1

2011-08-15T05:15:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again when the family gathered at Bluewater Bible Camp and enjoyed a (semi) relaxing weekend. :)

Grandma Jill, Grandpa Pete, the girls and I were the first to arrive on Thursday. We got there pretty early and took a long boat ride until the beach opened up for swimming. It was a bit gray cast but that certainly didn't damper a certain-three-and-a-half-year-old's enthusiasm...she did however refuse to look at the camera for all swimming pictures that day.

And Grandpa Pete, as you can plainly see, thought that was hilarious.

Nellie also got to play in the sand. She loved it.

Can you guess who set her up in this toweled-sandy-water-rig??

AND since she was out of the water, she decided that it was "okay" to take pictures.

I love these two little girls.

Eat the World 4: Andorra

2011-08-14T13:27:00.000-07:00

Week #4

Andorra Menu

Appetizer:

Pa amb Tomaquet

Main Meal:

Escudella

Dessert:

Honeydew Melon with Caramelia Sauce

ETW: Algeria Completed!

2011-08-13T18:37:00.000-07:00

Algeria was delicious.

Most definitely delicious.

Make again and hoard the leftovers good.

The Kefta was delicious. We scooped up the meatballs and sauce with French bread using our hands, sans utensils. (Ada thought that was the best thing about the meal.)

Dylan liked the Algerian green beans the best. It took me a while to come along but they got me in the end. The clove oil and the toasted almonds won me over and they are interesting addictive.

The mango papaya salad was easily Ada's favorite part of the meal; mostly because of the whipped cream. But it was good, yummy, delicious, light fruit in a bowl with sweet cream. Who wouldn't love that?

All-in-all the consensus is two thumbs up. A Monday make-again meal regardless of its "exotic" origins.

Mango Papaya Salad Recipe

2011-08-13T06:37:00.000-07:00

Mango Papaya Salad

2 MANGOS, cleaned and cubed

1 PAPAYA, cleaned and cubed

1/2 MELON, cleaned and cubed

50 GRAM DRIED APRICOTS, cut

1 CUP CREAM, whipped

1 CUP ORANGE JUICE

Heat the orange juice with the apricots and simmer for 15 minutes. Allow this to cool down. Mix 1

mango with the papaya and the melon. Puree the other mango and mix this with the cream. Pour the

orange juice and apricots over the fruits and serve with the mango cream.

Algerian Green Beans Recipe

2011-08-12T06:35:00.000-07:00

Algerian Green Beans

Serves 4

1 lb fresh green beans

3 Tbsp peanut oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

a pinch ground cloves

3 Tbsp slivered almonds

Steam green beans until tender, about 15 minutes (or if you like them firmer, that’s okay too).

In a small skillet over medium heat, combine oil, garlic, cumin, paprika, and cloves. Saute until

fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add slivered almonds and cook for 1 minute more.

In a large serving bowl toss green beans with seasoned oil. Serve hot.

Etzai Recipe

2011-08-11T06:34:00.000-07:00

Etzai (Mint Tea)

1½ Tablespoons green tea

Boiling water

3 Tablespoons sugar, or to taste

Handful of fresh mint leaves

Put the tea in a teapot.

Pour in a cupful of boiling water, then immediately pour it out again. This is to wash the leaves.

Add the sugar to taste, then the mint leaves.

Pour in boiling water 12 inches away from the top (this oxygenates the tea) and stir well. Be extremely

careful not to splash the boiling water.

Serve the tea very hot, again pouring it from a height of about 12 inches.

Wordless Wednesday: Fruity Birds

2011-08-10T14:09:00.000-07:00

Nellie and Ada's Bath Time

2011-08-08T09:27:00.001-07:00

The Many Faces of Ada

2011-08-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

Ada's Lunch

2011-08-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

I love our co-op and I love that Ada is a veggie kid...for the most part.

Algerian Kefta Recipe

2011-08-08T09:06:00.001-07:00

Algerian Kefta (Meatballs)

Serves 6

2 pounds lean ground beef

8 cloves garlic, minced, divided

1/2 cup finely chopped onion, divided

salt and pepper to taste

6 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon ras el hanout (optional) http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Ras-el-Hanout/Detail.aspx

1 cup water

Combine the ground beef with half of the minced garlic and a tablespoon of chopped onion. Mix with your hands until fully incorporated. Shape the meat mixture into 1 1/2-inch oblong patties; you should have 12 to 14 meatballs.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the patties in batches until they are crispy on both sides and are no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes. Set the meatballs aside in a rimmed serving dish and repeat with the remaining patties.

Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the remaining chopped onion. Add salt and pepper. Cook the onions in the drippings, stirring constantly, until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining half of the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Stir in the roma tomatoes, dried parsley, ras el hanout, and water. Cook until the tomatoes are soft, about 5 minutes. Pour the tomato sauce over the meatballs and serve

Hummus bi'l Kammun Recipe

2011-08-08T09:06:00.000-07:00

Hummus bi’l Kammun

Serves 2-4

2 15 oz cans drained and rinsed chickpeas (or 3 cups prepared, dried chickpeas)

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp harissa (or more to taste)

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 quart cooking water

salt

pepper

1. In a large pot over medium heat, add garlic, olive oil, cumin, paprika, harissa, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add water and chickpeas (reserve ¼ cup chickpeas for garnish if using shallow bowls). Stir to combine and bring to a simmer.

2. Use an immersion blender to make a coarse puree. Simmer gently, uncovered, for an hour. Stir occasionally.

3. Puree again, this time getting the soup perfectly smooth (you may also use a blender). More water may be added until desired consistency is achieved.

4. Ladle into serving bowls. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and, if using shallow bowls, reserved chickpeas. Serve with warm, crusty bread.

Eat the World 3: Algeria

2011-08-07T20:06:00.000-07:00

Week #2

Algeria Menu

Appetizer:

Spicy Chickpea Soup (Hummus bi’l Kammun)

Main Meal:

Etzai (Mint Tea)

Kefta (Meatballs)

Cous Cous

Algerian Green Beans

Dessert:

Mango Papaya Salad

ETW: Albania Completed!

2011-08-07T19:31:00.000-07:00

Tonight we feted Albania with Logan and Cassie. Our meal consisted of Brezolla pe Deri Me Qepe (Baked Pork Chops with Onion Sauce), Turli Perimesh (Vegetables), Byrek ose Lakror (Leek Pie) and Kadaif (Sweetened Shredded Wheat) with whipped cream for dessert. And, I'm happy to say, it was quite the pleasant meal. Simple (except for the bajillions of seconds used to slice, chop and dice all the ingredients), straight forward and all about vegetables...goodness was it all about the vegetables (see earlier comment).

This first picture is of the Byrek ose Lakror or "Albanian Leek Pie." It was pretty tasty, although the first thing Dylan said was, "It tastes like dirt." And after assessing our looks of incredulity food-and-wined it up to "well, it does have a distinct earthiness to it." Righhtttt. The rest of us thought it was pretty grand, although, I did cut into the pie a few minutes earlier than the hour mark and did indeed have some running of the filling. But it was pretty set so it didn't completely fall. And frankly, the puffy, golden crust certainly made up for that imperfection.

This second picture is of the Kadaif (our dessert) right after I took it out of the oven.

I think that this was the recipe that I was most skeptical about. I mean...shredded wheat with a cinnamon simple syrup and nuts? Funny enough however, this is the one dish that completely disappeared. Granted, we did serve it with a healthy dollop of whipped cream but it was quite tasty. Ada even ate it up (and then tried to tell us that we hadn't given her any whipped cream with what measly bits were left on her plate).

I'd never heard of Kadaif before but then again, I've never tried cooking Albanian food. I looked it up after finding the recipe we went with and here's what I found:

"Kadaif is a classic Middle Eastern pastry, traditionally tossed with lots of butter, filled with cheese or nuts and drenched with a heavy sugar syrup. The dough is typically a finely shredded phyllo dough."

Now, I couldn't find that kind of specific dough as I am a bit Midwest to find many "ethnic" things but I read that shredded wheat cereal in place of authentic kadaif dough comes pretty close as apparently it resembles thin shreds of phyllo.

I think that I would make this again if I (or Ada) was struck with a sweet craving because the ingredients were simple and things I generally have on hand. Well, maybe not the plain shredded wheat. We are frosting kind of people.

The next picture is of Brezolla pe Deri Me Qepe or "Baked Pork Chops with Onion Sauce."

This wasn't what Dylan or I were expecting. At. All. But, with that said, it was okay. I am such a freak about eating pork, not in the common "I-don't-want-to-get-brain-worms-so-I'll-over-cook-this-poor-piece-of-pig-to-a-rubbery-dry-consistency" but rather the "Eat-it-Juicy-or-Forget-It" crowd. Thus the times in the recipe seemed a bit long, but wanting to stay as true as possible, I forged ahead. The end result? Not bad, but a little dry and not all too flavorful. Like I said earlier, this meal was definitely all about the vegetables and the sauce certainly was the only taste to the pork. Although it may be because Dylan and I are generally heavy-handed garlic and pepper monkeys and none of today's recipes called for much of either.

Vegetables, vegetables, vegetables! Or Turli Perimesh for the cultured.

This was okay too...pretty plain, not a lot of seasoning. I think with more garlic, pepper and a tad bit of salt they would've been awesome. But again, garlic-pepper monkey here.

On another note, I had Dylan puree up some of the leftovers in his beloved Magic Bullet and am going to give them to Nellie over the next couple of days. It's all vegetable with a little parsley...gotta be better than canned meat and vegetables.

Speaking of Nellie, here she is with tonight's feast:

And last but not least, the leek pie...sadly unset but still delicious. :)

Ooooh...and local apricots that I picked up from our local health food store. Juicy little buggers. One even attacked Cassie's arm.

So, all in all, tonight was fun. We enjoyed the good company of Logan and Cassie (and later Terry who scootered over from his house) for dinner and then a bonfire outside in the backyard. And of course Ada got to take a before-bed-scoot with Grandpa Terry.

Next up: Algeria...

Kadaif Recipe

2011-08-06T18:47:00.000-07:00

Kadaif

-Shredded Wheat

-Ground Walnuts

-Sugar

-Melted Butter

-Syrup:

-1 cup sugar

-1 cup water

-Cinnamon to taste

-Separate shredded wheat squares into halves.

-Arrange halves on bottom of medium size ungreased deep baking pan.

-Sprinkle the ground walnuts and sugar over halves, pour melted butter sparingly over them.

-Cover with other halves of shredded wheat.

-Bake at 20 minutes at 325°.

-Cool.

Prepare syrup:

-Boil the sugar, water and cinnamon about 5 minutes and pour hot over cooled shreddies and let soak until completely absorbed.

-Serve with whipped cream on top.

Byrek ose Lakror Recipe

2011-08-05T18:44:00.000-07:00

Byrek ose Lakror

Serves 8

Leek Filling

2 large leeks, cleaned and very thinly sliced (use only the white/light green part. Thick slices and/or green parts won’t cook properly)

6 eggs

1/4 cup greek yogurt (or regular yogurt strained for 30 minutes)

1 lbs. cottage cheese, strained for 30 minutes

4 oz crumbled feta cheese

1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme, or dried thyme, ground

salt, to taste (remember, feta cheese is very salty)

1/2 tsp pepper

Pie Crust

1 package puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients, except for leeks. When the mixture is smooth and blended, add diced leeks. Set aside.

3. Roll one sheet of puff pastry into a 15″ circle. Place pastry on the bottom of a 9″ pie dish.

NOTE: You can also lay the puff pastry down in your pie dish square. Just angle the top piece over it, so that you create a “star.” This overlap will give you enough crust to roll the edges.

4. Fill pie dish with leek mixture.

5. Roll second sheet of puff pastry into a 15″ circle. Cover the pie with the pastry lid. Press the edges together and roll up to seal in the juices. Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash.

6. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

7. Let cool 1 hour before slicing or the filling will fall apart (EXTREMELY important!). Eat slightly warm or at room temperature.

Turli Perimesh Recipe

2011-08-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

Turli Perimesh

Serves 4-6

2 medium onions
2 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 white potato
1 can diced tomatoes (in the summer use 2 fresh tomatoes)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup water
olive oil

1. Dice all vegetables in 1 inch cubes.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high. Add onion and saute until translucent.
3. Add zucchini and squash, browning lightly.
4. Add potato, tomatoes, parsley, and water.
5. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until all vegetables are tender and water has absorbed.
Serve immediately.

Brezolla pe Deri Me Qepe Recipe

2011-08-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

Brezolla pe Deri Me Qepe

Serves 6-8

-6-8 pork chops

-2 medium onions, chopped

-1 cup celery, diced

-2-3 cloves garlic, minced

-1 1/2 cup stewing tomatoes

-1/2 cup meat broth

-3 tablespoon margarine or olive oil

Directions:

-Place chops in a baking pan and cook in oven preheated 400 for about 30 minutes.

-Meanwhile, saute onions, celery and garlic in margarine or olive oil; stir in tomatoes and broth and simmer slowly until sauce is thick and vegetables are cooked.

-Remove pan from oven.

-Turn chops and cover with onion sauce.

-Return it to the oven reduce oven temperature to 350.

-Bake approximately 45 minutes.

-If desired, add 1 package of frozen okra (thawed) 15 minutes before chops are removed from oven.

ETW: Countries A-Z

2011-08-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

196 Countries

Last updated 8/3/2011

~~Afghanistan - Kabul~~
Albania - Tirane
Algeria - Algiers
Andorra - Andorra la Vella
Angola - Luanda
Antigua and Barbuda - Saint John's
Argentina - Buenos Aires
Armenia - Yerevan
Australia - Canberra
Austria - Vienna
Azerbaijan - Baku
The Bahamas - Nassau
Bahrain - Manama
Bangladesh - Dhaka
Barbados - Bridgetown
Belarus - Minsk
Belgium - Brussels
Belize - Belmopan
Benin - Porto-Novo
Bhutan - Thimphu
Bolivia - La Paz (administrative); Sucre (judicial)
Bosnia and Herzegovina - Sarajevo
Botswana - Gaborone
Brazil - Brasilia
Brunei - Bandar Seri Begawan
Bulgaria - Sofia
Burkina Faso - Ouagadougou
Burundi - Bujumbura
Cambodia - Phnom Penh
Cameroon - Yaounde
Canada - Ottawa
Cape Verde - Praia
Central African Republic - Bangui
Chad - N'Djamena
Chile - Santiago
China - Beijing
Colombia - Bogota
Comoros - Moroni
Congo, Republic of the - Brazzaville
Congo, Democratic Republic of the - Kinshasa

Costa Rica - San Jose
Cote d'Ivoire - Yamoussoukro (official); Abidjan (de facto)
Croatia - Zagreb
Cuba - Havana
Cyprus - Nicosia
Czech Republic - Prague
Denmark - Copenhagen
Djibouti - Djibouti
Dominica - Roseau
Dominican Republic - Santo Domingo
East Timor (Timor-Leste) - Dili
Ecuador - Quito
Egypt - Cairo
El Salvador - San Salvador
Equatorial Guinea - Malabo
Eritrea - Asmara
Estonia - Tallinn
Ethiopia - Addis Ababa
Fiji - Suva
Finland - Helsinki
France - Paris
Gabon - Libreville
The Gambia - Banjul
Georgia - Tbilisi
Germany - Berlin
Ghana - Accra
Greece - Athens
Grenada - Saint George's
Guatemala - Guatemala City
Guinea - Conakry
Guinea-Bissau - Bissau
Guyana - Georgetown
Haiti - Port-au-Prince
Honduras - Tegucigalpa
Hungary - Budapest
Iceland - Reykjavik
India - New Delhi
Indonesia - Jakarta
Iran - Tehran
Iraq - Baghdad
Ireland - Dublin
Israel - Jerusalem*
Italy - Rome
Jamaica - Kingston
Japan - Tokyo
Jordan - Amman
Kazakhstan - Astana
Kenya - Nairobi
Kiribati - Tarawa Atoll
Korea, North - Pyongyang
Korea, South - Seoul
Kosovo - Pristina
Kuwait - Kuwait City
Kyrgyzstan - Bishkek
Laos - Vientiane
Latvia - Riga
Lebanon - Beirut
Lesotho - Maseru
Liberia - Monrovia
Libya - Tripoli
Liechtenstein - Vaduz
Lithuania - Vilnius
Luxembourg - Luxembourg
Macedonia - Skopje
Madagascar - Antananarivo
Malawi - Lilongwe
Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur
Maldives - Male
Mali - Bamako
Malta - Valletta
Marshall Islands - Majuro
Mauritania - Nouakchott
Mauritius - Port Louis
Mexico - Mexico City
Micronesia, Federated States of - Palikir
Moldova - Chisinau
Monaco - Monaco
Mongolia - Ulaanbaatar
Montenegro - Podgorica
Morocco - Rabat
Mozambique - Maputo
Myanmar (Burma) - Rangoon (Yangon); Naypyidaw or Nay Pyi Taw (administrative)
Namibia - Windhoek
Nauru - no official capital; government offices in Yaren District
Nepal – Kathmandu

Netherlands - Amsterdam; The Hague (seat of government)
New Zealand - Wellington
Nicaragua - Managua
Niger - Niamey
Nigeria - Abuja
Norway - Oslo
Oman - Muscat
Pakistan - Islamabad
Palau - Melekeok
Panama - Panama City
Papua New Guinea - Port Moresby
Paraguay - Asuncion
Peru - Lima
Philippines - Manila
Poland - Warsaw
Portugal - Lisbon
Qatar - Doha
Romania - Bucharest
Russia - Moscow
Rwanda - Kigali
Saint Kitts and Nevis - Basseterre
Saint Lucia - Castries
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - Kingstown
Samoa - Apia
San Marino - San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe - Sao Tome
Saudi Arabia - Riyadh
Senegal - Dakar
Serbia - Belgrade
Seychelles - Victoria
Sierra Leone - Freetown
Singapore - Singapore
Slovakia - Bratislava
Slovenia - Ljubljana
Solomon Islands - Honiara
Somalia - Mogadishu
South Africa - Pretoria (administrative); Cape Town (legislative); Bloemfontein (judiciary)
South Sudan - Juba
Spain - Madrid
Sri Lanka - Colombo; Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative)
Sudan - Khartoum
Suriname - Paramaribo
Swaziland - Mbabane
Sweden - Stockholm
Switzerland - Bern
Syria - Damascus
Taiwan - Taipei
Tajikistan - Dushanbe
Tanzania - Dar es Salaam; Dodoma (legislative)
Thailand - Bangkok
Togo - Lome
Tonga - Nuku'alofa
Trinidad and Tobago - Port-of-Spain
Tunisia - Tunis
Turkey - Ankara
Turkmenistan - Ashgabat
Tuvalu - Vaiaku village, Funafuti province
Uganda - Kampala
Ukraine - Kyiv
United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi
United Kingdom - London
United States of America - Washington D.C.

* The West Coast

* The Midwest

* The East Coast

* The South
Uruguay - Montevideo
Uzbekistan - Tashkent
Vanuatu - Port-Vila
Vatican City (Holy See) - Vatican City
Venezuela - Caracas
Vietnam - Hanoi
Yemen - Sanaa
Zambia - Lusaka
Zimbabwe - Harare

Wordless Wednesday: A Long, Hard Day's End

2011-08-03T07:45:00.000-07:00

Eat the World 2: Albania

2011-08-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

Week #2

Albania Menu

Meal:

Brezolla pe Deri Me Qepe (Baked Pork Chops with Onion Sauce)

Turli Perimesh (Vegetables)

Byrek ose Lakror (Leek Pie)

Dessert:

Kadaif (Sweetened Shredded Wheat)

ETW: Afghanistan Completed!

2011-08-02T19:51:00.000-07:00

Our adventure finally kicked off on Sunday evening with the dining company of Ben and Charlie (brave, brave souls who delved into the unknown cuisine of Afghanistan, er, rather should I say the unknown Afghani cooking capabilities of moi?).

This was what we sat down to:

Front to back: Sliced cucumbers, Sourdough bread (because I wussed out at the last minute and didn't get the Noni done...which I'm sure would've been my favorite part of the meal), Seer Moss, Burani Bonjon, Sabese Borani, Kabeli Palau, Khatai Cookies

Dylan and I both really liked the Burani Bonjon and the Seer Moss was okay, but I certainly could have done without too. I think it would be super tasty over basmati rice as a vegetarian meal and Dylan thought it would be good pureed (a la hummus or baba ghanoush) with pita chips. Either way, we'll definitely be revisiting this recipe in the (possibly quite near) future.

The Kabeli Palau was good, although we reheated leftovers the next day and they were even better. I think the flavors all had a chance to mellow out and deepen the chicken and rice. Nellie even got in on the rice action and couldn't get enough.

I think it was pretty unanimous however that the Sabese Borani, although intriguing for onion-lovers such as ourselves was not so exciting. It was a yogurt-y spinach dip to which my very untrained palate continues to favor the mayonnaise-sour cream-water chestnut-laden one that is our family favorite.

And the cookies were definitely interesting. Different...in the way that you had to try at least two in order to make a final decision of liking or disliking.

And, as you can see from the horrendous lack, I was TERRIBLE about taking pictures of our meal post-feast. Next time I promise to be better. Maybe. Probably. Okay, I promise to try and be better.

Needless to say, the night's dinner was a good kick-off to this epic adventure we are undertaking. We rounded out the night with coffee and long, catch-up talk (well, in between the antics of a certain overly-tired-overly-excited-hyper-bouncing-dancing-jumping three year old).

Next up: Albania...

Khatai Cookies Recipe

2011-08-02T19:30:00.000-07:00

KHATAI COOKIES

Makes 28 Cookies

1 ½ cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp ground cardamom

¾ cup corn oil

pistachios, finely ground or very finely chopped

1. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

2. Mix the flour, sugar and cardamom togehter in a mixing bowl.

3. Add the corn oil and mix well. Roll into 4 cm (1 ½ in) balls and place on the baking sheet.

4. Bake for 15 minutes (cookies will barely brown). Sprinkle with pistachio’s while the cookies are hot. Allow to cool on the baking sheet.

Burani Bonjon & Seer Moss Recipes

2011-08-02T19:29:00.000-07:00

BURANI BONJON

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

1 large eggplant (about 8″ long)

1/2 can diced tomatoes

4 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

4-6 Tbs vegetable oil

1 Tbs dried cilantro (use fresh for garnish if you have it)

1 tsp turmeric

1/8 tsp (or up to 1 tsp) cayenne pepper (mild or death-by-cayenne)

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Slice Eggplants lengthwise 1/4 inch thick. Salt liberally on both sides and lay on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet for about an hour. The salt will draw out bitterness. Rinse the salt off of the eggplant and pat dry.

2. Saute crushed garlic in Olive Oil until fragrant in a large, heavy bottomed skillet. Set aside garlic in a small container.

3. Add Vegetable Oil to the skillet and heat on medium-high. Add eggplant and brown, cooking in batches if necessary. The eggplant should be relatively soft when done.

4. Reduce heat and add tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, cayenne, salt, and pepper.

5. Simmer until the Eggplant is very tender.

6. Serve room temperature with Seer Moss (Garlic Yogurt Sauce).

SEER MOSS

Makes about 1 1/4 cups sauce

1 cup plain yogurt

3-4 cloves crushed garlic

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp minced fresh mint

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Method:

1. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Let chill for at least an hour to let the flavors meld.

Kabeli Palau Recipe

2011-08-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

KABELI PALAU

Serves 6-8

Note: You may purchase 6 cups chicken broth and use leftover chicken pieces. This will save you several steps (and at least an hour) if you are in a hurry.

1 lb basmati rice, rinsed

1/4 cup ghee or butter

1 large onion, sliced thin

1/2 chicken, bone in or 3 chicken breasts

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 Tbsp salt

1 clove garlic, crushed

6 cups water

1 Tbsp garaham masala

1/4 tsp saffron

Garnish:

2 carrots, cut into matchsticks or shredded

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup slivered almonds

pinch saffron

1/2 cup hot water

1. In a large pot, bring 6 cups water to a boil.

2. Meanwhile, rinse rice until water runs clear. Add rice to boiling water, reduce heat to low and simmer for 6 minutes. Drain rice and discard cooking water.

3. Add six cups water to a large pot. Add chicken. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30-45 minutes or until chicken is falling off the bone.

3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook onions in ghee until deep golden brown in color. This could take 30 minutes. Stir often. Be careful not to let pan dry out and burn the onions.

4. In a food processor, combine onion, tomato paste, and a 1/2 cup chicken broth. This will cook more on the stove and in the oven, so you can take the broth at any point from the simmering pot of chicken.

5. In a very large casserole, combine rice and onion mixture. Add salt, garlic, garaham masala, and saffron.

6. Defat chicken broth and strain into to rice mixture.

7. Preheat oven to 350F. Pick through chicken and add the pieces to the rice mixture. Stir to combine.

8. Cook uncovered in the oven until rice is tender (taste test please), about 45 minutes, adding up to a cup of water towards the end if it looks too dry. Some drying around the edges is normal.

9. Meanwhile, saute carrots in ghee until golden brown and soft. Add raisins, almonds, saffron, and water. Cook until water is reduced and raisins have plumped.

10. Add carrot garnish to the top of the rice mixture when done cooking. Serve immediately.

Noni Afghani Recipe

2011-08-02T19:26:00.000-07:00

NONI AFGHANI

Makes 8-12 Noni Afghani

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra as needed

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast (1 package)

2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 cup water

1/4 cup plain yogurt, low-fat or whole milk

1 Tbsp olive oil, plus extra for bowl

2 Tbsp whole cumin seeds

4 Tbsp ghee or butter, melted

1. In a large mixer with paddle attachment, combine flours, yeast, sugar, salt, water, yogurt, and olive oil.

2. Switch to dough hook. Mix for about 10 minutes, or until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. The dough will be moist but not overly sticky. Add extra flour a little at a time, if necessary.

2. Shape dough into a ball and transfer to a clean, oiled bowl. Cover and place in a warm spot until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

3. Divide in 8-12 portions and roll into balls. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.

4. Press each ball flat. Sprinkle each side with cumin seeds. With a rolling pin, roll into 1/3″ thick oblong discs.

5. Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet or cast-iron pan over medium heat. Add ghee (or butter). Add one or two discs to skillet at a time. Do not crowd.

6. Cook about 1 minute on first side. Flip and cook until the second side is brown and aromatic. This will take about 2-4 minutes.

7. Place Noni in a cloth lined basket. The bread will retain heat without getting soggy. Serve immediately.

Sabese Borani Recipe

2011-08-02T19:24:00.000-07:00

SABSE BORANI

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen, chopped spinach

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup drained yogurt

1. Drain yogurt over a small bowl for 1 hour. Use either a coffee filter in a large colander or a fine strainer by itself.

2. Heat oil in a medium skillet. Saute the onion until golden, stirring occasionally. This can take 15 minutes. Watch that your pan does not dry out and the onions burn. If you do think the pan is drying out, add a little water and/or cover.

3. Add garlic and heat until aromatic.

4. Add spinach and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

5. In a small bowl, combine yogurt with spinach mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. For maximum flavor, serve cool, but not cold.

Two Sisters and a Moses

2011-08-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

Nellie's New Toy

2011-07-30T06:45:00.000-07:00

Can you guess what her newest toy is?

Wordless Wednesday: Excited for Bluewater!

2011-07-27T17:59:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Terry's Scooter

2011-07-25T19:07:00.001-07:00

Eat the World 1: Afghanistan

2011-07-22T06:32:00.000-07:00

A final menu has been chosen and next Saturday we are set to begin our "Eat the World" adventure!

Week #1

Afghanistan Menu

Appetizer:

Sabse Borani (Spinach Yogurt Dip)

Noni Afghani (Afghan Flatbread/Naan)

Main Meal:

Noni Afghani (Afghan Flatbread/Naan)

Kabeli Palau (Basmati Rice with Chicken & Carrots)

Burani Bonjon (Spicy Braised Eggplant)

Seer Moss (Garlic Yogurt Sauce)

Dessert:

Khatai Cookies

Stay tuned for more pictures, info and recipes!!

Daddy's Picnic Suprise

2011-07-22T06:03:00.000-07:00

I came home from work the other day and Dylan had packed the girls and I a picnic dinner. So we took off for University Park and ate our yummy foods near the beautiful gardens.

Nellie got to sample some avocado and peach flavored Gerber's puffs and she topped it off with a bottle of formula.

My poor baby girl and her runny nose. We think it's because she's cutting teeth.

Moses' face kills me in this one. It's like he knows something's coming.

Something like Ada!

Notice how Ada treats Moses the same as Nellie.

The girls and me.

Trying to get a nice picture is much, much harder than you'd expect. Or maybe you would.

I certainly should by now.

Ada finished supper and then decided that running up and down the hills by the flower gardens was a grand idea.

Nellie just sat and chilled out with Dylan and I as we cleaned up our supper mess.

Watching her sister.

She's almost 8 months! Can you believe that!?

Pasta Night!

2011-07-21T19:47:00.000-07:00

Dylan bought me a pasta maker for Christmas many, many, many moons ago (i.e. I'm pretty sure it's made every move we've ever made as a married couple together and of those I've almost lost count). We finally decided to take it out and try our hand at it as I have fond memories of making raviolis in World Foods class from highschool (thanks Mrs. Enderson!).

Ada was thrilled (needless to say) and loved rolling the dough and adding flour (until her's was unmanageable...like little pieces of dried up play dough bits).

This is what Ada thought of dinner:

And being the classy family that we are, we ate dinner on the cold, tile floor.
Hey...don't judge, you gotta beat the heat somehow.

Ada demanded that we take pictures of her and Nellie together.

As you can see...she was super cooperative. As always.

This is probably the best shot that we got. I love Nellie's two chins in this one! :D

And then of course Ada had to have a picture taken with Moses. Poor dog. Look at how unsure he is of this situation.

What a wise dog we have...

Daddy and Ada...I wish this wasn't blurry!

Dylan made a yummy wine-shrimp-garlicky-basil-butter sauce to go over our fettuccine noodles....DELISH!!

And raspberries, one of Ada's favorite...

Wordless Wednesday: Guess Who!?

2011-07-20T19:02:00.000-07:00

Eat the World: 196 Countries

2011-07-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

I'm half-way through day camp at work.

I. Am. EXHAUSTED.

(That also could be due to Nellie's sleepless teething/sickly/growth-spurty-nights.)

This summer I chose and wrote an 11 week program centering on an around the world theme, in fact, it's aptly titled "Around the World in 11 Weeks." We started out in the Carribean and now, seven weeks later find ourselves studying the Middle East. Today we focused on Jordan, Kuwait and Iraq. We had three speakers from the ESL school in town from Kuwait to talk to the campers about their home country. The kids even got their names written in Arabic! And later this afternoon we took them to Bauer Honey Farm in Fertile, MN (you know, Middle East--honey...makes sense...right? Okay, I admit, I was stretching the tie-in a bit...), where they got a tour of the business and complimentary honey jars to bring home.

Anyhow, the whole point of this was to say that I've really enjoyed exploring the different countries and continuents with my campers this summer and the few times that Ada has been able to attend, she has LOVED it too. Thus, I pitched the idea of eating a meal from every country in the world as a family.

I should back track a little bit, during camp I have put together a "cookbook" of "authentic" (as authentic as I can get for some of them) recipes that we eat at lunch. The meal is sometimes a compilation of the countries that we focus on for the day and sometimes all entirely from one. It's been an interesting ride with the kids as most of them are used to pretty tame, heavily salted, pre-packaged fare. (<----This particular statement is not meant as a slur against their parents, we too indulge in some ready-made, fast-foody type consumables...but we are blessed enough to be able to purchase more fresh produce than some of the families that I work with.)

The rules of thumbs are as follows:

1.) All kids must try at least one bite of everything on the plate.

2.) They are allowed to like and dislike foods but they must not loudly go on and on about how much they hate something.

3.) They are not allowed to complain about being hungry at all if they do not eat their lunch that day.

Considering we've got 22 kids ranging in age from 6-11 years of age, they've done exceptionally well being polite and adventurous.

So...back to the food challenge. While looking for all the different recipes I've stumbled across many food sites that were helpful and also piqued my interest (as if I really needed help doing that with food). I brought up the idea of eating a meal from all of the 196 countries in the world (some say 195 and others 196...we've chosen to air on the side of 196 and count Taiwan as a country)...please don't censor me China. Plus, Dylan and I both love to travel and even though we aren't able to do so right now, this will help us fill the void a bit and enable us to enjoy good food and good times with our friends and family. Dylan agreed that it would be fun and educational for our family to do this too ...so...off we go!

We've started searching for our first meal and we will be going on a weekly basis of each country...although during Holidays and such this plan may deviate a bit. But that is our intent to travel the world gastronomically week by week, country by country.

Wordless Wednesday: Missing Ecuador

2011-07-13T18:41:00.000-07:00

July 4, 2011: Part I

2011-07-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

A Korean-German Dinner

2011-07-08T21:07:00.000-07:00

A 1/2 Korean-3/8 German-1/4 French Canadian inspired meal.

Rain, Rain Go Away!

2011-07-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

June was a rainy month for North Dakota.

Much too much rain.

Lucky for us Daddy and Ada both like rain walks.

Please excuse the "graph" like texture to the pictures as I was the only sane one, warm and dry inside the house...well...Nellie and I.

Summer IS Here!

2011-07-08T20:11:00.000-07:00

I think the pictures speak for themselves.

A Teaser of Things to Come

2011-07-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday: Thanks Great-Grandma Phyllis!!

2011-05-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

Day Eighteen: The Person You Wish You Could Be

2011-05-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

Life by the Spirit

"(13) You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. (14) For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (15) If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

"(16) So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (17) For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. (18) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

"(19) The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; (20) idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions (21) and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

"(22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (24) Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (25) Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (26) Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other."

NIV, Galations 5: 13-26

Day Sixteen: Someone That's Not in Your State/Country

2011-05-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

They literally just left this morning but I already miss them. They accepted a job in Wisconsin, a six hour or so drive away from us and even though we didn't see them a ton necessarily, we will definitely feel the greater span acutely nonetheless.

Congrats on the new job Ben and we pray you are doubly blessed on your new adventure!

Day Seventeen: The Place You Wish You Were From

2011-05-23T12:31:00.000-07:00

(I skipped Day Sixteen since it fits better tomorrow...)

I have ALWAYS wished that my speech was inflected with an awesome accent. Seriously. I think my top three accents of choice would be (and again, no chronological order here):

1.) Southern (not deep southern or Creole, but just a soft, wispy southern accent that you faintly hear...wait...am I romanticizing that too much?)
2.) British (English came from over that way, even though we may not be able to understand a word of their crazy slang.)
3.) Irish (Um, Helllooooooo!...AWESOME!!!)

Wordless Wednesday (A Little Late): Blast From The Past!!

2011-05-19T20:11:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday: California we shall meet again!!

2011-05-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

UND Finals Week

2011-05-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

It is finals week for UND students and what does this mean?

It means that blogging is put to the side (at least for those who aren't looking to procrastinate from studying and are busy working and watching two little girls ;D) in order to maintain a house (in chaos).

Fear not dear readers, I will be back soon!!

Cousins Picture

2011-05-07T18:51:00.000-07:00

We wanted to take a picture of all four girls after church since they were all dressed cute and were in fairly good spirits...however...this happened:

I should've known it wouldn't be so easy.

Uh oh...

And

We're

Done.

There's gotta be at least one good one in there...right?

Easter in Pictures

2011-05-07T18:37:00.000-07:00

Ada awoke us around 5:30 am to try and catch the Easter bunny. She didn't quite catch him but did find the treats he left behind.

And Ada wasn't the only one who got an Easter basket!!

My two beautiful nieces before church.

After church I went home to pickup some things for our lupper feast and this is what I pulled up to...

A light lunch to tide them over...

Nellie loves the exersaucer.

And after lunch the girls got to open Grandma and Grandpa Easter bunny's baskets.

And right after nap the girls were let loose on the front lawn to hunt for eggs.

The proud hunters.

Then we wanted a shot with all four girls.

Lucy was not impressed with her youngest cousin's grabby hands...there may have even been growling.

Beautiful feet.

Beautiful face.

He most certainly is Risen!

A Little Bit of Spring

2011-05-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

Some photos of the Dachtler clan in the past two months...

Such a smiley girl we have (when she's not feeling the effects of her teething).

Taking a nap with Daddy.

Nellie's just begun to sit up for about 10-15 seconds by herself.

Nellie's first time outside and touching grass.

She wasn't so sure about it.

She was however, sure about eating!

Ada enjoying the nice warm weather and all of Mommy's attention (Nellie was napping).

I'm pretty sure it's not possible to love her more. :)

Moses, the ever-watchful guard dog.

A few signs of Spring possibly being here to stay...? Hopefully? Pllleaaseeee?????

Ada told me she was going to climb the fence and run away.

But then she had to ask me for help. So she decided otherwise...

"Forgotten Mothers" by Jenna Skalicky

2011-05-06T08:24:00.000-07:00

"Forgotten Mothers"

by Jenna Skalicky

This Sunday is Mother's Day. I have sent my cards and expressed my deep love and thanks to those mothers closest to me.

I will wake up on Sunday and may or may not be able to make the daunting trip into church where I will not be able to pretend that I fit in.

I will cry on the way home, if I go. I will cry while I make lunch. I will cry when I watch TV and I will cry when I make the drive to get my comfort coffee. I will put on my rainbow stripe socks, drink tea, and eat ice cream...and I will cry.

I will cry for myself as I have prayed and tried and waited and begged and screamed to be a mother. I will cry for myself for on this day, more than on any other day in the year, I feel completely alone. I will cry because there are no cards, no flowers, no standing ovations, few hugs, and few phone calls for me and women like me. I will cry.

I will cry for the other women, and men, who feel isolated today, who may avoid church because at times -- believe it or not -- the church is insensitive. I will cry for those who have shed more tears than we could know yet do not receive a simple kind word of "I'm thinking of you today" but possibly a comment such as "when are you going to start thinking about kids?" or "don't you want to get flowers on Mother's Day?" I will cry for the couples and women who will sit alone today, toughing it out. I will cry as I pray for these couples who cry alone.

I will cry for myself, my husband, and the others not only on this day but also Father's Day, Christmas, baby showers, family reunions, and child dedications.

I do not wish to take anything away from mothers today. I do not wish to diminish the importance of this day and the wonderful and amazing mothers that are celebrated today. I celebrate these mothers today and everyday. I celebrate my mother and my mother friends who are changing the world with every load of laundry, diaper changed, wiped nose, puke bucket held, Bible story told, water fight battled, bedtime kiss, prayer on bended knee, time-out, and meal cooked.

I also celebrate the women who have taken in children who are not their own as their very own and have changed lives and the world with their selflessness and love. Many of these women have made their own daunting walk into church as an unmother on Mother's day. My own mother has inspired me.

I only wish to urge you to remember the mothers-in-waiting on this special day. These are the women who have waited, longed, hoped, dreamed, despaired, and cried with white-knuckled fists raised to the sky. These are the forgotten women. These women have tried and been, as of yet, defeated. Let us all together break the silence of this struggle.

Let's also remember the mothers who have lost their children. Children gone before they have been fully formed. Children lost before the news of their new life has even been shared and celebrated with friends and family. Children who had not yet taken their first breath. Children taken before their life has been lived, before they could grow old. Children unplanned, waited for, loved, cherished, and missed terribly. Being a mother is not dependent upon the presence of children sitting nearby. Let's remember those who have had to bear the pain of burying their own dear children from war, tragedy, accident, disease, reasons unknown.

There is a sad trend of overlooking or shying away from issues of miscarriages in the church. Please don't ignore these women or avoid the heaviness of this tragic situation. It is hard and it is uncomfortable. Not ministering to these women, even in small ways, has a way of communicating that this situation is too much for the church, too much for you, too much for God. This was a real life. This was a real death. This is a real mother. It takes an incredible woman to endure knowing her child exists yet having to wait until heaven to kiss, hold, rock, and sing to him or her.

I have often contemplated rising to my feet when the call for all the mothers in church to stand is made. Why do I feel that I would be breaking some kind of unspoken rule to not stand because I have not held my child? Why do I feel that this would be unacceptable in the church? Why do I feel that no on would understand n the church community? Let's take a stand...and stand.

Let's remember those special mothers who have held their babies and loved enough to let go. Those mothers who have loved so much and given their babies better lives, better opportunites by being selfless and letting go. Those who have given women waiting for children the blessng of motherhood. Those who have chosen adoption for their precious babies, for whatever reason. These women are mothers too and have been amazng selfless mothers.

Also, remember the single mother who does not have a partner to give her a break, to buy her flowers, to take her to dinner, to celebrate everything that she does for her children. No matter the reason for her singleness, she needs to be valued as well.

These women, those waiting and those who have lost and those who have waited and still lost, need your support. These women need your love. These women need to be recognized, loved, and validated as the amazing mothers and mothers-of-the-future they are. These women value life very highly because they truly know how fragile, intricate, and precious life is. These women need to know that they are not forgotten. This is especially true in the church community.

These women need a smile, a hug, a flower, a card, a balloon, a kind face. Silence with a smile can be more powerful than the most well-meaning words. A nod and a hug followed by a short "I love you and I'm thinking of you" will be more than enough to completely change the life of this one woman who might feel that no one understands and she is all alone.

I have been blessed to have amazing women and a truly incredible husband in my life who have done just this. These small moments of remembrance and understanding have made the darkest moments of sorrow and grief lighter in weight and intensity.

Mother's Day is for mothers. If you are a mother I truly hope you have an amazing day -- that you are loved, thanked, prayed for, doted upon, spoiled, and given opportunity to rest. If you are not a mother I hope that you take the opportunity to thank your own mother and love on mothers around you. But please do not forget that there are mothers this Mother's Day who will never have the opportunity to hold their children this side of heaven, who have had their children for far too little time, and women who long desperately to be mothers.

If you are pregnant this Mother's Day I am celebrating this new lfe wth you today! I truly hope that this pregnancy is smoothe and pray that you and your baby are healthy. I rejoice with heaven in this new person and the incredible things that needed to happen, the miracle that God did to make this life.

If you are dealing with infertility or mourning a loss of a child, or both, I pray that you would be met this Mother's Day with understanding, love, and kindness. I pray for you and cry with you, scream at the heavens with you, shake my fist with you, mourn with you, and ask "why?" with you today, and everyday. know this: you are not alone.

Mother's Day is about mothers. But we can also use this day as an opportunity to minister to women who are hurting quietly, grieving silently, and waiting alone.

Five Things NOT to say to a friend who is dealing with infertility (from an article I found in Home Lifemagazine called "Unwelcome companions" by Marlo Schalesky):

You're lucky you don't have kids. -- if they want to have kids not part of this struggle is lucky or fun. This also diminishes or invalidates their hurt.
Just relax. -- advice giving only comforts the one giving the advice. the one suffering feels that their hurt has been missed and quieted. There is no 100% guaranteed sure-fire way of getting pregnant and each person's body reacts differently to everything. Those dealing with infertility know that there is more to the struggle that just relaxing.
You should just adopt. -- adoption has absolutely nothing to do with infertility. people can adopt if they have children of their own. many people who do not have children decide not to adopt. an adopted child is a gift of its own it is not a replacement for a biological child. Adoption is not the defualt treatment for infertility and should not be assumed as such.
God will give you a child. -- we cannot pretend to know what God's plans are. we are not God and we have control over virtually nothing.
Maybe God knows you wouldn't make a good mother. --this is plain horrible, awful!! My God does not work that way and can make amazing mothers out of all of us. i have actually heard this said to me and it breaks my heart. DO NOT SAY THIS...EVER!

"God has a plan" can be one of the most hurtful statements. yes it is true, God does have a plan and God is in control but when someone is dealing with issues such as infertility this part of God's plan sucks. it just plain sucks. we dont tell someone with cancer to be happy about God's plan, why would we tell someone who also is suffering with inertility? maybe because she is still relatively healthy so on the outside life looks good.

this struggle involves more than getting a baby. therer are questions about God's control, his power, his love. There are questions of value, worth, identity, meaning, and purpose in life. many times this questioning will never go away, even if a child is added to the family.

Five Things NOT to say to a friend who has had a miscarriage (also found in the same article):

You'll have another child. -- we cannot know what will happen. another child will not replace this lost child or make the loss less painful.
It's good you didn't lose the baby later. -- a life is a life whether it is two hours from concpetion or ninety years old. death is always sad. the size of the person does not change this.
There was probably something wrong with the baby anyway. -- we cannot pretend we know why things like this happen.
It was only a fetus. -- it was not only a fetus. it was a baby. and it is lost.
At least... -- nothing good can come after this statement. do not even go there.

Please be mindful of how you begin conversations. Asking about children can be a sad topic for couples and women. This may lead to this couple or woman to feel that they do not fit in your community. Questions like "how many children do you have?," "when are you starting a family?," or "what are your kids' names?" can make couples uncomfortable -- like they automatically do not fit in the group.

Also remember that a family can consist of two people. validating this little family is extremely important!

Please do not assume of couples who have been married for a few years or those women who do not have children, that they do not want children. Many of these couples may seem uncomfortable around children. most often it is because they do not want to get attached or interact too much for this may intensify their sadness later. They may be fighting tears even as they play peek-a-boo.

Thank you for reading. Even though this weekend is tough for me, my amazing husband always makes sure that we have some fun. Can you imagine how empty the movie theater is on Mother's Day? It's great.

Day Fifteen: The Person You Miss The Most--Part Deux

2011-05-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

CBC-Ecuador circa September 2004-May 2005

Day Fifteen: The Person You Miss The Most--Part One

2011-05-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

I've struggled as to how I should go about addressing this topic.

How I can I choose?

How do I rate all those that I miss?

Who would rate the most?

Maybe I'm chickening out but I've decided to split this "Day" into more than one so that I can somewhat accurately describe my current nostalgia.

I think that perhaps instead of missing someone the most, rather, I've been missing places in time. I didn't appreciate them enough when they occurred and unfortunately, I think I could've gotten a lot more out of them as they were happening...but hindsight never does anyone any good. But, I guess I should contradict myself and say that it does in fact do me some good as I'm constantly reminded to try and get the most out of the current time and future ones...to just, be there as much as possible.

Thus...I miss Idyllwild, California, circa August 2008-May 2009.

Wordless Wednesday...Kind of...

2011-05-04T19:23:00.000-07:00

So I've decided to introduce a common blogging theme for Wednesdays...Wordless Wednesdays...in which I will share a picture with you all. The post title will look a little something like this: "Wordless Wednesday: blah blah blah" but without the blah blah blah. Instead it'll have a caption to whatever picture I'm showing you.

So...

Today's would look a little something like this:

Wordless Wednesday: Mama's Right Hand Youth Worker