International Festival

On March 17th the school hosted a fantastic international festival. There were booths set up around the sports field representing more than 25 countries.  The booths featured food, clothing, and crafts from the featured country. The kids also could take passports around and get them stamped for answering questions about the geography or history.  They also had games, crafts and other activities for the kids.  There was a stage that had dance and music performances as well.  I'm glad I came hungry because I was able to sample food from around the globe:  I had a delicious plate of Indian food, dim sum, a French baguettes with cheese, treats from various parts of Africa, pizza for the kids, and finally a cup of Turkish coffee and some baklava.  I left stuffed.

Here are just a few of the many photos I took that day.

And finally on the walk home we experienced some of the local culture. My youngest got to ride on a vegetable vendor's donkey.

Cheers,
Jenn

Mother's Day

Yesterday was Egyptian Mother's Day. My older daughter surprised me with two lovely cards: One was a very glittery card that promised massages and house cleaning services and the other was written in Arabic (she wrote it herself in Arabic class). My husband bought me a lovely alabaster candle holder.  Then the whole family went out for Korean food at my favorite restaurant. It was a lovely evening.

This best part is that this year I get to celebrate my awesomeness as a mother twice!  Actually if I play my cards right and travel around a bit I could celebrate Mother's Day up to 31 days of the year. I guess my next stop is Slovenia which celebrates Mother's Day on March 25th.  You can find a calendar of Mother's Day celebrations on Wikipedia if like me you want to milk this holiday for all it is worth.

Cheers,
Jenn

An Indian Cooking Class in Cairo.

Last week I had the pleasure of taking an Indian food cooking class at the house of a new friend.  I met several nice women and we learned how to cook a total of 7 dishes in just a couple of hours.  We even got a goodie bag to take home with a copy of the recipes and some ingredients that can't be found at the local markets here in Cairo.

We started our class by making dahi raita.  This is a salad of yoghurt, cucumbers, carrots, and a selection of seasonings tempered in oil (this is called a tadka).  A version of this basic salad is served with almost every Indian meal.

Raita along with a\the special ladle used for the tadka

After that we made a tomato omelet.  This isn't an egg omelet, but a vegan dish made out of a lentil flour.  I use the same flour when I make vegetable koftas.  You mix the flour with water, onion, tomatoes, coriander leaves, and cumin. Then cook it in a non stick pan.

Next we moved on to raajma poori (kidney bean sauce with fried bread).  This was a quick dish that used a can of kidney beans to speed the process along.  The fried bread is  made by simply mixing wheat flour with water and frying it in oil.

We also roasted eggplant on the stove and made one of my favorite Indian dishes, baingan bharta.  Our teacher's version was made without cream, but with the option to add it at the table. 

And of course what Indian meal would be complete without a dal? The version we made for this class used a small yellow lentil called moong dal. We cooked it for just a couple of minutes in a pressure cooker.

Probably my favorite dish of the day was the potato parathas. This is a bread that is stuffed with potatoes and spices.   I really enjoyed the simplicity of it.

Potato Parathas

First you make a stuffing by mixing 3-4  boiled and mashed potatoes, 2 t. cumin powder,1-2 green chilies, 2 T. coriander leaves (cilantro), 2 t. minced garlic, 1 small minced onion, 1/4 t. turmeric, and salt.
 After that you make a simple dough with wheat flour and water.  You do this by adding water to the flour until it is soft but firm enough to handle.  I think that the bread started out with about 2 cups of flour and 1/2 C. water.  Our teacher mixed it in a blender and then just added water ( a small amount at a time) until it was the right consistency.  After that, form it into small balls, dip them in flour, and roll them into 5 inch circles.

You place two spoons of filling on the circle and then fold the bread around it... sealing it in. Dip it in the flour again and roll it out into a 7 inch circle.

Next you cook it on both sides in a non stick pan  until it is cooked through.

The first time I had this bread was when Verna (our teacher) invited me up to her apartment for an Indian breakfast.  She served it with Chai (tea) and a lovely yogurt dip.  It makes a fantastic breakfast or wonderful addition to any meal.

After class it was time for the part that everyone was waiting for...  LUNCH!  I had a lovely time cooking and eating with a wonderful group of ladies.  I hope to do again some time soon.

Cheers,
Jenn

We went for the fledgling democracy, but stayed for the stuffed pigeon.

A couple of weeks ago we took the subway downtown in search of real Egyptian food. We went to a little place called  Felfela. It was a pretty cute place and the food was decent. I got meatballs and Koshari.  Koshari is an Egyptian dish of rice, lentils, garbanzo beans, and pasta. They pour a tomato and garlic sauce on it and top it with fried onions. It is common food in Egypt and you can find it just about anywhere.  It is nothing spectacular, but it is good stick to your ribs food. 

My food was alright, and the girls seemed happy with their choices.  My youngest loves the local preparation of lentil soup and my older daughter is always happy when she can have spaghetti with meat sauce. I wish that my husband could have said the same about his meal.  He had something more daring in mind.

Ever since we watched the Anthony Bourdain Egypt episode, he has been wanting to try stuffed pigeon, a local specialty. When his plate came to the table, he licked his lips in anticipation of what he expected to be a life changing meal.  His experience was nothing like the show, however. He dined on a tough, gamey bird stuffed with lord only knows what while the bird's friends and relatives watched from a nearby cage.

When my older daughter realized that my husband was dining on a "rat with wings" she was at first appalled and then she got the giggles.  She kept glancing at the cage nearby and laughing.  We were all cracking up by the end of the meal.  Even my husband laughed as he choked down bites of squab that seemed more of a burnt offering than a culinary one.

On our way out we stopped to watch the cook make falafel. Then the girls posed with this incredibly creepy statue of a man smoking shisha.   

With bellies full of rock dove and regret, we headed back to Ma'adi on the Metro.  We picked up the subway right next to a side of Tahir Square you don't see in the media... The side where they sell t-shirts emblazoned with images of Sponge Bob, Che Guevara, and the martyrs of the Egyptian Revolution without even a hint of irony.

Cheers,
Jenn


Here are the Anthony Bourdain Egypt videos in case anyone is interested.  There is a segment about the pigeon near the end of the first video.. and he talks about Kusharie at the end of the first video and beginning of the second.  Enjoy!

52 weeks of Happiness: Thanksgiving Weekend and an Update.

For Thanksgiving this year we had a lovely time. We had family and friends over for a potluck Thanksgiving. We had tons of food and a lot of fun together.

After Thanksgiving we were invited on a camp out with some good friends.  We had a great time walking through the woods, making s'mores, and spending time together at Buescher State Park.

After long weeks of going back and forth about the big move we are really getting things moving. We were worried last week when unrest began in Cairo... but now that the elections are moving along as planned we have begun moving forward again. I will probably not be posting much during this busy time... but I'm sure once we are settled in I will have tons of photos and news to share.

Cheers,
Jenn

52 Weeks of Happiness: Happy Campers

It has been a long time since I posted a 52 weeks of happiness post... but that doesn't mean that I haven't had many happy moments along the way.  It simply means that I've been too busy to post them. 
This past weekend I got a chance to get away from the family and have a camp out with a friend that I've know since grade school.  It was nice to get away.

 Due to a burn ban in Texas we couldn't have a campfire... so we made do with this ghostly light.

 We couldn't cook on the grill... but propane stoves are still allowed so we made up some chicken and vegetable tacos for our dinner.

And what would camp stove tacos be without some old school (with a K) salsa.

 Feeding the fire.

 Two happy campers.

I need to treat myself to getaways more often.

Cheers,
Jenn

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Basketry, Little Creatures and a Trip to the Dentist.

Life has been hectic so I've been taking a break from my blog.

Here is what I've been up to.

I went to the dentist yesterday and it looks like I might be able to postpone the dental surgery for a while. I've been taking good care of myself and it has paid off. I'll have a follow up in 3 months and I'll know more then... but for now I feel good about it.

I have been preparing my basketry materials to teach a class for BOW. I'm very excited about this and I have been collecting, dying, and buying supplies for the two classes I'll be teaching over the weekend. I have been posting a tutorial on my other blog... Worth a Knit and there will be more stuff to come after my class is over.

I have also been crocheting up a storm for online and local sales. I just put a display at a local coffee shop and I have been talking to a popular local gift store about selling some of my handmade toys on consignment. The owner liked my work so hopefully when I have a enough ready I can bring some in for her. I also need to make a few to try out in my Etsy shop and really get that rolling again.



The toys that I'm making right now I also design... so I have been writing up the patterns, taking photographs and trying to create a professional looking pdfs so that I can sell my patterns online. I have had success with the free patterns I've put on Ravelry so I'm hoping that someone will like my work enough to purchase PDFs of the pattern for a couple of bucks.

I still continue to play hard, cook good food, and enjoy my family... I just haven't had the time to write as much about it.

Cheers,
Jenn

My heart goes out to all the Texans out there that have lost their homes (and in a few cases more) in these tragic wildfires. It has been a rough couple of weeks for many people in the Lone Star State.

Jenn