24 January 2009
check a little lower for new recipes
the post isn't at the top, but it should be. Check it out-- pictures included!
21 January 2009
Exciting week
Last Saturday I went to the joint birthday party for Julius, Ellery, and her daughter Jovanni. I spent a lot of the time in Randy's room hanging with him and Fae, and watching Da Ali G Movie. After that I went out and hung out with the old people (they're my friends too), dancing and eating--"breakfast" was served just after midnight, and was what would normally be a weekend lunch spread. There was cake, and of course plenty to drink throughout the night. It was a great time, overall.
Earlier that afternoon I also got a package from my dad--a framed picture I gave to him a long time ago, and some Godiva chocolate bars. Packages are always very exciting :)
On Sunday I went to the movies with Fae, Randy, and a couple of his coworkers. It was a long trek up there, with waiting for people to get ready at each part (even I was a few minutes late getting to Fae's, but that wasn't much of a problem for anyone, since Randy wasn't ready for another half hour or so). We watched Transporter 3 (I've seen the first one, and I guess there was a second?). The experience was pretty much exactly like going to a theater in the States, except that the hot dog I had was actually good (and the bun, especially). Unfortunately, the movie was at 7, so I didn't get back until late, so for two nights in a row I ended up only getting a few hours of sleep. This week I still haven't been able to catch up on it yet, but perhaps tonight.
Today was exciting because I met with Sister Mary, a nun who works assisting schools all over the south and west of the island. Luckily for me, she lives in the convent here in Vieux Fort, and what's more, she wants to start an afterschool program! So today we met and talked about what we expect out of it, who and what we'll need, and we'll meet again on Monday. I'm really glad she's here, since this is something I've been wanting to do but have been feeling too stretched between three schools all week to get some time to really get it going. Her goal is to have it running by mid-February, which is a tall order, but I'll do my best to make sure it happens.
15 January 2009
Foods! (lots of recipes!)
So I've done plenty of cooking and baking in the past month or so, and here are a few recipes that I've altered to suit my needs. Remember, I have limited baking ingredients (and accessories), so sometimes things are left out that I would like to have in, or they are adapted with another ingredient. These recipes reflect things I am able to buy--some things are available, but expensive (like chocolate chips), so I don't buy them.
Also of course many measurements are estimated.
Let's start with some recipes everyone should have their own version of, since it's so much cheaper to make these than to buy them.
Hearty Black Bean Salsa
Ingredients
1 medium green bell pepper (called sweet peppers here)
1 medium red or yellow or orange bell pepper (I only get the reds here, since they aren't as expensive. they're still more expensive than green, since they're imported.)
1/2 medium onion, chopped (yes I am cooking and eating onions now!)
1 garlic clove
1 can diced tomatoes (leave some of the water out)
1 cup cooked black beans (I cook them with a bay leaf, cumin, black pepper, salt, oregano, and basil)
1 cup corn kernels
(1 jalapeno, chopped. I didn't include this since I don't have regular access to them here, and if you don't like very spicy food you should leave it out.)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp chili powder
Directions
1. Dice peppers, onion, and garlic, saute briefly with some salt.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients over med-low heat. Stir occasionally. Cook for at least 10 minutes.
3. Serve. If you want to serve it with tortilla chips, chill it a little first. It also goes great in quesadillas. For this, use my tortilla recipe and some cheese of your choice. Personally I prefer Monterrey Jack or Pepper Jack, although just about any mild cheese will work. Heat two tortillas briefly on one side over low heat in a dry skillet, turn over and add cheese to both tortillas and about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of the salsa. Put the only cheesy tortilla on top of the salsaed one, heat for 2-3 minutes, flip, heat for 1-2 minutes (the longer they cook the crispier the tortillas become). Remove from heat, let set a few minutes, then use a knife or pizza cutter to cut into quarters. Serve with
Guacamole
Ingredients
1 medium avocado pear (or most likely 2 avocados if you're in the states with wimpy avocadoes that are only the size of your fist)
1/4 cup diced onion
1/2 med green pepper, diced
1 small tomato, diced, seeds removed (the best way to remove seeds from a tomato only you will be consuming is to cut it in half lengthwise, and suck them out!)
lime juice from 1/2 a lime (or one key lime)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
Directions
1. Get your avocado meat into your medium mixing bowl however is easiest for you, and mash it up with a fork.
2. Add everything else, mix it up real good. Be careful not to add too much lime juice, or the guac will be runny, not good for speading or dipping or ANYTHING :-[
3. Enjoy! I like to use it in tacos or as a sandwich spread. It's very good at neutralizing spicy sauces.
Now for a couple reciped that worked really really well, from a conglomeration of recipes I found online.
Awesome French Toast
Ingredients
4-6 slices of nice loaf (not sandwich) bread (depending on size)
3 eggs
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1/4 tsp salt
a couple dashes cinnamon
a few gratings of nutmeg
2 Tbsp cooking oil
Directions
1. Combine eggs, milk, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg in a flat-bottomed dish (I used a small casserole dish). Mix everything together well.
2. Put bread slices in mix one at a time, making sure both sides are well coated, even soaked a little.
3. Heat some oil in a saucepan, medium-high heat. Cook bread w/ egg mix on each side for 1-2 minutes each, or until they are nice and crispy, nicely dark (even black in spots).
4. Transfer to plate with paper towels. When not so greasy, plate them and add toppings:
Topping 1 (savory)
Ingredients
1/2 medium bell pepper, diced
1 smallish tomato, diced,
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup shredded mild cheddar (or other mild cheese)
a little hot sauce
Directions
1. Saute pepper, tomato, garlic. Remove from heat, add cheese and hot sauce. Mix well.
2. Spoon onto half the number of french toast slices.
Topping 2 (sweet)
Ingredients
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup honey
1 fresh banana, cut into 1/2 inch slices
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients in small bowl, mixing to coat all raisins and banana.
2. Spoon onto remaining bread slices, be sure to use all the honey.
Seriously, this french toast is awesome. The nutmeg and cinnamon on the crunchy toast eaten with the warm, juicy, slightly spicy topping is an amazing experience.
And finally,
Monstar Cookies
Ingredients
4 1/2 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (or so) peanut butter (I used creamy since it's cheaper, but use crunchy if you want!)
3 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 medium bag of M&Ms
1/4 cup chopped almonds (I probably would add more if they weren't so expensive and if I didn't have to chop them myself)
Directions
1. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder in a medium or large mixing bowl.
2. Combine butter, sugar, and honey. Mix well. Add peanut butter, eggs, vanilla. When this is a soft, grainy, well mixed consistency, add dry ingredients a little at a time. Mix thoroughly, add M&Ms and almonds. Refridgerate at least 45 min, if not much more.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Remove cookie dough from fridge, drop rounded 2-inch diameter balls onto ungreased cookie sheet, pat them down a little, but don't flatten them completely. Bake for 10 minutes (or longer if you like them harder, you cretin). Remove, let cool for a couple minutes, then eat them up!
(the picture was sort of the mistake batch--no baking powder, not enough flour. Those were crunchy--if you want that, subtract the backing powder and 1 cup of flour)
This recipe makes about 4 dozen, so if that's not how many you want, freeze the rest. These cookies (like most) get hard after about 4 days, so don't make too many unless you only want to eat them with something to dip them in (I never understood why people would want to eat hard cookies without dipping them in milk or coffee or hot chocolate).
In addition to these recipes I also made dinner for friends a couple times. First pizza, with two kinds. One had eggplant and spinach, the other had chicken and bell peppers.
Then I made an eggplant parmesagne, with a homemade pasta sauce that included spinach and bell peppers. The bread wasn't that great with it though :( The rest was delicious!
Well that's my long overdue recipe post. I hope you enjoy the recipes if you try them! Happy eating :)
Also of course many measurements are estimated.
Let's start with some recipes everyone should have their own version of, since it's so much cheaper to make these than to buy them.
Hearty Black Bean Salsa
Ingredients
1 medium green bell pepper (called sweet peppers here)
1 medium red or yellow or orange bell pepper (I only get the reds here, since they aren't as expensive. they're still more expensive than green, since they're imported.)
1/2 medium onion, chopped (yes I am cooking and eating onions now!)
1 garlic clove
1 can diced tomatoes (leave some of the water out)
1 cup cooked black beans (I cook them with a bay leaf, cumin, black pepper, salt, oregano, and basil)
1 cup corn kernels
(1 jalapeno, chopped. I didn't include this since I don't have regular access to them here, and if you don't like very spicy food you should leave it out.)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp chili powder
Directions
1. Dice peppers, onion, and garlic, saute briefly with some salt.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients over med-low heat. Stir occasionally. Cook for at least 10 minutes.
3. Serve. If you want to serve it with tortilla chips, chill it a little first. It also goes great in quesadillas. For this, use my tortilla recipe and some cheese of your choice. Personally I prefer Monterrey Jack or Pepper Jack, although just about any mild cheese will work. Heat two tortillas briefly on one side over low heat in a dry skillet, turn over and add cheese to both tortillas and about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of the salsa. Put the only cheesy tortilla on top of the salsaed one, heat for 2-3 minutes, flip, heat for 1-2 minutes (the longer they cook the crispier the tortillas become). Remove from heat, let set a few minutes, then use a knife or pizza cutter to cut into quarters. Serve with
Guacamole
Ingredients
1 medium avocado pear (or most likely 2 avocados if you're in the states with wimpy avocadoes that are only the size of your fist)
1/4 cup diced onion
1/2 med green pepper, diced
1 small tomato, diced, seeds removed (the best way to remove seeds from a tomato only you will be consuming is to cut it in half lengthwise, and suck them out!)
lime juice from 1/2 a lime (or one key lime)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
Directions
1. Get your avocado meat into your medium mixing bowl however is easiest for you, and mash it up with a fork.
2. Add everything else, mix it up real good. Be careful not to add too much lime juice, or the guac will be runny, not good for speading or dipping or ANYTHING :-[
3. Enjoy! I like to use it in tacos or as a sandwich spread. It's very good at neutralizing spicy sauces.
Now for a couple reciped that worked really really well, from a conglomeration of recipes I found online.
Awesome French Toast
Ingredients
4-6 slices of nice loaf (not sandwich) bread (depending on size)
3 eggs
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1/4 tsp salt
a couple dashes cinnamon
a few gratings of nutmeg
2 Tbsp cooking oil
Directions
1. Combine eggs, milk, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg in a flat-bottomed dish (I used a small casserole dish). Mix everything together well.
2. Put bread slices in mix one at a time, making sure both sides are well coated, even soaked a little.
3. Heat some oil in a saucepan, medium-high heat. Cook bread w/ egg mix on each side for 1-2 minutes each, or until they are nice and crispy, nicely dark (even black in spots).
4. Transfer to plate with paper towels. When not so greasy, plate them and add toppings:
Topping 1 (savory)
Ingredients
1/2 medium bell pepper, diced
1 smallish tomato, diced,
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup shredded mild cheddar (or other mild cheese)
a little hot sauce
Directions
1. Saute pepper, tomato, garlic. Remove from heat, add cheese and hot sauce. Mix well.
2. Spoon onto half the number of french toast slices.
Topping 2 (sweet)
Ingredients
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup honey
1 fresh banana, cut into 1/2 inch slices
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients in small bowl, mixing to coat all raisins and banana.
2. Spoon onto remaining bread slices, be sure to use all the honey.
Seriously, this french toast is awesome. The nutmeg and cinnamon on the crunchy toast eaten with the warm, juicy, slightly spicy topping is an amazing experience.
And finally,
Monstar Cookies
Ingredients
4 1/2 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (or so) peanut butter (I used creamy since it's cheaper, but use crunchy if you want!)
3 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 medium bag of M&Ms
1/4 cup chopped almonds (I probably would add more if they weren't so expensive and if I didn't have to chop them myself)
Directions
1. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder in a medium or large mixing bowl.
2. Combine butter, sugar, and honey. Mix well. Add peanut butter, eggs, vanilla. When this is a soft, grainy, well mixed consistency, add dry ingredients a little at a time. Mix thoroughly, add M&Ms and almonds. Refridgerate at least 45 min, if not much more.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Remove cookie dough from fridge, drop rounded 2-inch diameter balls onto ungreased cookie sheet, pat them down a little, but don't flatten them completely. Bake for 10 minutes (or longer if you like them harder, you cretin). Remove, let cool for a couple minutes, then eat them up!
(the picture was sort of the mistake batch--no baking powder, not enough flour. Those were crunchy--if you want that, subtract the backing powder and 1 cup of flour)This recipe makes about 4 dozen, so if that's not how many you want, freeze the rest. These cookies (like most) get hard after about 4 days, so don't make too many unless you only want to eat them with something to dip them in (I never understood why people would want to eat hard cookies without dipping them in milk or coffee or hot chocolate).
In addition to these recipes I also made dinner for friends a couple times. First pizza, with two kinds. One had eggplant and spinach, the other had chicken and bell peppers.
Then I made an eggplant parmesagne, with a homemade pasta sauce that included spinach and bell peppers. The bread wasn't that great with it though :( The rest was delicious!
Well that's my long overdue recipe post. I hope you enjoy the recipes if you try them! Happy eating :)
13 January 2009
Winter Break Synopsis
Wow, it's been a while. Sorry about the lack of posts lately; the holidays found me much busier than I had anticipated.
It was enjoyable, though. I hung out with PCVs and local friends pretty often. I also made lots of tasty tasty food. Recipes to come.
I hiked plenty--Morne Le Blanc in Laborie, the Saltibus waterfalls, up Moule-a-Chique in Vieux Fort to look at the light house, and even the
Edmund Forest Trail across to the Des Cartiers. This last one was pretty much across almost the widest (not longest) part of the island. It was about four hours, but it was the most fantastic thing ever. I hadn't been in the middle of the rainforest before, so the plants and scenes were just amazing. We also saw lots of the St. Lucia Parrots (called Jako in Kweyol).
Christmas I spent with my host family. I went to Midnight Mass with Julius and Nethelia, then to their friend's house afterwards. The next day I joined them for Christmas lunch and got to meet their son that lives in Canada--he surprised Nethelia, she didn't know he was coming at all! (although his brother Randy knew.) After lunch some friends came over, and Nethelia and I joined them in what is called "house to house": one person in a group calls up someone at a nearby house, sees if they're home and have something to offer to eat, and then everyone goes to that house. Lather, rinse, repeat. I met some new people and got to see some friends I already knew, and got to have lots of tasty food, from ham to cakes (lots of cakes!) and plenty of drink, including a great peanut punch at Ellery's house. It was a great way to spend Christmas.
The following Sunday I finally cooked lunch for Julius and Nethelia ("long overdue," she said). I made a Tex-Mex offering, with tortillas, guacamole, chicken, refried beans, cheese, and salad--a good spread for tacos, of course. They enjoyed it, especially the guacamole. People here eat lots of avocado ("pear"), but usually don't mix it with anything except cassava flour ("farin").
New Year's Eve I spend in Rodney Bay with some other PCVs. We had a big ol' spaghetti dinner with several wines and sparkling juices to accompany, then we headed down to the beach to watch the fireworks at midnight. We hung around for a long time, and I didn't end up sleeping until about 5am!
The first week of school brought some new things, too. I have a new schedule now with the Infant School, since some students switched classes. At the Primary school I am now co-teaching with the Special Needs teacher, Miss Vigie ("veezhay"). At Belle Vue I'm still currently helping out the principal in various capacities (typing things for her, providing a sounding board for ideas, designing things), although she has me signed up to introduce computers to preschool children (this may change, we'll see).
At the Primary School, in addition to helping Miss Vigie, I responded to the principal's comment in the teacher meetings last week that students need extra work on writing with a proposal to do writing workshops. The look on his face and the excitement in his voice when he asked me "You want to do that?!" was great. I'll be working with 4th and 6th graders on this, since these are the two grades that take standardized tests at the end of the year.
This past weekend I went up to spend the night with Haley again to hang with her and Ashley, and Haley was so kind as to pick up the stuff in my mailbox at the PC office. Along with the usual Cable & Wireless bill, there was a card from Diana! and a big bag of Christmas presents from my Secret Santa in Australia! I got a bunch of candy, some spices, some drawing pencils and pens, some small sketchbooks, a calendar with pics of Australia things, some pics of Melbourne landscapes, and some skin and lip ointments. It was very exciting.
The most exciting thing of all is the prospect of Berney visiting later this year--he's working on arranging that. I'll try to see him aroundJune maybe in Europe, but he might be able to stay for a considerable while, depending on how things work out. We'll see, but it is something awesome to look forward to.
Like I said, I'll post some recipes later. I just needed to get this down.
It was enjoyable, though. I hung out with PCVs and local friends pretty often. I also made lots of tasty tasty food. Recipes to come.
I hiked plenty--Morne Le Blanc in Laborie, the Saltibus waterfalls, up Moule-a-Chique in Vieux Fort to look at the light house, and even the
Edmund Forest Trail across to the Des Cartiers. This last one was pretty much across almost the widest (not longest) part of the island. It was about four hours, but it was the most fantastic thing ever. I hadn't been in the middle of the rainforest before, so the plants and scenes were just amazing. We also saw lots of the St. Lucia Parrots (called Jako in Kweyol).Christmas I spent with my host family. I went to Midnight Mass with Julius and Nethelia, then to their friend's house afterwards. The next day I joined them for Christmas lunch and got to meet their son that lives in Canada--he surprised Nethelia, she didn't know he was coming at all! (although his brother Randy knew.) After lunch some friends came over, and Nethelia and I joined them in what is called "house to house": one person in a group calls up someone at a nearby house, sees if they're home and have something to offer to eat, and then everyone goes to that house. Lather, rinse, repeat. I met some new people and got to see some friends I already knew, and got to have lots of tasty food, from ham to cakes (lots of cakes!) and plenty of drink, including a great peanut punch at Ellery's house. It was a great way to spend Christmas.
The following Sunday I finally cooked lunch for Julius and Nethelia ("long overdue," she said). I made a Tex-Mex offering, with tortillas, guacamole, chicken, refried beans, cheese, and salad--a good spread for tacos, of course. They enjoyed it, especially the guacamole. People here eat lots of avocado ("pear"), but usually don't mix it with anything except cassava flour ("farin").
New Year's Eve I spend in Rodney Bay with some other PCVs. We had a big ol' spaghetti dinner with several wines and sparkling juices to accompany, then we headed down to the beach to watch the fireworks at midnight. We hung around for a long time, and I didn't end up sleeping until about 5am!
The first week of school brought some new things, too. I have a new schedule now with the Infant School, since some students switched classes. At the Primary school I am now co-teaching with the Special Needs teacher, Miss Vigie ("veezhay"). At Belle Vue I'm still currently helping out the principal in various capacities (typing things for her, providing a sounding board for ideas, designing things), although she has me signed up to introduce computers to preschool children (this may change, we'll see).
At the Primary School, in addition to helping Miss Vigie, I responded to the principal's comment in the teacher meetings last week that students need extra work on writing with a proposal to do writing workshops. The look on his face and the excitement in his voice when he asked me "You want to do that?!" was great. I'll be working with 4th and 6th graders on this, since these are the two grades that take standardized tests at the end of the year.
This past weekend I went up to spend the night with Haley again to hang with her and Ashley, and Haley was so kind as to pick up the stuff in my mailbox at the PC office. Along with the usual Cable & Wireless bill, there was a card from Diana! and a big bag of Christmas presents from my Secret Santa in Australia! I got a bunch of candy, some spices, some drawing pencils and pens, some small sketchbooks, a calendar with pics of Australia things, some pics of Melbourne landscapes, and some skin and lip ointments. It was very exciting.
The most exciting thing of all is the prospect of Berney visiting later this year--he's working on arranging that. I'll try to see him around
June maybe in Europe, but he might be able to stay for a considerable while, depending on how things work out. We'll see, but it is something awesome to look forward to.Like I said, I'll post some recipes later. I just needed to get this down.
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