What's next, the Easty Bunny??

Today in the van on the way to karate, E and I were discussing when his latest loose tooth might fall out. Then he says "Mommy, are you the tooth fairy and daddy is Santa?". I squeak out "why do you ask that?", and he responds "Well, this 3rd grader said....". I don't really remember the rest of the story, as I was not prepared for the question and was busy trying to figure out it it was time for full disclosure. I believe my explanation contained some discussion of how they are real if you believe in them, some reference to the movie Polar Express and some bell that only true believers can hear, or something like that. It was so lame; I'm sure he noticed. A couple minutes later I ask "so do you really think I'm the tooth fairy??", and he said "uhhh, no". I believe my 5 year old is now pretending to believe just to humor me.

Zilzil Alecha (Beef in Green Pepper Sauce) Recipe

This recipe is modified slightly from the original I found online, so I'll mention both versions. It makes enough stew for 8 to 10 large servings, or 16 small ones. The version I make is best if you like your beef to fall apart in your mouth and your veggies to be soupy and undetectable to children. I'll call it the blender version. The real version has larger strips of beef and strips of bell pepper. If you want the strips of bell pepper, it's best not to overcook the stew (otherwise you'll end up with bell pepper strings [the skins]).

Ingredients
6 medium bell peppers, green
8 teaspoons chopped chili peppers
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chopped ginger
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cardamon
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 cup wine (white or red, doesn't matter)
1 cup niter kebbeh or butter
4 pounds boneless sirloin
4 cups finely chopped onions

Instructions
1. Coarsely chop all 6 bell peppers for the blender version. For the real version, chop 4 peppers, and cut the two remaining into 2" X 1/2" strips (set the strips aside)
2. Combine chopped bell peppers, chili pepper, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cardamon, salt, pepper, and wine in blender; process until smooth and clumpless.
3. Trim meat of all fat and a) cut into bite size pieces for the blender version, or b) slice into strips 1/2" thick, 2" long by 1/4" wide for the real version
4. Heat 1/2 cup of niter kebbeh or butter in large, heavy skillet. Brown meat, a little at at time and turning often, until each piece is browned evenly. Transfer meat to plate (or crock pot for blender version).
5. Pour remaining fat into measuring cup and add enough additional butter or niter kebbeh to measure 1 cup, then set aside.
6. In a clean skillet, cook onions over low heat until soft and dry, about 10 minutes. Stir continuously to keep them from burning. Pour in the cup of cooking fat until it sputters.
7. If you are using the real version, this is when you'd add the bell pepper strips and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously.
8. Add the purred green pepper mixture and heat to a boil while stirring.
9. If using the blender version, add this mixture to the meat in the crock pot and cook on low heat for 5 hours or so, until the onions have disintegrated. This is the version that freezes very well.
10. If using the real version, add the beef to the skillet. Reduce heat and simmer until it's cooked to your liking. Beware...too long and the bell peppers loose their shape and turn into the blender version (except with bell pepper strings). This version is still good frozen, but you'll loose the bell pepper's shape. It really depends on how authentic you want it to look; it tastes great either way!

Thumbs up

Tora No Maki Challenge

Elijah competed today at the Tora No Maki Challenge in Perry. First off, we had to wake much earlier than any of us would have wanted to otherwise so we could meet up with our friends at 6:15 and make it to the tournament by 8. Two fell asleep on the way (nope, it wasn't either of the kids). Elijah started with the kihon competition, which was a new and interesting experience for him. I believe he came in 4th (according to his friends who told me later), and appeared to do well considering he had no clue what to do until he go there. Next up was kata, where he competed in the 5 to 6 beginner division with Chi No Kata. That, he had practiced....a lot, and he won gold! He spent the rest of the tournament playing his DS with friends and cheering on the other Katsu Dojo competitors while I continued to volunteer at another ring. The drive home was nice and we made it home just before the end of the football game (ouch, sorry Gators).

Injera Recipe

By popular demand (meaning two people have asked), I will start posting recipes and instructions for some of the Ethiopian foods I've been making. I'm just a beginner myself, so if you're looking for expert instructions, please continue your search elsewhere! Feel free to leave critiques and suggetions in the comment section :-)

First up is injera, the Ethiopian flat bread used as a platter, plate, and utensil (just tear off a piece and use it to scoop up food). This is most definitely not authentic injera. It’s just an easy, passable version for those with not much time and no sourdough starter. I found this recipe online, and most non-Ethiopians have liked it (we’ll see what Merete thinks when he gets home!). It does not have the sour taste (which is fine by me, that’s not my favorite part).

Also, this is a relatively small amount of batter. If you want to make a larger batch, don’t be tempted to just double or triple the recipe and make it all at once. Take the time to mix the batter in small batches. The reason for this is that the club soda is used to help make the spongy texture, and the longer the batter sits there, the less spongy and “hole-y” the injera are (at least in my experience)

This recipe makes 6 injera using a 9 ½” non-stick pan. This is pretty small for injera, so feel free to use a larger pan if you’d like. I used an electric stove and put it on “3”. At that size and temperature, the injera cooked in 3 ½ minutes. I actually used two pans to make two at a time, and even though I used the same temperature, one pan always produced spongier injera than the other. So I switched around with the pans, covers and burners and figured out it was in fact the burner that made the difference. I have no idea why, but if your injera isn’t very spongy, play around with the temperature a bit until it seems right. There is no need to use oil on the pan if you are using non-stick (not sure how much you’d use if you are using non-stick, but you could try cooking spray). If you are using a different size pan, experiment with the amount of batter and cooking time; just keep in mind that it should be thicker than a crepe and thinner than a pancake, and it’s done when the top is dry and it starts to curl at the edges.

Finally, I have decided that injera is both the singular and plural version of the word. I have no clue if that's correct ;-)

Ingredients
1 cup self-rising flour
¼ cup teff flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup water
¼ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ cup club soda

Instructions
1. Combine the self-rising flour, teff flour, and baking powder in mixing bowl. Mix well with electric beater. This makes sure the baking powder is evenly distributed (I do this often with dry ingredients instead of sifting…again, another time saving shortcut that seems to work for me).
2. Add water and mix on high speed until lumps mix well until there are no lumps.
3. When you are ready to start cooking the injera, add the vinegar and club soda, and mix gently with a spoon (you want to keep it nice and bubbly). Again, do this at the last second to preserve as many bubbles as possible. The batter will seem very watery compared to typical pancake batter.
4. Gently scoop out batter using small cup (for 9 ½ “ pan, I used 1/3 cup of batter) and pour onto the pan. Immediately swirl the pan gently until the batter reaches the edges of the pan. Cover the pan loosely (leave an opening) and set your timer. The injera are done when the top is dry and it starts to curl a bit at the edges (honestly I think mine might be too curled, I don’t really remember what they looked like at the restaurant!).
5. Flip or slide the injera onto foil, parchment paper, or something similar to cool. Let it cool to room temperature before you stack them (if you stack them while they are still warm, they will stick together).
6. Storing injera: this section is in progress and will be updated once I’ve figured out if freezing is even a good idea. I made a huge batch today and froze them in stacks of 4 (wrapped in wax paper) and then fit about 4 sets in a gallon freezer bag. I’ll experiment the best way to defrost and reheat and report back. And maybe one day I’ll try some authentic injera (like, after Merete tastes these and makes a “what the heck is this supposed to be???”

Meanwhile, at Littlewood...

Things have been busy, and with a little more than two weeks to go before we leave for Ethiopia, we adults have been focusing much of our time on getting prepared for the trip and all that will be new in our lives this month. E is focusing on school and all the fun activities that come with being a student at Littlewood! There is the Morning Mile, where kids can walk, jog, or run each morning before school officially starts. E has been a very active participant, logging in about 5 miles a week. He and I walk the first couple of laps, and then he usually takes off to run after one of his friends. Here he is in line, waiting to hand in his straws (one straw per lap is how they keep track of their miles).


E and I also went to movie night at school a couple weeks ago, where we watched Night at the Museum and had popcorn. It was fun, despite a few technical difficulties, and E even got to see his best friend from another school who just happened to show up with another parent.


We've also been having lunch together at school every Friday. If you want some good free entertainment, go hang out with a bunch of 5 year olds and listen in on their conversations. They are absolutely fascinating, at least 50% fiction, 25% complete misinterpretation of reality, and 20% giggles. I think there might be a kernel of fact in all of that, but that's actually the least interesting part.

Where we'll be staying

A family who just returned from their adoption trip posted pictures of the guest house where we'll be staying. We are very fortunate to be in room 209, with a double bed and twin bed, and private bathroom. Here's a link to the post: Guest House Photo Blog Post

Ethiopian Celebration

Thanks to everyone who came to our Ethiopian Celebration! We had such a wonderful time, and truly appreciate all of the donations everyone brought. Here's a look at all the goods we get to bring with us (in less than 4 weeks!).


We had dabo kolo (little fried snacks), pork wot (which seemed to be most people's favorite), amhari (veggi bowl), atar allecha (spiced green pea puree), injera (Ethiopian spongie bread), mesir wat (red lentil puree), and zizil alecha (beef and green pepper stew).


For dessert we had lemon ice cream bonbons, banana chocolate chip cupcakes, and coffee chocolate cupcakes.



We had many party games and prizes for the winners (prizes are proudly displayed on the heads of the winners below). First was "find Ethiopia on the map", which was won by Camille (Elijah and Kristin also got close). Staci won the "identify the tribe/region these folks are from" with a bonus 2 points for correctly identifying the region Merete is from. The team of Camille and Cara won the trivia contest.


The kids played "pin the Ethiopian flag on Ethiopa", and Tyler was the grand winner!


Here are some random pictures of fun :-)

Kindness

I have been amazed in the last few months by the compassion and kindness of our family, friends, and even virtual strangers I've meet online. People have been very supportive, and every so often we get a wonderful surprise. Today I got an email from another mom who just got back from picking up her child from the same care center where Merete is staying. I'm so gratefully that in the middle of her own great adventure she took the time to pass this on:

Your son has a wonderful smile Mama and I just had to let you know. He was in the front row at the going away ceremony and he flashed a couple of smiles at us. They were great.

If the tooth offends thee, pluck it out!

On Tuesday E announced that he had a loose tooth. For days he wiggled it, just a little bit. Then he started pushing it around until it practically laid flat...yet it hung on.


Today at dinner, having been annoyed by this tooth for some time, he grabbed the tooth, and with a "enough already" look, yanked it right out!


He's very proud that he is the first in his kindergarten class to have lost a tooth. There is a board in the classroom where tooth loss is recorded, and he will be first. Not sure where he gets this competitiveness from ;-)

On a related note, I can't believe how big he is! Real school, falling teeth, sparring class (the latter two are unrelated), "girlfriends", and he's even writing short stories now. Thankfully, I'm still allowed to snuggle with him (for about 1.5 seconds) and tickle him (but only until 7:10 pm, after that, he's decided it's too late for tickles). And he still thinks I'm cool (so dreading the day that changes).