food
-
pizza night.
-
everyday granola.
My in-laws’ house is the comforting smell of granola, baking golden in the oven. It’s Mom Gentino’s floppy aluminum pans that I think she’s re-used years past the point any normal person would and that I’ve scrubbed my share of times. It’s a snack of the nutty-crumbly goodness in a tiny china bowl with milk, or tucked in plain yogurt with a drizzle of honey. His mom’s everyday granola is one of the things my husband most anticipates about returning home, and something I’ve promised myself to get in the habit of making for the past eight years. One day, one day I’ll do it. In the meantime, David took…
-
honey wallah cum mobile phone thief.
Yesterday, Julie and I had one of our favorite visitors – the local honey wallah. The young man in the video comes every three or so months to our neighborhood to extract honey from one of the dozens of hives drooping from building overhangs. Our quest for pure, unadulterated, local-as-possible honey landed us in our own block. It is amazing. And dirt cheap. This cache is part of 110 pounds of honey from one comb. Since a pound of honey demands visits to two million flowers, that’s quite an accomplishment. We bought 31 pounds for $40. Our neighbor has been buying from this man for a decade. Our knowledge of…
-
easter and ice cream cones.
We’ve been talking about ways to teach our kids about Easter. This year we settled on doing something special–something out-of-the-ordinary to catch our attention–each evening this week, then sitting around the table together and learning Bible stories about Jesus’ last week of life, his death, and the resurrection. Monday night David and the kids made homemade ice-cream cones for our “Easter talk.” Yum. Next up: I’m going to try my hand at gluten-free cupcakes!
-
honey wallah.
The honey wallah came to our neighbors’ terrace today. So, Sadiq rang the doorbell, and asked us if we wanted some local, pure honey for 200 rupees a kilogram (about 4 dollars). Did we??? Priya collected plastic containers and the kids grabbed their shoes and I strapped on the camera, and the four of us made our way upstairs to the rooftop. There we found a pail of dripping honey and waxy comb and dead bees. I was given my first piece of honeycomb-wax, and they told me: “Just pop it in your mouth and chew and spit out the wax afterward.” It was divine. Priya and I stood and…
-
one month gluten-free.
I have been gluten-free for over a month now, which is hard to believe. I am so, so thankful to be feeling better, but it’s been a hard adjustment and a hard month. It is a drastic change, and we’re still taking it one day at a time. A couple of weeks ago, I purged our home of the majority of our glutinous foods, and replaced our toaster (which obviously is impossible to completely clean of crumbs). I am so thankful that David was willing to make the switch. It makes my life much easier not to have to cook separately for myself and the rest of the family. We’re…
-
oak hill farm.
This past weekend, David and I escaped for a birthday overnight at Oak Hill Farm. John, Alison, and the boys were so sweet to offer to keep Judah and Amie for us. On Friday morning, we dropped the kids off, stopped for breakfast, then drove the hour-and-a-half to the farm. Here is my journal entry from Saturday . . . David and I are wrapping up our overnight visit to Oak Hill Farm. It is not exactly what I expected when we made our plans to come, but it has turned out to be a lovely experience. This farm is a little haven, an hour outside of our city, tucked…
-
gluten-free week.
My morning cup of Rwandan coffee with natural cane sugar and coconut milk (do I sound like an obnoxious health nut yet??). And my sweet niece, Lina, who Judah and Amie alternately introduce to friends as their sister and their daughter. I apologize for yet another boring post on my diet. I promise I won’t do this forever, but I want to keep a record of it. I have been two-and-a-half weeks gluten-free, and there has been enough change in my health that I’m ready for a long-term commitment. I never want to go back. The cravings haven’t been as bad as I expected. What I crave most is sugar,…
-
one week gluten-free.
It’s been just over a week of my gluten-free diet. When I started last Friday, friends said I might feel better in a couple days. Well on Day 2, I was in the depths of despair because there was no change. Okay, so I’m kind of an impatient person. But on Day 3 (the day David left for Rwanda), there was a definite change. I still had my headache, but something was different. I couldn’t put my finger on it exactly but throughout the day, I thought, Wow, I feel good. On Day 4 I woke up and, laying in bed, instantly knew something was different. I had no headache. At…
-
dark chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting.
Alright friends, here is the long-awaited recipe. The chocolate cake recipe came to us years ago from a family friend. Enjoy! Dark Chocolate Cupcakes Makes 24 cupcakes 2 cups flour 2 cups sugar ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup brewed coffee 1 cup milk 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla Combine dry ingredients (first five ingredients) in a large mixing bowl. Add oil, coffee, and milk, mix at medium speed until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla, mix until well combined. Batter will be thin. Pour into lined, greased and floured muffin tins. Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes (until inserted…