my revised opinion on cloth diapers

I  reviewed Ashlynn’s cloth diapers a few months ago and I have to make a few revisions since we’ve moved back overseas. 

 

I love our cloth diapers now.  Ashlynn has outgrown the Kissaluv’s and Thirsties duo wraps. They were wonderful for when she was smaller.  I highly recommend this combo for babies under 12 pounds. I still squeezed them on her when she was three months old but as she approached 12 pounds then just didn’t cut it any longer.  She’s now purely wearing bumGenius all in one diapers with snaps. 

When we first arrived in Ethiopia I had to start relying on our cloth diapers because we simply didn’t have enough disposable diapers in our suitcases to get us through the weeks until our air freight or consumables shipment arrived.  As Ashlynn grew, the cloth diapers held in the explosive breast milk poop much better than the disposable diapers.  She’s also had zero diaper rash or even a hint of redness since we’ve moved to using solely cloth diapers. 

I bring disposable diapers when we are traveling.  It just makes things easier.  For our Mekelle trip last weekend we didn’t have space to pack around a wet bag and dirty diapers all weekend.  Gross!  Disposable are the way to go for air plane flights and overnight trips. 

At 2 AM I slap a disposable diaper on Ashlynn for the nightly diaper change.  Getting the cloth insert arranged properly in the pocket and snapping the diaper closed feels like rocket science at that ungodly hour.  I barely have to open my eyes to put on the disposable.  I allow myself this tiny luxury. 

In America, my biggest complaint about cloth diapers was all the washing.  I have three kids.  Spending that much time washing every day was eating into other important things like eating and sleeping.  The first 10 weeks of any baby’s life is just too hectic no matter how many other children you have.  Adding all that cloth diapering just made me crazy.  We live in Ethiopia now.   Ash is 4 months and now that she has a nice neat schedule, I’m not a walking zombie (maybe on occasion).   I also have a housekeeper to do the majority of the diaper washing.  Now cloth diapers are a piece of cake.  The weather is glorious here on a daily basis so all the diapers get hung to dry outside while the inserts tumble in the dryer.  We are generally running to grab a hanging diaper to throw on the baby as it’s still in the process of drying but that’s just how it goes.  We haven’t had a blow-out yet. Charlie's Soap is perfect because it's powdered and can be shipped through the pouch no problem.

We are in the land of zero disposable diapers so my small stash of disposables are sacred.  I squirrel them away for my middle of the night changes and our travel.  I can’t imagine having to order a box of diapers on a weekly basis to get sent through the pouch to get to us.  With all that cash we are saving I can order powdered milk or instant oatmeal.  Cloth diapers are pretty cool if you have the help for washing.  So many people don't have the help and still do it.  These people are Saints!  You have my kudos if you are making washing cloth diapers a priority in your family on top of the rest of things you are doing.   

I highly recommend Jillian’s Drawers website for ordering.  Definitely invest in bumGenius.  They are going to take us all the way until Ashlynn’s potty trained. 

dinner anyone?

I apologize to anyone who panics without a real recipe with measurements.  I don't follow recipes when cooking (baking is different).  I take that back.  I love recipes for inspiration, but I tend to do my own thing once I have the basic idea and plan in my head.  When it comes to a new food item (like polenta) I use a recipe for the basic ratios.  If you want to try your hand at these meals, don't be afraid that yours will likely turn out slightly different than mine. That’s the fun of cooking.

These yummy eats were two of our dinners last week.  They both happen to be vegetarian.  It's tough to come by meat here that looks worth cooking, so at least twice a week we eat vegetarian meals.  It took me a bit to feel comfortable serving a vegetarian meal this often to my family.  At first I felt like something was missing on the plate but I've since come to terms with vegetables taking the lead role in my meals. 

Potato and cheese croquettes with mushroom sauce, sauteed spinach and candied squash
 
Boil about a pound and a half (totally guessing) of potatoes with their skins on (sneaky vitamins for the girls) and mashed them like mashed potatoes.  Add salt, pepper, fresh rosemary and some diced matured Edam cheese (cheap and easy to find in Ethiopia-any cheese will do) to the mash and let the potatoes cool.  Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a pan on medium heat.  Form round potato patties with your hands dust them with bread crumbs. Saute them in the oil until they were browned on both sides.  When all the croquettes were browned I lined them on a baking sheet and kept them warm in the oven at 300 degrees.  This dried the potatoes out and crisped them up a bit.

In the mean time sauteed a cup of walnuts in about a tablespoon of butter until the butter is frothy.  Add a big bunch of fresh spinach and a dash of salt.  Saute until the spinach is wilted. This dish is packed with vitamins and omega-whatevers.

For the candied squash place thin slices of squash in a glas pan, dust with cinnamon and brown sugar.  Crumble about a tablespoon of butter over the squash and add a handful of strawberry flavored dried cranberries (raisins or plain dried cranberries would be fine).  Bake in the oven at 400 degrees, stirring periodically until the squash is tender and your children come running in because the whole house smells sweet like cinnamon and sugar.  Watch them promptly run back outside when they learn that it’s squash, not dessert.

At the last minute I decided the croquettes needed a sauce. Heat a cup of homemade chicken broth in a sauce pan.  When it’s bubbling add a teaspoon of flour/water mixture about a quarter cup of milk and whisked until the sauce thickened up.  Add some Parmesan cheese to taste (my Mom sent Kraft Parmesan!) and ¾ cup chopped canned mushrooms.  A dash of salt and pepper finished the sauce.  It was pretty slammin on the croquettes.

The girls loved the croquettes.  I let them and munch them outside while they played.  Does anyone else have kids who are roaming eaters?  Getting them to sit down and eat their dinner is next to impossible.  Usually they inhale their food for about 5 minutes then start roaming.  It drives me insane.

Squash curry with vegetables
 

This was a simple Friday night meal.  I started by dicing the squash and roasting it in at 400 degree oven with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast until the squash is tender.

While the squash was roasting I sauteed a chopped onion and two tablespoons of freshly grated ginger in a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.  Tip: I keep fresh ginger in the freezer since it’s used infrequently.  It’s easy to grate and won’t mold when frozen.  Add a tablespoon of curry powder and continued stirring until the onions are cooked and the curry and ginger has browned a bit.  Add a ½ cup of coconut milk and 1 ½ cups of homemade chicken broth.  Stir and let it bubble and thicken for 5 minutes.  Next you can add any sort of vegetables you want to the sauce.  I added snow peas and green bell pepper.  Add the roasted squash to the sauce at the end.  I ended up adding more ginger, curry, salt and pepper to taste as well as fresh parsley before serving.  It depends on your personal taste.  Serve over white rice. 

the man who made it all possible

I can't believe how lucky I am. 

fairy in training

My sister, Emily sent these tiny little fairy wings for Ashlynn. Thanks Aunt Emily!

it doesn't have to look good...

to taste good.

Need some dinner inspiration? This week I made roasted chicken and veggies as well as penne puttanesca. Both kind of ugly but really delicious.
The roasted chicken and vegetable meal is one of the quickest and easiest meals I've done lately. Here's what I did. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut one onion in large chunks as well as carrots. Toss these on a baking sheet with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and a bit of balsamic vinegar. Chop potatoes and add to the baking sheet. Cut up a whole chicken and arrange the pieces among the vegetables. Drizzle olive oil, salt, pepper and granulated garlic on the chicken and potatoes. Chop about a half a cup of kalamata olives and toss with the rest of the veggies. Sprinkle with a bit of fresh rosemary. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes, tossing the vegetables around periodically. I flipped the chicken pieces half way through cooking as well. At the end the chicken will be juicy and tender while the potatoes are soft and the carrots and onions are caramelized. This was simply delicious. The caramelized onions were my favorite part.

I made the penne puttanesca with some veggies I had in the fridge. Cook about 3/4 lb of penne pasta. Heat olive oil in a pan and add vegetables of your choosing. I had fresh spinach and a yellow pepper begging to get eaten. Add a few cloves of chopped garlic to the veggies. When cooked a bit add a can of tomatoes with the juices. Add some kalamata olives, capers (2 Tbsp) and a bit of salt and pepper. I had some leftover roasted chicken from the previous meal so I chopped it up and added it to the sauce. Next toss the penne with the sauce, add freshly chopped parsley and Parmesan (if you have it). This dish was amazing and super easy.

honey

After our trip to Tigrai region and tasting the honey from that area, I immediately went to the store to buy some. It's not exactly what we had at Gheralta but it's pretty close. The honey is thick but spreadable and sweet. After our run in with an African honey bee nest in our house I might as well eat as much honey while in Ethiopia as I can.

Gheralta at dawn

God, birds and all children under 5 are up at dawn. Therefore, so are we. Dawn is pretty spectacular in Gheralta.