Friday once again

It's been a busy week.  Here's what we've been up to...in brief.

Ashlynn's walking!  It's been a little over a week now that she's become fairly comfortable on her feet.  It's her preferred method of mobility now even though she can only go about 5-6 steps in a row before she loses her balance.  She can move much faster crawling so if she sees the front door open or the gate to the stairs left unlocked she will crawl to try to beat us to the danger zone.  She's thrilled with her new ability and seems to completely understand our excitement for her.  Step one to getting rid of pre-toddler frustration-master walking!

A bit wobbly but walking!!!  You can tell she's pretty thrilled with  herself.

Addie's moved past her matching school outfits and perfectly coiffed hairstyles.  She's been much more practical about her choices for kindergarten lately, choosing jeans or leggings and a shirt with tennis-shoes.  It's really quite amazing.  There was a time I never thought my eldest daughter would wear anything but a dress to school and today she came down wearing loose cotton pants and tennis-shoes.  She came home from school filthy so I'm thrilled she's realized that being comfortable enough to play and get messy sometimes outweighs the benefits of getting dolled up.  We are still working on a positive attitude about sweating though.  I told her that when I was in high school P.E. was my favorite class (I was a Varsity athlete in H.S. if you can believe it?).  She laughed smirked at me and said, "Not my P.E. class.  We have to work out!".  Which I thought was hilarious.  It's a work in progress.  I'm just pleased to report that this girl LOVES kindergarten.  Loves it so much she is bummed there is no school on the weekends.

Aunt Megan sent a box of crafting goodies for us which is always appreciated.  I never know when I'm going to need fun colored buttons or stencils.  Having a well stocked craft closet is key to surviving long days with the kids in Ethiopia.  An awesome monster play stage kit came along in the box and Arabella and I had so much fun putting it together and decorating out little monster puppets on Thursday while Addie was away for her long day at school.  Bella's head almost popped off from excitement when she saw the goggly eyes provided for the puppets.  She then proceeded to put on a monster puppet show for the next hour and later in the day made up endless adventures for the monsters (who all had extraordinary names-which I can't recall now).  I was cooking dinner while she played out an elaborate scene where the monsters were being rescued by Woody and Meles (Meles is the new name of her baby doll.  Named after Meles Zenawi the former Prime Minister of Ethiopia).  This kid cracks me up!

Halloween costumes have been ordered for the children.  Addie is going to be TinkerBell (it took me awhile to find one that was pretty and not a crummy Disney store itchy piece of crud). Bella is dressing as Woody from Toy Story ( I purchased a back-up costume just in case though because of the Curious George debacle of last year).  Ashlynn is going to be an adorable owl-because she's still young enough that I get to pick for her.  I am beginning my preparations for our annual kids Halloween party that will also double as Ashlynn's first birthday party.  Yay for party planning!  I have some fun crafts in mind and I should be receiving a box in the mail soon full of fake spiderwebs!  Do you get excited for Halloween like me?

I reworked my chocolate chip cookie recipe so now it behaves as if I were cooking at sea level.  They are soft in the middle with a crust on the outer edges, just how I like them.

Market Day today was a success.  I sold out of all my goodies in 45 minutes.  I could have easily sold another batch of everything.  It was wonderful to hear some feedback about the treats from last Friday.  I was especially thrilled that everything was well received.  Someone loved my little leaves on the apple pies (which is my favorite as well).  Someone else told me they literally "wrote home" about the cranberry white chocolate almond scones, which is a very nice compliment.  Overall, I had a lot of returning customers, lots of people who had heard about Ladytroupe Sweets during the week and had to come see for themselves, and one offer from another vendor to go into business together-no kidding!  It was so much fun!  Next week I might have to have a few more batches so no one goes home empty handed.

I was really thrilled with how my Icebox cupcakes turned out.  They are imperfectly pretty which is how I like my goodies.  I'd rather eat a ragged gooey cookie than a perfect looking tart any day of the week so I especially loved these leaning chocolate wafers stacked with dollops of whipping cream.  These little treats mean a lot to me and I hope my MIL is proud.  They sat in my icebox for two days and then I topped them with whipping cream and chocolate shavings this morning.  They looked divine.  Don't you think?  We have a friend who's daughter is allergic to eggs and will be turning one a few weeks before Ashlynn.  I'm hoping they will let me make an icebox cake for her for her birthday.

I spent a lot of time this week trying to make sense of the events in Libya and the tragic death of the US Ambassador and his colleagues in Benghazi, Libya.  I completely failed in doing so and instead I've been praying for the victims and their families.  I've also been giving my husband a few extra meaningful hugs and "I love you"s just knowing that it could have been anyone's loved one involved in a similar horrific tragedy in any country around the world.  The older I get, the more these type of things hit me hard and make me want to move to a small rural farm, raise chickens and bake pies.  Sometimes the ugliness in the world is just too much to process.  

In lighter lame-oh grown-up news, we received season 3 of Community in the mail this week so you can guess what we are doing this Friday night!  Hope you all had a wonderful week too!

Freebie iced green tea for my customers!  Leftover from kindergarten potluck the night before!

Ethiopian New Years

Today is the first day of the Ethiopian calendar year 2005!  New Years Eve must have been a wild party because we were woke at 4AM to the sound of a car smashing in to our compound wall.  Well, it didn't quite make it to the wall, but was completely wrecked and stuck in sewer ditch a few feet from our wall.  The guy driving was drunk as a skunk and thankfully no one was hurt.  When the tow truck pulled the car out later that day the car's frame was completely folded.  It's was a crazy way to start the holiday. The sound of the car crash in our dream state was like something from the Twilight Zone.  Groggy and confused we both sat up in bed and wondered aloud if a flying saucer had landed on our roof.  I think I mumbled something about a the satellite dish.  Anyhow.

We rung in the new year with the entire family at home today and celebrated with a batch of the richest and most delectable cinnamon rolls I have ever made for breakfast.

 Someone please tell me that I am not the only one who forgets every time I make cinnamon rolls just how long it takes.  Like an idiot, I always get the girls excited by telling them I'm making them for breakfast.  I start the dough at 7AM and the first bite of the final product is not until a good hour and a half later.  Sometimes more.  Cinnamon rolls take some time.  Mostly for the double rising, which you want to go slowly for all that flavor in the dough, but it's so hard to wait when the girls are running in every 20 minutes asking me when breakfast will be ready. But the wait was completely worth it this morning!

I used a dough recipe from my dear friend Jenny.  I adapted it for the stand mixer instead of a bread machine and there is no way I am ever making cinnamon rolls again without this fluffy, creamy, rich dough.  Most cinnamon rolls (or the ones I have made in the past) get tough after sitting out at room temperature. Not these.  I sneaked a bite at 3PM and they were still airy and light, filled with rich cinnamon and brown sugar.  I ground up pecans for the filling as well and they were topped with vanilla bean butter cream frosting.  Holy Cow they were good.

Perfect Cinnamon Roll dough

1 cup water 

1 egg

1/4 cup butter

2 tsp instant dry yeast

3 1/4 cup flour

4 Tbs sugar

1 tsp salt

3 Tbsp powdered milk

In your stand mixer with dough hook attachment, combine the flour, yeast and powdered milk (the powdered milk is an ingredient that anyone living overseas will likely have in their pantry BUT if you are in the States you may not have this on hand).  In a microwave bowl combine the water, butter (already softened), sugar and salt.  Heat until slightly warmer than luke warm-about 40-50 seconds.  Stir the liquids a bit when warmed and add to flour mixture.  Add the egg and start mixing slowly at first, scraping down the sides, then faster until all the dough is combined.  It is a very soft dough that still clings a bit to the sides and bottom of the bowl.  Cover the bowl with a towel and let it rise slowly at room temperature until doubled.  

When the dough has doubled pull it out on a floured surface (if the dough that clings to the bowl when you dump out the large clump is super stringy like cobwebs you've risen it enough and the flavor will be wonderful). Sprinkle with just enough flour so that it's not too sticky to work with.  Roll it out in a large rectangle.  I like to use my large Silpat for the rectangular dimensions.  From here you can add a combination of whatever you like.  I personally like to soften butter and spread a thin layer on the dough then spread a mixture of 1/4 dark brown sugar, 1/4 cup light brown sugar, 2 Tbsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup ground pecans (or walnuts) and 1 tsp salt (only if using unsalted butter).  

Roll the dough into a long log and use dental floss to slice 2.5 inch tall rolls ( I think I got about 15 with this recipe).  Place the rolls in a greased glass pan with about 1.5 to 2 inches of space in between the rolls.  I had a few extra rolls that wouldn't fit in my pan so I greased small ramekins and baked them in those.  Cover the pan (or ramekin) with a towel and let rise again for about 20-30 minutes.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15-17 minutes.  

I prefer a cream cheese based frosting on top of my cinnamon rolls but I didn't have any cream cheese so I made a simple butter cream with 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1/3 cup of softened butter, 1 tsp vanilla bean paste and a dash of salt.  These measurements are an estimation.  I essentially softened a hunk of butter and added powdered sugar until it was a nice consistency then flavored with vanilla and the salt.  Seriously yum!

We brunched with friends as a farewell to a colleague leaving Addis, I baked most of the afternoon (more details on that later) and we ate Yemeni food for dinner.  Ashlynn loved the broth, hummus and rice. I think she might have got an anise pod though because at some point she just kept scratching at her tongue screaming with a bright red face.  Something was spicy!  Poor girl.  Adelaide ate two kebabs all by herself and Bella just collected all the skewers. The 45 minute wait for chicken kebabs and 30 minutes of that playing "I Spy" was just too much for Bean.

hummus should be it's own food group. Yum!

Ladytroupe Sweets first Market Day

I did it! Ladytroupe Sweets debuted at Market Day today and it was so much fun.  I have been planning and working on this for quite awhile so to have it all come together and see it as I imagined was so wonderful.

mini Bella nut pies (pecan pie)

Apple hand pies 

I detailed some of the baking over at Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice.  Please go check it out.  I really thought I was going to be running around like a crazy lady this morning but I wasn't and can I tell you how proud of myself I am?  Really proud because sometimes coordinating baking and running a house, cooking dinner, making kids school lunches, and basically being a Mom can be tough and I totally pulled all that and Ladytroupe Sweets off this week with style.  I think it helped that I tried to be super organized.  I had lists about what to make what day, how many the recipe would yield, how long to bake everything, what to put in the oven first, etc. and it all really helped.

People seemed thrilled that everything looked semi-professional with my little white pastry bags, stickers and business cards.  I was happy with how it all came together.  I love the baskets and the vintage table cloth and how all the pretty little pies, scones and cookies looked sitting there on the table.  For me, having everything look pretty means just as much as everything tasting delicious so it was a win-win for me today.  Maybe someone was looking down on me from above to have everything come together without a burnt batch or a forgotten ingredient, but I'd like to think it was all my preparations that helped it go well. Or maybe it was a bit of both.

the classic chocolate chip cookie

Can I tell you a secret about all this?  Today was the first dollar (well, Ethiopian Birr) that I have ever earned doing something that I enjoy.  Really!  I've had plenty of jobs and even the start of a career before I had our first child and never once have I felt the amount of joy as I did today when I accepted my first $1.50 for a beautiful little pecan pie that I had shaped and made with my very own hands.  I cannot tell you how much this makes me smile.  I thought I might be one of those people that just never really knows what they want to do with themselves as a grown-up (other than be a mother-I did know that).  I was OK with this.  I feel completely overjoyed, even energized by the realization that I just might have found my "thing".

It's tough not to receive any immediate feedback on what people think or how everything tasted.  Justin did pass on a few compliments from people who ate their purchases straight away at the office that afternoon.  I only hope people enjoyed everything enough to come back next time!

All in all it was a fantastic market day.

cranberry white chocolate almond scones 

maple popcorn

Whether you have kids or not this snack recipe is a show stopper.  When I tasted this salty sweet-almost caramel tasting flavored popcorn I was surprised at how good it was.  This is an after school snack at our house but if you don't have anyone to feed after school snacks to, you can make this for a fantasy football draft party (I can't believe these exist but they do-I love you Justin), a poker night, or just sitting on the couch watching a movie.

Like usual, I decided to try a new recipe right in the middle of all my preparations for the debut of Ladytroupe Sweets at Market Day in Addis Ababa this Friday-that's tomorrow!  Holy cow!  I do this to myself every time.  I have a list of a million things to do but instead I pull out a cookbook to try something new, THAT very moment.  I guess it's a bit of procrastination.

Ashlynn was trying to sneak a piece while I had the camera out.  

This popcorn recipe came from The Homemade Pantry. I know I've raved about this cookbook before but honestly, every recipe I've tried has been straight forward with great annotated instructions and delicious.  The Maple Popcorn recipe is no different.

Pancake Syrup Popcorn (I'm adapting this slightly because I don't want to take credit for the original and I didn't have real maple syrup.  I used Log Cabin pancake syrup instead.  It was amazing)
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup unpopped popcorn
1 cup pancake syrup
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp course salt
1/4 tsp baking soda at high altitude (1/2 tsp at low altitude)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract is fine-I'm just a tad obsessed with the Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Rub butter on two large cookie sheets and a bit inside a large bowl (the biggest one you have)

Pop the popcorn on the stove or in an air popper.  If doing it on the stove Alana Chernila has a great set of instructions.  Heat 8 Tbsp oil (I used a combination of vegetable and olive) in a large pot on medium high heat.  Throw in a few kernels.  When they pop remove the pot from the heat, add the remaining kernels and the salt and cover the pot.  Count to ten. Shift the lid so there is a small crack so the steam can exit.  Return the pot to the burner and shake the pot with one hand while holding the cracked lid with the other as the kernels start to pop.  You will hear when there is no more popping.  Quickly remove the pot from the heat and pour the popcorn into a huge bowl.

This was my first time popping popcorn in a pot on the stove.  It was super easy and quick.  I used a tall pot with a lid.  The one cup of corn kernels really piles up and filled my large pot that I use for boiling noodles or making soups.  One warning: be careful with the hot oil.  I had a bit splatter and burn my hand when I was pouring in the kernels.  Wearing hot pads might be a good idea!

For the syrup melt the butter with the syrup, sugar and salt in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and don't stir.  Just let it bubble and froth for 5 minutes.  Then add the vanilla and baking soda.  Next pour the syrup in a slow stream over the popcorn and stirring with your other hand.  Try to coat the popcorn as well as you can.  It will get clumped together but if you stir and gently fold all the syrup it should all get coated.

Transfer the popcorn to the buttered cookie sheets and bake for one hour stirring or turning over the popcorn bunches every 15 minutes.  I broke up some of the large chunks as I stirred as well.  Once the popcorn is cooled completely you can store it in a air tight container at room temperature.  But don't be surprised if at least half of it is eaten on the first day!

big people food

I am always behind my children when it comes to realizing they are ready for more substantial food during the first year.  Usually, their appetite starts to wane and the things that used to engage them are pushed away with looks of disgust on their faces.  Then it dawns on me after too many futile meals that pureed whatever just isn't doing the trick anymore and my 9, 10, or 11 month old is ready for more interesting flavors and textures.  I'm not sure why I have failed once again at realizing this in advance with my third child.  With every one of my kids I'm the one trying to play catch up while my child is begging for mashed lasagna instead of pureed carrots!

And so it goes with Ashlynn. She turned her nose up to pureed pineapple, banana and couscous last week.  Initially, I thought she was starting to get a cold or her gums were bothering her.  I noticed she was looking longingly at the zucchini fritters I was making for the rest of the family so I decided to chop one up and put it on the tray of her high chair.  She fed herself TWO entire fritters that night to my amazement.  That's when I realized I'd missed the boat once again.  It was time for big people food.

For whatever reason I felt pressure in the past to create toddler friendly meals for my babies when they were ready for finger food. My baby food cookbook has recipes for ricotta with poached fruit, ground turkey mash, all sorts of toddler friendly concoctions.  I was never really good at planning these sorts of meals so my older two girls ate lots of diced avocado, bananas, bits of rice and pasta.  This time around I've had a bit of a revelation when it comes to meals at this stage of development.  All I have to do is feed her what I'm making for the rest of the family with a few minor adjustments.  Usually this means pulling out a portion before the nuts go in or the extra salt or spice.  I mash it with a fork or blend it in the food processor with a bit of soft rice or couscous.  It's been liberating to not have to make something special for Ashlynn.

In our family we've decided that everyone eats the same thing and if the girls don't like what I cook for dinner they pick out parts they don't like, eat the parts they do and that's that.  I don't stress about how much they eat. They won't starve and I'm not making a special portion of something kid friendly for them.  If my girls turn their nose up to onion flat bread then so be it.  But they know they have to try a bite (our friends dubbed it the "thank you for making it bite" and we've happily added that to our parental vocabulary).  Most often they are surprised that it it's quite edible; good even.  I try to make family friendly meals so that everyone is satisfied. It doesn't always happen and I'm OK with that.

It's nice that I can feed my baby with the same philosophy now that I've figured out she's interested in more sophisticated foods.  The other night she had vegetarian chili mashed with rice (photographed), lunch was asparagus risotto (warmed and mashed with a fork and a Tbsp of water).  The chili and risotto were our family meals from this week.  What a time saver to just reuse what I've already made!  Roasted vegetables and chicken can be thrown in the food processor with a little chicken broth or water.  Pizza toppings can be mashed and served along side soft bits of the crust (which is what I plan on doing tonight).  Spaghetti with chicken sausage and spinach chopped super fine!  I know I did this with my other girls when they were a bit older but Ashlynn's interested at 11 months.  She only has three teeth so I have to be careful with texture (we are a little paranoid about choking).   She loves to feed herself with her hands or have me scoop it onto a spoon and then she'll put the spoon to her mouth.  This stage is so fun and messy!

I'm not sure baby food will ever photograph well.  This is vegetarian chili with rice.

What do you feed your pre-toddler?  Did you figure out they were ready for finger foods before they "told" you or were you like me...completely clueless?

Ethiopian food

I've am slow to the starting line when it comes to learning about and partaking in the enjoyment of good Ethiopian food.  Some of it by choice and a bit by circumstance.  We had six months in the US between the Philippines and moving to Ethiopia while Justin learned Amharic.  DC is home to the largest population of Ethiopians outside of Ethiopia so there are plenty of restaurants in the area that serve good Ethiopian food.  I'd never tried even a bite of Ethiopian food and I put my foot down and decided that I wanted my first Ethiopian meal to be IN Ethiopia (where it's better anyway right?or at least more authentic).  Plus, I was monstrously pregnant with our third baby girl and I wanted to enjoy all the wonderful food that I knew we wouldn't get for two and a half years while living in Addis Ababa.  We ate tons of Lost Dog Cafe pizza, Sweet Water Tavern burgers, Chipotle burritos and everything in between, except Ethiopian food.

Upon our arrival to Addis with the children and hiring a housekeeper but not a cook or a nanny, I dug into life here with a fervor.  But I didn't have my first plate of Ethiopian food until almost two months after our arrival.  Taking the kids with us to the cultural restaurants that don't open until 7PM just is not an option and we didn't have a babysitter.  Anyway, I loved the food but I was shocked at the flavors when I finally tasted it. It was nothing like I had pictured.  In my head, injera was like an Indian flat bread not a sour floppy pancake.  I really had no frame of reference for what Ethiopian food would taste like so it took me a bit to realize it's completely different than anything I had ever tasted...and I loved it!

I beg Justin to take me to get Ethiopian food on the weekends or in the evenings for date night.  I cook every meal at the house and none of that includes anything remotely Ethiopian.  Then a miracle happened.  Eneye gave me some of her lunch the other day and it was delicious.  She can cook!  She may not be able to make a grilled cheese sandwich or turn on the microwave in our kitchen but she can make damn fine Ethiopian food.  I guess I knew this all along but never pulled the trigger on asking her to cook for us.

The next day I sent Zalalem out to get all the ingredients she needed and she made us an Ethiopian meal on Friday afternoon.  It was amazing.  She now has the additional job of cooking Ethiopian food for us on Fridays.  Lucky me!

Injera covered with misir wat with beef and shiro

So here is what I know about Ethiopian food so far.  Or at least the Ethiopian food I've tasted.

Injera is used by tearing off pieces and grabbing the food.  It's like an edible utensil.  

Injera: Made out of a protein rich Teff (a grain indigenous to Ethiopia) flour. The injera batter is mixed and allowed to ferment for a few days before it's poured on large round griddle and allowed to bubble and cook like a pancake.  It's peeled off and rolled up.  Ethiopians make large batches of injera all at once.  Enough often to feed their family for a week.  It is the staple "bread" and used to scoop or grab other foods like a utensil.  Typically a large piece of injera is laid out on the plate or in a basket and then other foods are piled on top.  Rolled injera is served on the side for eating the meal.  It's quite spongy and sour and I was turned off the first time I tried it plain.  It really requires to be eaten with other things where the sour taste compliments well with the savory spices.

Shiro: This is a soft soupy like lentil dish that can be made spicy or just "spiced".  Shiro starts out as a ground  lentil powder and is added to boiling water with onions garlic and spices. It is served in a hot pot dish and scooped on the injera.  This is my favorite of all I've tasted.

Tibs: beef or lamb pieces that are grilled or sauteed.

Misir lentils

Misir Wat (lentil stew): The Misir is a spicy sauce made with whole lentils that you can add meat to. Wat is stew that starts with lots of onions.

Berbere

Berbere:  This is the powdered red spice used in all Ethiopian food.  It's a combination of dried and finely ground peppers, chilies, korarima (Ethiopian cardamom), fenugreek,salt and other spices.

from left to right: berbere, powdered shiro, and misir

Eneye used a huge handful of large garlic cloves, half of a kilo of beef, oil, and four large onions.  Broths are made with water, not broth.  We purchased the injera at a local market.  The meal was spicy but not too spicy. It was more "spiced" than spicy.  And wonderful!  I am excited to learn to make some basic Ethiopian food.  We spent about $7 on the three bags of dried food that will last many meals.  The meal Eneye made was enough for Justin and I to eat on for at least 5 days.  This Friday she's making beef tibs. 

our kittens are here

You may notice there are three kittens in these photos instead of the two we originally were going to bring home.  In the end, we couldn't leave behind one sibling especially after they had all bonded.   We are all getting used to the idea that we have three cats living in our outbuilding.  They were skittish the first day but after just three days they are running to us, sleeping in our laps and very playful.  There are two girls and a boy.  The girls are Tim Riggins and Tinker Bell (Addie's cat-she named her) and the boy  is Pepper.  Pepper is the reserved one.  He's still deciding if this new arrangement is to his liking.  Tink and Tim are already batting at toys and snuggling in our arms.

Addie and Tinker Bell

Bella and Tim Riggins

Pepper the cautious one