Third times a charm

Last week was crazy. I was on a rampage in the kitchen. I had a strong desire to cook my whole kitchen out of ingredients. I think I pretty much succeeded. I tried my hand at a few new items. There was some hits and some misses. 

First: Zucchini bread. I enjoyed making this very simple item. Even though zucchini bread does not have a lot of ingredients I am not a fan of the flavor. I had never tried this bread before, cooking it or eating it in general. I have decided that nutmeg is not my favorite seasoning. This gives the zucchini bread a spicy taste, which is surprising flavor I was not ready for. I am not sure if you could make the bread without the nutmeg. Maybe make the cinnamon stronger. In the end it looked great and from the people who tried it they enjoyed the taste. 

Second: Cinnamon roll cake. Anthony and I went to the mall and passed a cinnabon. Which I am a fan of carbs smothered in frosting. The thing with cinnabon for me is they have a little to much frosting and the dough I feel is not fully cooked. If not how can they get it that chewy and moist. Due to the mall trip cinnamon rolls were on my mind. So I decided to make some. I figured that the next day was fathers day and what father doesn't like home made cinnamon rolls. I opened my cook book and looked at every cinnamon roll recipe I had. Then I decided on not separate cinnamon rolls but a cinnamon roll type cake. Which if I may confess turned out even better than I thought.   

Third: Cookie sandwich. I am not sure what exactly these are or why I decided to make them. I was just going through an old cook book and found the recipe. I think it had to do with me getting to use my cookie press. Which had been packed away for a very long time. Unfortunately when it was time to use the press I found it had broken :( So the cookies were hand pressed into round cookie shapes by me. If you ever want to get creative with a cookie you can always make cookie sandwiches. These are pretty easy as long as your cookies are all pretty much the same size. Any cookie type works just make sure the middle filling goes well with the cookie. I have done chocolate chip cookies with a raspberry middle fully dipped in chocolate. These are a little easier. I used peanut butter in the middle and just rolled the edging through chocolate.  

By the end of the week I was all dessert-ed out. I think that I am going to start making real food again. Not only is it more filling it looks better on my hips. Until next time, remember adventures can happen in your kitchen. 

Dessert First

It's Friday after work and I am ready to get started. My friend is joining me and we are about to cook our way through my kitchen. From cookies to enchiladas. I am trying out my teaching skills and how better to do this then by offering them free food.

Lets start with the cookies. We made the one type of cookie you can't go wrong with, chocolate chip. Unfortunately I messed up, my friend doesn't eat chocolate. I had to improvise only half our batch had chocolate chips, either way they turned out delicious. If you like light and chewy cookies then these are the ones for you. Sorry to tell you no recipes will be written or I would write myself out of a job. I will give you some pointers though for those who are not fluent in kitchen.
1. When it comes to baking, measurements have to be exact.
2. Love and lard aren't the only secret ingredients.

Like I said I was teaching a non chocolate eating friend how to make chocolate chip cookies. She measured out the dry ingredients. Then with a little kick in her step for getting to use a kitchen aid mixer, she got to mixing. We whipped up a batch of cookies with excellent  speed. With a spoon we scooped the batter onto the cookie sheets and got to baking. 12 minutes later, well you can see the results and make your own decision. Don't they look so good. I was able to send some home with my friend and the rest went to a high school graduate to celebrate his accomplishment.

Now on to dinner. This can be made a few different ways. Enchiladas that is. This time we made steak filling. Rolling them in home made tortillas. Home made meaning I bought them from someone who had made them in their home. Even though I am Mexican I am not one for spicy food. I prefer a green enchilada sauce to a red. Now dinner is where you add all the love. Working side by side with our own trays we filled them up with yummy enchiladas. I believe as I have most likely said before that food is what brings people together. Not only was I able to teach my friend a few good pointers in the kitchen we were able to enjoy a great meal together. Food always taste the best when you have made it yourself.

If you are not fluent in cooking or maybe you just don't have time to make all the things you want. You can send me a message or comment on a post and we can set up a cooking class. You pick out what you want to learn and I will teach you. I can also teach a group of people how to make what they love.

I'm back in Buisness

This blog was originally made to allow me to keep in contact with people during my travels.  The thing is, I have been home for over a year! Since I have not been traveling I have also stopped writing—which I know was wrong of me. Looking back, when it came to this blog I did everything for a reason and that includes its name - "No Name to Describe It”.  I should have known that even though I am home I can still write. I’m going to do a fast re-cap of my life. Here it goes; there is no name to describe...

1. Returning home after 6 months abroad

2. Seeing the love of my life after 6 months of Skype calls only

3. Showering without a bucket (I just experienced this again and it gave me a flash back)

4. Eating food instantaneously thanks to my handy dandy microwave

5. Sitting on the roof top of a LA building and being proposed to (this happened the day after I returned)

6. Planning my wedding  

7. Putting on that white dress and saying “I Do”

8. Jumping into a pool in that very same white dress (yes, this happened at my wedding)

9. Moving into my first apartment with a man (my husband)

10. Saying… “My husband” when introducing your significant other for the first time

11. Having my first job interview (yes, I went 23 years before I was interviewed for a job)

12. Actually getting the job you were interviewed for

13. Becoming an Auntie for the first time (to twins to boot)

14. Getting a full ride scholarship for your masters (not me, my husband)

15. Deciding to take the next step in opening up my own business

Well, there you have it… the last year of my life. I have decided to go for my dream. I have always wanted to open my own bakery. Now I have decided the dream is still there in the back of my mind and it won’t go away. So here it is, I want to open a small bakery and give the proceeds to missions. If I can't be on the field then I want others to be able to experience what I have over the years. Since I am newly married with a small income purchasing a building is out of the question right away. I have decided to test the product before any big investments. 

Thus I am turning this blog into a place where you, my reader, can find out more about how my dream is coming along. Follow my cooking experiments, and even find out if I will be near you at your local farmers market. So, if you like food, then continue to follow me and see all the new adventures I encounter.  

Bitter Sweet

I’m not quite sure how to word what I am feeling in regard to last year’s trip to Peru. That is why this blog has taken me so long to write. But, as time passes I am getting a grasp on my thoughts. For anyone who hasn’t read my blog in a while, let me catch you up. I returned from my two and a half month trip on December 20, 2012. Patty and Tito were the family that took me in while living in Peru. They were my adopted parents, or as Patty would say, ‘Tacna mama and papa’. Patty helped teach me Spanish and she reinforced the importance of compassion and love. Tito was my Pastor. He taught me about sacrifice and hospitality. Their door was always open to anyone.

Several years ago Patty was diagnosed with cancer and she had been fighting the disease ever since. During my stay with Tito and Patty the doctors were treating her cancer with an all-natural treatment of healthy foods and vitamins. The decision was made not to have chemo and to limit Patty’s medicines. This way of fighting the cancer was meant to strengthen what good cells she had and to fight off the bad cells. It seemed to be working. Patty’s last visit to her doctor in Chili, just prior to my stay, showed that the cancer had gotten smaller. The family was hopeful.

I enjoyed two months when Patty’s strength held up fairly well. Two weeks before Christmas I said goodbye to my ‘Tacna mama’ as she flew to Chili for yet another round of x-rays and tests to evaluate how the cancer was doing. The entire process would take place over the course of two months. Patty was scheduled to return home in late February. While in Chili Patty lived with her son and got to spend time with her grandson.

Although Patty she showed signs of improvement in Peru, once she got to Chili her health quickly declined. Meanwhile, when I was back in the United States, Tito flew to Chili to bring Patty back home but before they could leave, on February 20, 2013 Patty died in her native home of Chili. This news got to me the next day. The woman I had just spent the last three months with had passed away.

In the last months of Patty’s life I got to experience one of the single greatest gifts - hidden moments of a couple who knew their time together was limited. They were a family who had complete faith in God. Patty had so much joy, I never saw her without a smile.

I had never lost someone on the mission field before. I have worked in a lot of areas and I understand that death happens but I left Peru with a plan of a future visit. Then, I thought about you, the reader who I have shared many of stories with. I realized that you too might have felt a connection to Patty and her family. I am sorry this news has come to you so late but I want you to know that Patty was a shining star to everyone she met and she is now with her Lord.

Healthiest oatmeal cookies

I know this is not a food blog. But these are too good not to share. These cookies deserve to be on this blog due to the fact they were invented by me while in Peru. I am not one to be over healthy I like cookies too much and can’t refuse a slice of birthday cake or two.

The Tia I lived with while in Peru has cancer. She had decided to not do treatment but do the healthy alternative. She only ate all natural food. On top of that she could not eat any dairy. Loving food so much it made me sad when she would make her grandson cookies but couldn’t eat any. So since I knew there were vegan cookies out there I thought I would take my chances. I told her I was going to find her a cookie she could eat.

 

This is where my search began. Problems with vegan cookies they use baking powder, lactose free milk, vanilla extract. These items she cannot eat or they are not found in the area I was living in. So I took the items out added tofu well because she had it and it couldn’t hurt. Then some homemade honey she is allowed to eat and the rest is history. So this is my take on healthy oatmeal cookies.

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas

1 peeled and then graded red apple

2 cups oats

2 spoon full of tofu (not needed but is good for you)

2 spoon full of honey (if you have stevia you could use 1 spoonful of this instead)

If you want to add nuts or chocolate chips maybe even a berry or all three you can do so. The second batch we made I added 1 cup smashed walnuts.

These either are baked or eaten with a spoon. Just mix until it is creamy. They were the best oatmeal cookies I have had. So soft due to the banana and so healthy it is okay if you eat the whole batch, which we did.

The Last Week in Peru

As the last week comes to a close. I try and do what I call 'the last week adventure'. This started when I first stayed in Europe 3 years ago. On that trip I decided that instead of packing and getting sad because I was leaving I would have some sort of adventure every day of the last week. These adventures, as I call them, don't need to be big and they don't interrupt my normal schedule. So as I have entered my last week in Peru my adventures have come in full swing. I will be writing this post a little different as I recap my last days to you the reader. I want to be clear, I did not neglect my regular work and sadly I have also been saying goodbye to different people everyday.  With that said here we go. My last week started at the end of a week.  I leave on a Thursday and so I will start on Thursday.

Thursday:
I was blessed with two adventures on the first day. The first was a type of graduation party for the children from Semillas. I was able to make them a cake and say goodbye to the kids I had been working with. The second adventure came that same night while all the missionaries got together to play Mexican Train Dominoes. I was able to meet Ed, a man I had heard so much about and to top it off I won a lovely singing Santa. I say lovely with that sarcastically sweet tone.

Friday:
Today a group of youth went to Tarata. This is a natural hot spring up in the mountains. Though the water was hot and the conversation humorous I would have to say the exploration of the cave was my top adventure moment. We had hiked what they call the Inca trail and then went into a cave where we stumbled, not literally, across some remains. The story is said that they were buried there since the war, but since they can't speak we shall never know! Either way, I felt like an archaeologist which made it even more realistic since two of the youth are geologists by trade.

Saturday:
We did Culto in the park today. So we spent the day together playing games and having lunch. Then we all went to the zoo. It was a lot of fun seeing the animals. I fed some hungry monkeys and got attacked by mosquito's. By the end of the day I felt that good kind of tired. The one you get when you have had a long day filled with too much food and you hurt from laughing.

Sunday:

It was my last Sunday at church and it made me sad. It felt like going to a party and having to be the first to leave. But this party happens every week and I may never get to go back. The adventure for me starts there. Let me explain, due to my trip coming to a close I was invited up front at both churches.  They wanted to pray for me. After that they asked me to say a few words. This is normal in most places you do mission work for a period of time. The adventure started when I realized these few words had to be said in Spanish. You may be thinking, 'but you have been learning Spanish?' This is true, but I have a slight fear of speaking in public. It isn't the speaking part or the public part it's because I sound like a 12 year old crying from her first heart break. Go ahead and laugh it's not one of those 'oh your being hard on yourself moments'. No, no multiple people over the years have told me this or a variation of this. So going up front and saying a little something in Spanish turned into me trying to remember all my Spanish while trying not to sound like I was a sobbing child.  I did it and no one asked me if I was crying so I count it as an adventure well done.

Monday:
Apparently my adventure from Saturday never ends. I was given a gift of bug bites that seemed to manifest into my own form of tracker-jackers (Hunger Game reference). They decided to start itching during the night and never ended. For those of you with a wild side remember some adventures turn out to have painful consequences even days later, so make sure they are worth it. This time I will endure but I will think twice about wearing shorts the that park again. On to the adventure of the day. This adventure starts with an open air market where I got ingredients for lasagna. Then I headed up the road to Tio's house were my old host family and my present host family had a lovely lunch. We laughed and talked about super powers. Now you may be thinking 'How is lunch with friends an adventure'? My answer is simple, adventures come in all forms. This for me wasn't just lunch, but quite possibly it was the last time I would get to enjoy the presence of Tio. As you know his wife Tia left for Chilie.  But today was my goodbye with him. This adventure was bitter sweet. No promises given, just the knowledge that if I return to Peru his home is open and if he comes my way the same is true. If you have ever sat down with someone knowing it could be your last face to face encounter you know what I mean when I say this adventure is one I would never replace.

Tuesday:
For my adventure today I didn't even have to leave my house. Don't you love when that happens? I made chicken tortilla soup for my host family and the missionary family. This was the first time I have ever made it and I had to wing it. The recipe was good but Tacna does not have everything it called for - including a garlic press. I usually don't mind tedious tasks but chopping 1/2 cups of garlic by hand was not going to happen. I got about 1T and decided to call it good.  The soup turned out yummy. Just about now you may have one of two things on your mind. One thought is 'Wow this girl does a lot of stuff wrapped around food'.  The answer to that is yes, I believe most things that we look back on and smile about involve food. Your second thought may be that my idea of adventure is different than what you would call an adventure. Again you would be right. If you look up adventure in the dictionary, which is what I just did you will find this "an exciting or very unusual experience." (You will find that if you look it up on the Internet, a real dictionary may say otherwise.) But that is not the point. For me, making something other people have to eat without knowing how it will taste, is an experience. Today I enjoyed my adventure two fold - one experiencing it and two eating it.

Wednesday:
The time has come, I have said my final goodbyes. Today is the last day in Tacna. I fly home in the morning, so I had to make it count. I spent the day learning from a Peruvian how to make a traditional Peruvian dish. I know, I know, more food! It was a blast cutting everything. I even made french fries. -which is something that people in the US just don't do very often. My last lunch was a nice one. We even had some ice cream for dessert. This adventure is two fold also because I got to experience how to make the food here in Tacna and I will also be able to make this dish for my family when I return home. It will make me smile then as I think of the people I have come to care for in Tacna.

Thursday:
I write this from my bed at home. My adventure today was short and sweet. Well not that short since the flight was quite long in duration. But the time flew by, literally, since I was in a plane. I am now home and have hugged the people I have missed and love.

Until I fly again my adventures and travels will stay in my home country. I thank you all for following me as I traveled and for keeping me in your thoughts. Remember, even your home holds hidden treasure. Never think your life is dull, for you do something new every day. God bless. Keep in touch. I will still be writing so please still come and read.

A Shift has Occurred

This week was the anniversary of one of the three churches I am working with and so they all came     together and had service.  After that we served lunch and played games together. I got there early and helped with the cooking. (If you remember from last week I scrubbed potatoes. Well, I ate three whole potatoes on Sunday, they were very good.) Tio held a raffle and I enjoyed watching when someone won. Then each of the churches played volleyball against one another. Jerusalem Church won both games but everyone had tons of fun.

We are ending English class this week and it is always hard to say goodbye - it doesn't matter if it is a person, an activity you enjoy, or a food you like to eat. For the final class we decided to join all three groups together for one final goodbye. Goodbye to new friends, and with that goodbye to exciting topics and new foods. In the end we had a lot of fun and I think our students did also. We are hopeful that we will see them again. Maybe not in class but around the town or at the church.

With this goodbye comes another even harder one for me. My host mom went to Chile this week for the duration of my stay. That meant saying goodbye to her which was so hard to do. On Thursday I moved in with another family for the rest of my days here in Tacna. I am grateful they will have me even though I am sad to leave the place I have called home since the beginning of my trip. It is weird how you can get attached to a place and how it brings back memories of laughter and good times. Tacna will do that for me in the future, I already know this. But as I like to say, it is never goodbye but see you later.

my fruit face

This week at Semillas I got to teach the children a food friendly activity. I decide to make faces out of fruit. That seemed simple - a few slices of bananas and some apple and we made eyes and a mouth. I got started with a few volunteers cutting the fruit for me. By the time I told them how to arrange their plates a few of the younger children had taken bites of their food. Step one... don't eat the food!  (Apparently I forgot to mention that.) Then I told them to add manjar to the fruit for some sweetness. I should have just put manjar on the table and told them to make faces using only one ingredient and they would have been just as happy.

Have you ever bought a cook book, art book, or anything that is supposed to teach you how to do something? The steps look simple enough and the picture makes the end result look so amazing and yet  somehow when you try to do what they say you realize the five steps that should be so simple are in another language. This cause you to just look at the picture to figure out how the author got the end result. That's how I felt. I was speaking Spanglish (most English some Spanish) to the children and then I was showing them my face and they looked at me like, ' how did she do that?' (For you hip folks who look at memes it was one of those nailed it ideas!)

As December has come, once again remember to take joy in the people you get to spend this holiday with. Like always make the most of every day because people are always growing and changing so enjoy the time you have with them right now, as they are. And remember, giving thanks doesn't end at Thanksgiving.