Crock Pot Doro Wat

I've posted before how much we enjoy Ethiopian cooking in our home. In fact, it's a weekly tradition! After we arrived home with our newly adopted 9-year-old son, we would make a point of taking him out for Ethiopian food, but it would be a $50-$75+ meal each time. On the heels of an adoption, and for a family of 5 living on one income, we quickly realized that was not an option very often! Additionally, it was important to me (and, I believe, for our son) for the distinct and wonderful smell of berebere and other Ethiopian spices to not simply remind him of Ethiopia or a restaurant... but of HOME. I have adapted many recipes but have only taken the time to post a couple. I have been terrible about blogging for the past couple of...years. The ones I have written about are here. I know there are many others making it better, but I've been asked how I do it, so I want to be sure and share. Sometimes I get more "gourmet" when I have time: freshly-chopped red onions, organic, fresh chicken marinated in lime juice, and cooking it in wine. But today I'm sharing what I make on a busy day. :)

As a busy mom, I utilize my crock pot multiple times per week. During the school year it is a huge time saver. In the summer there are just as many reasons to use it (not to mention "menu plan"!). So, why not for Ethiopian food?

Here is my Crock Pot Doro Wat. (In fact, my Ethiopian son just came in, lifted the lid of the crock pot and said "I don't think I can wait for dinner! I want some NOW!" :)

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Crock Pot Doro Wat (Spicy Chicken Stew with Hard Boiled Egg)

1 bag boneless, skinless frozen chicken

1 bag frozen, chopped onion

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

4-6 tablespoons bere bere (if you're new or sensitive to spicy-ness, you may want to start with 2)

2 tablespoons margarine or butter

1 tablespoon cardamom

1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

1/2 tablespoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon black pepper

5-6 hardboiled eggs

sea salt to taste

Thaw the chicken, then stir all the ingredients together in the crock pot.
After about 5 hours on "low" setting, or whenever the chicken is cooked, use a fork to shred it into bite-sized pieces that will be easily picked up when eaten with injera.

Add a few hard boiled eggs which have been pierced with a fork. OR, you can slice them up. I don't want the whole thing to get too "eggy" so I just put them whole and we cut them when we serve it, or half them on our plates.
Today I added my version of Chickpea Paste ("But-etcha") My VERY simple version. I cooked some chickpeas over the weekend, but you can also use canned.
Once the chicken mixture is cooked, spoon some of the sauce into the chickpeas with a little water.
Use the Braun or the blender to mix it all up into a yummy and nutritious paste.

Tonight I also served it with "ayb" (cottage cheese... nice with spicy food, especially on a hot night) as well as some English peas. It turned out betam konjo!

Let me know how yours turns out, or post your modifications in the comments. I love learning how other people do it!

Enjoy!

Fosoleay

(Ethiopian Spicy Carrots and Green Beans)

1 small bag baby carrots or frozen carrots, whichever you prefer
1 small bag frozen green beans
3 green onions
1 large red onion
1/4 cup olive oil
4 Tbs tomato paste
3 Tbs chopped fresh garlic or 1 T garlic powder
1 tsp cumin

Slice carrots into small pieces. Cut or break green beans into small, bite-sized pieces. in large frying pan, soften onion for 3 minutes, but do not brown. Add tomato paste and carrots. Stir for approximately 5 minutes, or until carrots begin to get tender. Add green beans and stir gently for another 1o minutes. Add garlic and cumin. I usually lower the heat, cover and let the carrots continue to get tender, checking every few minutes. Serves 4-6. I usually serve this as a side dish.

Minchet Abishe

(Hot Ground Beef Stew)

This is one of our family's favorites, and very easy to make. The only ingredients not readily available in most grocery stores are the berebere spice, which is available at Ethiopian markets and online here, and the injera bread.

2 pounds extra lean ground beef
6 large red onions, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2-4 tablespoons berebere spice
3 cups water
2 tsp powdered garlic
2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 teaspoon black pepper
sea salt to taste
injera bread

Saute red onions in olive oil in a large pan. When onions are brown, add bere bere spice (we started with 2 tablespoons... now we are up to 4. It is very spicy!) Add a little water and mix well. Add ground beef and cook until brown. Ad garlic, ginger, nutmeg, and black pepper. Stir. Add sea salt to taste. Serve with rolled up injera bread. Makes 4-6 servings. Enjoy!

(pictured above: Minchet Abishe, Yeatakilt Wet (cabbage and potatoes), spicy lentils, injera bread)

MPM, MLK, and a Family Favorite

Wow, the weeks are already starting to fly by! I simply cannot believe it's already the last half of January! I wonder if the February "time warp" will start (that weird way that February always seems to d-r-a-g on forever, even though it's the shortest month, because by that time I'm really ready for March, and spring, and Spring Break, and sunshine, and Easter... I'm a flip flop girl at heart, stuck in my Ugg boots for another few weeks!

Today in the U.S. it's Martin Luther King Day. I love this holiday, I really do. Each year we read about him, discuss the Civil Rights Movement and watch footage of the "I Have A Dream" speech, but if I'm honest, last year and this year it's harder for me. Now I have a black son. And truthfully, he has no idea that there was a time in this country where he couldn't have taken a drink out of the same water fountain or gone to the same school as his brother and sister or have us as parents. I know it's time to begin talking about it, and we will. Up until now I haven't discussed it with him simply because he lacked the English necessary to have it fully explained to him. Now he's got the English, only I don't have the words. I'm praying they will come.

I'm so glad that Ethiopian culture is now interwoven with our family's traditions. Just this weekend we took down the last of our Christmas decorations because we left them up for Genna (Ethiopian Christmas) which was on Jan. 7. This week we will celebrate "Timkat", another Ethiopian holiday! This celebration commemorates Christ's baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. I want to talk more with Minte this week about his own baptism. He's been showing an interest at church and has mentioned in the past that he would like to be baptized. Along with our weekly Ethiopian meal, we will hopefully have some meaningful discussions.

Speaking of family traditions, here's a recipe that means so much to our family. Laura asked us to share (and link) some of our "Family Favorite Recipes." Here is one of my very favorites, and was in fact the subject of my first-ever blog post, where I shared about my grandmother's tube pan going on an interesting journey and making its way back to me.

Nana's Banana Nut Bread

3 cups sugar

1 cup shortening

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

2 tsp. baking soda

4 cups flour

3 mashed ripe bananas

1 cup chopped nuts (I usually use walnuts, but frequently leave them out or just sprinkle them on top right before I put it in the oven, in case someone is allergic or doesn't prefer nuts)

Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs one at a time. Mix well. Add vanilla. In a separate measuring cup, combine baking soda and buttermilk. Add flour and buttermilk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Add bananas and nuts. Bake in a well-greased and floured tube pan or large bundt pan at 300 degrees for 1 hour 55 min. or two 8" loaf pans for 1 hour 15 min.

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So here's what we've got cookin' for dinner this week:

Monday: YO-YO (You're On Your Own)- I actually cooked over the weekend, so we have plenty of leftovers and a basketball game. Mom's out of the kitchen. :)

Tuesday: Chicken n' Dumplings, carrots, and (don't judge me) fried okra

Wednesday: Ethiopian food night! Yekik Wet Besiga (spicy beef with split peas) Yebesele Dinich (potatoes), injera bread

Thursday: YO-YO again... another basketball game

Friday: Savory Cheese Soup, salad, wheat rolls

To read more recipes or to link your own, visit OrgJunkie.com.

Monday Menu and an Ethiopian Recipe

Happy Monday!! Has it really been a week already since last Monday? Time really does fly when you're having fun. Yes, it is fun raising kids and all that it entails!

Speaking of "flying" that's what I'll be doing Friday. My husband and I are leaving for Ethiopia for a wonderful missions opportunity with our non-profit! Isn't that amazing? SO, since I'll be away from my kitchen for over a week and won't be here to deal with leftovers, I am only cooking for two nights this week. Then it's "YO YO" ("You're On Your Own") nights for two nights so we can eat all the food and clean out the fridge. The kids love YO YO nights. They can eat whatever - leftovers, sandwiches, breakfast for dinner... anything they want to make and clean up after. (Having a posted menu helps on nights like this, so everyone knows what leftovers are available.) I'm also planning on how brain-tired I'll be when we get home from a week in Africa, so I'm making extra enchiladas and putting them in the freezer. This serves a double purpose: it helps me when I get back and also satisfies our desire for Tex Mex which we always get when we travel to other parts of the world. Like, outside Texas, LOL.

Since we'll be apart for a few days, I decided to cook two of our family favorites this week, one from each continent.

Monday: Chicken Enchiladas, black beans, corn casserole
Tuesday: Y'Assa Wet (Spicy Ethiopian Fish Stew) <-- and="" below="" lentils="" recipe="" see="" span="" spicy="" style="font-weight: bold;">Wednesday: YO YO
Thursday:YO YO
Friday: Ciao! Off to Ethiopia! (Kids to their fun friends' and aunt's houses)

Here is the recipe for the Ethiopian dish I'm making this week. ALL of the Ethiopian food I make (which I try to do weekly, you can read more about why here) is with ingredients that can be purchased at Wal Mart or any grocery store. The only things that can't are the bere bere spice, and the injera bread with which you scoop up each bite. We don't even use utensils on Ethiopian food night. Isn't that fun? So, please be encouraged! If you can find an Ethiopian market somewhere to purchase the bere bere and injera, the rest you can do yourself. I know some who make their own injera, something I want to tackle someday! If you don't have access to bere bere spice, you can order some online at a site like this one.

So, here's my recipe, which is adapted from the book Exotic Ethiopian Cooking.

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Ye' Assa Wet (Spicy Fish Stew)

3-6 medium fish fillets (I typically use frozen tilapia)
2 cups chopped red onion
1 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cup water
3 TBSP bere bere spice (or 4 if you're feeling brave)
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 tsp. black pepper
sea salt to taste

Cut the fish into small pieces and place into grill pan. I use my kitchen scissors (like I do for everything!) and this is super easy! You can also use a small skillet. Brown the fish without oil.


While the fish is browning, brown the onions in the 1 cup of oil in another larger skillet.
Once onions begin to brown, add bere bere.
Once bere bere is stirred through, the onions begin to shrink up a little.
Then add the wine, a little at a time, continuing to stir so it does not burn. Alternate adding water a little at a time.
Once fish has cooked for awhile, it will become white and flaky.
Simmer the sauce for about 15-20 minutes to let the wine and spices blend.
Add cooked fish to the spicy stew mixture.
Once fish is added to to the spicy sauce, here is what it looks like. This has become one of our favorites, and it is very quick to put together. It is light, spicy and a wonderful taste of Ethiopia!

Serve with rolled up injera bread. An easy side dish with this is boiled lentils with a dash of bere bere spice in them and maybe a few red onions as well. I highly recommend the Ethiopian Cooking books in my sidebar for lots more recipes and side dishes that compliment this recipe.


For more menus and recipes, visit Laura at Orgjunkie.com. Have a yummy week!

Sunday Salmagundi

sal⋅ma⋅gun⋅di (noun): any mixture or miscellany

There's a new vocabulary word! (Well, at least it was new to me!) That's exactly what this post is. I don't seem to take as much time to blog as I have in the past... maybe I'll get to in the future. On this lazy, spring-breaky Sunday afternoon, Luke and the boys are having a "guys day" at an outdoor store and the gun club, and my sweet daughter is on a mission trip. So, I've finally got a few minutes to post some things. Since I go most days with a blog post brewing in my mind, most of which never make it to the screen, this will be a mishmash of miscellaneous "mini-posts." (Monday Menu is at the bottom.)

Half of My Heart

I am currently wearing half of this necklace. The other half is in Mexico with my daughter as she is on a mission trip this week. Back in 2004 when Luke and Bethany made their first trip to Ghana, we got the necklace. Since then, whoever goes takes half of it, and the other half stays here. Whether I go or stay, I wear it, but usually if Luke stays home, it hangs on the lamp by his side of the bed. Bethany used to wear it, but now she usually tucks it into her passport case. Of course, my favorite trips are when we ALL go, and the necklace stays at home, but due to finances and vacation time from work, that can't always be the case... When Luke traveled to Ethiopia in January, he took half of it with him in his backpack, while I wore the other half. When he came home from the trip, he put his half by my jewelry box in the little felt jewelry pouch, so I could put it away. I remember seeing it there... and then for some reason when I went to put it away later I couldn't find it. I was so sad! That half a necklace has been around the world and back so many times! I was so aggravated with myself, and I still have no idea where it is. One day last week, my sweet husband emailed me from work and told me to look behind a picture frame in our bedroom. There, tucked behind it, was a small James Avery box with a new Gen. 31:49 charm in it. He knew it was important to me, so that we could send half of it with our daughter this week. Isn't that sweet that he replaced it? I'm still praying that I find that original half, but my prayer was with Phil. 4:19 in mind... "my God shall supply all my needs." I prayed that if I needed it, I would find it and if I didn't find it, that I would be content without it. I had left it up to God, and He responded by prompting my cute husband to buy a new one. So, Luke took the opportunity to bless me, and I got a reminder that our Lord cares about even the smallest thing. A double blessing!

Mexico Mission

As I mentioned, our daughter is in Mexico this week. (I just realized a couple of days ago that this is her 10th international mission trip! Isn't God amazing??) She is with a dynamic team of top-notch students from our Awana Journey group. They are being led by some of the most gifted and Godly leaders I could ever imagine, and will be partnering with a wonderful church there. They will get the opportunity to participate in orphan care, some painting and construction, and community outreach. If you think about her, please pray for Bethany and the wonderful team she is with. God is poised to do a mighty work this week, and that is never without opposition. It has not been a "problem free" trip so far, so our prayers are definitely needed. It has been said that "The history of missions is the history of answered prayer." (S. Zwemer) I truly believe that to be true. Dick Eastman said, "In no other way can the believer become as fully involved with God's work, especially the work of world evangelism, as in intercessory prayer." There is simply no substitute for interceding for a lost world and those who are responsive to the call to go. May God receive all glory for the great things He will do this week in Mexico and all over the world, through the work of those who are on mission for Him and the prayers of those at home.

Heritage Day

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to participate in our agency's "Heritage Day." It was such a fun event, where internationally and domestically adopted children and their families could come and experience a bit of the culture and food from their countries of origin. Our family was privileged to help out in the Ethiopia room, performing the puppet show we had done at Minte's orphanage on our adoption trip, the Ethiopian folktale, Silly Mammo. It was so fun to see the other families who are in the Ethiopia program, as well as meet some new families. I am so thankful for an agency who has events such as this to connect us with our child's culture, but also the adoption community. At the end, they had a wonderful Ethiopian praise and worship group sing, and also had a martial arts school perform... two things that are close to Minte's heart. (He just recently received his yellow belt in karate, and Kyle has his orange belt so far.) God is so faithful to provide opportunities like that!

Restoring Order

I have been really, really working to become more organized. I am not kidding when I have referred to being in a "fog" in the months surrounding this adoption. I already tend toward procrastination as it is, so when I get preoccupied things can really pile up. By God's grace, I have been able to restore order to several key areas of my life in recent weeks. First among them: school, which I feel has been a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants effort this year. Another is simply clutter control. Thankfully, that has gotten better lately. I really have felt like I wasn't "looking well to the ways of my household" (Prov. 31) in recent months, and I finally feel a sense that I'm on the other side of a very disorganized season. If you are having difficulty in this area, let me encourage you! I understand! Stick with a schedule and a routine, try not to "eat the bread of idleness" and keep working at it in the 1 Pet. 4:11 "strength God provides." It will get better.

Finally Free!

I've never been very "thrifty." I'm one to use a coupon for a box of cereal, but then go spend an inordinately large amount of money on a new purse. I go through seasons of saving, or at least not spending as much... then I go on a shopping spree. I'm just not very disciplined in that area. I've gotten better over the years, but it's been slow going. By no stretch am I dismissing it or saying "Well, that's just how I am." I've really had to rethink my spending habits and let God do a Romans 12:1-2 renewal of my mind in this area. I found that, as a homeschooler I sort of "baptized" my spending. I would channel my spendthrifty habits toward school. ("We need this. It's for the kids.") I have such a patient husband! Bethany is taking a Financial Peace University class this spring, and it's been really good for her. I wish I had learned those principles when I was in high school! By God's incredible grace, in recent weeks, we have been able to finally be in a position of having no debt except our mortgage. Yey!!! Many of you have lived this way for years, and to that I say a sincere, heartfelt "Good for you!" I mean it! In recent years we have just now "caught on" to God's vision for our finances, so when I say "by God's grace" I mean just that. We remain a one-career, homeschooling family living on an average "middle class" income, and it simply astounds me what God will do when you simply yield your spending to Him. I'm amazed. A friend we met at the Ethiopia Guest Home last September has a wonderful website full of great money-saving tips: The Penny-Wise Family. I encourage you to check it out! After our journey over the past several years, I can honestly say that nothing feels as good to buy as debt-free feels.

Bible Study

I recently finished the Bible study, Stepping Up. It had been awhile since I had done a Beth Moore study, and I really enjoyed it. (I know she's been called "emotionally charged" before, but sometimes I need that. At times I respond well to "emotionally charged" as long as it's theologically accurate, which this study was. In fact, recently I was listening to John Piper and realized he could be described as "emotionally charged", too. And really, is that always a bad thing?) I really enjoyed this particular study, as it focuses on the Psalms of Ascent, and I always l-o-v-e camping out in the Psalms. Whenever I need spiritual refreshment or for God to change my heart in key ways, turning me towards Himself, I always find myself in the Psalms. Next, I'm doing Mary Kassian's study Conversation Peace: The Power of Transformed Speech. Can you tell what God's dealing with me on now? LOL

Calling All Movers

We had fun last weekend going to see the Imagination Movers in concert. We had our first-ever Mom-Dad-Minte-only outing, and it was so fun! Our other two enjoyed one-on-one time with some other family members and Luke and I treated Minte to breakfast out and seeing some people from his favorite television show in real life! He was so excited! In fact, I have to say that I haven't seen him this visibly, demonstrably excited about anything since he's been home. It was so worth it to watch him light up like that. (If you don't know who in the world I'm talking about, either you don't have preschoolers or you don't have the Disney channel. A few months ago, I wouldn't have known either!) Our older kids have been so sweet to make sure Minte gets the opportunity to enjoy things for "younger" kids without being made fun of or made to feel it's "uncool." He didn't have these opportunities when he was preschool aged, and quite frankly, these songs/shows are at his pace language-wise. I have felt really strongly since before he came home that he would be allowed the opportunity to go through all of the "phases" my other two did. So, we watch Barney, play with play-doh, make snow cones, finger paint, read stories and do puppets... all of the things I did when they were younger. If you are adopting an older child, don't feel like you have to skip some of the "younger" activities. Many times they didn't do those things at 3 or 4 years of age, but the songs, concepts, and sensory experiences are still important and necessary. And, as God has a habit of doing, He worked it out so perfectly that we sat next to some precious family friends with whom we have traveled this adoption journey (we didn't plan it at all!) and the boys got to enjoy it together! Ephesians 3:20-21! More than we asked or imagined!



Ethiopian Cooking

Here's last week's Ethiopian dinner. It turned out great! I realize that those of you who haven't tried Ethiopian food may not think this looks very appetizing, but it is really good! This was a chicken stew, with hard boiled eggs in it (served with it, really). It was chicken, marinated in lime juice and red onion, then cooked with onion, spiced butter (spiced with ginger, basil and garlic... not just like the book but good enough!), olive oil, cardamom, nutmeg and turmeric, black pepper and sea salt.I served it with lentils, which are so healthy! Once the lentils had boiled, I added a splash of green Tabasco, a sprinkle of garlic and a dash of bere bere (Ethiopian chili powder). When Minte saw them he said, "Oh!! Minte's fay-borite!" I'm telling you, that response is worth the experimentation, cooking outside of my comfort zone, and leaving the windows open for 12 hours. He ate it for lunch the next two days, and there was none left for "leftover night." I'm posting this to inspire someone. If I can cook Ethiopian food, anyone can!

While I'm at the computer, here's our menu for this week:

Monday: "Minchet Abishe" (Hot Ground Beef Stew- made-a-bit-less-hot ;) and "Yeatakilt Wet" (Cabbage and potatoes) from TROL , with some injera I picked up yesterday
Tuesday: Broiled Tilapia Parmesan, green beans, steamed broccoli/cauliflower
Wednesday: fried chicken, potatoes, peas (judge me if you must, but we love it ;)
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Savory Cheese Soup, salad, wheat rolls

This week's MPM is being hosted by Erin at 5 Dollar Dinners, so head on over there for some economical dinner ideas or to share your menu.

Well, that's a glimpse of our life lately. I hope you're getting a "spring break" of sorts, and experiencing the refreshment and renewal of a new season. Thank you so much for stopping by to catch up!

The Kitchen, the Heart of the Home

One evening last week when the boys burst in the door after karate, the house was filled with the aroma of the dinner I had been preparing. Minte (our son from Ethiopia who's been here about 6 months) stopped short, his face erupting into a big smile, and exclaimed "Mommy!! Ees smells a really-really Ee-tiopia!"

Mission accomplished. I loved it. That's what I was going for. You see, two things have the ability to touch a part of his soul we can't get to... Ethiopian praise/worship music and Ethiopian food. When I posted my menu I shared that I feel like I'm finally coming out of my "post-adoption fog" enough to begin incorporating more Ethiopian recipes. Up until now it's been limited to the spicy pasta he taught me to make, which we make together most Sunday evenings. By God's grace, I have grown to love cooking and trying new recipes, but I've been a bit intimidated at the thought of tackling more "ethnic" ones that I either (1) have never tasted so I have no idea whether it turned out right, or (2) have tasted, prepared by a native of that country or a professional chef, so I know mine won't be the same! However, this is important to me. It's worth trying.

I've always felt strongly about wanting my family to have positive memories of our family meals at home. I want them to come home from college or with their own families someday, looking forward to "mom's cooking." I love it when they follow their noses to the kitchen! For our newest son, I want his association with food in his new home to be another reminder of how much we love him... all of him. When he came home, he brought with him his culture and his food preferences. I don't want all of his Ethiopian food memories to be associated with being across the world or in a restaurant. I want some of those memories to lead his mind right back home...to his Texas home. It is often said that the kitchen is the heart of a home. Sometimes (more often than we might think!) "what's for dinner" is about something much bigger than just getting food on the table. It's about reaching our family's hearts.


So here it is, my maiden voyage into the world of Ethiopian cooking: "Alicha Yetakilit Wet Besiga." It certainly didn't turn out as beautiful as the picture in the book, but it tasted great! Steak, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and red onions, seasoned with garlic, ginger and turmeric. (For links to some of the Ethiopian cookbooks I have found, check my sidebar or visit this post. If you know of others, please share in the comments!)

Something else everyone loved last week was the black bean burritos. The filling was so good, my husband used some to make quesadillas on Thursday (YOYO, "you're on your own") night. It would even be a good dip, I think.



So, here's what cooking at our house this week:

Monday: "Ye'doro Alicha Wet" (Mild Chicken Stew with Hard Boiled Egg from TROL), green beans, lentils

Tuesday: Ham & Cheese Bowties, peas, carrots, garlic bread

Wednesday: Southwestern Fish Tacos, black beans, Spanish rice, corn casserole

Thursday: Leftover/ YOYO night

Friday: Tomato Basil Soup (recipe here, scroll down to page 4), salad, crusty wheat bread

For more menu plans, or to share your own, visit Laura. Have a yummy week!

Menu Monday

How on earth is it Monday again? Did last week fly by for you as it did for me? In my last post I noted that the wind has been gusting here, blowing March in like a lion. It sure blew the last week of February out quickly!

In last Monday's menu post, I mentioned using the Grocery Gadget app on my phone to plan my grocery list. It has still proven to be very handy! I was able to add to it all week long, and as I made my menu plan I simply clicked on the ingredients I would need. My list was complete for this coming week by last Friday. My sweet husband volunteered to go to the store for me on the spur of the moment Friday evening, and for one minute I had a "oh-no-my-list-is-in-my-phone" moment. But, with the touch of a button I was able to email my list to him, which he printed out in a matter of seconds and took to the store. Love. It.

Last week I took some time to plan my menu for March. Menu planning has become such a sanity-saver for me in recent years. It's a gift I give myself. (Which, in turn, ends up being a gift for my family!) I can bustle and blunder my way through the week ahead, with the myriad of decisions that await me each day, but at least one question has been answered already: What's for dinner? And that's a big question! Planning ahead has already settled a major issue I already know I'll face each day, so my feeble mind is freed up to tackle other things that will come up that I don't know about yet. I've posted before about the merits of menu planning, but I just thought I'd say it again today. It doesn't have to be complicated- soup, cereal, sandwiches or take-out - just write it down and it's officially a plan!

For this month's planning, I used another fun app on my phone, the Dinner Spinner. It was so fun! I've always been a fan of Allrecipes.com, and this made it even more handy for me. At least one recipe each week this month came from that app, so it was truly helpful! I've also incorporated an Ethiopian recipe per week, using recipes out of a book called The Recipe of Love by Aster Ketsela Belayneh. I haven't collected all of my Ethiopian spices yet, but some of what the recipes call for (like turmeric, cardamom, ginger and garlic) are readily available or I already had them on hand. After weeks of making spicy pasta together, Minte and I are ready to branch out! In a way, I feel like I am finally coming out of a six-month-long "post adoption fog" and I'm finding I'm ready to tackle some new recipes. So, I'm excited about this book and I love how the recipes are easy to read, with photos of each recipe (I'm very visual!).

Before I list our dinners, let me share my new favorite lunch: Kashi Black Bean Mango frozen entree along with Archer Farms Organic Blue Corn Flax Seed chips that I found at Super Target. Oh my word, it's like a yummy dip. One of the Kashi's lasts me for two days, so it's not even that expensive. It's quick and easy and really gives me energy for the afternoon.

So here's what's for dinner at our house this week:

Monday: Black Bean Burritos, Mexican rice, corn salad (I use Mexicorn instead of separate red and green bell peppers)

Tuesday: Lemon Pepper Tilapia, Linguine with Broccoli and Red Peppers

Wednesday: "Alicha Yetakilit Wet Besiga" (Mild Vegetable and Beef Combo from TROL)

Thursday: Leftovers/ YOYO (You're On Your Own)

Friday: Happy Birthday Audrey!! Out for pizza at my sweet niece's birthday party. Fun!

For more menu plans and recipes, or to share yours, visit Laura at Orgjunkie.com. Have a yummy week!

A Taste Of Home

It's hard to believe Minte has been home almost 6 months! During that time, he and I have enjoyed our Sunday evenings together. The rest of the family is at church at Awana, and since he has not started attending it yet, he and I stay home. If the weather is nice, we'll play in the backyard or take a walk, sometimes we watch a movie, play card games, or work puzzles. We love that time together, and it has been a treasured time for me because he really opens up and talks to me about how he feels about things, and also tells me stories about his life in Ethiopia. What a gift these Sunday evenings have been!

In the past few weeks, one of our favorite things to do is also cook together. I haven't yet gathered all of the necessary spices to cook many of the dishes from the Ethiopian cookbooks we have (linked at the end of this post) but he was so excited when he found out we had some bere bere spice (Ethiopian chili powder), because he knew how to make one of his favorite spicy pasta dishes. He had seen his Ethiopian mother make it before, and had had it many times in his life. He literally jumped up and down at the thought of having it here.

A couple of weeks ago I asked him if I could photograph him making it and share his recipe on the blog.

First, I have to show you the cute cannister I found for keeping our bere bere spice. He was so excited to see that it is out with the other cannisters, and he can use it any time he wants on pasta, eggs, etc. (It really is a staple!) He seemed genuinely pleased that it is now a permanent part of the "decor" in our kitchen.

I found this one and a bigger one just like it recently at a Ross discount store in our area. In case you can't see it, here's a closer picture, so you can see the African women on it:

When he saw the women with baskets on their heads he said, "Ees Ee-tiopia!" Love it.
Here's what bere bere looks like. Like I said, it is a chili powder and it is VERY spicy. I was able to take his "recipe" and measure it out, and it comes out very spicy, so you may want to tone it down. He laughs because his pasta makes Mommy sweat. LOL

Here's the recipe:

Minte's Favorite Spicy Ethiopian Pasta

2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 (half) a large white onion, chopped
2+ tablespoons canola oil
3 1/2 teaspoons (or less!) of bere bere spice
pasta of your choice (we usually use spaghetti)


Saute the onion in a bit of oil, then add the tomatoes. Saute together for a few minutes, until onions begin to look clear and tomatoes are soft.

Add 2 tablespoons of oil and bere bere, 1 teaspoon at a time (Minte likes up to 3 1/2 teaspoons of it. I cut him off there, but he says that's not "too spicy." You be the judge.)
The result is a sauce the consistency of a paste. Sometimes he adds a bit more oil.
He likes just a small amount on his pasta, then he stirs it all to make a thin coating on it. A little goes a long way!

Every Sunday evening I also love how it makes the house smell, and I wonder what memories that aroma might be bringing back to him. Judging from his smile, they must be good ones.
I keep the rest of the spaghetti noodles in a ziploc bag next to a small container of the bere bere sauce, and he eats it for lunch during the week, or whenever he wants/ needs a "taste of home."

Here are a few cookbooks I have found. Minte loves to look through them, and I hope to be cooking from them soon.

Exotic Ethiopian Cooking: Society, Culture, Hospitality & Traditions

Foods Of Ethiopia

Discovery of a Continent
The Recipe of Love