Let's Feast!

Our family is no stranger to Ethiopian food.  In fact, we love it!  We make it a habit to visit the local restaurants as well as the markets so we can make it at home.  And we certainly find Gotcha Day a great excuse to celebrate our daughter's Ethiopian heritage.

Cocoa Puff in her Ethiopian Scarf

Now I'll be honest here.  I haven't made Ethiopian food in probably two and a half years.  The last time I made it was when I posted the recipes here on my blog!  It's not that it's all that hard.  It is just very time consuming.  And, well, with two littles in the house....I don't have a lot of extra time to spend in the kitchen.  So our normal celebration does in fact take place at our favorite Ethiopian restaurant.

This year, however, when we started planning Cocoa's Gotcha Day, my husband requested that I make the feast.  And I welcomed the challenge!

In the past I have only tried three recipes:

The traditional chicken stew and my personal favorite - Doro Wot.
The Shiro Wot - ground chickpeas in an onion/garlic base that looks about the texture of hummus.
The Ethiopian version of a tomato salad - Yetimatim Saleta.

Oh yes, and the Hambisha Bread...which I skipped this year only because the market had some freshly baked and my husband thought he would save me some time (isn't he thoughtful?).

But this year I thought I would really out do myself (HA!) by adding in some of our favorite recipes that I found in the Ethiopian cookbook a friend from church gave me as a baby shower gift!  So I also made Messir Wot (a lentil based dish) and Curried Cabbage and Potatoes (which is just like it sounds).

I started cooking around 1:30pm and dinner was ready at about 7:00pm.  We invited a couple friends to join us, because - let's face it, we can't eat all that food ourselves!

I'll admit, we don't have the best lighting in our dining room, especially in the evening.  I did the best I could to photoshop them, but I'll admit that food photography isn't my best skill!  

I think she liked it, don't you???

When Cocoa joined our family, we not only gained the best daughter parents could ask for, but an amazing culture and heritage.  And we get the joy and honor to celebrate it with her!  We are so blessed.

If you want to try cooking some Ethiopian food yourself, you can get my recipes right here (except the Messir Wot and Curried Cabbage....I wouldn't feel right about sharing them since I got them out of a recipe book).

A Night Of Celebration!!! (+ ETHIOPIAN RECIPES!!!)

If you've been following my blog and our journey for some time now, you probably know that we have developed a very close-knit group of friends through our agency's yahoo listserv.  These fellow adoptive families are all in different areas of their journey: Jon and Janice came home with their sweet pea last year (shortly after we met).  Justin and Niki are leaving TOMORROW to bring home their long-awaited baby boy!  Chad and Tarah are anxiously waiting to pass court for their two littles.  And Erik and Darcee still wait (like us) to be matched with their daughter(s).  It still BLOWS MY MIND that we were connected solely because of our journeys to our children, but that we will FOREVER be friends!  I love you ladies and your families SO very much!!!

Well anyways....

Last week we were at this point that we knew Justin and Niki would be leaving for their 2nd trip soon, and once they were home they would be cocooning....and then it would be Chad and Tarah....and once they were out of THEIR cocoon Hubs and I would be nearing that stage...and then Erik and Darcee.....

SO ANYWAYS...we decided we better get together, and FAST before life get's so crazy that we don't see each other for several months.  So that's what we did!  Last minute...seriously, like the NIGHT BEFORE, I said, COME OVER!  I'm making ETHIOPIAN!  Amazingly enough, it worked out!  Some were without husbands, everyone (except for us of course, being at our house) were without kids.  I spent ALL DAY making Ethiopian food (not because it's that HARD, just because it tastes better that way) and it was AMAZING to share this dish together from the birth country of our children!

And let me tell you!  This was a night to celebrate!  Celebrating Justin and Niki preparing to BRING HOME their son!!!  Celebrating Chad and Tarah meeting their children and then soon following Justin and Niki back to Ethiopia!!!  Celebrating Hubs and I making it into the TOP 5 on the waitlist!  Celebrating Erik and Darcee in the TOP 10 on the siblings list!!!  It was all around smiles on our faces =)  Niki and Tarah both brought pictures of their recent trips to Addis and shared stories about not only their precious littles, but the other ones there a well.

Have I mentioned how much I love these ladies?!?  Thank you so much you guys for coming over and putting a smile on my face during this wait!

{Janice ~ Tarah ~ Darcee ~ Niki ~ Me}

{Janice ~ Tarah ~ Darcee ~ Niki ~ Me}

{Tarah ~ Niki}

And NOW for the part most of you have been waiting for - THE RECIPES!!!!  =)

{Sorry that I don't have have pictures of each of them!  I was too busy staring at pictures of Ethiopian cuties at Hannah's Hope to pay that much attention!}

***None of these recipes are my own!  They are found from multiple google sites and from other adoptive families.  I have "written" in my own special tweaks of what has worked for ME after making them a few times.  I'm sorry that I don't know where I found each recipe originally though.  =)

Doro Wat (Traditional Chicken Stew)

2 lbs Chicken Pieces {we used drumsticks only}
2 Tbs Lemon Juice
1 tsp Salt
4 Tbs Vegetable Oil
2 cups Onion, finely chopped
1 Tbs Garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Ginger, ground
1/4 tsp Fenugreek, crushed
1/2 tsp Cardamom, ground
1/8 tsp Nutmeg, ground
2 Tbs Berbere
4 Tbs Paprika
2 Tbs Tomato Paste
1 cup Water
2 Tbs Butter
1 Hard Boiled Egg per person

Remove skin from chicken and sprinkle with lemon juice and salt.
Heat oil on low heat and add onions, garlic, and ginger.  Cook until onions are brown.  Add fenugreek, cardamom, and nutmeg.  Stir well and add berbere, paprika, tomato paste, and water.  Bring all to a boil and cook slowly for 45 minutes.  Stir often and add water if necessary (should be like a heavy cream).  Add chicken and turn to coat.  Add butter.  Cook on low for 1 hour, or until chicken is cooked through.  Take hardboiled eggs, cut 5 shallow slits in them and place in pot for the last 10 minutes of cooking time.
Serve with injera.

Shiro (Vegetable/Side Dish)

1 lg Onion, finely chopped
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1-3 tsp Berbere
2-3 cups Water
1/2-11/2 cups Shiro (I use about 1c)
Salt to taste

In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil until soft (about 5 minutes).  Turn off heat, place in blender and puree.  Return to pan, add berbere (I use about 1 hefty tsp, sometimes 2 depending on how spicey I want it) and a little water (so it does not stick) and stir to combine.  Cook for 3-5 minutes.  Add water (I start with about 2 cups).  Begin to add 1/2 cup shiro powder, a little at a time so it does not clump.  I find it easiest to use a whisk for this.  You want it to be about the texture of hummus.
Serve with injera.  I have also found it AMAZING with pita chips =)

Himbasha Bread (Sweet Honey Bread)

1 cup Water
4 cups Flour (more or less, you want a dense dough, not really sticky)
1/4 cup Oil
1 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Honey
2 tsp Yeast
2 tsp Black Sesame Seeds
2 tsp Fenugreek, crushed/ground
2 tsp Thyme
2 tsp Cardamom, ground

Mix together flour (I usually start with 2 1/2 - 3 cups), salt, sesame seeds, thyme, cardamom, and fenugreek.  (I add the cardamom and fenugreek together in my magic bullet to grind them first.) Then add in the yeast (I was told not to put salt and yeast right next to each other that's why I add yeast last). Make a dam with the seasoning, add the oil, honey, and warm water in the middle of the dam and stir in circles slowly adding the surrounding flour. Add more flour as needed for a stiff dough. Once the dough starts separating from the bowl, put on a floured surface and knead 5-10 minutes until no longer sticky and smooth like a baby's bottom (except you'll obviously feel the seeds, lol). Place in a round pan and let rise (I put a little oil brushed over it and cover with saran wrap and a towel and place it near my heater since its COLD in my house). Then bake at 350 degrees until light golden brown, about 30 minutes. As soon as it gets out of the oven, brush with butter.

***You can also add more honey for an even sweeter bread if you want!

Yetimatim Saleta (Tomato Salad)

1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and minced
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
11/2 Tbs lemon juice
1/4 tsp Pepper (freshly ground is best)


Combine all ingredients and let stand for at least a half an hour before serving.


***Was out of A LOT of ingredients but wanted something similar with my meal so I used the red onion, tomatoes, lemon juice and pepper...but added chives, iceburg lettuce and a little more lemon juice as needed and it was a delicious addition to our Ethiopian meal!

Story Time!!! ...Plus ANOTHER New Recipe! =)

Isn't every day a story time over at my blog?? =)

But really...Monkey is loving his books lately.  So much, in fact, that he has gotten bored of the books in our house.  Since funds are strictly going to the adoption lately, we thought we would head over to the library.  I LOVE how fun it is for Monks.  He gets SO excited picking out book after book after book....and especially excited when he sees one he recognizes (from a previous trip)!

This is just ONE of the ways I catch Monkey enjoying his books lately...it just warms my heart!

This particular book is his CARS book.  Ever since his major sickness (the one when we had to purchase a nebulizer to get his breathing under control) and we watched this movie 7 times that week (no joke!) he has been mildly obsessed with CARS!

His other famous reading position is leaning against one of the couches or chairs in the living room, flipping through pages.  It must be perfect eye level for him...because its where he plays with his cars, his choo choo train, everything! =)

This child really melts my heart!

Later that night for dinner, I tried a new recipe from my WIPHAN cookbook (which I am LOVING by the way...nothing better than a bunch of moms YOU love and respect sharing THEIR favorite recipes and then a bunch of moms THEY love and respect shairng THEIR favorite recipes....AMAZING cookbook!!!  Head over there now to pick one up for yourself!!!  ...And don't forget that the proceeds are going to a GREAT cause!!  WIPHAN stands for WIdows and orPHANs....their whole mission is to "equip widows and orphans for a productive future life, offering hope to the hopeless through the love of Jesus Christ".  This is an AMAZING ministry in Zambia doing great things - please support them!). 

ANYWAY....the recipe was called Balsamic Chicken!  I was very unsure how all the intense flavors were going to come together into one dish, but it was amazingly delicious!!  The hardest part was figuring out what to pair it with, but being low on groceries we just made white rice.  After tasting the chicken now, I would suggest pairing it with some roasted red potatoes, or something like that...but REGARDLESS.....it was SOOO unbelievably good.  I had that look of nervousness as Hubs took his first bite, but his oooing and awwwing made it ALL worth the uncertainty!  {insert pat on my back for trying something new} =P

YUMMM!!!!!

Just to let you know, I've got something exciting for you to look forward to on my blog in the next little bit!  I will be featuring my first GUEST BLOGGER!!!!  I am so excited!  This is an amazing friend of mine from way back when (I kinda feel like I'm old enough to say that now, lol!) and she is going to be doing an anthropologie-inspired tutorial for you!  *I* am so excited to see this for myself and share it with all of YOU!  So stay tuned, you won't want to miss this.

Till next time!!!

Just an idea!!!

Earlier this week I was responsible for providing treats for our couple's Growth Group.  Well, I planned the perfect week for it because I happened to spend the entire DAY OF painting with my mom!  Yeah...what was I thinking? 

So I scrounged around until I found a box of cake mix in my cupboards (rare, because I almost always bake from scratch...not by choice, but for money saving reasons...hubby's idea =).  Devil's Cake...YUM!  Made 'em into little cupcakes, frosted all pretty and topped with some Halloween Candy!  Fast, easy, and pretty...what do you think???

Have any fun & easy ideas YOU'RE willing to share?  Pass 'em on!

Fall-tastic Treats To Try

Monkey and I decided to make some fall-tastic treats to celebrate this new season of joy in our home!  We sure had a lot of fun!!!

Monkey's excitement for cookies is so clear on his face! 
LOVE that little smile <3

"Cookie, cookie" he kept saying =)

Taste test!!!  The verdict??  "Mummy!"  ;)  {aka nuummy}

M&M cookies {recipe from allrecipes.com}
We had picked out all the red & blue m&ms for Monkey's police-themed birthday party, and lucky us...all that was left was brown, yellow, orange, and green!  Perfect harvesty colors, don't ya think??

On his sugar high, Monkey decided to go "nigh nigh" IN our storage ottoman (where we store blankets and books normally, not kids)!
Notice the heap of laundry behind him???  Yeah..I was too busy being entertained by Monkey to have ANY desire to fold that!

Sleepy or playful???

All done apparently!
{Someday I'll remember to move my feet before taking pictures, lol}

"Ta-da!!!" {as Monkey says to EVERYthing lately}
Our Fall-tastic treats!

Easy Peasy...PROMISE!!!
Take a bunch of chocolate chips, throw 'em in a microwave-safe bowl with a dollop of shortening {so it doesn't get too thick}.  Microwave on low settings until smooth and melty {like my made up words?} and add a bunch of pretzels and stir.  Lay out on parchment paper so that none {or hardly none} overlap.  THEN melt some white candy melts in the microwave with some shortening {this time b/c we're adding gel food coloring and otherwise the food coloring can make it so thick that you can't drizzle}.  When softened mix in orange gel food coloring {or red + yellow} and pour into a small baggie {or large depending on how much you melted}.  Cut a VERY small hole in the corner of the baggie and "drizzle" {draw zig-zag lines} over all the pretzels.  Let harden...or in our case, put in the freezer over night.  ENJOY!
See???  Not so bad, huh?

Trying Something New

I had big plans for dinner tonight.  Plans that included kneading dough and forming it into biscuits.  But then the ants showed up in SWARMS again today, consuming my kitchen counters, windowsill, sink, and medicine cabinet.  So my plans changed.  Since my stovetop was spared from the teensy, but very annoying creatures...the stovetop is where I stuck.  Please keep in mind I am not a measurer....so measurements can be adjusted per your liking.  Here's my newest creation:

Mimi's Taco-Licious Chicken & Rice

Ingredients:

1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 cup water
2-3 chicken bouillon cubes
EVOO
1 heaping Tbs minced garlic (or a couple cloves)
1/4 green pepper, diced
1/4 red onion, diced
1/4 yellow onion, diced
2 cups jasmine rice
1-1 1/2 cups frozen yellow corn
1 can black beans, rinsed
2 Tbs Taco Seasoning (give or take)
4 chicken thighs (or breasts, or whatever you prefer)
EVOO
1 tsp minced garlic (1 clove-ish)
Salt
Pepper
Taco Seasoning
Mexican Chili Powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray baking sheet with Pam (or other cooking spray).

Bring diced tomatoes, water, and chicken bouillon cubes to a boil in a large saucepan.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat EVOO and garlic on a medium-high heat.  When hot, add in diced onions and green peppers.  Saute until softened.  Add to boiling liquid mixute, then add in rice, corn, black beans, and taco seasoning.  Add a little more water if needed.  Bring to a boil again, then cover and reduce heat.  Let cook for 20 minutes.

Defrost chicken if needed.  Heat EVOO and garlic in the skillet you cooked the veggies in.  Using a basting brush, apply a little garlic-oil out of the pan onto one side of the chicken.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, taco seasoning and mexican chili powder and rub into chicken.  Place face down in hot pan and repeat the seasoning onto the other side.  Sear both sides of chicken on a medium-high heat for about two minutes.  Place onto baking sheet and bake for 10-ish minutes, or until cooked all the way through.

My husband ended up inviting a co-worker over for dinner tonight, so fortunately my experiment was a success and they both enjoyed it.  Monkey kept saying "mommy, mommy" (which apparently is his word for "nummy" lately...he calls me "mama" not "mommy") as he picked out all the corn and beans to eat.  Two-year-olds are picky eaters, what can I say???

If you happen to give the Taco-Licious a try, lemme know what you think, will you???  Happy cooking!

Fried Chicken & Mashed Potatoes

After MAKING food for a house full of party guests, our good friend Jodi thought it was due time someone whipped something up for US!  ....I'm sure that was the thought process behind our "Fried Chicken & Mashed Potato" date, don't you???  Hmmm....either that or she was drooling over my hubby's famous mashed potatoes (And by "famous"...I mean the talk of the town.  And by "town" I mean our church.  And by "church" I mean our circle of friends)...I don't think we'll ever know! ;)

Here's Jodi with my hubs...doin' what they do in the kitchen.

Backstory: you know BEFORE we had kids?  (I know that's hard to remember)  Before we had kids my hubs was the one who owned the kitchen.  Although taking over that role has been a HUGE change for me, my hubs will tell you that (for the most part) he's glad I have.  But mashed potatoes?  NO ONE does 'em like my hubby does!

Fried chicken....YUM!  I'm not sure its a good thing that Jodi showed me how she makes this "trailer trash food" as she called it =)  My diet is NOT going to like me for this one.

Corn....all buttered and seasoned, ready to go on the grill.  Yes...in Seattle...it don't matter if it rains!  If we wanna grill, we just take out our umbrella!  BUAHAHAHAHA!  Like anyone in Seattle actually OWNS an umbrella! =)  Nah...we stand in the rain.  Well, not in our case....see?  THAT'S the point of a covered deck!

Jodi's husband Shaun makin' himself comfortable, cheering on the Bronco's!  And sweet Ryanne snugglin' in her bouncer!  (Gotta love the life of those sweet babes...)

The girl's "craft table" (+ Lil Man made himself at home)!  Jod's is working on a basket for our church's annual auction while I'm whippin' up some hairbows for her little sweetie!  See the pile of them there???  Yeah, had to give her some options.  But don't worry....the rest will be listed on our fundraising blog SOON for YOU to choose from (bringourangelhome.blogspot.com)!!!

Monk's doing HIS crafts...some bootiful artwork for my fridge (okay...so I don't hang artwork on my fridge...but ONE DAY I'll have a playroom for just that kind of thing!!)!!

Bored of the girls and their crafts....sneaking some leftover party candy (Siren Pops - whoowhoo!) before heading back to the football room...

Does he look guilty or WHAT?!?

Full bellies make for GREAT relaxin' time! 

LOVE this Lil Man!