Wife Life

I started the day earlier than I would’ve liked.  It is Saturday after all.  But Sadie didn’t seem to remember that as she came crawling into my bed for “milkies”.  I still need to wean her. I still don’t know how.  I was already in the kitchen getting ready to start breakfast by 7:45.  In my opinion, that’s too early for a Saturday morning unless something very exciting is about to happen. Today nothing exciting happened.

Before I could get going on breakfast, there was a knock at my door.  The lady who comes occasionally to hand wash things that don’t go in my washing machine was here.  For five years, I’ve had people asking me regularly for work. There are countless requests to nanny my children.  There are many offers by passersby to do my laundry as I hang it out on the line.  Many request to weed my garden.  I’ve had people come to the door, stop me in town, ask me quietly as I pass them along the road.  I’ve turned down so many people for “piece jobs”, as they are called here, and it is hard.  It is hard to know whom to help and how to help.  I couldn’t possibly employ all the people who come by asking for work.  I usually turn them away saying I don’t have any work to be done (which is true, I do it :) ).  Truly, what would I give all these people to do and what would I do if I had all my jobs covered?  But sometime last year, this little lady came to my door.  She had a baby on her back.  She asked for R12 (less than $1) to buy paraffin, which is used here for cooking.  She asked if I had any laundry that needed doing.  I prefer to wash things in my machine.  Maybe it’s my culture or the way I was raised, but I think they are good and clean that way and they feel softer than when they are hand washed.  But some things don’t fit in my machine or don’t belong in my machine.  Rugs and coats are two major ones.  So for whatever reason, when this lady came by, I offered her a few things to wash.  She did such a thorough job, I told her to come back any Saturday and I would find her something to wash.  She doesn’t speak a word of English and my Sesotho is atrocious.  I usually have to get Detay or Joy to translate for me so we can communicate.  So, she comes by every so often (amazingly not every Saturday….) and I always find a rug or two for her to wash.  Today she washed my two biggest rugs.  I paid her generously, by Mokhotlong’s standards, but to me it’s still hard to stomach someone working for as little as they do here. 

This morning I cleaned the entire house.  I spend my days sweeping.  Africa produces a lot of dirt.  Children produce a lot of dirt.  Even so, every week or sometimes less, the house needs a thorough going over, from top to bottom.  I love a clean, neat, sweet-smelling house.  It’s like a visual sigh of relief.  I love clean, wind-dried sheets and can’t wait to go to bed tonight.  I also love clean kids which means this every night.

During the girls’ afternoon rest/nap time, I went for a jog.  Ruby needs the exercise and so do I.  I enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.  It’s a great time to just clear my head.  I pass by lots of kids and they make me smile.  The little girl in the picture below (can you spot her?) is so spunky.  She’s so thin, she looks like she could blow away in the strong midday winds.  But she’s full of herself and she swings her tiny hips and jabbers to herself as she walks past me.  I see her regularly.  Everyone asks for my dog.  She isn’t actually mine…. She’s on long-term loan from a friend.  I appreciate her for her companionship and protection. For some reason, even though Basotho are terrified of her, they all want her.  Then when I say I’m not giving her up, they ask for her puppies.  You should see the confusion on their faces as I tell them she won’t be having any puppies…. A very foreign concept here.

Sadie Kate and I did yoga before dinner.  I am not any kind of yoga fanatic, but I started doing some short videos a couple months back.  I’m still suffering mightily with my aching head and neck and thought maybe I could stretch out some tension.  I am using Yoga by Adriene videos which a friend downloaded for me.  The jury is still out on if it’s helping or not, but I continue trying regardless.  At least I have a cute yoga buddy.

For dinner, I pulled this recipe to try out of my favorite cookbook — Taste of Home Country Cooking.  I like the older ones because they use a lot of “from scratch” ingredients, which I need in Mokhotlong.  There’s no canned soup, ready-made biscuits, jars of enchilada sauce, bottles of teriyaki sauce, etc etc.  I had some ground pork I wanted to use and decided on this recipe.  Because I didn’t have “pork sausage”, I added a bit of salt, paprika, sage and garlic to my ground pork.  Everything else I kept the same.  It was seriously so easy and so good!  I served it over rice with stir fry on the side.  When I make it again, I will reduce the sugar some because it was pretty sweet with the ketchup and brown sugar.  But otherwise, it got two enthusiastic thumbs up from my clan.  Give it a whirl!

The rugs are dry now and back in place.  The big one spent the afternoon on top of Rocky so as to keep it good and clean while it dried.  Thankfully there weren’t any bird droppings on it when we pulled it down tonight.  Ellee’s rug had horrible grease stains from where she spilled a bottle of baby oil on it some time back.  I’ve washed it since then, but the stains remained.  This morning I treated it with Shout and Dawn dish soap (my two prized American cleaning supplies) before the lady took it to the river to wash it.  I wish I had a before picture!  It came out so beautifully, I can’t believe it!

Overall, a productive Saturday for Mrs. St.Clair.  I’m tired, but it’s a good tired.  I am hopeful that 2018 is going to be a great year!  At least with a clean house and yummy leftovers, I know tomorrow is going to be a great day.  Off to bed I go.

~Abby

Scratch that! Cracker Barrel in Mokhotlong

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, Jonathan and I worked at Cracker Barrel together.  It was a sweet time, really.  Looking back, I have fond memories of heading off to work together at the crack of dawn to serve grumpy old people their coffee.  We used to rock out to Daughtry to wake ourselves up.  It only lasted a few months before we moved to Mexico, but it was fun.  Seven years, a few kids and a few countries later, that all feels like another life.  But I did learn a few things working there.

I learned that people are way too particular about their food.  True story - I had a table send back their eggs not once, not twice, but three times because they were not cooked, "over medium-well."  I distinctly remember how close I was to reminding them that it was an egg and not a steak.  Miraculously I managed to keep my cool.  Another true story - I had one grumpy man refuse to look at me the rest of the time I waited his table just because I wouldn't butter his toast (it was store policy that we weren't supposed to touch the food without gloves or tongs....).  Oh! And one last true story.  I had one woman who would come in with her kids and leave me a great tip if I'd fish out the "soft biscuits" from the biscuit drawer for her picky son.  Seriously?  Biscuits are good.  Soft or crispy, who cares?  Lather some apple butter on it and cram it in your mouth.  People.  I loved waiting tables, but it could be stressful.

I also learned that daily access to unlimited biscuits and sweet tea was hard on my waistline.  If you knew how much sugar they put in their sweet tea, you might consider ordering water next time you visit Cracker Barrel.  And the biscuits are so good.  I've yet to master them like Cracker Barrel has.  I doubt I ever will.

Thankfully, I did learn how they make some of their food.  I used to order the grilled chicken tenders and turn them into a sandwich.  There was a very cheap way of doing that which I won't explain here.  But somehow, someway, I found out that their grilled chicken tenders are just marinated in Italian Dressing.  My life was changed.  It's the easiest and best way to eat chicken.  I make it like this often. Cut chicken breasts into tenders and put them in a bowl.  Pour Italian dressing over them and let them hang out for a few hours in the fridge.  Heat a pan pretty well and put them in, letting some of the dressing drip off first.  The oil in the dressing works great for cooking and if you time it just right, you can get great caramelization on both sides.  Don't worry if the pan starts to look like the bottom is charred, it washes off so easily and creates that nice caramelization.  Cook in batches until you are piled up and ready for a homemade Cracker Barrel feast.

Recipes have their place and I spend plenty of time browsing cookbooks and recipe blogs.  But oftentimes, I just have to make things up as I go.  Pictured above is my trusty coleslaw I mentioned in  a previous post.  I heard that Cracker Barrel's slaw is made with poppyseed dressing.  Maybe that is true, but I don't have access to it here.  So I stick with my simple mayo, vinegar and sugar dressing combo, plus mustard seeds.  Fab!

I also made up a hash brown casserole, which is a Cracker Barrel fave for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I didn't ever order it myself, but I've tasted plenty of bites of Jono's.  Most HBRs (as it's known to the service staff at CB) are made with frozen shredded hash browns.  I've discovered you can just shred potatoes on a box grater and you basically have the same thing.  I mixed the shredded potatoes with cheese (lots), milk, eggs, minced onion, salt and pepper.  It cooked long and hot, until the potatoes were tender.

Growing up, my mom could whip up fried apples in no time.  I make them like she did, using sliced fresh apples, sometimes peeled, sometimes not.  I brown them briefly in a bit of butter before adding some apple juice or water to let them simmer.  While they simmer, I add some brown sugar, a tiny bit of salt, and a healthy shake of cinnamon.  After about ten minutes, I add a small amount of cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken the sauce.  I don't make them as saucy as Cracker Barrel's, but it would be easy enough to do.

Making dinner at home is so much cheaper than eating out, especially for a big family.  Since we don't have the option of eating out, I'm always making dinner at home and it is nice to enjoy comfort foods.  If I can wing Cracker Barrel in my kitchen in Mokhotlong, surely you can whip some up where you are, too!

~Abby

Scratch That! Cooking Adventures in Africa

"What do you eat over there?"  It's a question we are constantly asked in various forms by folks from home.  We often get groups of Americans or other westerners coming through Mokhotlong on mission teams.  After any amount of time here, they quickly discover the limited selection of groceries.  Our standard answer is that we eat like most Americans do, well the Americans who cook that is, with a few modifications based on our circumstances.  So I thought I'd give all of you interested blog readers a window into what goes on our dinner table on any given night.  Welcome to my new series, "Scratch That! Cooking Adventures in Africa" where I will share details about cooking for a family of five in the mountains of Lesotho.

I typically make up our meal plans on a monthly basis.  I'm not quite organized enough to just make up a few monthly plans and rotate them.  Actually I'm not sure if it's a lack of organization.  It's more the idea of something so regimented that turns me off.  Sometimes I have a hankering for a particular meal and might want to make it more regularly than every couple of months.  I incorporate many of our favorites into my monthly plan.  We almost always have a pizza night once a month and invite our neighbors or some other friends.  I try to include a few meals which will feed more than just our family so we can invite friends regularly.  It's part of our life here and we love having folks into our home.

This is how we get most of our groceries.  In short, we go to South Africa and buy everything we can't get here in Mokhotlong.  Then we cram it all in Rocky and drive up the mountain pass to get it to the fridge ASAP (usually about 4 hours drive).

Recently we had Sloppy Joes for dinner.  I make my mom's recipe because it's comfort food to me and everyone likes it.  The only modification I make is grating some zucchini into the ground beef and sautéing it up together.  Once you add the sauce, you can't even tell there are veggies in the mix.  It stretches the meat and adds something healthy!  One of the things I miss while living in Africa is fluffy buns.  Seriously, I cannot find buns as light and fluffy in South Africa as I can at Aldi.  They are advertised as "crispy buns" and they live up to their title.  So, I used to make the buns myself.  Then we discovered a little bakery right here in Mokhotlong which sells really nice buns.  They are more dense and a tad bit sweeter than traditional American hamburger buns, but they are fresh and cheap. And that's one less thing I've got to make myself. We frequent the bun shop.  Usually when we go they are sold out.  They tell us they'll bake more and Jono almost always has return later in the day to grab them for dinner.

To go with Sloppy Joes, I made cole slaw and I cooked some cob corn.  I make slaw by finely shredding cabbage with a knife.  Cabbage is ridiculously cheap here.  I bought a half of a big head for about $.35.  Although you can buy cabbage here in Mok, I always buy mine down in South Africa because it is already cleaned and I take all the help I can get.  Then I shred some carrots and today I finely chopped some red pepper.  I make a simple dressing using mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar.  Then I add some salt and pepper and my special ingredient --- mustard seeds.  I love mustard seeds and the little kick they give.  I spring for the Hellman's mayonnaise which, being imported, is significantly more expensive than the stuff they manufacture here.  Some things are worth it.  In my opinion, good mayo is one of those things.

I have learned a lot about planning ahead since being here.  Rural living has done that for me.  I'm truly grateful for all the knowledge and experience I've gained in the kitchen by being forced to think through and learn all things cooking!  If it can be scratched, I've probably scratched it.  If I haven't tried it yet, I'm planning on trying it soon.  No home ec. course in the world could touch this gig!

~Abby

Boukje's Curry

My friend, Boukje (BOW-key-ya) makes the best curry.  Well the truth is, I think it’s the only curry I’ve ever had.  But it’s seriously the best.  During our transition from Maseru to Mokhotlong, we stayed with these dear friends for nearly a month while trying to settle our furniture shipments.  When I asked if we could stay short term in their guest flat, I wasn’t expecting it to last four weeks.  And at that point, we barely knew each other!  You know those people who just feel like family from day one?  They are that kind.  The best kind, really.  Great friends and great curry-- it doesn’t get much better than that.

A lot of times I make concoctions up for dinner straight out of my head.  A little of this, a little of that-- I’m always tweaking something.  My Aunt is famous for doing this and we’ve actually turned her name into a verb.  So, just about every recipe in my book gets Lynned one way or the other.  Sometimes I follow the recipe 100%, especially if it’s something I am trying for the first time. But often I make changes out of necessity.

I seriously shake my head at comments on recipes I read online.  Some people review recipes that are completely different from the one listed. “I substituted apples for the peaches, zucchini for the carrots, I didn’t have any cream cheese so I just omitted that and I added 3 extra teaspoons of cinnamon.”  Before you know it, they’ve change apple-carrot cake with cream cheese frosting to peach zucchini casserole with a side of cinnamon.  It’s ridiculous.  However, other recipe comments make me shake my head for a different reason.  Yesterday I was reading the recipe for a pie.  The recipe listed the ingredients and steps to make your own pie shell.  A commenter asked, “Can I use a store bought pie shell instead?”  Seriously?  Do you even need to ask that question?  How would a home-made or store-made pie crust make any difference at all in the big scheme of making a pie?  Certainly the homemade would probably taste better and is better for you, but they are both pie shells.  C’mon people, get with the program!  You can make a few cooking decisions on your own. 

Sorry. I digress.

When Boukje first tried to show me how to make the curry it was literally just a handful of this and that and the other thing and put the lid on.  I was totally intimidated.  She kept telling me it was easy, but I kept telling her I didn’t even know what went in it!  So, she showed me all the spices and the steps and I eventually got her to write down loose measurements. Well, what do you know?  It IS easy!  Of course I didn’t have all the exotic spices that she used, so I promptly went out and bought them.  It’s that good and I wanted mine to be just exactly the same.

Here you have it, Boukje’s Curry:

Start by frying a chopped onion in a large (preferably cast iron or very sturdy) pot in olive oil over medium heat.  Then add 3 cloves of roughly chopped garlic and about a half inch of grated fresh ginger and stir for a minute. Then add meat.  I used about a pound of stewing lamb w/ bones.  I don’t really like to cook with bone-in meat as a general rule but Boukje convinced me it is better in this instance to have meat with some fat and bone for flavor.  You could also use stewing beef or even some bone-in skinless chicken thighs.  Stir the meat a little and add curry powder.  I used about 2 tsp of a medium curry powder and another tsp of this Masala stuff someone gave me.  Frankly I have no idea if there is any difference at all.  I suppose any curry powder will do.  Stir that around a bit.  Turn your heat down to low.  Now, from this point on, absolutely no stirring.  Got it?  Don’t stir.  Don’t even think about it.  This is why you need a sturdy pot. 

Now you add 4 peeled and chopped potatoes.  Then throw in  3 or 4 (depending on size) roughly chopped tomatoes.  Then sprinkle some salt and pepper.  Then, are you ready for this?  Give a good shake of fennel seeds.  Another good shake of coriander seeds.  Put in a cinnamon stick.  Add two of the stars.  And add maybe 5-8 cardamom pods.  Put the cinnamon, stars and cardamom all in the same spot so you can fish them out easier later on.  Put the lid on.  Walk away and come back in two hours.

Now that you are drooling from the wonderful aroma in your house, you can come back and open the lid.  Take out the cinnamon, stars and cardamom.  Now give it all a good whirl and have a taste.  I wanted mine a bit spicier so I added some red pepper flakes and it needed some more salt so I added that.  I let it simmer with the lid off while I cooked my rice and then we devoured it.  Best served with a side of Greek yogurt with diced cucumbers and fresh cilantro. 

Oil

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

1 inch fresh grated ginger

1 lb stewing meat

4 potatoes, peeled and chopped

3-4 tomatoes, chopped

3+/- tsp curry powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 cinnamon stick

2 star anise

1 tsp cardamom pods

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, if desired

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Fry onion in oil until soft.  Add garlic and ginger, fry 1 minute.  Add meat and curry powder and stir.  Add potatoes, tomatoes and spices DO NOT stir and cook on low heat for 2 or more hours.  When ready, pull out the cinnamon, star anise and cardamom.  Also remove any bones from the meat.  Adjust spices to taste.  Serve with rice and cucumber salad.

~Abby

Anita's Yummy Mexican Stuff

Four years ago this week Jonathan and I moved from Mexico back to the US.  It really is ridiculous how much Jonathan and I like Mexican food.  We eat it about once a week, homemade tortillas and all.  This stuff is easier than making homemade tortillas and it's my go-to for a fantastic weekend lunch.

Some time ago our Unit Leader's wife served this to our Lesotho team at prayer day.  Wow.  It was so good!  I'm not positive I do it quite like she did it.... but here is my version of her fantastic dish.  I've made it on so many occasions, I can whip it up in no time.  I usually only make one portion at a time because it's just that quick.  But if you are cooking for a family or crowd, obviously you just use more of everything.  No real measurements here.  Easy.

Start by dicing red, yellow and green peppers, onion and boneless chicken breasts.  Throw them in a skillet with some olive oil and a shake of cajun seasoning.  I use the cajun seasoning my grandmother gave me plus a sprinkle of chipotle powder.  I love chipotle anything.  A year in Mexico did that to me.

When your veggies are tender and your meat is cooked, transfer to an oven proof dish.  I use a bread pan.  Add diced fresh tomatoes and some grated cheddar cheese.  Throw it under the broiler for a couple of minutes until the cheese is melted.

While that is doing its happy thing in the oven (don't forget about it!), chop up half an avocado.  I used to make a mashed guacamole but decided it was an added bowl to wash and I was happy to just dice some avo and continue on.

Crush a few Doritos on a plate.  Jonathan tells me these are "Cool Ranch" flavor in the US but here they are called Sweet Chili.  Pile on the warm combo out of the oven.  Sprinkle with the avo.  Add a dollop of cottage cheese.  And the final component --- Sweet chili sauce.  Sorry friends and fam in the US, don't think you're gonna find it there.  You could use.... some salsa!  Sweet chili sauce is, from what I've gathered, a staple South African condiment and it's delish.  I've looked up how to make it from scratch but haven't tried it myself.  Anyway, throw some salsa or sweet chili sauce or whatever on top and dig in!

Anita's Yummy Mexican Stuff:

Begin by dicing chicken, red, green, yellow peppers and onion.  Sprinkle with cajun spice and sauté in olive oil until tender.  Transfer to a baking dish and top with diced tomato and grated cheddar cheese.  Broil for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted.  Layer crushed Doritos, warm veggies and meat from the oven then top with chopped avocado, cottage cheese and sauce of your choice....

~Abby

Kart Wheels

In the past couple of months, Kyle has decided he thoroughly enjoys helping me in the kitchen whenever possible.  Admittedly, there are times when I try to sneak into the kitchen to accomplish something before he realizes I'm in there.... only to hear, "Mommy what are you doing in there?" as he rounds the corner into the dining room, grabs a chair to stand on, and comes trotting into the kitchen ready to help, chair in tow.  I am constantly reminding myself that these years fly by; I need to take advantage of my time with him even when I'd rather just get the job done.  So he helps me measure flour, stir batter, get milk from the fridge, eggs from the counter..... And I smile because he is just the little buddy I prayed for.

While in South Africa earlier this week for an AIM prayer day, we found Kyle an adorable little baking set for kids.  I couldn't pass it up, complete with an apron and tiny cooking utensils.  He has been giddy about cooking something with his new toys.  So yesterday we pulled out the Alpha-Bakery cookbook my Aunt gave us and flipped through the pages until we settled on something quick, easy and consisting of ingredients I had on hand.

Photo credit : Kyle

Then we started making Kart Wheels.  We complied the components and got to work.  First, measure the butter and get it softened in the micro because it's still rock solid on the kitchen counter.  Then, measure the flour, baking powder, powdered sugar and milk.  Mix all the ingredients together until a nice ball of pastry has formed.  We halved the recipe because I was only looking for a tiny treat.  Divide into equal pieces and shape into balls.  Situate them on a baking sheet like so, flattened slightly and mash a hole in the middle with your finger for the jam.   We did two apricot and one strawberry.  Fill with about a tablespoon of jam and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, until edges are slightly browned.

"See, Daddy, this is what we are making!"

You never know who is watching you lick the spoon.  Photo credit : Kyle 

(See the hairless spot in the back of Kyle's head?  That was the fight he got into with the gravel road in front of our house 6 months ago.  Quite the fright, with blood everywhere we anticipated an emergency trip out of the mountains.  But after some evaluation and careful cleaning by Dad, we decided to just baby it and try to avoid stitches...)

The proud baker!

A pretty delicious snack for not much work....

Kart Wheels (full recipe)

1 1/2 flour

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons milk

About 1 cup pie filling or jam (any flavor)

1.  Heat oven to 375*

1.  Mix flour, butter, powdered sugar, baking powder and just enough milk until dough forms.  (If dough seems dry, mix in more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time.)

3. Divide the dough into 6 equal parts.  Shape each part into a ball.  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet; flatten slightly.  Make an indentation in center of each flattened ball.  Fill each indentation with about 2 tablespoons pie filling or jam.  Bake until the edges begin to brown, 20-25 minutes.  Makes 6 Kart Wheels.

~Abby

Tlotlisang

Meet Tlotlisang.  Today is his 8th birthday!  He lives across the street from us and is Kyle’s best neighborhood friend.  Daily he comes knocking on our door asking to play with Kyle.  He has a sweet and gentle spirit we have grown to love and appreciate.

A couple months ago, Tlotlisang’s mother died unexpectedly.  Estranged form his father, Tlotlisang lives with his uncle, our dear friend Ntate Ntsimane.  Long before his mother passed away, he came to live here in Mokhotlong to be cared for by Ntsimane.  I dare say in this boy’s short eight years of life, he has experienced more difficulty and heartache than I have at three times his age.  Nevertheless, his smile exudes friendliness and contentment.  He is well cared for by his aunt and uncle, attends school here in Mokhotlong, and plays hard outside during his free time.

Tlotlisang and his cousin, Tsepo, making sand birthday cakes this morning in our yard.

Ntate Ntsimane and his wife, Mme MaTsolo, care for a number of boys who aren’t biologically their own.  Along with Tlotlisang, they are the caretakers of Tlotlisang’s older brother, as well as 2 or 3 other young boys between the ages of 12-14.  The scourge of AIDS has left so many children parentless.  In other instances, children are left in the village with relatives while parents go to the city to find work in order to support their families.  The boys are responsible for their own cooking and their own laundry.  I’ve personally witnessed Tlotlisang at age 7, hand washing his own laundry.  Once I asked MaTsolo if he is any good at washing his clothes.  With a faint smile on her face, she told me that he wasn’t very good at all.  And sometimes when he is asleep, she sneaks into his room and takes some of his clothes to wash for him, to lighten the burden of his laundry.  All of the boys sleep in a small home on the same property as Ntsimane.

The house the boys live in.

Shortly after we moved here, MaTsolo informed me that Tlotlisang was highly concerned about Kyle.  He had sat her down to discuss with her that he believed Kyle needed to be in school.  He told her he would walk him to school and help him to learn to read and write, because he was already helping another boy in the school to do the same.  MaTsolo tried to explain to him that Kyle was much too young to attend school, which pacified his concern for Kyle’s education.

Oftentimes Tlotlisang sits on our front porch with us while we enjoy the morning sun.  Yesterday while we has here, I asked him when his birthday was.  When he replied with, “tomorrow!”, I immediately began to plan a birthday cake for him.  With Ntsimane and MaTsolo currently out of town, I knew there wasn’t a way in the world that little boy was going to have a cake for his 8th birthday.  After nap time, Jonathan and Kyle ran down to the local shop to buy cocoa powder and icing sugar.

With Ellee fast asleep in her crib last night, Kyle and I began to bake a cake for a very special boy.  My son was giddy to help me use the hand mixer and even happier to lick the beaters.  At 11pm last night, I was icing this chocolate cake with this chocolate butter cream icing, per Tlotlisang’s request.  I was so happy he wanted chocolate.  As I don’t have two cake pans of the same shape, I think this cake could easily be classified as the ugliest birthday cake in history.  However, because it tasted great, I don’t think any one minded.  

Eight of the neighborhood kids showed up for the festivities, which was a fear of mine.  Earlier there were only four — boys who regularly play around here.  But by the time I got outside with the cake, that number had doubled - well, 7 boys and 1 random girl.  Oh well, the cake was plenty big enough for each kid to have a good size piece and still leave some to share with Ntsimane and MaTsolo once they return.  We blew up some Happy Birthday balloons and presented the birthday boy with a bag of gifts Kyle picked out for him this morning at Pep (think The Dollar Store).  Kyle chose two motorcycles, a small bag of candy, a bag of marbles and a beanie to go into the birthday bag.  The kids sang “Happy Birthday” in English and then again in Sesotho before they began devouring their cake.  I think everyone seemed to enjoy it because no one left a morsel on their plate.

Occasionally I ponder what exactly my role is here in Lesotho.  With Jonathan busy working with Theological Education by Extension, along with meeting regularly for language lessons, and working towards his Masters, I’m almost always just busy around the house with my kids.  Don’t get me wrong, I love it.  I wouldn’t have it any other way because I believe I am right where I need to be.  But it’s days like today that remind me — I do have a ministry all of my own, and not just to my own children.  It may not be in a classroom, or in any organized setting, but I pray the time and energy I invest in the children who play at my house will produce lasting results.  I pray I am able to show love to “the least of these.”  In a country full of hurting, lonely and dying children, I pray a smile, a chat on the porch, or a slice of chocolate cake will shine a little light into their day.  We love Tlotlisang and the sweet friendship he shows to our kids.  I hope he had the happiest of birthdays!

~Abby

DIY Africa

 Sometimes you just gotta roll your sleeves up and start in the kitchen from scratch.  If you live in Africa, that sometimes changes to almost-always.  Occasionally, I just have a hankering for something and it requires a number of preparation steps ahead of time to achieve the end goal.

Every afternoon, sometime around 4pm, I have a grumble in my belly that tells me it's tea time.  Sometimes I have coffee for tea time, sometimes decaf tea and often times a big glass of chilled water.  In my mind, the real reason for tea time is the tea time treats.  My treat of choice has varied widely over the past year; first it was a rusk, then a piece of pumpkin bread.  Right now I prefer to indulge in a sliver of zucchini bread and/or a small tea cup full of African Sunrise granola and a few dollops of greek yogurt.

After about a minute of Googling zucchini bread some months ago, I settled on this zucchini bread recipe that had like 4-point-something stars and 4,000-something reviews.  I trust recipes like that.  I read tons and tons of those 4,000 reviews and found some ways to help make aforementioned zucchini bread a little less like cake and a lot more friendly to the waistline.  Below I'll post the modifications to the zucchini bread recipe I made.  I won't post a review on the zucchini bread recipe based on the many modifications I made because I can't stand it when people do that....

I spent morning nap time yesterday grating zucchini.  But, our electricity was out nearly all day yesterday for some unknown reason, so I was unable to bake my bread.  Today I began my preparations by first making apple sauce.  Although, because I had a number of mealy peaches in the fridge that were no good on my morning cereal, it turned out to be more like peach sauce with a hint of apple.

While my peaches and apples cooked on the stove top, I was busy grating potatoes to make hash brown casserole for dinner.  The menu tonight was inspired by our time working at Cracker Barrel.  CB grilled chicken tenders and hash brown casserole with fluffy fruit salad on the side.  The secret to CB grilled chicken tenders?  Marinated and pan-grilled in Italian salad dressing.  That's it.  Anyway, back to the casserole, hash browns aren't exactly a South African thing.  Thus I was left to make them myself.  I was pleasantly surprised at how easy that was (thanks again to Google).

So, my zucchini bread.  Once I completed the peach/apple sauce by pureeing it with my immersion blender, I whipped this batter up:

* 3 cups flour (1 cup white, 2 cups wheat)

* 1 tsp salt

* 1 tsp baking powder

* 1 tsp baking soda

* 3-4 tsp cinnamon

* 1 cup sugar

* 1/2 cup oil

* 1/2 cup apple sauce

* 3 eggs

* 3 tsp vanilla extract

* 4 cups grated zucchini

And I would've loved to add some nuts but alas, I didn't have any.  The recipe makes two loaves.  My modifications make it just sweet enough but not overly so.  And I tried to pack in as much zucchini as possible and it's absolutely delicious.

While my bread baked, I prepared the hash brown casserole to wait in the fridge until dinner.  After that, I worked on the fluffy fruit salad.  Then I started chopping veggies for my new favorite lunch of choice (based on this recipe):

I added chopped fresh garlic, some extra roasted cauliflower I made last night and a bit of salt and ground pepper.  Instead of vegetable oil, I used EVOO and then I used half white and half whole wheat pasta.  I am so glad I have leftovers in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch.

Thankfully Little Lady took a long morning nap so I was able to get almost all of this completed while she was asleep.  My back ached when I was done and I was sure ready to sit down, but it feels nice to get a lot accomplished in one day.  And I was very happy to sit and enjoy my tea time snack today....

Hope you'll DIY and give one of these recipes a try.

~Abby