Get me to the church on time!

(ten points for movie and character... you know the drill!)

In Ethiopian tradition, the groom goes to fetch the bride before the ceremony. Sam and his groomsmen drove to the Hotel in D-ville to pick up Mina and the bridesmaids in our Western version of this tradition.















In the meantime, the guests gathered in the church and the musicians began to play, all innocently unaware of the clouds gathering on the metaphorical horizon...

*dun-dun-dun*

Another Grosgrain Giveaway!

I am coveting this bag!!! I wantitwantitwantit!!!

Sew Cute Shop Amy Butler Birdie Sling GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

First things first

Sam wanted to start his marriage off as a new man in Christ.

Shall we gather at the river, where bright angel feet have trod?

Gather with the saints at the river, that flows by the throne of God...

Everyone therefore who shall confess me before men...

I will confess him before my Father who is in Heaven.

Oh sinners, let's go down, come on down, won't you come on down

Oh sinners, let's go down, down to the river to pray...

Let's go down to the river to pray, studying about that good old day

And who shall wear the robe and crown,

Good Lord, show me the way!

In the name of the Father,

The Son,

and The Holy Ghost!

More practicing and preparation...

And now, the pictures you've all been waiting for!

But in short installments, 'cause I have the power to make you wait...

*evil grin*

Getting ready for the big day:

By being cute...

And snuggly.

With yards of Tulle...

And oodles of balloons.

Despite running out of flowers...

And resorting to a little roadsidia.

I'm baaa-aaack!

(Ten points to whoever names the movie and the speaker...)

Arrived home to 93 emails and 200 new posts in my blogroll. Will have to catch up before I get back to ya. In the meantime, let the anticipation build!!



Oh my word! Isn't she stunning??? Welcome to the family, Mina!

Ethiopian Recipes: Niter Kibbeh

So basically, niter kibbeh is a clarified butter, similar to ghee (Indian cuisine) and highly spiced. You pretty much chunk it into anything and it makes it taste better! I've even used it as a bread spread and in bread as an oil substitute.

Mina made mine for me with all kinds of super yummy stuff, but she also told me how to make it myself with spices I can find in a normal, American grocery store. I'll give you that version :) Mina says use unsalted butter, but I'm a sucker for salt, so I just use the regular salted stuff. Your choice!

First you melt down your butter in a heavy saucepan. Do not burn it. Word to the wise. Cook it for a bit and you'll start to see the fizzy-fuzz of cooking butter (scientific term, of course) cook away. Eventually you're left with a clear, oily liquid-- this is clarified butter, in case you ever wondered. Now add your spices. Mina suggests the following:

Oregano
Cardamom
garlic
salt (unless you're like me and just went ahead with the salted butter to begin with)

Now turn off the heat and just let it sit a bit on the hot burner. Do not let it burn. Again, word to the wise. Remove from heat, pour into whatever you're going to store it in. I suggest some sort of heavy glass container. Mina put mine into a canning jar. If you're feeling all professional and adventurous, you can strain it through a cheesecloth. I am lazy and simply let mine settle out before I used it.

If you have an international grocery store near you, look for these spices as well:

Black or White Azmud
Koseret

The Azmud will need to be ground before adding to your butter. We used our electric coffee grinder. (and then wiped it out reeeeal good ;) )

Next time: Alicha Wat

(I think that's right. Alicha means "white", or "not the hot spicy red wat", but I also have "doro wat" written down in my notes. I think that doro wat is what it becomes when you add chicken or eggs to the dish.)

Summer Projects

I know it seems like I'm still here, but due to the magic of Blogger, I've simply scheduled posts to keep y'all busy and out of trouble while I'm gone. Trouble like removing me from your readers out of sheer boredom. However, there is, as of yet, no way to auto-comment. Hence my silence on all of your blogs. I apologize. In my defense, my parents have dial-up.

Nuff said.

For your enjoyment, a project undertaken by J and the kids to transform this:



...into something useful and fun!














I found that idea on someone's blog ages ago and I'd totally give credit where it is due, but I have no idea whose blog it was! Speak up if you recognize it...

Ethiopian Recipes: Carrots and Potatoes

Mina, chime in in the comments and tell us what this is called, will you?

You're gonna have to just eyeball quantities with this one. I have absolutely no idea about any measurements. Sorry. I'm one of those cooks...

Chop onion and fresh tomato into small pieces, mince a couple garlic cloves, mash up about a half inch of ginger root. In a saucepan, bring enough-water-to-cover-the-bottom-of-the-pan to a boil, add all that chopped up stuff. Sprinkle with Tumeric.

Chop up (maybe) two medium potatoes and three medium carrots into one inch chunks. Add to onions and etc. Sprinkle with salt to taste. Cook, adding more water (sparingly) when necessary.

Once potatoes and carrots are soft and cooked through, turn the heat off and stir in a couple tablespoons of niter kibbeh.

Haha! You will have to wait till tomorrow for that recipe!! :D See how I'm reeling you in? Keeping you coming back for more?? Hahaha, that's all part of my evil plan for world domination!!!

ahem.

Sorry.

Next time: Niter Kibbeh

(see how much better it sounds when I actually know the Ethiopian name for the dish?)

Sometimes I really, really appreciate my sewing machine...

The real sash is pinky-purple, this is a stop-gap for the purpose of photography :)





Pardon my bragging :)

Sofi the Magnificent!

Can you believe that I stood calmly by and let this darling child;



Climb this???



Strapping in;



Off she goes!!



Up,



and up,



and up!!



And then dooooown....



Repelling down was her favorite part :)


btw, swirling out that annonymous guy's face (to protect the innocent) was super fun. You should all try it sometime!

Ethiopian Recipes: Injera

Ok. This is the best I can do. Not the real thing, for sure; that involves a long complicated process, a special yeast called 'ersho' and a locally brewed beer. Mina's explained it to me several times and I still haven't quite gotten all the steps down in my head. But this works fairly well for us. The quantities feed our family of four for one meal.

1 cup white flour
1 cup wheat flour

OR

2 cups teff flour

2 tsp baking soda (approx-- I usually just dump a little in)
1/2 c vinegar (ditto)
water (or soda water) to achieve desired consistency

Mix all ingredients together and add enough water to form a consistency like a crepe batter. Set aside at room temp for an hour or so. The batter should be nice and fizzy and bubbly at this point. Heat either a well-seasoned cast-iron pan (my personal choice) or a high quality non-stick pan (this stuff sticks like a stinker, so none of those cheap-o pans will work) on a low to med heat. Too low or too high will cause the batter to stick. I put my electric burner on "3".

Okay. Now the tricky bit. You have to stir down the batter, scoop out a bit (amount depends on the size of your pan) and pour it into the pan. Quickly pick up the pan and swirl the batter till it covers the bottom of the whole pan with a thin film. As it cooks through you'll see bubbles pop and the top will look all pitted. Once the whole top is pitted and firm, flip it out onto a plate. You don't have to cook the other side if you get the batter the right consistency and swirl it thin enough.

Some tips;

Don't be afraid to add water or vinegar as your cooking along. Sometimes the first two injera are total flops and I have to adjust the batter consistancy as I go.

Taste the first one as it comes off the pan to be sure you've got the right amount of vinegar. The tast of that local beer I mentioned is hard to reproduce :)

If you're using cast iron, you may have to lightly oil the pan every few pieces. I use a paper towel dipped in olive oil.

I don't notice a difference between using plain tap water and using soda water myself, but try both and see which one you like better


Next time: Carrots and Potatoes

(if I knew the ethiopian word for this dish, it would be much more dramatic...)