Last one for the day... quick revisit

I mentioned in an earlier post about us preserving, and I just wanted to follow up with a picture of just how much sauce were were able to make because of our tomatoes with my parents tomatoes:



Did I mention that even with all those tomatoes going into that sauce... I still had enough for salads and salsa during the week as well? :-) I love summer!

Gonna cook Ghana food!

One of my students, paying attention to my not so subtly mentioning repeatedly throughout the year that I love to read got me a gift card for a bookstore as my end of the year present. What she probably didn't realize is that I very reluctantly buy novels and "fun books." My rationale is simple. A fun novel, I will enjoy reading, but may only read once, or if I really liked it revisit it again in a number of years. These are much better suited for the library where I can check out the book, read it, give it back, and read it again any time I get the urge without spending any money. When I am given book money, I tend to get books that I feel will be good books to have at the house and refer to frequently. For example, last time I got a little travel book on Ghana and an international adoption guide book, as well as a parenting an adopted child book (which I loved and KNOW I will be referring to again).

This time my gift card was spent on a Ghanian cookbook, among other things.

My desire to cook this kind of food actually has a few reasons behind it. One is that I would rather have my first time trying the food be in the safety of my own home, when I know all of the ingredients of it already instead of in Africa when a strange this is offered to me. It also feels like a way to bond with the child that I have never even met, by sharing similar food to what they are eating, right now! The third reason for this cookbook is that since we are adopting an older child, they will likely know and remember the food from their home country, especially when they first arrive, and many books recommend trying to serve them similar food, since they are already having to deal with so much change. Last, but not least, is that even if they don't remember, we do want them to know their culture and where they came from, and keep Ghanian foods somewhat frequent in our home so that they are familiar with these dishes that would have been common to them if they were raised in Ghana.

So, without the strictness of the presidential cookbook goal, I simply hope to continue to try a Ghanaian dish each week (within reason, and ability to get ingredients etc.)

At this point, I am just choosing the ones with all easy to get ingredients, though I know eventually I will have to order some of the ingredients online.

Of the two recipes we have made from this book, I have one I didn't care for, and one I loved, and look forward to eating more.



The first one we tried was Meat Pie. The inside mix was good, but the dough was not. It could have been that we messed up on it somehow, but it couldn't really be formed, and practically fell apart when you tried to eat it too. It also might be because the recipe called for a lot of nutmeg in this dough, which was really strong. Blake couldn't even finish one, and I ate more than he did, and then gave up and just ate the insides of the remaining pies (which was a bison/onion mixture, recipe said beef... but we have a lot of bison still... ). Pretty disappointing for our first try from this cookbook (not first Ghanaian recipe, that was back in March)

Our second attempt was today, with much better results.

Today we made two recipes from here- one was groundnut soup, and the other was rice balls. The groundnut soup had a lot of interesting ingredients: tomatoes, peanut butter, water, chicken, ginger and a habenero. The rice balls were basically just overcooked rice that was shaped into balls. But together it was delicious, I kept going back for more and I look forward to our leftover lunches with this good treat!

I made both of them together because that is pretty standard in their cooking to have a stew or a soup served with a starch. Also, the recipe book cross referenced the other recipe, so I knew I should make them at the same time (the notes for the soup said to have it with rice balls or a few other starches, and the rice ball also said to serve with a soup like the groundnut soup).

This recipe gives me hope for our upcoming adventures in Ghanaian cuisine!

Presidential cookies makes a comeback!

Last summer, I started with a goal of cooking through the presidential cookie book... and then lost steam after a few weeks when it became a burden instead of a joy and a challenge. But this fourth of July, I decided that the goal was too good of one to abandon forever. Now, nothing as ambitious as twice a week or anything crazy like that, but instead a slower, gradual goal when I feel like making a dessert for an occasion or just for fun. More importantly, when I do decide to make one from this book, I will try to include it for people to read about, and still educate myself about those presidents.

So I made Vienna Chocolate bars, which were listed as one of Ronald Reagan's favorite desserts.



They were really tasty. They have a cookie crust on the bottom that was baked first, and then it is topped with a layer of raspberry jam, chocolate chips and then meringue. Then it is baked again. I especially liked it with ice cream.

Ronald Reagan


The biggest thing I think about Reagan (which I know is somewhat sad) is that I know he was an actor when he was younger. Beyond that... I couldn't say I knew much. Oh... I also could probably tell you that he was president in the 80's, but both of those facts are mostly from Back to the Future.

After doing some research, I found that I really liked what I read about Reagan.

I was surprised to learn that he actually started as a Democrat, and only switched to being Republican afterwards. I also found that he had a real power with words.

The article that I read talked about how he first gained popularity in a speech he had made for another candidate, and how even though he lost the Republican primary to Ford, it was his speech that was remembered.

I thought it was impressive also that the hostages were released within an hour of him taking office and that he made economic moves that managed to help taxpayers and boost the national economy at the same time. The article stated that, "Though Reagan cut taxes, the resulting economic growth resulted in federal government revenues increasing by 96% during the Gipper's 8 years in office." A president that can do both sounds great to me.



The other interesting thing, though I don't think that I have any clear memories of the time, was that Reagan was president when I was born and for my first 5 years of life. Do kids five or younger really notice who is president? Not really. I feel like the presidents that I remember being in office are Bush (both of them), Clinton and now Obama.

A quick wikipedia search found that it is really not that uncommon to have an actor become a politician, and I am sure that there are more who hope to as well:

Alan Autry (Republican) (Mayor of Fresno, California)
Raj Bhakta (Republican) (unsuccessful candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, Pennsylvania)
Sonny Bono (Republican) (U.S. Representative, 44th District of California)
Shirley Temple Black (Republican) (U.S. diplomat; Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia, Chief of Protocol of the United States)
Clint Eastwood (Republican, but describes himself as Libertarian) (Mayor of Carmel, California)
Al Franken (Democrat) (U.S. Senator, Minnesota)
Helen Gahagan (Democrat) (U.S. Representative, 14th District of California)
John Gavin (Republican) (U.S. diplomat; Ambassador to Mexico)
Fred Grandy (Republican) (U.S. Representative, Iowa)
Ben Jones (Democrat) (U.S. Congressman, 4th District of Georgia)
Jack Kelly, mayor of Huntington Beach, Calif.
Sheila Kuehl (Democrat) (California State Senator)
Nancy Kulp (Democrat) (unsuccessful nominee for U.S. House of Representatives, Pennsylvania)
Robert Montgomery (Republican)
George Murphy (Republican) (U.S. Senator, California)
Stephen Peace (Democrat) (California State Senator)
Ronald Reagan (Republican) (Governor of California, President of the United States)
Arnold Schwarzenegger (Republican) (Governor of California)
Jerry Springer (Democrat) (Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio)
Fred Thompson (Republican) (U.S. Senator, Tennessee and unsuccessful presidential nominee))
Jesse Ventura (formerly Reform; currently Independence Party of Minnesota) (Governor of Minnesota)
Ralph Waite (Democrat) (unsuccessful nominee for U.S. House of Representatives)
Frank Britton Wenzel (Mayor of Malverne, New York)
John Davis Lodge (Republican) (Governor of Connecticut)

But, this makes sense to me, and I think that the little I read about Reagan is a perfect example of it. The whole reason that actors are successful is that they have trained and practiced (or were just naturally good at) showing and conveying emotions. In this time where TV is a huge part of any campaign (annoyingly so) any candidate that hopes to succeed needs to come across well in commercials and debates.

On the one hand, you could say that it eliminates some prospective candidates that might have been good except for their camera skills, but realistically, a good leader needs to be someone that people believe as a leader, and want to follow. They need to be able to convince people just through the strength of their words and their sound arguments. Actors and actresses are in the perfect position to do this, or else they wouldn't make it as an actor.

In any case, it sounds like Reagan was well liked by both sides, and his decisions and actions had our country enjoying a time of prosperity.

Some quotes I liked:

How can a president not be an actor?
Ronald Reagan <<<--- I liked this one especially because it goes with what I was saying above

If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.
Ronald Reagan

Information is the oxygen of the modern age. It seeps through the walls topped by barbed wire, it wafts across the electrified borders.
Ronald Reagan <<<--- My thought on this one, besides agreeing with it, is that he said it before the internet really came around, but it is more true now than ever.

Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music.
Ronald Reagan

Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.
Ronald Reagan <<<--- LOVE THIS!

There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect.
Ronald Reagan

There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.
Ronald Reagan

We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone.
Ronald Reagan <<<--- I liked these last two quotes so much I am considering making them into posters for my classroom. They are super important truths that I think the kids should see them every day!

Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.
Ronald Reagan

*Of note, but not included because they aren't the kind of quotes I was looking for, was that he frequently made fun of government, government officials and the like. I got the impression as I read through the pages of quotes that he kind of looked at government as something he was forced to work with to do what he wanted to do.

As strange as it sounds, I am so glad I baked these cookies besides the tasty treat they brought. After all I know, and have read now, I think Reagan might be my favorite president. Before the cookies and this blog, I knew so little, and not even the good stuff, but I am so glad to know more, and to really feel like I understand this president so much more. If you made it this far, I hope that you enjoyed your mini Reagan lesson as well!

New Perspective

Since it has officially been over a year since I taught second grade, and since it has been officially stated that next year I am teaching fourth again (which is what I wanted), I decided that it was time to clean the second grade storage room that is supposed to be a guestroom (not that we have many guests that stay the night... but considering there is currently no walking space in there at all... it should be cleaner).

One of the big things filling the room is children's books. It was (and still is) a huge priority for my classroom to have tons of books. However, my 4th graders for the most part won't read the books I had for my second graders. I kept some... but most were being stored for the chance of teaching a younger grade again sometime in the future, and for our kids.

So I started sorting into two main piles- books to keep for classroom and for when our child is older, and books that will be great for the 1-4 year old that joins our house sometime in the future. Mostly it was keeping the easy, simple books with lots of pictures or good lessons (like its okay to be sad). But amongst my searching I found a few books that I really liked as kids books... but now that we are adopting seem totally inappropriate!

The first one is more well known- Are You my Mother?. Simple enough story, the baby bird searching for its mom, asks a whole lot of other creatures and things, while each tells the bird they aren't their mom because they are a dog, cat etc. At the end, baby bird finds mom, and is told she is his mother. Nice story... unless you are adopting a child that looks different than you. I think that the book seems to be telling the child that the correct mom needs to be the one that looks like you, and I don't really want to say that to my future African child.

The next story I discovered during my teaching time: Stellaluna. I used to read this to my second graders when we were learning about animals. For those of you who haven't read it, the basic storyline is that the baby bat gets separated from mom and is more or less adopted by a bird family. This bat learns to eat and fly like the bird brothers and sisters it is living with, but keeps wanting to do things different (like not eat bugs and hang upside down). Time goes on, and baby bat meets back up with mom! She teaches baby bat how to be a bat, and do bat things, etc. The bat tries to teach her bird friends the same things, but they all find that they are better being who they are. To most kids, I would say that the general message is to accept who you are even if you are different than the others around you. Good message. Now, as a future adoptive parent, I wouldn't read this book to my child. Consider the implications- separation from mom, and live with a new family, so far it really identifies with their life. If it ended with bat staying with bird family and all being happy together, maybe we would be fine... but no. After living with new family, mom returns, and the baby goes back to live with mom! Then, finds out that life is better that way.

Adopted kids frequently have fears that their birth parent will come and take them away from the family they are attaching to. Also, the message that we want to send is that they are supposed to be with us, even though we don't look the same. Stellaluna is the opposite of that.

I could go on, there are various other ones, but these two stuck out the most. It isn't even that I think they are bad books, or that no one should read them, it was more of gaining a new perspective of how thing will look through my child's eyes, and trying to get a head start on at least at first protecting them from books that send the wrong message. As my kids get older, I will probably be more open with what I read to them, and then we can talk about how the book isn't accurate, or how it is a different story than us, etc. But when our child is first home... these books are in storage.

Squirrels, preparing for the winter

Last year, with all of our good intentions, we only managed to make one batch of spaghetti sauce to use during the fall. The worst thing is that that was a practice batch, made with store tomatoes!

This year we are off to a fabulous start. We have already made one batch with all our tomatoes, and today we will be making two more, some with our tomatoes, some with my parents' excess. It is a simple recipe that we found in our Preserving Summer's Harvest book (which by the way is an excellent resource for preserving food, talking about jarring, freezing, drying and other methods). It takes tomatoes, onion, carrots and peppers. Here are some pictures of our ingredients (peppers are from our garden as well) and the finished products from the first batch of the summer.

Experiments in Indian Food

When asked what my favorite kind of food is, I usually don't answer, because truthfully, I do like many different kinds of food. However, lately I have been thinking that my favorite kind is actually Indian food.

Through high school, one of my favorite places to eat was at a little fast food Indian food place by my house and I was so sad when I ended. Then I started going through a sad stage that I couldn't find another fast food style Indian food place to fill its place.

Happily enough though, Blake found a fast food Indian place by his work that quickly became a new favorite that I kept requesting any time that we weren't sure where to go for lunch or dinner. A few weeks ago, we added another place to satisfy our Indian food cravings.

However... we have never been able to accurately duplicate the deliciousness that is Indian food at home! Our most recent attempt was more of a cheat than normal with a prepacked sauce and a box mix for the naan. The naan was pretty close, but the tikka masala still wasn't quite up to par. Not bad, but just not up to restaurant quality.

Here are the pictures of our attempts:

Belated Post- Fourth of July

For the last few years, Blake and I have hosted the Fourth of July party at our house, and we love it! Like Thanksgiving, it is nice to just have everyone come to us instead of us having to worry about us deciding where to go. Also, even though my parents' house has fireworks allowed, we think that our neighborhood offers something even better with fireworks in the sky from a place about a five minute walk from our house. Not to mention, that there is a school with a large field that makes a great viewing spot.

Extra fun that day was that my good friends from High School, Erin and Chris and their two little ones Elaynea and Jeremiah were able to join us this year. SO CUTE!

Here are some pictures of that fun day, with occasional captions:

Also, here is a video I took of Elaynea, not perfect, but I think it is cute: