Book club tonight!

Here on campus we have a book club. I think I've mentioned it before, but I'll tell you about it, in case you've forgotten. :)

It's not a regular kind of book club. We meet once a month, and everyone brings books, or movies, or magazines, or well, just about anything else entertaining and not available in Angola that they are willing to lend someone else! See because, it's not very easy to come by books (or any of that other stuff) in English here in Luanda. Riga had LOADS of English language books compared to what you can get here. So, we do the book club the way we do it- and it's good. Everyone brings their stuff, everyone takes a turn telling about at least one book that they have brought and we talk. Of course, it's as much an excuse for a social call as to get a new book.

The thing is, there is one other major part of Book Club- the food and drink. Book Club has always been a kind of a potluck thing- bring a snack or a bottle to share kind of thing. Well, for those of us who LIKE to cook/bake, it's an excuse to do so. So some people who don't particularly like to cook/bake just bring a bottle of wine- which is fine. But if you're like me, you bring not just one, but two freshly homemade dishes. :) What other excuse would I ever have to make this stuff otherwise?!?

Do not be afraid of the color of this. It was delicious! Pea Pesto on Crostini (or something along those lines...)- several people commented it would be good for a St. Patrick's Day party or some other thing that you need green food for. It was super easy to make, and I really liked it. Taken from the cookbook the Dandenong Smedes got me for Christmas. Thanks!

Our school librarian sends out an email every week with library updates. At first I didn't really read these updates- whatever your profession, you know that there are emails you get that are regular, and you know won't change your life, and can in fact be deleted without being read. I thought the library updates were like this in the beginning. But then, one day when I suppose I had nothing better to do, and decided to read the update, I saw that the librarian had included a list of new adult books and dvds that had come into the library- including a movie I had been wanting to see for a long time. I was so happy- rushed to the library at my first free moment and got the movie to watch over the weekend. So needless to say, I read every library update now, looking for the lists of new stuff that has come in.

This week the update included a list of new stuff, which included the book, The Joy of Cooking. I have never used this cookbook/reference book, but was so excited to see another cookbook that I ran for it again as soon as I could the next morning. I spent every free moment that day flipping through pages upon pages of recipes, interesting facts about food, etc- The Joy of Cooking is MUCH MORE than just a cookbook. In the end I came across one recipe that caught my eye because I KNEW I had 3/4 of the ingredients, and could get the last one. :)

So, Coconut Macaroons it was:

Funny, looking at that picture, they actually look like they could be some kind of savory fried cheese or fish ball or something. Well, they aren't- it's just coconut and condensed milk basically- with a couple stiffly (hand-)beaten eggs whites and some vanilla for good measure. So easy! Although the macaroons did not get eaten during the book club meeting, when it was home time, everyone took 5 or 6 for home, several people exclaiming that they were lovely. :)

Have I mentioned that I love to cook, but, sometimes, I make things I don't like (I wasn't a huge fan of the macaroons, mostly because I don't like that much coconut without chocolate), or that I like too much and need out of the house? I love these occasions when I can get away with cooking/baking and then not getting stuck eating it all myself. It's a good thing. :)

Oh, and the other fun part about book club tonight was bringing along and showing off my Kindle. At the last meeting, before the holidays, I had mentioned that I was getting one for Christmas. We all talked about whether or not we would like one, if we would use it, etc. Even though I had ordered it, I still wasn't sure if I would like it, or want to use it. Well, if I haven't mentioned it, I do love mine. I have read 3 and a half books on it already, and I don't miss having a paper book at all. I do have several books in hard copy to read, and of course I will- but I will definitely continue to buy books for my Kindle- if only because they are cheaper than hard copy books as well! :) I don't know that I talked anyone into buying a Kindle tonight- well, I wasn't REALLY trying, after all, I don't care what form people read in- but I think they were all fairly impressed by my little machine, and all that it does.

Apple Cider Donuts

Um, yum. And um, ouch. And um, yum.

So, last week it was decided that I would take a small group of children from my class and bake/cook something with them. We looked through my new cookbooks and ended up settle on Apple Cider Donuts. We almost made cinnamon buns, but one girl was SURE she didn't like them. I don't blame her, I'm not a huge fan myself. But anyway- so this was out of my Quick Breads book that J&J&L got me for Christmas.

So today was the day to make the donuts (yesterday was shopping day- that was fun too, going to the grocery store with 6 4-year-olds). I let the kids help me chop apples (very carefully yes, and of course I had to finishing chopping everything they started because their idea of small pieces is like cutting the apple in half). I let them help me measure and pour and do some stirring, but pretty soon, the dough got to be quite a large amount, and they just don't have it in their skinny little arms to stir it then. So, I got another arm workout.

Eventually we got to this point:

(The girls were licking the bowl while I was flattening the dough and cutting out donut sized pieces.)

Then, I sent the girls to join their classmates while I did the dangerous hot oil part:

And finally, we have donuts:

I don't think I've ever tasted fried dough that wasn't delicious, but this stuff is EXTRA delicious. It's nice and heavy, and tastes like apples and cinnamon. I imagine it would be the PERFECT accompaniment to a hot cup of something in at least two of my previous home-countries where people are freezing these days. The whole thing made me think of autumn, which is funny because my sense of time and seasons and all that is SO out of whack what with the last 8 months of summer I've had. :)

I made 30 donuts, and we only need 20 (one half per student) to feed the kids, which means teachers get to have the leftovers. Between all the teachers and assistants that won't come out to more than 1 or 1.5 per teacher, but, dang, it will be good. :) So yeah, the "yum"- pretty self-explanatory- these things are good. The "ouch" though- I burnt my fingers on almost every donut as I was dipping them in the sugar/cinnamon mix- why is it that even as an adult, you just can't leave well enough alone, and wait until they are COOL to do it? Who knows. But over and over again, I burnt myself. :) So, yum, but ouch, but more importantly, yum. :)

Thanks again J&J&L!!!

Oh and by the way- bad news. We were supposed to go out of town this weekend because we have Monday off work, but Joel is not well. He tried to go back to work today and ended up chucking a couple of times. Turns out when you're laying on the couch all day, taking pills, sleeping, etc, you're ok. But when your body needs time to heal and you try to run around and do stuff, you end up feeling faint, chucking and coming home early anyway. So Joel has had to admit that he needs to take it easy, and we are not going to go this weekend after all. Hopefully someone can take our place on the trip, because it should be a good one!

Popovers with Goat's Cheese and Chili

I've never made popovers before, so I had no idea what these were going to be like- but the picture in the cookbook sure was nice!

Well, when I mixed the batter together and saw a runny, drippy mess, I double checked to see if I had gotten all the ingredients right. Yup- twice as much milk as flour. Ok... Wasn't so sure about it, but...

What started as this:

Turned into this:

They are kind of hollow, but the goat's cheese kind of sits in that little hole. And the chili adds a nice kick, but they are not really spicy. I put way more cheese in the second batch (just to use it all up- before picture above is the second batch) than I did in the first batch, so we'll see how much of a difference that makes. And, I lowered the rack in the oven, because it seems the upper heating element in our oven must be stronger than the lower one. These are just a touch too brown for my liking (the after picture above is the first batch). But, did I mention, they taste lovely! I guess they remind me a little bit of a savoury souffle- maybe that is what they are supposed to be like? I don't know, but thanks J&J&L for the cookbook- I'm sure these will be a hit at the party tonight! :)

Pavlova

Since Joel and I first got together I had always heard a story about how Joel, being the uber-polite boy that he is, once ate Pavlova even though he thought it was awful. It's something about the texture that he doesn't like. Fair enough, there aren't many desserts the man likes. Anyway, the point actually is, I had never HAD Pavlova. I don't think I had even heard of it- every time I heard the name, it just reminded me of Pavlov and his dogs. :)

Well, while we were in Australia I finally got a chance to experience Pavlova. YUM! Sometimes you just know you're going to like something- and from everything I had heard about it, I was sure I would love it, and I was right! I loved it immediately.

Pavlova is really sweet (right up my alley!). It is made of a meringue base, topped with whipped cream, and fresh fruit. I actually had so much while I was in Australia, that I almost had *enough*. Joel's parents have a friend who makes, "the BEST Pav", and I had quite a few pieces of hers. It WAS good.

Of course, before I even left Oz, I had decided I was going to learn to make Pavlova. Which by the way, if you're American reading this and are surprised you've never heard of this dessert, that might be because it was created either in Australia or New Zealand (they're still fighting about the rights to that one)- I learned this from the same page where I got the recipe I used.

Now, this was my first attempt. And, I think I deserve extra props because, unlike what the recipe suggests (using a mixer), I did it ALL by hand- because I don't HAVE a mixer! So, I whisked egg whites until my arm was going to fall off, but finally they were making "stiff peaks". I followed the recipe EXACTLY (which I sometimes don't do), because I knew this was a tricky recipe. It "flops" easily.

Well, here's my meringue!

As you can see it cracked as it cooled. Actually, I almost lost the whole thing, because after baking for as long as the recipe said, I noticed that there was liquid oozing out of the bottom of the meringue- which according to the recipe website, is a sign of under-cooking. So I left it in for longer- quite possibly, almost twice as long as it was supposed to be in. In the end, it came out ok.

I did all that last night, but it took so freaking long, that I just left it to cool in the oven, and then shut the door before going to bed, and left it til today. Today, I whipped up the cream (yes, BY HAND!) and cut up mangoes and grapes to top the Pav. It would have been better with strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, raspberries- but, the three berries are not available in Angola, and the kiwis were SUPER expensive.

So, the finished product:

That mango was RIPE. Delicious. :)
My meringue didn't come out quite round, so the design is a little off center as well.

Of course, I had to cut a piece and try it, before I passed it around to my neighbors.

My slice:

It was delicious. The outside of the meringue was a little too hard and crispy, but the inside was marshmallowy and lovely like it was supposed to be.

People seem to either love or hate Pavlova, so as I went around passing it out, I asked two questions. First, "Do you like Pavlova?" and then, "Would you like some?" I kept one extra piece for myself, and the rest was gone before I even made a complete loop of campus. :) I hope everyone likes it!

Now, I just have to figure out how to adjust my oven and cooking time, to get a slightly softer meringue next time.

Next this afternoon, I am making Popovers with Goat Cheese and Chili from the cookbook J&J&L got me for Christmas. I bet they'll be good too! :)

Mmmm...

Look at my wonderful bagels! :) I made these last night.

I tried to post these pictures last night and it wouldn't work, which was really darn annoying! Anyway, at least it worked now.

They are mostly white, but slightly whole wheat (because I ran out of white flour!), and half of them have an "everything" topping (poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and garlic flakes- I am missing course salt, unfortunately) and half are just plain.

I have to thank Joel's friend Kez for sending me the recipe. I love bagels, and I know I always thought they were impossible to make. A friend commented on the fact that I made them by saying, "Mara, I so totally cannot believe that you MADE bagels. Seriously. For me it's like, "Some people are lucky enough to have a bagel tree in their yard..." I can't imagine baking them." I definitely used to share her sentiments. It's one of those silly things, but I never thought bagels were something you could make at home. :) Ha ha. So, I am thankful to him for exposing me to what it takes to make a bagel- not that hard actually! :) Now, I just need to figure out how to get that really shiny, rounded finish on them- maybe that has to do with not having been able to make pure white flour ones, but I don't think so. There is something I can change that will produce a prettier end product- you can count on me to try to figure it out. :)

Now to end on a cute note...

I received an email from a colleague last night. Attached was this picture- taken at the beach last weekend.

Her text said, "Here is the picture of you and (my child). You look so ready to have children."

How right she is!




Now, Joel and I and three other couples from our school are off on a 9 day road trip around Angola starting Friday, so don't expect any new posts for another week. Yeah, that's right- I'm not going to be on the computer for more than a week! Yikes! :) I'll be back with loads of pictures I'm sure when we return. :)

All in a weekend's baking...

I finally got around to finding *most* of the ingredients to one of maybe the two desserts that Joel actually likes. I have to thank my future SIL Mook for suggesting that I make it. The dessert in question is Caramel Slice, and this was the recipe I used, except that I didn't have brown sugar or golden syrup, so I used white sugar and honey. You can see the three distinct layers of crust, caramel and chocolate. Yummy! The good news is that Joel really liked it too. The one criticism was that the caramel layer wasn't thick enough. I actually agreed, but, that is just the way it came out by following the recipe exactly. If I made it again, I would use more condensed milk.

Just last weekend a neighbor came by and offered us pieces of Lemon Slice (it was very nice!). I'm just left wondering how it came to be that Australians call these things slices, and Americans would call them bars (caramel bars, lemon bars, etc). Neither is a superior descriptor I suppose- just different. One of those things...

Anyway, I baked that Caramel Slice on Saturday night... and today, on Sunday, I had another go at the bread. My problem until now with the bread had been that it wasn't rising enough. I was following all directions exactly, the problem was because I had never watched anyone make bread (as an adult), I didn't have a feel for it. When the recipe said, "The bread should be sticky, but not too sticky" I didn't know what that meant! So, today, I asked a friend and colleague who is a veteran bread baker to come around and just walk me through it. I used the same recipe I had used before, that has a great taste, but as I said, just didn't rise. It turns out the problem might have been that I wasn't kneading the dough quite long enough- and maybe wasn't using quite the right amount of flour. Anyway... Joel wanted big bread... so let me present!

Isn't it pretty?!?

Just to show you how big this loaf is (Joel called it gigantor) I put a normal sized coffee mug next to it... see how it towers over?! I love it! :)

I haven't tried it yet, but, I expect it will be deeeeelish. :)

Crack, Cookie, Cookie, Crack... same, same....

I have been baking lately and between the bread and carrot cake and banana bread, I've gotten quite a few compliments. What can I say, I follow a recipe well- and know when to stray from it just a bit, to make food even better! :)

Tonight we have the second meeting of the "book club", which meant an opportunity to cook or bake again. I decided to bake cookies. I asked AW for a good quick recipe (because I made the cookies today after school). She recommended the Snickerdoodles recipe she makes every year for the holidays.

Well, I got as far as the dough, and was hooked. I am not so pleased to say that I ate enough dough to cut down on the number of cookies made considerably. But, the crack thing? This dough is like crack. You just need more, and more, and more. And then you need to drink a biiiiiiig glass of water, and then you need more, and more, and more.


Anyway, they taste pretty good baked as well. :) I always bake way too late in the day to get good light (and we have totally crap lighting in the house)- but I wanted to try to play around with a bit of totally, totally amateur food styling. So, enjoy my pics. :)

Yum!

Check this out! On the left we have the Mr. Basil when I planted him. On the right we have Mr. Basil before dinner tonight. See how much he's grown?!? Amazing huh? Post dinner (lasagna for Joel, cannelloni for me- yeah, it tasted good, but my tummy...ooh...) he's missing a few leaves, but not height! Whoohoo! I didn't kill him!

Now, here we have my lettuce babies. See how many are sprouting!?! I think, the two that are growing must be the baby spinach (the round leaves) and the kale (the long leaves)- but the rocket, which I am told should have jagged edges, doesn't seem to be there. Either way, exciting! :)

Now, scarily enough, Mrs. Mint almost didn't make it. Something, not me, was eating her. Her leaves were all but gone, and she just didn't look well. So, a gardening neighbor suggested that I place a tin can around her and give her a chance to grow out of reach. I don't know how long I can leave her like that- but as you can see- there are a bunch of new leaves at the top, so it's working for now! :)

Now, does anyone think it's sad that this is the best I've got to blog about? Actually, I am working on a post, but it's taking a bit of time.... I'll get to it!

Drool.....

Joel and I decided when we got here that making our own bread might be something we could take on, considering that we knew how expensive bread could be before we even got here. After our first experiences with the high prices of packaged bread, and the long waits for fresh bread, we bought some flour and started searching for a recipe.

Today, I had my first go at making bread. I used this recipe, which I found by searching around vegcooking.com. I wanted something simple, but that also sounded delicious. Who doesn't love some crusty warm French bread- as they say on the site? Well, I tell you what. I love it!

My results

I can't say it took too long to make; it a little work earlier, wait time, a little work later, and more wait time, and it was done. I just cut into it and ate the piece that is missing from the picture above smeared with a little butter. It was still warm. It was delicious. It was crunchy on the outside, and thick and heavy (in a good way) on the inside. Wonderful. Apparently, I am good at this. :)

I definitely plan on continuing this yummy new money saver. There really is nothing like knowing what is in it, whose hands touched it, and well, making it yourself. I have already decided that I want to make ciabatta (because I love it) and probably something with lots of seeds or nuts or something in it. I may have gotten this talent from my spectacular mother, who baked Latvian rye bread my entire childhood. Although I don't plan on trying to make Latvian rye, maybe one day, my kids will tell the stories of the bread their mom used to make.

Oh, what's that you say? You want the story? Well...
My mom was a stay at home mom before we all hit school age. I'm pretty sure from what I remember and what I've been told, that she was sort of a supermom. (I mean, she still is now, don't get me wrong, but we're talking about the days when mothering was her job.) She had a huge vegetable garden, she made our baby food, she used those same vegetables and fruits in our food when we got bigger, and she made plenty of foods homemade- including Latvian rye. Now the thing is, she didn't just bake bread (and piragi- you know, onions and bacon and herbs baked inside an eggy dough?) for us, she made it for lots of Latvians who resided in Indianapolis- for a price of course. Now, I might very well be exaggerating things, or just not remembering them right, but here is what I do remember-

Mom had a huge bread trough that she mixed dough in. She used her hands (and her heart, no doubt) to mix up all the ingredients. I remember what it looked like when the dough would rise. I certainly remember the smell of the yeast (the smell of which brought me right back today). I remember that we had loads of bread pans that she would fill with ready dough. Some were large and some were small. (I liked the small ones myself; they were cute.) When the bread came out of the oven, everything smelled fabulous, and I'm sure us kids got burned once or twice for sticking our fingers or noses too close to the whole works. By the time the bread got tipped out of the pans, we were clamoring to see who would get to eat the first piece of bread spread thick with (melted) butter. It was always the end piece that we wanted- must be that, out of the oven, the crust was still soft and warm, and had more flavor- it was good. I know for sure that we must have always wanted to eat more than we were allowed, because Mom would always have to tell us that we had enough, because a certain number of loaves were for so and so and so and so.

The best part of the memories I hold is after the bread had been put out to cool with tea towels draped over the loaves, and the kitchen had been cleaned up, I can just picture my mom giving one last wipe down to the counters before tossing the last towel (er, more likely hanging it up somewhere), switching off the lights, and heading out of the kitchen; all of us heading for a much deserved afternoon rest. (Add this to a growing checklist of reasons to be a stay at home mom- create fabulous, warm memories for my children to reflect upon as they journey through adulthood.) Good times, good memories, and hopefully (barring that today was a fluke), good skills passed down. :)

I have to tell you that Joel was kind of keen on making the bread baking "his thing". I pondered letting him do so. But then, while I was pondering the other night, he made himself some dinner (not something that happens often). He made Spaghetti Bolognese (otherwise known as spaghetti with meat sauce). The funny thing was that when he made it, he didn't reach for the jar of spaghetti sauce that was in the cupboard, but the jar of tomato sauce (as in, pureed tomatoes) instead. He added a whole load of spices to it with no particular plan, and then, to my horror, also added potatoes AND (wait for it) avocado. *shudder* I love this man, but, I have decided, that unless it's one of his specialties (pancakes or cheese and Vegemite toasties), I'm going to go ahead and leave the communal cooking/baking to myself. Goodness knows what kind of bread we might end up with otherwise. Eeek!



Oh, and if you're wondering, yes, he did eat his own creation, twice (he ate the leftovers the next day). Unfortunately, all I can say this proves is that his opinion of food holds no water- so if you want to know if *I'm* a good cook, ask someone else. :) (I do love him though, yeah? That is clear!)

That's lunch! YUM!

Black beans and rice with fresh salsa (tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro and salt) and slices of luscious avocado! Yum, yum, yum, yum. :)

Score 1 for Joel and Mara, 0 for expensive grocery stores!

So this is the haul that we picked up this morning at the fruit and veg markets. NICE. I'm so excited! It's such beautiful looking food, and 99% likely organic (just because people can't afford to buy chemical fertilizers). The best news though- that whole lot of food cost us 2500 Kwanza- which comes out to about USD$24. What did we get? 5kg of potatoes, 13 onions, more tomatoes than I care to count, a few lettuce plants (roots and all!), a BIG bunch of cilantro/coriander, 5 giant soft avocados, 5 apples and an eggplant! I think I'll make salsa to eat over rice and beans. And I wanted to make some kind of sliced, roasted potatoes- like au gratin but not (I need a recipe that doesn't need cheese! Anyone?).

Now, what makes it interesting to go to the market here is that it's not an all in one place market like you have in Riga, or probably most other cities. It's just a dirt road that has a bunch of ladies set up all along. And you just walk up and down looking for the nicest produce, and asking the price (one place was selling 5 onions for 500 Kwanza, another place was selling 1 bucket (25 onions) for 1,000 Kwanza, and we ended up buying a bucket for 800), and then making your purchases.

Another interesting thing is that unfortunately, you cannot choose how much you want to buy. That is, you can choose a large amount, but you cannot choose a small amount. In this next picture you see how the apples I bought were stacked.

The avocados were stacked similarly- in piles of 5. The minimum you could buy was 5. Of course you could get 10 if you wanted, but not 4, 3, 2, or 1. So, when it came to the onions, tomatoes and potatoes, we bought buckets and split it with another teacher, because yeah, you have to buy a whole bucket.

Oh, the other really good news, is that the tomatoes we bought today look good- nice and juicy and not horrible like the ones you get at the store.

And yeah, the next good thing is that you do feel good going straight to the person on the street to buy stuff, most of 'em were really smiley and nice and appreciate of our business- not exactly the treatment you get in most grocery stores (anywhere in the world). And you just feel good contributing directly to the locals like that.

Here's another shot from another angle of our loot. :)

Food, food, food...

Food was one of my great concerns when we were considering whether or not to take this job. Would there be enough vegetarian choices? Would I be able to get my hands on em?

Well, as I have mentioned before- the food is expensive. That hasn't changed in the two weeks we've been here. We've pretty much come to terms with the fact that a "normal" big weekly shop will put us out about $200 (14,000 Kwanza)- and that we'll end up supplementing that by a few hundred or thousand throughout the week (mostly to get more vegetables).

I bought a watermelon on Tuesday and paid $17 for it. But oh is it good. :)

Tonight I went out for a coffee with a couple gals from school. We went to the shopping center to have the coffee, and therefore of course ended up going in the shop as well. I picked up just a couple of things. The other gals actually needed a few things, one of which was bread.

Bread is a funny thing here. It's good- I like the bread. You pretty much can only get fresh bread (no bagged, pre-sliced kind of stuff). And you have to get it from the bakery. You have to ask for it over the counter, and they bag it for you. Without question there is only one person working this counter, which means, there is always a line. And at Shoprite, the bread line is always a mile long. The other night when we went for our big shop, as soon as we got in the store, Joel said, "Yeah, I'm getting in the bread line." I walked around several other areas of the store (like, up and down every aisle, slowly browsing practically every item...) before going to just wait for him nearby. But, at Shoprite, you can buy tasty bread from the bread counter for about 100 Kwanza, as long as you survive the line. At Casa des Frescos, you can buy the imported bagged, pre-sliced bread for 1,100 Kwanza. And it is not that good.

As for veggies- I'm enjoying having lots of squash/gourds to choose from again. I missed them in the last few years. We're eating a lot of zucchini because it seems to be available all the time- except you can only get baby zucchini, not regular size. And we're eating a lot of tomatoes (even though, for the most part the tomatoes here suck- Latvians would be horrified), some cucumbers, lettuce (lots of lettuce- different kinds and everything!), and the avocados...OH the avocados! I had forgotten just how good a properly ripe avocado is! YUM!!!!!

Tonight I bought a bag of greens. They were labeled as spinach, but I knew from looking at it that it wasn't spinach. One of the gals I was shopping with knew what it was, and told me a name I didn't know. She said it was ok, and similar to kale. I prepared it the best way I could see fit (basically sauteed up with some onions) and it was edible. I've seen several different kinds of leafy greens on the shelves here, but I don't know what they are, or how to prepare them. I'm going to be trying em out though, because leafy greens are something I absolutely fell in love with in Shanghai, and missed the crap out of in Latvia. Tonight I also bought wheat gluten, frozen whole soy beans and veggie hot dogs (none of which were available in LV) which is pretty exciting. Now, I just have to figure out how to get my hands on some nutritional yeast (a HUGE bag of which I left behind in LV, sniff, sniff).

The really good news is that the cafeteria food continues to satisfy (extra tasty because it's free!), and no longer causes any tummy trouble for me (I don't think Joel has actually faced any yet...).

Ooh! I almost forgot. The Angolans (or our chef? I don't know...) have a hot sauce and it is GOOD. It has a very full, robust and distinct flavor. There is usually a bowl of it out at the end of the serving line in the caf. Being that I like spicy food I decided to try it one day, and was smart to go slow. This stuff is HOT. One of the other new teachers wasn't so lucky to know what he was getting into the first time he tried it. He thought it was something else, and smothered his food in it, and took a huge bite. He was crying in pain before he knew what was going on. It's HOT. I'm already using more and more than I did the first day, but that said, a rounded teaspoon is enough for a plate full of food. Although I've made loads of progress in our time together in getting Joel used to some spicier food, he's staying away from this stuff with a ten foot pole. :)

Well, I guess that is the food report for now. Tomorrow night we have a dinner date with friends Shanan and Danielle, which will be followed by some serious Carcassonne playing. We're all looking forward to it. On Saturday, looks like it'll be back to the surf for Joel, and this time I'll be going along (to the beach that is, don't expect any surf reports from me!). Maybe I'll have some pictures to post afterwards!

Oh, and by the way- the first week of school has gone well. My back and legs are remembering what it's like to work with really short people all day (yeah, short, even for me), and I'm really enjoying spending time with the kids, and getting the lay of this program. So far so good. And if it's any sign of anything, yeah, I've been in bed at 9:30 every night this week (um, except tonight obviously...must be that espresso I had...), asleep by 9:36, and sleeping through til the alarm- mostly not even noticing Joel come to bed.

Oh, and by the way, by the way- I've been watching some Olympic diving while writing this post, and I just don't believe that those ladies inhabit the same human kind of body that I do. Yeah, they are amazing.

:)