Y Mount is Conquered

So yeah, I almost didn't make it this morning. I don't know if it was a lack of food, water, a combination, or simply the fact that my cardio exercise has been severely lacking of late... either way, it was ridiculous and I pretty much felt sick the entire way up. Ian kept offering to go back, but, being the stubborn person that I am, I refused and kept moving forward... albeit at a VERY slow pace. (I am reminded of the time that I walked the entire distance of the pioneer trek when I was fifteen... despite being incredibly ill and dehydrated. I would have been one of the first pioneers to the valley... or else one of the ones who died because I didn't know when to quit...) ANYWAY... the point is, we made it!

This was Ian's first time up the mountain, so we decided to take most excellent conquering pictures.

It is amazingly green right now, and I love it! This is looking up the mountain from the trailhead.

Up at the top! I made it. Just barely.

My victory picture... which was seriously more of a relief picture.

Ian's victory picture, which looks much more victorious than mine.

Our view of the valley, sitting on the Y.

The valley's view of us. Haha.

It was an early morning this morning, but I was glad we made it. One more thing to check off the list of things to do before leaving Provo...

PS We saw the cutest little bunny on the way down... AWWW....

Where in the World is Benin?!

So we originally pulled out Iran from the bag of countries this week, but we cheated and put it back. We figured since we just had Middle Eastern food, we'd give ourselves at least a week's respite. And out came Benin! Originally we thought it was a country in the Caribbean. Not so much. It's a tiny county in West Africa on the southern coast. Yeah. Who knew? Probably some of you, but not us.

The food was excellent. We made two dishes. Beninese Beef Stew (which was a curry... and so delicious!) and Couscous Azindessi.

This is the couscous azinedessi (couscous with peanut sauce!)

Here's the couscous with the Beninese Beef Stew over rice. Both delectable! Also really simple to make. (Though it does take a couple hours of simmering to make the beef tender.)

Here are the recipes! Enjoy!

Beninese Beef Stew
serves 4

1-1 1/2 lbs. beef stew meat
2 medium onions, chopped
3 T. Spicy Curry
2 t. salt
ground Cayenne Pepper (to taste)
ground Chipotle Pepper (to taste)
1 can coconut milk
1 c. water
1 sweet potato, cut into chunks, and deep fried
4 T. butter
1 T. flour
4 T. smooth peanut butter
5 garlic cloves, minced
several whole okra with tops removed (we couldn't find any, so we didn't use them)

Melt butter. Brown beef. Remove beef and use the remaining oil to fry onions and garlic until golden brown.

Add flour, curry, salt, peppers, and peanut butter. Heat for a minute, then slowly add coconut milk, then add the water. Heat for a minute. Simmer until thickened. Add beef and simmer until meat is tender (can take up to two hours)


About 20 minutes before serving add sweet potatoes and okra.

Serve over rice.

Couscous Azindessi
serves 4

1 package couscous
2 cans chicken stock
1 garlic clove, minced
1 slice gingerroot, minced
1/4 t. freshly ground pepper
1 large tomato, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 T. oil (peanut, preferably)
1 T. tomato paste
4 T. peanut butter
1/2 c. peanuts, crushed
green onions, sliced for garnish

Cook couscous according to package directions, substituting chicken broth for water. (We had 2 c. broth and a package of couscous, about 1 1/2 c. dry).

Brown garlic, ginger, and onion in oil in a separate pan.  Transfer to blender with 1 c. chicken stock and tomato. Puree. Return to pan. Add peanut butter and paste. Heat through.

Mix peanuts with couscous. Top with peanut sauce and garnish with green onion.

Summer Comes

So we had quite an eventful weekend! It was a ton of fun.

On Friday night we joined Seth and his friends for a night out launching potatoes. It was awesome. Ian had the record for the potato that shot the farthest. Fantastic!

That's a really big potato...

Aww... how cute.

Our "serious" picture. Haha. We're awesome.

We also watched The Princess and the Frog. Ian and I first saw that on Valentine's Day. And we still love it. It is so hilarious. If you haven't seen it yet, I suggest you do. It was Seth's first time seeing it, and he really liked it as well. So... you know, it has a pretty good track record.

On Saturday we spent some time with our friend Lori... we went over to Macey's and got ice cream cones. Ian got the King Kong Cone... which seriously is like a medium-size soft drink cup full of ice cream plus a half and a cone. Sick! We'll take a picture next time.

That evening we went up to the Bee's game with Seth and his date Mary. We met up with Graham, Heather, and Jack. It was so much fun, and there were fireworks at the end, which made it five million times better.

Haha. I think this picture is hilarious.

Post-game getting ready to watch the fireworks out on the field!

And this... this is just funny. So we had a ward FHE on Monday and we went over to the Burgess' home. They had a pinata for the activity... and Ian found the broomstick that they used to hit it with... and this is what happened:

He's my favorite. :)

Bahrain

Okay. So either I'm not looking in the right place... or Arabian/Middle Eastern food is pretty similar. They all use pretty much the same spices, and a lot of rice and some tomatoes. But at any rate, it tasted pretty good, and we especially liked the sweet rice.

So... Bahrain is a little island country off the coast of Saudi Arabia. We looked it up. Haha.

We essentially had two things, and they pretty much looked the same. Though they were very different in taste. Machboos and Muhammar.

This is the Chicken Machboos. It's a savory dish with a lot of spices in it.

This is the sweet rice Muhammar. Yum!

Essentially we ate rice with a bit of chicken and veggies for this meal, but it was incredibly filling and we had a ton of leftovers. (They're also pretty much one-pot-wonders, which is a plus.)

Enjoy!


Chicken Machboos
serves 4

2 c. water
1 1/2 c. basmati rice
2 tomatoes, chopped
4 chicken breasts
2 onions, finely chopped
coriander (fresh chopped, or powdered)
hot pepper
cinnamon
paprika
tumeric
cloves
cayenne
cardamom powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 slice gingerroot, minced
2 T. butter
1/8 c. lemon juice
3 T. oil
3 t. salt

Heat the water. While heating, mix together paprika, tumeric, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, cayenne. salt, and pepper. Rub onto chicken.

Heat oil and fry onions, garlic, and ginger until golden brown. Add your favorite hot pepper. Add chicken and brown. Sprinkle more cinnamon and the remaining mixed spices. Cook on medium for about 3 minutes, turning often.

Add tomatoes, turn ingredients, and cook for 3 more minutes. Sprinkle additional salt on top of everything and pour water on top while it is still hot.

Cover the pan and let it cook for about 1 hour on medium-low heat until the chicken is cooked. Add coriander about 5 minutes before you remove chicken from the stock pan. While the chicken is cooking, wash the rice in cold water and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Remove chicken from pot, place in pan, brush with oil, and sprinkle more cinnamon on top. Place in oven at 325 degrees and allow chicken to become golden brown.

Add rice to the stock pot. Stir and cook at low heat until the rice absorbs the stock and is almost done. Sprinkle the lemon juice on top, and place butter pieces. Cover and cook on low heat for 30 more minutes.


Heap rice in serving dish and top with chicken.


Sweet Rice Muhammar
serves 4

2 c. basmati rice
1/4 t. saffron
1/4 t. cloves
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
 2 T. water

Soak together saffron, cloves, and cinnamon in water.

Boil 6 c. of water and add rice. Boil to half cooked (about 8 minutes) and drain.

Stir sugar throughout. Add butter and stir. Pour spices on top and stir.

Cook on very low heat for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to serving platter. Top with more melted butter.

Enjoy!

Malagasy Dining Extraordinaire...

So for international food night on the 19th we pulled out Madagascar and both looked at each other like... wha? But it turned out amazingly well! (On a side note, we didn't do an international food night this last week because we had so many leftovers... but we will do a new one on Wednesday!)

So the menu was really awesome, and was as follows:

Lasopy (beef veggie puree soup), Varenga (roasted shredded beef), Vary Amin Anana (rice and greens), Lasary Voatabia (tomato and scallion salad), with Sakay (red pepper sauce), and Salady Voankazo for dessert (vanilla fruit).

Traditionally Malagasy meals are served on a mat on the floor. We didn't have a mat, but Ian insisted we eat on the floor ...

This was the best photo of us sitting on the floor we could get. We tried doing it actually sitting up... yeah, that didn't work.

So the first course was Lasopy:

Does it look gross? Kind of. But it was a really good, thick vegetable soup with a whole lot of vitamins and nutrition, and it was super easy to make!

Then the main course:

 

It was really quite good! Our favorite was the rice. (And we forgot to take a picture of the dessert...)

At any rate, try it out. It's all pretty simple to make and makes a great meal together, or you could piece and pair with some other favorites.

Lasopy

Vegetable Puree Soup

serves 4

Beef stock (for base)

1 qt. water

salt

pepper

3 carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces

1 turnip, peeled and cut into chunks

1 bunch scallions, cut into large pieces

2 c. fresh green beans

2 tomatoes, quartered

In a large pot, simmer for about an hour until veggies are tender.

Puree in blender or food processors.

Serve thick soup hot.

Varenga

Roasted Beef

serves 4
 

2 lbs. boneless chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 qt. water

2 T. salt

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 c. onion, slices

In a large pot, cover and bring to a boil.

Simmer gently for about 2 hours or until meat can be shredded easily with a fork.

Add water if necessary to keep meat at simmering point.

Shred the meat and transfer to a 9x12 in baking pan. Pour sauce on top.

Roast at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes until meat is nicely browned across the top.

Vary Amin Anana

Rice and Greens

serves 6

1/2 lb. boneless chuck, cut into small cubes

2 T. oil

1 tomato, cut into pieces

1 bunch scallions, cut into 1 in. pieces

3/4 lb. spinach, cut into small pieces

1 bunch watercress, cut into small pieces

1 c. rice

salt

pepper

Brown meat in oil.

Add all except rice

Saute, stirring occasionally until veggies soften and volume is lowered.

Add 2 c. water (or enough to cover veggies)

Add rice.

Cover tightly and simmer until rice is thoroughly cooked and water is gone.

(Serve with Sakay sauce)

Sakay

Hot Red Pepper Sauce

Combine

1/2 c. crushed red pepper

1 T. ground ginger

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Add 4 T. oil to make a mush.

Lasary Voatabia

Tomato and Scallion Salad

serves 4

1 bunch scallions, finely diced

2 c. tomatoes, finely diced

2 T. water

1 t. salt

Tabasco sauce to taste

Combine all, stir lightly, and chill.

Salady Voankazo

Vanilla Fruit

1 fresh pineapple cut into 1 in. dice

1 small cantaloupe, cut into 1 in. dice

1 mango, diced

1 c. strawberries, sliced

(you could add whatever fruit you wanted)

Mix fruit so it is well blended.

In saucepan combine:

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. water

1/4 t. salt

2 T. fresh lemon juice

Bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute.

Add 2 T. vanilla extract.

Pour over fruit, chill.

Can serve with additional vanilla extract on top.

Ore-Ida

So last weekend we went up to Hermiston, Oregon to visit my grandparents. It was a lot of fun (a lot of driving... but a lot of fun). We didn't take a whole lot of pictures, because the majority of the vacation was spent watching my cousins' baseball games, playing video games, eating, and just relaxing... not particularly picture-worthy occasions (although maybe a Mikami food-fest is.... hmmm....)

In the car for the 8 hours of bliss. Huzzah.

At a random rest stop. So funny note: we were walking around and all of the sudden this motorcycle shoot out of the parking lot blaring "Highway to the Dangerzone." And we laughed. A lot.

Superman? Yes. Absolutely! (We had to take advantage of the phone booth... there are so few these days...)

So we got to Oregon, hit up a few Little League baseball games. And Ian sprained his ankle. It was great. Really. We had a Japanese food fest that night (which was amazing).

Saturday we went shopping (and got Ian a one-size-fits-all-except-Ian ankle brace). We also went and saw Iron Man 2 which I thoroughly enjoyed! The plot was a bit all-inclusive, but I liked it. We also went to Jack-in-the-Box (which I don't think I've eaten at for like a million years... well, maybe not quite that long). That night we had pizza and watched some of the Jazz game, but the majority of the remainder of Saturday was spent playing Super Mario Bros., some Wii games, and a few PS3 games, but ultimately what took the cake was playing Halo on X-Box until like 2 am... yeah, we're sometimes really big nerds and something like video game losers... but it was awesome. We got to a point in Halo where we couldn't figure out how to get out and our brains weren't really functioning. At that point, we threw in the towel and quit for the night.

Sunday we went to church and celebrated Mother's Day. My Dad cooked us steak for dinner and we had fresh rolls and all kinds of goodness.

We left early Monday morning and made the long drive home. And the reason this post is called Ore-Ida... well, Ian saw the Ore-Ida plant as we were around the border of the two states... and he says, "AHHH! I get it! Oregon-Idaho." HAHA, I love him. He makes me laugh all the time. And thus we have Ian's first venture north of Ogden!

Czech

So Ian picked for this week... and it was Czech. Yeah, never really had Czech food before. So... the menu ended up as follows:

Moravský Guláš (Morovian Goulash), Bramborák (potato pancakes), and Sopsky salad.

And the photo:

Yeah. It was really delicious. Surprisingly to me, the potato pancakes were my least favorite part of the meal! And I love potatoes. I really liked the goulash, but the winner was the salad... and it was by far the easiest dish (and really, one of the easiest salads ever!)

This is us before we ate. We're happy to be eating at last.

This is us post-eating. Eating makes us sleepy... We call it Czech Zen...

Here are the recipes! The Goulash is a one-pot wonder, the salad is amazing and can really be used with any meal!

Moravian Goulash ~ Moravský Guláš

(4 servings)

2 large onions chopped
1 lb. pork, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
2 T. oil
pinch salt
dash freshly ground pepper
1 c HOT water to cover
1 t vinegar
1 can tomato paste

1 T flour dissolved in 1/4 c [60 ml] COLD water
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped

2 T. fresh Italian parsley

Cayenne Pepper

Thyme

Heat oil in stew pot. Chop onions and add; stir constantly until golden. Do not let onions scorch. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper; toss well and place into pot. Mix thoroughly and cook uncovered until meat is no longer red.

Cover pot and simmer 15 minutes, add enough HOT water to cover meat and simmer another 30-45 minutes until meat is very tender (depends upon toughness of meat). Add vinegar and tomato paste. Add spices (can add others to taste) blend well, stir in flour/water mixture and bring to boil 3-5 minutes while stirring to thicken. Lastly add chopped tomatoes, parsley, and green pepper stirring in well, but don't cook any longer.

Potato Pancakes ~ Bramborák

(serves 4)

1 lb. potatoes (I used frozen hashbrowns)
1 eggs
pinch salt
grinding of pepper
1 T marjoram
4 cloves garlic, pressed
3 T parsley, freshly chopped
1 large onion, diced very fine
1 c flour
2-3 T oil (for frying)

Put potatoes in cold water to thaw. When ready, squeeze excess moisture out of potatoes and put in bowl. Add egg. Mix well. Add spices. Mix. Bleand in flour. The dough should be sticky.

Heat 1-2 T. of oil in a non-stick pan. Put a ladle full of batter in the center of the pan. Spread to form a pancake about 7 inches across. (Pat the dough down and out). Fry for about 5 minutes until browned, flip and repeat.

If the pancake breaks apart, add more flour before making the rest of the pancakes.

Sopsky (pronounced "shopsky")

Serves 4-6

2 tomatoes

1 English cucumber (I really like these better than normal cucumbers)

1 green pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 red pepper

1 sweet onion (yellow or white)

Feta cheese

Salt and Pepper

Chop all veggies and combine. Add salt and pepper. Mix. Shred or crumble feta on top. Serve chilled if possible. (Easy, right? But DELICIOUS!)

Mongolian

So the Mongols are mainly nomadic... and this food looked a bit weird, but it tasted really good and was really filling. Best part? One dish wonder.

This is Mongolian Zuivan. It's a noodle stew (not juicy though).

The noodles portion of the recipe didn't work out great, so I would use a different one next time or if you're in a crunch you could probably substitute something like egg noodles.


Zuivan
(serves 5-6)

2 lb. Stew Meat (beef, lamb, etc. we used beef)
Green cabbage, sliced
Radishes, sliced
Carrots, sliced
Onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
Green onions, cut into rings
Salt
Pepper
Oil

Prepare homemade noodles (find a good recipe online)
Cut veggies into strips and the stew meat into chunks (if not already cut)
Saute half of the onion rings in oil
Add carrots, radishes (can also add other veggies as desired)
Add meat and saute
Add water as necessary
Season with garlic, salt, and pepper
Add cabbage, cover and cook so it reduces
Add water to 2/3 the height of veggies
Add onion rings
Add uncooked homemade noodles (you'll probably want to cook regular pasta)
Close the lid and cook for about 15 minutes (water should be boiling)
Reduce heat, air the noodles to allow them to become less sticky
Cook until everything is heated through and the noodles are done

A good everyday meal, looks a little iffy, but we all agreed it tasted really good and was incredibly filling.

Here's the noodle dough... and why it didn't work...

What Happens in Vegas...

...Is pretty much going in this post.

So last weekend (April 23-26) we went down to Las Vegas to hang with the Oxborrow fam. It was a blast! Ian had to work until about 1 on Friday, so when he finished, we pretty much just booked it out of here, picked up Seth, and drove down to Vegas.

When we got into town Ian's parents took us to Claim Jumper... talk about huge meals! It was awesome! We tried to take a bunch of pictures... here are some...

I think I have more pictures of Ian's tongue than anything else *wink*

"The back of your head is ridiculous!"

 My favorite picture of the trip I think... there might be one or two more...

The next day we went to Valley of Fire, the state park northeast of Vegas.

Being gangtsa' on the way there.

Boys will be boys... HAHAHA

Our first stop in the park.

The dead snake that Livvi found while we were exploring the canyon.

Wha' happened? We took a couple of pictures here. This was just the funny one. Oh, see the shoes? They're Ian's brother's shoes. He's on his mission... Thanks Caleb!

This doesn't look that high up... but it was.

Livvi posing. She's awesome!

Ian climbing the rocks... again.

A cool shot of the desert rocks and the moon.

Cactus flowers and the sun beams!

One of the many family pics. I must admit that I liked taking the one where Graham had to run to get in the picture :) Isn't the background awesome! Ian's Mom picked it on the way in... pretty sweet.

Huzzah! Day of conquering at Valley of Fire!

Sunday we went to church and spent the day relaxing and I learned how to play Mexican Train dominoes. Seth kept beating me, and Ian's dad had the worst luck ever. Really. It was funny, I'm not going to lie.

We headed back on Monday and stopped in St. George to see Jill and her kids. (I grew up with Jill in Vegas). That was a lot of fun. They have a really cute house! And the boys are simply adorable!

It was definitely too short, but it was a fantastic weekend.

You can probably see the rest of the pictures on Facebook when I get around to actually posting them....

Jamaican Me Crazy!

So I'm a bit behind, so here are a couple of posts to catch up!

Jamaican night was fantabulous! (April 21). The night before we made this fantastic jerk chicken marinade... I had two habanero peppers and a couple jalepenos... Ian threw in another habanero... it was intense.

So, we had Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Cabbage Salad, Rice and Peas (beans), and Fried Plantains.

It was fantastic! Here a photo of us relaxing... Jamaican style haha.

Here are the recipes. The jerk chicken and plantains were the best!

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

1 big bunch of green onions
2 T soy sauce
2 T oil
1 T salt
Juice of 1 lime
1 T fresh thyme
1 T allspice
3 Habanero peppers (to taste for you)
2 Jalepeno peppers
1 thumb sized knuckle of ginger (don't bother peeling)
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 a small onion
2-3 T of brown sugar

Cooking Instructions:
Mix all ingredients in a mixer until pureed. Don't add extra water, it will be plenty juicy.


Dump over chicken and marinate over night.

We baked our chicken, but grilling or smoking it would do just as well. You can also baste it while cooking with sauce you set aside before marinating.


Jamaican Rice and Peas
(this makes a ton)

3 cups of rice
1 cup or can of fresh red peas (beans)
5 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
1 uncut habanero or jalepeno pepper
3 Scallions
1 tin (or one cup) of coconut milk
1 t of salt
1 t of black pepper
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
7 c. water

Add garlic to boiling water (7 cups).
Add milk, rice, salt, pepper, and thyme.
Add beans.
Crust scallions and add. Also add pepper.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and place lid on pan.
Cook about 40 minutes or until rice is done.

Cabbage Salad
(also makes a lot)

1 Green cabbage
4 medium Carrot
6 Stalks Celery
1 Cucumber
½ Cup Sugar
½ Cup Vinegar
½ Cup Oil
1 Cup boiling water

Slice cabbage into thin strips
Slice carrot into thin slices
Slice celery in to thin strips crossway
Slice cucumber into thin strips
Place all ingredients in to a container
Pour the boiling water in the container
Cover the container for 20 minutes     
Drain the liquid
Serve at room temperature



Fried Plantains 
(these taste pretty much like fries)

Plantains
Oil for frying

Cut plantains into slices (you will have to cut the peel, they don't peel like bananas)
Place about 1/2 in of oil in pan and heat
Fry plantains well
Remove to paper towel covered cookie pan

We sprinkled half with brown sugar and half with salt. They were both really good.

Allow to cool.

This was a great meal! Try it!