On Tuesday, we tried out the Yoga class! It was awesome and the teacher was great! We would be in this relaxing stretch and then all of a sudden she would raise her voice and it would get really intense to tell us to go into the next pose- pretty funny! Then we went to IGA, our grocery store, and we heard Backstreet Boys AND N'sync while we were shopping! You know it's gonna be a good day when you hear boy bands in the grocery store!! haha :D Once I got back to campus, I did my weekly errand to the egg man! We decided to have a beach day so we all met up at Grand Anse Beach. Since we had all gotten just a little bit burnt the day before at the pool [ ;) oops ] we really appreciated the shade trees that this beach has! We enjoyed the water which was somewhat green today (we decided this was because of the clouds) but mostly just relaxed in the shade with some of the other SOs.
When I got home, my sister Jess had given me some great encouragement from Zephaniah 3:17 and James 4:13-15 about some insecurities I had been feeling. We have been able to talk a lot since I have been gone and face time has allowed me to see my nieces and nephews so they don't forget me! ;) :D It has been awesome and so much fun to still be able to see my sister and watch my nieces and nephews grow up being so far away! What a blessing!
"The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." James 4:13-15
After that, I called my mom and got to see some surprise visitors- Annie Bruce and her daughter Bee who were visiting from New York! A couple years ago, my mom surprised me with a trip to New York for Christmas (kind of a re-do senior trip a couple years late since I didn't have one) and we stayed with them and they were our personal tour guides :) Bee was only a little baby then, so it was really fun to see her all grown up! Tonight, I made an all-American meal- Burger patties and potatoes. Mmmm :)
Wednesday came quick and it was time for Pilates again! Only this time, I was the only one in class- Personal training without the extra pay...Why not?? haha There are definitely pros and cons to being the only one in class but it was kind of fun and I got to learn more about the teacher! She actually has only been in Grenada for a couple years because before that she and her husband quit there jobs, bought a yacht and sailed around before residing in Grenada because they loved it so much! What a life! Later that afternoon, we (the girls) went to try out a new beach: Magazine Beach!
Gorgeous!! Tonight was the night to make Baby Bear Stew, a family classic recipe and soo delicious!!! Ashkon loved it!!
Then, I decided to be brave and try to make Weisser cookies in the toaster oven! Unfortunately, we had baking soda not baking powder and we think that the brown sugar we bought is a little different than the brown sugar from home...Well here it goes! I made them anyways and Ashkon said they were still good! Of course, I had to tell everyone from home who knows just how amazing Weisser cookies are and to say that for the first time they were made in Grenada! :D
My Facebook status on 8.29.12
Just made Weisser cookies in our toaster oven!!! They were somewhat altered due to our great supply of Grenadian groceries ;) but they were close enough! Now Ashkon wants me to create my own cookie so we can have "Bani cookies" :D I don't know if I can make something better than Weisser cookies though...we will see! :)
Baby Bear Stew (Pg 114 in Baby Bear Stew Cookbook- My mom's cookbook for those of you who don't have one)
2 onions chopped
3-4 stalks celery sliced in chunks
2 garlic cloves crushed
2-3 TBS oil
1-2 lbs ground meat (beef or turkey: My favorite is turkey)
4 carrots sliced and parboiled
2 cans stewed tomatoes
2 cans tomato sauce
2 tsp Italian seasonings
Salt and pepper to taste
4 zuccini sliced
1 green pepper cut in chunks
2-3 cans kidney beans
(This makes A LOT so you can always cut in half or you can freeze half after it's made)
Saute onions, celery, and garlic in oil in a large soup pot. Add ground meat and cook until meat is brown. Add parboiled carrots, stewed tomatoes, tomato saucy, seasonings, zucchini, and green pepper. Cook for 30 minutes. Add kidney beans and cook for an additional 20 minutes. This is the original family special stew served at all functions. This was originally called Vegetable Chili, but Rad, Kerry, and Megan (my mom and her sister and brother) wouldn't eat it because it looked too healthy. So Rozie (my grandma) made up a story about baby bears eating the stew and they've loved it ever since. Hence the name...Baby Bear Stew.
Unfortunately, I don't think I cooked the bulgar wheat long enough so the tabbouleh was not good :( I was pretty bummed but Ashkon tried to cheer me up by trying to eat some and say it wasn't that bad. But, then we decided we could make an exception of our no wasting food rule this one time...it was that bad lol...we'll see how long it takes for me to try to make it again! haha I'll need a tutor session on how to make good tabbouleh when I get home, Mom :)
If you would like to try to make it (and see if you can do better than me haha), here's the recipe!
1 1/2 bulgur wheat
3 cups boiling water
1 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup green onions chopped
1 cucumber chopped
2 TBS minced mint
2 large tomatoes chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 head romaine lettuce (optional)
Pour boiling water over bulgur wheat and let stand 1/2-1 hours. (More like one hour) Add remaining ingredients except romaine lettuce. Chill several hours and serve on bed of shredded romaine lettuce (We never eat it with the romaine lettuce...My favorite is to put it in a pita and eat with hummus!)
Friday morning, there was a SO breakfast at Le Boulangerie. It was fun to get together and meet some new SOs! Since we are trying to be good with the little money that we have, I decided to eat breakfast at home before and then just socialize at the get together! However, Jo go this cinnamon danish that was HUGE so she let me try a bite and it was really good! It was more like a giant cinnamon roll but more of a flaky consistency! We were also told that it has really good lunch and dinner food! When I got home, I needed to try to find a dessert to make for our on-campus married housing Meet and Greet. I found this amazing sounding cookie recipe online so I decided to try it out! See the recipe and pictures below! The recipe calls to actually bake the cookie on a graham cracker but what Ashkon and I realized is that we liked it better if you just put the warm cookie right on a graham cracker after you took it out of the oven (or toaster oven). That way, the graham cracker was more crispy, which we liked!
SMORES COOKIES
I was really excited for the Limes Beach Day on Saturday! I had been told that Limes is tons of fun, so a bunch of us decided to go to the beach day kick off right before the kids started the school year! We started where they meet for the after school program and right off the bat the kids were so sweet and adorable! They wanted to know our names, where we were from...Then we walked with all of them to the beach! They love the water! They each wore life jackets and thought it was so neat that they could float on their backs and they had little pillows from the back of their life jacket. Then they thought it was so funny to get buckets of water and dump it on our heads. Needless to say, they had tons of fun and so did we!
Oatmeal Pacakes
Ingredients:
6 egg whites
1 cup rolled oats, dry
1 cup cottage cheese
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions:
In a blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. Heat a griddle or large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. For each pancake pour 1/4 cup of batter onto griddle. Flip when they start to bubble. Cook until golden brown. Repeat with remaining batches, spraying the griddle as needed. Makes about 10 pancakes.
Wednesday came quick and it was time for Pilates again! Only this time, I was the only one in class- Personal training without the extra pay...Why not?? haha There are definitely pros and cons to being the only one in class but it was kind of fun and I got to learn more about the teacher! She actually has only been in Grenada for a couple years because before that she and her husband quit there jobs, bought a yacht and sailed around before residing in Grenada because they loved it so much! What a life! Later that afternoon, we (the girls) went to try out a new beach: Magazine Beach!
Gorgeous!! Tonight was the night to make Baby Bear Stew, a family classic recipe and soo delicious!!! Ashkon loved it!!
Then, I decided to be brave and try to make Weisser cookies in the toaster oven! Unfortunately, we had baking soda not baking powder and we think that the brown sugar we bought is a little different than the brown sugar from home...Well here it goes! I made them anyways and Ashkon said they were still good! Of course, I had to tell everyone from home who knows just how amazing Weisser cookies are and to say that for the first time they were made in Grenada! :D
My Facebook status on 8.29.12
Just made Weisser cookies in our toaster oven!!! They were somewhat altered due to our great supply of Grenadian groceries ;) but they were close enough! Now Ashkon wants me to create my own cookie so we can have "Bani cookies" :D I don't know if I can make something better than Weisser cookies though...we will see! :)
Baby Bear Stew (Pg 114 in Baby Bear Stew Cookbook- My mom's cookbook for those of you who don't have one)
2 onions chopped
3-4 stalks celery sliced in chunks
2 garlic cloves crushed
2-3 TBS oil
1-2 lbs ground meat (beef or turkey: My favorite is turkey)
4 carrots sliced and parboiled
2 cans stewed tomatoes
2 cans tomato sauce
2 tsp Italian seasonings
Salt and pepper to taste
4 zuccini sliced
1 green pepper cut in chunks
2-3 cans kidney beans
(This makes A LOT so you can always cut in half or you can freeze half after it's made)
Saute onions, celery, and garlic in oil in a large soup pot. Add ground meat and cook until meat is brown. Add parboiled carrots, stewed tomatoes, tomato saucy, seasonings, zucchini, and green pepper. Cook for 30 minutes. Add kidney beans and cook for an additional 20 minutes. This is the original family special stew served at all functions. This was originally called Vegetable Chili, but Rad, Kerry, and Megan (my mom and her sister and brother) wouldn't eat it because it looked too healthy. So Rozie (my grandma) made up a story about baby bears eating the stew and they've loved it ever since. Hence the name...Baby Bear Stew.
Thursday was another Yoga, Pool day...yes, I know a bit monotonous but hey exercise and lying the sun all day...Yeah, it's the life! Then, after the pool, I was so excited to try to make Tabbouleh...however, it turned out to be my first FLOP :( And I was so excited because look at the bulgar wheat I found at the store!!! It had my maiden name on it!! WEISSER!
Unfortunately, I don't think I cooked the bulgar wheat long enough so the tabbouleh was not good :( I was pretty bummed but Ashkon tried to cheer me up by trying to eat some and say it wasn't that bad. But, then we decided we could make an exception of our no wasting food rule this one time...it was that bad lol...we'll see how long it takes for me to try to make it again! haha I'll need a tutor session on how to make good tabbouleh when I get home, Mom :)
If you would like to try to make it (and see if you can do better than me haha), here's the recipe!
1 1/2 bulgur wheat
3 cups boiling water
1 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup green onions chopped
1 cucumber chopped
2 TBS minced mint
2 large tomatoes chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 head romaine lettuce (optional)
Pour boiling water over bulgur wheat and let stand 1/2-1 hours. (More like one hour) Add remaining ingredients except romaine lettuce. Chill several hours and serve on bed of shredded romaine lettuce (We never eat it with the romaine lettuce...My favorite is to put it in a pita and eat with hummus!)
Friday morning, there was a SO breakfast at Le Boulangerie. It was fun to get together and meet some new SOs! Since we are trying to be good with the little money that we have, I decided to eat breakfast at home before and then just socialize at the get together! However, Jo go this cinnamon danish that was HUGE so she let me try a bite and it was really good! It was more like a giant cinnamon roll but more of a flaky consistency! We were also told that it has really good lunch and dinner food! When I got home, I needed to try to find a dessert to make for our on-campus married housing Meet and Greet. I found this amazing sounding cookie recipe online so I decided to try it out! See the recipe and pictures below! The recipe calls to actually bake the cookie on a graham cracker but what Ashkon and I realized is that we liked it better if you just put the warm cookie right on a graham cracker after you took it out of the oven (or toaster oven). That way, the graham cracker was more crispy, which we liked!
Then, that night was our first women's bible study! We are studying Hebrews so we started right with Hebrews 1- it was a great reminder of how amazing and powerful God is! We also learned a lot about how the book of Hebrews is very parallel with much of what was told in the Old Testament. The last point and a great take home was all about how we should have joy in Christ's salvation and just revel in who He is!! --He is the appointed heir of all things, He sustains all, He is both God and the Son of God, He laid the foundation of the Earth, He never changes, He is Righteous and Anointed--- We serve a GREAT GOD!! Never forget that :)
SMORES COOKIES
1 cup butterThe most fun part about these cookies is that you actually bake the cookie on top of a whole graham cracker.
1 cup brown sugar
Cream together butter and sugar until incorporated
Add:
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
Beat thoroughly
Add:
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips, or one giant Hershey's bar, chopped
1 cup mini marshmallows
Stir to incorporate
Bake at F350°, for no more than 11 minutes (after 11 minutes, the graham cracker will burn).
Some of the marshmallow may toast off the cracker, but simply remove the cracker from your cookie sheet and quickly transfer to a wire rack.
Yields 4 dozen
I was really excited for the Limes Beach Day on Saturday! I had been told that Limes is tons of fun, so a bunch of us decided to go to the beach day kick off right before the kids started the school year! We started where they meet for the after school program and right off the bat the kids were so sweet and adorable! They wanted to know our names, where we were from...Then we walked with all of them to the beach! They love the water! They each wore life jackets and thought it was so neat that they could float on their backs and they had little pillows from the back of their life jacket. Then they thought it was so funny to get buckets of water and dump it on our heads. Needless to say, they had tons of fun and so did we!
When I got home, Ashkon was at the lab with a few of his classmates, so I went to the gym! (For those of you APUers, I have to tell you, it's worse than the old gym at APU...yes that is possible...but it suffices) I had received the book The Power of a Praying Wife from my sister Rachel at one of my bridal showers and I hadn't gotten a chance to start reading it with all the craziness of moving. But, I decided to start it today. I remember that when my sister gave it to me she said that it did wonderful things for her marriage so I was really excited to start it! It is amazing! I would recommend it to anyone who is married and has never read it!!
Later that night, we went to a married housing Meet & Greet. Some other couples went, mostly ones we had met, but a few new ones too! It was nice getting to see some people who live on campus other than when we are walking to or from our place. All the desserts were really good and the amores cookies were a hit :)
Sunday morning I tried out a new recipe- Oatmeal pancakes! They were really good! However, since I had made Ashkon buttermilk pancakes the week before, which he absolutely LOVED, I told him that he was not allowed to judge these before he tried them! Surprisingly, he really liked them! I was really glad because it is definitely a much healthier option than buttermilk pancakes but still delicious!
Oatmeal Pacakes
Ingredients:
6 egg whites
1 cup rolled oats, dry
1 cup cottage cheese
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions:
In a blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. Heat a griddle or large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. For each pancake pour 1/4 cup of batter onto griddle. Flip when they start to bubble. Cook until golden brown. Repeat with remaining batches, spraying the griddle as needed. Makes about 10 pancakes.
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