A Cup of Ethiopian Hospitality

When I was finally able to visit Ethiopia in 2003, Himself had already been there many times as part of a military humanitarian project.  He met a family there and through the years we established a close relationship.

Ethiopia is the home of coffee... and there is an intricate hospitality ceremony to honor guests.  One does not just get handed a cup of coffee... it starts with the roasting of the still-green coffee beans.  It ends several hours later with the pouring of the last of three cups the freshest brewed coffee you'll ever have.

I was taught to do this ceremony (Belaynesh even made me a traditional dress to wear!).

Then she gave me a coffee set.

You can see the cups are small, so you don't get too much of a caffeine high.

Love the face carved into the handle of the tray!

The coffee pot and stand.

Linked to:

https://nihongojapango.wordpress.com/

Summer Baking: Pesto Stuffed French Bread

The one thing that says "summer" the most to me is fresh pesto.  Basil is my only annual plant and I am so sad to see it go after the first cold snap.  Yes, I do freeze a lot of pesto but you know it is not the same as fresh.

So let's have some fresh baked pesto stuffed French bread!

Ready to knead.

But don't knead too much!

Divide the dough for four loaves of regular French bread or two loaves of stuffed bread.

Roll it out.

Put the pesto on and spread it out.

Then jelly-roll it up.

Make sure the ends and seam are pinched closed.

Ready to go in the oven in a French loaf pan.  (You don't have to use the loaf pan but the bread will be flatter... more rustic looking.)

A perfect loaf of bread.

See the pesto?

So good!

Jasmine, My Gold Souk Trinket

A few days ago I mentioned my visit to the gold souk in Dubai.  Imagine the tackiest little jewelry store in a mall... those kind that are crammed full of bangles and dangles, the more filigree the better.  

Now imagine a very large mall with 100 versions of the shop.

Except every single one of those bangles and dangles are made of real gold.  And every 20 feet or so is a cranky looking dude with some sort of machine gun in his hand.

Welcome to the Gold Souk of Dubai.

I was tired, hot, and very intimidated.  Definitely feeling a bit 'backwards', so I didn't take a single photo while we were in there.  We mainly walked from window to window with our jaws hanging.

At one shop as we looked in, the clerk (owner?) actually smiled and said 'hello' to me.  We went in and looked around.  Himself explained we were only looking and taking in the beauty of the craftsmanship.  He said that was fine and that he'd enjoy telling us about anything in his shop.

As we visited, we shared hot (!!) tea and sweet dates.  No pushing to sell something.  It was a nice visit.

Then I saw her...

The cutest little camel I've ever seen.  And look at that bling!

She knew I was smitten!

She showed me her secret... she is a tiny jewelry box.

A glittery little camel with golden feet!

Our shop friend whacked the price by 2/3 without a peep from me.  He told us our visit was one of the best he had in a long time.

Could there be a more perfect trinket from Dubai?

Linked to:

https://nihongojapango.wordpress.com/2015/08/20/cuban-art-trinkets-and-travel-memories-12/

Improv Cooking: Grilled Herbed Tomatoes

There's two wonderful things about summer...  

...fresh ripe tomatoes...

...and fresh fragrant herbs.

(That's thyme, parsley, rosemary, basil, sage, and oregano.)

So combining those would make a perfect summer recipe, right?

RIGHT!

I took some thick slices of some tomatoes I'd just picked at a veggie stand down the road and put them on a grilling tray.

After they had cooked I sprinkled them with the finely chopped herbs.  The above combo is what sounded good to me this time, who knows what I'll use next!  

Here's an adjustment to what I did this first time.  The tomatoes didn't get the caramelizing I wanted on them.  Next time I will probably brown them up in a skillet, then transfer them to the grill to get the smokey flavor.

Right before they were done I topped them with mozzarella cheese.  Next time it will be Parmesan.

They were so good.  Himself said he wants to see more of this recipe!

Grilled Herbed Tomatoes

(A 'no measure' recipe!)

Fresh tomatoes, sliced thick (about a half inch)

Your favorite fresh herbs, fine chopped (enough to cover tops of the tomatoes)

Shredded Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese

A grilling tray or grill skillet.

Place tomato slices on hot grill tray or skillet.  (Here's where I am going to pre-caramelize them.)  Cook about 5 minutes (depending on how hot your grill gets), then carefully flip.  They are going to be getting soft which makes flipping tricky.

Sprinkle the top with your herb mix.

Just before they are done, sprinkle your choice of shredded cheese on top.  Close the grill to melt (but keep an eye on them!)

When you take them off the grill they will be very soft.  I would suggest using two spatulas... one to lift and the other to push the tomato against. 

Enjoy!  

An InLinkz Link-up

It's Sooooo Hot... in Dubai!

On our way to Kenya in 2006, we had a long layover in the United Arab Emirates.  I had a hotel booked and we were able to visit with some friends who were working there at the time.

I expected it to be hot... but the ferocity of the hot surprised me.  It was 'only' 98*F; in October.  What I had not counted on was the humidity.  Ugh.  And the sun had an intensity that I had not experienced before, not even in Death Valley.

Being outside required no small amount of fore-thought.

In the middle of the day, there didn't seem to be much going on.  It was HOT out there!

Some of the apartment dwellers took advantage of the heat to do some clothes drying.

Air conditioning was the thing... in home and auto!

We stayed cool in our room during the hottest part of the day.

Himself caught up on his journaling.

I chilled out on the plush bed and sips watermelon juice.

When we did get out, we made a trip over to the gold souk (and that's another story!).  It gave me a chance to see a bit of how the folks lived there.

The guys wore loose cool clothing, even shorts and T shirts.

The ladies... I truly don't know how they could not over heat.  

For the customs of the land, I was in a loose long sleeve shirt and I thought I'd roast walking from the parking lot to the building.

Way too hot.  Scary to think we were there during a 'cool' time!

https://thetravellersnotes.wordpress.com/2015/08/02/its-soooo-hot/ 

Happy Birthday Little Bird

Six months... to six years!

Happy birthday to my Little Bird who's not so little anymore.

(After a fun time playing in the back yard!)

Salsa Anyone?

I'm still working on my summer project of learning to can.  This time Himself and I took a canning class at Whole Foods (as opposed to volunteering/working).  Kinda nice being the student for a change, tho we were ribbed a bit by our volunteer worker peers for 'going the easy route'.  

Himself busy with the salsa.

Getting started with the batch.

And now it is finished!

We each loaded up jars of salsa for processing.

Getting the air bubbles out... not a good thing to have in a jar!

Our delicious finished product!

I feel confident enough now to do some canning on my own.  I wonder what looks good over at the Amish produce auction?

There are more great canning recipes at Lyn's site:

www.preservingnow.com

http://www.earnesthomeco.com/earnest-challenge-update-4/