a day of eating

do trips to the grocery store always make you want to eat a lot? someone should do a study.

yesterday was decided to be our grocery store run day.... since well there was basically nothing in our kitchen. unless you are a cilantro fan. which i am. but i like a little guacamole with my cilantro.

so... we usually eat at home after church but well... the bare cupboards have been explained already so we made the executive decision to eat out. wow. it was my first menu in a while, i forgot how much food you get. appetizer...main dish of a meat/veggie (potato) /rice... drink and dessert? we were both stuffed. which ive read is a good way to go to the grocery store. you shouldnt go hungry or you will buy too much.

so we hit up the store then later while julton was cutting up the chicken (see previous post) he requested... french toast. im not sure how you make the move from chicken to french toast... but... well there was french toast for dinner. actually, i wasnt that hungry so julton ate a huge stack of french toast.

then later while watching a movie... me: you know.. im kind of hungry. julton: me too... (hes always hungry) julton: are you thinking about making something? (with a glimmer of hope in his eyes) me: yes....

and i disappeared into the kitchen....

and made potato soup! i think. i mean, all that requires to be called potato soup technically is the presence of potatoes right? so technically all of the soups i make could be called potato soup... hmmm

anyway im really excited about this. i think i had potato soup on my brain because earlier in the day i was talking with my mom about her sending me my grandmother rogers potato soup recipe.

this was not my grandma rogers soup. but i have to say... im pretty proud of it and its going to get made again. i will admit that i was afraid of making potato soup. for a few reasons. if youve never made it before and you have the memory of your grandmothers in your mind... its a little intimidating to take on the task, i mean lets be honest you arent going to just pull the recipe out of thin air. especailly if you are me. and i feared, will it be similar will it be horrible all those comparisons. well. the good thing is julton has never tried my granmothers potato soup. he hasnt in fact tried anyones potato soup. so he had the potential of being a good guinea pig... but when i said i was making soup hes got chickeny brothy soup in his head.

so i weighed all this against my sheer craving for potato soup. -the craving won. i looked at several potato soup recipes on the internet and then just mixed a bunch of them together based on what we had and didnt have in the kitchen (it was late... super... super late). je..je..je. and it worked! so.. if you wanna give it a try...

"Julies every potato soup recipe possible plus or minus a few things wrapped up in one explosion of a potato soup. "

half red onion

2 large garlic cloves

1 1/2 (ish) tablespoons butter

4 strips of bacon

let all of this get happy together in a pot, set the fire on low so the garlic doesnt burn. burnt garlic is not a good thing

once the onions are all clearish and the bacon cooked but not crispy, add two cups chicken stock. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley and about 3/4 can of evaporated milk. salt and pepper to taste. also add two large cubed potatoes. let simmer until potatoes are done and enjoy!

and we did, two bowls each. if that doesnt go against the dont eat anything heavy late at night or you wont sleep well rule then i dont know what does. but we passed out. im not sure if it was because it was so late, or the soup just put us both in a coma. (not the healthiest soup)

on a different note... im still really enjoying the dried cranberries that gillian sent (salad)

and im really content with being able to have time to make my lunch again instead of rushing home at 2:30 famished and ready to eat anything visible.

todays lunch:

left: spinach/boiled egg/dried cranberry/cheese/tomatoes/balsamic vinaigrette

right: tomatoes/garlic/onion/shrimp sauteed in extra virgin olive oil pasta

yum.

this one is for you rach :)

WE love the apron :D

my friend rachel had sent us a wedding gift package a while back... and its gone to good use! we usually buy a whole chicken instead of the parts, which is something for me to get used to... see that little bag at the bottom of the photo?... with all the parts in it?... from the feet to the heart to the neck and head i mean... everything comes along. at least they are in a bag. well the good part is that julton knows how to cut it all up, so i really dont have anything to do with the process besides packing away the neatly cut/skinned/de-boned (for the most part, julton informed me yesterday that the way i like the chicken (breasts) without bones is stressful... apparently its difficult to remove -all- the bones... especially when you are used to just eating around them)

so, thanks rach, for the apron... it keeps julton free of chicken .... the rest of the kitchen though... is another story. do they make aprons for the whole kitchen?

fiestas patrias

as of yesterday we became peruvian independence day ready along with our neighbors... i thought that i had heard somewhere that it was a law that for fiestas patrias every house had to have a flag on it. but... apparently that was a myth. it is not a myth however that you can go to jail if you take a picture with the flag in an inappropriate way. i found that out after this first picture and jultons reaction with, does it look okay? it doesnt look inappropriate? because you can go to jail for that...

nope.... you dont look inappropriate... just... serious. :) i have another of him with a huge grin but im sure i would hear about how theres too much 'teeth' in that picture. which actually shows his excitement about our flag buying better. weve been talking about how we should really get a flag and put it up since the flag sellers started hitting the streets with their many sizes and varieties of flags, on every street corner in trujillo. so yesterday when we actually committed, he was ecstatic.... and the one reaching for the camera when we got home so he could document our little piece of first tomanguillo rogers family fiestas patrias peru together history... when hes usually the one going "again... with the camera??"
"Familia Tomanguillo Rogers" just in case the flag falls to the ground... our neighbors will know whose it is... that and theres the fact that we are the only ones on our side of the building with a flag up... who wouldve guessed that we were the apartment with the mixed country couple?

julton took a picture from the bottom of the building up, of me with our flag and apartment.... but i didnt have the heart to post it... i mean, i know im short, but the angle of the shot... just makes me look even more like a little girl peeking out the window. another independence day perhaps.

also randomly.... yesterday trujillo celebrated their independence with their military marches.. and we found out that trujillo formally declared their independence from spain a year before the actual country did. hmmm.

so 28th of july we are officially ready for you.

theres going to be a party in the main square... well it seams like theres always a party there.. but theres going to be food. lots of food, from alllll over peru. we're going. im excited...

progression

im enjoying teaching on the more one on one front again.... its a nice change to teach someone that.... well, wants to learn :)

and even better when the book you are using offers up an activity to draw a dog and describe your personality based on how you drew the dog.... and you student looks at you like you are crazy because you are so exited about it. je... je... je.

i do however keep noticing something.... when im planning my classes ... i keep wanting to reach for the scissors and glue and stickers.... then i realize that my student thats probably got 50 years on the little tykes at the school is probably not down with cutting and pasting like they were. thats something im ok with getting used to :)

and. i ate a monster of a salad today. a monster. i got really excited about seeing mushrooms being reduced in price and went from there to an enormous spinach mushroom dried cranberry vinaigrette goodness of a monster salad about 30 minutes later. oh blue cheese. you should come back into my life....

yellows

its july right?

yep, just checked, its july. and yet we just received our "2010-2011" yellow pages.

im a little confused.

and i think our reward for paying our phone bill is a new phone book. because they are starting to add up around here.....

a goodbye

the end of the month is on its way... vacation for schools.... fiestas patrias...

im not really sure how to announce this announcement... so im just going to announce it. thats the only way to go right?

i have been working at the school since february and under normal circumstances right about now i would be talking about how this is the last week before our july vacations. which is true. but im going to take a different direction. and im not going to get very detailed, so i hope you are okay with that. if not, ask me in person. i made the decision this month to leave my job teaching english at the school. for several reasons, but no need to discuss them here. im a little sad, im going to miss each of the kids in their own way. but it was for the best. i think its the best stress reducing decision to make. and sometimes you just have to make the decision to cut out some stress. and since im not in yoga anymore i really dont manage stress or migraines the way i once did. so, this decision is for the best. but dont worry for me, i still have a job. im not just jumping without a plan. i'm going to go back to teaching english through a friends business, whom i already teach for part time.

so no sad feelings ( a few) but a new chapter. im sorry to say that there will probably not be as many stories about guess what my kids did today... but im sure we will find something else to talk about.

flowers

i wish that i could share with you the beautiful flowers that i saw today. but a las i was of course without my camera.

one of my favorite things about peru (one of many) are the flowers that you find just anywhere. and they are so vibrant and so full of color. pinks and reds and yellows and oranges... and more.

today i was walking to take care of some errands (trying to build up some confidence to conquer the bank/paying bills system for the day) and as i rounded a corner that i round quite often in our neighborhood. i just stopped. because there were these beautiful red flowers hanging over the wall of a house, reaching down just calling to be looked at and admired. so i did. i stopped, looked at an admired them. julton laughs at me sometimes because i just stop dead in my tracks to look at something or when an idea has dawned on me. well today i was alone and no one to laugh, just me and the street and the beautiful flowers hanging over the wall just there.

they were just so red. and just so pretty. and just so worth stopping to take a look at.

and i totally did conquer the bank/bill paying errand day by the way. then i went straight back the way i came so that i could admire those flowers some more :)

a week of absence...

ive been gone for a week! well, sort of.

and im sorry to say that i don't really have that many interesting things to make up for it.

last sunday i started not feeling so well in church... thought it was because the place we are currently meeting is a little drafty... which could have played into it... because i went home early... and all but curled up on the couch lifeless. julton nursed me back to what we thought was health, found that i had an infection in my throat and gave me the routine injection ive (not) grown so found of. things were looking good until monday morning. when i wasnt feeling so good anymore. decided to take the day off from work to rest... expecting to go back the next day.... only to find myself in the clinic the next morning instead because i started coughing and coughing and more all through my, jultons and our neighbors sleepless night.

ive had bronchitis this week. well, a form of bronchitis. i dont even really understand it, but some of the five medicines i am on are helping. its been a rough week though. ive felt like a zombie. and thanks to an unbelievable strong migraine i couldnt even surf much on the internet... or sleep for that matter. it was just miserable. i dont recommend this sickness if you want to take some time off work.

yesterday i made my way back to school... still coughing and still not feeling so well. to be greeted with a food festival in the afternoon by all the kids. each class cooked up a dish from a different country (the states had hamburgers.....) and i was met with lots of kids saying miss julie just where have you been and (teachers) oh we thought you were pregnant, its bronchitis? well you must not take care of yourself very well, here tighten up your scarf. hmm thanks. :)

i also found out that this coming week im not teaching english at the school at all... all i have to do is go in and write personal notes for alllll the kids that ive taught so it can go home in their mid year reports (we are mid-year now...hence mid year reports) which sounds easy right? ive got like 70-80 kids. and sometimes i cant even keep their names straight. oh boy.

i would like to thank my wonderful husband for taking such good care of me this week.... being sure to wake me up just in time to give me my morning injection before he slipped off to work ...and coming back just in time to fill me up on more sporade (its like gatorade) which is pretty much the only thing i ate or drank this week.

heres to more interesting things happening in the week that comes to share!

jultons viaje (trip)

as told second hand by the betrothed :)

this past week Julton had the incredible opportunity to go to a conference in Uruguay (side note... sad day today as Uruguay lost to Germany in the world cup today) as you can see in the picture... it was the international christian medical and dental associations world congress (julton... doesnt smile.... often in pictures....its normal, but trust me he was excited)

he spent the week in lectures and discussion groups over topics like science and faith, and met i cant even remember how many different people from all over the world. every time that we talked he listed off countries... this was the group of peruvians at the congress (along with a few from the us)
from my point of view... im really excited that julton got to go through this conference. sure i missed him (weve been through that) but i can see a glimmer of inspiration that wasnt quite as big as it was before he went. he came back with books and magazines and ideas and hopes and dreams, and a million words explaining everything a million miles an hour.

he made a friend from indonesia... whom happen to give him a couple of indonesian pens as gifts for him and his us wife waiting back in peru :)

we couldn't resist.... being puppets... our videos will debut on youtube soon jeje

and ps... it was a lot colder in uruguay... and he did use the scarf :) and was happy to have it... although he says he got lots of weird looks not here in peru but in uruguay...

kenya

so far so good on 'the project' well.. im 6 pieces in. :)

and gillian... my friend gillian... i just have to say.... she sent this coffee... and she remembered that my favorite coffee is from africa.... at least im going to say she remembered that because it would be pretty weirdly ironic if she had sent me some from therewithout remembering that. so you gillian... you made my morning a lot happier. its deliciouuuussss. :)

christmas in july

its definitely feeling like christmas around here.... four packages back to back to back to... back?!

between rachel... joanna.... my mom.... and gillian.... it just feels like christmas around here.

from measuring cups and towels to coffee... and coffee and coffee... cookies (that i cant touch until julton comes back.... tomorrow morning!!!!) to blackberry jelly to dried cranberries.... taco seasoning and forgotten christmas sunglasses.... stickers and stickers and stickers.... its beginning ot look a lot like christmas :) and im ok with that. i have great and very generous friends (and mom :) )

makes me feel a lot like a little kid again since when i was younger aunt juanita would alway bring presents in or around july... and it was definitely christmas in july.

im also, little by little progressing on the afghan.. more on that another time... (which reminds me, mom sent a knitting book.... so im going to start learning to knit.... ohhhh whats up socks here i come! i decided to cave and learn or at least try to learn how to knit... because you can search and search for fun crochet designs (and find some) but there is an overflowing bounty of knitting designs out there.. so im giving in and im going to try to learn. fingers crossed.

aaandd i cant forget to mention our mini cup today at school. although i dont have pictures for it... all of this week each classroom was preparing and learning about other countries all for today. i loved walking in the 3 year classroom and being greeted in japanese while they were having the flag painted on their faces. each classroom was assigned a different country and today was our mini cup. lots of loud music, lots of cheering, lots of chasing the ball.... out the lines and into the playground .... and anywhere but on the field. they even brought in some of the guys from a college soccer team to get the kids excited about playing, a couple of the guys had children in the school too, all the more exciting. every day is a different adventure when you work in a jardin. :)

the walla recovery

If you wanted to fly, I can take you. If you wanted the sky, I can make two. If you wanted to lose yourself in me; if you wanted to dream… If you wanted to lose all of the things that bring you down, the things that bring you down…

When the weight is too heavy to lift on your own, close your eyes and let me show my strength. Dont you ever forget that Im bringing you home; you wont ever make it without me. When you walk through the fire, you can never be burned. Hold my hand and let me show you how. More faithful than the sunrise and seasons that turn, Im the only one youll ever need.

I am the only one. I am the only one for you.

I Am the Only One

2003 · Words & music © Zack Smith

I found this band recently through noise trade. and im a fan. i put together a mix of new music i have, set i tunes on random... and every time this song ( i am the only one for you) plays it catches my attention. i think its very creative. and, well im just a big fan of it. and after looking at their website, good news for you, if you want to check their stuff out ( i dont know if its still on noisetrade) they are giving this album for free! so go check them out and fall in love with their music, then come to peru so we can build up a big enough fan base here to make them want to come play. :D

thoughts...

does that look like an octagon? okay... it does... a little... right?

well, that was the first attempt at the first piece of this project im starting. and i cant believe i tore the whole thing out.... to change the size of the hook im using... to try to get it the right size. because the square is supposed to be 16 mm not 17. and im counting stitches. ive turned into a completely different person. using rulers and counting... who does that?

today has been a good day.

~ i had the kids making pretend snow to glue to their "winter" page today so they were pretty content. *note to self.... glue and paper keep kids happy... throw in some scissors and its all the better*

~ i received some chocolate covered almonds as a teacher appreciation gift from the school psychologist today... it was really sweet of her. i wonder if she notcied how awkward i felt the other day when all the little kiddos were handing their teachers roses all around me.... and i awkwardly walked away telling myself... i am a teacher... i am a teacher... i am....

~ i asked a little girl thats been crying every day (found out recently because of some family stuff) to make a pretty picture for her teacher (me) today when she had extra time because she finished her project early and she smiled instead of cried. :)

~my mom... sent one of the best packages ive ever received. involving a 2 lb bag of coffee... chocolate covered coffee beans... (jultons) cookies..... lots of good good stuff. thanks mom.

.... for some reason it put me in the mood to drink chocolate milk... so i went out and got some... but gloria just doesnt cut it like my favorite brand from good 'ole wv does. im telling you, mr bees potato chips + broughton chocolate ice cream just plain equals birthday. at least for me.

~julton called today!!! hes doing great, learning lots and making lots of international friends. he comes back soon.... his plan leaves tomorrow night. :)

a project.

think i can combine all of these colors to make a fun retro trendy afghan that resembles a little something like.... this: ?

i hope so! because in honor of my day off i took to the market to buy up some yarn to start this project... the pattern says easy... but ive noticed that they write easy on a lot of their patterns.... its going to be my first afghan. and might i add my first anything more than a scarf. well, and those crazy awesome limey yellow leg warmers i made that year... what ever happen to those....

well. the project begins. updates to come....

plate 3

which is really just a mixture of.... everything. today is teacher appreciation day... we didn't have classes :) and i was in the mood for a big lunch.

aaaand my lovely awesome and wonderful friend Gillian had sent me some dried cranberries in the mail a while ago... and this was the perfect time to use them. So today I lunched on a little bit of everything.... I found a recipe to make hummus on this blog not too long ago. and it has been way too long since i have eaten hummus. i mean.. it was basically the bread of my life... way back when. so i tried it out and... went a little overboard on the garlic... and... started wreaking of garlic... i think it was spilling out of my pores. but it was worth it. the funny this is, the girl writes on her blog that her husband travels and she makes this hummus and its basically the only thing she eats the whole time hes away and she wreaks by the time her husband comes back (early) from his trip. so if i eat enough hummus does that mean that julton is going to show up at the door early? hmmmm

so here it goes :

one hummus friendly sandwich with lettuce alfalfa sprouts bean sprouts tomatoes and onions and queso fresco. check.

one dried cranberry friendly salad with more queso fresco balsamic vinagrette marinated tofu lettus alfalfa sprouts tomatoes onion.... basically everything on the sandwich but the bread :)

and it was tasty. tasty indeed.

on the menu for tomorrow? more hummus of course. :)

truths and facts

~ i love alfalfa sprouts. our love went unattended for far too long. and this week is rekindled. would it be weird to have it with every meal? ...not if youre a vegetarian..... its even a peruvian product! but a little expensive ... comparatively... i could buy a kilo of eggs for less than i pay for 100 grams of them. but its worth it.

~ at least once a week another child "realizes" that i am from the united states and asks me a random question.... today "miss.... do you know michael jackson???" me: no... no i didnt know him, we werent really neighbors.

~ lunches with beautiful sister in laws are wonderful, encouraging, and just good for the soul in general. i had some good girl time this weekend. and i tried out some pad thai on them (with chicken) theyre fans...

~ peanut butter and banana smoothies for breakfast... are more delicious than words can express.

~ veggie food is good. but i miss my husband. even if it means more meat in my life. im okay with that.

the conference is going well for Julton, he says the he is learning so much that it just leaves him wanting to be in silence and prayer.

im happy for him, but i wont lie, i miss 'im. who knew that three months of marriage would get you so attached to a person. :)

plate 2

of this vegetarian experience.

sorry that the picture is blurry. but what we can see here... is my second days dip into being a vegetarian again. (sort of ... and for a while... )

Julton made me smile a lot when we were buying the whole grain pita bread and he asked me three times before we left the store if i was sure that that was the kind of bread i wanted for the week. :)

today i played around with making balsamic vinaigrette and i used an emeril recipe. its delicious. and sitting in the fridge in an old honey jar.

in those pitas you could find.... tofu that i marinated in garlic salt and lime.... cucumbers and tomatoes.... bean sprouts and 'sprouts'.... red onion and avocado... and lettuce. basically... too many things for one (or three) pitas. so once i started to eat it... it all came spilling into thankfully my plate making me decide that from that point on it was necessary to eat it like a salad with pita mixed in. but it was pretty pretty good. with the vinaigrette of course. oh, and its accompanied by papaya juice. of course :)

so if you are thinking about going vegetarian for a meal. i recommend this. and i recommend you eat it with feta cheese if you live in a place thats so blessed as to easily obtain it at an affordable cost.

today i finished up lots of errands.... standing in never ending bank lines... making copies of recipes that moms of friends had given me :D and bounding the recipes that the girls gave me at my despedida (finally) it feels good to have some things accomplished.

Julton made it to Uruguay just fine... (i was a little nervous). He called today won't lie I was pretty excited that I was at home to get the phone call. It's supposed to be a very pretty place... and it sounds like hes going to have more friends than me by the time this is over ..haha... i say that because he was excited about meeting people from a few different countries right off the bat.

pad thai

i dont think that you can proportionally understand how big this bowl is. so im not going to go into detail about width/depth. because then i might get embarrassed.

yesterday when julton and i made our first of the month grocery store run... there was a difference in the list. you see usually we walk away with lots of chicken and beef and pork... yesterday, well i was convinced about the chicken. but... instead we walked away with tofu, lots of veggies, chickpeas, peanut butter, bean sprouts... you know... that stuff i used to eat on a daily basis. its not been in my diet in too long. so. i told julton that i am reverting back to vegetarianism while he is on his trip. and to be honest i wasnt sure i could do it. since yesterday i was craving fried chicken, potatoes, egg, and rice... with mayo ...which is what he makes me for lunch sometimes. which i had never eaten altogether in one plate in all of my life until i met julton. i told him the other day he had really changed me.

but then today i made pad thai. one of my absolute favorite foods. and my fears that i couldnt handle veggie food were thrown quickly out the window. i havent made it for julton before... just like the scarf, im nervous about him liking it. its not exactly the same as fried rice. (which we do eat). and its far from jungle food.

one of my favorite memories of pad thai is from when we lived in the outhouse (...oh... memories) one night an old friend of mine had come to town, and we made pad thai and carried the table outside to the deck, strung lights and candles... and it was one of the most perfect nights i have spent.

so, im going to share my recipe with you. in no way is this traditional pad thai.. ive eat at restaurants... but who am i to say that this is pad thai. so we will just say its my recipe that stuck in my head from a recipe from who knows where that lost some ingredients, gained some, and changed for moving to another country. and please forgive me for the quantities/measurments. ... i dont know.... i just do it. again... like my scarves.. i dont follow patterns well for them... i dont follow a set measurement system for this food. i just throw in what looks good.

so.

Julies Comfort Food Pad Thai Style

broccoli

carrots

bean sprouts

green onion

garlic

cumin

a spicy spice, red pepper perhaps

soy sauce

peanut butter

lime juice

peanuts

tofu (or you could use... chicken... you know, if you had to)

noodles or rice

combine: maybe 2 cloves of finely finely chopped garlic with a tablespoon of peanut butter, half cup soy sauce, teaspoon cumin and spicy spice. juice of one lime. shake it all up really well. if its too thick add more soy sauce. too thin more peanut butter. test taste for spices and lime. (set aside)

boil the noodles or make the rice... ohhh jasmine rice.....

fry up the tofu. in a skillet with oil. the best way to prepare tofu to be fried, is to set it out on papertowels, under paper towels, and with something heavy on top to try to squeeze out the water.

while the tofu is frying steam broccoli and carrots.

when the tofu finishes, add the sauce, onions and bean sprouts, broccoli and carrots and stir up until its all good and ready.

then serve over the noodles or rice top with peanuts and wa lah! :)

i hope that you give it a try. happy friday everyone :)

ps since Julton is on his trip we are going to be without pictures pictures for a while. so get ready for some photo booth goodies. (he took my camera with orders from me to photograph EVERYTHING) :)

scarves

i officially finished a scarf for julton. it soothed my need to crochet in this cold weather. although made me nervous about making a scarf for him. i (think) he likes it. i feel good about it. it was easy to make and makes me want to make more.

we could be part time super models.

(jultons new scarf, and the 'new' scarf i made last year... its a mix of brown and purple... and ridiculously long. just ridiculously perfect.)

whos your... doctor?

and the cards came rolling in. today we went to pick up some business cards. jultons mom called him and asked for all his info and made his some fantastic business cards. she said, you are a doctor now, you need to be proud and be able to share it. so anyone julton chooses could almost get all the info right down to our address. it was a really sweet gift. im just a little scared about patients calling our house and me answering the phone... or patients calling our house.... alll.... hours. of. the. night. hmmmm