Pico!

(For Tom.)

Pico, good for friends!

While I was in seminary, my friend, Tom, used to throw some delicious parties at his home. The much anticipated centerpiece of Tom’s food spread was always Pico de Gallo. Since Tom was often running behind in his party preparations, I typically went over early to help with the last minute details. More times than not, this meant I helped make the Pico. This was a brilliant way to learn the recipe by heart, so thank you, Tom.

fresh and ready to stir

I try to make at least one batch of Pico per year, and since the tomatoes have finally begun to ripen up around here, I got to make my first Pico just yesterday. My suggestion is to make a large batch to bring to a party, or to work, which is what I usually do, but yesterday I decided to parcel it out in jars as gifts for friends who like spicy foods. We like ours nice and hot, but Tom trained me well… this “recipe” is very adaptable according to personal preference. Every ingredient is “to taste.”  So if you like the fresh taste of summer, I would highly recommend you chop up a batch for yourself.

fresh and ready to EAT

Here is the “Recipe”… and remember… eyeball it, adjust as you go… and Eat Well.

PICO de GALLO

* TOMATOES… as many ripe, juicy ones as you’ve got… diced by hand using a nice sharp knife. [I used 1 large and 3 small-med. beefsteaks and 1 medium brandywine. I think colored heirloom tomatoes would make this a gorgeous dish!!]
* ONIONS… any kind you like, as much as you like… diced by hand. [I used 3 small yellow and a bit of leftover chopped red.]
* JALAPENO PEPPERS, minced… the darker the color, and with striations, the hotter the pepper. [I used one large and one small, very hot. Note:the ribs, followed by the seeds, are the hottest part of the pepper, so depending on how hot you like it, you can use as much (or little) of these as you prefer. Be careful cutting. The oils will stay on your skin for awhile. Do not rub your eyes, nose, and lips, and do not let your pets or kids get a lick.]
* GARLIC cloves, minced. [Being that this IS a variable recipe, I managed to forget the garlic at first, and so I ended up adding it only to the remaining two jars. I used one large clove. I think two would have been better.]
* CILANTRO, nicely washed, tough stems removed, chopped. [I used two handfuls of leaves.]
* Fresh LIME, squeezed. [I used one whole lime.]
* SALT. [Be as generous as necessary with your salt. It really enhances the fresh taste of the tomatoes!!]

STIR and EAT with tortilla chips, on tacos, or by the spoonful!!
Of course, the longer you let the Pico sit, the more the flavors meld, but it doesn’t usually last that long at our house.  In case of leftovers, you must refrigerate!!

remember to tell your friends to refrigerate the Pico

Enjoy the feast!

One fine day in India

Most days, JP and I wake up at 6:30am. JP heads to the shower, and I wake Leila up for her first feeding. Leila and I often play on the bed for awhile, especially if JP has to iron a shirt. Then, the three of us head downstairs, and make our way “home,” which is just a hop, skip, and a jump across the campus to JP’s parent’s house. Leila usually goes for a short walk with Tata, and looks at the plants. She also has a nice good morning chat with Ava, who is usually cooking breakfast. Ava also brings JP and me two hot cups of sweet, milky Indian coffee, and then we know for sure that the day has begun. JP reads the newspaper, and I think about a plan for the day, drink my coffee, and head to the shower.

I am a Type-A personality. India is either Type-B, or in a category all its own… I’m note sure which. This incongruity is an on-again, off-again struggle for me, especially if my aforementioned plan for the day is too detailed. If I’m not careful, I end up feeling like I spin my wheels a lot in India. I’m constantly trying to make myself meet India in the middle. Perhaps what I need more to do, is skip the plan-for-the-day part of my day. That is what I did today (unintentionally, of course,) and it was a very superb day.

Let me tell you all about it.

Last week I ventured out to fabric and tailor shops. By Saturday, I had three brand new, neatly tailored “dresses” in hand. The only problem was that we had neglected to take the dupattas (scarves) to be finished, and so I could not really wear the outfits until Tuesday of this week. So today, my day happily began by wearing the second of my new salwars. I like it very much…

Next, timing things properly with Leila’s second feeding and nap time, JP and I went to the shopping district where it was our mission to buy 60 green scarves from “Dupatta House.” A friend from home asked if we would bring these for the purpose of decorating her wedding, and to hand out as gifts/favors. It was a worrisome venture for me, as I was having to choose from limited stock, dozens of greens scarves that may or not not actually match or be the correct style of material for the right cost. It took about 45 minutes to dredge the bottom of all the scarf seller’s piles, and even he said that no one else would be able to buy green scarves from him for awhile. I took a picture of our 20 lb. bag of scarves, but what I wish you could see would be a picture of JP and I riding the motorcycle back with this parcel between us! I am so relieved to have this project taken care of… at least until we have to Fed Ex them in Michigan.

it is bigger than it looks, I think...

DISCLAIMER: We will not be doing this again for obvious reasons!:)

One of the things I miss most when I’m in India is cooking and baking. As it turns out, there were some very ripe bananas at home that were just begging to be added to some bread. During the first weeks that we were in India, two things happened. First, we bought an oven for JP’s parents’ 32nd anniversary. It is like a very large toaster oven, and is actually an oven/toaster/grill, akin to the microwave/oven/grill that was here previously.

Oven on right, next to the microwave.

Next, I found a very decent looking recipe on a favorite cooking blog that I follow. I actually like to follow this particular blog because Ilva, the author, posts a lot of beautiful photos from Italy, where she lives, but I’ve never made one of her recipes. However, she posted a recipe for Gluten-free Chocolate Banana Bread, using Chickpea flour, and it jumped out at me because chickpea (or channa) flour is very readily available in India. So, this afternoon I was able to go to town on the banana bread. I was excited to use red bananas, as well as one mini-banana to fill things out. I even thew in some walnuts, as I’m newly converted to walnuts.

Leila is introduced to red bananas

The bread turned out quite well, especially considering my baking history here in India is less than perfect. (Many of you have heard “The Cake Story,” which nearly ruined my relationship with JP the first time that I came to India.) I’m grateful that things get slightly easier each time I bake here. For example, JP is always careful to buy unbroken eggs from the shop nearby. I’ve learned where the oil is. I know how to “powder” the sugar, which is very granular here. I even found something to sift the flour with this time! And, I especially enjoyed using this recipe because the measurements were in milliliters, (she also converts to American equivalents) and she listed the celsius temperature, which I usually have to convert with JP’s help. The only “oops” that I had, was forgetting to flip the switch that turns on the electrical power for the oven. (Outlets here often have an on/off switch next to them that you must turn on for the current to flow. That is the switch that I forgot to flip.) So, when I went to put my little loaves in the oven, it was still cold, and I had to wait another ten minutes. (Oops.) It was worth waiting for, thankfully, and we ended up with a nice warm loaf of bread to eat with our evening chai.

note my innovative cooling rack

Chocolate Banana Bread with walnuts

Just as the last loaf was finishing in the oven, I went upstairs to check on Leila and came upon the man who came to fix our water filter. The apartment has its own aqua guard filter, but it broke down about two weeks ago. It took about four days to get the guy to come look at it, and since then we’ve been hauling our water bottles up and downstairs, waiting for the correct parts to arrive for our 17-year old water filter. At long last, the parts came, the man came, the filter got fixed, and we have drinkable water again. Hooray!

Aquaguard-- all lights say go

For a day without a plan, I sure felt like a lot of things got accomplished.

…And now, for the ironic ending… I was having so much trouble with loading the pictures from the computer to the blog that I gave up and went to bed, and now I am posting this the following day!!

Leila being a little crabby, and chewing on Tony the crab.

Seattle

Baby + Baggage & still smiling

OK, so traveling is not as simple as it used to be.  Gone are the days of minimal luggage and tiny carry-ons.  Gone are the opportunities to explore the airport shops, or kick up my heels on the nearest seat and sip a coffee.  Instead, we pack to the gills, bring four carry-ons and a baby, and quick nurse then cram some food down our throats, just in time to hop on the  plane.  Despite these changes, we had a fantastic trip to Seattle with our little Leila.  She is a charmer, and everyone in the airports and on the planes loved her.  Probably the most difficult thing is that she needs/wants to know what is going on at all times, and thus refuses to sleep.  On our trip out to Seattle, she managed to skip two naps, sleeping for only 20 minutes as we landed.  It threw off her schedule for a couple of days, but even then, she was a dear and seemed to love being in Seattle with her Amy “Chithi” and Kyle “Chithappa.”

smiling at her aunt and showing off her “first flight” certificate

a bit of jet lag the first day…

whee!!

Leila adores her Chithi and Chithappa

YAY!

Back in 1998/99, I lived in Seattle for a year while I did junior high youth ministry at University Presbyterian Church.  It was a remarkable year.  Though I had already moved a number of times with my family, and  lived in another country for six months,  Seattle was different.  I had committed to a year’s worth of ministry (at least,) and I didn’t know a single soul living on the west coast (minus one friend in San Diego.)  There have been a couple of times in my life that I have agreed to do things seemingly on a whim, and realized after the fact that it was all God’s plan.  Moving to Seattle was one of those things.  If I had been in my right mind, I would never have gone, but God’s call on my life was fierce, and I went.  At first I was oblivious to how new and difficult everything was, but then I realized that I didn’t know anyone there, I wasn’t sure how to do my job, and I had to use public transportation because my car broke down right before I left Michigan.  It took at least three tough months of transition time and significant adjustment, and then I began to fall in love with Seattle.  I began to embrace the gift from my host family of an old Subaru stick shift, and learned to drive it and parallel park on the hills!   I even learned to appreciate the hours of time I spent in traffic between West Seattle and the U-District.  I learned precious things about ministry-related gifts that God had blessed me with, and just how grand my affection for junior high students would become.  I learned not only what “teriyaki” was, but how much I would crave eating it.  I learned to pronounce my “o’s” properly.  I knew on which horizon I should look for Mount Rainier, and a favorite past time became picking over the stones and sea glass on the shores of the Sound.  Coffee became a good, good friend.  As my year ticked away, Seattle became my heart’s home, and leaving there was one of the hardest things I ever did.  It is harder than hard to have my sister and kindred spirit, Amy, out there, but it is a rich blessing at the same time.  If Amy and Kyle didn’t live in Seattle, I don’t know that my pocketbook would afford the trips.  It isn’t the same thing as living there, but visiting there makes me feel full and alive.  It was GOOD to be in my heart’s home.

If you know Amy and I at all, we like food.  We like to talk about, create, and eat food in equal proportion.  So, as you already witnessed in JP’s blog entry… we eat good food in Seattle.  This trip’s theme would certainly be donuts, but we enjoyed lots of other great meals too.  Perhaps the very best was the home-cooked steak dinner with “Pink Fantasy Cake” for dessert on Valentines Day.  (Thanks to Amy and Kyle for letting us crash your first V-Day as a married couple!)  I’ll include some photos of the foods we ate, and a few links to some great places to check out if you’re ever in Seattle.

final touches on the "Pink Fantasy" Cake

Yes... we managed to fit in Top Pot as well...

Top Pot website

"The Bullseye"

Pike’s Place Market is a favorite stop for us in Seattle.  It was a CHILLY, but sunny and beautiful Monday morning that we poked around the stalls.  Also, the first EVER Starbucks is right across the street, and it was my “touristy” request to stop in.

Blue Sky Monday

ah, the colors!

something new... Lemon Drop Plums

the sign said Lobster Tails for Grilling

note the "shrimp caviar"

fennel

The First Starbucks

Leila eyes Her first Starbucks

Well, this is getting long, and there is still more food to mention…  Check back again soon for another Seattle post.  And, stayed tuned for contest #2!

Giving Thanks

Leila celebrated her first holiday– American Thanksgiving– and was, of course, the star of the show.  We traveled up north to spend the time with my parents, and also got to visit my Grammie (Leila’s Great Grandmother!) for the first time with the baby.  It was precious to see Grammie show Leila off to the folks at her retirement home.  We got a great generational photo…

Great Grammie- Mom- Ava (Grandmother)-Daughter !!!

I think it is a real treasure to be able to have so many generations together at one time.  I’m looking forward to capturing a similar moment in India with JP’s three grandparents.

Chatting with Ava

Reading with Tata

Leila is beginning to smile and coo quite a bit these days, which makes her seem downright conversational, and 100% adorable.  She wins over everyone she meets.  (Not that I expected much less, as she is her father’s daughter through and through.)

Now, for the other important reason that I needed to post about Thanksgiving, and that is on the topic of THE RELISH TRAY.  Do any of you have a relish tray on your Thanksgiving table?  The Wing family always has a relish tray, and it has long been the responsibility of my sister, Amy, and I to prepare the relish tray before the meal.  This job involves a full scale raid on the fridge, seeking out every last variety of olive, pickle, and pepper– and in my parent’s refreigerator it is a veritable relish haven, sometimes numbering in the dozens– and cramming them as artfully as possible onto the Relish Tray.

Now this year, Amy was not at the Wing’s for Thanksgiving, and I had a baby along with, and babies change lots of things.  So, this year Amy made her relish tray in Seattle, and toted it to the Morgan family Thanksgiving feast, and I found myself doing something else (green bean casserole, I think) at relish tray  time.  This year in Glen Lake Dad made the relish tray, and it was beautiful to behold.

I’d like to dedicate this blog to Amy, and say “Relish On!!”

Relish Tray Beauty

Hibernation

It has taken some time for the start of this semester to slow down, but here it is Friday afternoon, and I’m realizing that things have indeed slowed down, if only just a bit. This morning, one of our student workers told me that college life can make it difficult to do a decent job of hibernating in the winter. With all of the low temperatures and snow that we’ve been accumulating, we probably should all be hibernating a bit more than we have been around campus. (No snow days in college!)

Anyway, being that life has slowed down for the moment, and in honor of hibernation, I’m taking the liberty of drinking a cup of vanilla tea, and trying to catch up on my stack reading. For now I’ve opted for Girl Meets God by Lauren F. Winner. I’ve just begun, but it is an interesting memoir of a quirky girl on a faith quest. She converts to Orthodox Judaism (not a short or simple journey), and then converts to Christianity. In addition to all of that, the book appears to be filled with many smile-shaped trinkets of stories along the way. I’ll enjoy it.

Tonight, also in honor of hibernation, I’m making soup. I haven’t decided which soup, but we did some grocery shopping last night and have the ingredients on hand for at least three soups. Maybe we’ll have soup all weekend long. That would also be good for hibernation!

Hope you all have some quite, yummy, indoor moments this weekend– especially if you live in the colder parts of the world!!

Look Mom, No Eggshells!

(Originally written on January 11)

I once helped my mom make a cheesecake while I was home on break during college. It was the first cheesecake that I ever helped with, to my recollection, and I was nervous but proud to be making something so “difficult.” My mom used her food processor to mix the cheesecake filling,which I thought was a very good idea. The only problem was that I was not then, nor am I now, very good at breaking eggs open. I often end up smashing the egg more than cracking it, and then I have to stick my finger into the “crack” (or smash) and pull the eggshell apart. This may or may not result in eggshell falling into my batter or dough.. it just depends what kind of mood I’m in. So anyway, on my first cheesecake-making day I was a little nervous about the eggs because I had to break one at a time, and then send it down through the chute on top of the food processor. My mom encouraged me to tap the egg right on the chute to crack it, and then drop the egg in. It went well for the first two eggs, but on the third egg, my fingers shook a little and that caused the WHOLE egg, shell included, to drop down into the food processor. This may have been a salvageable mission, had the food processor not been running! We tediously and painstakingly tried to collect all of the pieces of eggshell from the filling, but worried that there were more than our probing fingers could find. We held our breath as it baked, and sighed happily at its beauty after it cooled. And then it came time to slice it, and eat it… and I promise you… each and every bit crunched. Each and Every bite. I couldn’t bring myself to eat cheesecake, especially plain cheesecake, for many years.

So, today is my friend Lori’s birthday– HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Lori!!– and I decided that I wanted to make her a cheesecake to top off our dinner last night. I used that very same tried and true recipe from years ago, and stayed far, far away from my food processor. (It sure took a long time to get it nice and smooth with a hand mixer!!) This cheesecake looked exactly the same as the last one I made, but thankfully, it was satisfyingly un-crunchy!

So, JP and I thank you, Lori, for having a birthday and restoring our faith in our cheesecake baking and eating skills. Have a birthday any time you’d like- we’ll gladly eat cheesecake with you.

And, look Mom, no eggshells!