Homemade coffee liqueur was one of the first liqueurs I experimented with when I realized that Malabo would be an excellent opportunity to get really really good at my hobbies (one of which is DIY everything). A copycat Kahlua looked easy, and I thought it’d be easy to make in bulk for Christmas presents. I… Read More Homemade coffee liqueur (Kahlua, Tia Maria)
I am too hipster to buy cucumber vodka in a store. I’m a snob. There, I said it. “Oh, this wasn’t artisinally made for by subsistence farmers in a village that doesn’t have power or running water? WELL, NO THANKS, SIR.” But Malabo isn’t like that. There are for sure subsistence farmers on Bioko Island,… Read More Cucumber infused vodka
We’ve been slowly settling back into life in America. Yes, America! We left Jerusalem and we’re now living in Arlington, VA, where we’ll be for the next several months as I prepare for Malabo. While not at work, I’ve been amusing myself by ordering my Starbucks coffee in English, and making desserts. But only easy desserts. Like… Read More Easy Cake Pops
Chocolate covered dates are an easy beginning to my foray into Palestinian desserts. They’re a special occasion treat, something that I’ve seen mostly in small quantities at iftars or to be sold to tourists at artisan markets. The dates are delicious and rich, a perfect accompaniment for coffee, but not something to be consumed in large… Read More Palestinian Desserts – Chocolate Covered Dates Stuffed with Pecans
I made all of both my daughters’ baby food for stretches of about six months per child. It sucked at first, but I slowly got into a rhythm that allowed me to make it in large batches. Look, being a working mother is hard (being a mother is hard, period). And I can see why folks don’t… Read More Making baby food in two hours per week (or less, even as an expat)
The longer we’re in Jerusalem, more in love I fall with the incredibly varied cuisine here. And like many international cuisines, no matter where the source, traditional recipes are long and labor intensive. I’m making an effort to learn one recipe a week, integrating it into my weekly paleo cook-up. Sometimes, as with a recent experiment… Read More Kousa Mahshi (Palestinian stuffed zucchini)
Are you awesome? Could you be considered a lady by any crazy stretch of the definition? Do you love crafting and struggle to set aside time to work on projects that make YOU feel GREAT? Join The Awesome Ladies Project and pledge two hours a month to creating a project that makes you feel like an awesome… Read More Join Us for the Awesome Ladies Project this Friday!
I am working on taking my lunch to work every day, but I needed an easy way to make an entire week’s worth of lunches in advance. I actually do a great job of cooking a week’s worth of food at once on Sundays, but never seem to find time in the mornings to pack my… Read More Mason Jar Broccoli and Pomegranate Salad
This year, I chose “nourish” as my One Little Word. Like last year’s word, “breathe,” it feels a little bit out of character for me. I’m an excellent planner and project manager. I’m hyper-organized. I’m on top of everything. I am not a particularly warm and fuzzy person. You can tell when I’m starting to… Read More On nourishing what I love, and consuming less of what I don’t
I am an avid scrapbooker. I began when my first daughter was born, and realized how ephemeral our wealth of digital photos really was. Since then, we’ve had hard drive failures, toddlers spilling coffee on laptops, and a number of international moves. These days, I think of the scrapbooks as a physical backup of the memories we’ve… Read More Documenting the holidays: Keeping it small, keeping it simple