11.23.08
We have a winner
My first attempt at making the Ethiopian Berbere spice mix turned out better than I expected. I was a little conservative with the cayenne pepper this time because I really wanted to be able to eat the stuff. It was spicy but I probably could have stood a little more heat. One tip for anyone trying this at home…when you’re roasting the spices, don’t let them start to smoke and then take a deep breath when you’re near the pan. I made that mistake and nearly choked to death as I inhaled cayenne and paprika fumes!
Once I had the spice mix made, I decided to go ahead and try the Doro Wat (spicy chicken stew) recipe. It was fabulous! The only thing I omitted/substituted in the recipe was the spiced butter (niter kebbeh). I just used plain unsalted butter. I served it over brown rice last night, and we ate leftovers today over Israeli couscous. Both were good but I think the injera is essential to get the full Ethiopian flavor and effect. That will be the next recipe I try but I’ll have to order the teff flour from Amazon. I don’t think substitutions will work well with injera.
I’m looking forward to a 2-day work week and lots of referral news this week!!
11.22.08
Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice
Six referrals this week, 4 of which were girls. Woohoo! Things are moving along nicely except for court dates. Apparently, there are only two judges that handle adoption cases in Ethiopia and one of them is on maternity leave, so things seem to be getting pretty backed up over there. This is definitely not good news for families who have received their referrals and are waiting for court dates. There have also been a few families who didn’t pass court on their first try, which means a rescheduled court date and MORE waiting to bring their little ones home. There are so many unknowns in international adoption.
I got my new camera this week. I love, love, love it! Fortunately, it has an auto mode. I have absolutely no idea how to use the manual settings, so this is a good thing. 
I’m going to have fun learning.
I’m going to attempt to make my own Ethiopian Berbere spice mix today. I’ve scoured the internet looking for recipes. There are numerous versions and I have no idea which is the most authentic but I found one that uses all ground spices, so that’s the one I’m going to try. Most of the recipes recommend using whole spices but since I already have most of the ingredients in the ground form, I’ll go with this one:
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
- 1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 4 to 6 tablespoons of a combination of ground cayenne pepper (red pepper, dried chile peppers, or red pepper flakes) and paprika
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
What you do
- In a heavy skillet over medium heat, toast the dried spices for a few minutes — stirring or shaking the skillet continuously to avoid scorching. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Mix cooled spices in a spice grinder or blender, or use a mortar and pestle. Store the berberé powder in a tightly-sealed container.
Anyone else tried this or a similar recipe?
11.17.08
Snips & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails
Our agency received 6 referrals last week…all boys! Another boy referral came in today as well. Woohoo! It’s great to hear about all the ecstatically happy families!
Saturday night Owen and I met up with our local adoption friends at an Ethiopian restaurant in Atlanta. It was great to hang out with The Nichol’s, The Carley’s, and The Walker’s. Great conversation and good food. It doesn’t get much better than that. I can’t wait until we all have our little ones home.
I’m getting a little more used to the spiciness of Ethiopian food. I’m not much of a spicy food eating kinda girl but I actually enjoyed my meal. I tried the Ye Beg Wot (Key Wot), which is strips of lamb braised in the famous (or infamously hot) berbere sauce of Ethiopian cuisine. I also tried the Ye Beg Alicha, strips of lamb braised in a tumeric sauce with garlic and pepper. I think this one is my new favorite. Not spicy but very flavorful. We’re looking forward to trying more Ethiopian restaurants around town.
I’ve been researching cameras for the last couple of months. Angie really inspired me to give the digital SLR a go. Check out her blog and you’ll see why. Yesterday I finally made the big purchase. I ordered the Nikon D60 10.2 MP Digital SLR. I found the killer deal on Amazon. It includes the following:
Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens
Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR Zoom Nikkor Lens
A 4 GB SD memory card
USB card reader
Lens cleaning kit
Camera bag
An extra EN-EL9 rechargeable lithium replacement battery
A full-size 59″ tripod with case
An instructional DVD (which I’m definitely going to need!)
All of this for the price of what the camera alone retails for just about anywhere. I’m so excited. It should be here Wednesday. I can’t wait to learn how to use it.
11.04.08
Another referral
Yay! Another referral came in yesterday for a 5-1/2 month old baby girl! Don’t know who the lucky family is yet but it’s so exciting.
