June & Blog Squad Prompt Numero Uno

Where has it gone???

Since the last post I have cooked and baked my little heart out. My family and I also went to Disney World. What? Yep. It was a blast, and I'll most likely post pictures of it later.

But for now I have another thing to write about...... Ecuador! That's right. My trip is rapidly (very, very rapidly) approaching, and I have signed on to be a Blog Squad blogger about my trip. I have been given a series of prompts to be completed at different stages of my study abroad, and this is the first.


Prompt #1: What to Expect...

You’ve been going through all the steps to go abroad and, now, suddenly, it’s time to go! As you prepare to depart are you excited? Stressed out? Or maybe a little of both?

Both! Honestly though, I'm a little more stressed right now. My summer at home is already over, and after leaving on Wednesday, I won't be back home until thanksgiving! Which means I won't be able to see my dog!!!!!!!!!! :( :'(

It’s true that studying abroad will be both exciting and, at times, stressful. One way to combat stress, is to recognize that because you are going to a new or different culture, some of your expectations may be inaccurate or too much to hope for. Will you live in a castle in Wales, England – probably not! Will you become fluent in your foreign language in one semester – probably not!

I'm not too worried about expectations or disappointments. I usually just go with the flow on this sort of stuff. What happens, happens, and what doesn't, wasn't meant to be.

Pause for a minute and jot down a few of your expectations; then reflect on whether they are realistic. Why or how might these expectations impact the beginning of your experience abroad?


Okay.. didn't they just tell us to maybe not have a ton of expectations?? That's not confusing. Anyhow, I want to become a more confident traveler, improve my spanish, make friends, and learn as much as I can. I hope I can at least achieve those goals!

If you recognize that some of your expectations might be overly optimistic, are you able to lower your expectations? Are you willing to accept the unexpected – and appreciate the diversity in your new surroundings, lifestyle and friendships?


Here we are again on not having or lowering expectations... seems like we're going a wee bit in circles, doesn't it? But, yes, I am definitely willing to modify (not lower, thank you very much) expectations, and of course I will appreciate the diversity in my surroundings. That is one of the things I'm looking forward to most!

Well there's blog #1! If anyone is just starting to read this blog for the Ecuador section, sorry that there's no handy "About Me" section or anything on the blog, maybe I'll get a chance to fix that.

Toodles!!

The Greens

Naan

 Found here.

Cooked by my mother and me.

Enjoyed by EVERYONE.

Naan

{an East Indian flatbread}

1/2 cup warm water

2 tsp. active dry yeast

1 tsp. sugar

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup canola oil

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1 large egg

melted butter or oil, for frying

Mix together water, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl. Let it rest for about 5 minutes, or until it looks a little foamy.

Stir in flour, salt, oil, yogurt, and egg. Knead until it becomes a soft dough, with no streaks of flour left. Form into a sort of ball, then let rest, covered with a towel over the bowl, for an hour. The dough should double in size. 

Separate into 6-8 pieces (go more for eight- they puff up a lot when cooked!), and roll out into circles or ovals on a lightly floured surface. They should be pretty thin, but still thick enough so you can pick them up without tearing them.

To cook, heat a skillet (a well-seasoned cast iron works best for me) on medium high. Make sure the skillet is nice and preheated before you start cooking, so you can get the nice blistered effect. Drizzle a small amount of oil (I use olive), thinly coat the bottom of the pan with it, and plop one of your naan circles in it!

Cook, flipping as necessary, letting it get all nice and bubbly and almost slightly charred.

Then EAT. 

We enjoyed ours with Indian food, then the cooked leftovers were fine for lunch the next day!

Signs

See my grandma??

. . . . . . 

Fluffy, Whole-Wheat Pancakes

from B.E. Good Cooks, 1984

{makes kind of a lot}

2 cups whole-wheat flour

3 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. salt

1 T brown sugar or honey

3 eggs, separated

2 cups milk

1/2 cup oil

Sift together flour, Baking Powder, salt, and sugar (if using- I used honey). 

Whisk together honey (again, if using), milk and oil. Beat in egg yolks. 

Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients, and stir until just combined. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites.

Cook in a little bit of butter, and enjoy!

Serve with whatever. Some of us had banana and maple syrup, jam, chocolate chips, etc..

Home for Now