the last supper

This is the last meal I'll be cooking in our Kerman home. Eggplants, tomatoes, and basil from our garden, plus carrots, garlic, green pepper, olive oil, and spices.

All the kitchen stuff is packed except a few essentials. It's sad to leave our friends here, and our still productive garden, but we're excited to be in La Jolla and for a new adventure.

The trip to Utah and elsewhere was fantastic, so thanks to all of you Jorgies for making it wonderful. Kris has been sick for the past 3 days so I've been packing on my own and with a little help from some wonderful ladies in the ward.

Sam has been having a rough time post-trip with all the traveling and now all the packing and big changes. Oh, and the fact that he's getting 2 molars and a very painful front, top tooth. Despite this he has figured out how to do the sign for milk, say cookie (cah-koo), and incorporate a few more dance moves into his repertoire.

Zucchini Quesadillas

Guess what! I made something. Me. Not Aaron.

I saw this yummy recipe and made it since we have zucchini from our garden. I didn't have corn, so I put in some green pepper, and I added a can of black beans. I used a combo of jack and cheddar cheese.
The garlic makes it.

Delish.

On Homemade Ice Cream

We have three ice cream makers. One (a small one that you stick in the freezer and then use a hand-crank) I got for Aaron on Father's Day when our oldest was a baby. Number two was one of those traditional ones that makes a lot - loud, with the wood exterior - remember? Three, we just got.

We've used it twice now, both times vanilla (once vanilla bean - which is amazing), both times for Mom and Dad. Both times the ice cream was eaten too quickly for (good) photos.

Something that's interesting that we've learned about making ice cream (from Alton Brown) is that you can substitute fruit preserves (not jam, preserves) for part of the sugar in equal amounts. The pectin is supposed to help the ice cream set up, too. So we take out about 2T of sugar and add 2T peach preserves. It adds just a really subtle flavor - not even a flavor, more like a layer of taste or something. It's definitely still vanilla.



But it's extra delicious. Especially when served with warm chocolate chip cookies (or, when forced, lesser white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies from dough you were suckered into buying for a fundraiser from a neighbor kid).

pie for breakfast

This was the best pie I've ever made (now that I have 3 years of pie making experience, thanks to Kris's love of it). I made it for a 4th of July party and came across the picture the other day. This was before the top crust was put on and it was cooked. Fresh, local blackberries and strawberries, sugar, butter, and flour. It was amazing--and that's from me, Jenn, and I am not much of a pie enthusiast. Of course it was served with vanilla ice cream. Oh, and the title is such because pie is probably Kris's favorite breakfast food.

milk bars

Milk bars were subsidized cafeteriaswhich were developed during the Soviet Era, so that anyone could afford a big plate of hearty food. Lucky for me, these places are still around. I eat at one of these almost everyday, because they offer so much food for so little money. This potatoe pancake dish, served with cabbage, carrots and peppers, is a big hit with us grad students here in krakow. 

Camp Food

I just got back from Girls' Camp with my stake. We were up at the Heber Valley Camp, which is seriously amazing. The church is really doing an amazing thing making all these camps for Young Women. It was an awesome setup.

I'd heard such praise about the food the girls eat at camp. One of my neighbors is the camp cook, and has been for years and years. She has other callings, but insists on keeping this calling as well, which isn't easy. She is crazy-organized.

A huge part of why the food is good is because she can bake. She does use Dutch ovens for some stuff, but she uses these box ovens that she's made. On the ground is a piece of foil with a raised rack and hot coals surrounding the rack. Then she puts this foil-covered box over top and she can make anything.



When I first arrived at camp there were fresh from-scratch chocolate chip cookies to munch on. It was kinda funny, as people from other wards would walk by our campsite and be like 'How did you make those?' and people from the stake and from the campground were always hanging out watching Susan bake. As part of the girls' service project they made some box ovens to give to the couple-missionaries who live at the camp.

It's pretty cool because if you have an 'oven' you can make just about anything while you're camping. Really opens up your outdoor meal options.



That night she baked hams and parker house rolls (from scratch), made a yummy cheesy potato dutch oven dish (it had sprite in it!), (salad), and fried up donuts. Her spudnuts are a huge tradition at camp.



Pretty decent food when she cooked - but some of our meals were by the stake all together in the pavilion. My second night we had Hawaiian Haystacks by the stake. I tried to explain (just to those sitting by me) that that dish is not Hawaiian. It's such a 'Mormon' dish and I've never had it anywhere but Utah. People were shocked. It's standard Utah fare.

This particular batch of 'haystacks' was not so tasty.

Pierogies

Today after class I ate lunch at this super cheap and eccentric hole-in-the-wall place.  I had some pierogies which were very tasty.