Whole Wheat Quick Bread

This recipe has come to be my scrumptulescent friend:::

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2 Cups whole wheat flour
1 Cup white flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 Cup water
1/4 Cup oil
1/4 Cup brown sugar
2 Tbs honey

* Combine ingredients in a bowl. Place desired size of glob on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.

IN and OUT of doors

I've been baking a lot lately. Perhaps because it has been a long time since i've had the chance (four months without access to a kitchen). But now that we are house sitting at The Opal House I have become a mad woman in the kitchen.

One afternoon I was entertaining a couple neighborhood kids IN DOORS and thought they might enjoy baking something. We made oatmeal raisin cookies, not my favorite but we had no chocolate chips. I was playing the role of teacher, showing the kids how to break the eggs and how to measure the flour and so on.

And after we put the cookies in the oven we went OUT of DOORS to pick some oranges to make some juice. And this is when our roles switched. The kids got really excited walking among the trees and telling me about them. They pointed out a lemmon tree that I had failed to notice. And after asking permission they tore into the lemmons, started peeling them right there and tossing the slices into their mouths. I followed suit and it was refreshing but naturally sour. They helped me distinguish between the lime tree and the orange tree (because the fruit on the orange trees are often green too and the word they use for lemon, Lima, is what the dictionary would say is a lime and the word they use for lime, Limon, is what the dictionary would say is a lemon, so the citrus is all kind of confusing here) and then there was the avocado tree and the mysterious fruit tree whose name I didn't recognize and there was no more fruit on it so I'll have to wait to find out what kind of tree it is.

So, I just thought it was interesting how our roles changed IN and OUT of DOORS. Inside I was the teacher of appliances, ingredients, methods and OUT of Doors they were the reminding me of the beauty of barefoot fruit sampling and finding joy in sour citrus.

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You see, we both need each other. No Man Is an Island.

Introducing::: The Opal House

One of my favorite things in life is finding out about wonderful things other people around the world are doing. Por ejemplo: since arriving here it's been great learning about other development projects and compassionate undertakings. One that we have stumbled upon is: The Opal House.

Opal: a precious stone whose brilliance is accentuated by the fissures throughout. the cracks allow for more light to shine through. this was the heart of Will and Diane Boegel's (from Seattle) mission here in Guatemala, to reach out to those who have experienced brokenness in hopes of the light of God shining into and through them.

The Opal House is a 59 acre organic fruit farm with housing for women and children in need. It has evolved much since Will and Diane followed God's call to Lake Atitlan. They are planning on starting an after-school program in a few weeks because they have seen the need to engage the children in their neighborhood. We have been helping out at their Bible Club on Saturday afternoons for about a month now.

The Bible Club is mostly made up of girls because the guys are mostly out working in the fields.

Did I mention that the property has the most incredible view of the lake?

We had a sleep over a couple of weeks ago and Matt and I had the privelege of spending the night in the very same room as the 17 excited Mayan children.

Here we are eating panqueques the morning after the sleep over.

THE EXCITING NEWS:: Will and Diane have gone back to the states for two weeks and they asked us to house sit for them!! woo hoo! more to come on our adventures running the Bible Clubs and general upkeep of 59 acre farm. =)

Living on a Lake

Lately I´ve been Liking Living on a Lake.

Lake Atitlán in all her glory as seen from across the lake in San Marcos.

this is an awesome shot of the lancha docked in Panajachel.

a long term volunteer bought a bike while we were visiting

the other side of the lake.
i absolutely love riding in these boats.
I´m a sucker for an early morning lancha ride.

If there is a short term group volunteering here for a week

they always take a lancha ride on Sundays and we as

long term volunteers are always welcomed to join

which is an excellent perk for a solid week of manual labor.

Here we are on a hike on Cerra de Orro (hill of gold),

which is just one quick pick-up ride away from San Lucas.

The water is smooth like glass early in the morning,

This particular morning we got to

watch the sun come pouring over the mountains

as we paddled in its warmth.

Here is a photo of Matt and I waiting for a boat

at the dock of a neighboring town, Santiago Atitlán.

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The SAD TRUTH::: is that Lake Atitlán is very contaminated. the three main contaminents being:

1 - fertilizers with phosphates seeping into the water from surrounding farms,

2 - the soap which is used for many things particularly washing clothes in the lake also has phosphates

3 - there are no sewage treatment plants on the lake and few septic tanks so the sewage from hotels and entire communities just flows right back into the water.

Read this article to learn more about the situation.

Recipe::: Chai Tea Mix

Chai Tea

Mix

1 Cup nonfat milk powder
1 Cup non-dairy creamer
1/2 Cup sugar

1/2 Cup French vanilla powdered creamer OR

2 Tbs. vanilla extract (pour extract over sugar, let dry, then break apart)

4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp. ground allspice
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. ground cloves

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1. In a large bowl, combine milk powder, non-dairy creamer, vanilla flavored creamer, and sugar. Stir in spices. In a blender or coffee grinder, blend a bit at a time, until mixture is the consistency of fine powder.

2. To serve: Stir 2 heaping tablespoons of Chai tea mixture into a mug of hot water with one black tea bag.

Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año

This photo is of the parish church here in San Lucas.

(see if you can find me in the bottom right corner)

Here are some of the local kids getting ready for the Christmas Posada (parade).
It was such a beautiful experience, there was a posada each night during the twelve days leading up to Christmas. The parade is symbolic of Mary and Joseph wandering through Bethlehem looking for a place to rest. Each night the crowd walks around town, singing Christmas carols, carrying these candle-lanterns and ends up at a different person´s house, inquiring if there is any room for us (and the nativity set powered by a loud, smoky generator carried in a wheelbarrel behind the crowd).

It was quite a beautiful picture: we the parade sang a stanza explaining that we were Mary and Joseph looking for a place to stay and then the people inside the house would sing back to us that there was no room and then we would sing, "but please, it is very cold and Mary is expecting a baby" and so on back and forth AND finally in the last stanza the people inside the house decide to open their doors and LET US IN and there is much rejoicing as the parade is welcomed to partake of the warm company, the popcorn in a bag andthe Caliente (hot yummy, Christmas drink of pineapple and cinnamon origin).

Here is the hostess one night passing out the Caliente.

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Celebrating the Tamale:

In preparation for the Christmas season, I asked different people how they and their families celebrated Christmas and the only answer I ever got (although I know many people in the markets are buying little Christmas gifts for friends and family), the main focus is on the ::: TAMALES!!

Tamales are the quintessential Christmas cuisine here in Guatemala, but they don´t look like the tamales common to Mexico/Texas wrapped in corn husks, instead they are wrapped in large green leaves, tied up with twine like a present and inside each one you find a secret prune, raisin, piece of chicken and two green olives smothered in the traditional tamale sauce mixed with corn meal)

mmm, mnmm, seriously these were indeed such a treat. I think I got to eat about five different TAMALES throughout the Christmas week.