Traveling the World

One of my best friends is now blogging!  She has a wonderful idea of sharing her year 22 bucket list.  Check out all 22 items here and follow along with her on her journey.  Item number 16 has inspired this new part of my blog: discover a new country via the internet.

I'm reluctant to change my current address on facebook back to the U.S.  And since I don't think I'll be using my passport anytime soon, this seems to be a good way to get my need to travel out of my system.  Or just make it worse.  Probably make it worse.

Instead of throwing a dart at a map or spinning a globe to see where my thumb lands (I've considered both) I'll be using the Joshua Project as a starting point in exploring the world.  For those who aren't familiar with this organization one thing they do is put together a collective list of unreached people groups and update it when they have new information.  An unreached people group is an ethnic group that has not heard the Good News of Jesus, or one that has very few Christians.

I have added a gadget to the bottom of my blog to help you keep track of unreached people groups daily.  I'll try weekly to highlight one in a post.  The website has information such as obstacles the people face, outreach ideas, and how we can pray for the people of that group.



Ahar of India taken from the Joshua Project.

Today it is the Ahar of India.  The caste system was officially outlawed several years ago, but most people in India still practice it.  They belong to one of the higher castes, which can work against them when it comes to accepting the Gospel.  According to the Joshua Project they may not see the need of a Savior like some of the lower caste people do.

Some interesting facts...mango is the national fruit.  I just happen to be allergic to mango.

They have an Indian version of Hollywood called Bollywood.  I've seen one of their movies and it was actually pretty good.  I would suggest you find one that sounds interesting and watch it.

And for weddings and other special occasions they decorate themselves with henna which is a substances made from tea leaves.  Do it.  Just make sure it's real henna and not the fake stuff at county fairs that burns your skin.  I'll post my picture as soon as I can find it.

One of the favorite tourist cities and one that holds great importance to Indians is Agra which is also a small town in Oklahoma.  Tell that to the international student at OSU.  They find it odd.  So do I.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

This weeks baking adventure is a chocolaty twist on the old fashioned Thanksgiving favorite pecan pie.  Pies are not my forte, so I'm a little scared about how this is going to turn out.

Background:
My mom found this in a magazine (one of my favorite places to find recipes) a few years ago.  She's the one that always made this for Thanksgiving, so I thought I would give it a try this year with the prior knowledge that when I went to bake it last year with my Vietnamese friend I had problems.  But with a positive mindset, I thought I would give it another try.  Oh, and Nestle sponsored this recipe.  You can find this more Nestle favorites here.

Recipe:

1 unbaked 9-inch deep-dish pie shell
3 large eggs
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pecan halves, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter, and vanilla extract in medium bowl with a wire whisk.  Stir in pecans.  Sprinkle chunks over bottom of crust.  Pour pecan mixture into pie shell.  Bake for 50-55 minutes or until knife inserted 2 inches from center comes out with little bits of filling attached.  If browning too quickly, cover with foil.  Cool on wire rack for 2 hours; refrigerate until serving time.

My notes:
When you use the pie shell, make sure you coat it with flour first.  The directions are on the side of the box.  Also, I changed the type of chocolate to dark chocolate chips to tone down the sweetness and to make me feel better about eating something with so much sugar.  Everyone knows dark chocolate is good for you.  Also, my mom always told me to wrap foil around the edges of the pie pan to cover the crust.  This helps to keep the crust from getting dark/burnt when the rest of the pie is still cooking.

How it turned out:
My crust looks great...I think.  Any crust experts out there?  The middle looks to be a few shades darker than golden brown (better than the plain dark brown of the center last time I made this).  The directions say to keep it in the oven until little pieces of filling come out with the knife.  That never happened to me.  After 10 extra minutes on top of the 55 the recipe called for, I took it out so it wouldn't get too dark. I even put foil on top of it at about the 55 mark to prevent the darkening.  This being said, I might have me a runny pecan pie. 

Sidenote: Dad just came in and said everything was going to be okay.  It will thicken up as it cools.  I'm feeling a little bit better about all this.  Maybe I should have just taken it out earlier if this is the case.

***Update.  The pie was good.  I received several complements.  It wasn't runny at all.  I think in the future I'll disregard the knife part of the instructions and just take it out at 55 minutes***

I know I promised you a picture.  I took pictures.  But this here computer doesn't have a place for me to put my camera card.  Can't win for losing, now can I?

As soon as Thanksgiving dinner is over, I'll give you an update on how it actually tastes.

Up next:
I'm back to cookie baking.  I've baked enough pies for a lifetime.  Grand total: 2.

Cookie Time

Okay, so I mentioned in my last post about not really having anything to blog about.  Well, that problem is now partially solved.  My goal is to bake a different kind of something every week and provide you with the recipe and my reviews.  I like to change things up a bit when I'm in the kitchen so I'll cite where my inspiration came from and then tell you the changes I made.

I LOVE cookies; they are so easy to grab, easy to store, not messy, and they can keep awhile too.  Most of my baking will be different kinds of cookies.  If I had all the money in the world, I would open up a cookie/coffee/book shoppe.  Flour from the middle east, cane sugar from central or south America, coffee from Africa.  All ingredients from small farmers just trying to survive. 

Maybe when I retire.  For now I'm supporting my local grocery store.

First cookie up: White Chocolate Mocha

Background information:  Original recipe found here.  I just want you to know I had to search for like 30 minutes to find where I got that recipe.

My recipe:

2 eggs

2 teaspoons instant coffee crystals
2 tablespoons coffee-flavored liqueur
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

In a small bowl, dissolve instant coffee crystals into the coffee liqueur; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar.

Gradually add eggs and coffee mixture while mixing.

Sift together the flour,cocoa,baking soda,and salt,Stir into the creamed mixture.

Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.

Cookies should be at least 2 inches apart.

Bake for 23 to 25 minutes.

Immediately transfer cookies to cooling rack after baking.

These keep well at room temperature or refrigerated.

My notes:
Instead of using semi-sweet chocolate chips like the recipe called for, I used white chocolate chips.  Mainly so that I could name it White Chocolate Mocha.  And it gave the cookie some contrasting color.  For the coffee liqueur I used Kahlua.  I tell you this because buying coffee liqueur was my first experience in the liquor store and knowing a brand name would have made the experience less intimidating.

My rating: [*****]
I don't want you thinking just because I blog about a cookie that it came out perfectly.  Sometimes my changes don't turn out so good.  So, from now on I will rate the cookie.  Flavor was rich and chocolaty with a hint of coffee.  The texture was soft.  This will hit a home run for the chocolate coffee lovers out there.

Sorry for the absence of a picture.  I'll get you one next time.  If you want some of my cookies let me know!  I have plenty to give away each week.  Unfortunately these are all gone.

Up next:
Okay, I still have not decided.  It has the potential to be great, though!

Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in my Heart

Whew.  I feel like I'm in this limbo period of my life.  No work, no set time to go to classes.  I don't know what to do with myself.  This leaves little to blog about and a lot of time to ponder.

Usually, when I ponder too much I end up a basket case.  There are so many things I miss about my mom and many more things I just never learned from her.  Yesterday I was sad and irritated because I don't know how to make goulash.  It's the stupid little things that get me.  I mean, come on.  Goulash?

This is just one example of many.  There has been an OSU football helmet moment, a girly movie moment, a chicken moment, a picture moment, a boy moment.

I know I find my joy in the Lord and not in circumstances, but I've been finding that hard lately.  I know there are reasons to be joyful.  My mom is joyful.  She would want me to be that way, too.  It's just not easy.

So I'm pressing forward, looking for the joy I know to be deep down in my heart.