Catching up

Here is one of the aligators from the DeYoung Zoo we went to this summer

Faith trying on a helmet out at camp

Faith was so excited to get to hold the baby monkey. Isn't the picuture CUTE!!!

Faith and RJ (Joe's nephew) running to find more animals at the zoo.

Faith petting a baby wolf

Feeding the goats

This is Joe and Faith after we went Kayaking we found a little beach and there was a train bridge Joe took the kids up there to take a look.

Faith and RJ having fun with squirt guns at Family camping with Joes family

Faith, RJ, and Joe

RJ and Faith had a great time together. They would eat all of there meals together and play and they sure had a great time together



Joe and I took a road trip one day to Copper Harbor and we went to Estivant Pines where they have some of the biggest pines in the area. It was a beautiful place and we had a blast. We had so much fun we are planning to go back in October for a long weekend when the leaves are changing.

This is Faith having fun at Bible school this summer. They had the theme of high seas adventure so they were blowing bubbles in the water to represent turbulant seas. Faith had a great time!!

I found these flowers behind grandmas house and i think they are sooooo beautiful! What great color..

We had a wild went party at work this summer and this is Faith and a few of her friends ready for the Ho Down!!!! It was a blast

Faith playing "tennis" at daycare



When Joe and i went on our road trip we would stop where ever we wanted ( it was sooo nice) and Joe saw this rock sculpture of a ship and we had to stop. Try it some time, take a day trip and pick a direction, and go, stop where you want it was a great trip and we had such a blast!
Faith watching herself in the mirror at camp.

I picked A LOT of blueberries this year!!

Faith and her baby getting ready to relax at camp
This is camp! We have spend some great times out here this summer!!
Joe and I out for my friend Tara's birthday. We had a great time!!


We have been having a wonderful summer and we have been on the go go go. Just wanted to catch everyone up on what s been going on this summer since my computer was on the fritz. But now its all good and so here are some of the pictures to go along with our adventures.

A Glimpse

(double click to enlarge)

Just a quick glimpse of the wedding that I went to this weekend.  My friends Kathy and Drew were married on August 21st which is my Mom & Dad's Wedding Anniversary.  It was neat to be at a wedding on the same day.  Knowing both the bride and groom for quite some time it was difficult to know which side of the church to sit on.  Their reception was outside underneath a tent (thank goodness because it rained all day) and had a picnic theme.  It was really delightful.  Carrie was bridesmaid extraordinaire! 

Bannanna Peze - Fried Plantains

The best way to eat Pikliz is to eat them on fried plantains. It is the perfect combination of slightly sweet and spicy. They were so delicious that they were devoured before I had a chance to get a picture of the final product. The biggest challenge for me on this recipe was figuring out the best oil temperature to keep it from splattering. This was tricky with the new gas stove but after a few minutes I managed to settle the oil down and keep the kitchen from burning down!

This is the last of my Haitian Dinner Cuisine Posts. One last thing that I made was Fwuitponch (Fruit Punch). It was divine and it actually was the "dish" that took me the longest to prepare; several hours of squeezing and pressing the watermelon, grapefruits, and minolo oranges. A healthy dose of sugar was added and the fwuitponch was chilled and consumed lickety split!

Mais Moulin

Mais Moulin is a delicious corn dish.  It can also be called corn mush but I think it sounds a lot better to call it Haitian Pollenta.  It is served with avocados or with the sos pwa nwa.  I like it best with both!  It has a sweet and ever so slight nutty flavor to it.  The course corn meal gives it "good bite." 

Sweat out the onions in the butter (oops, some tomatoes hopped in while I prepared the onions).  Then add the tomatoes, paste, garlic, and thyme.  Cook them all down until they are soft.

Add water and bring it to a rapid boil

Whisk in the course corn meal. 

Isn't course corn meal pretty?

Simmer and add the coconut milk.

Voila - it's done!

\

Serve warm or cold!

Sitwon Poul - Lime Chicken

Ingredients:  Lime, Honey, Garlic, Dry Mustard, Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Pepper, Salt, Olive Oil, Fresh Basil (not shown:  Bone In Chicken Thighs)

Marinate four hours in the refrigerator.












Bake in the oven approximately 1 hour.  Serve hot and forget to take a picture until over half of them have been eaten!

Recipe compliments of http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1639,158191-245194,00.html

Refreshers

Sos Pwa Nwa - Black Bean Sauce

I have to admit this dish doesn't look one bit appetizing but I LOVE IT!  It is delicious through and through.  It tastes like I remember - spicy, warm, creamy, flavorful.  It is a actually a very complex set of flavors all mashed into this. 

Here's what's in it.

Black Beans, Onions, Ground Cloves, Garlic, Jalapeno, Habeneros, Bacon!

and tomato paste!  almost forgot it!

If you are going to indulge in these (above) - you must have a pair of these (below)

And to make that marvelous mess - the food processor!

This recipe was fantastic and comes from a blogger who you can find at:  http://www.watchingthewaters.com/2010/07/sos-pwa-nwa-black-bean-sauce.html

Pikliz

Pikliz is Haitian Spicy (really super spicy) coleslaw.  It is fabuously wonderful especially when served on bannanna peze (fried plantain slices).  More to come on that!  The main ingredients are shredded cabbage and carrots (I should have shredded my cabbage more finely next time.  I will use the food processor next time), habenero peppers (these babies are what make this so hot, whole cloves and whole peppercorns.

I shredded up the cabbage and coleslaw and then began to layer these veggies into widemouth canning jars with the habenero peppers, cloves, and peppercorns tucked in between.  Then I added white wine vinegar up to the top of the jar and seal them up and let them "pickle" and "heat up" for 24 hours.  The longer they pickle, the hotter the pikliz.  (PEEK' LEEZ)  Around 3pm today I am going to extract the cabbage and carrots so serve as pikliz.  The rest will find its way to the compost bin.   

I may have told you this before, but a while back I brought this for my potluck dish at church.  It was a big hit.  There wasn't a single bannanna peze left over.  I put a big sign on it saying that this was a dish I fell in love with on our mission to Haiti.  The sign proceeded to say HOT - EXTREMELY SPICY.  As I was walking down the stairs into the fellowship hall I overheard a little boy (maybe 6 years old) saying to his mom, "Make it stop!  Make it stop!  My tongue is on fire!"  He was dragging his mom by the arm with steam coming out of his eyes.  Apparently he didn 't read the sign.  I just smiled and kept walking!

The recipe I used was from FouyeRecipes.com.
http://www.fouyerecipes.com/recipes.php/1679

Caution: Hot & Spicy Food Ahead

Over the next few hours I'll be posting the recipes, links, and pictures of the Haitian Cuisine I have been working on for tonight's dinner party.  I'm very excited!  Your assignment is to learn a little, try some new and exciting ingredients, and test out the recipes yourself.  So, while you wait for the posts to come, follow these links and find out a little bit about Haiti!

Where in the world is Haiti?  Why it is right here.
So did you hear that Christopher Columbus made it to Haiti?  Yes he did, here's the history.
Where does Haitian Cuisine get its influence?  Here's the history.

Now, repeat after me:  "Ou grangou?"  (are you hungry?)

Happy 40th Anniversary

Happy 40th Anniversary.

Through ups and downs, round and rounds, fast and slow, good and bad, fun and sad, you have demonstrated what it means to love each other through it all. Much Love, Tracy

My Coupon Crusade'

Since this is my first post in quite awhile, I thought I'd explain why:

We have traveled to Colorado, Indianapolis, Detroit, and leave for Houston (and the girls to the U.P.!) and have been doing improvements inside and outside our new house! We have been quite the busy bunch this summer! I am hoping that the fall provides some relief from the constant commotion at our house, but with two little darlings, I highly doubt it :)

Due to all the updates we are attempting in the house, we knew that cutting other areas of the budget was important. So, I began my coupon crusade to reduce our grocery and personal item spending. I had no idea I would become so into it in the last week and a half! It's really fun once you learn how to really take advantage of the deals.

For example:

Walgreens is offering 2/$4 certain varieties of Clorox Cleaners

That's great, but I am going to save more by cutting the coupon in the SmartSource in the Sunday paper that will save $1 off when you buy 2 clorox cleaners! I will be purchasing 2 Clorox Cleaners for $3!

The other day, I was able to take advantage of a sale at our grocery store on KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce. It was on sale for 2.19. I had an e-coupon loaded to my Dominick's card worth $1 and a traditional coupon for $1. I paid 19 cents!

It takes some time to get stocked up on the things you need and the right coupons, so I haven't seen the full results yet, but I'm excited what we can do with the savings in the next few months!

Just thought I'd share!

Emily