Nepali Cooking 101

I am learning to cook some Nepali food that we eat every day! Each day we have dhal bhat, which is rice and lentils and then a vegetable on the side. Here is the recipe for the vegetable for today. I have a pressure cooker to make mine with. If you use canned beans and cook your potatoes so they are soft ahead of time you could do the same recipe without a pressure cooker in about the same time.

This recipe comes from Sita!

Ingredients you will need

1 cup of kidney beans soaked over night or can of kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

5 small/medium potatoes peeled

5 cloves of garlic--peeled

1 small/medium red onion peeled

1 small piece of ginger about the size of a large garlic clove--peeled

2 small tomatoes

2 Tablespoons Salt

1 Tablespoon turmeric

1.5 Tablespoon cumin

chili pepper--add how much of this as you like. We put in a small pinch

Everglades seasoning (optional--or your favorite mixed seasoning)

oil (here we use sunflower oil)

Chop the garlic and ginger together and chop your onions up.

Heat up your oil about 1/8 cup of oil. Get it nice and hot.

Throw in the onions. When they start to brown slightly throw in the ginger garlic mix.

Let them sizzle for about 2 minutes.

 

Add the beans you soaked over night. Stir

Chop your potatoes to this size, while the beans are cooking.

Add seasonings--turmeric, cumin, and chili pepper

Add potatoes and salt and all purpose seasoning.

Add 2 small tomatoes, mine were just slightly bigger than cherry tomatoes.

Add about 1.5 cups of water, and stir.

Put the lid on and cook for one whistle if using the pressure cooker. Turn the heat off and let it sit until all the pressure is released.

If using canned beans and a regular pot, I would boil your potatoes just until they start to get soft then add them in and cook this mixture for about 5-10 minutes.  You could also just cut your potatoes smaller and cook them in this mixture until the potatoes are soft. 

I would also only add 1 cup of water.

We have quite a bit leftover after lunch so I am going to make it in to a soup by adding water and then serving it over rice for dinner. I may also add some chicken to it. It is so delicious!!

Homemade Sour Cream

Homemade Sour Cream

I've made sour cream before but I didn't really like it. It came out like thick milk and just didn't taste like anything but sour milk. So I researched it a little more and found out it is super simple, it just takes a little planning ahead.

Things you'll need:

Glass jar with  lid

vinegar

cream 

(you can use half and half, light or whipping)

The measurements do not have to be precise it's that easy.

I used about 1 cup of cream and added it to that jar. Then I added about 1/4 cup of vinegar. I put the lid on and shook it real well and let it sit on the counter for about 24 hours. Then I stuck it in the refrigerator. I didn't need it for about 3 days, but you could use it immediately  after the 24 hours if you wanted, but if you aren't going to cook with it, it just tastes better cold.

This is what it looks like about a week later! Light, fluffy, and yummy.

We used it to put on taco salad and tonight I'm going to make beef stroganoff with it. We really really like it! This is definitely worth trying.

Back in the Saddle Again!

 

We left the States once again and are back in Nepal. We arrived here a little over 3 weeks ago. I was quite nervous coming back, not sure what it was going to be like or how the kids were going to react. But surprisingly everything seem relatively normal. You can still see cracks in some buildings here and there, and downed walls, and people living in tents, but overall things are back to normal.

 

This week we put together our earthquake kit. After going through an earthquake and actually using our kit last time I realized some weak areas we had with it.

 

 

This is our revised list.

 

 

 

We decided to make 2 kits. One is a big kit and the other is called a "go bag". This is a small, backpack sized, grab it and go kind of bag. After the house had finished shaking I grabbed Emily, a blanket, my shoes and ran outside. We were there for several hours before we felt it was safe to move. I didn't have any food, water, or diapers during this time. So this "go bag" is to grab right before we run out the door next time. This will be just enough to tide us over until it is safe to return home for our other things.

 

 

In this bag we have

5 diapers

pack of baby wipes

pack of antibacterial wipes

change of clothes for Emily

baby blanket

2 liters of water

3 packs of cookies

5 packs of WaiWai

(this is like Ramen noodle soup, but you can eat it raw or cooked)

Bandaids

Tylenol

Hand sanitizer

Copies of all of our passports

Headlamp / batteries

Immodium

(found out the hard way last time that earthquakes don't come when everyone is well)

 

We are almost finished with our Large Kit

 

 

In our Earthquake Kit
2 large tarps

2 smaller tarps
(Last earthquake I had saved myself $2 and only bought one small tarp. But that doesn't help if you need to build a water proof shelter to hold several people plus things.)

Rope

clothes pins

Change of clothes for everyone, including a jacket

(Last time I made this I put summer clothes in it for summer time and then put winter clothes in it at winter time, but we found out that it's rather cold at night all year round.)

2 large blankets
(Last time we only had 1 big blanket, but you need something under you and over you.)
2 sheets

2 small blankets

5 toothbrushes

toothpaste

(Last time I remembered toothpaste, but didn't put in toothbrushes!)

Immodium
(Again, stomach bugs don't always come at convenient times)

Ibuprofen (adult's and children's)

guaze strips and tape

bandaids

Neosporin

instant cold pack

rubber gloves

Sanitary napkins

baby wipes

diapers

flashlight / batteries

swiss army knife

pot

pressure cooker

matches

cutting board

knife

spices (salt, turmeric, mixed seasoning, cumin)

rice

dhal (lentils)

chickpeas (dried)

small jar of oil

sugar

tea leaves

cookies

crackers

WaiWai

water purification tablets

plates

silverware

cups

5 gallon jug of water

A pair of contacts/ solution/ glasses for me

dish soap

sponge

2 garbage bags

dish cloth

Copies of our passports

 

I think this is all that we will need. We had a lot of useless things in our kit last time that we didn't need at all, and several things we really needed. With that info we have made this new kit. If you think of something we would definitely need please feel free to share.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kathmandu Earthquake update 6--just realized I didn't publish this before. Sorry to leave you hanging.

After 3 days of sleeping on the ground I was plum wore out, but going on. The tremors died down some. We decided to take our "base camp" and move it to my house. We were still nervous about the house itself, more earthquakes and tremors, but really tired of where we were living.

The night before 2 doctors came to our tent and told us to be super careful going out and that the risk for catching Swine flu was up to 80% in the area. We knew that our place with the bamboo was only getting worse and worse as far as cleanliness goes.

We moved all of our stuff to our house and began to look at our house again. I don't have pictures of the cracks in the wall but they were very unnerving to everyone and we decided we couldn't stay there. We considered a new place but it had just as many cracks. I mentioned going back to the bamboo place and found out that something else "shady" happened. Some of those same men from before were trying to get one of our girls (about 20 years old) to come over to them and talk to them--calling to her just like our kids were doing when they were playing together.

We didn't know what to do. One of the men found a place nearby that looked great but we only had two small tarps in my earthquake kit and it was going to rain. I looked all over the yard and tried to remember everything I could for making a water proof shelter but it just wasn't going to work with what we had.

I went upstairs and packed our suitcase for America and knew I needed to restock and reorganize our things for wherever we decided to go next.  I was very nervous being in our house and was working feverishly cleaning out the fridge so it wouldn't be horrible for Luke and also cleaning up the flour and sugar that was all over the ground from when the containers fell to the ground during the quake. I did a little cleaning and then saw two of our girls washing their hair outside and I realized how I longed for a shower, to be clean, and most of all to have clean hair.

So another first for me was washing my hair outside. You need to people so you don't get soak and wet. I bent over forwards and the other girls washed it for me. It was great and felt so good.

About that time Luke showed up with another family from our area. They came in and the husband looked at our walls and told us the house looked sound, but the walls downstairs and maybe upstairs would have to be replaced, but that it looked safe to him to be in there. Praise the Lord!! They then told us their house was great and invited us to stay with them. They had running water, electric, and internet! I was so glad!

We headed out and I have to say I have never been so happy to have a hot shower and sleep in a bed in all my life!

Our church people stayed at our house. It has now become a "new base camp". There are several others staying there as well including the house owners that live upstairs. They asked if it would be okay. They really wanted to leave their outside shelter but were to scared to sleep on the top floor. I don't blame them at all. We are praying for their family that they will be saved. They are Hyolmo Tibetan people. They are super sweet and love us to death.

Helping People

I talked to Luke yesterday. I actually got to Skype him for about a half hour. He is really exhausted. He's been working from sun up to 10 or 11 at night. Please pray for him that he will get the rest he needs so he can do the work he needs to do.

Here is Luke with two little boys and Flat Stanley (from a 1st grade class in America). He bought them some new shoes, some candy, and a face mask. Pray for Kushal and Vishal. They are staying at our house right now with their mom and the others from our church and 2 other friends.

 These 2 men are from a Hyolmo Tibetan remote village. There are only 4 houses left in their village. Luke was able to give them some tarps to bring back to the village. One of these men lost their wife just a few days ago. Please pray for them and their village. Before leaving Luke was able to give them a Tibetan gospel tract.

 

Here are a few of the people staying at our house headquarters right now. Please pray for them as the days are long and piling up.

Earthquake news update 5

While Luke was out and about helping people, surveying the land, looking for friends and making sure they were alive we were back at "base camp."

The kids were playing and having a good time. If you know Paul, you know he is great at making friends, but doesn't quite know how to use discretion. He just wants everyone to like him.

There were a group of young men there early 20's maybe and he made friends with them. At first it was no big deal, they weren't far from me so I didn't mind them talking until Paul came up and said,

"Hey mom, my friend asked me to take him to our house. Can I go with him and show him?"

Instantly, red flags went up with me and the others with me.

Why would a grown man want to go to my house in the middle of an earthquake? I can only think of one reason.

I told Paul he must never tell anyone where we live and tried to explain to him the dangers without necessarily scaring him, but I had to scare him so that he would understand that not all people are good and people do have bad intentions. And that we need to be super careful.

That night a few minutes after we laid down to sleep a fight broke out between some of the men. They were both drunk. We have no idea what the reason was, but it was only a few feet away from us.

That night it rained something awful. Thankfully our blankets and things did not get all wet. The next morning my body was super tired. We were once again jolted awake by a tremor. It was about 4:30am. Emily woke up and wanted to stay awake for a while so I grabbed a chair and sat near the fire. There were a few men sitting there but I figured it was no big deal since Luke was only feet away.

After a few minutes they asked me a handful of normal questions and could tell I didn't know a ton of Nepali. So they started talking more freely. Although I can't speak a lot I do understand quite a bit. They started talking about "her husband" and "his money" and "their house". It made me very nervous, especially after what happened the day before with Paul.

We also started thinking of what would happen when people started running out of water and food. Our new house does not have dogs for protection and the gate is always unlocked, plus our house isn't quite ready for occupants--especially kids.

We prayed and it was then we decided the best thing for us to do was for me and the kids to go back to the States so that Luke wouldn't have to worry about us. How easy it would be for someone to take one of the kids for ransom, rob us, or many other things.

I am super excited about seeing my family, my 2 new nieces, and eating a Publix Roast Beef sub sandwich with all the toppings and a blizzard from Dairy Queen, but know I will be thinking of my friends back home who can't just "up and leave", but are everyday living this disaster. This will forever change their lives, way of thinking, and everything they know.

What in the World is Luke doing in Nepal?

What do you do when you can't find any tarps?

 

Buy tent material! I love my ingenuitave husband! Each one of those rolls will make about 200 tarps!

The man in the red jacket is a pastor from the area. These tarps will go to his village which was completely wiped out. 

 

These are some friends all apart of "base camp" at our house. These are tarps and supplies they were able to buy for some nearby villages.

 

Notice a small man in Luke's hand. A first grade class from Florida sent us "Flat Stanley", so he is helping with the Earthquake relief!

 

Luke is having the time of his life helping, planning, and living his dream.