1 Year Anniversary

While it feels strange to be writing a {belated} entry about our one year anniversary at post while not actually at post, it seems fitting in a way. I found myself back in DC exactly one year after our departure, ironically in practically the same state of mind as when I left, which is to say, mad chaos. I spent a week wildly running around shopping for the last portion of our consumables shipment which, although I wasn't filling it with the "bare necessities" per se, I was filling it with things that make our life in Moldova just a bit more pleasant.

Moldova has been really good to us, in so many ways. It's a lovely post. Of course you have to make adjustments and learn to cope with the lack of variety in culinary options, adverse driving conditions, endless amounts of pickled food items, among other limitations, but all in all, it is a post I will be sad to leave. And man, will I miss their tomatoes: those things were the tastiest things I have ever eaten in my life. In all seriousness though, we've made some of the best friends either of us had made since college, and the connections we have made with Moldovans have far exceeded any of my hopes or expectations. We have been able to clearly see how the Lord has provided for us, even in this far off land most people have never heard of. We feel truly blessed.

There is a vineyard about an hour away from Chisinau where I took a picture the first week we were in Moldova. Since then, I have gone on a few road trips that lead past the very same spot and I tried to make a point to take a few shots of it in the different seasons of the year. Unfortunately, the Spring, Summer and Fall pictures kind of all look the same, but the winter one at least shows some contrast.
I am looking forward to another great year...until our next adventure begins {Sao Paulo, Brazil, by way of D.C. for 8 months!}




Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

 

A Day Trip to Odessa

Last month we had some friends visit us all the way from China, via France, Istanbul, Bulgaria & Romania; you know, the usual trajectory people take. They are a wonderful couple, and we decided to take them to visit our friends in Southern Moldova & then head off to explore the coastal City of Odessa, in Ukraine, which is on the Black Sea. Here are a few shots from the trip...

Nutella Cupcakes

Sometimes a girl just needs a little Nutella in her life...

For the recipe, click here.

Ginger Cookies

Last month I received an issue of Real Simple Magazine {which I never signed up for and will forever be baffled as to how they managed to get to me all the way in Moldova} and there was a stunning photo of Ginger-Molasses Cookies which they had used to make Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches...so I ripped it right out of there and stuck it in my baking binder. I should add that I'm generally skeptical of their food recipes because a) I have tried some before and they didn't turn out so well and b) sometimes they don't even sound appetizing. But nonetheless, this recipe looked reasonable and delicious so I decided to try it out, the only small addition being that I threw in a few chopped up pieces of candied ginger for kicks. In the end, I used about half the dough to make ice cream sandwiches and half to make mini ginger sandwiches with lemon buttercream frosting. 

Steak & Mashed Potatoes Sandwich: Leftovers, revisited.

I don't want to give too much credit to my Dad for this one, but I have to admit that perhaps some of the inspiration for this sandwich came from his crazy ideas about what to do with leftovers that I remember from my childhood. Whenever it was his turn to make a meal for us kids, it was usually one of two things: A rotisserie chicken that he would pick up from a take-out joint or scrambled eggs with every leftover he could find in the fridge. That was about it.
Hence, the other day when I was scrambling to make dinner, what I came up with was a {glorious} sandwich that involved a few leftovers from our previous dinner, grilled flank steak & asiago mashed potatoes, reinvented into a different form.

Asiago Mashed Potatoes

1 1/2 lbs. potatoes {of the firmer variety}
1 small onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 oz butter
1/4 cup milk
2 oz shredded asiago cheese
2 T fresh herbs {I used rosemary & parsley}
salt
pepper

Cut & boil the potatoes {I left my skins on}. Saute the onion, garlic, salt, pepper & butter until translucent on low heat. Add milk {slowly}. Set Aside.

Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them and return them to the pot. Add onion mixture, cheese & herbs and mash them.
Serve hot.

I was introduced to this Tomato Relish by my friends at Blackberry Market...

Steak & Mashed Potatoes Sandwich

Sliced good bread
Steak, sliced thin
Horseradish Cream Sauce
Tomato Relish
Sharp White Cheddar
Asiago Mashed Potatoes

I think we all know how to make a sandwich, right? Take two thick slices of bread, spread on reasonable amounts of mashed potatoes, horseradish cream sauce & tomato relish, layer enough slices of sharp cheddar & steak, stick it in a panini press {or a stove-top skillet} for a few minutes and enjoy!

Exploring the German Heritage of Romania

"Summer is awful...there's too much pressure to enjoy yourself..."

A friend of ours recently posted a cartoon with that line and my immediate thought was "I know...right?" Because seriously, who wants to spend a beautiful, warm sunny day inside on a computer writing silly blog entries that about 4 people might read. But I suppose someone's gotta appease the masses, so here it is.

Summer in Moldova is a delightful time of year; the markets are full of seasonal fruit that is bursting with bright colors and flavors, and it appears it is perfectly acceptable to steal cherries/nectarines/any other random fruit off your neighbor's trees if they happen to extend into the street or your yard. Moreover, your neighbors might just give you an entire giant bucket of cherries "with meat" {aka worms} with a giant grin on their faces and wish you "to be healthy". Last month we were invited {or we may have invited ourselves} to our friend's village and his parents have the most glorious raspberry patch I have ever set foot in: golden raspberries and plump juicy red ones for yards and yards. They let us raid it and I was like a kid in a candy store.

This was from a few years ago with my friend Anna...you see what I mean;
I just get excited about raspberries...I can't help it!

You start eating unreasonable things for breakfast...

...and dessert.

At the local lake a few weeks ago where I take Ronald for walks, I noticed an increasing number of sweet old men fishing, and an alarming number of scantily clad people at the little "beach" they have there...think old fat dudes wearing thongs. Yeah. Or hilarious women {of all shapes & sizes} tanning standing up or in any one of many unusual positions...which is a new technique to me. It was duly noted.

I was struck, once again, by the seasonality of life here. There is a time for everything, and when the time comes for something in particular, like during cherry season, Moldovan's fully take it in. They make compote {a sweetened and canned fruit drink} and cherry placinte {which are like cherry pies}. Slightly before the cherries were fully ripe on the trees, we had some Moldovan friends over and they asked me, excitedly, if I knew my neighbors, and that if I didn't I better get to know them quick {!} because they had a cherry tree! They've got a radar for these sorts of things. The passing of time is marked by nature more so than by calendars or schedules, and I find it refreshing.

My in-laws came to visit us last month and when we were planning their visit and had to come up with what we would show them around Moldova, naturally, our first thought was to get the heck outta here go to Romania! Just kidding, there are many lovely things to do in Moldova {and we did do them all} but given Michael's Mother's German background we thought it would be cool to explore the region in Romania that was historically settled by Germans. And cool it was.

We stayed in a lovely log cabin in Bran {a few minutes from amazing hiking trails and Dracula's Castle}, then took day trips to both Sibiu & Brasov. Here are some shots from our travels...

View from the Log Cabin we rented...

Just lounging by the fireplace...

Hey.

The most dreamy little mountain village ever.

Notice the Hollywood-like "Brasov" sign in the hills...

The Black Church...

Sheep dog, literally.

The Door to Bran Castle...