Shadrach ate spaghetti at a birthday party

While you’re reading this post, I want you to listen closely for an important word. Whenever you read “Internet”, I want you to *pat* your computer, because, see, my computer hasn’t been giving me Internet (*pat, pat*) and I want to smack it. You, however, are using a computer that is currently giving you Internet (*pat, pat*), so you should show your computer that you appreciate it.

Internet (*pat, pat*) is definitely useful. People like Jay (who fixed my internet today!) are extremely helpful.

craft during kids club

I learned a good tool about telling stories to kids during Monday night kids club. Amy told the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. To get the kids to follow and listen, she started by giving them a 'job' of sorts.

adorable Iraqi girl whose name sounds pretty much just like mine :)

“You have to listen closely for 4 special things." She told them.

FIRST – if you hear King Nebuchadnezzar, you have to put your hands like this on your head for his crown. (put hands on either side of head where a crown sits)

SECOND – if you hear Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you have to clap your hands together in front of you and bow your head like you’re praying because that’s what they did.

THIRD – if you hear Fiery Furnace, you have to fan yourself rapidly. Because it was hot.

FOURTH – if you hear me say God, give a shout of Hallelujah! because He’s worthy of praise for the great things He does. Like in this story, so listen closely!”

more craft time

It went great! With the motions and her enthusiasm, she certainly pulled me into the story, as well as the kids. I, for one, was listening closely to every word, just waiting to put my hands on my head for a crown, clap my hands together in prayer, fan myself rapidly, or shout hallelujah! And no need to confuse the poor kids with actors. ;)

Amy and Leigh Anne with the younger group and their creations

Yesterday, I was visiting a friend from Sudan/Uganda. She speaks very good English, so it surprises me some of the foods that she doesn’t know – either has never seen or has never even heard of. Blueberries, pasta, noodles, spaghetti, grapes, and other things so basic to me. She showed me cans of tomato sauce and paste that she had been given.

“What is this? What do I do with it?”

Well, we could make spaghetti! She had spaghetti noodles that she had been given as well; perfect! For the sake of time and ease, I decided to bring over a can of already made spaghetti sauce from my apartment. I showed her how to use the can opener and we opened her can of tomato paste to add a little to the sauce. I like my spaghetti sauce thicker. I brought some sausage over to fry up for the meet only to learn that they don’t eat pork. Bummer. Oh well; spaghetti can be vegetarian as well!

Rose and I. See the spaghetti in the background?

So we boiled the noodles and heated up the sauce. *Voilà*! So simple and both so new for her. She admits that their diet is not very wide or broad, so many things are just really new-tasting. But she truly did enjoy it. “So quick and easy! I’m definitely having this for dinner!” Hehe, welcome to the American way – quick and easy, that’s the name of the game. Not as tasty as the amazing beans she prepared for lunch and let me taste, but good for quick, eh?

Yesterday evening was a fun Nepali birthday party with amazing food. I only wish you could have tasted it! Oh the flavors!

Needless to say, I was pretty stuffed after all that. So I walked to the store... to get ice cream. :)

*EDIT*

Miriam asked me to explain the food, so I'll go ahead and post my comment response here:

From my three plates:

TOP PLATE: Red velvet birthday cake, which, by the way, they eat before the meal, not after. And I've seen them feed it to each other before, like in a wedding, but they didn't do that this time.

RIGHT PLATE:

-Sel roti: a very slightly sweet deep-fried bread. Very fun to watch them make. Sometimes they add a little banana to the batter, sometimes cardamom or cinnamon.

-Kir : rice pudding. Nepali rice pudding is the BEST. Slightly sweet, creamy to the extreme, with a hint of coconut and cardamom. They cook it with whole milk and butter, so it's heavy-duty stuff. But oh so good.

LEFT PLATE:

-Two different curries on the left : veggies like pumpkin, peas, onion, potatoes, cauliflower, chili, tomato, etc are cooked up with some oil and spices like cumin, garlic, and mustard seed normally, and maybe a couple others.

-Ochar (sp?) on the right : Nepali pickle - spicy. I think this one had peas, onion, radish, cilantro, tomato, and maybe something else. Definitely chili as well and lime juice.

I really need to find someone to teach me Nepali cooking. Slowly I'm picking up a few things. My goal this summer had been to take Nepali language and cooking classes. But... how? Advice?