GAPS caramel for the holidays

Just in time for the holidays, I'll be posting some GAPS-legal yummy dessert recipes, because we all know that the holidays aren't complete without a healthy share of butter and sweetness!

Here's a fabulous recipe that's so incredibly easy (I mean, with only 2 ingredients how much more could you want??) and versatile that I've just been in love with it lately. Ladies and gentlemen, presenting GAPS caramel:

Here's an idea of what you can do with it...
because who doesn't like chocolate and caramel??

Step one:

Depending on how much caramel you want to make, measure out some honey. Because it's so yummy making more is definitely better than making less. This recipe is based on one cup honey.

Step two:
Pour said honey into a small saucepan. Put on medium heat and KEEP AN EYE on it. You don't need to mix it but when it boils it bubbles up a lot so you may need to remove it from the heat temporarily before it gets your stove all dirty. 

Boiling honey... and a dirty stove!

Step three:
Measure out about 1/4 cup butter, and cut into small chunks. I've experimented with different quantities, and basically if you want a harder caramel, use more butter, and vice versa.

Step four:

After the honey has boiled for 3-4 minutes, drop the little bits of butter in one by one, and stir the caramel with your other hand. Once the last of the butter is melted and incorporated, remove from heat. If you want, add bit of vanilla extract at this point, but it's not necessary.

And you're done!! It's seriously that easy, and it's seriously delicious. Use on top of cakes, with apples, on chocolate, or my favorite-- cut up different seeds and nuts, dates and raisins or whatever you like, and mix them with the caramel, form into bars or balls, let them harden in the fridge and enjoy! If you'll be handling it at all let it cool for 5-10 minutes first, because right off the stove it can cause some nasty burns.

Yum yum yum!!

Filling a canvas

This weekend I was able to participate in a truly unique experience. My dear friend Ingrid and her husband kindly opened up their home for a Mandala painting workshop. Anne-Marie and Erik Grind came to Casablanca from Sweden to lead the weekend, and while I wasn't able to participate fully because of work, it left me very moved.

The workshop began on Friday, while I was still at British Council teaching a class of 17 preteens. I arrived an hour and a half late, and was taken to a table full of face-down cards with "Life Angel" written on the back. I was told to breathe deeply, center myself and choose a card, which would be something to reflect on as I began the weekend. I chose one, and it said "Gratitude". Considering my recent focus on thankfulness (as seen in some recent blog posts) and considering I decided very last minute at Ingrid's prompting to join, it made sense. It also did set the tone well. I had arrived late and would miss all but the last hour on Saturday because of work, but I had to remember to be grateful that I could be there, and not be envious of the others who wouldn't have to miss anything.

The beginning. Photo courtesy of Ingrid Pullar.

I did arrive in time to choose the pattern for my mandala with the others, and for the explanation of how to transfer them to our canvases. It didn't take much sifting through the scores of patterns they had before I found one that was clearly perfect for me. Not too boring but not too intricate, full of symmetry and with a hint of mystery. I got to work and was the only one to have mixed their colors and begun painting on the first day.

The neighboring table.

This time of year is hectic for every teacher, I think, and Friday and Saturday were both pretty bad days at work. But once I reached Ingrid's front door my frustration seemed to melt away, and I threw myself into my painting. I was the last to arrive each day, but also the last to leave. I worked with intense focus, and nothing else seemed to matter much. I somehow managed to put a lot of myself into my mandala without really meaning to.

Erik working on a giant mandala
Ingrid is making as a gift.

A work in progress...

When finished the workshop on late Sunday afternoon, I was still convinced that my painting was unfinished and very imperfect. I was a total beginner, and had never painted on a canvas before, but was surrounded by others with incredible talent and experience. Every moment my mind seemed to change its attitude... I loved my painting... I was embarrassed by it... the others were so much more beautiful... mine was clearly pretty cool. It was confusing for a while. But as I looked around at the other mandalas, though their beauty inspired me, I wasn't particularly drawn to any of them. The more I got to know the people who made them, the more I saw how their art reflected their personalities and journeys. By realizing that their creations were truly theirs, I came to understand that my mandala really was a glimpse into me. Up close it is full of imperfections, but as a friend of mine once said, "Imperfections make things beautiful." Maybe at some point in the future I'll feel the need to go back to work on it, but for now it is done.

Ingrid and her mandala!

As I told the others at our wrap-up session, I still can hardly believe that I was able to paint something so powerfully simple and beautiful. Even now at home I keep staring at it on my wall, in disbelief that I made it. Of course I didn't do it without guidance or help, but in the end no one but me put their brush to that canvas for more than a few seconds.  

Anne-Marie made this one, entitled 

"Transformation."

I grew up with a mom and sisters who are very artsy, and do like to paint, watercolors being their favorite medium. While watercolors never spoke to me, painting in vibrant, rich acrylics has always appealed to me in a distant sort of way. I would look at canvases and brushes at the art store longingly, but made all sorts of excuses to myself. "I'm not artistic, all those genes went to my sisters." "Painting is too expensive of a hobby." "Look at that clean canvas. You'd ruin it." It took this weekend-- a time of non-judgemental fellowship and guidance-- to make me realize that I was blocking myself in a really stupid way. I'm not sure why I did, but I'm glad I'm over it, at least for the time being.

Part of the deal of the workshop was that we could take the brushes and the leftover paint home if we wanted, along with our canvas. Since I was the last to leave I got an unclaimed set of brushes and about 30 little containers of paint, hehehe. I was Christmas shopping today and bought a canvas that I'll work on this week as a present for Othman's cousin who is hosting us in France for the holidays.  Can't let the momentum run down, or the paint dry out!

The finished product! Photo
courtesy of Ingrid Pullar.

The group, with Erik as the photographer. 

Not so much of a Christmas miracle...

OK so we all know that video that's going around Facebook right now-- unsuspecting fliers are asked by a giant televised Santa what they want for Christmas, and lo and behold they get everything they asked for at the carousel upon arrival. I've seen comments along the lines of:

"This left me in tears!"
"WOW! So beautiful!"
"What Christmas is all about!"  Etc.

If you haven't bothered to watch it yet, take a look:

Many comments come from people I respect and whose opinion I value, but this time I really don't get it. Watching the video made me feel really uncomfortable, and after a few days pondering it, I think I've realized why.

Let's think about Westjet, a Canadian budget airline, and it's intentions for a moment... Was it really providing people their greatest Christmas wishes out of the goodness of its heart? Can an airline even have a heart? 

I was raised in a  family that emphasized the giving part of Christmas a lot. Having now spent multiple Christmases with other families, the abnormality of that fact has struck me. For many others, Christmas is all about get get get, and it doesn't really matter who is giving what. In my case, encouraged by my parents, I've made or bought at least one gift for each member of my family every Christmas since I was really quite small (and I have 6 siblings to boot). Granted, they were sometimes pretty lame, but even when I just go my brothers a cool pen and some candy, it still made something flutter inside me to see them opening my gift to them. Their smiles warmed my heart, as cheesy as it sounds. But that feeling should be a big part of the joy of Christmastime. 

Many smiles, even tears, appear in Westjet's video, on people ecstatic to get what they wanted. It shows a young couple with a baby and another on the way in tears receiving a huge-screen TV. A pre-teen in shock having opened a Samsung tablet.  Women holding plane tickets so they could go home for the holiday. I'm just as happy for those people as any of you are... but where are the smiles of those who were GIVING these gifts? And WHO were those people? The directors of Westjet? The employees who did the shopping? The flight attendants and captain? 

What it comes down to is this video only shows the "gimme gimme gimme" side of the holiday.

Before watching this video, had you ever heard of Westjet? I sure hadn't. But I do know that in the future whenever I hear of the airline again my mind will immediately jump to the thought of their video. "Oh yea... that's the airline that gave all those people Christmas presents." 

This video was a very extravagant publicity stunt, and without a doubt has done (and is doing) much more for Westjet's image than sponsoring any number of Fun-Runs or contributing any amount of cash to any however-deserving charity. While I think (hope) that most people do realize on some level that this is all advertising, we're all still buying it! 

Maybe I'm just being a grinch, but I didn't see the real spirit of Christmas in this video. And it's hardly a "miracle," as its title proclaims... simply smart marketing.

Celebrating the Swedish way!

Last night Othman and I went to my friend Ingrid's house for a lovely Swedish celebration. She is hosting a couple from Sweden who will be leading a Mandala painting workshop this weekend, which I'm very excited to participate in! (But more on that later.) Yesterday Ingrid and her husband hosted a small gathering of people to celebrate St. Lucia's feast day the traditional Swedish way-- with a processional of people dressed all in white, Swedish songs, and candles! It was  simple and beautiful, and though my pictures are pretty dark you get the idea. Thanks for a lovely evening Ingrid!

Christmas has arrived chez nous!

Note the star-- homemade from a broken placemat,
 haha! Maybe we'll get a new one this year, but maybe not. 

GAPS soup for winter days

As I look at my mom’s facebook post from home,

-17F is about -27C. Brr.

while I'm enjoying this weather,

(11C is about 51F, and 22C is roughly 71F.)

I feel almost guilty for being wrapped up under a blanket with my trusty space heater at full blast, and for wearing my winter coat bought in France a few years ago with Ugg-like winter boots to work. But only almost. Because then I remember that Moroccan buildings are made for hot weather, and have cold tile floors and drafty windows. I remember that our dehumidifier draws a good 2-3 liters of water out of the air in our small apartment each day. I remember that in the US centralized heat never turns off, cars are heated before you get in them and people just hop from heated structure to heated structure, while I'm stuck teaching in drafty classrooms. And I remember that while the sunshine might be warm here, the shade and wind cut through everyone-- not just me.

With all this cold, obviously it’s time to make soup!

A work friend was sick yesterday and mentioned how she was going to turn the cauliflower sitting in her fridge into a soup, and she inspired me to do the same with the cauliflower in my fridge. I’ve made a GAPS creamy cauliflower-broccoli soup before, but broccoli is hard to come by in Morocco and expensive too. Incidentally, I had just a bit leftover of a head Othman got me last week. It was by far the most beautiful one I’ve come across here, and I was determined to eat it raw (my family can attest to my life-long love of raw broccoli). After appearances in chicken salad (well… turkey salad really… guess where the turkey came from!) and all by its lonesome in my lunch tupperwares, it was time to use up the bit that was left, so into the soup it went.

I looked up a few difference recipes online for inspiration, and here’s the absolutely delicious soup I came up with:

Creamy Cauliflower soup, GAPS legal

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 head cauliflower roughly chopped (plus 1 head broccoli if you have it— why not?)
• 2 zucchinis roughly copped
• 1 inch of fresh or frozen ginger
• chicken broth (I used 1 cup super-concentrated homemade turkey broth from our Thanksgiving friend)
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh chopped herbs (I used parsley and cilantro)



while simmering 

• 1 can coconut milk

Sautee the onion in a mixture of butter and olive oil (2:1 ratio. I’ve been doing that a lot lately and love the result) for about 5 minutes, add garlic, crushed. Add veggies and let sautee a few minutes. Add broth and enough water to cover veggies. Bring to boil and let simmer until cauliflower is easily pierced with a fork. (Avoid overcooking until it’s all mush. Mine took a good 15-20 minutes.)

Remove from heat, add salt and pepper and chopped herbs, then blend using an immersion blender. Remove some of the liquid first if you like it thicker. Dump in the can of coconut milk and pulse a few more times to make sure it’s well mixed.

Serve with shredded cheese and more herbs as a garnish, then enjoy! Perfect for cold days when you need a fast dinner that's hearty and homey but with a hint of the exotic. 

Thankful.

Othman and I held a little Thanksgiving dinner party last weekend, and had a lovely time. It was nice to have friends over and celebrate the holiday the right way! And no frozen turkey for us—Othman got a live one from a farm that morning before taking it to be butchered and cleaned. Talk about some tender meat! Good food, good conversation and good friends made for an evening well spent. 

Two friends from British Council even brought us two lovely gifts, crediting Facebook for their finds. ;D Their thoughtfulness was really touching. Thanks much to both of you!

Wedding pictures!

My wonderful friend Emily made a lovely album of our wedding photos. I'm so lucky to have such a good friend who happens to be so talented. I was going to make an album of my own, but since she already did the work, now I'm wondering why. ;D

Anyway take a look, and here are a few more I had to include.

Best maid of honor ever, obvi! (That's for you Isa... hehehe)

She's even became a makeup expert (thanks Youtube!) just for the wedding. Awww.

This picture so adequately reflects my stressless wedding morning. =D

At the acreage.

Omar the bubble master.

Married!!

Our would-be ring bearer. He was too cute to be good. ;D
For more pics of him and his adorable sis, check out their mom's blog.

Isn't she perfect??

Love this. And it was totally unposed too.

Taking wedding pictures is a tiring business!

14 reasons to be thankful

On this Thanksgiving Day I’m sitting on the couch sick, as I have been much too often for the past month. But despite this lingering unwellness that the doctors can’t figure out, I still have much to be grateful for.

As Thanksgiving is on the 28th this year, I divided by two (because I'm not that ambitious) and decided on 14 things I’m thankful for on this day, in no particular order of significance:

1.) My hubby, of course. Othman unfailingly sees the bright side to everything and always sees solutions instead of problems… oh engineers. ;D He balances my negativity and classily puts up with my mood swings. He is a fabulous cook, a handy-man when time allows, a mover of heavy things and opener of sticking jars. He’s my translator, my bargainer, my always-willing errand boy. He does much more than he has to for me, and I love him all the more for it.

Pap and I outside
Casablanca's beautiful 
Hassan II Mosque last year.

2.) My big brother. Last year he became the only person so far to have visited us in Morocco, and it was wonderful to show someone so close to me how my life is now. Othman made the comment that it was cool I was doing his tour-guide job for him, and I agreed because showing off this country and my knowledge of it really made it feel more like my home. Additionally, at the wedding not only did Patrick give a lovely account of me knocking out his first loose tooth as a toast, but he also gave us a Canon Rebel as a wedding gift. It was extremely generous of him and it is being put to good, good use, as my Flickr and this blog can attest to. I wouldn’t have my camera if it wasn’t for him, so thanks Pap!

3.) Of course I’m thankful for all of my siblings, who have taught me so much about so many things, and who are all so different but who help make up our one-of-a-kind family. When I was little I was embarrassed to be so counter-cultural as to come from a big family. Sorry sibs! I love you all. =]

The ND contingent of said friends, with a plus-one 
taking place of a friend too pregnant to travel!

4.)       I’m thankful for my small group of friends-for-life, who I see rarely and don’t keep in contact with as much as I should, but on whom I can always rely for advice, love, laughs and great conversation. You know who you are, and know as you read this that I’m so grateful you’re in my life. Plus thanks for coming to an out-of-the-way very inconvenient Sunday wedding. You guys are the best.

5.) My turtles! I generally work evenings and Othman works days, so we each have a decent amount of time at home without the other. Sparkle and Chomper have a calming presence, and I love hanging out with them and watching them in their turtle world!

6.) My workplace. I love working at British Council for its facilities, my colleagues, and the opportunities I get there. There have been ups and downs throughout the 2.5 years I’ve been there, but even when things get rough the support of my bosses and colleagues is wonderful. I have worked with some amazing people and have learned so much from them. I'm truly happy to call many of my past and present colleagues friends. Also, I’ve had lots of health issues the past few years and have taken much more time off than I’d have liked to, and the understanding attitude of management is something I’m incredibly grateful for.

7.) The fact that almond flour here is about half the price as in the States! Meaning I can make delicious and easy GAPS recipes like this pumpkin pound bread one without breaking the bank.

Yummm-- so good!

8.) Related to that would be my thankfulness for the huge variety of fresh fruits and veggies that are available in Casa, at really affordable prices. Of course they vary by season, but that makes us appreciate the food we have all the more. Othman brought home 6 kilos of pomegranates last night because it’s the end of the season and we (especially me…) gobble them down like crazy. He also brought some of the first nice strawberries on sale too. When one fruit season ends, another begins. It would be much harder to eat as healthily as we do if we lived somewhere else.

9.) Speaking of eating healthily, I’m really thankful for GAPS. While the diet I follow now is more GAPS-inspired than strictly GAPS, cutting out grains and sugar from my diet has been a great change for me. While it didn’t help with my weight as much as I would’ve liked, my health has vastly improved thanks to it. So a big thank you to the ladies in the Sioux Falls homeschool group who introduced my mom to it, and thanks mom for having begun it with me and supporting me with it! And again of course thanks to my lovely husband who puts up with the meals I make as a result, and more importantly never complains about the ones I DON’T make! =]

10.) My parents. I've always been a daddy's girl, but I’ve become closer with my mom after reaching adulthood, and I’m firmly convinced that me getting out of the house was instrumental in growing my appreciation for them. Thank you mom and dad for being so supportive of your daughter who traipses all over the world then shows up for weeks at a time asking for things… like new bras, coconut flour and coconut milk, or even a wedding! You both are the best. =]

11.) My grandma Carolyn. Although she has always lived in Dallas while we moved around the country, she has always been a stable and loving presence in my life. Before she met Othman a bit more than a year ago I knew they'd get along well, but I didn't anticipate HOW well, and I'm so glad that Othman also has a soft spot in his heart for my grandma, because she truly is an amazing and wise woman. As I've gotten to know her better throughout the past few years I've realized that she and I are more alike than I could have ever imagined, and that I have so much to learn from her. It's hard being so far apart and I treasure every moment I get to spend with her, and hope there are many more to come. I love you grandma! 

The families merge. =]

12.) I’m thankful for Othman’s family and how they have warmly welcomed me both into their country and traditions but also into their family. Adjusting to life here has not always been easy, but they have been caring and kind throughout all of it. Othman has a very large extended family spread throughout Casablanca, and I’ve gotten to know some of his cousins, aunts and uncles quite well, and am grateful for their friendship and support.

13.) I’m American and Brazilian. Othman is French and Moroccan. Can we just take a moment to revel in how amazing that is? Our children will have 4 grandparents from 4 different continents. They will grow up multilingual. They will grow up with significant exposure to 4 different cultures. They will also bear the burden of loving people far away from them their whole lives, but Othman and I both grew up like that, and the benefits outweigh the sorrow, that’s for sure. I’m thankful that our children will be true citizens of the world.

14.) Finally I’m thankful that as I grow older I’m realizing more and more what it takes to have a happy life. It isn’t location-location-location as I once thought, nor is it just a matter of surrounding yourself with the right people. While those help, it goes deeper than that. Leading a happy life is a CHOICE, and one I have to remember to make every day. It involves being tolerant and accepting of others and myself. It means struggling to snap out of bad moods before they get rooted in. It requires me to make an effort to look on the bright side, and not weigh myself down with worry. If I choose to be happy I can be, and that revelation has made a big difference in my life the past few years. Sure I could have just listened to those self-help books/gurus and have been done with it, but for me this breakthrough took years of self-discovery and many helping hands to guide me through. So thank you to those special people, and also a frank thank you to myself, for choosing more and more often to be content with being happy.

What are you thankful for today?