Busy Doing Nothing

Holy smokes! Time flies when you're doing a whole lotta nothin'! Since my last post I packed nearly all of my office, snaked the toilet, took a friend on a giant shopping trip to Costco, drove to Conway and spent three days retrieving Orion, snaked the toilet (again), went grocery shopping (I'd forgotten how much he eats!), packed up more of my office, checked out the new paint job (pictures soon!) on the new office, waited for the cable guy and plumber, and knitted with my good friend, Jennifer.

No wonder I'm worn out! And this is supposed to be a vacation!

Tomorrow I plan to return to Costco (they overcharged me about $44), pack up the rest of my office (tall order, I know!), and make dinner! I have to get the "rat killin'" out of the way before I settle back into writing.

I better get some sleep!

What Are Your Thoughts?

Friends, I am in need of some advice. Nearly a year ago I lamented about my G.E. washer needing serious repairs. The repair man suggested junking it as the cost to repair it would come in just under the cost of replacing it. He did tell me I could run it till it stopped working. It's slowing down considerably and I've washed a few loads twice just to get them clean, but it's still chugging along. But the other day the dryer got really hot (too hot) and smelled like all sorts of fiery death (probably more like burning cat hair) and well, we just sort of encouraged her to go to the light.


Well, the weather's been good and I usually use mother nature to dry my laundry, but after a week of off and on rain and nearly 100% humidity, I had to truck my stuff to the laundromat to get them dried. I am going to have to buy a washer and dryer soon.


So I've been shopping.


And reading.


And shopping some more.


And now I wish I hadn't read so much, because now I am confused more than ever.


I pretty much decided to avoid the G.E. and Roper brands because I do not wish to replace the washer and dryer in another five to six years. While front loaders are out of my price range, I have dreamed about them for years and a good friend bought a display set, discontinued color, for a steal! After reading about front loaders' having serious and expensive computer problems, it made those grapes seem less tasty. I found a Maytag that was one or two rungs up from their intro model and thought, "this just might do!" But then a friend told me about Maytag's woes a few years back and I started reading up on them. Oh my! I found a Whirlpool at Coscto, but they now own Maytag. And I believe I read that Kenmore (Sears) are made by the same folks too!

So what I want to know from you (and please, if you're reading this post, take a minute to post a comment!) is: what brand washing machine do you or have you used and what has been your experience! What are your suggestions? Please help! While I am perfectly able to beat my panties on a rock down by the river and hang them on the line to dry, it takes a great deal of time to do so!

The Office

Curious about where I spend twelve to fourteen hours a day in any give semester? Wonder no more! Yes, it is small. Yes, it is full. Yes, it is not very orderly or terribly tidy. Behind the open door on the right is a large bookshelf. You can see my burgundy desk chair harvested from surplus some time ago. To the left you can see the grey edge of a chair for a visitor. I have already used the boxes to pack my things for the move to my NEW office.

Below is a close-up of my desk. What do they say about a cluttered desk? Perhaps I don't want to know. Yes, that's a pile of math manipulatives, a lava lamp, a stuffed Holstein, a Virgin Mary, and a Buddha. (I think most of my bases are covered!)

I spent some time Saturday boxing up the office. While I used all of the boxes procured for me, I have not quite made a dent in the pile. But first, I must find more boxes. I need more boxes!

I am very excited about my new office. It is slightly larger, nearly a square, measuring almost 100 square feet- an increase of about 40 square feet! Best of all, one wall contains a bookshelf that is 8 feet long and another wall contains cabinets above and below the U-shaped counter top. The only negatives are that the window opens into a hallway (at least there's a window!) and there are no drawers for desk items. But boy do I have plans!

I took a picture of the new office (below). Maintenance will be coming to paint the walls a beautiful green (Benjamin Moore, Aurora Borealis) some time next week. After that, I get to start moving in my goodies! I can't wait! I'll make sure I take "after" pictures to go with the "before" pictures!

The Library

The library is a quiet and dark place. Just like a library should be, I think! It is probably the second largest room in the house with the basement "playroom" coming in first. The library is adjacent to the dining room and the foyer and most likely served as the formal living room. It is a large rectangle with two windows on the exterior wall. There are no overhead light fixtures or wall switches. Perfect for nine six feet tall book cases and then some.

I'd like to say that the library contains all of our books, however there are two bookshelves in John's room and two in Orion's room. And if I recall correctly, there might be two or three boxes of books left in the garage. (And a whole bunch more in my office at school!) At one time I could give you a precise number of books owned, but not any more. With every move I have given several boxes away. With every trip to Half-Priced Books in Overland Park a few more books find their way home. To limit my habit, I try to purchase only hard back books. This new approach is working and my book whoring had slowed considerably.

In addition to the innumerable books, the library contains two comfy chairs a floor lamp, a roll top desk, the dissertation table (ugh!), and a lot of tchotchke. One of my favorite items is pictured left, a wind chime from S. Korea that Tree and P.D. sent to Orion when he was born. Below are some additional pictures of the library.

(Letter writing central)

(Children's literature corner)

(Wall of books and dissertation table; view from the dining room)

(Looking toward the foyer from the dining room)

With the dissertation and so many of my favorite items residing in the library one would think I would spend more time there. I wish I did.

The Past Week or So...

The past two weeks have been crazy! I am teaching three courses this summer. And with Orion at his grandparents' house in Arkansas one would think that I have had plenty of time to catch up on whatever it is I need to catch up on, but alas, I feel as if I have run from one fire to another. I feel like a cat chasing my tail. Will I ever catch it?

Roughly two weeks ago we began packing to head to Conway. Orion's birthday was the 25th and we wanted to celebrate his special day with him. The day before we left, Nola became ill and vomited in the area between the library and the dining room. Six or seven times. Seriously. I took pictures; I have proof. We had no time to seriously clean, so we disposed of the chunks and set off to Arkansas. Well, whatever was ailing Nola passed quickly as she did very well to and from Arkansas.

We stayed as long as possible, returning right before the both of us had to return to work. The week before the holiday was crammed with teaching, meetings, grading, and the usual. I had to write a proposal for a conference in Sacramento, CA in January of 2010. (After submitting it, only moments before the deadline, they ended up extending the deadline another week!). I planned and prepared for my last week of classes. Graded some more. Carved out four hours to celebrate the 4th of July. Attended a multiple day Program Revision Retreat (My head still hurts!). Squeezed in some sleep, but not nearly enough. Graded even more papers. Started the process of packing and moving my office. And started (mentally) counting down the hours till the Summer Semester ends for me! Thursday night can't come soon enough.

And somewhere, amidst all of this I made time to rent the Rug Doctor (again!) and scrub all of the carpets and the dog vomit stains. I am very pleased with my clean carpets. I believe Spot is impressed too. (See the picture below.)

Did I mention that it looks like we're going to have to "pull and snake" the toilet in the main bath? Sounds like a fun weekend!

Thrift Store Finds

Much of my house is decorated in family hand-me-downs or thrift store finds. And I like it that way. Each of the items that I choose for my home has a story and purpose. I just might not know what that story was or what the purpose is. Eventually it is all revealed.
The awesome lotion and soap dispensers were found in Harrison, AR at the Junk-Shun. It's a big red barn filled with amazing treasures. My friend, Shannon, recommended it. The first thing I noticed was how well lit the store was. The second was how clean everything was. These groovy retro bottles (and they're glass) were $4 for the set.

The plastic cracker tray came from the Leslie Antique Mall in Leslie, AR. It was a $1.50 and so dirty I wasn't certain I wanted to pick it up to bring it home. It cleaned up nicely and will make a great addition to my collection of Crazy Daisy (a.k.a. Spring Blossom Green) Corelle that I am collecting.


Shannon came up to visit the first part of June and one of the things we always try to make time to do is to visit the antique stores and flea markets in the area. One of our favorites is Those Were the Days- a three story flea market! There I found something I couldn't part with! And at a $1.00 who could blame me! Clothing for my toaster! Don't you just love it?

Banana Bread

What do you do with those bananas you can't bring yourself to eat or throw out? You make Banana Bread, of course! Don't have the time or patience? Give this recipe a try.

I made this bread during the spring semester and brought it to my morning class. We had no left-overs!

Banana Bread

What you need:

1 3/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons corn syrup

3 ripe bananas

nuts or raisins to add

What you do:

Grease and flour a Crock-Pot. For this recipe I used a $3 Crock we found at the Salvation army. It is a 3.5 quart Crock-Pot with a removable insert (*See above).

Combine the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. Set aside.

Cream the butter, sugar, eggs, corn syrup (if you have it), and bananas until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixture. I used the Kitchen Aid mixer for this. At last, add nuts or raisins.

Dump into the Crock-Pot, cover, and cook on high for 1.5 to 2 hours. If yo have a larger Crock-Pot, you will need to decrease the cooking time.

The Dining Room

Just about 18 months ago we were lucky enough to find an abode large enough to house all of our 'stuff' and even luckier to have several great friends help us move.

Over the past year and a half, my mother has asked me on several occasions to share pictures of my house. And honestly, I would love to. My only problem seems to stem from the fact that the entire house is never clean enough for pictures at any one time. Even when we have company, there's a room or three that is piled high with a disturbing amount of crud. In fact, much of the dissertation is in a box behind a large chair in the library at this very moment.

It came to me one day, after putting up my new china cabinet actually, that I could take pictures of each room, shortly after it is cleaned, and not worry about the rest of the house. Eventually I will photograph the entire house and family and friends far away will know what my house looks like.

Now, on to the dining room. The dining room is one of my favorite rooms in the house, yet it is rarely used. As far as dining rooms go, it is rather small. The oak table that I inherited from my mother (First it was my mothers, then my brother's, then it was my sister's, until she gave it back to him and he later gave it to me with the instructions that I could only have it if I promised not to bring it back!) is about four feet in diameter. The dining room is just big enough to fit this table with four chairs. The room shrinks a bit when folks are sitting at the table.

But what the dining room lacks in size it makes up for in storage. In fact, the amazing number of closets in this house just blows my mind! The dining room has two, built-in, dish or china cabinets. They are located on the outside wall and frame the dining room window. The cabinet to the left of the window is picture here on the left. You can see my aluminum canister set as well as my aluminum cake plate. The cabinet to the right is an exact replica.

The one on the left contains my Visita Alegre china that I purchased at an outlet mall in Lebanon, MO several years ago to the tune of 90 cents a piece. Fortunately I found a setting of eight pasta bowls, salad plates, cups, and saucers. I even found some nifty serving pieces. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to locate a full size dinner plate. So I use these brightly colored, make me happy plates, as my pasta ware. The top shelf contains a couple of my teapots, my Japanese dish set from Pier 1 that I found at the Salvation Army for $7 (W00T!) and a couple of very nice, treasured Korean pieces that Tree and PD brought to me several years ago. The bottom of this cabinet contains odds and ends: pickle and relish trays, Jewel Tea pieces, and a set of 12 Corelle dishes Crazy Daisy.

The open part of the second cabinet, located to the right of the window serves as my liquor cabinet (too dusty to be pictured!). On the shelves below you would find a collection of glass pitchers as well as an impressive collection of Corelle baking dishes of all sizes. Above, you will find assorted glassware. Left you will see a picture of my Grandma Josephine's Candlewick glasses with some Boopie pieces tossed in. What a treat. Not pictured are some gorgeous, heavy glass, orange goblets that my friend Shannon found and bought for me one day when we were adventuring south of town.

In one corner of the dining room there is a seven foot bookcase crammed with some of our cookbooks. This bookcase is just right of the pocket door that leads to the kitchen. To the left of that door is the new china cabinet. Due center along the back wall you will find my highchair from my childhood currently being used as a plant stand.

The walls of the dining room are decorated in primitive art from well known artists like Grandma Fran and Katherine Mangione. Funky plates and pottery also decorate the walls. Perhaps this is one of my favorite rooms because so many of my favorite goodies and memories are stored here.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Goodness

In an attempt to stay awake till 10:00 p.m. I decided to experiment in the kitchen. My students and several work-study students in the library reaped the benefits of my tasty labor.

I found them to be quite tasty and without the chocolate topping, they were just barely sweet. Give them a try and tell me what you think!

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Crispy Treats
What you need:
Cooking Spray
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 peanut butter
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup peanuts
3 cups Rice Krispie cereal
1 and 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

What you do:
Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray and set it aside. Spray a large pot with cooking spray. Combine the first five ingredients in the pot. Heat over medium high heat until smooth and bubbly. Add marshmallows and vanilla and continue stirring.

Once the marshmallows have melted and the mixture is smooth you may turn the stove to low. Keeping a little heat under the pot gives you time before the stuff starts to set up! Add peanuts and cereal and stir until everything is well mixed and well coated.

Press into a greased (or buttered, if you prefer) baking dish. Cover with a single layer of chocolate chips and heat in a moderate oven for three to five minutes- just until the chips are melty. Remove from oven and use a butter knife to smooth out the chocolate chips.

Let cool and cut into squares. Enjoy.

Orion's 12th Birthday

Well folks, we're back! And the 101+ degree heat (with indices in the 115 - 125 degree range) didn't kill me. But not for trying! Thursday was Orion's Birthday and we zipped down Highway 13 to Springfield, MO and picked up Highway 65 and rode it all the way down to Conway. We were tired to begin with; cramming five days' work into three so we could run away took it's toll. So we took our time stopping in Gilbert for a hamburger and look at the river and again in Leslie to visit an antique shop. We arrive around dinner time and it was SO good to see Orion! He had been with Meme and MyBob for 14 days at that point and he must have grown another six inches! We had a quiet evening hanging out, watching TV, and snacking.

Friday was the day of the Party! Orion and Meme planned a Hawaiian luau complete with leis. What fun! The afternoon was filled with preparing for the party. The guests arrived around 3:00 to begin swimming. We had chicken, hot dogs, and burgers (thank you John for cooking!) with tater salad, chips, and a delicious chocolate cake (Wow, Meme! Very tasty!). I must admit, I stayed in much of the afternoon- only venturing out to view the cake cutting and present opening. I stayed inside, out of the sun, and worked on K.P. duty. It was just too hot!
Despite the raging heat and blasting sun, I do believe that fun was had by all! Orion's cousins and friends of the family all arrived to share Orion's special day!

(Orion poses with his brand new arc welder!)

Brother-in-Law Stew

Bean Curd Stew, affectionately known as Brother-in-Law Stew.

Last Saturday I had a culinary wild hair and started with Vietnamese Beef Pho for lunch and moved to a Korean comfort food, Bean Curd Stew, for dinner. This recipe is inspired by a tasty soup my brother-in-law made for me several years ago and again when I visited them last and is based on recipes from two books (*see below). It was so good that we ate two huge bowls each and there were no left-overs. My recipe follows.

Brother-in-Law Stew

What you need:

1 quart soup stock

3 to 4 Tablespoons of soybean paste

1 pack bean curd (tofu) diced

6 oz of thinly sliced beef1 small onion, sliced

3 green onions, sliced diagonally

2-3 garlic cloves, chopped (more if you like)

1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil

And an assortment of the vegetables of your choice, sliced, e.g. zucchini, potato. I used carrot (for color), sugar snap peas (because I had them), left-over bean sprouts, cabbage, and enoki mushrooms (canned ~sob~), one rib of celery (for crunch) and napa cabbage.

What to do:

Cut up all vegetables including the onions. Slice the beef if it isn’t already sliced. Cut the tofu to match the size of the cut veggies.

Heat pan, add oil, stir fry meat and garlic. When the meat is nearly done, add the soybean paste and fry some more. Add onions and soup stock and bring to a boil. Skim off the foam. Add remaining vegetables – adding fragile ones, like mushrooms, at the very last. Simmer over a low flame for a few hours. Dish up and enjoy!

Recipe inspired by:

Chang, S. (1997). A Korean mother’s cooking notes. Seoul, Korea: Ewha University Womens [sic] Press.

Marks, C. (1993). The Korean kitchen: Classic recipes from the land of the morning calm. San Francisco. Chronicle Books.

25 Bucks!

Shortly after Mother's Day we headed up the road a few miles to one of my favorite stores in the area, Highway 13 Antiques. I have found all sorts of goodies at Highway 13 Antiques: Candlewick glasses, embroidered pillowcases, cast iron, Corelle dishes, and so much more. On this particular day the boys found goodies for their blacksmithing endeavors and I found a CHINA CABINET!
I wasn't looking for furniture in particular. But I did need to find something for my teacups, they were stacked up on the roll top desk! I had looked at a wall mounted curio-type-shelf for $25 on previous visits, but didn't want to commit. On this particular day I found a lovely hutch of sorts, for $225. A rich maple with a honeyed finish tempted me; the "no-lay-away" sign depressed me. But one booth over I found another hutch. This one looked like some sort of office piece with blood or barbeque sauce all over the front of it. Honestly, it was beat to hell. (I wish I had taken a before picture...) The price was marked down to $25! Could that be right? I took the ticket to the cashier to ask if it was correct and to inquire if the seller of the maple cabinet would do a lay-away.

Long story short, the ugly, blood/barbeque stained cabinet was indeed $25. The owner of the maple cabinet couldn't be raised to answer my question so I left my number and bought the $25 cabinet. To my pleasure I discovered that the glass doors were intact and safely stored between cardboard. We were in Grace, the Kia, so we headed back home. Orion and I returned with Maggie, the truck, loaded the cabinet, headed home, and just about the time I finished the second cleaning (about an hour after I got home), the shop called and said "yes" to the lay-away. I was so tickled with my cabinet that I passed! Besides, the storage capacity of the blood/barbeque stained cabinet was twice that of the $225 maple piece.

So I cleaned and I scrubbed and I gave it the once over, twice over, and thrice over with Murphy's Oil Soap. The previous owners left a few wedding or anniversary napkins. While the hutch dried, I scrubbed the glass doors. A few passes of Old English Lemon Oil and I was looking at a nice piece of furniture.

It was so nice I decided to display my china, originally my mom's china from the early '60s, Midnight Rose! Take a look below. It's gorgeous!

Vietnamese Beef Pho

Saturday I decided I would experiment with one of my favorite dishes to order when I visit a Vietnamese restaurant, Beef Pho. This recipe is a combination of a couple of recipes from cookbooks* as well as my experiences dining out. I was so pleased with the turn out that I snapped a picture before I chowed down. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Vietnamese Beef Pho

What you need:

3 quarts beef soup stock

3 inch piece of ginger1 large onion, unpeeled and halved

3 whole star anise

2 inch cinnamon stick

¼ to ½ cup fish sauce (or to taste)

1/8 to ¼ cup Chinese black vinegar or Balsamic (or to taste)

1 tablespoon chili sauce

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 pound rib eye steak, cut super thin. I used the steak cut for bulgogi available at the Korean market

10 ounces rice noodles, soaked in a bowl of water for 30 minutes

2 cups mixed cilantro, mint, and Thai basil leaves

1 cup bean sprouts

1 carrot, shredded

½ cucumber, thinly sliced

1 lime, cut into wedges

What to do:

Toss homemade or store bought beef stock into a soup pot. Toss in the halved onion, skin on, the anise, ginger, and cinnamon. Simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. Skim off foam. Cool and strain. Return to pot and reheat.

Shortly before you’re ready to serve, soak the noodles in luke warm water for 15 to 30 minutes. Chop the herbs, slice the lime, and clean the bean sprouts. Set them aside.

Crank up the heat under the strained stock to high. Add the fish sauce and the balsamic vinegar to your taste.

Take four large bowls. Clear bowls allow for a lovely presentation of the different colors and textures. Divide the noodles, beef from stock (if using homemade), and raw steak (sliced thinly) among the four bowls. Pour the boiling stock into each bowl and top with the herbs, sprouts, carrots, and lime wedges. Serve at once.

* Henricksson, M. (2003). Everyday Asian. N.Y.: William Morrow.

Happy Birthday Orion

Happy 12th Birthday to Orion Teague Leslie, founder of Kilted Griffin Ironworks.

Last Friday

Last Friday I had the pleasure of visiting with several of our Indian friends (and our our one Vietnamese friend) for dinner. On Memorial Day the Indian Embassy visited the house and cooked up a storm. A mighty tasty storm! I knew I had to invite them back, but this time I would make sure that we cooked for them! I considered a huge, mostly vegetarian, Italian meal, but my friend Manisha, requested to learn how to make fried chicken, mashed taters, and particularly- gravy.

Much of the work (tater peeling, corn husking, cake makin', and roll risin') was done before the Embassy arrived. But while Manisha and John slaved over a hot stove, the rest of us participated in a highly competitive game of Pictionary! Boys against girls. Yes, the boys won!

Dinner was topped off with a great Indian movie and chocolate mayonnaise cake. I had a marvelous time. I can't wait to have the 'kids' over again.

Bulgogi on Monday; Dak Bulgogi on Tuesday

I am discovering just how much I love Korean food. I love how simple, yet elaborate Korean dishes are. Simple in that may of the seasonings are similar from one dish to the next and the most delicious recipes consist of only a handful of ingredients. However, Korean food is complex in its presentation- there are many colorful side dishes to be created and a great deal of thought and energy is given to placing various ingredients in the most aesthetically pleasing of manners. Note: The picture above is only an attempt at creating a Korean meal for my friend Shannon. You may notice the Japanese sushi dishes as 'plates' and the accompanying bowls filled with various 'relishes' (a set of 22 pieces for $7.00 at the Salvation Army!), Meme's old Chinese soup bowls (free!) are ready by the pot of wonton soup, and bowls that John and I made nearly two decades ago hold the rice, bulgogi, and cucumbers. The only Korean items in this photo are the food and the chopsticks Tree and PD brought me from Korea years and years ago.

I was first exposed to Korean food when my sister married PD. Tree met PD in South Korea over a decade ago when she set out looking for adventure- teaching English in Korea. I believe my first Korean 'food' was kimbap, what most Midwesterners refer to as sushi. I was impressed by how quickly PD was able to make these seaweed and rice rolls. I believe I foundered on them that evening. Since then I have enjoyed bulgogi, kalbi, a tubu (tofu) stew of sorts, and a few noodle dishes at the hands of my sister and PD. And now that I live only 60 miles from Overland Park, KS I find that I shop at the Korean market whenever I visit and Choga whenever I can afford it!

Monday is not the first time we have made bulgogi. John has carefully sliced the beef super thin for our feasts on several occasions. The Oriental Supermarket in Overland Park provides packages of rib-eye sliced super thin, and we always make sure there's some in the freezer! We had a feast of bulgogi for the Lunar New Year this year, but the pictures were lost. But Monday was the first time that Shannon had bulgogi. Shannon hadn't been to visit in over six months (~sob~) and I hadn't seen her since Spring Break. One of my favorite things to do with Shan, other than antique-ing, is to cook. Shan's always up for a culinary adventure and Monday was no different.

After cleaning up the breakfast dishes Shannon and I got started in the kitchen. She chopped two bunches of green onions while I scalded spinach, bean sprouts, and zucchini. Within an hour we had the assorted side salads ready and waiting for dinner. Later that night John pan seared the bulgogi while we set the table. Orion loves bulgogi and can eat his weight in rice and steak. We had only a bit of beef left over, and as soon as the kitchen was clean, Orion was back in the kitchen consuming the left overs.

I was very pleased with my most recent attempt at the side dishes. They were delicious and slightly spicy. (Not spicy enough for a Korean or my friend Sally, but just enough to make my mouth feel pleasantly warm.) Since there was plenty of lettuce and sides left, John and I had a meal of dak bulgogi (chicken) on Tuesday night.

I only wish that my brother-in-law was here to share dinner! I know he would be tickled. This summer I plan to practice making bibimbap (but I will need to find clay pots that can be heated for that) and p'a chon, a tasty pancake with green onions (and squid if I have it!).

An Old Friend

During my tenure at the U of A in Fayetteville I made several wonderful friends. One of them is Shaila Rao. We lived in the same apartment complex; we suffered statistics together; and we became good friends. Shaila left during my second year at Fayetteville and I've not seen her since. We swap Christmas cards and occasional email, but I've not heard from her in ages.

I have been thinking about her a great deal lately, especially with the Indian Entourage visit yesterday. Well tonight, while grading the first Point of View Paper for my Foundations of Education and Field Experience course, one of my students cited a recent paper by Shaila on inclusion of special education children! How fabulous!

I had to email her! Shaila, I miss you!

The Indian Embassy in the 'Burg

What did you do on Memorial Day? Did you have a picnic or a barbeque? Did you go out to dinner with family or friends? Did you have a good time? We did!

While the 'Burg is a tiny town of about 14,000 folks, and the University of Central Missouri is considered a small university, we do have a handful of international students. UCM international students have to be some of the nicest folks on the planet. Every fall they cook (yes, cook!) for anyone at the university that wants to come and enjoy a global meal! Every spring they host a multi-cultural talent show.

These international students have to be some of the hardest working and generous students I've had the pleasure of knowing. Several of them volunteer to cook for the Newman Center (Catholic Student Center) on a regular basis.

Manisha, pictured below is a graduate student in Speech and Language Pathology and works as a graduate assistant in our department. From time to time Manisha has brought me samples of her marvelous cooking. And during the past year, she and Orion became good buddies as she helped him on several occasions with his (cursed) cursive, reading, and writing.

Manisha and I are always talking about cooking together, and getting together to have dinner, and yet this past semester was so busy, I had absolutely no time. Finally, we picked a date! I made it a holiday in hopes that I would be home!

(Manisha cookin' up Chicken Curry)

I picked up Manisha and three of her friends at about 1:30, just as it started to rain! Thank goodness we weren't having a picnic! We got to the house and I showed them around and they went to work in the kitchen.

(Manisha, Sadiq, Tanvi (in the back), and Towino smile as they work in the kitchen)

(Sadiq and Tanvi peel potatoes for samosas. Sadiq later made six quarts of lhassi: strawberry, blueberry, and plain)

I was so impressed with how hard they worked and how much fun they were all having. Manisha showed off her "management skills" by organizing everyone and creating chicken tandoori, curry chicken, samosas, pakoras, vegetable Basmati rice, and she applied henna to my hair!

My friends Sally and John arrived at about 3:30. There was nothing for us to do but sit back and watch these students cook up a storm.


Around 5:30 John left to retrieve four more students from campus: Mona, Ankita, and Poorvi (Tanvi's identical twin), all Indian students, and Phat (a young man from Vietnam). Now there were six to eight 20-somethings cooking in my kitchen at any give time!

(No room for me in the kitchen!)

(Towino was only invited for his onion chopping skills! Or so we were told!)

After roughly five hours of cooking we were ready to eat! I couldn't wait! My house smelled great! There were 13 of us eager to eat, eat, eat!

(Manisha stands ready to start the meal!)


(Clockwise from top: curry chicken [short pot], Indian soup made by Sally [tall, shiny pot], 10 pounds of tandoori chicken, samosas, pakoras, and vegetable rice in the center)


(Ankita samples the pakoras)

(Orion and Poorvi fill their plates)

(Sally contemplates all the tasty choices)

I had such an amazing time. Of course, I haven't posted any pictures of myself as my hair was covered in mud and I looked rather scary. We all laugh, visited, ate, and had a marvelous time. I ate too many samosas to count and ate two more before bed! Oh my!

I was impressed by many things yesterday. The first being the amazing taste of everything that was prepared. John and I agreed that this was THE best Indian food we had ever eaten. Yum. The second being that my kitchen was clean before we even sat down to dinner! All we had to do after dinner was put away left-overs and toss the dinner dishes into the dishwasher! Thirdly, I was so tickled by the friendships that these students had forged- their cheerful banter, singing, and joking filled the house. It was a great feeling!

Thank you Manisha for bringing your friends to my house and for cooking for my family and our friends. Thank you Sadiq, Towino, Tanvi, Ankita, Poorvi, Mona, and Phat for your culinary talents, your hard work, the great fun, and a taste of India.