Guys, it’s a Wednesday afternoon, and I’m exhausted.  I don’t know why, but today felt extra long and tiring.  Perhaps it’s the fact that I’ve finally been exercising again now that we own a new-to-us treadmill.

Maybe it’s the fact that we have 1 week and 1 day of school left with the students (and then a couple weeks of clean up, prep for next year, etc.).

Maybe it’s the fact that it’s nearing the end of the regular work week, and I’m just tired.

Maybe it’s the fact that it’s extremely hot outside and it’s wearing me down.

Maybe it’s the fact that our alarm clock didn’t go off this morning and it threw us into a rushed frenzy on our way out the door…

Regardless of the reason for my tiredness, I had the best of intentions to type up this amazing shrimp risotto recipe I’ve got, but I just can’t muster up the energy today.  So instead, I’m doing a bit of a recipe throwback, and reminding you of 4 great recipes that you can start using now that it’s presumably feeling like Spring where you are (…although for me, it’s now feeling hotter than a comfortable temperature, being that it’s 40+C these days).

Curried Deviled Eggs

Greek Bean Salad

Monster Mushroom Burger

Strawberry “Daiquiri” Smoothie

Happy Spring!  Here’s to lots more days of glorious sunshine.

March and April just kind of slipped by, and I forgot to tell you which recipes I had published in the Faith & Friends magazine!  Oops!

Palak Paneer & Indian Style Chutney

French Toast & Grilled Nut Butter ‘n’ Banana Sandwich

**Two weeks ago we traveled to Nepal.  The posts that you will see over the next few days are excerpts from my travel journal recounting our trip.**

We decided it was high time we actually get out and see more of Kathmandu and the surrounding area. So after a leisurely breakfast on our hotel’s terrace, overlooking the sleepy city, we embarked on a journey for about 45 minutes by car, to the small cultural town of Bhaktapur.

It’s an historical city filled with ancient temples, shops, etc. We paid the entrance fee, and casually wandered through what is a still-used historical town. It’s kind of like a living history. The narrow alleys weave in and out around multiple town squares, which were covered in red bricks, usually with a temple or shrine (or two or three…), and various shops to purchase souvenirs of pottery, scarves, or tiny Buddha ash trays.

It was interesting to see both Hindu and Buddhist temples together in such close proximity with one another.

After our time in Bhaktapur we drove back to Kathmandu along the same dusty roads we’d traveled out on. There is a lot of construction happening and so the dust swirls around and around, getting in your eyes and mouth from the open car windows.

Our driver’s little car chugged up the steep hills to the Monkey Temple, where there was a festival in full swing. We climbed many stairs, past families leaving offerings at statues, and dozens of monkeys.

We even saw one that was only a couple of days old, still being nursed by its mother, eyes not opened yet.

There were so many places to light candles, burn incense, leave flower or food offerings.

The noise was a steady din and it all overwhelmed my senses.

We were pushed in at every angle by people young and old.

It was quite the cultural and religious experience, but I was glad when we descended again, leaving the thick crowds behind.

We called it quits and headed back to our little area of Thamel, which we’d become quite comfortable with. We ate a delicious lunch in a “trendy” cafe, and then did some souvenir shopping, both for ourselves and our loved ones.

After our ritual of an afternoon siesta, we had our final dinner in Kathmandu on a patio at a restaurant where we’d eaten earlier in the week. It was a magical finale to our week in Nepal.

—

Read more about our trip to Nepal…

Nepal: Day 1

Nepal: Day 2

Nepal: Day 3

Nepal: Day 4

Nepal: Days 5-7

One of the quick and easy snack foods around here is called Fatiyer.  I like to joke that if you eat too much of it, you’ll have a “fat tire” around your waist… it might not be too much of a joke!  But in any case, it’s super delicious.  It’s kind of like an Arab twist on pizza meets calzone.

You can get it filled with a variety of things, but my favourite is cheese, tomatoes, olives and zaatar.  They fold it over and bake it fresh right there in their ginormous clay oven.  I love it!  It also helps that it’s approximately a 3 minute walk from our school…

I’ll miss grabbing a quick fatiyer here and there when we’re back in Canada for the summer.  It’s so much tastier than regular fast food.  Probably just as unhealthy with the grease factor, but at least the ingredients aren’t sketchy.

What’s your favourite fast food?

Our work day begins at 7:00 a.m., which means I eat breakfast around 6:30 a.m. (I’m up at 6:00, but we live a 5 minute walk from school), and so by 9:00 a.m. my oatmeal is starting wear off and I feel those familiar grumbles of hunger…

I typically pack some quinoa salad with roasted veggies (I make a giant batch on Saturdays to last the entire week), a cucumber (they grow them in a perfect “personal” size over here!), a piece of fruit and a hardboiled egg.  But I needed something else.  So I started playing around with various “granola bar” options to fill in that morning “tea time” that I like to have.  So far I’ve tried, and LOVED the following recipes, which I think you should definitely check out:

• Chickpea Cookie Dough Balls (there are also a ton of other options for dough balls here as well!)
• Oatmeal-on-the-go Bars

I’ve also played around with another version of granola bars that I made up (not quite ready for the blog yet!).  Plus these black bean brownies and granola bars are also in our repertoire of snacks for work.  I think I’ll be including some banana muffins as well at some point.  It’s nice to have variety!  I don’t want the same type of snack every week, so doing it on a weekly rotation works well for me.  Try a few recipes out, and then go back to them in a month or so!

One of the recipes I created and absolutely loved was this recipe for these Peanut Butter Pomegranate Power Bites.  I am a huge fan of peanut butter, but it can be subbed for any nut butter.  And we have dried pomegranate arils in abundance over here, but of course you could use any dried fruit cut into tiny pieces.  In any case these are soft but hold together well and they’re fantastic for taking on the go.  They look like cookies, but I make them a bitter smaller to fill the “bite” roll a bit more.  Two + a cup of tea is how I like to eat them.

Peanut Butter Pomegranate Power Bites:

• 1/4 cup oatmeal (not quick-cooking)
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp. baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tbsp. peanut butter
• 1 cup dried pomegranates

Pre-heat your oven to 350F.  Mix the dry ingredients together, and then add in the honey and peanut butter.  Mix well.  Stir in the pomegranates.  Your dough will be sticky and soft, but if you feel that it is too soft to transfer to the baking sheet, then add in a bit more oats, about 1 tbsp. at a time.  Scoop the dough onto a greased baking sheet in 2 tbsp. mounds.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before transferring to the fridge.  They will last for approximately 1 week in your fridge.  Makes 24.

I don’t care if you’re married, single, have a tribe of children, or zero on the horizon…every one needs a date night.

You can go on a date with your spouse, your best friend, your child, your grand-mother, or your crazy Uncle Freddy.  A date is simply two people spending pre-planned time together in the hopes of growing closer together.  You can do that with anyone that means something to you!

And despite what people believe, you don’t have to go out to go on a date.  You can enjoy some quality time right inside your own home.  And it’s NOT restricted to February 14th.  No siree, it’s possible any time of the day, any day of the year.

So grab your loved one (whomever that may be), and try cooking up some delicious treats, like this veggie chow mein with some no-bake chocolate peanut butter truffles for dessert.

Your crazy Uncle Freddy will thank me you.

*This post is dedicated to my latest published recipes in the Faith & Friends magazine.

We had finished Church, taxied home and had eaten a delicious lunch of leftovers.  It was then that we set out to walk to another Church to meet up with friends for an afternoon in the desert.

We walked along busy, dusty roads in the glorious sunshine, recapping our weeks and excitedly chatting about the upcoming drive out into the desert of Kuwait.

Upon reaching our destination we eventually met up with various friends from our weekly Bible study and even work, and boarded a mini bus desert-bound.

The bus passed many stalls set up along the highway selling flags and other such paraphernalia for Kuwait National Day coming up next week.  It was fun to see the various homes and cares joining together in pride for their our country.

We arrived mid-day in the heat of the sun, passing piles of sand, lots of families and various dead sheep.  We set up our humble picnic amidst desert flowers, sand and garbage (the latter being the least enjoyable of the three).  We ate, chatted and enjoyed some much-needed vitamin D. The weather was perfect, really.  A little hazy, but comfortable and warm.

Our afternoon was spent amongst fine friends climbing up to the top of Mutler Ridge (the highest point in Kuwait…and since Kuwait is a desert, let’s be real, the ridge isn’t that high…).  We had a beautiful view, and it felt kind of like walking on the moon with all of its pebbles, neutral tones, dips, and dives.  It would be a perfect location for a picnic.  (Note to self: make that happen!)

After sufficient exploration up top, we climbed back down (going down is always worse than going up!), played some frisbee (who am I kidding, Peter played frisbee, I took pictures), and then took the bus back into the City around dusk.  It was a fantastic end to our Friday.