kicking off the cooking project!

You know, some people have the cooking gene and well, some just don’t. My grandma was a wonderful cook. She made homemade noodles that were to die for and although I never tried that weird jello thing with fruit inside, I bet it was actually pretty good, too. She made me fall in love with pecan pie. I still love pecan pie. It just happens to come from the freezer aisle. Since I don’t have that said cooking gene, this is going to be an interesting experiment. You see, I’ve never eaten Ethiopian food outside of Ethiopia, but I do really love it in Ethiopia.

[caption id="attachment_1284" align="aligncenter" width="388" caption="My husband eating Ethiopian food in Ethiopia, the real deal."][/caption]

I’ve read a lot of books and articles, attended great conferences and have great small groups with their own experiences transitioning children into their families. I understand the key role that nutrition can play in this transition. Let me preface this: there is a lot of very important information about the importance of nutrition in the transition of international adoption, including issues with food anxieties like gorging or hoarding that are related to previous malnutrition. I don’t have the expertise to address all this, but I highly suggest doing some research (I appreciate some of the information found at http://adoptionnutrition.org/) to understand and attempt to prepare for it. What I do know, though, is that I’ve heard it’s important to serve your child some foods that are familiar during the transition of introducing new foods into their diet. What does this mean?! I’m on a journey to learn to cook Ethiopian food, and you’re invited!

So here’s the deal. Each month, I’m going to be trying a new Ethiopian dish. First up, I think I should master (ha, I said master…like the confidence?!) the basics: injera. Injera is kind of like a flatbread that is spongy and soft. It’s made from a grain called teff, something very common in Ethiopia which is what makes it such a great staple for the country. It’s used to scoop the food and replaces all utensils. What’s better than a good description? An even better video. This is a friend of mine demonstrating how to properly eat Ethiopian food, from my first trip to Ethiopia.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVif9iDYN0U]

Get ready to kick this little project off in February. Why not January? I need some time to hype myself up, people. See above, where it says I’m not a great cook. So January is a time of introductions. I’ll be sharing my recipes, my experiences (including pictures, of course) and hopefully a few comments from the hubby. I hope you are as excited as I am! And be gentle with your comments. Remember? Not a great cook! :)