Doro Wot, Cupitt Style

Today we're sharing the best doro wot of all time. This is as tasty as what you find in Ethiopia. But before we begin, let me point out a few things.

1. Doro Wot smells divine. But it doesn't really photograph well. Sorry. Eat it anyway.
2. Those are not my man hands. Those are Brandon's. I don't really cook food very well.

OK, so now that we've got that out of the way, let's get on with it.

We buy ours at an Ethiopian market, but you can get the injera and the berbere here if you shop online. Injera ships out on Tuesdays, so plan accordingly.

let all that just chill for a while and then...

i like mine a little chunky, but you can use sauce if if you like it smooth

add a bit of water too if it's looking too thick for your taste

Now present it to your family. Here's what ours did. Abby looked hungry and sad.

Jude ate a ton of injera. 

Will thought he could handle the heat. But ended up guzzling a gallon of milk. 

And we ate 'til we could hardly walk, like we always do when we make this. The end. 

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! :)