February 2010

Simply soup

February 24, 2010

In simpler times, Farrell and I stepped into a bustling Chinese restaurant in Penang, Malaysia for breakfast one morning. We sat down, pointed at a poster on the wall (which had pictures of at least six different dishes) and we were presented with this (above) several minutes later. It was almost too easy. Sit, point, [...]

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Empanadas and one whole year!

February 19, 2010

Well friends, this is it. One year of blogging has passed. And with these empanadas, my one wild week of baking and cooking in DC all those months ago is over. It’s been quite a trip from the day when I decided I needed a new hobby that didn’t revolve around school or work, and [...]

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Baghdad Apple Crisp

February 15, 2010

We were hit with a mortar yesterday…a 107-mm mortar of love and homemade dessert! There was no complaining from me this Valentine’s Day (a noted cynic), even if it was spent in Baghdad (I can think of only a few worse places to spend any romantically-themed holiday). Despite the location, I was among a sparse [...]

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Baking spree: vanilla tarts with strawberries

February 13, 2010

Get ready for a classy dessert. This will be the next-to-last entry from last September’s wild baking spree, but don’t worry! There’s only 37 more days until I’m back in DC, cooking and baking up a storm. This will tide you over in the mean time. It was probably the last thing I made before [...]

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War zones

February 9, 2010

If you ever wondered what the U.S. military has to sacrifice to protect your freedom, look no further! Nobody ever said livin’ in a war zone would be easy! Note: Soft-serve ice cream had disappeared for at least a week before this notice was posted…meaning, the cafeteria staff probably got fed up with fielding questions [...]

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"Special beverages"

February 6, 2010

So, I hear there’s some sort of football game coming up soon? Kinda important? (Please remember, I’m a bit detached from the rest of the world, to say the least.) Well, the good folks at the Embassy dining hall are setting up a special Superbowl menu, which includes such favorites as…hot dogs and chili! Jalepeno [...]

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Baghdad lessons

February 6, 2010

Forty-four days left. As the calendar winds down, I’ve been attempting to jot down various “lessons” that I’ve learned during my deployment. The list is still a work in progress, but I will share one tidbit that still takes me by surprise: 1. Baghdad gets cold. Now, I know it’s nothing comparable to the Snowpocalypse [...]

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Oh, to be somewhere else…

February 5, 2010

This post will be expanded shortly, but here’s a teaser for now: Some recent frustrations in the sandbox are making me consider running back to Malaysia to live like a hippie on some remote, serene beach. Oh life. 45 days til DC.

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There’s a tentacle in my soup…

February 4, 2010

Since I have a sort-of gigantic change coming up in my life (moving to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in August!), I started researching travel blogs in order to (1) look for tips and interesting things to do in the region, and (2) scope out the sort of content, tone, writing, and photography needed to run a good, [...]

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Baking spree: bagels

February 2, 2010

My high school nickname among a special few people was “Bagel.” Why? I mean, I love bagels. I really love bagels. (At the time though, I loved muffins more, but the friend who bequeathed the title to me didn’t think it fit.) I had a New York City bagel once, and it was perfectly adequate, [...]