sunny with a chance of bluebirds » 2010

Looking up

Posted by Emily | Posted on 14-09-2010

Category : My Life in Cairo, Uncategorized

I was in a hurry to get to the store even though I had no idea what to make for dinner and for all I knew it would be as empty as it was yesterday. I was kind of in a bad mood, but then, I looked up and realized…

Wow. It’s a really beautiful day today. The weather is nice, there are clouds in the sky, there’s a warm breeze blowing through the trees. It was just all around nice. Even the wild dogs looked like they’d just gotten back from the groomer’s! I wish. But still, it was beautiful.

By the time I reached the somewhat understocked shelves of the grocery store, I’d decided what to make for dinner, and what do you know, they even had everything I needed.

Vegetarian Meatballs

Posted by Emily | Posted on 14-09-2010

Category : Food, My Life in Cairo, Vegetarian in Cairo

While there are some pretty tasty meatless “meat” options available at a few stores in Maadi, they are hard to find and seem to be only sporadically available — although I’m amazed and delighted that we’ve got a few vegetarian options period! Not to mention the incredible tofu.

And since I’ve been missing some of the delicious meatless options we used to enjoy back in the States, and since we had several jars of freshly made tomato sauce in our refrigerator, and since I hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast, I decided to try making my own meatless-meatballs last night. I’ve read several different recipes and have tried a few, but haven’t had too much success — probably because I keep having to substitute different things for unavailable (or at least difficult to find) ingredients like ricotta or wheat gluten. So this time around, I decided to try using easy to find ingredients and see what happened.

Fortunately, they turned out to be pretty good (2 out of 2 vegetarians agree!), so I thought I’d share the recipe.

Apple Zucchini Muffins

Posted by Emily | Posted on 12-09-2010

Category : Food, My Life in Cairo

Zucchini is apparently abundant in Cairo. They are one of those things you can pretty much always count on being available at the store… like flatbread or Chipsy, or eggs stacked up on the floor. Zucchini’s always there, en masse, taking up quite a lot of real estate in the produce section, and reminding me I should try to work with what’s there and not keep wishing for a Whole Foods with blueberries and blackberries and lettuce that won’t stress me out. Anyhow, the zucchini are there, pale green, and abundant.

And since when life gives you lemons you’re supposed to make lemonade, I realized that when Cairo gives you zucchini, you’ve got to do something good with it.

And I’d say, mission accomplished.

Maadi Dogs

Posted by Emily | Posted on 09-09-2010

Category : My Life in Cairo, Uncategorized

As I was walking home from the grocery store today, I ran into these guys. They were wagging their tales and relaxing in the last bit of sunlight before the sun went down.

Yellowstone to Idaho

Posted by Emily | Posted on 02-09-2010

Category : in America and Elsewhere, Travel & Sightseeing

Having survived a night in a tent in bear country, we drove into Yellowstone National Park. I’d never been to Yellowstone before, and I was looking forward to seeing some interesting wildlife and hydrothermal activity.

Yellowstone Lake was even steaming and bubbling.

The views in the park were beyond beautiful.

The steam vents above are called fumaroles, which are, according to the Yellowstone National Park website, “hot springs with a lot of heat, but so little water that it all boils away before reaching the surface.” I learned a lot.

Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming

Posted by Emily | Posted on 01-09-2010

Category : in America and Elsewhere, Travel & Sightseeing

So after a wonderful visit with family, we were back on the road again.

Oooooklahoma

Posted by Emily | Posted on 01-09-2010

Category : Cats, Family, Food, in America and Elsewhere, Travel & Sightseeing

I always have a great time in Oklahoma! Even if it was a relentless 105 degrees. It’s just so much fun spending time with Mimi!

We always have such a great time together! We told stories and visited and had lots of fun. Mimi even taught me how to crochet squares for an afghan she’s been working on.