B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

One morning this summer, my teammates and I decided to walk down the street to the indoor market to purchase some fruits and vegetables. Usually we bought street food for meals, but after the twentieth bowl of Pho (beef noodle soup), we needed some variety.

For simple purchases like chopsticks and bowls we never had a problem communicating in broken Vietnamese and hand motions, but buying fresh produce turned out to be complicated.
After much hand-waving, we ended up with a sad bunch of bananas . . . which turned out to be plantains. We tried frying them, but they smelled so bad, that our sweet landlady ran up the stairs, scolding us in Vietnamese and threw them out.
The next morning, we were in the living room lesson planning when our landlady came in with a giant clump of bananas.
Excitement!

Vietnam Days

It's been three months since I left little Bien Hoa, Vietnam, and I still haven't written about it like I have wanted to. So I'm going to begin posting pictures and stories from my summer, just small, enjoyable stories that I have been thinking about lately.

Story number one: Laundry.

I wish i had taken a picture of our sad washing machine; it fought hard for us. After washing our clothes, we hung them on long metal poles that crossed above the courtyard.
Like this.




And while they dried, our landlady cooked . . . directly beneath our laundry. Our clothes always dried with the scent of Vietnamese dinner. Sometimes i miss laundry days at the hotel, even if my clothes dried crunchy and smelled like food.

Pumpkin Goop

...This is how we carve pumpkins...

Indian Pudding

I had my wisdom teeth pulled yesterday morning, and so i am confined to pudding and mashed potatoes. What a sad fate.
But i was determined to make the best of it, so this morning i cooked some Indian pudding for myself. It almost tasted like pumpkin pudding, but more cornmeal.

Oh Streusel

When i come home, i bake.

Somehow in the jumble of flour and spices life untangles itself and i can breathe again.

I decided to bake with pumpkin this afternoon since it's October and all, and i made these delicious little pumpkin muffins.

They are absolutely de-lightful, so i thought i'd share. Bake.Eat.Enjoy. :)

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 3 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cups pecans, roughly chopped (i used walnuts)
  
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/4 cups solid-packed pumpkin
• 1/3 cups vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

---

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat two 12-cup standard muffin tins with oil and set aside.
2. Mix the cream cheese, 1 egg, and 3 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl and set aside.
   
3. Toss 5 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 cup flour, pecans, butter, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon together in a medium bowl and set aside.
   
4. Combine the remaining sugar, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and remaining cinnamon in a large bowl. Lightly beat the remaining eggs, pumpkin, oil, and vanilla together in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, pour the pumpkin mixture into the well, and mix with a fork just until moistened. Evenly divide half of the batter among the muffin cups. Place two teaspoonfuls of cream cheese filling in the center of each cup and fill with the remaining batter. Sprinkle some of the pecan mixture over the top of each muffin and bake until golden and a tester, inserted into the muffin center, comes out clean -- 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Weekend.

I ran at Clifton Gorge over the weekend. . .
Miles and miles of trails covered in crisp and colorful fall leaves.

And i had lunch with some beautiful and wise friends. And we talked for hours . . .

I baked a cake - lemon and coconut - and went thrifting with my mom. And i watched football with my dad.

And of course i played with our puppy, who wiggled all over when she saw me, and seemed genuinely sad when i left. Oh Sadie, dog.

Waiting.

"Waiting Room"
by Jonny Diaz

Here in this waiting room yearning for You to say go
And though I’m convinced that a yes would be best
This time You’re telling me no

It’s not that I don’t have an answer
It’s just not the one that I’d like
But through this time Lord I must keep in mind
You’re always wiser than I

You have a much better purpose
And You have a far greater plan
And You have a bigger perspective
Cause You hold this world in your hands

The things that I seek are from You
Like the strong healing touch of your hand
But when You say no help me trust even though
There’s a reason I can’t understand

When that miracle comes cause Your answer is yes
I will praise you for all of my days
But when Your wisdom declares that a no is best
I will praise You just the same