tamales

this edition of blog brings you more cooking adventures.
Today I made corn tamales. This kind of tamales is a bit different that the traditional pork tamales (red), and they have corn, cheese and cream (and chile slices in the middle). My mom makes them when I visit (they are typical in our native state of Sonora), and they're always a favorite (with refried beans). I made a point to write down the recipe, since it is a made-up recipe, as the original/traditional has fresh white corn as the main ingredient, and i used canned. The photo is from last year's batch (my first time making them). I have only made them once since, but I totally screwed up the recipe and they were awfull, hence no tamales since then.

rosca + cooking

today i made Rosca de Reyes (king's cake). This was a test run, because a rosca is not typically eaten until January 6th. Also, you're supposed to hide a plastic baby toy and whomever gets it has to put together another party for Dia de la Candelaria, in february (12th? 2nd?.. i forget), but I was fresh out of blastic baby toys (hehe) l. The rosca turned out good, but not like a traditional rosca. This one had a bread consistency, and a rosca is more like cake. I will look for another recipe and try it again next week. I've been a lot into cooking lately. have you seen my recipe blog?

some links

some of the crafty/diy links in my collection:
not martha
ikea hacker
craftzine
etsy
ready made
instructables
threadbanger

some of the places i get my tv fix:
tudou
veoh
youtube

henna stuff:
henna page
hrnna tribe

what's up with Huevo

Our dog Huevo was left to live temporarily with my parents in Mexico. He was inside for a couple of months, but soon after i left to come here, he was moved to the laundry room (still inside, but smaller) because he caused allergies. He shares the laundry room now with 3 chihuahuas and the ocasional cat. He has loosened up a lot (he was very scared of everything!), and now goes out runing to the park and plays around with the neighborhood kids. My parents even taught him how to "shake", and before he would never ever let you touch his paws. He seems to be doing great, and I do miss him, but I am sure he is very well taken care of and happy.

random stuff

(photo: my backyard this morning)
sorry i did not post yesterday... so much for nablopomo. At least i was not "officially" registered and failed the challenge like this other person i know (hehe).
Oh well, i guess i am runing out of things to post ( i dont have a project to show, or kids to give me material).
For today, i have a collection of random stuff...
-It snowed! yes, there was snow on the ground this morning (it had snowed last week like the forecast said, but nothing stuck).
-The suitcase is OUT, and I am filling it with stuff. Seems like we're going to have a "suitcase situation" for this trip. You see, Gera brought 1 garment bag, 1 big suitcase, 1 small carry on... the big suitcase arrived all thorn, brocken and unusable. I brought 2 big suitcases, 1 small carry on (plus cumputer bag)... When the sibllings came to visit, they arrived with a brocken suitcase (the wheels broke), and when they left, they switched bags and left the brocken one here . So if you're keeping track, that means we have 2 brocken suitcases (unusable), 2 small carry-ons, 1 big suitcase, 1 garment bag. Will that be enough? i hope so... i just know that my carry-on will be heavy with chocolates... that makes me wonder about customs... i should check on that.
-yesterday i made menudo (the soup, not the boy band). It was ok, I was actually quite disapointed with the flavor... something was not right. I guess if I try to look at it from the bright side, when i go home it will taste so much better!

artsy crafty

i think i am running out of things to write (hehe), so I will write this pseudo-meme I remember reading somewhere...
-My artsy crafty self-
Crafty things I do regularly:-
henna (on skin, wood, paper), photography (not too many :(

Crafty things I've done before and enjoyed:
candle making, hemp jewelry, polymer clay beads and pendants, printmaking (silkscreen), woodworking (carpintery)
, bookmaking,

Crafty things I've done before but dont really care to do again:
origami, metal working (soldering scares me), decoupage,

Crafty things I would like to try:
mosaic making, soap making, lip gloss making, sewing, scrap booking, cake decorating, felt monsters, altered books, tiedye,

Crafty things that I dont really care for:
knitting, beading, sand art, crocheting, doll houses, quilt making,

Gera on TV!

Gera was on German TV today! I will link here to the "official" clip later. For now, the screenshots are my only evidence of our path to world domination! (muahaha) (yes, i recorded the TV :) )

Love skype!

Skype is a software/service you install on your computer, and it lets you connect and chat (voice/text/video) with other people who have skype too, FOR FREE! (You could also call regular phones, but that is not free). We use it all the time and that’s how we chat with our family every weekend without having a huge phone bill. So go to skype.com, install it, and then email to give me your username! (did i mention it is free?)
(thanks Ambica for sharing Skype with us!)

Just playing

(photo: bread on a slipper at a restaurant called "crazy Cow", kinda cool)

About a month ago Gera ordered a computer game online. It was more expensive to order it through the local (European) mac site, so we ordered through the American site, and had it shipped to Abril’s home, the she shipped it to us (we have a whole underground network… not really). The game is Civilization III (not the latest version in the Civ series, but my little powerbook is so old, it would not be able to run the latest one L ). Gera has fond memories of the previous civ games, he used to play them when he was younger. Together we had previously played the Diablo series, and another one called Shivers (similar to Myst). Well, I have been playing this game almost everyday! It is addictive! You play as a world leader, and have to build a civilization and survive wars and make scientific advances and research. Its pretty cool!

snow, books and bazaars

We are expecting some cold weather! I am sooo excited about the snow forecast. This morning we got what I thought was snow, but I guess it was more like really small hail. Whatever it was, I hope we get some more. Why so into the cold weather? I don’t know, its just fun and different for now… but I am sure I’ll be sick of it by January, and with 3 more months of cold still ahead of me.
Today I went to a used book sale and stocked up on reading material for the upcoming trip. I got couple of Koontz(s) and a couple of Deaver(s) for my thriller fix. I found out this library has a book exchange program, so I will be going back soon with some of my used books to see what other goodies I can get.
This weekend there are a lot of bazaars (and/or junk sales) going on. On Sunday there’s a Mexican Bazaar one in Zollikon (like a Zurich suburb), I think I’ll be going to that one. They are advertising food and music, and the entry is free (food not included). Although I am sure whatever food they are selling I can make better and for less $ … (look who’s all confident in their cooking abilities…)

What I am taking? What am I bringing?

(photo: typical swiss/zurich dish in a convenient packet, just add mushrooms, cream and veil... I think i am taking some of those with me...)

I am making a list, I am checking it twice!
I’ve got 1 month and 1 day before my trip to Dallas, then Ruston, then Juarez. So in my weird little ways, it is time to start packing!!! Well, at least start thinking harder about what I need to pack (the actual suitcases will make an appearance in 1 or 2 weeks).

But before anything else, first, I make a list of the things I want to EAT! Yes, EAT! I don’t want to come back and think “oh! I should have eaten---while I was there”. So in my list of things to eat I write thinks like:
-horchata (rice water with cinnamon
-hotdogs (from a special place in Juarez: parque borunda)
-Ham and cheese torta with a ton of avocado (from Victortas in Juarez)
-Sushi (from the Monday/Sunday sushi buffet: all you can eat for 120 pesos=$11US=12.50CHF… and the sushi buffet here costs at least 45 CHF! You can bet I’ll be eating there every Sunday!)
-corn tamales (maybe my mom will make them for Christmas)
-Fast food! (taco bell, arbys, burguer king, oh my!)
-Barbacoa (mmmmm, that is all I have to say)

I’ve already started a box with things I will take with me, but when the suitcase comes out of the cellar, this is what is going in there:
-the ton of chocolate bars I’ve been collecting for family and friends (will probably go in the carry-on)
-gera’s old xbox (abril and robe brought it with them as a surprise last may, but forgot the cables… and the adaptor for the plug was going to be almost as expensive as buying an xbox here, so I am taking it back to sell it on ebay)

I haven’t thought much about what I am bringing because anything I bring will somehow have to make it back sometime… but for now, this is what I am thinking:
-candy (for gera’s labmates, who always bring candy back from their home countries)
-a popup tent for baby (my friend asked me to buy her this, she cant find it here)

So let me know if you want stuff from here,,. you’ve got time to do a little research and find that special, non-fda-approved product you’ve always wanted and could not get. (I take paypal and credit cards, hehe)

my wish list

My wish list
This year Gera and I are gifting ourselves a new camera! Our current camera is a Canon Powershot A80 that has been very useful for the past 4 years, but now I even have tape on the battery opening! We really liked the swivel screen because it allowed us to take self-photos more accurately, but if we want something smaller and more lightweight, we’ll have to live without it. So behold the Canon PowerShot SD800 IS. It is not the latest model, but has what we need at almost half the price that the latest releases.


I have many more wishes on my list, but I am already getting the very best one: being with my family and friends!!

whats up with the henna?

Many of you know that I have been doing henna body art (aka henna tattoos) for many years now. At one point I had a nice online business (through ebay), and when we moved from Bloomington I had to sell ALL my henna stuff (inventory and personal stash). The only thing that was left was a half empty (or half full, depending on how you see it) shoe box with a bit of henna powder, a couple of applicators, some oils. Fortunately, my henna shoe box has grown a bit in the last year (thanks to a bit of volunteering on transating henna books to Spanish in exchange for henna stuff).
So whats up with the henna?
I have been part of the Henna Page forum, and in there I post a “monthly henna challenge” aimed at making artists of all levels try out a new technique or just go outside their comfort zone. I also participated in last year’s Holiday Gift Swap, and this year I am in too! There’s another henna group that I recently joined called Henna Tribe. With them I’ve volunteered to put together a henna design ebook (where people donate pages of designs and I put them together to be distributed). I have been working more with henna, doing a design on me (or gera) almost every weekend! Also in the works is a website about henna (bilingual), but that will not be done until probably next year.
Do you like henna?

Too much youtube?

(photo: fried chicken a la KFC)

I've always been a TV junkie.
I am currently watching 9 TV shows online. I’ve always “followed” several TV shows, but watching them online makes 9 feel like a lot… I guess it’s because most of them are broken up into several parts.
These is what I watch: Heroes, the Office, Grey’s Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, America’s Next Top Model, Survivor China, Project Runway Canada, House, Scrubs.
I usually search on youtube and find a person that posts entire episodes (even though it is illegal), and then subscribe to their postings. A lot of times their accounts are suspended, or the videos are deleted, so I have to make sure I watch them right away, or they might be gone by the next day. Also, I am usually 1 episode behind (sometimes more).
My name is Jazibe, and I am a youtube junkie.

expovina

Expovina is a wine tasting festival that takes place once a year in Zürich. It takes place on board of boats all docked together on the lake. You pay an entrance fee and get to try as many wines as you want (or can). Last Friday I went with my friends and we had a blast. We tasted about 30 different kinds of wines and talked and laughed, it was great. Some of the “vendors” had a “I-know-you-are-just-here-to-drink-and-wont-buy- anything-so-I-will-give-you-whatever-I-want-and-send-you-on-yourway” attitude, but we had a “whatever-just gimme-wine” attitude, so it worked out.

November is NaBloPoMo

(photo: stash of chocolate to take to friends and family... gotten bigger since the picture was taken)

After reading Abril’s blog, I learned November is National Blog Posting Month!!!
I did not “officially” signed up but I will try to follow trend and post every day. I know I am starting late, so maybe I’ll extend it to December…

Yesterday I went to the Expovina with my friends and had a great time! Gera could not join us because he’s still sick and on treatment, which means no alcohol for him, which means no Expovina (which means more Expovina for me, because we will probably go together later, since it lasts 2 more weeks). I will post pictures tomorrow (already saving up my blog news to spread them out in a month, hehe).

Happy halloween!

(October 2005)

blast from the past!

I was digging through my photo library looking for pics to use in the Family Calendar (a family tradition on its 4th annual appearance), and I found this! A cousin from Mexico sent it to me a while ago (she's been cropped out of the picture for her privacy). I hope you enjoy it and have a laugh. (I was like 4 or 5)

dear blog

Dear Blog,
I think about you all the time! Its like an obsession!
Even though days may pass without a word from me, you’re constantly on my mind.
If I cook a new recipe I think about sharing it with you. If I see something funny in the street, I think “WWBS”? (what would blog say).
It is not easy to keep you updated, even for someone with very little to do like me. And sometimes what I thought was “blog-worthy” one moment, becomes really irrelevant the next…

Of course I enjoy sharing our travel stories with you, that is the best! But I am afraid there won’t be much traveling happening until the “big one” in December (US/Mex trip), and then when I am there, I will probably write less if at all. I know you will understand. But I promise when I come back I will write and write until the keyboard breaks (not really).

There’s a show on TV called “How I Met Your Mother” and this character Barney has a blog , and he frequently says “this is soooo going on my blog!”. That is exactly how I feel, and Gera frequently laughs at the connection. I think its funny too! (please note that the “connection” stops at the blog reference, if you read his blog you will understand this note)

I really enjoy reading my friends’ blogs too. Recently my close friend Adri started bloggin’ more often (like almost every day, as opposed to the usual once a month). She talks to her blog about her kids, funny potty stories and such. I really really like reading it and makes me want to remember all the stories for when I see them in December. My sister Abril also has her own blog. To her blog she talks a lot about knitting. I hope her blog likes knitting too, or else it will be very bored (hehe). She squeezes in some personal stories here and there. Also, she is super efficient and makes all her entries BILINGUAL (unlike me). In my browser’s favorites bar, I have a collection of blogs I visit daily to check for updates. (maybe I should spend less time with them and more time with you, heeh) I love it how a bit of writing helps us feel closer, more connected, and in touch. Even if it is through a BLOG.

Thank you Blog for all you do for me and my friends.

Sincerely,
Jazibe

ps. the photo above is of one of those moments that seemed blog worthy but later was not... Giant spiders on my way home from the store.

oh!, and dont forget to check with yous sister blog for a tasty new recipe.

more oktoberfest!

As if I hadn't had enough, my friends and I went to a "mini-oktoberfest" held at the main train station in Zurich. It was a last minute thing, and we just stayed for about 1 hour, but it was fun! (although i could only drink 1/2 lt. beer... i used up all my drinking power last weekend, hehe). (photos courtesy of Liz's phone camera)
ciao!