Sunday, September 2, 2012
Education for Evelyne's Children
Ive started a new job this past week fundraising for refugee children all over the world, its been a pretty challenging job, because I have to stand outside on the sidewalk and approach strangers, tell them about my cause and ask for donations.
It got me thinking that there are a lot of people in my life that could use some help and that I could use my fundraising skills to help them, Evelyne especially! I was also inspired by a new friend Gene-Manuel who needed some help, asked for it and received it! He's the one that turned me on to http://www.indiegogo.com/ to use it as a fundraising platform.
I did my masters degree with Evelyne, and she is one of the sweetest and kindest souls I know. She sacrificed soo much to leave her family in Cameroon, West Africa to come study in the US for 2 years.
She recently informed me that she wouldnt be able to pay her four children's school fees for this coming fall. We both graduated school in May, and she has returned to her family and has been job searching ever since, even with her new credentials she has yet to find a position. I know how much she values education and want to make sure that her children have the bright future they deserve.
Please help out if you can by clicking here!!!
Spread the word and spread the love!!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Chocolate Macaroons
The filling for these guys is pretty easy I diverted from the recipe a bit and boiled cream and then added the chocolate in until I got a nice chocolate sauce. Once chilled a bit it spread nicely on the cookies!
The recipe for the vanilla macaroons and chocolate ones are below!
Adapted from Macaroons - The Ideal Bite-sized Treat book.
Vanilla Macaroon
3/4 cup ground almond flour
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 extra large egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Filling
4 tbsp unsalted butter softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners sugar sifted
Sift almond flour- which tends to be a bit clumpy with confectioners sugar- I have tried both sifting and not sifting both are fine
Seperate 2 egg whites and beat with electric mixer until it holds soft peaks. Gradually add in sugar and vanilla.
Using a spatula fold in the try mixture of almond flour and sugar into wet egg whites 1/3 at a time.
The batter should be shiny thick and ribbon like.
Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
To fill the pasty bag or large baggie I recommend propping it up in a bowl and then scooping it in with a spatula. Cut a small corner off of the baggie and work the batter down. Place your index finger and thumb together to form a circle and pipe out the batter in circles that size.
Bang the cookie sheets on the table or workspace a few time and let sit for 25-30 mins. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Bake cookies for 10 minutes.
Remove from parchment paper and let cool
For the filling
Make sure the butter is soft and beat until creamy, add in the vanilla and beat some more. Gradually beat in the confectioners sugar until smooth and creamy.
Sandwich the cookies together once the cookies have cooled and enjoy!
For chocolate macaroons
Add 2 tbsp of unsweetened cocoa to the dry mix
all instructions are the same
Filling
3 1/2 oz of semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup heavy cream
Heat the cream until it boils then pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until smooth. Chill for 10-15 mins in the fridge before filling the cookies
Sandwich the cookies together once the cookies have cooled and enjoy!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Macaroon Adventure
Monday, May 14, 2012
I'm home
Friday, February 24, 2012
What did you do on your lunch break?
I don’t usually have much time to read the new paper, and the time I do have during my lunch breaks, I spend reading my book, studying French, Spanish or Italian verbs or shopping at the Russian Market. But today I had time to read the Cambodia Daily and shop for winter clothes at market for my upcoming trip to Beijing. The temperature difference is going to be a real shock! It’s a real unique experience being in the poorly ventilated sauna also know as the market trying on long pants and knock off puffy North Face jackets. Sweaty doesn’t even begin to describe it. However I find that if I go in with intention its easier to find what I need, otherwise one can easily get overwhelmed with the narrow lane of stalls packed with a smorgasbord of goods. Today the intention was winter clothes. I half accomplished the mission coming out with 2 pairs of jeans and 2 new dresses. I just cant resist the dresses, and at 5 dollars a pop they are a steal. I will delve into the markets again next week to find a jacket and some warm sweaters, and try to not come out with any more dresses.
Ok back to the newspaper. I was really filled with sadness reading numerous articles about people dying. Today I read about an Argentinian train crash and the further recovery of bodies from the Italian cruise ship. It really saddens me. But there was one hopeful article about children getting free corrective cleft palate surgery from the Smile Train. Apparently its fairly common in this region with 1 in 500 Cambodians being born with a cleft palate. Reading the stories of those served really put a smile on my face. The I was drawn into another story about worms. Since I’m deeply entrenched in all things agricultural, I read about the burgeoning worm production business Cambodia. Rural farmers are starting to raise worms to help with soil fertility and to produce fertilizer. When I shared the article with my coworker she taught me the khmer word for earthworm- phonetically pronounced “Chun Lin” I can honestly say that it is a word I haven’t learned in any other foreign language.