One, Two, Three. Yummy, Yummy, Funny.

It's been awhile since I didn't blog for an entire week. It's kind of nice. But I know you've all missed me. So I have three things to share today: two recipes and a comic.

Recipe #1: Gingerbread Waffles
(made first by my lovely friend Heidi. You will never go back to boring old white waffles again.)

2 eggs
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. molasses
6 tbsp oil/shortening
1/2 c hot water
2 c flour
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Beat eggs. Add sugar & beat. Add molasses & beat. Add oil to hot water, then add to egg mix. Add dry ingredients. Cook in a waffle maker.

Recipe #2: Yam & Peanut Soup
(made by my friend's friend Emily, this has become a huge favourite in my house)

8 cups vegetable stock

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

2 tsp salt

6 tbsp minced ginger

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp ground cumin

2 tbsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 red bell pepper, diced

4 medium yams, roughly chopped

1 x 14oz can water-packed pineapple tidbits or crushed

3 ripe tomatoes, chopped

5 tbsp natural smooth peanut butter

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

juice of 2 limes, or more to taste

favorite hot sauce, to taste

1. Heat stock and keep warm on the back burner. In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and a pinch of salt; saute for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next add garlic, ginger and spices and saute until soft and golden. Stir in red pepper, yams and salt and continue cooking until they start to stick to the bottom of the pot. Add stock to cover, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cover partially and simmer until yams are tender.

2. Add pineapple with juice, tomatoes, peanut butter and remaining stock and simmer 30 minutes.

3. Heat soup for a further ten minutes. Season to taste with more salt, pineapple juice and/or hot sauce. Just before serving, add chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice.

Comic #1: A S

ofter World
(Karen, queen of internet, introduced me to this site, and I must note that this is sometimes funny, sometimes tragic, and sometimes inappropriate)

Comments

Fostering FAQ: How Can You Say Goodbye?

It seems I finally have something(s) to say... Here's the first in a short (or maybe long?) series on Fostering FAQs. If you've got a question to add, feel free to comment/email/text/message me and maybe the next post will be in response.

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8:30 am on Day 4 of parenting. I woke up in a panic two hours ago because I remembered that there is a baby and I am responsible for her (at least at 6:30am, when the man beside me will snore through anything). Now, I have put on clothes and eaten breakfast. The dogs are walked, there is a loaf of banana bread in the oven. My tea is steeping. Most importantly, Dream Baby is already down for her first nap.

Despite my morning efficiency, I'm already beginning to see that even with the happiest, most easygoing, and smiliest baby, like we somehow managed to be given, parenting is a grind. On Friday night, I couldn't join friends for $5 pints at a local joint. Instead, I blearily washed the same 8 bottles again, and then made another ba…

Fostering FAQ: How Long Will She Stay/Will You Adopt Her?

Our first foster baby came with about 18 hours notice; it was respite care, which means we had him for a few days while his regular foster family had a break/dealt with a family emergency. He stayed 3 nights, long enough to come to church and have a dozen people cooing over his little sleeping cheeks. With each new visitor to our quiet corner, I explained again that he would be going back to his foster family the next day.

Barely a week later, we got a 9am phone call with a fostering request and by the same afternoon, we were snuggling her. This time, we had her for 4 days before church came around. Again, our community was keen to see the little one we had in tow. Again, the question, "How long will she stay?" And this time, "Are you going to adopt her?"

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Here in Toronto, when a child is placed in foster care, it is always for an indefinite length of time. It depends on the parents' situation, and whether they are able to make a safe home environment for th…

Fostering FAQ: What's Her (Mom's) Story?

This is probably the second most common question I hear about the baby currently in our care, right after, "Will you keep her?"

It comes in many forms:

"So, what's her story?"
"Is her mom in the picture?"
"How did she end up in your home?
"Is her mom a drug addict?"
"How could a mom not love such a cute baby!"

I get it. It's natural curiousity, and I know I've asked similar questions of my friends who are adoptive parents.

But here's what I'm learning: a child's story is their own. And equally as important, the parent's story is their own.

Imagine how it might feel to hear that for the foreseeable future, you are not allowed to care for your child. On top of whatever difficult circumstances you are already in - perhaps poverty, social isolation, lack of adequate housing, domestic violence, intergenerational trauma, drug or alcohol dependency, low cognitive functioning, or a myriad of other complex strug…

* not with ink

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