recipe: Buttermilk Spice Cake
Here is my mom’s recipe as folks asked. Note that the times for beating the mixture are important. Overbeating makes an untasty cake. This cake goes well with a buttercream or cream cheese frosting. Enjoy! Dessert: Buttermilk Spice Cake 2¼ cups flour 1 cup granulated sugar ¾ cup brown sugar (packed) 1 tsp baking powder […]
craftiness: crocheting madness
It’s cold, icy, grey, and dreary; It’s dark by 4:30PM. Romanian reality shows aren’t helping my language or my nerves. We only have so many books. So, I’ve been crocheting. Bunches. I started an afghan on my train ride to Bucuresti back in November (a few interesting stories from that) and I finished it last […]
in the kitchen: Romanian Buttermilk Spice Cake
There are recipes that I always prefer when my mom makes them — meatballs, pot roast, and buttermilk spice cake to name a few. I don’t know what it is about these dishes, but there’s some magic mom dust that just makes them better than when I try my hand at them. But being “fara […]
on the job: accentuate the positive; eliminate the negative
This week was quite an education for me at my NGO. I won’t go into specifics, but I learned new information on everything from funding to decision-making to local politics to office dynamics — and how all of these interact in our small town. And while it was overwhelming to get all this information (quite […]
earworm: music transplants
Recently I’ve heard two American tunes pop up in our Roman Catholic Mass as hymns and hearing these “music transplants” make me smile and warm my musical soul. The Sanctus (Holy, Holy) of our Mass is set to the tune of Go Down Moses. This tickles me to no end because here is an American […]
in the kitchen: smantano, unde esti?
Oh iubito mea, smantano, unde esti? Oh my love, sour cream, where are you? Seriously, there is NO sour cream in our entire town. NONE! There’s yogurt, sweet cream, whipping cream, but NO SOUR CREAM!! And we have baked potatoes on the menu tomorrow night. What are we to do?? My guess is that with […]
in the kitchen: potatoes
The piata is full of root vegetables right now — beets, parsnips, celery root, and the ubiquitous potato. Like good Romanian-wannabes, we bought a 10 kg (over 22#) bag of potatoes (for less than $3) last week and hauled it back to our place. My goal is to find interesting ways to cook these potatoes […]
in the community: “I have grapes in my pocket.”
I was at work yesterday when one of the Orthodox priests came by to invite us to City Hall for a “New Year’s” presentation to the mayor. He asked us to recite an uratura (a poem granting wishes and health) to the crew. While it was last minute, we were up to the challenge. When […]
O Sock Garland
(sung to the tune of O Christmas Tree) O sock garland, o sock garland You decorate our bathroom. O sock garland, o sock garland You decorate our bathroom. Although you are not evergreen You make it seem like Christmastime. O sock garland, o sock garland You decorate our bathroom.
about Romania: Christmas Eve
So Christmas Eve in Romania is kinda crazy. Our usually sleepy little town came alive. Santa comes on Christmas Eve so there was definite present carnage with Larisa’s family. (christmas carnage) We had knocks on our door almost constantly — kids caroling for money and cookies, people begging for money. [flickr video=http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveronica/4231159278/] (kids singing colinde […]