Hello, all!
So, if you haven't picked up today's title, I'm going to ponder the topic of making a change. And, if you have been keeping up with my sporadic writings (to which I am always grateful!), then you also know that I am looking forward to making some serious changes in my life.
Let's begin with the normal updates. It's Saturday, after two weeks of officially teaching. Let's just say: AWESOME. I love it. I must admit that Mondays, though, I dread. Maybe it is because it is the first day of the week and I always feel unprepared but by Wednesday, I'm groovin'. It is a constant learning experience. What activities are working? What activities aren't? Pictures, explanations, translations... Anything and everything is used, and I'm starting to receive attention from it. That is okay, because that also means I can receive a little bit more pocket change. Pocket change can be reeeeeeal nice, especially if it ends up paying my (soon-to-be rent). Spoiler alert: one of my prime options is opening in two weeks. That means I will be looking there, taking pictures, and seeing how my gut feels. Well, that is, if my visa is officially extended with my work permit. (Eek!)
I know that it's been quite a while, but I do have a treat for you all: RECIPES!
And some music, of course. I feel that it is only necessary to have music paired with a recipe post, because music is part of my cooking process.
First, I made my infamous Roasted Banana Bars with Browned Butter Walnut Frosting as a thank you to my HR representative who has been helping me with my work permit and visa application. Some people know how my situation had been going, and know exactly why I opted to make these specifically. The truth is that showing gratitude will not only make the person whom you are thanking feel good, it will also make you feel happier. Plus, when you give back, others are more willing to help you in the future. It's a wise thing to do, so you should always put out what you would like to receive.
Roasted Banana Bars (adapted from my recipes website)
2 c. sliced ripe bananas ( for me when it come to bananas, the more, the merrier
1/3 c. brown sugar
1Tbsp. Butter, cubed
2 1/4 c. flour (sometimes you just don't have that cake flour)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup milk (The recipe requests for 1/4 c. of buttermilk, but I didn't have
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
Frosting:
1/4 c. butter
2 c. powdered (confectioners) sugar
1/3 c. cream cheese (or neufschatel cheese if you can find it... not in Thailand)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. chopped walnuts, toasted.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, (about 200-205 degrees Celsius).
- In a small square pan, mix bananas, cubed butter, and brown sugar lightly. Put them in the oven and roast for 30 minutes, stirring the mixture after the first 15 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda and mix thoroughly.
- In another medium bowl, mix the milk and vanilla extract with the banana mixture.
- In a large bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. Add the eggs.
- Alternating between the two add the flour mix and banana mixture to the sugar and butter, stirring the complete mix.
- Pour mixture into a rectangular pan (9x13 in) or a muffin pan, and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 Degrees Celsius) for 20 minutes, or do the Toothpick Test.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- For the frosting, add the butter to a pan, and turn the heat level to low-medium, stirring frequently until the butter begins turn a light golden color.(Be careful not to have the heat up too high, or the butter will burn! Coming from personal experience)Then let the butter cool slightly.
- Mix the butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar in bowl until smooth.
- Ice that banana-y goodness and sprinkle on dem walnuts!
Also, I made my first attempt at making tomato pies. I know, it sounds a little weird, but it isn't, really. A tomato pie is like a lasagna without the noodles, just all the good stuff. Oh, and it's really easy to make and you can add whatever ingredients you want to the dish.
I first started off by making my own butter crust... which I unfortunately wasn't a huge fan of.... they crust was just way too crumbly and buttery for me. I like those sturdier, drier crusts, like what you buy in the frozen aisle.
Crust
1 1/2 c. flour
1/4-1/2 c. chilled butter
pinch of salt
- Mix ingredients together in a bowl, until the mixture separates from the walls of the bowl. Roll dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap, chill for an hour or two.
- Take dough, mold it to the pan you are using (I only had what looked like a 'muffie' tin, something that is used to make muffin tops.
- At 350 degrees Fahrenheit, make the crust until crispy.
Filling
1 medium-large tomato, thinly sliced and towel-dried of juices
1/2 medium white onion, sliced
4 leaves of basil, sliced into thin strips
pinch of salt
pepper
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 c. mayo
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella
1-2 Tbsp. Tabasco/Louisiana hot sauce
- After slicing the vegetables, mix the onions, basil and garlic together, and add half of the mixture to each pre-baked pie crust.
- Neatly add slices of tomato on top of onion mixture. Top off tomatoes with leftover onion mixture.
- Mix mayo, cheese and hot sauce in a small bowl. Dol
- lop the mixture onto the pies and flatten them out.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are browned and crispy.
Here's the before....
And the after....
Yum! definitely a success and I am hyped to try it again.
Now, on to further news. I am a little on the edge of my seat right now because next week is another "judgement day" kind of thing. Meaning, by next week, I will learn if I can stay or if I will need to fly out. I'm a little worried, but I have a feeling that I will be okay. Maybe I will fly back, maybe I will be able to stay, but either way, I should be fine. Am I saying that I am ready to return to America? Definitely not.
Now, as I mentioned in earlier posts, I am in the process of looking for a new place to live and the time is coming that my options will start opening up. Not only in my living situation, but in job opportunities. For example, as of this past Thursday, I have two doctors who are interested in either studying with me, or having me teach their children. Either way, I am interested, but for doctors who want to be taught in the evening, I will need to hold off on that until I have my own place. The reason for this is so that my carpool friend need not wait on me into the later hours, and I will still have a place to stay.
It's funny, actually, that most of my problems lead down to the place I have been staying at. My insomnia, stress, exercise habits, eating habits, happiness, work ethic. schedule during the week, and so on, and my moving to another location will resolve all of these problems so I can focus on real problems that I need to know how to resolve. The only problem that I can see arising from my moving is what will become of my cousin's maturation progress? Since I have been here, and in six months, I have gotten my cousin to sleep in his own bed by himself, to bathe himself, to dry himself off after a bathe, to dress himself, to decide when he is finished with his bath, and to wipe his own butt after going to the bathroom. His seventh birthday was in January, so imagine how long he has literally been spoon-fed his daily duties of getting ready. It takes a lot of fighting, but a lot of love and patience. Now, the fear I have is that everything that I have done towards his progress will be a naught because as soon as I leave, he will be doing what he did before I came. It doesn't help that, for ever night I go out to dinner with a friend or am on an excursion, his parents have him sleep downstairs with them without trying to put him to bed. I am not criticizing the parenting, but I am commenting on one thing: If you want someone or something to do what you want, then you need to reinforce it as often as possible, you can not slack, or else they do not learn, and positive reinforcement encourages them to continue to do what you want, not negative reinforcement (especially if the negative reinforcement hasn't been working.) That's my spiel about that.
All I can say is that, although I am less unhappy, that does not mean I am any happier with my living situation. I have been eating at off hours in order to avoid certain people, I don't eat as much, in general, anymore, I am not "permitted" to exercise, I still wake up three to four times every night, I am always stressed, and I am never really relieved to be back at the house when I come back from work. So, again, I am not improved in my happiness, just less miserable. I think we would call it a little bit more numb. Honestly, I am tired of ranting about it, but when people ask me how my life is outside of work, that's all I can talk about.
*Breath*
I have been having a wonderful time working at BRH. There are so many supportive and friendly people here, and a lot of them are really smart, they just aren't as able to translate that into English. In comes my job ;) Let's do work, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon!
Until next time,
K.
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