Blueberry Pie

A couple backbreaking hours of blueberry-picking weren't without rewards. Two weeks ago we feasted on two delicious blueberry pies.

The berries...


... assembling the pies...


... the finished product.


Yum!

Happy belated July 4th!

Fourth of July weekend was a pretty eventful one. I didn't go anywhere special, just hung out with the fam, but we had a lot of fun.

Saturday:

Saturday was a hot day. My mom, Chico and I went to Traverse City to the Cherryland Festival to see the Blue Angels. We parked on the other side of town in the mall parking lot so we could take the bus downtown, thus avoiding traffic and parking issues. Once we showed up at the mall I went inside the grocery store to ask about the bus (it was supposed to show up there at :40 after, did we have the wrong place?) and this guy standing in line offered to give us a ride. So we got a ride in his nice Mercedes to the downtown area.

The Blue Angels were neat, but not uber-exciting. I spent most of my time try to avoid sitting in the sun. I actually was so un-enthused about the whole thing that I didn't find any photo-worthy moments. The bus-ride back was long and hot - we were in the very back seat and the air conditioning unit was directly over our heads and blowing cold air out in front of us so that none of it blew on us. And the windows didn't open. Plus this guy was standing in the aisle next to me and he smelled kinda funky, I'm not gonna lie. We were on that bus for like 40 minutes. When we finally got home we were all exhausted from the heat and sun.

After a few hours of rest we attended the Grayling fireworks show and it was great. I am so proud of our town for providing such a nice fireworks show for the community. We sat near the courthouse and it was like having front-row seats. Of course we saw people we knew, including Tom's doctor.

Sunday:

Sunday I had plans. I noticed in the paper that the local state park, Hartwick Pines, was having a
19th-century Independence Day celebration. So my dad, Chico and I attended that. It involved the park historian, Rob, reading the Declaration of Independence, then an old-fashioned baseball game.

Dad and Chico watching the game. I'm not sure who the guy in the orange shirt is.


Picking teams for the baseball game. The guys in the red represent the 1890s-era baseball team. They also played by period rules, including pitching to make the batter hit (rather than strike him out) and no stealing or sliding. The game was really fun to watch.


Some of the players were small. They were so cute! I think in some plays they were "favored" so they could make it all the way around the bases.


We stayed for a few innings, then went blueberry picking. It was really freakin' hot out but with the breeze we felt okay. We picked enough blueberries so that, combined with the ones I picked a few days before with Shawn and Liz, we had enough to make two blueberry pies. The blueberry plants are about 10" high so it was backbreaking work, but it was worth it.

Blueberries


Stay tuned for pictures of the blueberry pies.

My mom and I went kayaking that night down our section of the river. It's a slow, easy river, but has lots of obstacles in it, like logs and sandbars (not that I have photos of any of them.)




This is from an old train bridge that crossed our span of the river. In some spots of the woods you can still see the trail from where the tracks used to be.


So that was our July 4th weekend! It was pretty great to rest and hang out with my family. Tomorrow I will post blueberry pie pics.

Boy Scout hike

My dad is a Boy Scout troop leader and organized a 5-mile hike on monday. I went with them to interact with the Scouts and took some photos.

Walking through the characteristic sandy soil of our area:


We saw a couple of monarch caterpillars (they make their cocoons on milk weed):


Having a little talk about safety:


This area behind me had been wiped out in a wildfire a couple years ago. It's already recovered quite a bit.


I would like to take this opportunity to announce my support in Ghana for the World Cup - go Black Stars!

Liz and Generations pics

I was at my friend Cathy's house, where we have our Grayling Peacekeepers meeting. She has an incredible hat collection, and I was particularly drawn to this hijab she got during her world travels. So I tried it on with my sweet Obama shirt that I made my buddy Issoufou give me.

Me, to Issoufou, in typical Nigerien fashion of shamelessly asking for things: "I like your shirt. Give it to me."
Issoufou: "okay, I will bring it to your house tomorrow."
Me: "I was just kidding!"
Issoufou: "I will still give it to you." The next day he brings it, sprayed down with a heavy layer of cologne rather than freshly washed.

Hadjia Crystal.


Okay, next is the dollar sign-shaped cupcake cake I made for work. We had an investment banking day and my boss recruited me to make a cake for it (she requested that it be in the shape of a dollar sign):


And then my friend Liz and I went to a bar in Roscommon. I know, not your first choice for excitement, but we had a blast anyway. Roscommon people can be pretty cool.

Here's Liz. I'm always telling people, "she can drink like a fish!"


Here we are together, trying to imitate one of those old-fashioned serious-people photos (Black Stockings used to live in her house, I believe they were the inspiration for this photo):


We were there to see the local band Generations and these creepy Canadian guys kept hitting on us. This guy was talking to Liz and asking her if she's a "local." And his buddy and I had a conversation where he insinuated that "all I have to do is wink at a guy and he'll know what I want." And he kept talking about his "very lucrative" business outside Toronto. Like that's what it takes to impress me. These guys were basically trolling and had no care whatsoever how ridiculous they looked. Here's Liz's guy, dancing with a different lucky gal:


The band was good, though. I met Logan and Al at Dharma Music while organizing Djam's Drum-building workshop in April.

Logan can talk to anybody and be charming. He's got great stage presence and is a natural performer.


Al is kind of quiet at times but is very charming and funny once you get to know him. He told us about the time he met Fred Bear and that was his introduction to life Up North.


I had just met Ron, he's the lead guitar of the group. He's actually really good and had me impressed with his ability to play Santana covers. Plus he and his wife raise horses and I like talking about animal husbandry with him (like I'm some kind of expert, lol).


Last but not least is Jake on drums. With his curls and charming smile he is like the Michael Jackson part of the Jackson 5 - the cute, young one for all the young ladies out there. But he's actually very talented and I loved hearing his solo act between sets.

Plan B

I've been doing some thinking.

As much as I love baking, and as wonderful as it is to flex my creative muscles doing it, I think I may put off pastry school yet again.

I've just been thinking about how much I love people and working with them. I've been told many times that I'm a natural teacher. I enjoy learning about other cultures and would like to see more of the world. And I just think there's something more out there for me than baking.

I think I will pursue becoming a TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) teacher. Not only would I be able to visit other countries and learn about other cultures, but I could make some money at it, too. Returning to Africa to teach people English would just be the icing on the cake.

There's a program in Madison, WI (my old stomping grounds) that's only 5 weeks long and you get the certificate for TESL. I'm thinking of enrolling. It would be so sweet to be back in Madison and learning something new.

Niger Journal Entry #2

This is a continuation of my prior entry on attending Geerwol. As a Peace Corps volunteer I was lucky to have a latrine at my house in the village. Most people don't have this luxury and depend on using the bathroom either in the bush or behind the nearest tree.

Here's something I wrote while I was at Geerwol. Pooping in open public places and pooping in the bush can both be stressful. First, you gotta make sure you don't step on other people's poop that's already there. Then you have to make sure you can squat without people seeing you - if there's anything more exciting than watching a white person, it's watching a white person take a crap. I had a lot of experience in this area, hanging out with Darey and friends for days at a time with no latrine in sight.

If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, I hope this guide helps.

Crystal's Guide to Pooping in the Bush

1. Find a spot not in eyeview of people and cars (duh!)
2. Plant feet so that they are uphill from your ass (this prevents bodily fluids from getting near your shoes.)
3. Remove a shoe and use it to make a hole or just scrape away sand.
4. Poop. Wash/wipe yourself, being sure to move back a little so you don't accidentally touch it.
5. Use a stick or your foot to kick sand on top. If you didn't poo in a hole, cover it just enough to keep flies away. You don't want to disguise it too well because someone could step in it before it dries. If you poo'd in a hole, fill the hole back in with dirt.
6. Wash your hand as well as possible in the circumstances.
7. Discreetly pull up your drawers/skirt. Get the hell out of there before someone sees you and greets you while your pants are down. [this happened to me a few times. awkward!]

Niger Journal Entry

This is from when I attended Geerwol in 2009. I was the only white person around. Sometimes being in these situations is stressful, because you don't understand what the other people are saying, and when you see things that are unique/different but that they are used to, you have no one to share the experience with. This can actually lead to loneliness while being surrounded by people. However, my journal kept me company.

In true Niger form, it was hot (over 100 degrees) with lots of sun and no chance of clouds. We were in the scrubby Sahelian land, which has only short, thorny Acacia trees that provide very little shade. Water is scarce, as there are no wells, so we brought a big 5-gallon jug with us. Other people got water from the nearby lake (which animals take baths in).

November 6, 2009. Geerwol.
Took Sonitrav bus to Abalak. Leave in evening to Bagam [the location of Geerwol, out in the bush] and car kept falling apart. We get there late at night.

Hear singing in Bagam which is Geerwol and it goes on all night. Dancers wear bent metal plate chained to one foot and stomp to make it rattle. I try to go to sleep but the tea I drank is strong and I get up and watch the dancing instead.



November 7.
Everyone is up at or before sunrise. I try sleeping in but once I wake up I can't go back to sleep. A scared camel creates a scene by running all around the camp and we watch a horse and camel (plus a big herd of people) chase it.

Early morning dancing and singing.


The camp. Imported western tents are set up as people in traditional robes lounge on mats, pouring tea, eating food, and hanging out with friends.


Chasing the runaway camel.




I love the giant herd of people running after it! You could hear the shouting from far away.


Singing and dancing in the heat of the day.


Now losing my mind because camera shutter piece is missing. [I let Darey's little brother, Bugo, borrow it to take some photos. He dropped it in the sand while the shutter was open, and the shutter got stuck.]

[About an hour later] Ok, it's OK now. [Managed to get the sand out of the shutter mechanism and it began working again, to my tremendous relief.]

Camels continue to entertain me. Just now another camel got frisky and started running around, but people managed to subdue it pretty quickly. And then I saw a guy who opened his headwrap, tied the end to the camel's nose ring, and used it to lead him.

[I drew a picture so I could remember it correctly.]

Soon I will watch Darey help get Bugo ready to dance!

[I didn't actually see that because I was napping, but here's a photo Bugo took of his friends getting ready.]


Darey and I. He's cleaning his teeth with a stick in this photo.



November 8.
Went to bed at 8 so I could get up to see Geerwol in the middle of the night. I woke up at 11 - it hadn't started yet. 2am - I woke up and struggled to stay awake. We left at 4, I think. [This was in reference to the Geerwol, the final dance where the finalists are chosen. The contest goes on for a week before this. The challenge is for the men to dance and sing all night and all morning, without drinking or eating anything.]

I saw women's hair in their profiles lit by the rising sun. The dancers became slowly visible. The old people hooted "woo hoo" as they studied the beautiful men.

The women.


Old ladies admiring the young men.


Soon the voters arrived. It was two beautiful, thin young women who held one hand to the side of their face as if to avoid being distracted by anything in their peripheral vision. The old men who constantly fuss over the contestants selected 8-10 finalists, and attached a tuft of white cow fur to their head. The women somehow indicated the winner and his tuft of hair was removed. The the crowd followed him out and away; to his house, I guess.

Attaching cow fur to a finalist.


The beautiful judges, who picked the winner.


We are having our morning tea and will leave for Teyiss later. Hopefully I will finally see Darey's actual house and cattle.

[and later, apparently a few thoughts I wanted to remember...]
Conserving water by not bathing. Now I understand why in the old days people only bathed once a week.
Camels grazing a few steps from the tent.
Baby horse!

In the Sahel it's hot, sunny, windy and arid. Being at the real Geerwol, which is the most traditional, one can see the warrior resemblance with the feather headdress, red face paint, makeshift "axe," and stomp dance which rattles the foot plate. [the word "Geerwol" means "war" in the Wodaabe language, Fulfulde.]

Wedding cake

Last night was James and Bonnie's wedding, and I made the wedding cake.

It's a lot of work making a wedding cake. At times it was frustrating, at times disheartening, but for the most part I had a lot of fun. The bottom tier was marble, the middle tier was chocolate, and the top tier was darker chocolate. The marble turned out the best.

I think some people were turned off by the icing, which is mousseline buttercream. It's made with egg whites, butter and white (not powdered) sugar. It's very light and creamy tasting, not like the confectioners' sugar frosting which is very sweet and sugary. To each his own. What mattered was the bride and groom were happy. :)

Transporting the cake was an adventure in itself. We drove to Lovells, not far from Grayling, probably about 15 miles away. However, to get there you go down two-lane county roads. We were driving like 25 miles an hour tops, and all these cars would get stuck behind us. So my friend Liz (she was my date) made this sign and hung it in the back window:



It was pure ridiculousness. It took us nearly an hour to get to Lovells and we missed the wedding ceremony, but the cake made it intact with only one little smudge (we just turned that part to the back). Here's the final product:



It was a fun project, but I'm glad it's over.

Curiosities

I've been taking walks down my road in the evenings. I've found that since I've come back from Niger I appreciate nature more and notice birds. I used to never notice birds. Now it's like I see them all the time.

Here's some photos of the cool things I've seen while walking down the road.

The new growth on jack pines is known as "candles" because it curves upwards.


I call this "Michigan Millet." It's actually called mullen, but it reminds me of millet because it's got a long stalk that grows seeds. I like the bent one.


I saw this huge, dead bug being devoured by little ants. I don't see many huge bugs here and it kind of reminded me of a cockroach, then brought back memories of being in Niger and using my latrine while fighting off cockroaches with a stick so they wouldn't crawl on my feet.


The new oak leaves are so pretty and colorful.


This is a burl on what I think is a jack pine. I've never seen a "fresh" burl and its color was intriguing. When it dries out it will just look like a big wooden lump.


And what would a walk down the road (or anywhere, for that matter) be without seeing some tent worms? Also known as "army worms," "gypsy moths," and "forest caterpillars," these little bastards will defoliate anything. They multiply and you start seeing them everywhere - on your house, your clothes, your windshield. It's disgusting.


The beautiful AuSable River.


I am reading three books at once - "Kitchen Confidential," by Anthony Bourdain; "Savannah nomads: a study of the Wodaabe pastoral Fulani of Western Bornu Province Northern region, Nigeria," by DJ Stenning, and "The Bone Collector" by Jeffrey Deaver (something to read while at work).

Stressed

I have forgotten how stressful baking can be. I am remembering being stressed about getting things baked back when I lived in Wisconsin. I remember being this crazy Dragon Lady and freaking out over failed baking ventures and being stressed about baking experiments in progress. I remember Zach (my ex-boyfriend) being like, "those cookies weren't made with love, so I'm not eating them." This week's been tough. Let's just say Dragon Lady made a few short appearances. My apologies to my family.

I'm making a wedding cake for my friends James and Bonnie, and their wedding is Memorial Day weekend, May 29, this saturday. They want a three-tiered cake with marble on the bottom and chocolate in the middle and top tiers. I've made a couple of practice cakes to make sure my marble cake recipe is going to work. I also frosted and decorated one of the small practice cakes to make sure it turned out okay, and it did. So now I'm making all the cakes and sticking them in the freezer until friday. Then I will pull them out, let them thaw, and frost the little buggers.

Practice cake - ignore the flaws. :) I'm just happy I successfully piped the Cornelli lace (it was my first time.)


Yesterday the middle and top tiers were baked and are now sitting in the freezer. Today I will work on the marble bottom tier (14", baby). Things are going pretty smoothly. I'm not getting crazy just yet.

On top of this, I'm trying to assemble cabinets from Home Depot for my bedroom, make a scrapbook of my pictures from Niger, take hour-long walks to keep my ass in control, burn sweet African music CDs and mail them to friends, practice the djembe, and arrange a trip to Muskegon to look at Baker College's pastry arts program.

Djam's Ghanaian groundnut soup

Yumyumyum, you are going to love this recipe!

"Groundnut" is what they call peanuts in Ghana, by the way. So it's really peanut soup. But wait, "soup" is what they call sauce in Ghana, so in reality, it's "peanut sauce."

Ingredients

4 raw turkey legs with the skin on (or substitute chicken pieces)
3 chicken bouillon cubes, crumbled
Pinch of salt
Ground black pepper
1 large red onion, chopped
1-3 whole habanero peppers, or to taste
3 oz. tomato paste (no more than one half of a small 6 oz. can)
1-1/2 cups natural peanut butter
2 C water
3-4 carrots, sliced
Note: Djam recommends not adding spices (including garlic and ginger) because they take away from the peanut butter taste.

Instructions

Cut the flesh off the turkey legs into large pieces. Don't worry if you can't get it all cut off.
Combine the turkey meat and bones, crumbled chicken bouillon cubes, pinch of salt, some black pepper, 1/4 cup of the chopped onion, and habanero peppers in a large stockpot. Place lid on pot and heat on medium until it begins sizzling. You don't add any liquid because the meat and onions will give off their own juices. Then turn down heat to medium-low and steam 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, combine peanut butter and tomato paste in a frying pan. Heat on lowest setting, stirring constantly, until it turns brownish red and you see the oil separate and come to the top. This will take a while, like 10-15 minutes, so be patient.

Add 2 cups water to the peanut butter mixture, then scrape into the meat pot. Add carrots and remaining onion and more water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low or medium low heat. Heat, uncovered, about 30 more minutes, or until the oil separates from the mixture and comes to the top. This way you know the flavor has developed.

Before serving, use tongs to remove bones and habanero peppers (if desired).

Serve over hot rice. It's good with jasmine or basmati rice, but any variety will do. Serves 8-10.

New job and drum workshop

I feel like I should post something. I haven't blogged in a while and I know everyone out there is wondering where I've been. (ha ha)

So yeah, what have I been up to lately? I've been really, super duper busy. The last week of April I went to Midland to train for my new job at the bank. The training was pretty interesting, though for a while I felt like I was in college again and had to think for once. Midland was cool, after training I hung out at the mall and other stores to amp up my professional wardrobe (for an $8/hour job, ha ha). It was hard finding appropriate clothes, as the bank has a pretty strict dress code (it was 4 pages long).

Right when I came back to Grayling, I had to take care of some dire business. Djam was coming to town to do a drum-building workshop, and for a while his friend Tani was going to come with him and they were going to do a show. Before I left town I hung up posters and flyers and handouts about the show and everyone was really excited about it.

And then Tani got into a pretty serious car accident. He was side swiped by a big truck on his side of the car, resulting in a broken arm, broken leg, jaw broken in two places, and broken ribs. Poor guy. He was in a coma, and when he woke up in the hospital he was strapped to the bed (to prevent him from moving his injured limbs) and no one else was around. He thought he was in jail. Naturally the show was canceled, but Djam came to town anyway to do the drum-building workshop. I spent a day running around town letting people know what happened and taking down signs.

Djam and Tom with the Boy Scout drum that he re-headed and fixed up.


Djam leading a drum circle at the local coffee shop.


The drum-building workshop was a huge success. There were four participants and they kept Djam pretty busy with all the steps involved in building a drum. Djam is incredibly patient and a great teacher, so he handled it really well. We provided the participants with an African luncheon as part of the workshop fee: hibiscus flower juice (aka "bissap"), peanut stew with turkey, jasmine rice, and spice cookies. Djam taught me how to make good peanut stew, I will post the recipe soon.

Then I started working full time at the bank (I'm now on my second week there.) That's been going well. There's a lot more going on in a bank than you would actually think, but I like that it's complicated. This saturday marks my last day working at Kmart, and soon I will have wonderful banker's hours with weekends all to myself.