Plov evening

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Saturday, April 28, 2012

This evening we spent a delightful time with friends as they prepared plov (or pilaf) for us all. Kids played, we talked, and the huge pot of rice, meat, carrots and cumin bubbled....

At last we sat down to huge plates of plov with a lovely salad on the side. It was fantastic..

Click here to read more on Uzbek cuisine.

The sky an evil color

Mongolian tumbleweed

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Walking home this evening from work the sky was the most incredible gray-brown color. The nearby mountains were completely obscured by the dust, and the Mongolian version of tumbleweed was racing down the streets and sidewalks at full speed.

Dust storm!

By the time I was within several blocks of our apartment I was being chased down the street by old pizza boxes and aluminum cans.

Yikes! Time to get inside!

Recipe for a party

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Saturday, April 21, 2012

You've invited 16 people for a birthday party, and you haven't been shopping for a week--except for the orange juice, milk and three cellophane-wrapped cucumbers you found at the local store which doesn't carry much fresh food.

What to serve?

Fortunately the fridge and pantry yielded the ingredients for a salad, lots of pizza, and a chocolate cake.

Happy Birthday, Frankie!

Wide open spaces

Terelj, Mongolia

Sunday, April 15, 2012

After about six months indoors (with time out in December for Thailand), it felt so wonderful to be outdoors today. At times the wind was bracing and when the sun disappeared behind the clouds it was suddenly very cold, but the fresh air and wide, wide open spaces was absolutely good for the soul.

Thanks U & T!

Kroepoek

Frying up some kroepoek at the ger

Terelj, Mongolia

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Sometimes we travel and find strange and interesting foods in odd places. We spent the day with friends at their ger in Terelj and were treated to a new taste treat that comes from Indonesia via Holland to the Mongolian steppe: kroepoek.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say: "Krupuk are deep fried crackers made from starch and other ingredients that usually give the taste. Prawn-based krupuk are popular types of krupuk."

To read more about kroepoek or krupuk click here.

To watch the magic happen, just click below...

Mongolian dinosaurs!

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Friday, April 6, 2012

Day 5 of Spring Break, and A has been begging to go back to school. Time for some adventure! So, this morning we headed off to the Museum of Natural History to see the dinosaurs, a great number of which have been found in Mongolia.

A enjoyed it immensely.

We also "learned" a thing or two about other animals native to Mongolia...

Time to sew

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Home from Bangkok with some fun new fabric. Decided Spring Break was a good time to try sewing my first dress "from scratch"--that is, I had no pattern.

The final product is not perfect, but at least it passed the "pre-schooler approval test"!

Another hunter-gatherer returns

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Arrived home last night from Thailand with a very satisfying cargo of 4 pints of strawberries and 3 mangoes. I was amazed to find the fruit was mostly intact despite the nearly 22-hour journey.

Eat up!

Bibimbap & green tea lattes

Incheon Airport, South Korea

Monday, April 2, 2012

Once again, I am spending a long, long layover at Incheon Airport. But, spacious and airy concourses and good food (which is not too unreasonably priced) have made it a pleasant enough time. Still, eight hours feels like more than enough time to wander around in this sleepy, dream-like trance.

Time to get home and back to "real life"--