Comfort Cookies

A couple of hours ago Jon announced that he was in need of some comfort food and suggested that we make chocolate chip cookies with the M&Ms my Uncle Bob and Aunt Sandy sent us a short while ago (all the way from Alaska!). The weather is starting to get cool so it was the perfect time for some cookie making. As you'll see, the recipe makes quite a lot of cookies, so we'll be taking them along to Rabat for the COS conference this week to share. Speaking of which, since we'll be in Rabat we won't be posting any new blog posts for about a week. Enjoy the photos (and the recipe at the end of the post)!









Chocolate Chip (or M&M) Cookie Recipe

2 1/4 cups flour
1 t salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 t vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips or M&Ms (we used 1 cup and it was plenty!)
1 t baking soda (we used baking powder, because Lisa Payne said it was okay)
1 c butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a sm bowl. Beat butter, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a lg mixing bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chips and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 9-11 min or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 min; remove to cool completely.

To Eat Meat, or Not to Eat Meat

That is the question.


-note- The photos that appear in this post are of the chicken pot pie that Jon lovingly made earlier this week. It feed the two of us for two meals and was delicious! See the bottom of this post to find the recipe he used for the crust (also great for other pies, like apple).

This blog post was inspired by a invitee couple who are both vegetarian/vegan. They asked, "Based on your experience, do you believe we will have options other than meat, including the time with host families? Just curious to see if you think this will be a great source of frustration for us."

As far as food in general is concerned, Morocco is probably one of the best Peace Corps countries to be sent. Unlike some other countries (like in Sub-Saharan Africa) we have a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. A wider variety than in Ohio in fact. And with the exception of cheese, which is available in larger urban areas, you can find almost everything else you could want in or near even the smallest sites; bread, milk, yogurt, butter, olive oil, eggs, meat, beans, lentils, rice, spaghetti, plenty of spices, dried fruit, nuts, etc.



So the short answer is, yes, there are many other options other than meat, and as a married couple you will probably be pressured to eat at other people's houses less often than a single volunteer would once you are living on your own. Though Jon and I are not vegetarians ourselves, we eat meat (usually chicken) rarely (maybe once a month or so) and instead get the majority of our protene from the before mentioned beans, lentils, nuts, eggs, and milk.

But lets talk about home stay. For about four months you will be living with two different families. Yes, you can have Peace Corps explain to the families that you are vegetarian/vegan and what you do and do not eat (because you probably wont be able to yourselves with your limited speaking abilities at first), but it might be difficult for the families to fully understand because vegetarians/vegans don't really exist in this culture.

There are many reasons why people are vegetarian/vegan and you might want to examine the reasons why you are. Is it because of animal cruelty, global warming, religion, you don't like the idea of eating something that was once alive? And also think about how long you've been a vegetarian/vegan. The reason you might want to do this is because you might want to consider eating meat while you are here, at least for those four months when you are in home stay and going through a lot of other stresses such as learning the language, living with strangers, living in another culture, being stared at, lack of privacy and anonymity, and no mater what, you will likely have an array of GI problems on top of all of this.

That said, Peace Corps tries to be as supportive and accomidating as possible to vegetarian/vegan volunteers. Eating meat every day wont be a requirment of your survice, but to fully exsperience the culture, and food is a large part of culture, you might want to at least try it, depending on how you feel about being vegetarian/vegan. If you do decide to "go for it" and eat meat while your here you might want to start getting your body used to it ahead of time so that it is less of a shock. If you decide that you just can't do it, for whatever reason, know that you're not alone, there are other vegetarian/vegan volunteers out there and that you will be supported as much as possible by Peace Corps staff. There is even an entire section in our Peace Corps cook book dedicated to vegetarian main dishes!

I hope that this post has been helpful in some way to anyone out there who is a vegetarian/vegan and considering joining Peace Corps. I recommend seeking out volunteers who are currently serving the the country that you have been invited to who are actually vegetarian/vegan, as they will probably be better resources. You can ask your recruter to put you in touch with either current or returned PCVs.


Now for that recipe
Picture Perfect Pie Crust Recipe

1 1/8 c flour
8 T cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 t sugar (optional, best for sweet pies but omit if using for a savory pie)
1/2 t salt
3 T cold water

Combine the flour, salt ,and sugar, then add the butter and blend using your hands until the butter is distributed throughout and the mixture looks like cornmeal. Add the cold water and form into a dough, if it is too dry add more water. Make the dough into a ball, wrap in a plastic bag and flatten it. Place the dough in the freezer for 10 mins to aid in rolling. Roll the dough into a large circle and about 10 inches in diameter, on a large surface, dusting liberally with flour to avoid sticking. Use any ragged edges to repair tears. When finished rolling, place the dough onto the pie plate, press it firmly to the bottom and prick it all over with a fork. If you want to pre-bake the dought, place for 15-20 mmins or until brown in a 350 F oven.

New Jewelry with Paper Beads

Ever since the women at the Al Falah coop learned how to make paper beads out of recycled magazines earlier this month, they've been going bead crazy! I'm so happy (and surprised) how quickly this project has taken off with them, and with only a minimal amount of guidance from me.

If there's one thing you can say about these ladies it's that they work great under pressure. They've been working on finishing up all their UFOs (unfinished projects) and making necklaces and bracelets out of their new paper beads so that I can take them to Rabat and hopefully sell them to COSing volunteers.

This past week Fatima even traveled to Khemisset to seek out jewelry closures. Way to go Fatima!

The following pictures were taken yesterday as the ladies worked on putting the finishing touches on their beaded creations.






Related Posts:
Fun With Paper Beads!
Fun, Easy, and Cheap Jewelry Projects

Harvest Moon +1 day

Look closely for Jupiter...




And one of his moons...

Fall Inventory Update

Now that the Close of Service conference is just 4 days away, the cooperative women are putting the finishing touches on their new products for fall.

Embroidered Greeting Cards
These beautiful cards made of hand made paper are 8 x 8 cm and embroidered in the signature Fesi style that I've only seen here in Morocco. The cards have an insert of white paper (which is also recycled) for ease of writing and come with a hand made paper envelope.




iPod Nano Pouches
These fun pouches fit the Nano perfectly and are supper handy when you're on the move with the strap you wear around your neck. You can even tuck the pouch under your shirt for added security if wearing your iPod in public.


iPod Touch Pouches
This pouch fits the iPod touch perfectly, but can also double as a case for a small digital camera. It comes with a long strap that can be worn over the shoulder for convenience and security. Plus, it's way cooler-looking that those ugly camera cases you buy in the store.


Related Posts:
New Inventory for Fall, 2010 and More New Inventory for Fall, 2010

Get Organized

This post is about organizing your workspace on a budget. In my experience, us Small Business Development volunteers often work with groups (cooperatives, associations, individuals) who's work spaces are often dirty, disorganized, and even moldy. Some volunteers are able to secure grants to renovate work and showrooms, like this beautifully redone showroom in Ain Leuh that Randy has been working on.

This is a great option for towns and villages, even small ones, who see a good amount of traffic from tourists or locals willing to buy their products. But for some groups this isn't the case. They still need to keep finished projects clean for future craft fairs and know where to find their tools, but making it look super nice is not that important. So why not use what you have to get organized?

For the last two years I've cringed at my coops' "method" of organization. Basically, they have a big heavy desk with 4 missing drawers out of six where they keep everything from paperwork (which they have tons of) to crochet hooks and knitting needles, to embroidery thread, to pens, and so on and so on. Finished projects get "displayed" on tables along one wall where they gather dust and get grimy, while some of the new tools and materials that I've introduced in the last two years (paper making supplies, magazines, craft fair displays, etc.) have no home at all.

So on Tuesday, I decided to do something about it. I first had the idea of making a sort of peg board where they could hang tools from nails and have easy access to them. But when I was cleaning my house this Tuesday I decided to go a different route and use just stuff that I already had.

We had a very ugly, kinda rickety, bamboo shelf from the previous volunteer that became completely moldy before we even moved out of home stay. Though we tried multiple times to scrub it with bleach, we just couldn't keep the mold at bay. So it ended up living on our roof, exposed to all elements for about a year and a half until I finally decided that it was "weathered" enough and brought it back inside to use.

With the shelf as my base for the "organization station" I took some scraps of vinyl from the Marché Maroc banner and made shelf liners. We had a few plastic baskets that we don't really use, so I put one on the top shelf and filled it with empty glass food jars that the women can use to separate their new paper beads. Finally, I cut the tops off of four plastic bottles and secured the bottom cup-like containers to the bamboo frame to store things like the for mentioned crochet hooks, knitting needles, pens, rulers, scissors, etc.

It was really easy to make and got a lot of laughs when I took it to the Artisana, but it does the job so I don't really care what it looks like.


I want to show the members of the coop that it doesn't take a lot of money to get organized and I'd really like to see them come up with stuff like this on their own, but that might be a bit in the future.

If you are a volunteer facing an organization problem I urge you to try to find creative and inexpensive solutions.

More New Inventory for Fall, 2010

Just thought I'd share some more pictures of recently completed crochet coin purses from the Al Falah Cooperative. If you are a 2nd year YD or SBD volunteer you will have a chance to purchase these and other products from AL Falah at the COS conference next week.

Here's a coin purse in a really nice maroon and camel.

And here is a double pocket coin purses in the same color pallet. I just love the puffy quality of this style of crochet, it gives it some extra texture.

Here's a couple new purses with the Tifinakht letter "Z." These would be really great for the tween in your life.

And here is a stack of unfinished coin purses. I can't wait to see these completed!

Related posts:
New Inventory for Fall 2010