Family Fun

We went to my niece's baby shower today. We had so much fun and she received so many darling baby girl clothes for London,her new baby daughter.


There was a dress/undress the baby doll relay and we had a blast watching my mother scream louder and louder as the baby doll got closer and closer to her. I was laughing so hard I wished I had a second pair of pants!

Brooke White on Idol

I may as well continue with my American Idol obsession. I like this young woman named Brooke White. She is a LDS woman from Mesa, AZ. She has playful banter with Simon and he likes her. I do too.

Okay this Guy is My Favorite to Win

I cannot believe I am posting another American Idol Blog, but this guy from Murray, Utah is so darn cute I couldn't resist. I think he is the next winner.

American Jordan

This is the funniest thing. Jordan always loves to get up and "drop it like it's hot" when American Idol theme music comes on. She has tried to teach this move to me millions of times. I just cannot do it like she can.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Gong Xi Fa Cai, Year of the Rat.
Yes, the RAT. Rats are very lucky in Asian cultures. They are clever and considered good to have around.

We had fun with the Activity Day girls here last week. We sang I Am a Child of God in Mandarin, learned about lucky red and yellow. We also made cards to send to our old branch in Penang. Hopefully we will become penpals. The best part was eating rice and potstickers with only chopsticks. The girls also got to take home a red lantern and an Ang Pow envelope.

Pedicure Perfection

Can you tell what the Gaddis Girls like to do most? Something we all have in common? Something every girl deserves?
It is one of the luxuries that we took advantage of in Asia because it was so affordable. It is a luxury we refuse to compromise with Dave.
We have yet to find a Nail Salon that can compare to Hansen Nails in Penang. We would get the most wonderful massages and scrubs and the nail art was beyond compare. Alas. We pay double the price for 1/2 the service.... Woe, woe woe to us.

WHY DIET'S DON'T WORK!!!

This is probably the best cookbook of 2007. Reserve it from the library, or Amazon.com.

Sherry Yard is Wolfgang Puck' s executive pastry chef. She grew up in Brooklyn and this is as much a biography as it is a cookbook. It has great recipes from her fabulous childhood such as pretzels and bagels. It even playfully makes fun of her mother's lack of culinary skills. Sherry includes a recipe for "Mom's Cuisinart Chocolate Mousse" that her mother inspired and she refers to it as "the most exciting culinary event that had ever occurred in our kitchen."


Okay, so here is the most exciting culinary event that is occurring in my kitchen. It ain't low fat , but it is loaded with vitamin A.

Pumpkin Bread

• 3 cups canned pumpkin puree (one large can)
  
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 4 cups white sugar
• 6 eggs
• 4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 9x5 inch loaf pans. Or one Bundt pan and 1 large loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together by hand, the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger; stir into the pumpkin mixture until well blended. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The top of the loaf should spring back when lightly pressed.
4. Can add chocolate chips. I like the Ghiridelli 60 % Cocoa chips from Sam's Club.
   

Green Dreams

I am busy ordering and planning my first garden in 3 summers. I am so happy. I cannot wait to get my hands dirty! I am going to try Biker Billy Peppers, a stunningly hot jalapeno, and Thai Dragon Hybrid, an extra hot chile that can be dried. I will be planting many herbs also. My family cannot get enough fresh basil, and I buy it in bulk at Albertson's ,but, at a premium price. I cannot wait to get that to grow.

We have fallen in love with Sugar peas too, and those great little green beans that are referred to as haricot verts. I am going to build a tee-pee for the vines to grow on.

I always plant way too much for my own family and I love giving and sharing the bounty of the garden with my neighbors. There is something really satisfying about growing and eating your own food. I really get enjoyment out of making jams and salsas too. I found a great recipe for a red hot pepper jam that my next door neighbor Brad cannot get enough of. It is so fun to garden. I am not the greatest gardener but I try.

A Recipe Collector from a Different Era

My Mother-in-law lost her mother Rae a few years ago, when she and her sister were cleaning out her home she found several old books. Included in these treasures were hundreds of hand written recipes. It was fun to pull these out recently and leaf through them. While many recipes would be considered unappealing to us today, there were several that were keepers. One keeper was called "Egg White Pie Crust".


I even found one that was labeled "1908 My Wedding Cake." What a great piece of history ! My kids had fun going through them and looking at the vernacular of the day, such as " Mother Etz's" cake. Or "Mrs. Holden's" Nut Bread. I don't think we will be having the Aspic with Salmon anytime soon!

Farewell Old Friend

Yes, about a month ago, an old abused friend couldn't take the strain anymore of the icy sleet. She buckled under the pressure. Actually, this old Russian Olive is an invasive species that overtakes native Utah species and it was probably a good thing that it came down. The picture above where the men are working is my garden area, and the tree was way too shady for this spot. We don't actually know who really owns this tree, us or the neighbors to the back, but since it fell on us, we took care of it.

Dave just had to make a few calls and we had several men from the ward show up with chainsaws and gloves. They had the whole thing cleared in about an hour and a half. Our next door neighbor provided the dumpster and they even took care of a fallen tree in his yard too.

It is for reasons and neighbors like these that we came running back to Provo!

Christina Unplugged

We were messing around with the camera while we were rolling around on the floor. I held it up and pointed it behind my head and said to Christina,

"I am going to point the camera to where I think you are and take the picture."

Well, who knew it was going to turn out so cute? I think I will take all of my pictures, from now on, with my back to the subject and the camera over my head!

Pretty in Provo

As I have contacted many of my friends during the Holiday Season, so many of them have commented on my abandoned blog. I guess I have missed posting, but I really don't think I have very many interesting things to say. At least when we were living overseas, I had a focus for my posts. I assumed that interest in my blog would die off and eventually be forgotten.

So, here I am happy to report that I will again be starting regular entries, and, I hope some of you will find interest in what I have to offer. I won't try to catch you up on events since my last post, but I will continue with my "happenings" from this point on.

The picture at right is my families most recent shot. We were at church, and we all looked very nice in all of our finery.

The Cat's Hole and Shanghai Bound

Yippee... even the cat is excited to come home. She balked at the cat carrier for about 2 days, then saw that her favorite cushions were inside. Now she never leaves the silly carrier. She gets in there and purrs and purrs, she kneads the cushions and rolls into a ball as much as her fat blubbery body will let her.







Let's see... some other things we are getting done... We have sold all of our 220 volt appliances and electronics. All of my plants are sold. I have sorted through all the goods that are going to charity. I have even cleaned out the extra fridge and sold it to my maids friend Tuna.


We are off to Shanghai this Saturday. We will stay there for 4 days then we fly toXi'An where the Terra'Cotta warriors are being excavated. I hear that is really incredible. Then we will be going to Beijing for several days, I want to ride bikes with all the other Beijinger's, climb the Great Wall and visit the Forbidden City.
One thing we are going to do that is really different is ride the overnite train from Beijing back to Shanghai where we catch the plane back to Singapore. We'll stay in Singapore for the nite then hop up to Penang. I am hoping none of us gets sick. My friend Bonny (who has a 2 month old) will be going with her husband for the Shanghai part of the trip, so we'll be hanging out shopping whilst our menfolk are at business. Sounds like fun to me...

For Malaina

My darling daughter came to Malaysia and fell in love with Indian food. This magnificent feast above here is authentic Penang Tandoori Chicken. It is like none other in the world. I mean that quite literally. In Penang the Indians make it different than Indians in India. In Penang it must be served just like this on a stainless sectioned tray, with red onions, limes and sauces. The green sauce is wonderfully minty, and the red, is dahl. This dish has garlic naan. You can get butter naan, butter-garlic naan, garlic, naan. All is equally good. The chicken is incredibly juicy because it is marinated in yogurt and spices. Real tandooi chicken for us needs to be orange in color. The Asians have a special way of cutting those limes too, for maximum juiciness and no seeds. I promise Malaina, we will get this recipe just right if it takes years!

The rice dish above is usually served on a real banana leaf. The one above is plastic... the cuisine is called Nasi Kandar. Or rice -stick. A hundred years ago the Indian-Muslims would go around and sell their wares balanced from a large stick they carried on their shoulders. Pots of rice on one end and curries on the other. Now we line up to go to their amazing shop houses. This is a typical one above. The patrons circle the food. And you don't leave hungry! Oh my gosh the curries are insanely good. Hot, sweet, chicken, beef, fish. There are wonderful veggies too. The food is Halal the Muslim equivalent of Jewish Kosher. The price is right too. We can eat stuffed to the brim for under 8 USD. Most Nasi Kandar stalls also have various other Indian foods to order like Butter Chicken, Palak Paneer, uuummmm!!

I must confess, these photos come from another blogger, but I am going to go out this week to Little India and take my own photos and eat some chicken. I will also be buying some trays like these above too. I have to stop this blog now because I am getting hungry just thinking about the food, and it's bed time, but that is not usually an issue in Penang because the Nasi Kandar stalls are open 24/7. Agghh

A Strangely Delightful Movie

Stranger Than Fiction with Will Farrell, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, and the adorable Maggie Gylennhal was filed in the huge collection of DVD's we have amassed so far here in Asia. I hadn't watched it yet because I wasn't sure if I cared to see Will Farrell in such an unusual role. But I am a huge Will Farrell fan, and I just finished it while I sat here at the computer working on other things. I have to say this movie has been one of my favorites that I have seen in a very long time. It was romantic, funny, thoughtful, and all of the characters were so likeable. I can't imagine why it didn't get a bigger response in the theaters.

It is about Harold Krick and his mundane life, and how it all begins to change as Harold becomes the main character in a "blocked" authors latest big book comeback. Harold starts to hear the author as she writes about his life, and he begins to realize that he needs to start living life to the fullest. It was absolutely charming and I love Will Farrell even more after this role. Also, the character that Maggie Gylennhal (the cute Jake Gylennhal's older sister) plays is so totally darling in this as Harolds Love interest. If you happen to be at a video store or you see this on sale at Walmart, it might be something your whole family will like. I will warn you there is one scene where Will Farrell and Dustin Hoffman walk through a YMCA locker room and you see about 4 bare butts of some hairy old farts taking a shower. Other than that there is nothing else that I found questionable.

Cow's milk is for Calves

Other than a bit of hard Cheddar and Parmesean in salads I have pretty much given up on dairy. Cow's milk is very mucus forming and my body is working just fine without it. So far I haven't missed it. We have been using oat milk, and eating this yummy yogurt.
Cashew Yogurt
Makes 2 cups or more
Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup raw cashews, unsalted
2 capsules of Pro-biotic acidophilous (easily available at a pharmacy)
Preparation
1) There is really no need to soak cashews because they loose a lot of their flavor if you do. Place cashews in a coffe ginder and process them into a powder.
2)Pour the cup of water into a blender and add the cashew powder. Blend until creamy. Open the capsules and stir them in.
3)Place cashew mixture into a glass jar, and cover mouth of jar with a towel of napkin.
4)Place the jar in a warm area
5) Check yogurt after 36 hrs. If a thick layer of curd has formed on top and a layer of whey at the bottom, then transfer it to the fridge. You may eat eat after it has been in the fridge for at least an hour. To eat just simply stir until the whey and curd have mixed.

Then for a special treat make:
Bircher Muesli (a famous Swiss recipe)
to the above yogurt add :
1 cup of rolled old fashioned oats
juice from 1 lemon
1 Granny Smith apple grated
1 guava grated
3 Tablespoons raw unfiltered honey
Mix and let sit in fridge over night. I could eat this everyday!
Your tummy will thank you. Bloating and discomfort will become a thing of your past.

Happy Birthday to the Worlds Sleepiest Girl!!

Malaina turns 19 today. Where has the time gone? At 7 lbs. 11 Oz. she was my smallest baby, but her vocal chords where the strongest! She could scream the house down. Until she was 3 I thought she was insane. The problem was, was that she was a late talker, and her brain was a fast thinker. She couldn't communicate.Times changed, Malaina is the quietest woman now. She is happy to let others lead the discussions, and never wants the limelight. Malaina loves to cuddle and when she cuddles she sleeps. We have a cute collection of photographs of the sleepy Malaina. She has missed lots of good sights because she can't stay awake! The one above was in India! You would not believe the road conditions. You have never seen such potholes! We swerved for cows, people, trash vomit spewing from bus passengers up ahead, you name it we saw it. She slept through it all.This is a picture of Malaina asleep while riding the subway in Tokyo. I don't know how she does it! Granted, Tokyo was so orderly and tame, it was a rather peaceful subway ride. This is one where we are on the way to Hong Kong. I love that she has the same look when she sleeps. She typically sleeps spread eagle on her bed. She wears ear plugs, and an eye mask. We Gaddis' are serious about our sleep!

Happy birthday Malaina. I wish you a peaceful night's sleep. Enjoy it now before school starts in the fall!

I've Gone Coconuts!

Last week when in Ko Samui, Thailand, I learned how valuable the coconut is. We drank several coconuts each, and it is amazing how good we felt afterward. I wanted to share this info with you.
I believe it helped me kick my salt addiction!

Here is some information about Coconut Water:
"It's a natural isotonic beverage, with the same level of electrolytic balance as we have in our blood. It's the fluid of life, so to speak." In fact, during the Pacific War of 1941-45, both sides in the conflict regularly used coconut water - siphoned directly from the nut - to give emergency plasma trasfusions to wounded soldiers.
Most coconut water is still consumed fresh in tropical coastal areas - once exposed to air, the liquid rapidly loses most of its organoleptic and nutritional characteristics, and begins to ferment.
Coconut Water is More Nutritious than whole milk - Less fat and NO cholesterol!
Coconut Water is More Healthy than Orange Juice - Much lower calories
Coconut Water is Better than processed baby milk- It contains lauric acid, which is present in human mother's milk
Coconut water is naturally sterile -- Water permeates though the filtering husk!
Coconut water is a universal donor-- Its identical to human blook plasma
Coconut Water is a Natural Isotonic Beverage - The same level we have in our blood.
Coconut water has saved lives in 3rd world countries thru Coconut IV.
"Coconut water is the very stuff of Nature, biologically Pure, full of Natural Sugars, Salts, and Vitamins to ward off fatigue... and is the next wave of energy drinks BUT natural!", according to Mortin Satin, Chielf of the United Nation's Food & Agriculture Organization.
Coconut water contains more potassium (at about 294 mg) than most sports drinks (117 mg) and most energy drinks.
Coconut water has less sodium (25mg) where sports drinks have around 41mg and energy drinks have about 200 mg!
Coconut water has 5mg of Natural Sugars where sports and energy drinks range from 10-25mg of Altered Sugars.
Coconut water is very high in Chloride at 118mg, compared to sports drinks at about 39mg.
Data is based on a 100ml drink.

Two Trips for the Road

Right below is Pulau Tioman. We had not really ventured to the East Coast of Malaysia before. My good friend Karen found a delightful place that slept her family of 6 and the 3 of us. So we drove about 8 hours each way. We all liked road trips and it was good highway the entire stretch. Pulau Tioman is the setting of Bali Hai from the musical South Pacific! You can see a picture here of the high jagged peak. It really was lovely. The water surrounding it was so clean and blue. Not Caribbean blue but a lovely rich deep blue. Kind of like swimming pool with dark blue tiles instead of sky blue ones. We did some snorkeling, hiking, spa wraps, yum.


Then a week after we got back from the beautiful island of Tioman, Christina and I went to Koh Samui, Thailand for 7 days. I was told by a friend of the great new direct flight to Koh Samui originating in Penang. I checked it out and I decided to look for a fun "backpacker" style of trip, since Koh Samui is a really big backpacker stop. As I was surfing I hit upon an interesting website for "internal cleansing". I was facinated, it was like I had found the door to Narnia! I knew this was the answer to my eternal yeast problems! http://dharmahealingintl.com is the coolest thing since the Red Sox won the Series! Let's just say I have one CLEAN colon!

Great Friends/Happy Children

I just got back here to Penang after a 2 week visit to Utah. My primary travel purpose was to see my girls Jordan and Malaina who are BYU students there. Also, Malaina is in the BYU Guitar Ensemble and she had a performance. WOW!! We had a wonderful visit. I was able to spend every day with Jordan, and only missed seeing Malaina 3 or 4 days of the entire trip. All and all, as a mother who was starved for the company of her kids, I was emotionally fed. They are so independant and well off. I really don't have anything to worry about except the normal Mom worries like, safety, nutrition, boys etc.. Heavenly Father has blessed our family in ways we cannot comprehend. I also enjoyed the peak bloom time. Spring was busting out all over. I saw countless lilacs, tulips and daffodils. And in typical Utah fashion it snowed several inches at my parents house. I scraped off snow for the first time in years!


While I was there I came to one very important conclusion. I hope I can put it in words here. My good friend Sherri offered to organize a lunch date for me and a few friends from my neighborhood/Ward church group who weren't working etc. She had a list of about ten invitees. Many of them couldn't attend and I was sad not to see them, but I know they love me. There...that sums it up. They love me. They will continue to love me even through my faults , nasty temper, impatience and sometimes unlikeable behavior. I don't have to pretend to be something I'm not around them. We can have disagreements, (many of us have) get over it ,carry on and just love each other. My friends who were able to meet for lunch were happy to see me, happy to hear about some of my adventures and once those stories were out of the way it was just so fun to talk about school issues, family issues, proms, making ends meet, getting ready for a new baby, dealing with husbands and kids etc. There was absolutely no awkwardness around them. I have been gone along time, but I felt like I hadn't been gone at all. I don't have to worry if they are going to judge me because I'm fat, or my clothes aren't trendy, or if they get offended will they dump me as their friend or who's husband has the most important job. They just included me. There is an old saying..."you can never go home again." Well I can promise you that these women have proven that saying WRONG. I did go home, I will go home, and we will pick where we left off. I miss them so much and I love them dearly. All of them.