something nice from Iraq

gift from Iraq
One of Kristin's nice friends thanked me for some 'Baklava" with a hat... lord knows, I always need one! 😉 CLICK on the picture for a look at my Baklava!

 Glad you liked the Baklava… let me know what else  you need!

Roger

Gingerbread to Iraq

Gingerbread for Kristin
Gingerbread for Kristin

I like to send folks what they really want. However, it becomes a bit of a challenge sending food a long way. It has to be made to travel and not spoil. Packaging can help… but the key is in the ingredients.

My Gingerbread Cookie Recipe for Kristin in Iraq:

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup molasses
5 teaspoons spice blend*
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2/3 – 1 cup water
1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

7 cups flour

sugar sprinkles for topping

* (BLEND: 8 parts Ginger, 4 parts Cinnamon,1 part Cardamom,1 part  Allspice,1 part Cloves,1 part Nutmeg,1 part Mace,4 parts Orange zest)

Bake: 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes

Here’s to you, Kristin!

Dad

Watching you in Iraq

American Fast Food in Iraq
American Fast Food in Iraq

Oh, my adult daughters do worry that I watch over them… it seems funny to them but I do like to see what they are up to once in a while. They have a common fear that I will be watching with a ‘leafy hat’ hidden somewhere and spring out with some commandment that they ‘can’t mix their creamed potatoes with their peas’… or some such thing.

When my eldest daughter was in Iraq the first time, I was able to keep track of her by following the on-line musings of an embed reporter. She would say, “I can’t tell you where I am…” and I would interject that I knew exactly where she was and list a casual — although deliberately  vague — location that was good enough to elicit an ‘oh my god’ from her. This was priceless to me because it is not often that I can impress her.

Thanks to Google Earth. I can keep track of their general travels… the above three pictures came from Google Earth and I am sure Kristin will recognize them from her travels! 🙂

I did joke about having a subcutaneous transponder inserted into each one of them… they didn’t laugh. funny

Roger Freberg