Zulu cooking!

I have cooked my first traditional Zulu dish! Last week we had a couple of Sarnian families who are also adopting internationally over to share cuisine, and adoption stories. We have gathered informally and formally several times, for coffee, for a barbeque this past summer, and last week at our house.

Last week, the catch was that everyone had to bring an appetizer from the country from which they were adopting. We ate well! We had fried plantains and sausage from St. Vincent, spring rolls from the Philippines, a "football" cake in celebration of the World Cup in South Africa, (someone had a hard time finding a good recipe), and the Pumpkin Fritters which I prepared. Although I forgot to take pictures of the food, I pulled this picture from the net.

Here is the recipe (carrots can be substituted for pumpkins)

2 cups canned pumpkin 1 cup flour
1 large egg 1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt 1 tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup cooking oil for frying
1/4 cup mix of cinnamon and sugar (1/4 cup white sugar with 2 tbsp. cinnamon)

Mix first 6 ingredients in a bowl. Heat half the oil in frying pan. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter into oil once hot. You can flatten them slightly with a spoon.

Fry one side (approx. 4 minutes) and turn over to fry other side. Add fresh oil as needed. Immediately after removing from fry pan, roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture. Makes approximately 12 fritters.

We had a good evening together. It was really great to hear about other people's adoption journeys. To hear about their process, their reactions to the different courses we've all taken, to hear about ideas for becoming more of a trans-racial family, and to simply share with each other the joys and struggles of adoption. We've begun trading books on adoption and are hoping that over the next little while we can grow to be a good support for each other during and after our adoption.

Our gathering this summer was with children at one of the families houses. It was a gorgeous day and everyone had a great time. Our hosts were, Steve and Daphne, with the great backyard!

Leah, practising to be a big sister! She's not sure she's up for it.

Pastor Steve entertained the kids with a bird and lots of games!

Time for a rest!