Bumps for Baby

Welcome back all!

Since I've completely failed at turning this blog into anything that makes any sense, I suppose I'll just continue the insanity that it currently is. Random posts, huge time lapses between entries and general lack of direction.

Today I've decided to post my baby bump photos! They aren't all pretty, but we've been trying to take photos and measurements every two weeks. Also, our measurements are sort of wacky. Apparently we don't always take them in the same place. Anywho, enjoy!

14 weeks- I still wasn't exactly showing, but it seemed a good enough time to start the measurements! 102 cm around the belly button. We didn't measure Mohamed...

16 weeks (and just back from a week of gorging in the US!)- 106 cm

20 weeks (oops, missed 18!)- 107 cm and the bump is really there this time

22 weeks- 110 cm and forgot to photograph

25 weeks- 110 cm (still? not sure what happened...)

28 weeks- 114 centimeters and starting to feel "big"

30 weeks- 115 centimeters. Only 10 weeks to go!

32 weeks- No measurement and new outfit. We were visiting in Tafraout for Eid.

35 weeks- 119 cm and a new haircut!

36 weeks- No measurement, but we did some maternity photos. Coming soon!

38 weeks- 120 cm. Only 1 cm increase in three weeks. Seems odd, I don't think we we've been measuring in the same place. Oh well :-)

40 weeks- 122 cm. We made it!

41 weeks, 4 days- Omar Ethan Outayeb is here! Born on Dec. 26th, 2012 at 6:05 pm. Everyone's happy and healthy!

Zaina's Lemon Tea Cookies

When I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the south of Morocco, one of my favorite things to do was cook with my awesome lady friends. I learned all of the Moroccan basics from them, although we never really baked together. Until the day I tasted these lemon cookies.

It was love at first bite! Many of the other cookies I'd tried were rather bland and dry; nothing to write home about. These were different. A subtle lemon flavor inside a crumbly, powdered sugar covered cookie.

As with most recipes I've learned here, measuring is imprecise. Women use various cups and glasses from their kitchens or simply eyeball it. Adds a certain amount of fun, I think!

For this recipe we use a standard Moroccan tea cup. I think as long as you use a smallish cup and are consistent, your cookies will come out just fine.

Zaina calls these cookies "quatre quatre" which in French is "four four." Start with four cups of vegetable oil and four cups of sugar. Mix.

Then add four eggs, mix again.

Zest and juice two lemons. I use two because I love the lemon flavor. Reduce a bit if desired.

Add the lemon zest and juice along with 4 teaspoons of vanilla and a teaspoon of salt. Mix it up.

Once the liquids are well mixed, it's time to add the dry ingredients. Sift 4 teaspoons of baking powder in with enough flour to get the consistency seen below. The dough should not be sticky to touch or crumbly. Approximately eight (American) cups, but add slowly and knead with your hands.

Form the dough into small balls. Feel free to play around with the size (but be sure to adjust cooking time as well). These are about the size of a walnut.

Use a fork to squish the balls and imprint the cookies. Criss cross or simple lines work well. Have fun!

Bake at 325 degrees F for 8-10 minutes. Pay close attention as you don't want to overcook them! Cookies should come out of the oven the same color as they went in. Check for doneness by pressing lightly on the top. They shouldn't be doughy.

This recipe yields A TON of cookies! 10-12 dozen I'm guessing. Half the recipe if you don't need such a big batch.

The final step is to roll the cookies in powdered sugar. Be sure to let them cool first. As an alternative, you can dip the top of the cookie in granulated sugar before baking. I prefer the light powdering coating!

Enjoy!

Do you remember learning to make one of your favorite cookies? Leave a comment with the type of cookie and how you learned!

Zaina's Lemon Tea Cookies

4 cups* vegetable oil

4 cups* granulated sugar

4 eggs

2 lemons- zested and juiced

4 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

Flour to create the right consistency, approx. 8 cups

Powdered sugar

*vegetable oil and sugar are measured using tea cups or some other small cup

1. Mix oil and sugar together in a large bowl.

2. Add eggs, zest and juice of lemons, vanilla and salt. Mix well.

3. Sift in baking powder and flour 1 cup and a time. Once the dough is close to the correct consistency, add 1/2 cup at a time. Dough should stick together, but not be sticky to touch.

4. Roll into walnut sized balls, then use a fork to squish and make an imprint on the top.

5. Bake for 8-10 mins at 325 degrees, do not overcook!

6. Once cooled, roll in powdered sugar.

Apartment Tour

I absolutely love seeing other people's homes. Seeing how they arrange the furniture and the art work is just so darn fun! I get new ideas and feel like I'm learning a lot about the resident. Does anyone else obsessively try to peek into windows at night when people've accidentally left their curtains open? No? Oops, guess that's just me.

nope, this isn't our apartment. I wish.

Well, no need to fly over to Morocco and try to peek into my windows. This is our 3rd Rabat apartment since I moved here last September. It's the oldest of the group, but many people think the most "homey."

We'll start in my favorite room- the salon aka living room. This is the only room in the apartment completely covered in wood panelling and I sort of love it. Never thought I'd say that! It's a nice, light color and I feel like it gives the room a really nice texture. I don't even feel bad that I've hardly decorated the walls!

I love the large window and we get really nice light during the day. The room is big enough that I played around with lots of arrangement options, but in the ended opted for putting the TV in the corner- it's close to the seating area, but tucked away as to not be a main focal point and I can easily see out the window.

I could definitely use some art up on the walls. They may be my next mission, I need to take advantage of the great stuff I can get here at very reasonable prices!

We had this small table in the kitchen at our old place, but here it wouldn't quite fit. In the end I like that it adds a second functional area to the living room. If only we could keep from unloading all of our crap onto it as we walk into the house! The rug is used, Mohamed bought it from a guy off the street for less than $40. It's huge!

The living room opens to a fairly large entry area that we've done absolutely nothing with. You'd be amazed at the incredible lack of benches available in this place. Am I the only one who likes to sit and put my shoes on? A coat rack would also be a nice addition, I just haven't made the effort to purchase one.

On the other side of the entry way is the bedroom. It's another really nice sized room which is great as there are no closets. Our first investment after moving in here was a set of armoires. This room gets great light in the afternoon. The only downside is that the window looks out to our neighbor's patio. Oops. At least they only use it to hang laundry...

Whenever I open this window or water the plants I can't help thinking- If only that were my patio! Alas, we have to live with a very tiny balcony off of the second bedroom (not pictured).

From the entry way there's a small hallway leading to the bathrooms and kitchen. On one hand this makes it feel more like a real house, but on the other I can't stand how far the kitchen is from the living room. It's just so nice to be able to be preparing something in the kitchen, yet semi-involved with the happenings elsewhere in the house.

The bathroom is split into two separate rooms. Both are extremely fashionable with their bright blue and orange tiling. Definitely gives them some character.

The sad little toilet room. Definitely my least favorite place in the house. It's claustrophobic and contains a propane gas tank attached to our water heater. The tank covering really doesn't do much, but we tried.

Finally, tucked away in the back corner is the kitchen. It's quite nice aside from the location. 

The spice shelf is my favorite. Amazing how wonderful it feels when every single thing in your kitchen has a home. Ahhhhh.

Extra bonus- killer pantry! Storage space is generally what I find to be most lacking in apartments here. Shockingly, this is the only built in storage in the entire apartment. 

Just off of the kitchen is a small, enclosed patio area. Home of the washing machine, buckets and cleaning supplies. When it's really cold, I've also moved a chair in here to warm up. 

There is also a second bedroom, but we have done absolutely nothing with it and it's really pretty embarrassing. Maybe when it becomes functional I'll addend the tour.

Hope you enjoyed the peek into our home. Maybe now you can refrain from looking into other people's windows for the day. Or maybe not. Happy spying!