i made this today.
healthy. simple. delicious.
1.5 liters of water with veggie boullion
100 ml olive oil
400 grams red lentils
1 can tomatoes
1 oranges zest
2 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp oregano
salt to taste
combine, let boil. reduce heat. stir and simmer for 30 minutes.
serves 8-10
Monday, February 25, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Expressions and Impressions
I had a very special Valentine's Day in Holland. In Europe Valentine's is moreso a holiday for couples. But thanks to mom and Neeley who each sent me a lovely package with treats I was reminded of how much I'm loved. And isn't the expression of love what St. Valentine fought for? So I extended this expression by passing out cheesy American valentines with pixie stix that I brought from the States to everyone here at L'abri. The kids really enjoyed the foreign treat.
Thursday is our day off here at L'abri anyhow, so Mette, Kara and I planned to spend our Valentine's Day-off in our favorite city Utrecht with our Dutch friend Jojanneke. Our plan was to have a ROTIC day, which is ROmanTIC without the man! (Haha.Thanks Kara.) And that we did! We set off Wednesday night to Utrecht to enjoy some live jazz music with friends at 't Oude Pothuys (translation 'the old pothouse'... pots that you cook with, not the pot you normally associate with Holland). In the picture is Mette, Me, Kara, half of Levien (who I met last year at a L'abri theme weekend), and Karlien (who came to stay at L'abri for a short stay this term).
So it was nice to meet with our friends, enjoy some drinks together, and take in the ambience of the cave-like, dimly lit, smoky lounge. The jazz music was okay. A bit too loud and percussive and no vocalist. But we weren't just there for the music.
We stayed the night with Jojanneke in her Utrecht flat. She had all kinds of mats and blankets spread about over her floor for the three of us to crash. We got up early to enjoy a brunch downtown at a restaurant called "Broers" (translations 'Brothers') that Robb recommended.
We sat for a couple of hours stuffing our faces with bread and cappuccino, hearing about Jojanekke's thesis research in India. She also entertained us with cultural and historical lessons about Utrecht-the city itself and she even pointed out the "typical" Utrecht University students who put on the I-just-rolled-out-of -bed-around-noon-looking-fashionable look to chat with their scratchy Dutch voices alongside their cigarettes and koffee. Then we set off to stroll about the city, enjoying the people we saw, the coffee, window shopping, book shopping and conversation. We went into a shoe store and I saw the silliest hat on clearance for one Euro. Since I'm a silly girl I thought, "hey, why not buy this?!" So I bought the strange hat, which was an additional 50% off. So for 50 cents I got to look like an idiot... But it paid off. Allow me to tell the story...
We were taking the train back to L'abri in the afternoon. Aware that I lost my train ticket I purchased the night before in Tiel I began to prepare to act my role as "the apologetic, unfortunate, young, female, foreign traveller" in case the train attendant asked to see my ticket. When the young male train attendant walked into my cart I got a little nervous, but he, on the other hand, began to to laugh and laugh at my silly hat. When he came to my seat he asked for all our tickets. I gave one last search through my bag and pockets and told him I must have lost it and I was truly sorry. Now usually these train workers show NO mercy for a traveller without a ticket and charge them the full price for the ticket plus an additional 45 Euros! So I was extremely fortunate that he took a liking for my hat, because he decided to cut me a break and allow me to purchase a new ticket at the Kiosk at our destination Tiel. When we arrived at Tiel he walked with me to the Kiosk and I got to the woman at the counter to purchase the ticket. The train attendant and the Kiosk worker were talking in Dutch, but from the body language, vocal tone, and the little I could translate I could tell they were discussing how I "lost" my ticket and had to buy a new one. 
Well, it turns out the Kiosk worker REMEMBERED me from the night before and explained to him that I DID in fact purchase a ticket from her. The train attendant turned to me and said, "You don't have to pay. She remembers you bought a ticket..." What great mercy he showed to me! He still had the authority to make me pay, but didn't. I thanked him and his words to me were, "I see you make quite an impression on people." I'm not sure if it was ME that made the impression or the hat, but I cannot regret the $.50 impulsive hat purchase which saved me over 50 Euros in the end ($75 U.S. dollars!).
Thursday is our day off here at L'abri anyhow, so Mette, Kara and I planned to spend our Valentine's Day-off in our favorite city Utrecht with our Dutch friend Jojanneke. Our plan was to have a ROTIC day, which is ROmanTIC without the man! (Haha.Thanks Kara.) And that we did! We set off Wednesday night to Utrecht to enjoy some live jazz music with friends at 't Oude Pothuys (translation 'the old pothouse'... pots that you cook with, not the pot you normally associate with Holland). In the picture is Mette, Me, Kara, half of Levien (who I met last year at a L'abri theme weekend), and Karlien (who came to stay at L'abri for a short stay this term).
So it was nice to meet with our friends, enjoy some drinks together, and take in the ambience of the cave-like, dimly lit, smoky lounge. The jazz music was okay. A bit too loud and percussive and no vocalist. But we weren't just there for the music. We stayed the night with Jojanneke in her Utrecht flat. She had all kinds of mats and blankets spread about over her floor for the three of us to crash. We got up early to enjoy a brunch downtown at a restaurant called "Broers" (translations 'Brothers') that Robb recommended.
We sat for a couple of hours stuffing our faces with bread and cappuccino, hearing about Jojanekke's thesis research in India. She also entertained us with cultural and historical lessons about Utrecht-the city itself and she even pointed out the "typical" Utrecht University students who put on the I-just-rolled-out-of -bed-around-noon-looking-fashionable look to chat with their scratchy Dutch voices alongside their cigarettes and koffee. Then we set off to stroll about the city, enjoying the people we saw, the coffee, window shopping, book shopping and conversation. We went into a shoe store and I saw the silliest hat on clearance for one Euro. Since I'm a silly girl I thought, "hey, why not buy this?!" So I bought the strange hat, which was an additional 50% off. So for 50 cents I got to look like an idiot... But it paid off. Allow me to tell the story... 
We were taking the train back to L'abri in the afternoon. Aware that I lost my train ticket I purchased the night before in Tiel I began to prepare to act my role as "the apologetic, unfortunate, young, female, foreign traveller" in case the train attendant asked to see my ticket. When the young male train attendant walked into my cart I got a little nervous, but he, on the other hand, began to to laugh and laugh at my silly hat. When he came to my seat he asked for all our tickets. I gave one last search through my bag and pockets and told him I must have lost it and I was truly sorry. Now usually these train workers show NO mercy for a traveller without a ticket and charge them the full price for the ticket plus an additional 45 Euros! So I was extremely fortunate that he took a liking for my hat, because he decided to cut me a break and allow me to purchase a new ticket at the Kiosk at our destination Tiel. When we arrived at Tiel he walked with me to the Kiosk and I got to the woman at the counter to purchase the ticket. The train attendant and the Kiosk worker were talking in Dutch, but from the body language, vocal tone, and the little I could translate I could tell they were discussing how I "lost" my ticket and had to buy a new one. 
Well, it turns out the Kiosk worker REMEMBERED me from the night before and explained to him that I DID in fact purchase a ticket from her. The train attendant turned to me and said, "You don't have to pay. She remembers you bought a ticket..." What great mercy he showed to me! He still had the authority to make me pay, but didn't. I thanked him and his words to me were, "I see you make quite an impression on people." I'm not sure if it was ME that made the impression or the hat, but I cannot regret the $.50 impulsive hat purchase which saved me over 50 Euros in the end ($75 U.S. dollars!).
Thursday, February 7, 2008
L'abrians: A Caricature
Though over 20 students have come in and out of the L'abri house since January 10 I'd like to introduce you to the few who I consider long term.
Name: Tae Young
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
Age: 24 in Korea (at birth Koreans are 1), 23 to Westerners
About Tae Young: A chemist who helped detonate landmines for the Korean military for two years. Likes to find uses for the few American expressions he knows like "trash talk" and "poop or get off the pot." An excellent caulker.
Name: Jantine
Hometown: Haarlem, Netherlands
Age: Mid 30's
About Jantine: She is a loving wife to Arvid, her husband and currently studies to change careers from journalism to contextual therapy. Though caring and sensitive you wouldn't dare get in the way of her axe.
Name: Clara (Christian name), Yoon Sook (birth name)
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
Age: 30 to Westerners
About Clara: An exemplary woman of love, joy, discipline and service. Social worker, hymn hummer and expert knitter. Loves new experiences and she even let me tie her limbs into challenging yoga positions.
Name: Kara
Hometown: Portland, OR
Age: 27 as of recently... one of the best birthday parties I've ever had, and it wasn't even mine
About Kara: My fellow helper who I not only share household chores with, but also long walks, beer, "potty talks," and patty cake. A displaced artist and non-performing pianist. Enjoys culinary ventures, bike rides through the Dutch countryside, dead people's music and the matching tattoos on her wrists and feet.
Name: Mette
Hometown: Copenhagen, Denmark
Age: 23
About Mette: The only accomplished recorder player I will ever take seriously. She's studying linguistics and wants to translate Bibles for Wycliffe. Recently listened to a 40 cassette lecture series on the book of Revelation by Francis Schaeffer. One of the few people here who laughs at my jokes. Smart and full of surprises.
Name: Tae Young
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
Age: 24 in Korea (at birth Koreans are 1), 23 to Westerners
About Tae Young: A chemist who helped detonate landmines for the Korean military for two years. Likes to find uses for the few American expressions he knows like "trash talk" and "poop or get off the pot." An excellent caulker.
Name: Jantine
Hometown: Haarlem, Netherlands
Age: Mid 30's
About Jantine: She is a loving wife to Arvid, her husband and currently studies to change careers from journalism to contextual therapy. Though caring and sensitive you wouldn't dare get in the way of her axe.
Name: Clara (Christian name), Yoon Sook (birth name)
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
Age: 30 to Westerners
About Clara: An exemplary woman of love, joy, discipline and service. Social worker, hymn hummer and expert knitter. Loves new experiences and she even let me tie her limbs into challenging yoga positions.
Name: Kara
Hometown: Portland, OR
Age: 27 as of recently... one of the best birthday parties I've ever had, and it wasn't even mine
About Kara: My fellow helper who I not only share household chores with, but also long walks, beer, "potty talks," and patty cake. A displaced artist and non-performing pianist. Enjoys culinary ventures, bike rides through the Dutch countryside, dead people's music and the matching tattoos on her wrists and feet.
Name: Mette
Hometown: Copenhagen, Denmark
Age: 23
About Mette: The only accomplished recorder player I will ever take seriously. She's studying linguistics and wants to translate Bibles for Wycliffe. Recently listened to a 40 cassette lecture series on the book of Revelation by Francis Schaeffer. One of the few people here who laughs at my jokes. Smart and full of surprises.
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