L to R: Gill, Brigitte, Dianne, and Gina:
Brigitte & Gill busy cooking. Notice all the wine close at hand. That may account for why it took 4 hours before we ate. But we did start with Gina's Ethiopian coffee:
Dynamite Dianne (er, notice the wine):
Gina & Brigitte discussing spices & the fine art of Ethio cuisine:
Dianne made the Misir Wat lentil stew [Dianne, please correct me if I got the wrong recipe name]. I love me some lentils - yum! And despite making enough Vegetable Alecha to feed a small army (and buggering up the ingredient proportions a bit), I felt pretty good about my dish:
Brigitte made Dabo Kolo, but unfortunately I didn't get a picture of them. They were delicious little fried nuggets of bread for dessert and they were a big hit. She also made her own berbere and gave us each a gift bag with a little spice bottle of it. Brigitte is much more thoughtful than me. She also brought the wine, smart girl.
Gina made Shiro Wat using the spicy version of the shiro (ground pea) powder. I'll be picking some up when I travel to Ethiopia, for sure:
Gill made Doro Wat (chicken and eggs stew). I loved the chicken but had to pass on the eggs (I can't do chicken AND eggs together in one meal. I'm weird that way:
This is Jasmine, Gill's daughter, being the ever-attentive hostess. She's a fantastic big sister. She ate my portion (and then some) of the Doro Wat eggs:
Actually, you can also see the uncooked Dabo Kolo on the counter in that picture.
And Caleb, Gill's son, is in this next picture - he rides a mean (kiddie) tractor. I didn't get a picture of Ryan, Gill's husband. He was avoiding the estrogen most of the time but very helpful with the manly tasks (grinding coffee, playing with the kids, etc):
Congratulations again to Gill's family - they received the referral for their Habesha son in December and will be bringing him home soon. He's so darn cute!Dianne and Gina also made Niter Kebbeh (spiced clarified butter).
Samara kept busy the whole time, playing with Jasmine & Caleb like a big girl. Er, I'm the one who drew the house. But only because she asked me to!:
I missed a picture of everyone sitting at the dinner table, but I did get a picture of Samara enjoying the feast. Sweet!!
Hopefully next time more people will be able to join us. Gena & Eileen had to pass and Marelise (one of the original organizers) was busy. In Ethiopia. PICKING UP HER DAUGHTER!!
Also, my mom was going to come but wasn't able to in the end. She was disappointed but will join us next time.
selam!
