Family Fridays #24 Josey

Happy Friday everyone! Josey is joining us this week to tell us all about her family!

 

 

Hi! I'm Josey, a sarcastically dry, fun loving and hard working kind of gal. The kind who is immediately puzzling and brings to mind one unanimous question "where is that girl from?" Now, if you have any color of skin that isn't white (or if you have a non-local accent) then you know what that question means, you know before the person can even finish the phrase. They aren't wondering about where you grew up, really, they just want to stick a label on you so they can put you in a category and continue in the social exchange. 'Where are your from' translates to 'what's your ethnicity" and "what do your parents look like?' So nice. Who cares? Well, everyone does, and well, it does matter (a little), so I will tell you.

 

I grew up in Washington state and grew up in a fairly white culture. My husband grew up in Minnesota and his culture was fairly similar (actually maybe a bit more diverse). However, my husband has white skin and I don't. I have a very confusing color of brown that makes sure no one can ever guess my ethnicity correctly. It immediately makes me seem foreign or well traveled, or both, or either. Regardless of the exterior, I grew up without any connections to my skin color (as far as cultural traditions go like Indian, Native American, African American, Samoan or any other bronzed skin beauties), so I never thought about this idea of 'interracial' or even 'race'. We are all people, aren't we?

 

 

At first, I was severely attracted to my husband's devilish smirk, his striking blue eyes, and his ability to play it cool in every situation. It certainly didn't mattered what color he was, and since I, as aforementioned, have no non-white cultural ties, there wasn't an issue of what kind of 'Christmas do you celebrate', or 'would you be willing to convert?' We met at school in the second coldest place in America; Grand Forks, ND. But our relationship has been anything but cold. He's the best friend I have ever had and I can guarantee that our love will last past infinity. He's a bit more reserved (think James Bond at a bar) and I am more, uhh, opposite (think if Rebel Wilson and Jennifer Lawrence had a baby, and it was dark skinned). Our love seriously rocks. And it has nothing to do with the color of our skin (although we do think one another is beautiful and handsome). 

 

What makes our family unique has really nothing to do with how people perceive our interracial status, but it has everything to do with how our lives are intermingled together. How we take the best bits of one another's character and personality, mimicking each other, compromising our differences and at the same time maintaining the essence of who we are as individuals. 

 

Though we did celebrate holidays differently before, now that we are we it is so important to the both of us that our lives are combined and melded. Which means change! Everybody loves change, right? Certainly any family blending together has got to be open to it, because regardless of your race, your heritage, or your color, families are meant to be celebrated. And so, that's me! In a nutshell, a shell that's easily cracked into. My biggest advice for two people attracted to one another, who happen to be on separate ends of the skin color wheel: love each other for who you are. And hopefully, eventually, our world will adapt and change along with the rest of us and soon color will be a thing of the past and we can finally shed that label of interracial and race, and begin to see people for who they are not what they appear to be.

 

Do you to hear more stories like Josey's? Check out our other Family Friday posts!

Family Friday #23 Melissa

Happy Friday! Friday is always a huge day for all of us! In our house, my husband typical comes home from his work trip and it's the start of the weekend! It's also... Family Friday!Today, Melissa from Blog Clarity is joining us and telling us a little about her family

Tell me a little about yourself.

I’m a coffee-loving mom to two boys, who happen to share the same birthday! I’ve been in marketing for 16 years now, spending the last 4 working part-time in social at Burt’s Bees. I also run Blog Clarity, my site about blogging and social media. In my “spare time,” I teach group fitness. I love spending time outdoors, watching the kids play sports, and traveling when we can.

Where did you and your spouse grow up?

My husband grew up in South Carolina and I lived in Tennessee, then moved to South Carolina in the middle of 8th grade- eek! We actually lived a few miles from each other in high school, but didn’t actually cross paths until college.

What was it that first attracted you to your spouse?

The way I caught him looking at me the first time we met! We met through mutual friends at college and everyone was like, “he keeps looking at you!” I loved how smart he seemed and, of course, I thought he was cute too.

Do you and your spouse have similar personalities or very different?

We’re actually quite similar in most respects. Same political views, same tastes, both in creative fields (he’s an architect), same penchant for sarcasm. However, we like some of the same music, but he gets tired of hearing Mumford and Sons or Zumba music, and I can only take so much electronica. I need something to sing along to!

What makes your family unique from other families?

His family has an Austrian background and I’m half Latina, so we have some recipes we like to make from both cultures. Aside from that, I think we’re unique in that we have dinner together nearly every night. My kids are only 9 and 6 so they’re still young, but I’m holding onto that tradition for as long as we can.

Does your family have any unique traditions?

Growing up in a partly latin family, we spent a couple of Christmases in Costa Rica with my extended family- I have over 50 aunts, uncles, cousins, and second cousins there. We also made tamales most years around the holidays. Before my husband and I had kids, we loved doing big hikes every year, like through the Grand Canyon.

Will you continue this tradition in your own family?

My kids have been to Costa Rica, but never for Christmas. I’m hoping we can in the next couple of years though! We do make tamales some years and we ALWAYS make a cookie from my husband’s side of the family. They’re called gullets and they’re like shortbread-type waffle cookies. I also hope to start doing some bigger hiking trips as the kids get older!

What is one piece of advice you have to share with other families?

Find something that you all love as a family and go all in. For us, we’re big Star Wars geeks and it eventually rubbed off on the kids. All of us being fans really made it fun for the kids. We also all love soccer. I’m hoping that that’ll end up loving long hikes as much as we do too, but I don’t hold out much hope for the 6 year old. Ha!Be sure to head over to Blog Clarity and see what else Melissa has to say!

Family Fridays #22 Amanda

Today, Amanda from The Educator's Spin On It is joining us for our 22nd Family Fridays! Be sure to check our her blog and head over to her Facebook!

Tell me a little about yourself

I am a National Board Certified teacher with oodles of experience in early childhood education. I have taught middle school, kindergarten and first grade. I have a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in Reading for grades K-12. You will often find me in her backyard exploring nature with her kids or doing a hands-on science project at the kitchen table. I'm an outdoor loving person.  I loves to walk my dog, Ivan and snuggle up with a good book when I'm not elbow deep in baking blueberry muffins in the kitchen. I shares educational activities for children ages 0-7 at The Educators' Spin On It

Where did you and your spouse grow up?

My parents are from Minnesota and I was born, raised, and went to school there. It wasn't until after my first year of teaching when I moved South.  My husband is from Izhevsk, Russia in the Udmurt Republic.  

What was it that first attracted you to your spouse?

 

I was attracted to his smile and willingness to learn more about the people and community around him. 

Do you and your spouse have similar personalities or very different?

We are both very driven individuals with strong personalities. I'm a morning person and he doesn't wake up after at least an hour and a cup of coffee.   In the morning our kitchen probably looks crazy - I'm running around getting 3 kids lunches ready, everyone dressed with teeth brushed and eating breakfast... he is trying to make a cup of coffee.  

 

What makes your family unique from other families?

 

I think we are very similar to other families in that we want to raise happy, healthy children who make positive contributions to the world.  We try to split tasks, but as a stay at home mom / freelance writer, many of the household and parenting responsibilities fall on my shoulders. 

Does your family have any unique traditions?

 

Many of our family traditions revolve around the growing season.   Growing up, both my husband and my families were gardeners.  We both grew up with parents who harvested fresh produce and preserved them.  There is nothing better than home-made raspberry jam in my opinion.  As parents, we continue to make this a priority with our family. We harvest citrus every Christmas morning, go to the u-pick blueberry fields every May and we plant potatoes in the garden every Valentine's Day!

Will you continue this tradition in your own family?

 

Yes

 

What is one piece of advice you have to share with other families?

Be happy with what you have!

Family Fridays #21 Lana

This week Lana Jelenjev is joining us from Smart Tinker. Be sure to check her out over on Facebook and see what she's up to! 

 

I am Lana Jelenjev, a Filipina who is now living in the Netherlands. Ours is a multicultural family, my husband who is born and raised in the Netherlands does not exactly affiliate himself as Dutch, but with his family's country of origin, Serbia. He grew up appreciating the Serbian culture and also has Russian roots. I on the other hand has never thought of bringing up children and having a family with multicultural roots, not until I met Boris. Having grown up all my life in the Philippines, my first foray into living abroad was when I decided to work abroad and went to Indonesia as a staff development specialist for Tutor Time Kindergarten. It was when I was working in Indonesia that my husband met up with me. At that time we were already chatting and getting to know each other online for more than 3 years before finally meeting up in Indonesia. 

 

From that time on, things went relatively quick, we got married the year after while I was still in Indonesia, surrounded by Indonesia friends and church members and with only my brother as family to represent us. Our daughter was born a year after and it was during that period that we decided for me to move to the Netherlands and for us to be together as a family. At the time that I was pregnant, I was still working in Indonesia trying to finish my contract and was still contemplating on whether it is advisable for me to move ot for my husband to be the one to move out of the country to be with me. What made me finally decide to move was the thought of finally settling down to one's roots.

 

It was in this transition to a new country that I saw the similarities and differences that my husband and I have. Differences that are rooted to cultural differences. The same quality of him being open and easy to talk to that I so love was also something that I saw in a different context here in the Netherlands where people (and even children) speak their minds so quickly. Sometimes to my judgment of it being too brutally honest. I was not used to such means of communicating.

 

 

My husband and I found common ground in our parenting. Being the early childhood development specialist, I took it upon myself to keep abreast with parenting tools and strategies that my husband easily took in as well. We found solidarity in our parenting philosophies and  this is what I can say that makes our family unique apart from the obvious multicultural aspect. What I see as our strength in identifying our values and communicating deeply with each other is a big part of our family culture. We value the connection that we have and the means of connecting that we use as partners and as a family. 

 

With connection to each other and to ourselves a big part of our family culture, we have birthday traditions and holiday traditions that welcome friends and family in our homes to connect with them. We love hosting friends in our home and with it sharing a big part of our lives and our aspirations for our family with them. Such is the openness that we would like to promote that we have rituals of connection throughout our days and ending it with a connecting ritual in the evening after saying our prayers. We also do family conferences to get us reflecting on the activities that we did for the week, what went well, what can be improved on and what we can move forward with for the coming week. 

 

This is how our family culture has merged and grown as a reflection of how we as individuals has also grown as couples and as parents. Would I change what we are doing now? Yes, I would change it to even more connecting rituals, to an emphasis on documenting our lives (which is why I have started Smart Tinker) and the focus on encouraging more families to also look at their own family cultures and how they bring their values and strengths in it.

Family Fridays #20 Varya

Today, Varya is joining us for our 20th Family Friday! She is the voice behind The Creative World Of Varya. She talks about parenting, pregnancy, creativity, and more! Be sure to check her out

Tell me a little about yourself.

We are a family of 5: me, my husband, and 3 kids - two girls and a boy. We are living in the South of China. Both of us are  English teachers, though I am currently not working full time and staying home taking care of the kids. We are quite musical. We like creating with kids. My husband has an amazing imagination and he makes up stories for our children.

Where did you and your spouse grow up?

 I grew up in Russia and Sam grew up in Tanzania.

What was it that first attracted you to your spouse?

Honestly, I don't remember much from the first time we met. Except, he played guitar and stepped on my feet. Ha ha. But his sense of humour and ability to consult about everything in order to reach decisions and solve misunderstandings are two things that I really liked before we got married and appreciate especially now.

Do you and your spouse have similar personalities or very different?

We are similar in many ways. We are both extraverted. We are both musical. We don't hide our emotions and we speak our minds out. We like the same things. We share the same religion (we are Baha'is).

What makes your family unique from other families?

Hmm. I think every family is unique. I can't even begin to compare as it is simply not possible. We are all so diverse and special. I guess just the fact that we exist as a family makes us unique.

Does your family have any unique traditions?

Our family traditions pretty much revolve around family celebrations: birthdays, Nawruz (New Year), our anniversary. For example,  every year I make a treasure hunt for kids for Ayyam-i-Ha - a holidays that Baha'is celebrate at the end of February. And we countdown to Nawruz.

Will you continue this tradition in your own family?

Yes, of course. We are still in a process of building our traditions. But once the children are grown up we hope the build their own family traditions while remembering ours.

What is one piece of advice you have to share with other families?

Family consutlations. Apply them to everything: from the type of tea you buy to which college your kids will go to. Consultations are a great way to strengthen the family, take a good look at the differences that prevent unity and solve all sort of situations. They also include all family members in the decision making process.

Family Fridays #19 LJ

LJ from Bellows In The Berkshires is joining us for Family Friday! She is here to share her family with all of you and let you know what makes her family unique. Every family out there is in an intercultural family. Let's here a little about LJ's.

Tell me a little about yourself.

I'm a 24 year old Christian mom to 5 kids, number 6 on the way. Our older four kids are foster placements who now live on their own, a guardianship placement and two adopted children. My youngest two are biological-I'm due with Bear in March. I'm 100% an extrovert, I enjoy being busy with people, and I'm pretty passionate about educating kids in that hard stuff in life. I help run a Young Adults Ministry in our church that I love.

Where did you and your spouse grow up?

I grew up in the town we live in now, North Adams. We are actually currently living in my childhood home! My husband grew up about 45 minutes east in a small hilltown. 

 

What was it that first attracted you to your spouse?

He was my best friend before we began dating, so I guess how amazing of a person I knew he was. It helped he was pretty attractive.

Do you and your spouse have similar personalities or very different

We are super different. I'm outgoing, impulsive, a party throwing, natural mom who throws herself head first into things. He's an introvert, quiet, slow to move and a thinker. He can spend days pondering over the smallest things before making a decision. He hates to be around other people and tends to sit on the nerd side of the spectrum for interests. 

What makes your family unique from other families?

I think our make-up makes us different from a lot of other families. We have adult children, we have guardianship, we have adopted children, we have biological kids. Add to that the fact we are 11 years apart in age and we tend to stick out pretty sorely in a group of families.

 

Does your family have any unique traditions?

My husband's family is very Polish, so as we've mixed together this family, we have tended to keep some of their food traditions. My family doesn't have many traditions in that sense, so we haven't kept any of theirs.

Will you continue this tradition in your own family?

Beyond eating pierogies and golumpkis, we have created many of our own traditions as this family has grown and changed. Together, we volunteer with our church's live nativity every year, we have our own personal birthday things(this is one we actually stole from my family, it's a prayer my great grandmother used to say over us every birthday.) 

What is one piece of advice you have to share with other families?

If you're going to have more than one child, be ready to change your parenting style with every single one! I know it can seem overwhelming and when you choose a family function you want to stick with it-but as far as parenting styles go, it's more detrimental to try and stick to the same way of growing three or four children. Kids have their own personalities and needs, before they even come into your home. Giving up my parenting ideals was the hardest, but most worthwhile thing I ever did. 

 

Do you want to hear more stories like this? Then be sure to check out my Family Friday's section. 

 

I'm always looking for more people to submit posts for Family Fridays! If you're interested click here and send me an email!

Family Fridays #18 Brittany

Today is the 18th Family Friday and I recently mentioned we're switching things up a bit. Instead of just sharing recipes on Fridays, I want us all to share about our family traditions as well. All of our families are so different and I want to here what makes yours special!I'm very excited to share one of my families traditions with you today. Growing up, I thought everyone did this for their kid's birthdays. When my husband I got married, he gave me the funniest look when I asked him to buy a smash cake for our son's first birthday. A smash what?In my family, we always give kids a smash cake for their birthdays. We have one cake for everyone to eat and one for the birthday child to destroy. It's the funnest part of our parties! We all sing, then put the cake on the highchair tray, and watch to see what they do. Everyone loves it and the kids think it's the best! Some kids are more willing to dig in than others. My middle child Levi wasn't so sure until his daddy shoved his face in it. Then he thought it was the funniest thing and started digging in and throwing cake at all of our guests! He had a wide interpretation of what a smash cake was. We were cleaning cake off the ceiling for days after.As you can see in the picture, they just hate it. They don't have any fun. Blending traditions isn't always an easy task. Sometimes you both have traditions you value and have to figure out a way to combine them or choose. My husband's family also has a birthday tradition. After they sing their three versions of the Happy Birthday song (yes three) they each hand feed the birthday person. It's a very sweet tradition because it really shows them how loved and valued they are. We contemplated how to include both in our birthday parties. We ended up deciding to hand feed them from the smash cake and then let them dig into the rest. It's been fun to show both of our families new traditions and to start new birthday traditions of our own. 

What about you? What are your birthday traditions? Do you do something similar to a smash cake?

Family Friday Series

As we enter into a new year, I want to announce a few changes I'm making. Family Friday's has been a great series. It's given all of you a chance to share a bit of your family with all of us. I want to create more opportunities to hear from all of you! 

What Makes Your Family Unique

I've mentioned before just how different all of your families are. Each of your families have a different culture. Regardless of your race, your culture will be different from those around you. There are so many things that make up your culture. It's the way you think, your ideas, what you believe, your traditions, and the way you act.  Each of you have a unique family. I want to hear from you. I want to know what makes your family special. When I say family, this can mean your parents and siblings or the family you have started on your own. 

Top Family Friday Posts

In the past, Family Fridays has been a chance for you to share family recipes with us. Here are a few of the top Family Friday posts!Drumstick SambharEdamame and Carrot BurgersRaitaVegan-Style Chinese ShaobingI want to hear more about your families! Instead of only recipes, I want to hear about what it is that makes your family unique. You can share traditions, memories, or just tell us about your amazing family. 

Your Story

If you would like to take part in my Family Friday series, send me an email (almostindianwife(at)gmail.com) with the following information.  Then I will send you an interview form and schedule a time to share YOUR story! -Name-A few sentences on what makes your family unique-A horizontal picture of your family (2-3 pictures preferably)  

Family Fridays #17 Nita

This week's Family Friday is brought to you by Nita! Nita Sharda is a Registered Dietitian who maintains a private practice, Carrots and Cake Balanced Nutrition Consulting. She lives in the heart of the prairies, Winnipeg, Manitoba with her husband. Nita supports a balanced approach to nutrition (with room to play) and encourages clients to take joy in preparing simple and tasty meals. In her spare time you can catch Nita dancing to music, cooking and enjoying brisk walks outside. 

This recipe is particularly important to me because it was inspired by my Masi Ji (maternal aunt) who in-turn learned about marinating chickpeas in roasted cumin from her relative. And just like that, I managed to perfect the recipe with my Masi and I can share it with my readers on the Carrots and Cake I particularly love how fragrant my house is after I roast the cumin. This is a really important component of the recipe—you simply cannot use “regular ol’” cumin. It is crucial that roasted cumin be used.Tip: to save your future-self some time, roast a large batch of cumin seeds and store in an air tight container to add into other recipes.It’s difficult to summarize why I feel my family is special. A lot of who I am and who I want to be is a direct result of my upbringing. I recall many memories with my mum and dad managing all aspects of life: from the food I ate, the friends I had, the clothes I wore and right down to my finances. And now after being married for over three years I’ve got another set of parents who similar to my mum and dad are learning to take a back-step on managing our lives and transitioning into being our advisors. It’s a gift, truly. To have people that surround you with love and generosity; this is certainly not something I take for granted.You can find the full recipe here. 

Family Fridays #16 Tript and Prabh

This week's Family Friday is brought to you by the lovely sisters behind Footnotes and Finds. Be sure to follow them on Facebook. 

We are two sisters born and raised in Vancouver Canada. Our parents immigrated over from India. We come from a big family.  We are 4 sisters all together, and in true Indian style we lived with our extended family. For a while that included some aunts and uncles and our grandparents. Eventually our aunt’s and uncles got married and moved away and we were left a comfy family comprising of us 4, my parents and grandparents. Living in a household with many people, getting together and sharing meals was an every day occurrence since we all made a point to have a proper sit down dinner with everyday. What was more special than those weekday dinners was weekend brunches. That’s when my mom would pull out the parathas (stuffed bread) and we would feast like kings and be hit with afternoon food comas. My sisters and I are primarily vegetarian (out of choice) and our parents had always tried to make us incorporate eggs into our meals to make them healthier. One egg-based dish that we all enjoyed and didn’t put up much of a fuss over was egg purji.  This is a common dish in north India, in particular Punjab (where both my parents are from). This dish is basically an Indian take on scrambled eggs and is normally consumed with a roti (Indian flat bread) and yogurt (if that’s your thing!). So if you are looking for a new egg recipe, it’s great to give it the normal scrambled eggs an Indian twist with this recipe!  RECIPE (Serves 4)Ingredients:6 large eggs1 tablespoon oilCumin seeds – half tablespoon1 onion – diced½ cup peasSalt to taste ( we used ½ teaspoon )Turmeric – ¼ teaspoonGaram masala – ¼ teaspoonChili powder – 1/8 teaspoon or to taste¼ cup chopped cilantroDirections:In a pan heat oil, once oil is hot add the cumin seeds, stirLet the cumin seeds cook less than a minute – make sure they don’t burnStir in the onions and cook until they are a light brown colourAdd in the spices and salt, stirAdd peas and let it all cook for about 3 minsCrack in eggs to the mixture, mix well and cook until eggs are done to your likingTop with fresh cilantro, mix, and serve!To hear more from these lovely ladies, check out their Facebook. 

Family Fridays #15 Tim

This week Tim is joining us for our 15th Family Friday, to share his famous holiday special with us! Tim lives in California with his beautiful wife and three children. 

Crepe’s are a somewhat new tradition for our family. I started making them a few years ago on holiday mornings as a special treat. Usually, I will get up early before everyone else and begin the prep. The batter has to sit for 30 minutes before cooking, so it’s nice having a quiet house while getting it all ready. Our kids now know it’s a special or fun day when crepe’s are being made and it is something we all look forward to as a family on holidays.The most recent time we had them was for Veterans Day, on which we surprised the kids with a special trip to Apple Hill (minus Josh, our oldest, who had a sleepover at a friends house).This recipe makes roughly 20 crepes which feeds our family of 5 just about right. With this recipe you can go either savory or sweet with toppings and/or fillings. I prefer savory, usually putting sausage inside of mine, while everyone else prefers sweet with fresh berries and powdered sugar or whipped cream on top.Ingredients:4 eggs2 cups flour2 cups milk4 tablespoons melted butter1 teaspoon of saltVanilla to taste (for just a hint of vanilla flavor, ½ teaspoon is sufficient or 1 teaspoon for a more full vanilla flavor)Directions:In a large bowl, beat the eggs well, then add the milk, salt, flour, butter and vanilla and beat until smooth (or put everything in a blender and blend until smooth).   Cover the bowl with a towel and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Heat a 9-inch fry pan (stainless steel works great) to medium heat and add a small amount of butter (enough to coat the full bottom of the pan) being careful not to scorch the butter.   Using a laddle, scoop in a few tablespoons of the batter and then immediately tilt the pan in a circular motion to encourage the batter to spread out towards the edge of the pan. Let it cook for 30 to 60 seconds until the batter begins to firm up enough to flip. Use a large metal spatula to flip it (or if you’re brave, do a pan flip, the kids love that) and cook for another 10 to 20 seconds. Serve on a plate and either roll it up empty and top it with your desired topping, or fill it with your favorite filling before rolling.Enjoy!

Family Fridays #14 Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

This week's Family Fridays is super special for me! One of my lovely friends Andrea has decided to share a recipe very special to her heart. She has told me about it so many times and I for one can't wait to try it!

When I was little, maybe five or six, my grandma would prop me up on her old, faded, yellow seventies-style counter top in her kitchen. I would sit there visiting her and watch her make elaborate dinners and baked goods for her family with loving hands. All while hoping to get to lick spoons or sneak chocolate chips.

Most of the time she didn't follow a recipe. She had nearly every ingredient for every dish memorized and rarely ever used a measuring cup. Although, I have memories of much more complicated meals. My absolute favorite was her simple home made mac and cheese. She would make it just for me, it was my favorite comfort food.

She passed away when I was young and I never had a recipe. My mother and I gathered what ingredients we could from memory, and after a few failed attempts, I finally managed to make a mac and cheese that tastes just like grandmas!

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

1 pound penne6 tablespoons butter2 tablespoons flour2 teaspoons basil1 cup half and halfI cup milk1/2 teaspoon ground pepper1/2 teaspoon red pepper1 cup of bread crumbs1 1/2 cups shredded white cheddar1 1/2 cups shredded gruyere1 tomato

Directions

Preheat  to 375.

Cook penne accordingly. Heat milk in a saucepan and melt butter in a large pot. Add flour and basil.While whisking, add milk and the half and half cook until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in penne, cheese, basil, and pepper.Put the mixture in a baking pan and lay sauced tomatoes on top. I like to sprinkle more cheese over top.Bake 30 minutes.

Tada! 

Take a look at my last few Family Friday recipes!

Family Fridays #13 Meatloaf

Welcome to my 13th Family Fridays! Nikki is joining us today to share a delicious recipe!

Nikki is currently a stay at home mom to a beautiful, free spirited little girl. Before her daughter arrived, she taught elementary education. Nikki loved the creativity of planning lessons! It is important for her to bring that same creativity when she teaches her daughter. She loves to cook and bake with her daughter, so she can learn numbers through measurements!

Nikki and her husband have been married for six years and recently purchased their first home. They met while taking the same summer course in college and reconnected a few years later. He is an incredibly kind, patient husband and loving father.Check out her blog!

Photo Credit: Colette Brockman Photography

When my husband, Brian and I were first married over six years ago, neither of us had much experience in the kitchen. In truth, this was one of the best things for us, because it put us on a level playing field. We had to learn to work together in the kitchen if we hoped to cook good meals. As I think back to our first year in the kitchen, I want to laugh… There were a lot of burnt, tasteless meals that ended up in the garbage. There were also a lot of good meals – meals that my husband and I cooked together.

One of those meals was our meatloaf recipe. No, its not a family recipe, passed down from generation to generation. In fact, we found it together one evening while searching the Internet, but it doesn’t make it any less important to our family. It’s the only recipe that the husband still requests on a regular basis. To be honest, the request itself makes me feel like an amazing wife. Although we both know how to make the dish, he loves when I make it. He always says it’s the best meatloaf he has ever had. So for us, this dish brings up so many memories – from where we started, to how far we have come. Sometimes the sweetest things begin with two hearts and one goal.Ingredients:1-1/4 lbs. Ground Beef1 Egg1TB. Spoon Worcestershire Sauce¾ Cup Yellow Onion, Minced¾ Cup Milk¾ Cup Dried Italian Bread CrumbsSalt & Pepper To Taste½ Cup Ketchup¾ Cup Green Onion, Minced1-2 TB. Spoon Garlic, Minced1 TB. Spoon Margarine or Butter1-2 Cups Carrots, Chopped (optional)1-2 Cups Celery, Chopped (optional)Directions:Preheat Oven to 350 degreesIn a large mixing bowl combine beef, egg, milk, Worcestershire Sauce, bread crumbs, carrots, and celery. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. Place onion, margarine, garlic, and green onion in a skillet on low to medium heat. Sautee until the yellow onion is lightly browned and soft. Combine the skillet mixture in the large bowl. Lightly grease loaf pan and place mixture in pan. Pour and spread the ketchup on top and cook for one hour.To hear more from Nikki, follow her on Facebook.

Family Fridays #12 Apple Crisp

Kylee is joining us today for our 12th family Fridays! She is the voice behind Byky, a brilliant lifestyle blog documenting her and her husband's life. Be sure to check out her blog!

I lived in the best neighborhood growing up. Our neighborhood had so many families that all had kids around my age. We would have all types of get-togethers through the year from Memorial Day cookouts to Super bowl parties. My family always held the neighborhood New Year’s Eve party. The party was always pot-luck style so everyone would bring a dish of their choosing. Though there were many amazingly delicious dishes at this party there was one that was definitely a crowd favorite – Apple Crisp. Apple crisp, always brought by Sandy Rowe, became a staple of the party and of the neighborhood.It has come to the point where all the kids in the neighborhood are almost in the 20s or older now and some are getting married. I, myself, just got married a few months ago. At my shower, which all the neighborhood families attended, I began opening my gift from the Rowe family. There were multiple parts to this gift but I quickly realized what I was opening. The Rowe family gave my fiancé and I all the tools to make the Apple crisp – the apple corer and peeler, the pampered chef stone, Macintosh apples, yellow cake mix, sugar, brown sugar, and of course the written recipe. I was thrilled – and so was my fiancé Brandon. Ever since he attended his first Kolesar New Year’s Eve party and had a bite of Mrs. Rowe’s famous apple crisp he was hooked. I thought this was such an amazing gift because Apple Crisp is so much more to me than a warm yummy dessert. For me, the preparation reminds of prepping for the annual New Year’s Eve party, the warm melt in your mouth taste reminds me of the neighborhood bonfires we would have in the fall, and the way it disappears so quickly once it’s served reminds of the competitive games we’d play in the cul-de-sac. Apple crisp reminds me of how lucky I am to be able to call all of my neighbors, my extended family.Apple crisp is one of my favorite family recipes. I’ll never forget the first time I tried it or the first time I made it on my own. I’d like to share this recipe with all of you today! Hopefully, you all will enjoy it as much as I do.Ingredients6 Mactinosh Apples – peeled + cored + sliced½ cup sugar1 heeping tsp cinnamon1 Jiffy cake mix (yellow or white)1 stick of butterDirections:Place sliced apples in a deep dish baker. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the apples. Pour dry cake mix over the cinnamon and sugar. Melt butter and pour over the top.Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

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Family Fridays #11 Cabbage Subzi

Today is our tenth family Fridays! Ketaki is here to share her family with all of you! She is a lifestyle blogger and has been such a loyal reader here! I'm so excited to introduce all of you to her and her family recipe!

Share a bit about the recipe and why it’s special to your family or your spouse/partner’s family.

This recipe is not special, but it's quintessential in the Mehta household. My husband adores cabbage and we make it every week for lunch. I can make it with my eyes are closed.

The days I make this subzi, my husband messages me with, "Yummy" or  "Good Food."

Tell us a bit about your family and what makes them unique.

I am a Maharashtrian married into a Gujarati family. We are a small family consisting of my in-laws, my husband and myself.My family gives me constant support so I can pursue my career.

Despite all our differences, we share the love of food, especially my husband and I.

It has been almost two years since we were married and I have learned a lot from my MIL, especially making gujarati food. Now, I'm trying out my hand at baking and making chocolates too.

Recipe: 

1 1/4cups of cabbage (chinese style or finely chopped according to preferences)

2 boiled potatoes (diced)

1 large tomato (diced)

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp kashmiri mirchi/chili powder(for color and a bit spice)

2 tsp turmeric powder

3 tsp coriander powder

3 tsp oil

3 tsp grated ginger

Salt according to taste

 

Take a large pot and add the oil. Let the oil heat up on medium heat. Put the cumin and mustard seeds and cook until it crackles.

 

Add the grated ginger and tomato . Let the tomato become soft and then put the cabbage in. Stir in the potatoes and add salt according to your taste.

 

Put a lid and let it cook for 5 mins on low or until the cabbage becomes translucent. Mix in the spices: kasmiri chili powder (Indian chili powder),turmeric powder and coriander power. Mix the veggies well.

 

After everything is combined, turn off the stove and cover the dish with a lid.

 

Serve hot with phulkas or chappatis.

If you would like to hear more from Ketaki, check out her blog. 

 

Family Fridays #10 Pretzel Cake

It's that time of week again. Family Fridays! Sirley is here to share a delicious recipe with all of us. Sirley is a lifestyle blogger at Love Ley and she writes about being a mother, food, DIY, and her life. Be sure to check out her blog and follow her on Facebook!Yeast dough:2 cups all-purpose flour mixed with 2 tbs of instant yeast1/2 cup of butter2 egg yolks2 tbs sugar1 tsp salt1/2 cups of warm milkFilling:1/2 cup of soft butter mixed with 5 tbs of sugar1 cup of raisins (soak these in hot water for 10 minutes) mixed with 1 tbs of flour andcinnamonGlaze:2 heaping tbs of baking cocoa6 tbs sugar3 tbs milk2 tbs butterMethod:Mix together sugar, egg yolk and salt so that it’s slightly frothy.Add warm milk to the mixture. Add the flour and yeast mix and melted butter bit by bit.Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave to proof for 20 minutes. Once the dough has had a chance to rise divide it into two equal parts.Roll the dough out. Cover both pieces with the raisin-cinnamon mix and roll into a long roll. Twist the two rolls and arrange into a circle. Use a knife to cut slits into the dough at regular intervals. That ensures that the glaze will cover the pretzel nicely.Cover with a tea towel and leave for an additional 30 minutes.Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes then turn the temperature down to 350 degrees and bake for the remaining 25 minutes.While the pretzel is baking mix together the glaze ingredients. Once the pretzel is out of the over, let it cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then cover it with the glaze.Thank you Sirley for sharing this post with us! If you want to hear more from her follow her on Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest.

Family Fridays #9 Edamame and Carrot Burgers

This week Priya has come to share a special recipe with you for family Friday! She blogs over at Cookilicious. Be sure to follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. 

Who taught you how to make this dish? 

My mom used to make sandwiches back home and that formed the basis for me. She occasionally made aloo tikkis to go in the sandwich which would totally uplift the dish.What makes it special to you and your family? Me and my husband are healthy eaters for the week and cheaters on weekends. I think burgers can be extremely nutritious and healthy if made the right way.Do you have a special memory making this dish, learning to make it, or enjoying it?I think I was the happiest when I created this burger totally from scratch. It was an instant hit. Proud of my creation.Have you shared this dish with your spouse/loved one?What did he/she think? Oh yes, my husband is my tester. He tastes it all and gives me honest feedback. He loved this burger and was begging for more

Ingredients:2 cups cooked Edamame1 cup grated Carrots1 cup brown bread crumbs4 tbsp. oats powder4-5 garlic cloves, minced1 tbsp. ginger paste½ cup chopped spinach½ cup Dill leaves, chopped½ cup cilantro, chopped1 cup onion greens3-4 tbsp. Sriracha sauceSalt as requiredWhole wheat burger bunsFat free goat cheeseMustard sauce as requiredOil as requiredBlack sesame seeds for sprinkleLettuce, slices of onion and tomatoDirections:Coarsely pulse edamame and add it to a mixing bowl. Add carrots, ½ of the breadcrumbs, oats powder, garlic, ginger, dill leaves, cilantro, onion greens, sriracha sauce and salt. Mix it all well. Make medium size burger patties. Roll them over the remaining bread crumbs. Refrigerate it for 30 minutes at least.In a grill pan, pour some oil. Shallow fry the burger patties evenly on both the sides. Sprinkle sesame seeds as well.Warm the burger buns in microwave for 15 seconds. Spread some almond butter evenly on them. You can use regular butter as well. Place a lettuce on one side and the Pattie on the other. Place few slices of onions and tomatoes. Sprinkle some cheese, mustard sauce, sriracha sauce. Close the bun and enjoy your burger.Do you have a recipe you would like to share with us? If so, here is what you need to do!

Family Fridays #8 French Crepes

Today's Family Fridays is very special today. My beautiful friend Andy is sharing one of her family recipes with all of us!My name is Andy Rodríguez, I was born and raised in Guatemala. I really like to cook like my mom and my grandma. It runs in the family! I like to make dishes from all around the world. It's one of my favorites hobbies and I always enjoy cooking when I'm stressed. I also enjoy cooking for my friends, having them over, and having a great time together.I enjoy cooking with my mom, Marthalidia in my free time. We make a big lunch or a great dinner to share with the rest of my dad Gustavo, my sisters Sofia and Ana Paula, and the rest of my family. We are very close and we always do all kind of things together.This next family recipe is my famous French Crepes that my grandma Lidia thought me how to make.  I've loved French food ever since. This is one of my favorites recipes. I really like that you can put whatever ingredients you want inside! You can make them salty or sweet.Ingredients:For the mix1 ¼ cup of flour1 cup of milk1 cup of water1 egg6 tablespoon of butter (I used blue bonnet sticks)¼ teaspoon of saltFor the filling (salty)3 sweet peppers (red, orange, onion)1 big onion1 lb of mushroomsCheese (Mozzarella, Gouda, or your favorite)HamFor the filling (sweet)NutellaIce-creamYour favorite fruitsDirections:Melt the butter in a small pot.Then add all the ingredients in the blender, when the butter is melt add it to the mix and blend.-And then you have the mix ready for the pan, I always use a big pan because I like big crepes. Cook one side first before adding the filling ingredients, when the edges look cooked you can turn the crepe and add whatever you want, and then enjoy them!*For the salty crepes I always chop all the veggies and then used a little bit of vegetable oil to cooked them on a pan. I cook the mushrooms in a different pan because they have a lot of water, after that I add them to the others and add the ham in little pieces. 

Family Fridays #7 Raita

Yesterday, I shared about a new find of mine. I found an amazing company called Bhumroo Kids. They sell products to teach children about the world. They were kind enough to send us a box this month. It was full of goodies that taught my boys about India. Obviously, my boys loved it. They were able to see how far our family is that live in Hyderabad, listen to fun Bollywood music, do some crafts, and make a new recipe!Today, I want to share their delicious raita recipe. Raita is a mixture of yogurt and a few ingredients to make it even better. It's perfect to cool the spicy flavors of different Indian dishes. Ingredients:1 large cucumber2 cups of whole milk yogurt1.4 cup of chopped mint1 tsp ground cumin1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper or chili powder1 pinch of saltDirections:Wash the cucumber. Grate the cucumber and cut it into small pieces. Mix together the cut cucumber, yogurt, cumin, cayenne or chili powder, and salt. Add the mint to the top. Keep refrigerated until you're ready to serve. This is great with keema, meat curry, chicken tikka, and pretty much any Indian dish. Yum!To find our more about Bhumroo Kids, check out their website!

Family Fridays #6

It's that time of the week again! Family Fridays! Today, Jocelyn from Speaking Of China is sharing one of her family recipes with us. 

I grew up in a very white, very middle-class suburb of Cleveland, Ohio – and the last thing I ever expected was to end up in China, married to a guy from Hangzhou. Yet now that I’m here, I can’t imagine things any other way, especially since I’ve learned so much from my husband’s mother about how to prepare amazing and authentic Chinese food. (Thank goodness I married a guy with an amazing cook for a mom!)One of the coolest things about my mother-in-law is that she’s totally accepting of my vegan lifestyle. I never expected that a woman who grew up in Hangzhou’s mountainous countryside – where people tend to be pretty traditional when it comes to food – would embrace my dietary needs. But she does. Maybe it’s because the two of us have really bonded over food. I love asking her about her secrets for, say, crispy tofu or spicy pickled daikon radish. But when I discovered that one of the local snack foods was shaobing, a fried flatbread stuffed with savory salted veggies and then pan-fried until crispy, I knew I had to learn how to make it myself!Most shaobing include bacon-like bits of fatty pork, making the food typically off-limits to vegans like me. But thanks to my mother-in-law, I’ve learned an amazing recipe for vegan shaobing. It’s even a little reminiscent of pizza back from home, so much so that I often jokingly call it “Chinese pizza”.Vegan-Style Chinese Shaobing (Stuffed Flatbread)Ingredients:FlourWaterSaltOnionsA salted, pickled, smoked or dried vegetable of your choice (My mother-in-law uses salted bamboo; pickled mustard tubers also work well.)Cold-pressed canola oil (or other oil of choice)Directions:Mince the onions and your salted vegetable of choice. Then mix them together with a spoonful or two of oil. (They should not be too oily – just enough to bind them together.) If the mixture is not salty enough for you, add salt to taste. (Note: There should be a half-half mixture of the onions and the salted veggie.)Pour flour into a bowl and add in just enough water to make dough that you can knead without having it stick to your hands. On a cutting board surface, knead the dough until it is elastic, shiny, smooth and without lumps.Roll the dough into a roll with a diameter of about four inches. Then, at about two-inch intervals, cut the dough with a knife into rounds.Cradle the rounds in the palm of your hand, and using your fingers create a bowl-like crater. (Note: don’t make this too thin – the edges should still be around a half-inch thick.) Stuff it with the vegetable mix, then pull the edges of the dough over the top to seal it inside.Place the stuffed rounds on a floured surface. Using your hand, press down first in the center of the dough, then out to the edges. Keep flipping it over and repeating this process, making sure to shape it into a circle, until it’s thin enough to roll out.Using a rolling pin, roll the dough from the center to the edges applying medium pressure. Flip it over and repeat. Keep flipping and rolling out the round until the edges are very thin. (Note: the vegetable filling may occasionally poke holes through the round; this is expected with this type of flatbread and doesn’t affect the final product.)Heat a spoonful of oil in a non-stick pan or wok over medium heat. Add the flatbread, cooking it until it no longer sticks to the pan and is crispy and slightly browned (about 1 and a half to two minutes.) Flip and repeat for other side.Once done, cut the flatbread into four pieces and serve immediately.Connect with Jocelyn on Facebook and Twitter!If you would like to share a recipe, please check out my submission page for more information.