Spanish Friday: Santa Secreto

Today is Spanish Friday: Blog post in Spanish; English translation below.Hola. Probablemente tú pensabas que yo ya no podía hablar español. Pues, no es fácil y he olvidado mucho. Pero yo quería tratar otra vez.Hoy estoy escribiendo sobre una tradición navideña estadounidense, una que es común en las oficinas y en grupos de amigos: “Santa Secreto.” (WordReference

Recipe: Easy Nutella Cookies

A friend departed post recently, and she gifted me some leftover baking supplies. Rummaging through my kitchen cabinets trying to find some storage space (Remember all that pancake mix? It takes up a lot of space.), I stumbled upon two large jars of Nutella that I don’t even remember packing into our consumables.

Brinner | Breakfast for Dinner

Cinnamon-raisin biscuits (scones).One of our friends from El Salvador who is serving here in Kabul is departing post soon. Because we wanted to wish her farewell and make the most of the short time our tours overlap, and because we packed so much pancake mix and Bisquick into our consumables shipment, Kail and I invited her and a few friends over

Afghanistan Culebra

I neglected to adjust the recipe for altitude but it turned out OK.One thing that seems to cross all cultures is food — specifically, a love of it. I didn’t need to take “Afghan Familiarization,” the mandatory pre-departure training at the Foreign Service Institute, to know this, though they did suggest that, upon return from one’s travels,

Christmas Cookies

Despite what I said last week about not having the time or energy to bake Christmas cookies, I broke down. Kail and I, with the assistance of our friend Christine, baked and decorated an s-ton of sugar and gingerbread cookies.

Our Second Thanksgiving in El Salvador

It’s been a week and I’m sufficiently recovered from Thanksgiving overindulgence that it’s OK for me to be writing this post today. This Thanksgiving marked our second Thanksgiving in El Salvador. It was also our second Thanksgiving in the Foreign Service and our second Thanksgiving as a married couple.The biggest milestone: It was the first Thanksgiving

Happy Halloween!

Spooky Spider Cupcakes.Kail and I spent the entire night baking Halloween treats to share at work. But these spider cupcakes have been a year in the making.

Recipe: Heath Bar Cake

Kail finally returned to post from his monthlong training in Canada. To welcome him home after a long day of travel, I made his favorite dessert: Heath Bar Cake, a family recipe that my mother-in-law graciously shared with me.

Spanish Friday: Quesadillas Salvadoreñas

Today is Spanish Friday: Blog post in Spanish; English translation below.Todo el mundo conoce las quesadillas: una tortilla deliciosa y rellena con queso, a veces conteniendo pollo o otros rellenos. Es salada y frecuentemente servida para una entrada a los restaurantes mejicanos. Pero hay las quesadillas salvadoreñas, y son bien diferentes.Quesadillas salvadoreñas.

Recipe: Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

I’ve already shared my love of Smitten Kitchen and some of my favorite recipes. Today I’m sharing another one because a) it’s delicious and b) I haven’t been doing a lot of blog-worthy activities lately. I may or may not have spend the majority of the last two post-visitor, post-vacation weekends napping and watching the entire