Farewell, mangoes :: by mama

Another mango season is coming to an end.  The local mangoes are gone from the markets, and we are left with a trickle of a few crazily expensive imported mangoes from Thailand and Pakistan.  As much as I appreciate eating locally and seasonally -- and as much as I love the fact that mangoes are a local food for us -- I do feel a little twinge when this season ends.  So, in tribute to the mango, here are some of our favorite ways to use them:

:: Mango curd ::

Deb from Smitten Kitchen posted this recipe as a filling for a layer cake.  However, I had seen photos of lemon curd being served on its own as a dessert, so I thought I'd do the same with the mango.  So good!  I don't think I could bring myself to waste it by diluting the intense mango flavor with something as ordinary as cake.

:: Mango tres leches cake ::

Having just said that I wouldn't mix mango and cake, let me say that in this situation, the cake is the real star, and the mango is an accessory.  Despite having made this cake twice now, I don't have any photos because I have served it both times in the evening and, both times, there were no leftovers.  This is a fantastic tres leches cake, moist and sweet and delicious, kicked up a notch with mango in the whipped cream topping.  Chris has already requested it for his birthday.  This is a true showstopper.

:: Upside-down mango syrup cake ::

Again, the cake is the star here.  It's an almond-lime cake, which was so good I couldn't believe I had never tried it before.  This is from Donna Hay magazine, which is sort of like an Australian version of Martha Stewart Living with a more food-centric focus.  I have a whole stack of these magazines, and I had noticed that a substantial number of their dessert recipes called for almond meal (ground almonds).  I even saw a woman talking about almond meal on an episode of Masterchef Australia.  It seemed weird, this Australian obsession with almonds.  But wow, I am now completely sold on almond in desserts.  This cake was fantastic, and the mango syrup made it that much better.  Bonus: any leftover mango syrup is great on pancakes as well.

:: Soba noodles with aubergine and mango ::

I'm pretty sure this recipe is world famous by now, and for good reason.  When I made this, Chris said that he felt like he was in a restaurant.  It's not a quick and easy recipe by any means, but hey, good things require a little bit of effort sometimes.  Effort and patience, too, as it took quite a while before the starts aligned to make soba noodles, mangoes, and a whole lot of basil (40g, or about 75-80 basil leaves) available at the same time.  It all worked out in the end, though, and it was totally worth both the effort and the wait.   

That patience will come in handy as we wait for the next mango season to come around again.  But first, winter (cauliflower and broccoli!) and spring (lychees, perhaps even better than mangoes).  There is much to look forward to.

Happy birthday, Kaya

[From Kaya's early birthday party in Omaha, in July]

Kaya is six years old!  He had a great birthday.  He requested a sleepover party -- to which he was allowed to invite two friends, and so he chose two girls -- and then today he had his classroom party and family birthday dinner.  (What did he request for his birthday dinner, you might be wondering?  He asked for broccoli soup and green beans.  Seriously.  I love this kid.)  We had cake and presents after dinner, and he was genuinely surprised to see the presents on the table.  (It hadn't occurred to him that he would be getting more presents!  Seriously.  I love this kid.)

And so now he is six.  I have been having trouble adjusting to this fact, more trouble than I have had with any previous birthdays.  Six is an important birthday.  It means that he is no longer a little kid.  In my public health work, the focus is usually on children under five.  Once a kid hits six, they are not a young child anymore; they are a school-aged child.  It's a category that doesn't receive the special attention and care that the younger ones receive, presumably because these kids are older and don't need so much help anymore.

And indeed, Kaya is growing more independent every day.  I feel like I can see the shift happening before my eyes.  He is a big kid in so many ways, but -- thankfully for this mama -- still young enough to be a little boy, too.  He is a fluent reader, but he still loves being read to at bedtime (or anytime).  He has recently decided that boys and girls kissing is "gross," but he never objects to kisses from his mama.  I have to ask for hugs more often these days, but I still get wonderful hand-drawn cards with hearts and love on them.  He is still a kid, but I can see his childhood moving steadily forward, and I feel that I need to hold on to these years.

[The inside of a recent card, showing Kaya and Mama] 

As much as I want to stop time, the thing that makes it all okay is how much fun it is to watch Kaya grow and develop into his own quirky little person.  He is quick and curious, bright and sensitive, affectionate and often hilarious.  He wears his heart on his sleeve.  He is fiercely loyal, and he tries hard to be a good friend.  He is a good, often generous big brother.  He is our precious boy, adored by all of us.  I love this kid.

[Ninja cake made -- as per Kaya's request -- by Dad]

******************************************

Mama: So which do you like better, being five or six?

Kaya: Mama, I haven't experienced being six yet.

Mama: Oh, okay. But which do you think you'll like better?

Kaya: I don't know, but Daddy said last year that I can watch Transformers when I'm six!

Uh oh...

Monsoon :: by mama

  

This week brought the first day of fall back in the US.  Here in Bangladesh, rather than enjoying cool, crisp air and changing leaves, we find ourselves on the tail end of the monsoon season.  The monsoon lasts until mid-October and brings torrential downpours, sometimes daily, sometimes every few days.  It is essential and destructive at the same time, bringing needed water for agriculture but also creating annual floods that displace families and destroy homes.  Here in Dhaka, it doesn't affect us too much, except for making the morning commute a little more interesting.

If nothing else, the rain gives me a chance to wear my bright orange Hunter boots.  They look ridiculous, I know, but splashing in the puddles is still oh so much fun.  It's the little things, really...

Thoughts on a new year :: by mama

As we start a new school year, there are lots of new faces in town.  We have been meeting some great people and making new friends.  However, this year, there seems to be a new section in the script of getting-to-know-you chit-chat.  This year, when people ask how long we have been here, we say that we are at the start of our fourth year.  And because most new people don't plan to stay for more than two, maybe three, years, everyone we talk to seems to have a similar reaction: surprise, maybe a bit of awe, perplexity at why anyone would willingly stay so long, and I do believe I occasionally sense a bit of fear, fear that they may get sucked in and end up staying so long themselves.  New people be warned: it can happen.  We are starting our fourth year, somewhat to our own surprise and awe and perplexity.  Even I find myself shaking my head a bit every time I say it. 

I think it goes without saying that Dhaka is not an easy place to live.  However, I also think that is exactly why we have stayed so long.  It took us three years just to feel like we had settled in here: one year of adjusting physically, emotionally, and culturally; a second year of, well, having a baby, really, as preparing for and welcoming little Kiran into our family pretty much consumed our whole second year; and a third year of finally hitting our stride.  For us, it was only by the end of our third year that we felt like we had found our place and our direction amid the craziness of this place.  

Now, in our fourth year, we have good friends, a sense of community, activities and groups that we are involved in, and projects underway. We have found charities that we feel good supporting.  We have gotten to know the city a bit and grown accustomed to the cultural quirks.  I have even come to see the beauty in the everyday scenes of people going about their daily lives, the colorful swirl of markets and rickshaws and movement.  To be sure, there are some things that I will never, never adjust to -- the poverty is horrific and seeing beggar women with starving babies will never be anything other than gut-wrenching -- but the more mundane things, the traffic and the staring and the rickshawallahs who stop their rickshaws directly in my path because they think I will have no other option but to climb in?  Those, I am used to.

So now, we are settled, more or less.  We have largely overcome the challenges and are enjoying our jobs, our apartment, our friends.  We are more comfortable here than I think I ever expected.  We are, all things considered, happy with our life here. 

Of course everyone's experience is different, but for us, two or even three years would not have been enough.  I would have left Bangladesh with a sense of regret that I hadn't done more -- made more friends, achieved more professionally, worked harder to help those who are suffering -- and I would have felt that my experience was incomplete.  I think that after this fourth year, I won't feel that way anymore.  The only question is now... should we stay for year five?

"Mamma"

On this Mother's Day, I feel very very fortunate to have such an incredible partner to raise two wonderful children.  Sheela is no ordinary Mamma.  She is meticulous, deliberate and full of endless love for our kids.  She is always thinking of what she can do or plan for the boys.  Sheela makes sacrifices and works hard to be the best mother she can be.  Sheela is constantly telling me about what she read online or in a book that will make us better parents.  She tries so hard and IS one amazing mother.  I love her with all my heart because of it.  Thank you Sheela, what you do for our family is invaluable and we are all better in every way.  We love you!!!

Happy Easter :: by mama

As Kaya gets older, we have been making more of an effort to introduce some American holiday traditions.  I think traditions in general are important for all children, but perhaps even more so for children living overseas, to help them understand their own culture despite being far from home. 

Let's be clear: the goal here is not to blindly inculcate our children in American culture.  Rather, our motivation lies more in a desire to help the boys understand their identity and to ground them in something larger than our immediate family.  In particular, Kaya identifies strongly (and proudly) with being American.  I think it helps him to understand his place in the world, and so we want to help him to understand what that means, at least to us. 

So, although I personally don't remember ever dyeing Easter eggs as a child, I thought it would be a good experience for Kaya.  We invited a friend of his over, and it was a little cultural exchange.  (His friend, though also an ex-pat, is not Christian and had not experienced this Easter tradition, but was eager to try it out.)  They first colored the Easter eggs with wax crayons, then dyed them.

They turned out quite well, and the kids were happy with the results.

The next day, the Easter bunny hid eggs around the apartment, along with baskets for both Kaya and Kiran.  Kaya had a lot of fun finding the eggs, eating the chocolates, and playing with his new Easter toys.  Kiran enjoyed the eggs and toys as well (no chocolates, maybe next year!).

However, the biggest hit seems to have been the basket itself.  It has endless possibilities as a push toy...

a hat...

and a stool.  Good times.

Finally, I'll leave you with the quote of the holiday, from Kaya.  He evidently spent a lot of time thinking about this, because he said basically the same thing to me and to Chris, on two separate occasions:

Kaya: Daddy, I know the Easter bunny isn't real.
Daddy: Really?  Why is that?
Kaya: Because it's really Santa, just dressed up as a rabbit!

Singapore :: by mama

When we first moved to Bangladesh, I remember commenting to Chris that I didn't understand why people kept going on vacation to Singapore.  What was the point of going to a first world country, I wondered, when we all came from first world countries and went back home every summer?  Why not go somewhere different?  Well, in the 2.5 years since then, we have had quite a lot of different in our lives.  When spring break came around this year, I was more than ready for a trip to Singapore.

Singapore did not disappoint.  It is clean, orderly, modern.  I thought it would be cold and sterile, what with all the malls and the no-chewing-gum craziness.  Instead, it was diverse and colorful and a wholly entertaining place.  We were there for five days, staying with my cousin and her husband, who were fantastic hosts (despite having their apartment turned upside down by two small person-shaped tornadoes).  We managed to fit in quite a bit in those five days.  Some of the highlights:

:: Singapore Flyer, which is sort of a giant ferris wheel in the middle of the city, but instead of seats, there are capsules big enough to hold about 20 people (as seen in the bottom left corner of the photo).  Also, it doesn't so much "fly" as inch along, taking about 40 minutes to complete one circle.  However, at the top are spectacular views of the city. 

:: Singapore Zoo and Night Safari, where we spent approximately eight hours.  Chris and I both find ourselves a bit uneasy at times when it comes to zoos.  However, we kept hearing that the Singapore Zoo is among the best in the world, so we decided to pay it a visit.  They certainly had enough to fill the day and evening, with tons of animals, a large children's play area, shows and feeding times, and restaurants.  It was fun to actually see tropical animals in a tropical setting, and so nice to walk around and be surrounded by nature. The Night Safari opens at 7pm, after the sun has gone down, at which point you can take a tram to see all the animals doing their nighttime thing.      

:: Singapore Botanic Gardens, which was probably my favorite place that we saw.  I would love to go back there someday to spend more time exploring the beautiful, peaceful gardens and the enormous diversity of species they have there.  It's a huge area, and although we spent a couple hours walking around, we only saw a fraction of it.  Still, Kaya had a great time feeding the fish and turtles and having open space to run around. 

We also went to the Jurong Bird Park, Chinatown, Little India, the famous Orchard Road shopping district, and Clarke Quay, saw a movie (Rio) in a real movie theater, and took a river cruise during which Kaya had his first experience of peeing in a plastic bottle because there were no bathrooms on board.  Whew!  All that, and we are already looking forward to our next trip back.  What, again, was my question about the people who keep going back to Singapore?