American baking, baking, baking. Gluten-free, gluten-free, gluten-free

Unbeknownst to them (well, I did mention it once or twice), my bakers at my American Corners Belgrade Baking Classes, are learning some typical American recipes that just happen to be gluten-free.  It's amazing to realize that some of our good ole American favorites and comfort foods don't have a lick of gluten in them at all.  Some, I did have to fudge a bit on (no pun intended- but fudge is gluten free!). For example, a typical Apple Crisp recipe pretty much does have gluten.  But as you fellow celiacs know, "It's not about deprivation, but substitution," so I substituted flour for ng flour.  That being said, I do try to be true to tradition when I am teaching traditional American baking (now that was an unintentional tongue twister).  On the other hand, if you don't notice the substitution in the food sample I give you, then it won't hurt you (like gluten hurts me).  If I substitute gluten-free flour in a recipe and it totally works, I will note that in the recipe.

Before I give you these simple, easy, American recipes, I must tell you that I have mastered the gluten-free bread loaf.  After my totally depressing, disastrous first loaf that imploded (literally- see photo post below), I shook the flour (ha!  I just wrote that without thinking), no, I shook the gluten-free flour out of my hair and tried again.  I know I shouldn't gloat, but doesn't this thing look marvelous?

It tasted good too!

Now for the recipes of the last few months:

Cleaning Solutions When You Can't Read the Label

Help, I Can't Read the Labels!

One More Reason to Go GREEN!

How much time do you spend in the grocery store each week trying to make some sense out of the cleaning products on display? Sometimes you see friendly Mr. Clean (score!) only to realize that neither the product name, nor the instructions are written in a language you understand (psych!).  Well, I have come to learn that all you really need to clean  your house is baking soda and vinegar.  Really.  

Baking Soda:

Sodium bicarbonate, otherwise known as baking soda, is found around the world.  It's often easy to find because the word, "bicarbonate" is similar in many languages.  Check this out:

bicarbonate (English)                      
nātrija bikarbonāts (Latvian)
natrijev bikarbonat (Croatian)          
sosa karbonato (Filipino)
Natriumbicarbonat (German)           
de bicarbonato de sodio (Spanish)

Vinegar:

The word "vinegar," on the other hand, isn't similar in other languages.  Luckily, the bottles resemble each other and always tend to picture salad on the label.
Okay, now you've bought the baking soda and vinegar, it's time to clean.
Here are a couple recipes I found and have used along the way.  Using them makes you feel like you're saving the planet while you clean!  

For stains:  
Use baking soda.  Sprinkle it on the stain until completely covered; spray with water.  When baking soda is absorbed, wipe clean with a cloth.

For Mold, Bactieria, and Grease:  
Use vinegar.  Fill a spray bottle with distilled white vinegar.  Saturate the affected area and then simply let the vinegar evaporate.

For soot, wax, and oil:  
Use sodium carbonate on stone or glass.  Make a thick paste with 1/4 cup of soda and water.  Cover stain and let it set for an hour; scrub. (Prevention Magazine, July 2008, "Speed Clean the Healthy Way")

Toilet Bowl Cleaner:
Baking soda and white vinegar.  Sprinkle the toilet bowl with baking soda.  Drizzle with vinegar (kinda sounds like a salad! ew!).  Scour with a toilet brush.  This not only cleans, it deodorizes.

Scouring Powder:
Lightly sprinkle on surface to clean; wipe with sponge.  Rinse well.

Tile Cleaner:
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar, 1 gallon water, 10 drops essential oil.  Mix well and use a sponge or rag to clean.  This removes most dirt without scrubbing and doesn't leave a film.  (I found that you can leave out the oil if you don't mind the house smelling like vinegar for a bit).  (Green Clean: The Environmentally Sound Guide to Cleaning Your Home, by Linda Mason Hunter and Mikki Halpin).

Ha!  Now don't you feel competent and holier than thou?

Thank you! Gracias! Hvala! Khawp khun! благодарам! Merci! for Jennifer's Language Blog!

It's amazing what "Thank you" can do in the local language.  We yearn for it in our everyday lives and feel gratified when we hear it.  Over and over again, we teach our children to say it. It may be the two most important words in the English language.  It is no different in the rest of the world.  When you say, "Thank you," in the local language it can mean so many things: "Thank you for your patience (when you pantomimed a bee to find honey), for your honesty (as they count out the foreign change in your hand), for your help (when a fellow patron translates for you), or for your welcoming smile.

Jennifer's Language Page shows you how to say, "thank you" in over 2,000 languages!  It also includes "please," greetings, and how to ask a person's name, the phrases that open the door to a relationship ripe with opportunities to learn about each other's countries.  Write the phrases on an index card and keep it in your pocket when you venture into the city.  Don't be shy to pull it out and read the phrases.  Believe me, your efforts will be appreciated!  You don't want to be seen as the, "Ugly American," slowly and loudly enunciating each English word, cramming them down a local's ear.  Even though many people around the world do speak English, saying even a few words in the local language will enrich your sojourn and take you places you never dreamed you could go.

Click here to go to Jennifer's Language Page to learn how to say many phrases in pretty much every language!

my head is full of glue

I just got home from Serbian class.  My head feels like it's full of glue.  You know the feeling? As if your eyebrows are pierced with 1/4 lbs. weights.  Don't get me wrong.  I highly recommend learning the language of the country in which you live.  It is hard, though.  Here you are, this grown-up, accomplished person, but when you are learning a language you feel, well, absolutely stupid.  You can say hardly anything and then when you do you sound like Pebbles on the Flintstones (I just dated myself).  Oh, how many times did I come home from Spanish class bawling like the baby I sounded like in class?  It gets easier.  With every language you learn, it gets easier.  Maybe you get over feeling like an imbecile more quickly.  Maybe you realize that it's worth it because you see how people light up when they realize you want to communicate on their terms.

The amusing thing about the "glue" comment is that it reminds me of a poem I wrote when I was just becoming proficient in Spanish.  Even at the roughest point in learning, Spanish felt like honey in my ears.  Think of flamenco.  Smooth and melodic.  Macedonian, Serbian?   These languages mirror the traditional Serbian dance, the Kolo, complex, amazingly strong, yet incredibly beautiful.  You've got to watch this video to understand why my head, like my feet are oozing glue.  It's a little intimidating.

 Okay, now here's honey.

Learning Spanish

by Stephanie Rowlands

Her words flow over me like honey,

liquid and sticky.

Some of it sticks;

Some of it simply and quietly flows to the ground

and gathers in a puddle of goo.

But the part that sticks,

those golden pieces of sun

coat my mouth

sine my lips.

I roll my tongue through them,

around them,

pushing and massaging them like

the gap from a lost tooth,

supple and pink,

foreign and strange.

But after a while,

after enough sticking and prodding

my tongue gets used to it

until

the sharp edges of the cloudy white tooth

prick my tongue

and until

enough honey sticks

and my mouth is full

full of teeth

of cloud

of honey

and once open,

the gold will flow from my sticky teeth

into her ears

and some of it will stick

and some of it will simply and quietly flow to the ground

but enough to it will stick

and she will understand.

Tell us your language trials, tribulations and triumphs!