Joy: Congrats Ross Armstrong & Jaimie Evans!

My kid brother got engaged this weekend to the lovely Jaimie Evans!  Being this far away, I just wanted to shout out from this side of the ocean congrats, that Randall and I are so excited for you, and that we wish we could be there to celebrate with you two.  We look forward to watching you both live a long, rich life together!

Your big sis,

Joy

Paxton Elliot

One of the biggest trends we've seen in Bulgaria, though slightly unrelated, is the fact that we keep acquiring nephews!  Only a month ago, Luke Aaron Wyndham was born to Joy's sister and brother-in-law.  And now, this past Saturday, Paxton Elliot Mason was born to Randall's brother and sister-in-law!

He came into the world at a whoppin' 8 lbs. 6 oz...

We can't wait to meet this little guy!

Have to say it's pretty tough being so far away with all these little cheeks to pinch!  In the meantime, we're making sure to celebrate him Bulgarian style:

Here's Uncle Randall giving out chocolates to his colleagues in honor of little Paxton...

And, here's Aunt Joy's colleagues enjoying some cake for the little dude...

They all wished wonderful things for Paxton, his family, and his life.

They all celebrated you, Paxton!  We can't wait to hug you!!

Love,

Aunt Joy & Uncle Randall

Happy Thanksgiving, America!

At this very moment, we hope you all are enjoying some late-morning football, smelling delicious things cooking in the next room, OR are the ones preparing those lovely Thanksgiving staples we all adore.  We definitely wish we were there!!

Well, let us tell you guys about what weˈve done instead of being there... 

When we were told we would live in Plovdiv, we found out that it was tradition for the married couple living there to host Thanksgiving.  Weˈre so glad we accepted the "challenge," because having thirteen guests for an early Thanksgiving this past Sunday was amazing!

As you can imagine, it was quirky, to say the least, finding and "tweaking" the ingredients of many of our favorite dishes.  It was also interesting trying to fit that many people in a 700 sq. ft. apartment (thank God for a closed-in balcony!).

So, long story short, here's what our 15-person Thanksgiving Party looked like:

Macaroni and Cheese (from scratch)

MMMMMMM..... thanks, Joan!

Delicious carmelized apples... thanks Joe!

Two dining-room tables & a coffee table (all in a row to make one long table), 2 couches, 2 borrowed stools, 2 of our stools, and 5 of our chairs...  Thanks, Vania & Stefan for letting us borrow your stools!

A very full kitchen... and, with that came lots of help!

Lots of hanging out on the balcony, waiting on the food to be ready, and watching Joe work his caramelized-apple magic... good job, guys!

ɛnjoying good drinks...

Lots of TURKEY!  This was a huge success... mostly because Vania & Stefan ALSO let us cook one of our 2 turkeys (9 lbs. each) in their oven.  We couldn't have timed this delicious meal without their oven.

You guys rock!

We also had squash (tasted very similar to sweet potatoes), mashed potatoes...

green beans, stuffing...

rolls, and trushia (a pickled Bulgarian winter favorite).

And, that's not even including dessert!

Jake, my long-lost red-headed brother, your pumpkin pie was superb!  ɑnd, Jackie, your bruschetta was delish. Canˈt wait to finish off your cookie recipe!

Besides the fact that this woman made some killer apple pie, she was a life-saver!  This being our first time hosting Thanksgiving, she brought experience & major talent to the table.  Couldn't have done all this without her!  Weˈre SO thankful she lives only ʒ0 minutes away.  We love you, Joan!

One must keep in mind that finding ingredients for Аmerican Тhanksgiving cuisine, utilizing multiple kitchens, and having enough dishes (though we're only living here for 27 months) are quite the hurdles.  Because of that, this post might seem more focused on the food aspect of Thanksgiving, this year.

But, it would not have been Thanksgiving without our PC buddies.  Thanks, you guys, for coming to our home for Thanksgiving, for cooking and bringing food, for helping clean up afterwards, and for just being Аmerican together for one day.

Weˈre truly thankful to God, this Thanksgiving, for your support and empathy on this journey in Bulgaria!

Happy Thanksgiving, Аmerica!  ʀest assured we are representing you well... even on Turkey Day!

ʀandall and Joy

Joy: "Cherpi" for Luke

One of my favorite things about Bulgaria is this whole "Cherpi" concept.  This basically means if there's even the slightest reason to celebrate, do it, and do it with style... with chocolates, with buns, with rolls, with cake, etc.  When you have something to celebrate, you "cherpi"... you buy chocolates, cake, buns, crackers, drinks, etc. and give them out to your co-workers, friends, students, teachers, neighbors.  You tell them what you are celebrating, and they "wish" good things for you!  Good health, good luck, success, long life, and the list goes on.

Having experienced this many times since living here, I've realized that Bulgarians do a MUCH better job celebrating than Americans.  Not only do they celebrate our normal festivities (birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, new babies), they ALSO celebrate name days, getting a new house, a new job/first salary... they even say "Happy New Hair-do" if you got a new hair cut!

I've thought to myself several times that I can't wait to "cherpi" for something...

So, today, I implemented this wonderful part of their culture at my school by...

CELEBRATING MY NEW NEPHEW, 

LUKE AARON WYNDHAM!!!

He was born on Thursday, October 27th.  He was 7 lbs. and 15 oz. and 19 inches long.  And, guess what!  He has RED HAIR!
This is very exciting and SO worth celebrating!!

I had these pictures printed:

Isn't he the most adorable thing!?  Ah!!

I wish I could pinch his cheeks SO BAD.

Along with those pictures, I made some banana muffins and cinnamon cake, and bought chocolates and one of their famous sweet breads (all sweet things for this sweet little boy, one of my colleagues said!):

My colleagues partook of these goodies and "wished" Luke wonderful things: long life, good health, success, health for his family, and much, much more.

I loved this most, because I already want to shout to the rooftop that I have a sweet, cute new little nephew... and, in Bulgaria, it's expected!

Luke, I can't wait to see you, kiss your cheeks, and rub your red-headed little head!

Aunt Joy

Recipe: Mama Zdravka's Banitsa

We love living in Plovdiv.  Everyone we talk to loves living here, and everyone who doesn't live here, loves visiting.  You'll have to come see us to know what we mean :)  The only thing that might make it slightly better is a Starbucks.  Especially when eating banitsa, the renowned Balkan cheese pastry.

It's a great breakfast item, delicious for dessert, or just as a snack.  As promised, here is Joy's Bulgarian host mom's recipe... although, you should know it calls for rather unique ingredients.

Also, take note that the measurements are estimated for two reasons:

1. Here in the Balkans, people just know how much to put in a dish to make it come out just right.  Meaning, Joy watched & wrote down what she saw Mama Zdravka put in.
2. Converting from metric to US measurements is always quirky, right?

Who's up for the challenge? :)

Mama Zdravka's Banitsa:

4 eggs

15 oz. "sirene" or goat cheese (i.e. feta cheese)

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tsp. baking soda

18 oz. phyllo pastry

Vegetable Oil

Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.  In medium bowl, combine eggs, cheese (crumbled into small chunks), sugar, and baking soda.  In a small bowl, pour one cup of vegetable oil, and get out a soup spoon; keep oil out, as you may need more.

Unfold phyllo pastry & place one sheet flat in a 9 x 13 dish.  It's ok if the phyllo sheets fold over (if they are too big for the 9 x 13 dish).  Drizzle 2 spoonfuls of oil over pastry.  Then evenly drizzle the egg/cheese mixture over the pastry, not covering the pastry.  Meaning, a couple good-sized chunks in each serving.  Hope that makes sense!

Continue with the above layering until the phyllo + egg/cheese mixture is no more.  Drizzle oil over the top phyllo layer, to keep it from burning.

Bake for 20-25 min or until top of banitsa looks like the picture above!  Let it cool for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Just to throw a little "fall" aspect into this recipe, you can add pumpkin puree' or thinly-sliced apples to this.  We've had both & they're heavenly.

It's so fun to taste Bulgarian culture!  Hope you enjoy it just as much as we do!

Oh, and, Sofia has a Starbucks, so we're hopeful about possibly getting one in Plovdiv... to get one in the next two years isn't too much to ask, right? :)

Bulgarian Birthday!

Sorry we've been MIA the past few weeks!  We haven't been terribly busy... just not a lot to write home about.

Well, last night, we went to our buddy Stefan's 41st birthday party.  The only downer was that we couldn't bring Liza along :)

Can't remember if we've mentioned this before, but on your birthday in Bulgaria, you buy/give/pay for everything.  Getting gifts is not something they expect or do.  It's very interesting & pretty cool... until it's your birthday.  Ha.  Just kidding.  We're excited about celebrating our birthdays here "Bulgarian style," next year.

Anyway, here's the party...

There was American Whisky (supposedly)...

 

Stefan bought "American Whisky" for the occasion.

Not sure if it was American or not, but it had our flag!

There was a VERY long table...

 

They know how to set a table, don't they?

There were 13 of us.

There was hair-styling...

When we arrived, Joy was immediately

employed to fix Vania's hair for the evening.

Boy, was there ever cake...

 We got to watch the professional (Vania's friend)

decorate the birthday cake.

There were candles...

  

 They have the same tradition of candles lit,

lights out, sing "Happy Birthday," and blow out the candles.

We even sang in English!  Not sure if it was because we were there or not.

There was banitsa...

Randall made a tetris piece with his banitsa.

A very versatile desert.

 There were kids...
 

 One of our favorite parts of the evening was that,
all throughout the night, the kids came into the
living room with a show of some sort...

This is Martin, Stefan's son, donning a new wig :)

We had Spiderman AND Spiderman at the party.

How many people can say that? :)

 This is Marty and the cake-decorator's son, Stillian.

They're already getting ready for Halloween :)

I can't imagine what they're like with candy in their system!

We even took a break from the festivities to

watch a little Nascar in the bedroom :)

We went home about 5 1/2 hours into it... not sure how much longer it lasted!  We definitely recommend going to Bulgarian birthday parties.  Hands down.  It was quite the event.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, everyone!

Recipe: Bulgarian Moussaka

After posting about the homemade banitsa a few days ago, thought we'd share some of our favorite Bulgarian dishes with you!  Please bear with the "not-so-American" measurements.  These were originally in metric measurements.

The first dish we tried at home was Moussaka.  There are, obviously, different versions in this part of the world, but this is Bulgarian Moussaka:

4-5 med. potatoes, diced
1 lb. ground beef (optional)
1 med. onion, diced
8 oz. can of crushed tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup oil (olive or veg.)
1/4 cup vinegar
1 cup water
1 cube bullion (chicken, beef, or veggie)
8 oz. plane yogurt (Greek-style yogurt is best)
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  If desired, cook ground beef & drain.  Bring cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan & add bullion cube.  Place tomatoes, potatoes, onion, and cooked beef in a 9x13 casserole dish.  Pour oil & vinegar over mixture and toss evenly.  Then, pour bullion broth over mixture as well.
Cook for 35-45 minutes (until top is evenly light brown). Meanwhile, mix together eggs, yogurt, and flour in a small mixing bowl.  Pour egg mixture over casserole mixture when cooking time is finished.  Cook for 5-10 minutes more or until the eggs are cooked through.

Serve with extra Greek-style yogurt to put on top.
Yield: 8 servings.

It's heavenly.

Let us know what you think, if you try it!

Next up, Mama Zdravka's banitsa recipe.  Mama Zdravka was Joy's host-mother during Peace Corps training.  You don't want to miss it!

A four-day weekend, all in one day

We have had a 4-day weekend this weekend.  It's been so wonderful.  A much-needed break.  We've mostly just relaxed at home (with intermittent walks with Liza); but on Friday, we visited one of Joy's colleagues in Peroshtitsa.  Peroshtitsa, and it's surrounding region, is famous for wine.  And, though we didn't get to taste any wine (this time), we had the best two local guides in town: Svetla (Joy's colleague) and Ivan (Svetla's son).

We had no idea that our day would include all of this: a museum, a clarinet solo, a visit to a wine & spa hotel, a 3rd-century church, and banitsa (mmmm!!).

It was a great day trip!

Here are a few shots from their museum...

And, here is the church which held the last few Bulgarians, some civilians, some military, before the Turkish completely took over Peroshtitsa in the late 19th century.

They all killed themselves, their wives, and their children before the Turkish breached the church.

 

This is Ivan, our new friend!  He offered to play a little solo on his clarinet for us.  He played some Mozart, a march, and few other pieces.  He's only been playing for 8 months, and he was very good.

Next, we went by the local "Wine & Spa" hotel.  We would have loved to take a tour & taste some wine, but it was a little pricey for our wallets.  We'll have to budget it in for another day!

However, we did walk around and admire the scenery...

This is the ancient church (3rd century), located right outside of Peroshtitsa.  Svetla drove us all there in her car.

We're learning very quickly that Bulgaria is permeated with ancient ruins.

Lastly, we finished the day off with some homemade banitsa!  So delicious.

We went home tired, full, and happy!

Thanks Svetla and Ivan!