406. 450. 30.

DR Trip Nov. 2010—Journal Entry #1
This past week I had the pleasure of co-chaperoning a group of 23 travelers from Watkinson School who spent one week in La Romana, Dominican Republic. My first trip to this area was in February of 1990 with a group of 11. My second trip was a four-day jaunt with my nephew (Josh), brother-in-law (John) and my brother-in-law’s brother (Todd). Despite having been there twice before, this week was a new adventure for me in several ways.

First, I was traveling with my husband and two sons. What a joy to see my boys leaning into the work they did and friendships they made this week; but more on that in a subsequent post. Second, I have never been in La Romana with a group this large. In one week we were able to treat 406 patients, distribute 450 food kits, and make 30 water filters. Third, I was managing the work and schedule for the team. I am a doer, and my focus on managing was a huge shift away from my natural tendencies.

After having arrived at dinnertime on Saturday evening (and being greeted by Josh and John who were there working on another project), our team settled into Casa Pastoral (dorms and a dining hall, part of the mission of the Maranatha Baptist Church). After a scrumptious meal, team members relaxed and realized our hosts were going to take very good care of us this week. Our living accommodations were very comfortable (though spare) and we even had wifi in spots to be able to blog and post photos to facebook. After dinner the team had its first taste of working together, bagging almost 200 food kits using food purchased in bulk with team funds that were sent to the mission prior to our arrival. A food kit consisted of about 20 oz of rice, 20 oz of beans, a 12 oz bottle of oil, a pound of spaghetti, a 10 oz package of corn meal, a 5 oz can of hot dogs, and a 6 oz can of sardines.

We had a problem-free travel day, and easy pass through customs, and team dynamics were excellent. All in all, a great first day.

The Nature of Hope

What is it that you hope for? I know my youngest son is hoping for a kindle for Christmas. Paul hopes that we will be able to afford college for our kids. Well...I guess that's not really a hope. Affording college is somewhere between a prayer and something you plan for. You can't plan for a hope. When your hopes are met, it is usually from an unforeseen source, and in a manner you can't control.

As we head off for our week of service work in the Dominican Republic, I am almost giddy with hope. My brother-in-law often says that the poor Haitians who live in the sugar cane work camps, called bateys, know that when the big yellow school bus filled with one of the work teams hosted by the Maranatha Baptist Church rolls in, their hopes are about to be fulfilled. Their prayers are being answered.

What an awesome privilege: to be and to bring what someone hopes for. My hope is to meet and succeed the expectation of their hopes by bringing joy, full hearts, and compassion along with the food and medical supplies we bring. I am humbled to even have the chance.

My deepest thanks to all my friends, family, neighbors, church family, extended church family, etc., who have prayed for and contributed to the Frenches having this adventure in any way. I am deeply grateful. We covet your prayers for good health this week. And we are eager to share stories with you all when we return.

To God be the glory for the week that's ahead.

Mac-n-Cheese, Plain and Simple

Family Friendly Meals Series, Day 9

I have tried a zillion mac-n-cheese recipes. Some with bread crumbs on top, some with two, three, four or more kinds of cheese, and so on. In the end, I have come to the conclusion that less is more. This is just straight up, unadulterated mac-n-cheese.

Ingredients
1 (12 ounce) package macaroni
1 egg
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking dish.
Boil the macaroni for about 5 minutes until half-cooked.
Mix the egg and milk together. Add the butter and cheese to the egg/milk mixture and stir everything together really well. Put the partly cooked macaroni in the greased baking dish. Pour the egg/cheese liquid over the macaroni, add your desired amount of salt and pepper, and stir it all together. Using a spatula or a large flat spoon, press the mixture evenly down into the baking dish. Bake covered for 15 mins, and then cook uncovered for another 15-25 mins or until the top is as crispy as you want.

School Communication

I know it is not surprising that I would have strong opinions about school communication, since a) I have been a director of communication for a school for the last 10 years, b) I'm a mom to two kids in school, and c) I'm generally known to have very strong opinions.

Last week, my youngest was bullied in the bathroom at school. I am talking full on: verbal abuse, hitting, kicking... the works. And you know how I found out about it? Not from the school. Not from my son. I found out from my neighbor's son who hollared, "I heard H got beat up in the bathroom," as he was running across the lawn between his house and ours.

I can totally appreciate and respect H's desire to not be known as the kid who got beat up in the bathroom. He just didn't want to talk about it. But what possible reason is there for the school to not communicate proactively with parents in this instance? I just don't get it.

Coincidentally, I am in the midst of writing grades and comments for the students I teach at Watkinson School. I took great care to write deliberately and specifically to each of the students I was grading. As I was doing this, I considered how H's situation would have been handled by the Dean of Students at Watkinson. There is no way our dean would have let H come home and not have communicated with us first.

I am so disappointed in the system that educates our children in Wallingford. Since I complain so much, I decided to join the PTAC at my eldest's middle school. PTAC is a process and structure that really appears to work well. When I participate in these conversations, I get cautiously optimistic that positive change is afoot. Then my youngest gets knocked around in the boys' bathroom and no one communicates with me, and I am instantly back in that frustrating and frustrated place.

Do not undervalue proactive, transparent communication...I implore you to expect it from your child's teachers and administrators.

The Cheapest Meal Ever

Family Friendly Meals Series, Day 8
Homemade Potato Leek Soup

This story actually starts last spring. You see, that's when I planted the leeks that I grew in my garden with the express purpose of making potato leek soup....I know, I'm a bit of a planner! So here's what I pulled out of the ground today!

It was a joy, and also super easy, to clean them up and get organized for making soup! I made soup and rolls, which could be paired with fruit or salad. Total cooking time for the rolls was one hour, and the soup about 30 minutes.


Soup Ingredients
2 tbsp butter
4 leeks, washed and sliced
1/8 teaspoon chile powder (or a bit more if your family likes spicy food)
6 cups water
4 largish russet potatoes
salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

1. Start by slicing the leeks in preparation of cooking them in the butter. Cut thin slices; I cut about 4-5 inches up the leeks I grew, which were very long and thin. Melt the butter in a soup pot or dutch oven on medium low. Add the leeks and stirring pretty frequently cook them for about 5 minutes, till they fade in color and soften. While the leeks were cooking, I peeled the potatoes and cut them into cubes.


2. Add the chile pepper (photo above has chile pepper mixed in, that's why the mixture is tinted brown) and stir for a few seconds and then add the water and cubed potatoes. Cover and simmer. Depending on how large your potato cubes are, it could take anywhere from 15-30 minutes for your potatoes to soften.

3. Once they are soft, use an immersion blender and puree the mixture. Season the finished product to taste with salt and fresh ground paper.

I added a touch of shredded cheese for garnish. My eldest, who is the finickiest eater evaaaaah, said it was good!

And just because I had a bit of time on my hand, I made fresh rolls. Pampered Chef's pizza dough makes pretty tasty dinner rolls when you are in a pinch.

So, for the price of a few potatoes and some dough mix, I got complete and total deliciousness. Eat on my friends.

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

Family Friendly Meals Series, Day 7

I was going to post my "baked potato night" plan for Day 7, but it is such a cold and raw day that I had to post a soup recipe...despite the fact that the early portion of this series has been very chicken-tastic.

Ingredients
3 chicken breasts
6 chicken bouillon cubes
4 cups of veggies...you choose the ones your family likes: carrots, onions, celery, corn, tomato are my family's favorites.
1.5-2 cups of fine egg noodles
salt and pepper to taste

1. Soften your bouillon cubes in a small bowl of warm water.
2. Lay frozen chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker.
3. I put all the onions and carrots in a food processor to dice them really small...then my kids eat them! If I am pressed for time, I skip the celery. I put the tomatoes in whole after I skin them as they will fall apart on their own in the slow cooker. The easiest way I know to skin a tomato is to put it in boiling water for 1 minute and then the skin comes off easily. Put all the diced veggies on top of the chicken in the slow cooker. (If you decide to add frozen corn, add that later.)
4. Put 9 cups of water into the slow cooker and then add the bowl of water and softened bouillon cubes.
5. Put the slow cooker on low and go do whatever you need to.
6. 8-9 hours later, shred the chicken with the edge of a spatula. And add the corn and noodles.
7. Eat half an hour later!

Add salt and pepper to taste! File this recipe under "easy, peeezy, lemon-squeezy."

Taco Pasta

Family Friendly Meals Series, Day 6

Yesterday was National Taco Day. In celebration, I share my family's favorite comfort food recipe. We call it Taco Pasta.

Ingredients
1 lb gemelli pasta
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 package taco seasoning (choose your own level of spiciness, my kids like mild)
8 slices american cheese
1.5-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Put your pasta water on to boil
2. Put your turkey in a skillet on the stovetop on medium to brown,
3. Just as the water comes to a boil and you add your pasta to the pot, your turkey meat should be just about browned. Drain any excess fat off your turkey meat, add the taco seasoning and about 1/8 cup water to the taco meat. Using a spatula, or I use my PC Mix and Chop, chop the turkey meat into small bits. To keep it moist, you can add a bit more water and/or reduce the heat while your pasta finished cooking. You just don't want the turkey meat to get dried out. At this point, you want to preheat your oven to 300.
4. Once the pasta is done, mix the cooked and seasoned turkey meat with the cooked pasta in the pasta pot, letting the taco-seasoned juices coat the pasta.
5. Dump half this mixture in a baking dish. Cover this first layer with the american cheese. Then dump the other half of the pasta mixture on top. Cover with the shredded cheese. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and put in the oven for 20 mins covered and then uncover for the last 10.