We've switched sites-

You can find us- and all our awesome traveling adventures- at amendance.wordpress.com

See you there.

We hate blogging.

So if you want to keep up with us and see pictures of our travels check out facebook.

That's all.

You moved where?!

Here’s the basic rundown- Todd and I are going to live in Thailand and teach English for a year in their school system. We are currently living in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for two weeks for teacher training; we’ll than move to Pattaya, Thailand to finish up our training and get a job.

From talking with friends and family it seems the big question is—Why?

My answer is why not? We are newly graduated, have no debt, and we’re not in a hurry to settle down and start buying real furniture.  We can live in a tropical paradise, explore south-east Asia, learn a new language, and save $1000 a month for a year.

Yes, it is scary. Yes, it can be uncomfortable. Yes, it takes a lot of planning. And, Yes, it will push you way outside of your comfort zone.

Anyway….

Let me introduce you to Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia!

Phnom Penh is a typical south-east Asian capital. It has a beautiful city center full of pagodas and Buddhist monuments, crazy markets and food stalls, and away from the city center, suburban slums and overcrowding.  We are living half way between , close enough that we are in walking distance of a mall, and far enough that we get lots of crazy looks because we’re the only white people around-- most westerners stay in the fancy hotels and resorts by the river.  Here is the view out our window.  

You can see the major highway crossing over the river/open sewer; surrounding it are small family businesses selling whatever they can get/find, tin shanties, and the local Buddhist temple. So far our transportation of choice has been tuk tuk or walking. Tuk tuks are small carts pulled by a motorbike, you can get a ride anywhere in the city for $1-2USD (You can see them in the picture below). This can be quite an adventure since Cambodian traffic laws are more suggestions and guidelines.  Walking is nice to soak in the city, but can be a little scary. There are no sidewalks and, if there were motorbikes would still drive on them. There are no crosswalks so crossing the street is like a live game of Frogger, especially at night in the unlit streets.

We're moving to.....

Thailand!!!!!!

At the end of January!

Post Holiday Recipe extravaganza!!!!

Hello all. Here are the links to some of the recipes that were used at thanksgiving as well as some (hopefully) helpful commentary. Most of this is cooking technique rather that a magic recipe.

Turkey
Turkey Recipe here.
Simple formula-  1 TBSP of salt per 5 pounds, let it sit in the fridge for 3 days cook until 165 degrees in the thigh and breast. USE A MEAT THERMOMETER! Dry turkey usually comes from overcooking. Also let it sit at least a half hour before carving,this will allow the juice to redistribute through the meat. If you cut it before this you will end up with a puddle of juice and a dry turkey.

I seasoned our bird with pepper and lemon zest in the salt, garlic, a lemon, and fresh thyme and sage in the cavity,and brushed it with black pepper and butter as it baked.

Potatoes
No recipe.Sorry.
The trick with potatoes is to eliminate as much water from them as possible. So boil potatoes than put them back in the pot with the burner on low/medium. Mash them by hand, a couple at a time. DO NOT put them in a mixer and try to whip them. This injures the fragile starch molecules and creates a gummy texture. Besides you can use the arm workout.
In our potatoes I added softened butter and warmed cream. They are warm so I can keep a consistent temperature to keep the water coming out even as I add the fat.
SALT is of the uttermost importance in mashed potatoes, without it you might as well be eating plain oatmeal with gravy. Salt does not just make food salty, but magnifies the flavors. Without salt you cannot taste the butter or the potato flavors. So be liberal in your salting. Doesn't taste right--add more salt.

and here is the candied cranberry recipe for Tami. I would use normal sugar-I tried raw sugar last year and they were kind of brownish and the sugar wouldn't stay on.

Work and School

Well its been a long time but I thought I would let everyone know how we are doing.  Bethany is done with school and is now working.  She has two jobs.  She is first working at Gator Jacks in Rigbe so if you want to see her you can go out to eat and she may be there.  She is also working a Journeys which is a company that works with kids and adults that have disability.  I am going to school, my last semester, and i made myself a hard last semester.  The classes that make it hard is my evergreen ID class and my online entrepreneur class.  In my entrepreneur class I am doing a 100$ challenge where I have to raise 100$ in profit by the end of the semester.  I am selling Thanksgiving and Christmas Wreath which I am making by hand.  If you want one let me know and I will get you one.  You can also look it up on Facebook it is calls Blue Spruce Wreaths.  I will have 10 Fall/Thanksgiving wreaths and 20 Christmas wreaths to sell so let everyone know so I can get them sold.  So our lives at the moment mostly consist of work and school but after I am done we both plan on going to Taiwan to teach English.  Its something to look forward to at the moment.

Souper Douper Tomato Soup

If I ever owned a cafe, it would be a bakery/ soup shop and I would call it Souper Douper.

But I'm really posting because my mom wants my favorite tomato soup recipe, so here it is.

Cream of Tomato Soup

• 1 quart tomatoes-peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
• 1/2 TBSP butter
•  1/2 to 1 TBSP honey (depending on the sweetness of tomatoes, use the lesser amount for home grown summer tomatoes)
• 1 TBSP onions, chopped
•  1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 to 1 cup cream 
• salt to taste 

1.  Saute onions in butter with a little salt, until translucent.
2. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, sugar, and soda.
3. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
4. Add cream to hot tomato mixture, and heat, careful not to let it boil.
5. blend all or half of the soup depending on how smooth you like your soup, and serve with crunchy toasts.