Photo Friday

Arequipa, Peru 2012

Photo Friday

It was a crazy busy and exhausting week, so I'm keeping it light:

Now to enjoy a {much-deserved. So much-deserved} three-day holiday!

- Amanda

A Peruvian Honeymoon

I'm sure you'll all excuse me for my lack of posts this summer - with our wedding and honeymoon I haven't had a lot of time to keep up! I am only now cracking down on my real planning for the new school year. That's a lot of catching up I want to do...
Jeff and I returned last week from our two and a half weeks in Peru, which we both agree was a great honeymoon choice. This country is so beautiful! Low sweeping valleys topped with snow-capped peaks and a fantastic sunset really can't be beat, I've learned. We did a more traditional tour, sticking mostly to the south and then {of course} heading up to Machu Picchu. 

We saw so many great things! Penguins, sea lions and pelicans in Paracas, the beautifully ornate and centuries-old Cathedral of Santo Domingo in Cusco, the floating reed islands of Lake Titicaca, and the perfectly-formed active volcano El Misti in Arequipa. {And plenty more!}

As it's called, the culinary scene in Peru is quite spectacular - especially, in my opinion, in Cusco. This is the trip during which my husband and I realized {admitted?} that we are "food travelers," so to speak. We had everything from red wine sorbet {Amazing! Will be looking out for a recipe.} to guinea pig {not so much}, and squid-ink pasta with coconut milk, lemongrass and prawns {double amazing!} to the beloved Peruvian pisco sour. Pisco is a locally-made grape brandy {that I don't much care for}, and the drink is made with a bar mix, some sugar, and frothy egg white on the top. Had to try it, though! Mostly, we had fantastic food - I was more than impressed. We had ceviche {I'll try to share our recipe a little later - it's super easy to make and great as a salsa}, a whiskey-drenched brownie topped with chocolate mousse and house-made mint jellies, and awesome bacon avocado sandwiches. I love how creative people get with food...especially since I am not. At all.

Basically, I can't wait to go back to South America! We skipped the Amazon this time because everything was a bit tight time-wise for medication. But we can always get there through Brazil or a longer time in Colombia on another trip! I have to say, being a teacher offers lots of room to explore this great world of ours, and being married to a teacher means I can share it with all with my best friend and the greatest travel companion.

One more week until we go back to Kuwait... I'm still working on a few things I want to share on TpT and TN, including my circus-themed Morning Meeting package. I'm really excited to implement this in my classroom, as I think a morning sharing time will really help to foster that classroom community I so wish for. We still have a lot of celebrating, visiting, organizing, shopping and packing to do before we go. For now I'm off to strike some things from the list... Thanks for reading!
- Amanda

Rice Pudding {affectionately known in 2C as Arroz con Leche}

Okay, so it isn't the "next" post...

At my school we have an "International Week" where each class chooses a country to study and thinks up some activities to bring into the classroom. I chose Peru, because it's where Jeff and I will go in the summer on our honeymoon! I've had to be pretty creative with this unit... I looked up some Peruvian cuisine and found a lot of recipes for Arroz con Leche. I LOVE rice pudding, so I had to do this one {plus it's cheap to make!}. Initially I wanted it to be something the class could make together, but rice pudding has to be made on the stovetop, so I decided to turn it into graphing and Language extension activities instead.

via

First, we tested the dessert, and I gave each student a cut out graphic of a bowl of rice. Then we graphed it: Love it; Like it; Do not like it. I only had two kids that didn't like it! Next we will interpret the results. In Language, the students will write the recipe as a list, then do a simple "First, Next, Last" writing activity based on my retell of the procedure and a few photos I took.

I love love love this recipe, and I was rather irritated when I misplaced it and had to put it back together from memory. It's a mix of different recipes I found online. It's super easy, but a bit time consuming, so keep that in mind.

• 1/2 cup rice


• 1 1/2 cups water


• Pinch of salt


• 2-3 cinnamon sticks


• 2 cups warmed milk {I used one can of sweetened condensed milk and filled up to the 2 cup mark using regular milk}


• 1/2 cup sugar


• 1 egg


• Some vanilla

First, boil the rice with water, salt and cinnamon sticks in a pot. Lower and cook, covered, until there is no more liquid. As this works away, use a fork to mix the egg with the warm milk {so the eggs don't start to cook when you add it to the rice}. When the rice is ready, pour in the milk mixture and add the sugar. Stir constantly on the same low heat. Yep, it takes awhile. When it gets thick, add some vanilla, and stir it in well. Take the pot off the burner and it will continue to thicken as it cools.

Enjoy!

- Amanda