Hey y'all!!
This blog won't end now that I'm back in Belgium! My High School year in the USA might be over, but the influence it has had on me will always be a part of me. For example; the food, the music,... These elements in my life will always be changed. In my overweighted suitcases I carried two Mississippi cookbooks back to Belgium. One I got for my birthday from my host family, and the other one Maddie gave me as a goodbye present. Back in Belgium, I soon started cooking in the first two weeks I was back. I use the cookbook "Mississippi Hometown Cookbook". I'm going to start with breakfast dishes. Since I'm back I made American banana pancakes a couple of times. I didn't use the cookbook for this one though. I got the recipe from my cousin who lives in Orlando, FL. Here are the ingredients: - 2 ripe bananas - 1/2 cup olive oil - a pinch of salt - 1 cup water - 1 egg - 1 1/2 all-purpose flower - 1 tablespoon cinnamon (or more if you like) Directions: Mash the bananas. Add the olive oil, water, egg and a pinch of salt. Then, add the flower and cinnamon. Mix all and cook them in a small skillet without oil (it has enough oil in it) on a small fire. The pancakes cook really fast, so you have to stand by it most of the time. It's really easy because you don't need many ingredients. One time I even forgot to add the egg, but the pancakes were still good, although they were a little bit thinner. The replacement of sugar by bananas makes this recipe much healthier. It makes around 15 little pancakes. Next, I'm going to talk about lunch recipes. For this I did use my cookbook. I chose to make the creamy potato cheese soup! I didn't eat this during my year in Mississippi, but I did eat a lot of potatoes combined with cheese! My family loves eating soups, and this looked pretty yummy. Here is the recipe: - 1 medium onion, chopped - 2 medium carrots, coarsely grated - 3/4 teaspoon salt - 1/2 teaspoon paprika - 1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch cubes - 29 ounces vegetable broth (I used 1bouillon cube and 1liter of water because that's what I had in house) - 8 ounces Cheddar of colby cheese (I used Cheddar) First, spray a little bit of oil in a medium pot and set over medium heat. Cook the onions until they begin to color a little. Add carrots, salt, pepper, paprika. Mix well and continue to cook until the carrots begin to soften. Add potatoes, water and bouillon cube. Increase heat and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add cheese and stir to melt. Use a mixer to make the soup creamy. In America, people eat a lot of potatoes and cheddar cheese. Cheddar cheese or other cheese is often also served with salads and baked potatoes. I love the combination baked potatoes and cheddar cheese. You have to cut the potato when it's still hot. Then, you put the cheese in the middle so it melts. It's also good to add butter to it. For dinner, I've made the easiest dish possible: Macaroni and cheese (Mac&Cheese). I just used an easy recipe from the internet for this. Here are the ingredients: - 1 pound pasta, any shape - 1 1/2 cups milk - 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour - 2-3 cups shredded cheese, like cheddar, monterey jack, or colby, or any other kind you have in store - 1/2 teaspoon salt - 1/4 teaspoon powdered mustard (I didn't add this) - optional: 1-2 cups chopped bacon instructions: Boil the pasta according to package directions. Add a teaspoon of salt. Drain and set aside. Then, begin warming 1 cup of the milk in the saucepan over medium heat. Whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup of milk and the flour until there are no lumps. When you just start to see tendrils of steam rising from the warming milk, whisk in the milk-and-flour mixture. Stir the sauce gently until it thickens and becomes a heavy cream, 3-4 minutes. Reduce the heat and begin adding the cheese gradually (I just used the grated cheese I found in the fridge). Stir in a little bit of salt and keep stirring until all the cheese is melted. Combine the sauce and the pasta. Add any optional ingredients. I cooked about 1 1/2 cup of bacon and added it to the pasta. Mac & cheese is practically what kids grow up with in the US. It's the easiest thing to make, especially when you buy it ready-made and you only have to heat it up in the microwave. I sometimes ate this on friday nights when I didn't know what else to eat. It's always a good comfort food! I've also made some deserts since I'm back. Actually, most of the cooking I did were desserts. :) One of the cakes I made was an Amaretto Cheesecake. Here is the recipe from the book, Mississippi Hometown Cookbook: - 1 cup cream cheese, softened - 1/3 cup sugar - 1 cup sour cream - 2 teaspoons vanilla - 1/4 cup amaretto - 1 cup whipped cream - 1 graham cracker pie crust (I made the crust myself with plain cookies using this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/graham-cracker-crust-i/) Directions: Beat cheese until smooth; gradually beat in sugar. Blend in sour cream, vanilla and amaretto. Fold in whipped topping, blending well. Spoon into crust. Chill until set, at least 4 hours. It doesn't take long, unless you make the crust yourself. Cheesecake is also very American. The New York Cheesecake is probably the most famous, but you can find more variations in different cities across the US. I probably like any kind, and that's why I made another one since I'm back. :) This time, I made an Oreo Cheesecake! This one is the best one so far! My whole family enjoyed it and some are even asking for the recipe. Well, here it is: - 30-35 Oreo cookies - 2/4 cup butter - 1 cup cream cheese, softened - 1 cup sugar - 1 teaspoon vanilla - 1 cup sour cream - 4 eggs Instructions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit/163 degrees celcius. Line a 9x13-inch/23x33-cm pan with foil. Process 30 cookies in food processor for 30-45 seconds or until finely ground. Add butter; mix well. Press firmly onto bottom of the pan. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed. Add sour cream; mix well. Then, add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Chop remaining cookies. Gently stir 1 1/2 cups cookie crumbs into cream cheese batter. Pour over crust and sprinkle with remaining chopped cookies. Bake 40 minutes or until center is set. Cool. Refrigerate 4 hours. Americans also enjoy to eat Cheesecake and Pecan pie for Thanksgiving. The next recipe is probably one of the easiest so far; Chopped Apple Cake! The recipe caught my eye because I already had all the ingredients, which are: - 3 cups all-purpose flour - 2 cups sugar - 1 teaspoon baking soda - 1 teaspoon salt - 3 teaspoons cinnamon - 3 eggs, well beaten - 1 cup oil - 1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts) - 3 cups chopped apples Directions: Sift together all 5 dry ingredients. Clean the nuts. Mix eggs, oil, nuts and apples; add to dry ingredients. Mix well and place in greased and floured tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit/177 degrees celcius for 1 hour. Test readiness with a toothpick. Very easy and very yummy! Some other little things I made are Nutella muffins and sugar cookies. Both are really easy to make, especially the muffins. You only need three ingredients: - 1 cup Nutella - 10 tbsp flour - 2 eggs You only need to beat the eggs and mix it with the other ingredients. Then, bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit/180 degrees celcius. So easy, but you will be amazed! This one I found on Pinterest, a really good network to find easy and different recipes on. The sugar cookies aren't that much harder to make. This is what you need: - 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour - 1 teaspoon baking soda - 1/2 teaspoon baking powder - 1 cup butter, softened - 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour - 1 teaspoon baking soda - 1/2 teaspoon baking powder - 1 cup butter, softened Directions: First, preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit/190 degrees celcius. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. Then, In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and put them on a cookie tray. At last, bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand two minutes before removing to cool. This is easy to make when you have to take something to party. :) As you can see I used the imperial system for these recipes. The imperial cooking system is with cups and tablespoons instead of grams, which is what people in the US use when cooking. Since I got American cookbooks, I decided to buy these measurement tools so I don't have to convert cups to grams all the time. I found them in the Carrefour and it made my life much easier! :) xoxo Suzanna
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In this blog update I just wanted to write down my testimony in English. I also copied the dutch version, so both nations can understand it. :) I gave my testimony before I was baptised on June, 29th.
It was such a beautiful day, especially because my dad saw it. We also had a really nice lunch afterwards. Here is my witness of faith in english: Hello everyone, I am Suzanna Monard, I am 19 years old, and I live in Riemst. I was an exchange student in Mississippi the passed year. I lived there with a host family, and I'm only back since last tuesday (June, 17th). It was an unforgettable experience. I learned so much and made such good friends. My host family has become my second family. I also went there to church with my host family. We went to Highlands Presbyterian, a protestant church. The South in the USA is often called "The Bible Belt", because there are so many churches and denominations. Church is there a big part of life; Your good friends also go to church, the church sometimes organises a cookout, bbq, or little festival, with the youth you go on trips,... There are so many activities, which in many people also take part. Every wednesday night, we ate at church. Then, the youth played some games, sang praise songs, and listened to a Bible lesson. Sunday, I didn't only go to church in the morning for the sermon, but also in the evening from 5pm to 7pm. All the youth ate together pizza, or some other kind of fast food. After that, we were separated in groups based on age, and gender. The people in my group have become really good friends, whom I could tell a lot. That's also the purpose of that group. We give each other advice, we talk about belief, and we pray for each other, and with each other. So, in the South it's really easy to say that you are a Christian. Many people go to church because they believe, but there are also people who just go because it's socially accepted. Here, I went to church, because my mom goes. If I couldn't always make it every sunday, I wouldn't feel sorry. I didn't really pay attention in the sermon. I believed, but it was without much commitment or longing to God. I didn't have any relationship with Jesus, and I barely appreciated what Jesus has actually done for us. When I got the first information about host family, I was still happy to hear that they go to church. Thus, I was quickly integrated in church life, and I really enjoyed it. Still, I had to learn what church is really about. It's not just having a good time with your friends, or just go to church because it's an social event. It's much more than that. After almost two months, I started writing down notes during the service and reading bible verses before going to bed. I soon was getting along with my host family astonishingly good, but sometimes I was missing my parents, especially my mom. You can never have the same relationship with your host parents as with your parents. It's very normal then that sometimes I was homesick. I stepped out of my comfort zone to spend a year with a family, which in three super sweet children need everyone's attention most of the time. This big change brought me closer to God. Praying became for me a tool to develop a relationship with God. I started writing prayers in my notebook to thank God. God filled the emptiness I sometimes felt. I learned to be more thankful towards God and others. I wanted to be less selfish give more. God became to me a rock, which never moves or changes. Sometimes I still have a day when I don't feel like including God, but then I soon realize I need God in my life. Mississippi soon became my comfort zone, but the day that I had to say goodbye came sooner than expected. I had to re-integrate in Belgium. Even though I am happy to see everyone again, I sometimes miss mississippi, but God is now with me. After I decided to get baptized in April, I still often thought I'm not ready for it, or that I wasn't good enough. According to the Bible, we're never going to be good enough, and that's why it's not a requirement for baptism. These thoughts shouldn't stop you. The only requirement is belief, and I believe. Doopgetuigenis: Hallo iedereen, Ik ben Suzanna Monard, ik ben 19 jaar oud, en ik woon in Riemst. Ik was afgelopen jaar een uitwisselingsstudent in Mississippi. Ik heb daar een jaar bij een gastgezin gewoond, en ik ben pas terug van vorige week dinsdag. Het was een onvergetelijke ervaring. Ik heb zoveel geleerd en goede vrienden gemaakt. Mijn gastgezin is mijn tweede familie geworden. Ik ben daar met mijn gastgezin ook naar de kerk gegaan. Wij gingen naar Highlands Presbyterian, een protestantse kerk. Het zuiden van de Verenigde Staten wordt ook wel “The Bible Belt” genoemd, omdat er zoveel kerken en denominaties zijn. De kerk is daar dus een groot deel van het leven. In de Kerk zijn je goede vrienden, in de Kerk wordt er zo nu en dan eens een barbecue met een live band georganiseerd, met de jeugd van de kerk ga je op vakantie,… Er zijn zo veel activiteiten, waar veel mensen vaak aan meedoen. Elke woensdagavond, aten we in de kerk. Daarna deed de jeugd spelletjes, en zongen we loofliederen. Tot slot, kregen we nog een Bijbelles te horen. Zondag, ging ik niet alleen ’s morgens naar de kerk voor de dienst, maar ook ’s avonds van 5 tot 7u. Alle jeugd at dan samen pizza, of andere fast food. Daarna werden we opgesplitst in groepen op basis van leeftijd. De mensen in mijn groep zijn hele goede vrienden van me geworden, aan wie ik alles kon vertellen. Daar is die groep ook voor. We geven advies aan elkaar, we praten over geloof, en we bidden voor elkaar en met elkaar. In het Zuiden van de VS, is het dus heel gemakkelijk om te zeggen dat je een Christene bent. Veel mensen gaan naar de kerk omdat ze geloven, maar er zijn ook mensen die gewoon gaan omdat het als sociaal wenselijk gezien wordt. Hier, ging ik ook naar de kerk, omdat mijn moeder gaat. Als ik niet altijd kon gaan had ik daar niet veel spijt van. Ik lette niet altijd op in de dienst. Ik geloofde wel, maar het was zonder veel betrokkenheid of verlangen naar God. Ik had geen relatie met Jezus en ik apprecieerde nauwelijks wat Jezus eigenlijk voor ons heeft gedaan. Toen ik de eerste informatie kreeg over mijn gastgezin, was ik toch blij om te horen dat ze naar de kerk gaan. Ik werd dus heel snel opgenomen in dat kerkleven, en ik genoot er ook echt van. Toch, moest ik nog leren waar de Kerk echt over gaat. Het is niet gewoon een goede tijd hebben met vrienden, of gewoon uit gewoonte gaan, omdat iedereen gaat. Het is veel meer dan dat. Na bijna 2 maanden, begon ik notities te nemen tijdens de dienst en Bijbelverzen voor het slapen gaan te lezen. Ik verstond me verbazend goed met mijn gastouders, maar soms had ik toch heimwee, en miste ik vooral mijn mama. Je kunt nooit dezelfde relatie, die je met je ouders hebt, hebben met je gastouders. Het is dan ook normaal dat ik soms heimwee had. Ik was uit mijn comfortabele omgeving gestapt om voor een jaar bij een gezin te gaan wonen, waarin er bijna voortdurend aandacht moet besteedt worden aan drie ontzettend lieve kinderen. Deze grote verandering heeft mij dichter bij God gebracht. Bidden werd voor mij een manier om een relatie met God te ontwikkelen. Ik begon in mijn notitieboekje, onder de verzen, ook dankgebeden neer te schrijven. God vulde de lege plaats in mijn hart. Ik leerde om meer dankbaar te zijn tegenover God en anderen. Ik leerde om minder aan mezelf te denken, en meer om anderen te geven. God werd voor mij een vaste rots, die nooit verandert. Soms heb ik nog een dag, wanneer ik er God niet bij betrek, maar dan bedenk ik mij snel, omdat ik weet dat ik God nodig heb in mijn leven. Mississippi was snel mijn comfortabele omgeving geworden, maar de dag kwam natuurlijk dat ik daar iedereen moest verlaten. Ik moest me re-integreren in België. Ondanks het feit dat ik blij was om iedereen terug te zien, heb ik soms wel heimwee naar Mississippi. God helpt mij hier nu wel in. Nadat ik in April had besloten om mij te laten dopen, heb ik nog vaak gedacht dat ik er nog niet klaar voor was, of dat ik er nog niet goed genoeg voor was. Volgens de Bijbel, gaan we nooit goed genoeg zijn, en daarom is dat ook geen voorwaarde voor de doop. Deze gedachten zouden je dus niet moeten tegenhouden. De enige voorwaarde is geloven en ik geloof. |
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