Fountain of Youth

I was "called" (appointed) this fall as a counselor in our ward's Young Women presidency.  Three  women, including I, teach and plan activities for our dozen or so female teenagers.  At 72, I feel old for this job, which is my fourth time serving in the Young Women program.  When I told my daughter Camille, "I don't know why they didn't pick someone young, cute, and energetic," she said, "Well, you're two out of the three."  Perhaps having 66% of the qualifications needed for a position is good enough!  As a Young Women leader, I was given an assortment of jewelry with religious emblems on it, such as the temple.  I am used to wearing large, "statement" jewelry, but I will try to be more delicate, like my young charges.  Actually, wearing a necklace with the temple on it is a statement itself!

The Young Women have weekly activities, which I attend, as well as Church classes every other Sunday.  The Young Women frequently join the Young Men in activities.  Dave, as bishop of our ward, is in charge of the Young Men, so it is a pleasure to attend events together.  On November 16, 2023, the YMYW made apple pies.  A group of the teenagers sat outside the ward kitchen, peeling apples.
 

Dalynn Thomas, who is our Young Women president, mixed in the spices, as her teenage daughter, Ember, helped.

Daniel Thomas, who assists David with the Young Men, came right from work, still wearing his suit!  I suppose this photo might be titled, "Many hands make light work."  Each of us, adults and teenagers alike, took home a pie to bake.

Sophie and Chicken Shawarma Pie

One of  the many adventures of my granddaughter, Sophie, this year, was spending three weeks in Jordan, working with Palestinian refugees.  She participated, with other teenagers, in a Choice work/travel program.  On November 13, 2022, I cooked a Palestinian dinner to honor Sophie. Sophie then told us about her trip.

My new cookbook, "Falastin," features the recipes of Sami Tamimi, the co-author of "Jerusalem."  Both Falastin and Jerusalem are award-winning cookbooks.  Jerusalem is written by one Israeli Jewish author, Yotam Ottolenghi,  and one Israeli Arab author, Sami Tamimi.  Falastin celebrates the cooking of the Palestinians.  I made chicken shawarma pie as our entree on November 13.  It was a delicious concoction of chicken in a sauce with spices, cooked inside a phyllo dough crust.

Jordan is east of Israel.  It has a rich Arab culture, and it is the home of millions of Palestinians, who were displaced when the Jews made their home in Israel.

There are miles and miles of refugee camps, from which many Palestinians never leave to build their own homes.

Sophie spent weekdays teaching Palestinian refugees.  On the weekends, she traveled.  One of the sites she visited was Petra, in which an ancient kingdom carved palaces out of the desert rock.

Plov for Supper

A year had passed since Mike, Dave, and I ate the Uzbek national dish, plov, around a raised table in Uzbekistan.  It was time to eat it again!  On November 6, 2022, Camille, Steve, and three youngest children, and Spencer, Naomi, and Eliza joined us for an Uzbek dinner.  We celebrated both the food and the culture of Uzbekistan, which Mike, Dave, and I came to love.
 

“Let me describe what I’m serving, for whoever hasn’t had an Uzbek meal before,” I commented. I saw Steve send an amused look to Ezra.  I guess my assumption that most people had tried Uzbek meals before wasn’t accurate!  

We began with cherry juice, since Dave, Mike, and I drank cherry juice, instead of tea or liquor, from leaving Istanbul, through Kyrgystan and Uzbekistan, clear until we arrived at Istanbul again.  For the entrée, we had plov—cubes of chuck roast seasoned with cumin, garlic, and onion, and then steamed with carrots and rice.  I sprinkled pomegranate seeds on top.  I steamed manti, or dumplings, filled with onions and pumpkin, and served them with sour tomato sauce from my "Samarkand" cookbook.  Making homemade dumplings is an achievement that I will try to repeat again and again.  I discovered that Dave is talented at rolling pasta dough really thin.  I also remembered, with fondness, the two lessons on making manti that we had while we were in Kyrgystan. 

For dessert, I served baklava and apricot ice cream, both traditional favorites at my home.  Dave, Mike, and I ate baklava again and again in Uzbekistan. 

While we were in Uzbekistan, we admired the gorgeous crafts, from suzanis (embroidered hangings) to ceramics to wood carvings.

Even before we traveled to Uzbekistan, Dave and I bought this beautiful suzani that hangs on our living room wall.

During our trip to Central Asia in 2021, we bought many more gorgeous crafts, including embroidered table runners, a large ceramic tray for holding plov, and a small vase in the shape of a pomegranate.  Ripe pomegranates were sold throughout the markets when we visited Uzbekistan during the fall of 2021.

Another favorite purchase from Uzbekistan is this intricately designed, lacquer box.  We have so many precious memories of that trip!