I have been telling you about some of the noteworthy Ethiopians who are doing interesting things with their lives. In the news today there was a story about Ethiopian distance runner Haile Gebrselassie. Today he ran in the Berlin Marathon. Not only did he win, he shattered the world marathon record by running the race in two hours four minutes 26 seconds. This was 29 seconds faster than a record set by Paul Tergat from Kenya on the same course in 2003.

Tergat and Gebrselassie are long-time... more

One ingredient you will find mentioned in many recipes for authentic Ethiopian food is niter kibbeh, or clarified spiced butter. In general, niter kibbeh as part of the fat in meat dishes, and oil is used in vegetarian dishes. (Yes, Ethiopian dishes all seem to require a lot of fat!)

Since I have not gotten into the habit of keeping niter kibbeh on hand, I usually use oil along with a tablespoon or two of butter in most of my meat dishes. But here is a recipe that I used last time I got inspired to make actual niter kibbeh. This recipe will keep for months in the refrigerator, covered.

INGREDIENTS - 1 lb. butter, cut into pieces - 2 cloves... more

Here are some news highlights from Ethiopia this week. I've included a summary of each piece. You can click on the title of each story to go read the full story. As always, links are only good for a few weeks, unless you subscribe to the news service.

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Improved Relationship with Corporate Giant Starbucks

A report from Washington D.C. states that an agreement has been reached between Ethiopian coffee growers and Starbucks. Ethiopian coffee growers have already seen their export price rise from $1.30 a pound to... more

Lots of adoptive families are waiting eagerly for the courts to reopen. It is expected that cases will be again moving through court beginning most likely by the second week in October. Along with wondering when exactly the first cases will be heard, there is also much speculation about new rules that supposedly will be implemented.

There are rumors that Ethiopia may become more strict about the age difference between the child to be adopted and children already present in the adoptive family. The Ethiopian government has talked about insisting that there be a three year age gap between the child to be adopted and any other children in the family. Some adoption agencies are certain... more

Once you've got a good starter and have completed a couple days of prep, your injera is finally ready to cook. You can cook your injera in a large skillet or a pancake griddle. But one of the things that I did after our girls came home was to spring for a mitad. The one I got is actually called a Heritage Grill ... more

Once you have your starter going, you're ready to do the final steps before making injera. I usually save about 2 cups of starter in a quart jar in the fridge in between batches of injera. A couple days before I want to make injera, I take my starter out of the fridge, drain off the liquid, then pour the starter into a big bowl. I then add two cups of lukewarm water, and stir well.

At this point I begin to add flour. You can use all teff flour (this will convert your wheat starter... more

The first step of making injera is to get your ‘starter’ going. If you’ve ever made sourdough bread or pancakes, it’s the same basic idea. Once you have a ‘starter’, you just save a little of the batter at the end of making each batch of injera and use it again to get the next batch going properly.

There are lots of ways to get your initial starter going. Some people use fruit in cheesecloth. Others use chopped up potatoes to encourage the yeasty bacteria to grow in the flour and water mix. I went the easy route and just used yeast.

To start with, I used about 2 cups of lukewarm water... more

I just found out about a new guesthouse in Addis and thought other adoptive families might like to know about this option as well. The New Flower Guest House is located in the Bole Road area of Addis not too far from the Bole Airport. The facility was opened by a woman with a strong interest in adoption. Because of this, the staff has been specially trained to be supportive to adoptive families.

The guesthouse has two floors and six bedrooms. There is a shared living room and dining room on the main level, as well as three bedrooms. The first bedroom has a king sized bed, a private bathroom and a balcony. The second bedroom has... more

The other day I was bored with the traditional pancakes-or-eggs breakfasts that we usually have around here. I thought of the breakfast polenta that I sometimes make. I wasn't sure if our new girls would like it, but I remembered reading that in Ethiopian there is a porridge-type food called genfo that is served with a dab of oil and berbere. I decided to make polenta and offer it with a choice of either Ethiopian (oil/berbere) or American (sugar/butter) toppings and see how it went over with the new girls.

It... more

I've been meaning all week to write a little about the Ethiopian Millennium celebration that was held this week in Ethiopia. It is now the year 2000 for Ethiopia. How could that be?

The Ethiopian calendar has twelve months of 30 days each plus either five or six extra days each year, which they call the thirteenth month. The six-day month happens every 4 years and makes 366 days for that year, functioning just like our leap year. This all means that the Ethiopian calendar runs about 7 year behind the standard Eastern calendar.

Just as with the millennium celebrated in the Western world, the Ethiopian... more