Cooking--Part Two

When we received our referral information for Zenabu, we were given a lovely photo (which I will post the second his case makes it through court) and some brief documents about his health and development. At the bottom of one document, it said his favorite food is injera and wot. I think (other than the picture) that was what made me feel most connected to him. When Carver was 3, he would have said quesadillas. When Lily was 3, she would have said apples. And now I know the favorite food of our new son!

If you don't already know, injera is a flat, pancake-looking bread that is made from teff (a grain). You make the batter and let it ferment and sit and do its magic, then you pour it out onto a large, circular griddle. You then serve the injera with the protein part of you meal around it or on top of it. Ethiopians traditionally use their hands to eat with, and injera is most definitely a finger-friendly food. You tear a piece off and scoop up meat and sauce and eat away. Another tradition Ethiopians have that I adore is they feed eachother. It shows care, love, and friendship. I look forward to sitting with Zenabu at our dinner table and putting morsels of food in his mouth. When he finally feels comfortable with all of us, I will celebrate the day he reaches his sweet hand out to put food in our mouths.

Okay--now here's the hard part. Injera is a science. You don't get a recipe and mix everything up and voila!--perfect injera. And as much as I love to bake, I have given myself the grace to bow out of this one task. I found a fantastic website that will let me order injera and the spices necessary to make doro wot so that Zenabu will not have to rely on my failed injera attempts to eat his favorite food. How amazing is the internet, anyway? With a few clicks, I can have authentic injera shipped to my doorstep for my family. Of course, if it's not very good, Zenabu will let me know and I will have to quickly come up with a plan B.

One woman that has completely amazed me is my cyber-friend Heather. She is in Ethiopia right now picking up her new son and daughter. They're a little older, and Heather has spent a good chunk of time getting injera right at her house so she can make her kids' favorite foods too. If you click on her link on the sidebar, you can see her step-by-step instruction in her blog. But if you want to sample a little injera and don't know how to make it, go to ethiopianspices.com