Awamat (Awwamaat) and Jelabies!

Sooooooo, check out these lovelies! Awamat (also Owamat, Awwameh, Awwamaat, and many other variations.) I saw these last night while walking from the Damascus Gate through a market / shop area and they reminded me of having seen them in India, Nepal, and Pakistan. They are honey-soaked sweet bread / dough balls and originally Syrian. They are SUPER TASTY and can be soaked in sugar syrup, honey, honey with cinnamon, or rose water (that sounds AMAZING!) I must try some of these tomorrow (or every day...)

I have actually had them before in India and Pakistan, but don't recall the specific version of the name. They usually came after dinner in someone's home or were all over the city at street vendors' carts. I've always had the more bread-like ones, but I see there are crispier versions and more doughy fried doughnut-like versions. There is even an Ashkenazic dumpling version. Here in Jerusalem, they are also served specifically during Ramadan when a variety of food including savory sweets are eaten after the fast is broken.
RECIPE (there are a ton of variations!) - this one is like the Indian versions I have had!
YouTube of Awamat
Let me just stop right here and say - "SOMEBODY MAKE ME SOME!"
Now, let's turn out gaze to the colorful jelabies below...

I have also had jelabies before and they were honey-filled. I enjoyed them after chapels at the Christian Hospital Mungeli when I was there in 2014 and 2015. SO GOOD!

I was surprised to find them here, but happily so! The flour batter is fermented and later poured into spirals in hot oil and fried. I've never had any but the honey-filled ones, but I know there are variations!

RECIPE

YouTube of how to make jelabies

Advice: Go forth and make BOTH of these delicious sweets and save some for me!

In Calm and Storm

"There are some things you learn best in calm and some in storm."

~ Willa Cather

View of the Rapti river in Chitwan, Nepal at the edge of the Tharu village

My Nature Photo Challenge, March 2016

My Nature Challenge Photos. A friend challenged me to share a nature photo every day for one week. It must be a photograph that I took. I did this on Facebook, but am posting here for my own memories and to share in this way. I hope you like them! :-) (Most are Canon powershot 10X photos copied into Facebook and then copied and pasted here so there is not a hugely high quality to the photos, but....whatever, they're still pretty! :-)

1. Here is a tree in the frozen sunset of Gyeongju, Korea on the grounds of the Bulguska temple. It was 6 degrees and the lake was partially frozen. Here is my blog post on that trip!

2. Daisy on the ground in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I was at the Interlude Conference for mid-career church musicians and leaders in 2013. It had just rained and the drops were so pretty on the petals.


3. A dragonfly resting on a twig. Taken in 2015 at the Northlake Nature Center in Mandeville, Louisiana. I like how you can see the two giant eyes and that the pattern in between the eyes looks like a third eye. Hmmm, maybe there's something to that... 
Here is my blog post about my visit to Northlake.


4. The hills of India near Bhoramdeo and Mandwa Mahal temples. I took this last summer (2015). Here's my blog post on my visit to the temples


5. Another photo from the Northlake Nature Center. I LOVE how this photo came out and how you can see his shell underneath the water!


6. The "Eighty-eight" Butterfly. I lucked out on this shot because I had been following various butterflies for about 30 minutes when I visited the Argentine side of the Foz do Iguacu. This little one decided to rest on part of the boardwalk railing, enabling me to snap a picture. Canon powershot 10X. More about the butterfly species 


7. A View toward Mt. Everest. From Nagarkot, Nepal, looking over the beginning of the Himalaya mountain range and Mt. Everest in the distance. It's obscured by cloud, OF COURSE, but I guarantee that it is there!

A Prayer for Nepal and Ways to Help After the Earthquakes

Almighty God, you are our comfort and strength

in times of the onset of sudden disaster, crisis, or chaos. 

Surround with your branches of solace, those who suffer 

through earthquake, storm, fire or flood.

By your Spirit, lift up those who have fallen, 

Sustain those who work to rescue or rebuild,

and fill them with the hope of the bright peace of new creation. 

Amen

HOW TO HELP NEPAL in the aftermath of two massive earthquakes:
If you can't get there or send materials to someone who is going, consider donating to one of the many international aid organizations. I donated to Episcopal Relief & Development. 

If possible, make contact with someone on the ground there who is a part of one of these international organizations. 

1. How to help Nepal: 7 vetted charities doing relief work  following the earthquake

2. How to help Nepal - via ABC News article 
3. Please consider keeping the people of Nepal and those processing and giving aid relief in your prayers.

4. Previous blog post: Help Nepal Earthquake Victims - Some World Aid Organizations Info and Links

Help Nepal Earthquake Victims - Some World Aid Organizations Info and Links

I wanted to put this here in case people will see the info this way, but below the picture are two posts which are particularly helpful with regards to helping send aid to Nepal in the aftermath of the recent 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Seeing the devastation makes me so sad and I feel quite helpless. I also have several Nepalese students at UNO and I imagine they feel helpless as well, many having family back home and not knowing how to help them. I hope to return to Nepal this July/August and help out if it's possible or needed. I was there for a while last summer. 

Sometimes, loving our neighbor means digging in our pocket if we can. I made a donation to Episcopal Relief and Development a few moments ago. It's very easy and every little bit helps. Please consider also donating if you are able and please, if you pray, keep the people of Nepal, their families and friends, and all the aid workers in your prayers and thoughts. 

Kathmandu funeral ceremony, August 2014 by C. Carson

1. Episcopal Relief and Development states on their Facebook page
"Here is an update on our response to the earthquake in ‪#‎Nepal‬.
"Episcopal Relief & Development is working with the ecumenical ACT Alliance in Nepal and local partners in northern India and southwest China regarding urgent needs and assessment efforts following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck near Kathmandu on the morning of April 25."
To donate to this fund: https://www.episcopalrelief.org/NepalRelief

At Bouddhanath Stupa in Kathmandu Photo by C. Carson, 2014

2. This article from USA Today (link below) has extremely helpful information about global aid organizations such as UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontières, World Food Program, Red Cross, OXFAM, Save the Children and more. 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/04/25/nepal-quake-how-to-help/26361193/ 

At Bouddhanath Stupa in Kathmandu Photo by C. Carson, 2014

Last summer, I visited Nepal with a fellow missionary and was overwhelmed by its beauty, friendliness, and hospitality. Below are my photo albums from my trip. I will be writing about my Chitwan experience at some point.

Kathmandu - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100663477432727.1073741842.2613080&type=1&l=85b8ed9219

Along the Bagmati river in Kathmandu, Nepal. Funeral pyres and mourning families, photo by C. Carson, 2014

Chitwan - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100662598753607.1073741841.2613080&type=1&l=4f81d098a9

Crossing the river Rapti in Chitwan, Nepal, photo by C. Carson, 2014

Sankhu to Nagarkot - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100665300199887.1073741843.2613080&type=1&l=1a664e0f9f

Hiking from Sankhu to Nagarkot, Nepal. Another few peaks and we had a cloudy view of Mt. Everest!
Photo by C. Carson, 2014