The Freakin Wind Is Here!

I can hear it howling outside the window now. I heard it howling around my classroom yesterday. The wind has arrived. Dirt sifted onto stairwells, sand and dust in every crevice of your house, and a fine grit ground into your skin, tear ducts, ears, and.....oops. Never mind. For those who don't wear a hijab, hair gets coated with grime too.

I love it. It's my favorite time of year. Know why? Because it means cool weather is here. It actually gets down to the low 20s! (That's Celsius Americanos....70s F). Tis glory. So good. We get to cool off without the constant mist that accompanies kareef. Sometimes, I am actually cold.

It's winter in Salalah. East Coast Americans read it and weep. I am cold at 70 degrees with a light wind. You are freezing your bazoombas off at below 0. Hah! Ha ha ha.

We celebrated the coming of winter by going to Faziya beach. If you haven't been there, you really should. For readers abroad, it's worth the trip to Salalah. Truly it's hard to find a beach like this anywhere in the world. One has to drive into the mountains (and they ain't foothills either) then down 6 km to the beach below. You have a long stretch of rather isolated beach hemmed in by ancient desert cliffs. Shockin beautiful.

Barbecued fish and burgers, a fire, and walks and talks with good friends make life livable away from home. I've been terribly homesick the last few weeks and it was a gift to walk down the beach and talk with my girlfriends. I looked at one of them, and her husband doing silly dances by the fire, and felt grateful for the moment. Sometimes all it takes is a moment to get through it all right?

A still clean Faziya. Let's keep it that way.

On the way

Like swimming on the moon eh? However, I didn't bring cake.These are pictures from other trips...I didn't bring a camera this weekend. 

The cake of the day was Vanilla Bundt Cake by I Am Baker. The woman is out of control, but making good money with her blog cum website now. Her work is beautiful and her recipes reliable. The only modification I made was to throw in about a cup and a half of chocolate chips.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream the sugar and butter in a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, creaming thoroughly between eggs. Add the milk and vanilla and continue mixing for about 2 minutes. Sift the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and blend into the batter.

Pour into a WELL greased and floured bundt pan and bake approximately 30 minutes, until a toothpick tests clean.

Let the cake rest 10 minutes before flipping onto a plate. Cool completely before glazing. I didn't wait the full 10 minutes as SOMEBODY was rushing me out the door. But really. Wait. If you don't, bits of the cake will stick to the pan and it won't be very pretty.

For the glaze, I mix about a cup of confectioners sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla, and about 3 tablespoons of cream. It should run down the sides of the cake, but not too much. Mine was a bit thick, so it kinda gobbed on the top. Again, A CERTAIN PERSON was rushing me. Fortunately, my regular customer said it was the best one yet. Hooray!

Joy the Baker's cake. Come on.

My cake, without glaze. Note what happens when you don't wait 10 minutes.

A new week starts tomorrow. Classes are almost finished and exams are right around the corner. Before I know it,  it will be June and my third teaching year in Salalah will be over. Alarming how fast time goes by isn't it? I also feel like my blog post today is a little weak, but I can't be a genius every dang time, can I? 

Love,

Felicia El Aid