Bomb Falafel فلافل ‎

Last night Patrick came over for dinner and we enjoyed a delicious meal cooked by, me!

Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas and/or fava beans. Falafel is usually served in pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flat bread known as lafa. The falafel balls are topped with salads, pickled vegetables, hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces. Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a meze. Generally accepted to have first been made in Egypt, falafel has become a dish eaten throughout the Middle East. The copts of Egypt claim to have first made the dish as a replacement for meat during Lent. The fritters are now found around the world as a replacement for meat and as a form of street food. (wikipedia)

Falafel is DELICIOUS. In Barcelona there is a chain called Maoz Vegitarian, a little tiny whole in the wall shop on Las Ramblas that had yummy Falafel and Hummus. The selling point for me was there was a self service salad bar where you would stuff your pita full of veggies from broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes and many many more and then you had your choice of sauces. We would stand there and eat our Maoz when we would run out of veggies you could just fill it up again! It was the most amazing lunch spot ever! See the veggi bar below!

So last night I was craving falafel and decided to make my own. And I don't want to brag but...It was pretty darn good.

The Recipe

- 1 can garbanzo beans

- 1 whole onion

- 2 cloves of garlic

- Handful of chopped parsley

- 1 Tbs of olive oil

- 1/2 lemon squeezed

- cumin

- coriander

- cayenne pepper

- salt and pepper

- 1 cup of bread crumbs

- 1 egg

- 1 tsp of baking powder

I blended all the ingredients together in the blender but a food processor would have worked MUCH better. Then I made a yogurt sauce.

- 1 cup Greek yogurt

- dill weed

- lemon juice

- 1/2 cucumber (seeded and finely chopped)

-salt and peeper

Then we stuffed pita with the falafel, sauce, lettuce and tomato and paired it with a nice cold Red Chair Deschutes Brewery Beer!

Paraguayan Food

www.tembiuparaguay.com

Without almidon making chipa may be difficult.

Or if you are lazy and live in Seattle and want an empanada

http://www.marialuisaempanadas.com/menu.html

Green Card Interview

5 Months!

It's been 5 months since David and I made our journey to the United States. 5 months of new experiences, good times and changes.

About 30 days after we were married David and I filed the applications for the I-485 (application for permanent residence (green card)) and the I-765 (application for work authorization). The I-765 is filed because the green card usually takes awhile so if you file for the I-765 you can legally work in the meantime.

A month after filing we received an appointment notice for the biometrics interview. So we went to the Department of Homeland Security office in Seattle and David had his picture and finger prints taken and then we were sent home. Not really knowing what was going to happen next. I assumed that the EAD (employment authorization document) would arrive shortly and David could start looking for work...

We then received our notice ( a month after the biometrics interview) for David's permanent residence (green card) interview that would be on February 1, 2012. At this point we still hadn't received the EAD card. Then a week before the interview David received his EAD card!!! Yay! I was excited that he was officially allowed to work but at the same time a little bitter. The application for this work authorization card cost about $100. And it came a week before the interview for permanent residence. I was thinking "what a waste of $100". I was thinking the EAD card was useless because we'd go to the interview, in a week, and the green card would be approved then he'd be a permanent resident and allowed to work and wouldn't need the EAD card.

Well we went to the interview yesterday, February 1st 2012. We took a translator with us because it would have been a conflict of interest if I, the wife, translated for David. The interview was SOO weird.

I had researched about these interviews and we were totally ready for tons of personal questions about each others families and about our marriage. My cousin and her husband also just did the green card interview and they told us to be ready to answer biographical questions about each other and other personal questions. Well the interviewer asked David how we met. He answered in English. She asked me where I worked. She asked us how the wedding was. We then showed her pictures. She asked ME to identify my family members. She asked how many people attended. She asked if we had a ceremony in Paraguay, we showed pictures of our going away party with his family and she asked DAVID to identify his family members. She then asked for proof of shared finances and that we live in the same place and that I've changed my name. I gave her all of our bank statements, lease agreement, health insurance etc. Then she asked the generic questions like if David's been involved in terrorist actives, if he's been involved in prostitution etc.

Then it was over. She asked NO personal questions. She said she didn't think they'd be needing any more documents from us. And that we'd be getting a letter in the mail with the answer. I asked how long and she said "as soon as possible".

Why didn't she ask any personal questions? I guess we should be happy that it went so quickly and was super easy. But its nerve racking that your future is in someone elses hands. What if they are having a bad day and say "no"? Was it so obvious that we are happily married that she didn't need to ask any questions? I had my dad call my aunt to see if my cousin and her husband got an answer the same day as their interview. They didn't. Their interviewer told them it could be 2 weeks to 3 months to get the letter in the mail!!!

So now I don't think the EAD card was a waste of money. Because if it takes 3 months to get the green card David wouldn't be able to start looking for work until then. He's English is improving rapidly and he is anxious to get out of the house. We've started working on his resume and hopefully within the next few days he can start applying for jobs!

Randomness

It's been a cold and wet
winter here in Seattle. That means lots of time spent indoors and lots of time
spent playing on the Internet, watching movies, eating etc. Last week David
didn't have school all week (snow days) and I was off work on Monday (MLK day) and then Wednesday and Thursday my
work was closed due to SNOW!

Thursday we managed to
leave the house after watching 4 movies on Wednesday and drinking a half a
bottle of whiskey! We went to get Pho with
Patrick in the International District and it was delicious. After that we
didn't want to go back home and sit some more. So we downtown and walked around
in the snow. It started to snow even more so we stopped for some coffee and
people watching. Our bus, the #7, got stuck in the snow going up Jackson Street
on the way home. So we walked up Jackson to Rainier and waiting for another bus
to pass by.

By Friday I was a little
tired of being home. It's not that I don't love spending time with David its that
we usually go out and do stuff, explore, but we were basically trapped at home.
David's snow pants were at Patrick's
house so we couldn't go sledding or partake in traditional snow activities. And
there was NO way I was taking my car out on the roads, people in Seattle do not
know how to drive in the snow. So yeah, Friday, I was ready to work. I would
have walked there if I had to!

David's English is Rocking! Yay!
February 1st we have his green card interview! I'm a little nervous. I have no
reason to be nervous but I am. I think it's the fact that Immigrations still
has the opportunity to say no. Although we have all of our documents in order
and are a REAL couple it's a little stressful! After he gets his green card
he'll be able to work.

It will be so nice once he starts working. We've been on a tight
budget with just one income so a lot of stress will be relieved once there is a
little more wiggle room with our finances.

In the end we are ok! We are
fat, happy and in love!


David

Random pictures from around Oregon and Seattle

Hurrican Ridge - Olympic National Forest
Gasworks Park- Seattle

Mussles for dinner!

Bike Ride in Seward Park- Seattle

Oregon Coast

Yerba!!

Bottle House Wine Bar- Seattle

Sounders Futbol game- Seattle

Urban Camping

David really wants to go camping but it’s cold and rainy here in the Northwest so we set the tent up inside. We had a great night watching movies and giggling on our camping trip.

Almost 3 months later

Our Wedding

So I am not sure if anyone is reading this still or ever was but I've decided I'd like to continue writing this blog "de vez en cuando" so David's family can see pics from Paraguay. They have yet to figure out the facebook we have set up for them so maybe if I just give them a website to go to they may see some pictures of the WEDDING!

Yep, we got married! The wedding was perfect! We had so much fun seeing all of my family and friends. It was more than a wedding, it was a big family/friend reunion. It had been 2 1/2 years sense I'd seen anyone and David had never met anyone so it was nice.

Two nights before the wedding my girl friends threw me a bachelorette party at Eagle Crest Golf Resort where the actual wedding was held. I got to see my Salt Lake friends for the first time since we've been back! It was so nice to see them! We drank gin and tonics and ate pizza, played drinking games, talked and watched brides maids like 3 times. It was a good night!

The next day, a little hung over and exhausted, Felecia threw a beautiful bridal shower at Ginny's house, my next door neighbor. We ate yummy cucumber sandwiches, played "guess liz's age" and made wedding dresses out of toilet paper.

Two hours after the shower ended we had to get ready again at go to Sully's to practice at the rehearsal dinner. At the rehearsal dinner only our immediate family, plus felecia and jake of course. We practiced our vows for the first time with Jim, the wonderful man who married us, and all of the other details that were to go into the next days events.

The actual day of the wedding, November 5, Felecia and I went to get our hair done at 9:30 am then to makeup at 11:30. We went and picked up our bouquets and went to the River Run Event Center and met up with the crew! Lori, thank you, set up all of the tables with our flower arrangements, Nanduti center pieces, table names, candles and more. My father was in charge or the planning and organization of the reception. And he did an AWESOME job.

When my dad and I were walking down the isle all I remember was trying not to blink. My eyes were full of tears I didn't want them to rush down my face, so I couldn't see anyone! In the end the ceremony was beautiful. Jim did a great job mixing in Spanish with English and was good at making people laugh.

The Turner/Woodly family from Malin, our distant cousins, were in charge of the catering. We ate tri-tip with tulie lake horse radish, delicious chicken, agrauten potatoes, green beans, salad and rolls that were to die for! The "bebidas" were fantastic as well. We had Dan Tippy's famous Rock Chuck red as our house red, sangria which was made from an batch of rock chuck red and local beer from cascade lakes. The drinks were a hit because at the end of the night there was nothing left!

Patrick and Felecia did an amazing job with giving toasts. That was actually David's favorite part, he later told me. Patrick made everyone cry when he busted out some spanish welcoming David to the family.

The cake we had on our table, the really pretty one, was only good for being pretty. It was really hard to cut into and very dry. The Dj played the wrong first dance song, he was close by playing Bob Marley, but didn't play Is this love, he played One love. And thats about it that went wrong. Oh yeah a glow stick, bright green, exploded onto my wedding dress but with a little help from Kasey and some soap it came right out!

Other then those very very minor setbacks we DANCED the night away. From the point when people finished eating until 11:45 we danced.