Bajeasy + bajoomy + protein.

*Translation of above title: easy, yummy, and protein. (A description of below recipe)

While I love to eat good food, rarely, if ever, am I inspired to make it myself. I usually depend on Fo or my friend Whitney for the making of the delicious culinary treats. Today was a rare exception. I decided to take a break from the rather tedious and boring tasks which comprise my current work and fill the hours of this rainy and cold day with reading and sleeping and doing more than a little lounging. As dinner hour approach and my mom whisked off to some meeting with the words "pancakes and eggs for dinner" as she went out the door, I decided I didn't want pancakes for dinner (no offense Jules). My mind was taken to a recipe Sars sent me via email and as my thoughts clung to the word "easy" she included in the subject title of that email, I was sold. (Here's a shout out to Sars! I have been a vegetarian since about January and Sarah has always been great at keeping an eye out for great vegetarian recipes, so thanks you lil!) Anyway, back to my story. I made my way to my beloved Maceys and went up and down the isles collecting the needed ingredients. As much as I love Macey's , it failed me a bit today. Macey's does not carry millet and as such, I had to make one more stop at the natural food store Good Earth to pick up the necessary grain. I brought my ingredients home and made this de-lish salad. I heart salads because all you gotta do is cut everything up and toss it into a bowl and whip up a little dressing and you're done! Here's the recipe and of course, I had to document that I actually made it. I decided to serve it on a wheat tortilla and it was great. You'll definitely get your vegetables in with recipe, plus lots of protein with the beans, and it's really easy and really good. You should definitely try it!

Black Bean and Millet Salad Recipe #146049

Millet a wonderful grain,that most think of as bird food. Millet is highly nutritious, non-glutinous and like buckwheat and quinoa, is not an acid forming food so is soothing and easy to digest. In fact, it is considered to be one of the least allergenic and most digestible grains available and it is a warming grain so will help to heat the body in cold or rainy seasons and climates. Millet is mildly sweet, nut-like flavor and contains many beneficial nutrients. It is nearly 15% protein, contains high amounts of fiber, B-complex vitamins including niacin, thiamin, and riboflavin, the essential amino acid methionine, lecithin, and some vitamin E. It is high in the minerals iron, magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium. So eat your millet! The seeds are also rich in phytochemicals, including Phytic acid, which is believed to lower cholesterol, and Phytate, which is associated with reduced cancer risk.

35 min | 5 min prep | SERVES 6

1	cup millet, rinsed uncooked
2 1/2-3	cups water
2	cups canned black beans
2	large tomatoes, chopped
1	small red bell pepper, diced
1	medium cucumber, seeds removed and diced
1	medium onion, diced
	chopped parsley (optional)
0	chopped cilantro, to taste (optional)
Dressing
1/3	cup water
3	tablespoons lemon juice
1	tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2	teaspoons garlic, minced
1	teaspoon salt
1/8	teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4	teaspoon black pepper
1	teaspoon cumin

1. Cook the millet in 3 cups of water until water is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Fluff with fork and allow to steam and cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine millet, black beans, tomatoes, pepper, cucumber and onion.
3. Mix all dressing ingredients until well blended and pour over the salad, tossing to blend.
4. Cover and refrigerate until the salad is well chilled.
5. Serve on lettuce leaves or stuff into pita bread or wrap in a tortilla.
*I was too impatient to wait for it to be "well chilled" and it was still great.

La réunion

You know what I really like, besides playing rugby, eating, watching Sportscenter, and wearing my chacos (yes, hard to believe there could possibly be anything else)? Getting together people you've known for a long time but haven't seen in awhile and feeling like even though you've both changed, you can still talk almost like time hasn't passed. I really like that.

Le passeport

Prayers answered. My passport came in the mail today! My picture doesn't really look like me, except for the curly hair. In fact, it looks likes I was a bit high when I took the picture (I assure you I was not). Too bad I have to look at that picture of me for the next 10 years. But honestly, I wouldn't mind looking at a picture of my dog inside my passport for the next 10 years as long as it got me into France.

The Devil Came on Horseback...

Last night I finished reading The Devil Came on Horseback by Brian Steidle. It's about the author, an ex-Marine, and what he saw while part of an observation team in Darfur, Sudan. As part of a team under the African Union, his job was to investigate attacks by the government forces, the Arab militia, also called the janjaweed, and rebels forces on villages throughout the Darfur region. Here's the VERY simplified version of the cause of conflict: the leaders of government of Sudan (GOS) and the jajaweed are Arab and they are opposed by black African tribes. Sudan has been in civil war since the 80s because the African tribes wanted more representation in the government but the Arab leaders didn't want to give up power. A ceasefire in 2004 was supposed to end the war, but conflict in Darfur has continued. Since as early as 2003, the GOS and the GOS supported janjaweed have been systematically killing the African tribes in the Darfur region and are even crossing borders and carrying out raids of villages of refugees in Chad. The international community has done little to stop the conflict and as far as new coverage goes, it was barely a blimp on the radar screen. Although numbers vary, the UN estimates that 800,000 people have been killed and more than 2 million displaced as a result of the conflict.

There's the simplified version. After I finish these kinds of books, not only am I horrified by the killing, the rape, and the looting that takes place, but I'm also horrified by the lack of action on the part of the international community as a whole, not just the United States, although they are certainly are included. (Begin sidenote: After taking a civil wars and ethnic conflicts class I'm convinced that while the UN has done some good things, based on what happened in Rwanda, Bosnia, and now Sudan, the UN needs to not only act more decisively, but it needs to acquire some teeth in order to stop the conflict, not just send "peacekeeping" forces that have limited power to intervene. End sidenote.) At the same time, as a poor college student just trying to make enough money to pay for tuition and housing, I feel like there is little I can do to remedy the situation. I am not the Secretary General of the United Nations nor am I an influential leader in the government. However, there is something I and indeed all of us can do, and it is part of the beauty of living in a democracy. If each one of us becomes informed about the current situations not only in Sudan, but throughout the rest of the world, we can then use this knowledge to elect leaders who will (cross your fingers) take it upon themselves to try and make a difference. If enough of us voice our distaste for the way the United States and international community has handled the genocide in Darfur, whether through the ballot or otherwise, the leaders of this country will have to listen. So my challenge to you is to get informed and do something to help protect the basic human rights and freedoms of people not only in Sudan, but throughout the world-- the rights that we all, myself included, take for granted.

*There is also a documentary also entitled The Devil Came on Horseback which looks at the genocide in Darfur. I haven't seen it, I hear it's very good. View the trailer here.

Take me back...

I'm about to sound like my grandmother when I say this, but they just don't make movies quite like they used too. Case in point. And another. And one more. And possibly my all time favorite: this. These are the kinds of movies that I associate with my childhood and I think everyone should watch movies like "Kiss Me Kate," "White Christmas," "Holiday Inn," "Easter Parade," and "Singin' in the Rain" at least once before they die. And who needs shows like SpongeBob and Rugrats when you can watch cartoons with places like the Isle of Jazz and Land of Symphony, which are separated by the Sea of Discord? It just doesn't get much better than that.

Parlez-vous francais?

The day after I got home from my trip I went and renewed my passport...... now, why would I need a passport? Because I'm going to France!!!!! HOORAY! It hasn't really sunk in yet, but I actually have a real, legitimate plane ticket to France!!! Finally! My mom called me on the drive back to Yosemite and said there were some great deals on tickets, so she went ahead and bought me one. Anna has to go there for some research, so I'm going to tag along with her and my brother-in-law. We leave June 10 and come back June 20. Even though we're not going to be there really a long time, I'll take it!!!! I think we're going to spend a few days in Paris but then we're renting a car and driving around southern France, which I think is really the way to go. Start praying my passport gets here in time. But as for right now, it's time to get to work so I can pay for my ticket! Bonjour Paris!

California Adventure!

I am back from California and it was a fabulous week full of fun times and great people. Here's the run down: (Sorry it's so long!)

Saturday (April 26th):
I flew into Oakland and went straight to Menlo Park to Jaimie's aunt and uncle's house for a BBQ and pool party. Jaimie is my friend who is now on her mission and I flew out to go to her farewell. It was fantastic to hang out with her and other friends from freshman year.

Sunday:
Jaimie's farewell was incredible. She is the only member in her family (she was baptized when she was 18) and the strength of her testimony is amazing to me. After her farewell and setting- apart we went to the Oakland Temple and Visitors Center. I had never been to the Oakland temple and the view of Oakland and San Francisco just across the bay was beautiful.

Oakland Temple

View of the Bay from the temple: Oakland is the closer city and San Francisco is in the background.

Abby, Camille, me, Jaimie, Morgan

Josh and Garrett

Me, Camille, and Jaimie right before I left

Together one last time

Monday: Jaimie left Monday morning to go to Provo and head to the MTC, so I went and stayed with my aunt and uncle in Pleasanton. I went on a great run up in the foothills above the city and I've decided I really like northern California. It's green, there are hills, the weather is great, and there's so much to do around San Francisco bay. However, it's still a little too crowded for my liking, though it's a lot better than southern California. I spent Monday doing a lot of reading, I took a nap in the sun, and had a nice relaxing day. In the evening, Krystal, Talya, Ofa, and Ela rolled in from Utah (these are all girls on the rugby team). They came and picked me up from Pleasanton and we proceeded to drive to Krystal's house in Freemont while stopping by a Spanish Mission along the way. But the fun was just beginning....

Tuesday: YOSEMITE!!!! Rachel, the captain of the rugby team, lives in Palo Alto which is about 25 minutes from Freemont, so she met up with us at Krystal's to join in on the Yosemite fun. Sadly, we found out that we couldn't hike Half Dome because they don't put up the cables until late May, but we were still determined to have a fantastic time. After we drove the 4 hours to the park, we pitched our tent, met a crazy man named Steve who spends his life on his motorcycle going wherever he wants, and went on a little-bitty hike in the evening to Mirror Lake. We actually got a little bit lost and didn't get back until after dark, but it was still a party. If you haven't been to Yosemite and you love hiking and camping, Yosemite is a must-see and do. The park itself is massive, but we just went to Yosemite Valley which is on the western side of the park. Here are pictures of our little hike... we wanted to get a warm-up before we did a big one the next day.

View of Yosemite Valley on the drive into the park. That's Half Dome in the background.

Ofa, Rachel, and me. Needless to say we were really happy not to be in school and out in nature!

Really big rock in the middle of the river we couldn't resist climbing
L-R: me, Krystal, Rachel, Ofa

The Crew: Ela managed to set up the camera on the timer so we could take this picture in a really cool tree.

Ofa, me, Krystal, Talya, Rachel

Krystal, me, Ela, Talya, Rachel

View of Half Dome at sun set. Amazing.

Wednesday: After a lovely sleep in a sweet 8-man Northface tent Rachel brought, we packed up our stuff and headed on our hike up Yosemite Falls. I didn't know this, but Yosemite Falls is actually the largest waterfall in North America and the 6th largest waterfall in the world. It beats out Niagara Falls, even. From bottom to top, it is 2,425 feet! Woo-hoo! We decided that this would be a good replacement for Half Dome. It's 3.5 miles up to the top, so round trip of 7 miles... no too shabby. The views of the valley are amazing, the waterfall is fantastic.... all in all just an amazing hike. You should do it too!

View of Yosemite Valley

Yosemite Falls

Long way down....

The Crew

Krystal and Me at the top of the falls

Thursday: We got home late Wednesday night from Yosemite so we slept in a little bit, but then headed up to Berkeley to my cousin's lacrosse game. After that, we took the train into San Francisco and spent the day there. The way I like to experience big cities is by just walking around, doing some touristy things, but not too many. I'm such a people watcher so I'm happy just walking around and observing the many different kinds of people you can find in a big city. We started out in Union Square and went to an outdoor art exhibit of local artists. For Ofa's sake, we stopped into Tiffany's, in which I felt very uncomfortable the entire time. We walked through China town and all the little markets and headed down to the piers. We did do some tourist stuff like walking up Lombard Street, the windiest street in the world, went to Ghirardelli Square for some fantastic sundaes, and hit up Pier 39. We went to a great little Chinese restaurant for dinner, but the price tag that came with it was not so nice. San Francisco is expensive! All in all, it was a great day.

Krystal had been waiting for her mission call that week and her sister called us while we were in the middle of a crowded sidewalk in China Town to tell her that her call had come. Obviously she was anxious to get home, so right after dinner, Rachel, who had come and met us in the city, speedily drove us back to Freemont so Krystal could open it. We won't mention that while still in the city, we accidentally turned the wrong way down a one way street into oncoming traffic and proceeded to to a U-turn with a bus driving straight at us. Whoops. :) Love ya Rach! Anyway, Krystal opened her call and she's going to Lubbock, Texas. Whoo-hoo!

Ofa's beloved Tiffany's. They even gave her a complimentary bag.

Who knew they sold live frogs in a meat market. I sure didn't.

Yum.... Sundaes at Ghirardelli Square

Awesome hat store at Pier 39

Lombard Street

Ocean

At the Pier

Krystal opening her call

Another missionary from the rugby team!

Friday: Talya's 21st birthday! Happy birthday Talya! We celebrated her birthday with a great breakfast and lots of rugby! It was the rugby final four in Palo Alto, which we should have been in by the way, but it was fun to watch the teams. Friday was the semifinals and for the women, Stanford beat Navy, Penn St. beat Brown and for the guys Cal beat St. Mary's and BYU beat Colorado.

Rachel also got her mission call on Friday and she is going to the Argentina, Resistencia mission. Wa-hoo!

Talya's birthday breakfast. Here's the story with the elephants: ever since she was little Talya wanted an elephant for her birthday but never got one. So we got her 20 little plastic elephants and a stuffed elephant to make 21... one for every year she didn't get one. We named the elephant Lubbock in honor of Krystal's mission call.

Talya was happy she reached the big 2-1...

Saturday: More rugby. We went on a great run in Palo Alto and the headed to the rugby pitch for the finals. For the women, Stanford beat Penn. St. 15-10 on a last second score. It was an awesome game to watch! Not gonna lie, it hurt a little bit not being able to play because I know we could've done well. For the boys, Cal just thoroughly embarrassed BYU 59-7.... it was rough to watch. To make ourselves feel better we went out for gelato and hung out at a small little bookstore. Lame? Not in the least.

Sunday: headed home. The girls left in the morning and I flew back in the evening.

Right before the girls left to drive back to Utah, and of course, Lubbock's there too. And about the bus... let's just say Ela has some awesome cousins. :)

So there you have it! I hope you made it through. I tried to be brief. But in summary, it was a great trip... probably one of the best weeks of my life. It was a great last hoorah before lots of people head on missions. I'm grateful I was able to see such great places and have such great people around me.