I haven't updated my blog in awhile, mostly because I haven't been able to come up with a coherent theme to write an entire entry on. I figure for the benefit of those people who are not my mom and seek me out on gchat everyday, I should probably post something about my life here. (Hi Mom! I know you read these too!)
So, in lieu of a better theme to write on, I will cover what is arguably my family's favorite thing in the world: food. Coming to Egypt/the Middle East, I was a bit disappointed that I wouldn't be sampling dishes like Italy, or even have the variety of places to choose from like the US (Chipotle or Wong's Wok? Both please!). But oh boy, was I wrong. Not only do I love the food here, I'm pretty certain I'm going to come home 10 pounds heavier.
It's not that there is a variety of food here, it's just that the food that is here is really really good. I could eat falafel and hummus every day (and usually do!). The regional specialty, for me at least, is all the dips. Hummus, baba ghanoush, tahini, yogurt-y dips, some tomato and cucumber thing that I can't remember the name of. Sooo good. With warm, fresh pita bread. Mm. And then there's falafel. I don't know why I didn't eat it more in the states. There's a bakery five minutes away from my classes that will give you a bag of bread (usually 10 or so pieces), a bag of falafel, and a container of hummus for one dinar. Inevitably, that's where we usually eat lunch. And I couldn't be happier.
There's a lot more than just dips and falafel though. In Jordan, there's this dish of sorts called manaqish. It's basically Levantine pizza. (Levantine = the region of the Levant = Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine/Israel area.) It's flatbread with a topping, usually zataar (olive oil and thyme) or cheese (my favorite). I eat that a lot as well. THE Jordanian dish though is called mansaf. It is bedouin in origin, and although it can be served in restaurants, it's traditionally served at home in huge portions. Basically it's rice (or freekah, which is a type of grain) with lamb or chicken (although lamb is more traditional), and a fermented dried yogurt sauce. I have yet to try it (I'm waiting until someone's host mom invites me over for the real thing!), but I hear from the people who have had it that it's delicious!
Fun side story: my friend Ian, who was here last semester, gave us a great tip for eating mansaf. The honored guest is supposed to be offered the eyeball of the lamb, as it is considered the best part. (Oh yeah, forgot to mention - if it's a special occasion, the head of the lamb is put in the middle of the dish!) Should we ever find ourselves the honored guest when mansaf is present, you are supposed to take the eyeball and thank them profusely (because to refuse it would be disrespectful), shove your hand into the middle of the rice, drop the eyeball, take a huge handful of rice, and eat that. When I was telling this story to someone (I can't remember if it was Gina or Auntie Di! Sorry!), they made the observation that you really only get one shot at that, so you have to do it right the first time! Ha!
Back to food though. Shawerma, of course, is ever-present in the Middle East. I've had some good ones, but I've also had some bad ones, so I generally keep away from shawerma. "Meat" in Jordan means "lamb" unless otherwise specified, and seeing as I am not a fan of the lamb here for some reason, I have been eating mostly vegetarian since getting here.
Another interesting note, Jordanians' favorite condiment: mayonnaise. I have no idea why. They put it on EVERYTHING. Falafel sandwiches. French fries. Pizza. Mozzarella sticks. I am somewhere between disgusted and unhappily tolerant of mayonnaise on a good day, so this intrusion into my alimentary life has not been well received.
Hmm, what else.... oh, another big contributor to the ten pounds I will put on before returning home: baklava. Mmmm. The bakery with the one dinar hummus and falafel also makes amazing sweets, including baklava. I admit... I ate an entire package of baklava in a week. I would be disgusted with myself if it wasn't so delicious. I haven't branched out too much beyond that, though. Yesterday when we went on our Biblical Jordan excursion (I'll have a post and pictures of that up soon!), we had a buffet by the Dead Sea. One of the desserts looked suspiciously like jalebi, an Indian sweet that Gina's parents stock us with on occasion back at Wash U. I tried it, and it definitely wasn't as good, although unknown if that's because the Jordanian version is bad, or because the buffet's version is bad.
I think I've rambled enough about food for one day. Back to work! Or mumkin it's just time for bed...
So, in lieu of a better theme to write on, I will cover what is arguably my family's favorite thing in the world: food. Coming to Egypt/the Middle East, I was a bit disappointed that I wouldn't be sampling dishes like Italy, or even have the variety of places to choose from like the US (Chipotle or Wong's Wok? Both please!). But oh boy, was I wrong. Not only do I love the food here, I'm pretty certain I'm going to come home 10 pounds heavier.
It's not that there is a variety of food here, it's just that the food that is here is really really good. I could eat falafel and hummus every day (and usually do!). The regional specialty, for me at least, is all the dips. Hummus, baba ghanoush, tahini, yogurt-y dips, some tomato and cucumber thing that I can't remember the name of. Sooo good. With warm, fresh pita bread. Mm. And then there's falafel. I don't know why I didn't eat it more in the states. There's a bakery five minutes away from my classes that will give you a bag of bread (usually 10 or so pieces), a bag of falafel, and a container of hummus for one dinar. Inevitably, that's where we usually eat lunch. And I couldn't be happier.
There's a lot more than just dips and falafel though. In Jordan, there's this dish of sorts called manaqish. It's basically Levantine pizza. (Levantine = the region of the Levant = Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine/Israel area.) It's flatbread with a topping, usually zataar (olive oil and thyme) or cheese (my favorite). I eat that a lot as well. THE Jordanian dish though is called mansaf. It is bedouin in origin, and although it can be served in restaurants, it's traditionally served at home in huge portions. Basically it's rice (or freekah, which is a type of grain) with lamb or chicken (although lamb is more traditional), and a fermented dried yogurt sauce. I have yet to try it (I'm waiting until someone's host mom invites me over for the real thing!), but I hear from the people who have had it that it's delicious!
Fun side story: my friend Ian, who was here last semester, gave us a great tip for eating mansaf. The honored guest is supposed to be offered the eyeball of the lamb, as it is considered the best part. (Oh yeah, forgot to mention - if it's a special occasion, the head of the lamb is put in the middle of the dish!) Should we ever find ourselves the honored guest when mansaf is present, you are supposed to take the eyeball and thank them profusely (because to refuse it would be disrespectful), shove your hand into the middle of the rice, drop the eyeball, take a huge handful of rice, and eat that. When I was telling this story to someone (I can't remember if it was Gina or Auntie Di! Sorry!), they made the observation that you really only get one shot at that, so you have to do it right the first time! Ha!
Back to food though. Shawerma, of course, is ever-present in the Middle East. I've had some good ones, but I've also had some bad ones, so I generally keep away from shawerma. "Meat" in Jordan means "lamb" unless otherwise specified, and seeing as I am not a fan of the lamb here for some reason, I have been eating mostly vegetarian since getting here.
Another interesting note, Jordanians' favorite condiment: mayonnaise. I have no idea why. They put it on EVERYTHING. Falafel sandwiches. French fries. Pizza. Mozzarella sticks. I am somewhere between disgusted and unhappily tolerant of mayonnaise on a good day, so this intrusion into my alimentary life has not been well received.
Hmm, what else.... oh, another big contributor to the ten pounds I will put on before returning home: baklava. Mmmm. The bakery with the one dinar hummus and falafel also makes amazing sweets, including baklava. I admit... I ate an entire package of baklava in a week. I would be disgusted with myself if it wasn't so delicious. I haven't branched out too much beyond that, though. Yesterday when we went on our Biblical Jordan excursion (I'll have a post and pictures of that up soon!), we had a buffet by the Dead Sea. One of the desserts looked suspiciously like jalebi, an Indian sweet that Gina's parents stock us with on occasion back at Wash U. I tried it, and it definitely wasn't as good, although unknown if that's because the Jordanian version is bad, or because the buffet's version is bad.
I think I've rambled enough about food for one day. Back to work! Or mumkin it's just time for bed...
Make sure you get plenty of exercise including dancing and the pounds hopefully won't stick!
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