The First Week

[Nutty 2]

Ohhh..... this is right up my alley!!!!

All my days are spent daydreaming about the first few days!!!

I plan to have an antipasti platter with cheeses, dried olives and smoked red peppers, some "beef" and "turkey" cold cuts, pannini bread...and some nice ice cream with strawberries. I figured this would be good for afternoon or evening arrival...and I wouldn't have to cook...and then we can "play" either before or after eating...

Then in the morning I will make blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup and good french press coffee (of course he may want black tea). Then we will more than likely "play" some more.

Then go out for lunch and a walk. My neighborhood is one of the best in Portland with lots of shops and restaurants and outdoor seating...

My mom and friends know not to disturb us the first week. So it will be Abbas and me...I don't have any plans other than laying around, eating and taking short walks here and there.

Edited March 13, 2008 by Nutty

[chaishai 1]

He just says he'll eat anything from "my hand". I could take that literally but it means whatever I cook he'll eat. A few things I have shown him on the cam that I ate in front of him he said looked good but when I asked if he'd like me to cook it for him his reply would be "not every day". I think I read that it's sunnah for the husband not to complain about the food his wife cooks so I guess that's why he didn't outright say "no".

Fish is a big nuh uh but even then he says if i cook it he will eat it. He just tends to get sick from eating fish for some reason.

I'll have to find some place that has good pita bread 'cause the stuff at our stop n shop isn't even comparable to what he's used to in Egypt. There is a sub shop that bakes their own daily so maybe I"ll ask if I could buy a big bag of those.

I can't wait to cook for him!!!! I"m so used to cooking for tweens who barely eat anything and mostly only eat chicken fingers and fish sticks!!!

Yes "by my hand"... "by your hand" -- it's Arabic syntax translated literally into English

If you can find a good Arab market, that will help a lot. Our Arab market has a bakery, so I buy 6 bags of their fresh-baked pita every week and throw 5 of them in the freezer -- that way, we can pull a bag out as we need it (almost every day) and it doesn't go stale. Mahmoud also likes French bread (the very soft kind) and flour tortillas. The important thing is to always have some kind of bread -- he cannot eat a meal without it.

Haha my husband loves chicken fingers and fish sticks. And cheese sticks. And fried potatoes -- I swear he would have fried potatoes at every dayum meal if I would let him. Also anything with tomato sauce and/or cheese. And especially he likes anything chopped up real small and stuffed into something else -- he looooooooves stuffed macaroni shells, stuffed mushrooms, stuffed tomatoes, stuffed peppers, and of course anything ma7shi.

I am so excited for you, Bridget !!!!!! The happy days are coming !!!!

-MK

Edited to add: fresh fruit, milk and eggs disappear as fast as I can bring them home. And all vegetables are gobbled up, no matter how they're prepared.

Does your hubby like the pita that they make in the US as much as at home? My husband does not and he just informed me tonight that he wants to build one of these in the backyard this weekend

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10948116@N08/2108948091/

[chaishai 1]

you know i was just thinking about it and i am in the same boat, i am all about making my husbands traditional food that he grew up with. but i was thinking that if i were moving to his country the last thing i would want is for he or his family to be constantly making me american food in case i was homesick! i would be all about the local food! once i went there for a month and i really started to crave new york pizza but it took awhile. i guess if a guy is a picky eater its best to make the food he is used to but otherwise I would think he might want to try american specialties? or is it just that MENA food is so darn good!

[sarahaziz 0]

my first days probably 10924382 relatives with us. Good thing cuz im scared to see my husband again too shy

[sereia 0]

Abdou was very tired when he arrived (it was about 1am by the time we got back to our house) and just wanted to sleep. I had prepared food for him but he didn't eat a single bite. I made sure to stock the fridge with his favorite snacks, fruits, drinks, etc. I also wanted him to try all the favorite cuisines I knew he's never had like sushi, Mexican, BBQ, etc. I have to say nothing upset his stomach at all...but there were foods he didn't like at first AT ALL but now he LOVES them. I think a few months of Americanization can change their palate into liking foods they never thought they would! I joke with my husband a lot about things he thought were disgusting and now he loves them!

I would cook a variety of things for him and don't be sad if he doesn't like it. Over time he'll get more accustomed to American cuisine if he didn't love it right away!

As far as activities I would have things in your mind (or make a list) of places to see and things to do with him....but play it by ear when he gets here and see if he's up for going out and about or if he wants to hang close to home at first. But having the ideas is great in case he wants to get out!

I'm soooo excited for you guys. I can't wait to hear the details when he comes. *hugs*

[tnh9479 1]

I would take it easy as well. I know my husband was exhausted for the first two days or so. And...don't be surprised if he has a hard time finding things to eat. Hicham survived on pizza, chocolate ice cream, and chili for a long time!

[Nasturtium 500]

Does your hubby like the pita that they make in the US as much as at home? My husband does not and he just informed me tonight that he wants to build one of these in the backyard this weekend

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10948116@N08/2108948091/

Finally! Someone else wants to make a taboun too! I think i said I wanted to do this in the exercise thread. Anyway. YHow does he plan to construct one? We have clay soil here but not clay-ey enough.

[sereia 0]

there is a wonderful restaurant in NYC called "taboon" and they have a real, beautiful one in their open kitchen! the BEST bread ever!

[MelindaandTarek 0]

I love hear all of your stories of the first week...I imagine mine all the time...and thank you all for sharing...gives a warm fuzzy feeling!!!!

[deadbird 2]

oh god, the first week was so overwhelming we were 100% exhausted EVERY day! A lot of that had to do with the wedding though because that was a week after he got here. I took 2 full weeks off work and when I got back it was like I needed to take another one! lol

Someone took us out for lunch or dinner almost every day. Sometimes it was a planned thing, other times we had visited an old friend and they insisted. He had no problems adjusting to the food, though I wouldn't let him try sushi till after the wedding & honeymoon! (Actually, I tried to get him to eat it at the wedding, but he refused that one.) lol

I took him to the local international market and let him pick out a whole bunch of things to buy so that way he would have some things familiar to him. We ended up buying some CDs and snack food and a huge bag of molokhia

I also took him to the beach. In November. Just to make it clear to him that the beach in New England is NOTHING like the beaches back home. LOL. He loves to go now--we just went for walking one day this week but he says our sand is dirt, nothing like the REAL SAND of Egypt. lol

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

tamara....the fastest meal ever is mloukhia....depending on whether u use chicken or beef....and if u have the frozen bag of mloukhia offered to you....

I just brown a few cloves of fresh garlic add the beef stew meat and simmer on low until it is pretty cooked.....ill add about a cup of water. a fresh diced tomotoe, and salt and pepper to taste..and let it all cook for about an hour to let the meat tenderize....i add the mloukhia and bring it to a boil...adding water as needed....let the mloukhia cook a while...you will notice it becomes less slimy looking and more soupy....and thats about it....I know i give the most awful instructions, but i learned how to cook everything by myself, and i kinda go by what i know....

if i was to use chicken, i would probably bake it or put it in the broiler....leave it on the side, and just make the mloukhia....which i would brown the garlic and add the mluokhia to the garlic, add water as needed and boil...salt and pepper for taste!

dont forget to have lemons...my hubby squeezes almost a whole lemon into his own bowl...

Edited March 14, 2008 by ks71905

[Ban Hammer 13,293]

oh god, the first week was so overwhelming we were 100% exhausted EVERY day! A lot of that had to do with the wedding though because that was a week after he got here. I took 2 full weeks off work and when I got back it was like I needed to take another one! lol

[Imua 0]

I am lucky that I live in a largely desi neighborhood where everything is walkable - lots of Indian food stores, restaurants and Hindu temples. Lots of ladies(and some men) walking around in salwar kameez like me. The other day I saw a Sikh guy wearing a dhoti - in NYC March weather - I love my neighborhood!!! The first night when he arrives I have already promised I would make him my special spinach lasagne with white sauce - this is a nice dish to make because it is yummy and impressive but you can make it beforehand and it freezes well so the night he arrives I can just reheat it and make a salad. We are both veg and like most of the same foods. He has never tried Mexican, Thai, Chinese(except Nepali chow mein/spring rolls) but is pretty eager to try anything as long as it is veg. I told him I am busy since I work full time so probably will need to heat up a lot of prepared foods and can only cook from scratch on the weekends, unlike his mom who cooks up rice, dal and 2-3 veg every day - luckily he does the cooking sometimes at home so at least until he finds work he has said I can look forward to a nice home-cooked Nepali meal every day when he comes.

[doodlebugg 10]

I just brown a few cloves of fresh garlic add the beef stew meat and simmer on low until it is pretty cooked.....ill add about a cup of water. a fresh diced tomotoe, and salt and pepper to taste..and let it all cook for about an hour to let the meat tenderize....i add the mloukhia and bring it to a boil...adding water as needed....let the mloukhia cook a while...you will notice it becomes less slimy looking and more soupy....and thats about it....I know i give the most awful instructions, but i learned how to cook everything by myself, and i kinda go by what i know....

dont forget to have lemons...my hubby squeezes almost a whole lemon into his own bowl...

That recipe sounds like it would rock in a crock pot!!!

Oh right..the lemons...I can't wait for him to see how HUGE our lemons are compared to the ones in Egypt!!! lol

[doodlebugg 10]

I am lucky that I live in a largely desi neighborhood where everything is walkable - lots of Indian food stores, restaurants and Hindu temples. Lots of ladies(and some men) walking around in salwar kameez like me. The other day I saw a Sikh guy wearing a dhoti - in NYC March weather - I love my neighborhood!!! The first night when he arrives I have already promised I would make him my special spinach lasagne with white sauce - this is a nice dish to make because it is yummy and impressive but you can make it beforehand and it freezes well so the night he arrives I can just reheat it and make a salad. We are both veg and like most of the same foods. He has never tried Mexican, Thai, Chinese(except Nepali chow mein/spring rolls) but is pretty eager to try anything as long as it is veg. I told him I am busy since I work full time so probably will need to heat up a lot of prepared foods and can only cook from scratch on the weekends, unlike his mom who cooks up rice, dal and 2-3 veg every day - luckily he does the cooking sometimes at home so at least until he finds work he has said I can look forward to a nice home-cooked Nepali meal every day when he comes.

You just gave me a great idea!!! I'll make a bunch of things he can have for lunch ahead of time so on the days when I'm at work and he's at home he can just take it out of the freezer and put it in the microwave. That way he won't have to just have a plain ole sammich. I"ll just prepare it ahead of time on Sundays.

Wow you're lucky about the neighborhood you live in! I remember last summer I was waiting at a stop light in the city next to me and saw a man with a long galibaya on and sandals crossing the street. I feel lucky that my surrounding areas are pretty diverse too. My town does have a lot of immigrants but the majority are from Russia.