Sunday in MENA,

[Ihavequestions 419]

Egypt has an overabundance of engineers, so many that an engineering degree is probably interchangeable with a taxi driving permit. Egypt also has building/construction codes and inspectors. Enforcement is the issue. Buildings collapse all of the time. Age, shoddy construction work, shifting soil, the vibration of years and years of heavy traffic, ants chewing their way through the walls, all of it takes its toll over time and eventually some of them fall down. Entire neighborhoods with a population that exceeds the available utility output makes water and electrical outages a rather common occurance. Add to that government employees who aren't paid anything close to a living wage (120 - 700 LE a month is the NORM) and you have the makings of a perfect storm in terms of a disasterous infrastructure/housing stock.

There was a guy in Alexandria who built an apartment building a couple of years ago and tacked on three floors more than legally allowed. Construction, including permits and inspections, continued until the units were almost ready to sell. Then the government came through with its own DE-construction crew and took off the top three floors, at the owner's expense.

[Melly 2 0]

I was out yesterday and some guys were doing something similar, they had a hole opened in the street and were down inside it, but they hadn't put up any traffic cones or anything so cars kept almost driving over/into the hole. Every now and then a guy would pop his head up and check for cars, but didn't really seem that concerned.

Complete sidenote: Today's my daughter's birthday, I have a cake mix, but I need to make frosting. How do you make frosting without vanilla extract? Does that vanillin powder actually taste good enough to use?

Amysaid, you could probably use vanillin but be careful about the amount. I was making brownies at my MIL's and she didn't have vanilla, she had vanillin, which I was VERY disappointed about because I don't like fake flavorings. In any case, 1 tsp of vanilla is NOT the same as 1 tsp of vanillin. Vanillin is stronger and you need to use way less than real vanilla.

Can you get hubby to go out to the store and get some real vanilla?

[amysaid 9]

I was out yesterday and some guys were doing something similar, they had a hole opened in the street and were down inside it, but they hadn't put up any traffic cones or anything so cars kept almost driving over/into the hole. Every now and then a guy would pop his head up and check for cars, but didn't really seem that concerned.

Complete sidenote: Today's my daughter's birthday, I have a cake mix, but I need to make frosting. How do you make frosting without vanilla extract? Does that vanillin powder actually taste good enough to use?

Amysaid, you could probably use vanillin but be careful about the amount. I was making brownies at my MIL's and she didn't have vanilla, she had vanillin, which I was VERY disappointed about because I don't like fake flavorings. In any case, 1 tsp of vanilla is NOT the same as 1 tsp of vanillin. Vanillin is stronger and you need to use way less than real vanilla.

Can you get hubby to go out to the store and get some real vanilla?

He said they don't have it here, that all they have is the vanillin? I dunno. I tried to use it anyway, but the frosting turned out crappy. I think it was due more to the sugar than to the vanillin and/or low quality cocoa powder. we powdered the sugar, but it just doesn't taste the same as the sugar i'm used to. i use cane sugar at home (y'know, C&H) and A swears that this is cane sugar also, but it doesn't taste the same at all. Maybe it's raw sugar? It's kind of brownish, and in larger crystals. anyway, even my six year old won't eat it, so it must be pretty bad. I had a meltdown and started crying because I feel like a failure as a cook when I'm here, because I can't manage to make anything that tastes the way I want it to, or the way it's supposed to.

[Ihavequestions 419]

They use a filler in the sugar, that's why it's different.

[amysaid 9]

They use a filler in the sugar, that's why it's different.

ah, fantastic. so maybe i'm not a baking failure after all!

[Ihavequestions 419]

They use a filler in the sugar, that's why it's different.

ah, fantastic. so maybe i'm not a baking failure after all!

Of course not! It'####### or miss with most things that come in packages, except probablly pasta.

Have you tried the sugar with the blue and yellow label (the writing is Arabic - there's a drawing of a cup with steam coming out of it)? It's not C & H, but it's closer than the kind you have and it's the only sugar we use in our coffees.

That other stuff will stay chunky forever, even in boiling water - eeeeeeeuuuuuuu.

[Sandrila 1]

Have a safe trip IHQ