Yallah Middle East 2.0

[~Jackie~ 30]

I am lucky, Mohammed cooks. He hates going out to eat at fast-food. He makes maglooba, mensaf, I make the hummus. He makes the rice because I am not qualified.

Kel, COME SEE ME! I am at work all week-end. Mohammed started his new job today. I hope he likes it.

Jackie

[honeyblonde 0]

Jackie, rice is much easier to get right with olive oil. I never used it in rice before, but Abdel brought me a gallon fresh from the countryside and I usually cook the meat and onion and peppers in it, then just add the rice and water right to the pot. The rice comes out perfect every single time. I think you could add just a little olive oil when you make plain rice and it would come out perfect too.

[crazyinEgypt 0]

I tried to make rice about a week ago like they make it here in Egypt. I don't know what I did, I put a little oil and butter in the pan like I watched his cousin do, and a little bit of rice and before I knew it it looks like little popcorn kernals in the pan and tasted like it too! Amr got a kick outta it, but I was almost in tears. Poor man is gonna live off boxed food when we get back to the states.

[~Jess~ 0]

Thankfully George loves to cook.....thats his profession......and also he lived in the states for almost 5yrs so he as used to american food.......and now coming back here to Lebanon he of course did miss the food....we are living with his sister so she cooks the Arabic food for the family and if i dont like what is being made George will cook me something else (he is super good ) i dont like onions and tomatoes and peppers and mushrooms and at least the first two are a base in Arabic food..........but i love the bread, the sandwhichs, the hummus, the falafel-if its cooking right.......and yes when there is a gathering there is always fries, hummus, taboli, bread.....with some other mixtures of stuff.........when we get to Canada or to the States(Godwilling we get one or the other soon) who knows what he will eat, maybe he will make small things of Arabic food so he can still eat it but i think after awhile he will start eating other food often......he even misses some foods....like Ritz crackers, and sour cream and onion dip, and fritos lol.....we have burger king, mcd's, kfc, hardees, subway, pizzahut and all that stuff here so its not like im fienin for it lol

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Fish shawerma

Ohh, the blasphemy. I love shawerma and I love fish, but fish shawerma?

[amal 4]

Is it strange to be in America and miss spaghetti, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, plain ole green beans??? My husband is not "picky" persay... He just has his preferences. He does like to eat out and its ALWAYS chicken... I think its coz he doesn't trust the other food. He really dislikes mexican food (my favorite) he prefers veggies over meat ... (the exact opposite of me) He always has to have pita bread (i could care less if I ever see another piece of pita bread in my life) He doesn't like pasta (I could live on ramen noodles, spaghetti, macaroni)... I would give anything for a fat plate of spaghetti right now *drool* ..................

amal

[cbd2cai 0]

Fish shawerma

Ohh, the blasphemy. I love shawerma and I love fish, but fish shawerma?

It gives you bad breath???

Well, we do have fish tacos but it is usually a battered/fried filet in the tacos . . . sooooooooo, i might be willing to try a "fish sharwama" if given the opportunity. Oh, yes, they supposedly killed all the chickens in Egypt because of the bird flu, so I didn't have any chicken while there. But I did see eggs for sale at the Carrefour in Maadi and wondered where they came from.

[MaryandMian 1]

Wow the dishes look so tasty. I am amazed that french fries are served there? Do not know why but never thought it would be. I know when I was in Pakistan when I married everything was Pepsi or Mt. Dew products and all dishes were based on rice, naan or roti. Enjoying reading about all the foods and how hubbies are adjusting. I am anxious once Ishteaq comes if he will eat the American foods and with two kids they are picky so it will be interesting.

[Dixie_Peach 1]

I am enjoying reading everyone's posts. Keep the recipes coming... I am cataloging a recipe file here to practice a few dishes... hehe... hope everyone has a great weekend!

[MrsAmera 41]

Amal - I hear you on missing American food while I'm in the US!! My honey hates Pasta - I'm Italian, I love to make pasta from scratch and love to eat it too!!! But if it means making 2 meals (one for me and one for him) forget it - I just give up and make what he wants. I wish that some of the things he did like - or would at least try. I think that's the strangest thing - that they can eat all Moroccan food all the time. I grew up on pasta and Italian food but I can't eat it all the time - I like to try new things and love different ethnic food. Oh well... the battle continues.

Does anyone know how to make Moroccan bread? Or know where I can get a recipe? He loves that bread and we can't find anything comparable - I'm also thinking it will be cheaper to make it then to buy it!

[MaryandMian 1]

http://bread.allrecipes.com/az/mrccnksr.asp and http://www.kitchenchick.com/2004/12/kesra_morrocan_.html

Two different types of bread. Good luck.

Mary

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Is it strange to be in America and miss spaghetti, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, plain ole green beans??? My husband is not "picky" persay... He just has his preferences. He does like to eat out and its ALWAYS chicken... I think its coz he doesn't trust the other food. He really dislikes mexican food (my favorite) he prefers veggies over meat ... (the exact opposite of me) He always has to have pita bread (i could care less if I ever see another piece of pita bread in my life) He doesn't like pasta (I could live on ramen noodles, spaghetti, macaroni)... I would give anything for a fat plate of spaghetti right now *drool* ..................

amal

Awwww Amal you should get to have what you like, too.... no matter what he's eating ! Maybe take-out from two places is the answer... then he can have his chicken, and you can have that Mexican or pasta you're craving.

My husband is the same about meat... he doesn't want to eat it every day.... he says it hurts his stomach(it's relatively expensive in the West Bank, so families don't usually have it 7 days a week.) He prefers to have a small amount of meat maybe every other day -- usually chicken or turkey rather than beef -- and then eat something based on eggs, cheese, yogurt or laban during the rest of the week. This suits me fine... I was a vegetarian for 9 years so I'm used to it. He likes ground turkey a lot -- I use it instead of ground lamb when making Middle Eastern dishes. He also really loves American-style fried chicken with a crunchy coating, and Chinese-style stir fry.

I haven't tried meatloaf on him yet, but I am thinking he will probably eat it. He wasn't a big fan of mashed potatoes either (I love them ) but he liked oven-roasted potatoes in herbs and olive oil. (Had to do SOMETHING to get away from fries everyday LOL.) I love steamed veggies like green beans and broccoli and cauliflower... this style is new to him, but he likes it.

Yes the bread AND hummus AND olives are MANDATORY at every meal at our house. Of course it's usually Arabic khubiz, but he also likes French-style loaves. Maybe you could take your husband to a nice bakery and let him browse around ? He might see something that looks good in his eyes.

I love spaghetti and all pasta dishes, too ! It's not top-of-mind to Mahmoud, but he will accept it if it has a lot of sauce (and I mean LOTS.) His mother would make spaghetti (or what they call "macaron") by breaking it into little pieces, mixing it with sauce and cheese, and baking it in the oven in a round flat plan. He adores baked macaroni and cheese... he can eat a whole casserole of it in 2 sittings. He's the same way about rice -- it has to have a lot of sauce or be mixed into something else, or he doesn't like it.

Well one great thing about Arab-style eating is that you can have 1 million dishes on the table and people can just pick what they want. Everyone can get something they like, and avoid the things they don't. So don't be shy to put something out that's just for your tastes -- as long as he has his things, he'll be happy !

It'll get better, insha'allah.

-MK

Wow the dishes look so tasty. I am amazed that french fries are served there? Do not know why but never thought it would be. I know when I was in Pakistan when I married everything was Pepsi or Mt. Dew products and all dishes were based on rice, naan or roti. Enjoying reading about all the foods and how hubbies are adjusting. I am anxious once Ishteaq comes if he will eat the American foods and with two kids they are picky so it will be interesting.

What we call French fries are a staple of the diet there... not quite McDonald's style, but fresh cut and very good.

Hahaha about the Pepsi.... in Palestine it's normally tea and coffee every time you sit down, but they will trot out the "cola" to serve to honored guests at dinner (bottled there in the West Bank, too.... Pepsi and Coke are EVERYWHERE.)

From reading your posts, I gather that you are a pretty good cook.... so Ishteaq will be in excellent hands when he gets to America !

-MK

[AInfante-Saraireh 0]

Well I can't participate on the food category yet, all I know with Faisal is ME food. I guess the test will be when he gets here but I am a very flexible eater. Try to make middle eastern spaghetti, I don't know, maybe add the spices they use. I know about the pita thing, it's because they are use to eating it with their meals. There is no way, just like us, that they can adapt to american (mixture) of foods right away, but I would graduate and feed him a bit at a time.

[MaryandMian 1]

Thanks MK, I was amazed that they did drink Pepsi and Mt. Dew and it was for the guests. We also had the hot tea all the time. I know when my husband is going out with friends he is always getting a Dew and chips. LOL I am assuming the chips are potato chips not certain?

Nestle and Lipton were displayed in all the ads too. Nestle had the bottled water market and Lipton teas were marketed everywhere. I saw very little evidence of Coke products. It is so funny how each area of the world or even the USA has such big differences. Here in the South it is iced tea. Up North it is hot tea.

I am enjoying reading everyone's posts.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Mary.... when he says "chips" he may mean what we would call French fries... there is a big British influence in the way they use English in Pakistan.

My husband was completely aghast at the idea of iced tea, but I kept telling him it's the national drink of Texas. I mean other than beer. But I got him to try it once he was here (a very sweet version) and he actually likes it. Now he understands that we aren't crazy (at least not about the tea.)

Lipton and Nestea (and Nescafe) are HUGE in the West Bank. (Hey why shouldn't they sell in a place where just about 99 % of the market drinks huge amounts of tea or coffee ?) I used to have a little Lipton mug with the familiar logo, written all in Arabic.... but I left it behind in the flat.

-MK