I don't like to blog this much, but dinner last night needs to be blogged about. Simply put, it was awesome.
Much of Jamal's family lives in the area, and they came over for Saturday dinner. As the workweek starts Sunday, it was much like Sunday dinner in the US. So, three of Jamal's sisters and their families came to visit, bringing plenty of delicious food. I'd say about 15 people total. I found it interesting that they also brought their servants... much different than America. We all pitched in in cleaning but they did the dishes and made the tea and stuff like that.
Words can't describe the quality of the food. This may have been the best meal I've ever eaten (sorry Mom and Dad). Everything was fresh, homemade, and unbelievably good. It was simply stunning. I must have gained 30 pounds in one night. Unbelievable. There was everything you could possibly imagine. Chicken kebabs. Ground beef kebabs, spiced much like they are in Iranian food. It tasted just like our favorite local Iranian place, Kolbeh of Kebab. There was salad. Tahini. A salsa-like tomato concoction which was delicious. Fettucini with shrimp. God I must have eaten for hours. Then came dessert. Turkish delight. Tea. Swiss chocolate. Fruit salad - we'll talk more about the fruit salad later. Cookies. Went into a food coma. It was like Thanksgiving, minus the beer. I can go on and on, but instead just look at the pictures. Not great pictures, I know. Sorry.
Tonight, after dinner and when everyone was at home (everyone pretty much eats on their own schedule), Tyler, Bego, Jamal, and Sharaf (daughter) sat down to eat some of the leftover fruit salad from yesterday, which was huge by the way. Pomegranate, oranges, kiwis, strawberries, bananas, various other fruits that I don't know the names of... it was delicious. Then Bego started talking about how it took her an hour and a half, maybe two to make the salad yesterday. Jamal started kidding around, saying that it was probably just an hour and fifty-five minutes, and that two hours was exaggerating. I chipped in, saying that an hour 55 is not two hours, while Tyler sided with Bego, saying that two hours is two hours. Bego subsequently (in good humor of course) told me that tomorrow night, she'll make something absolutely delicious for Tyler, while Jamal and me will have to fend for ourselves. Jamal and I then agreed that we'd go eat at the family's restaurant. Not a huge thing but it was a fun interaction and the playfulness of it made me feel more comfortable. It was fun!
Homework is a drag - I've been doing this same reading all day (should have started over the weekend), and just to add to the fun mentioned that I'd been reading for an hour and 55 minutes, but only gotten through three pages which got a smile and a laugh from Bego and Jamal.
Until next time, Inshallah.
Much of Jamal's family lives in the area, and they came over for Saturday dinner. As the workweek starts Sunday, it was much like Sunday dinner in the US. So, three of Jamal's sisters and their families came to visit, bringing plenty of delicious food. I'd say about 15 people total. I found it interesting that they also brought their servants... much different than America. We all pitched in in cleaning but they did the dishes and made the tea and stuff like that. Words can't describe the quality of the food. This may have been the best meal I've ever eaten (sorry Mom and Dad). Everything was fresh, homemade, and unbelievably good. It was simply stunning. I must have gained 30 pounds in one night. Unbelievable. There was everything you could possibly imagine. Chicken kebabs. Ground beef kebabs, spiced much like they are in Iranian food. It tasted just like our favorite local Iranian place, Kolbeh of Kebab. There was salad. Tahini. A salsa-like tomato concoction which was delicious. Fettucini with shrimp. God I must have eaten for hours. Then came dessert. Turkish delight. Tea. Swiss chocolate. Fruit salad - we'll talk more about the fruit salad later. Cookies. Went into a food coma. It was like Thanksgiving, minus the beer. I can go on and on, but instead just look at the pictures. Not great pictures, I know. Sorry.
Tonight, after dinner and when everyone was at home (everyone pretty much eats on their own schedule), Tyler, Bego, Jamal, and Sharaf (daughter) sat down to eat some of the leftover fruit salad from yesterday, which was huge by the way. Pomegranate, oranges, kiwis, strawberries, bananas, various other fruits that I don't know the names of... it was delicious. Then Bego started talking about how it took her an hour and a half, maybe two to make the salad yesterday. Jamal started kidding around, saying that it was probably just an hour and fifty-five minutes, and that two hours was exaggerating. I chipped in, saying that an hour 55 is not two hours, while Tyler sided with Bego, saying that two hours is two hours. Bego subsequently (in good humor of course) told me that tomorrow night, she'll make something absolutely delicious for Tyler, while Jamal and me will have to fend for ourselves. Jamal and I then agreed that we'd go eat at the family's restaurant. Not a huge thing but it was a fun interaction and the playfulness of it made me feel more comfortable. It was fun!Homework is a drag - I've been doing this same reading all day (should have started over the weekend), and just to add to the fun mentioned that I'd been reading for an hour and 55 minutes, but only gotten through three pages which got a smile and a laugh from Bego and Jamal.
Until next time, Inshallah.
Food and family are good for breaking down all kinds of barriers! Keep up the good work and be patient with the language, it will come! We all miss you and are sending hugs across the miles.
ReplyDeleteThat's it! We're coming for dinner soon!!
ReplyDelete