Ramadan Futoor
I was invited to a friend’s for Iftar the other day. We played, and as the day lengthened, she napped while I read. Her husband came down yelling “get up! get up! It’s almost time!” and had the radio on so we could hear the sound of the cannon, announcing the end of the day’s fasting.
We had water and dates, and then soup. Because these are dear friends, and because they love me, we also had Kuwaiti fish!
It was stuffed with parsley, onions and garlic, oh WOW. It was delicious.
As we ate, they were telling me about the thin thin pancakes you can buy at this time of the year to make a special stew. They are made on a dome shaped pan, with a very liquid dough, and evidently you can buy them at the co-op or along the side of the road (I have got to find one of these women!) because the thin pancake you can get during Ramadan is very close, I think, to the brik skin that you use for the Tuna Tunisienne which, hmmmmmm, could also be made with just about any leftover fish.
You have to be quick, because the dough is so fragile. While the photo shows all the ends tucked in, I was never that good, and neither are most Tunisiens – most of the brik I ate in Tunisia were all just folded over and fried in olive oil. So you have to have the oil hot before you put the brik in, and it sizzles, but it can’t be too hot because it has to cook long enough to cook the egg (if you add egg) or to heat the tuna through. Ohhhh, yummmm!
I was also asking about Swair’s Ramadan Soft Dumplings / Lgaimat and they were laughing and telling me how hard they are to make well, and that you have to eat them all the same day they are made, they are so fragile.
Later in the meal, as they were showing me low to roll the rice and fish into a ball together and pop it into your mouth in the old gulf way, my host mentioned the act of making that ball is called “ligma” and – – – ta da! it is the same root as Swair’s lgaimat!
I don’t know about you, but making a connection like that is like having a big light go on in my head. I love it. I can’t always remember words correctly unless I write them down, but this one – making balls to pop in your mouth/ making sweet dumplings balls – don’tcha just love it when things come together like that?
(I am posting this early in the day because you won’t feel hungry for fish this early if you are fasting – I hope – and it might give you a good idea for tonight’s Futoor!) Ramadan kareem!
Ramadan Date Night
It’s the first night of Ramadan, and it is also Thursday, which is date night for Adventure Man and me. We hustle around all week, involved in our lives, grabbing ten minutes here and a phone call there, sitting down to dinner and that’s about it. But Thursday nights, we have the sweet luxury of time together. We go out to dinner somewhere, and we talk on the way there, we talk all through dinner and we talk on the way home. We both love date night.
Date night on the first night of Ramadan is REALLY special. Here is why:
“What’s so special?” you are asking in puzzlement. “That’s just an empty parking lot.?”
“EXACTLY!” I exclaim, triumphantly. “At seven in the evening, there are PARKING SPACES!” In a mall built for thousands of people that has only forty parking spaces! And we get Rock Star Parking!”
And unlike countries where they start putting up Christmas decorations in October, the Ramadan decorations began going up seriously yesterday, the beginning of Ramadan. They are still finishing up tonight.
I love the crescent moon and stars twirling down from these –
And look at these GORGEOUS lanterns!
There is no one around to object to my photo-taking. All the Westerners are eating or shopping while the mall population is so light.
Traffic is so light that we even stop for gas on the way to dinner, and drive right up to a pump with no wait at all. All the good Muslims are at home, or with friends, breaking the fast together, celebrating their triumph over the first day of fasting.
If you lived in Kuwait, you would know what a triumph it is. The weather is cooling, but still very hot – around 111°F/44°C every day this week. It is dry, and on some days there are sandstorms. Even when you are not fasting, you yearn for a cold drink of water.
The women often cook all day. They do the shopping. Many are around food most of the hours of their fast, so that they might provide a feast for their family when the sun sets, and they resist the temptation, just smile and say “It’s a test.” There is a custom that they can taste the food, to make sure it is OK, but they cannot swallow, or the fast is broken.
Al Ahmadi Buffet, Crown Plaza
The Crown (Crowne?) Plaza has a new chef, hired especially to give the buffet offerings that extra something special. You can see it right away; the food displayed has STYLE! Or at least until the fourth or fifth diner has dished in!
My favorite part is the salads, but somehow I thought I was taking a photo of the shrimp and acocado, and I missed it . . .
And I got so busy with the salads that I totally missed photos of the main dishes, and the special pasta and schwerma guys, and the special Kuwaiti dessert stand, and the whole stand devoted to fabulous breads . . .
I love it that they give you tiny little dessert portions, so you don’t feel so guilty about taking a couple – or three. Actually, I see people who fill their plates with desserts. And Adventure Man says we can just start with dessert and work our way back to the salads. I like that idea.
Swarming Fish
We were dining overlooking the water, when I happened to look down. I gasped!
“Look! Look at the fish!”
It was the most amazing live show, ever. The fish would make the most amazing patterns as they swarmed, making twirling circles, sometimes fanning out, sometimes closer to the surface than other times. Sometimes the rush of their movement created a wave, a wave of sparkling silver bodies. It felt like a gift from God. We sat and watched, mezmerized.
Tang Chow and Gulf Road
I’ve written about Tang Chow before. I know, I know, you are looking for something new. But (there’s always that “but”) when Adventure Man called and said “what do you want to do about dinner” and I said “I just have a hankering for Tang Chow”, he said “Me too! I’ve been thinking about it all day!”
It’s great when you are married to someone who likes the same food at the same time. No, it isn’t always instant agreement.
Sometimes, we’ll be going out and he will say “where are we going?” and I will give him three options, and he won’t like any of them. So then I say, “Ok, OK where is it YOU really want to go?” and he will tell me and we will go there. Sometimes it works out OK, and sometimes there just isn’t much on the menu I really like, but we try to take turns getting to choose when we can’t agree. But if one of us really objects, then we go somewhere else.
We never disagree when it comes to Tang Chow. The only negative factor is the traffic on Gulf Road. What a hassle!
Last week we were caught in that horrid traffic (and it’s only August! Not even as bad as when school starts!) and there was a car to our left with the lights on inside, four women primping, literally with compacts, checking their own lips, checking their eyes, clearly ON DISPLAY but pretending to be oblivious to all the attention they were getting from the guys trying to get their attention.
And the guys in front of us, in a great big SUV, trying to get the girls’ attention, HIT the car in front of them, full of a family bringing a brand new baby home from the hospital.
Guys, take it off the road! Court in the parking lots, court at Chili’s, court at the coffee houses or at the Malls – take it off the road.
You have my sympathy, truly. I know it is really really tough here, almost impossible, to get to know the girls. And you have all those raging hormones. Still – take it OFF THE ROAD.
We could see the young men were really really sorry they had hit the family. I am betting they learned from the experience, and, God willing, will keep their eyes on the road when they are driving, but I am afraid to hope for too much.
The Road to Damascus
I am dancing for joy! Adventure Man and I are taking a trip soon, back to Damascus! We spent many a happy weekend, even a couple weeks there, way back when, driving from Amman whenever we could. We loved Syria.
I would sit in the old Hammadiyya Souk, drinking tea and feeling the ghosts of the centuries of traders who had sipped tea in the same place. There is, for us, something special about Damascus.
I know there are a lot of Syrian bloggers out there. And it has been a while since we have seen Damascus. I would love to know a couple really great places to eat (we eat in local dives and we eat in the best hotels; we look for good food and atmosphere and know that cost and value are not always the same so recommend whatever YOU love), a good shop for the silk brocades, and anything else you think we really should see.
Packaging
Dont ya just love it when someone goes to a little extra trouble to delight you?
I have a routine when I get to Amsterdam, my half way point. After all those hours of flying, I love having a shower. I love having the small room all to myself, quiet, to get all clean, to brush my teeth, fix my frowzy-airplane hair, apply a little fresh makeup. I don’t usually get a lot of sleep on my first flight – could it be that last strong cup of coffee I eat before getting on the plane? 😉
And then I wait the endless hours for my flight to Kuwait, trying not to nod off, because the overburdened lounge staff at KLM don’t do flight announcements, and I am so afraid I will fall deeply asleep and miss my plane. All around me are sleeping people – many on their way to Accra, Entebbe, Mumbai . . . and a few familiar faces heading back to Kuwait. Whoda thunk, this early in August, so many people would be returning?
I get restless. I don’t like the lounge food, it has a stale feel to it, and is mostly processed unidentifiable meat slices and hardening cheese, so I head down for the sushi bar. It’s purely psychological, but I believe the miso soup hardens my immune system against airplane-air-germs, so I almost always have a cup of soup and a small tray of sushi, something cooked or vegetable so I won’t offend whoever is sitting next to me on the way back to Kuwait.
And, because the sushi bar was packed, I got it all to go and found a quiet place in Concourse D to sit and eat. And look what I found!
Now YOU tell me – isn’t that adorable?
Normally soy sauce comes in one of those nasty plastic or aluminum packets that you have to tear off an end. This – in a tiny little fish with a plastic screw-off cap – this gave me a moment’s grin in the middle of the limbo of airport transitions. And I thought of you, and how you might enjoy it along with me.
I’m sure it costs them more than a plastic packet. I love it that the top screws off, that the shape is a fish, I love the whole concept.
“It’s just soy-sauce”, you might say, shaking your head in mild disgust at how easily amused I am.
Yes, it is just soy sauce. And packaging matters.
Leaving Seattle
Here is what it is like, leaving Seattle.
For days, the televisions and radios have been telling us that traffic on I-5, the major interstate, will slow to a crawl for a month as serious repairs are made to the overpasses and bridgework supporting the freeway.
Remember the bridge collapse in Minnesota? I-5 is THE major route in and out of Seattle, traffic is unbelievably heavy, and yet . . . without regular inspection and maintenance, infrastructure fails, and a failure in mid-town Seattle could be catastrophic. The stoic Seattleites would much rather be inconvenienced than suffer a catastrophe, so they are all working to find alternate routes.
My drive through Seattle was a breeze. It was the last day before the closure. I was in prime time traffic. I don’t know if everyone thought the closures had happened already or if half the population is on vacation, but the drive was a delight – and the roads were dry.
My least favorite part of every trip is trying to get my bags to the check-in. Once, I left my bags in my rental car while I went for a cart, only to find on my return that the car – and my bags – were gone! It took half an hour to get the car back again. Now, I lug my treasure filled bags with me to the baggage cart section, wishing I were in Kuwait or Doha where someone would be running up to me with a cart, offering to cart my bags.
Check in is always another delight – because my ticket, even though it is an e-ticket, is booked in Kuwait, I have to wait for a real person to check me in, I can’t check in online or through one of the machines. But, by the grace of God, it all goes smoothly, and I am on my way to the gate.
But because I give myself plenty of time to get across town, I always have plenty of time before my flight, so I go to the food court. I love this food court. You could get Burger King, and a lot of people do, or you could get a wide assortment of organic foods, and a lot of people do, or you could get sushi and udon, which so many people do that they are usually sold out in short time. My favorite is a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich.
I have my favorite place to sit and eat, and I love to look at the airport art work. Look at the light fixture. . . I don’t think it is a Chihuly, but just look at it! In the middle of the food court! Isn’t it just gorgeous? Doesn’t it remind you of a very cold river, in the shallows, flowing over rocks?
Credit Card MixUp
They must have thought we were stark raving out of our minds. In the middle of a crowded dinner-time restaurant, the three of us are out of control. Normally bordering on dignified, we are whooping with laughter, tears are streaming down our faces and we are laughing out loud, totally out of control.
The waitress brought the bill for my Mom, who was treating, but when she brought it back for my Mom’s signature, my Mom said “this isn’t my credit card!” She looked at it closely . . . it was my sister’s credit card.
“How did I give her your credit card?” she asked my sister, who looked baffled.
“I can’t imagine!” she responded. Mom had made it clear that this evening was HER treat, and we hadn’t even reached for our wallets this time.
This was our third dinner together in ten days. We have switched off paying, and we figure that the switch must have happened either a week ago, or five days ago. But . . . and this is the truly horrifying part – both have been charging on the switched cards! As the total implications dawned on us, we were horrified – and our reaction was this hysterical laughter as they tried to figure out what they had charged on each other’s card.
The horror is this – neither of them had noticed they were not using their own card. And no one, at any store, noticed that the signature on the charge slip DID NOT MATCH the name on the charge card. My mother charged several times, my sister charged a few things, but no one ever questioned the fact they were using someone else’s card.
This is horrifying. it is only hysterically funny because it was my mother and sister, and they had to work out who owes what to whom – and the total lack of privacy as two grown women have to tell each other what they have charged. That is laughable. But we are still totally appalled that it could happen, and that it was never caught nor challenged. Amazing.
Chevy’s Fresh Mex
At one time Adventure Man worked in Saudi Arabia, and came home every three months craving Mexican Food. His all time favorite restaurant was Chevy’s, which specializes in FRESH FRESH Mexican food.
Mom may be 84, but she is always up for a new experience. I asked her if she would like to try Chevy’s, and she was sure she would like to try it. You ROCK, Mom!
Mom’s Tostada Salad with beef:
My Spicy Salmon Fajita:
Totally delicious, but too much food! We brought home enough food for two or three more meals!
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