Food Smorgasbord

So some of the first questions I am asked by people (both from home and here) concern food. Here is a typical dialogue:

Person: How are you eating?
Me: I am eating very well, thank you. (Trying to use the manners my parents so hammered into me all those years)
Person: What sort of foods does your family eat (and me by extension)?
Me: Lamb, potatoes, chicken, cous cous, soup, eggs, etc.
Person: All in one day?
Me: No, All in ONE MEAL
Person: Holy shit…you must have to eat a lot
Me: Yeah, I am required to eat bzzaf amounts of food.

-Side Note: ‘bzzaf’ means ‘a lot.’ I use it frequently not only because many situations call for it but also because it is a fun word to say. Much more fun to say than 'copious'

When I eat all this food, my body engages in some internal fighting. This is how it plays out:



I wake up everyday wondering what kind of stomach day I am going to have. Not going to lie…it adds a little bit of excitement into my life. My family jokes that I use the bathroom more than Ali, the baby that lives in my house. The sad part is that it’s true. Shiwya b shiwya, I say…

Continuing with the food theme of this entry… I was reading a Conde Nast Traveler magazine that another volunteer passed on to me (lhumdullah for the literary exchange that is in full force here) and came across this line:
“Barbeque is America’s greatest gift to cuisine.” Amen, brotha, amen. What I would do for a barbeque sandwich and some Dreamland ribs right now? Oh man, you have no idea…

And just because I think this deserves to be on the internet for everyone to see…Chris, my environment sitemate, has never been to the South. Well, he ventured across the Mason-Dixon line once to visit some friends in North Carolina but I am not really counting that. Sure he may read this thing but oh well, I have been to his hometown (Seattle) before. Back to the food theme…Chris has never had the pleasure of tasting collards (I guess that is understandable) or boiled peanuts (COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE). So when I find collards at souk and can learn how to make boiled peanuts (got any recipes…send them my way), I can introduce another American to the wonders of Southern food.