Going Native

So sorry it's been so long since my last post! But, good news, during this hiatus myself and four of the other girls in the program moved into a fantastic new apartment in the best neighborhood in Alex! I promise to post some pictures of the new place and of the many meals that are going to be made in the (huge) kitchen, but today I want to tell you about a different kitchen. An Egyptian kitchen. The kitchen of my friend Mona's mother-in-law. Mona was the lovely woman I met in Siwa, the brilliant artist from Alexandria. Last weekend she gave me a call and invited me to lunch at her house in the neighborhood of Semouha. Mona lives with her husband Mustafa's mother, who is a very sweet, kind, elderly lady who has traveled in the United Staes (she's been to the Mall of America!) and Canada and speaks good English. She is generous and welcoming but above all she is an extremely excellent cook.  

Mona's Mother-in-Law

In America, lunch can be sort of a throw-away meal. Children are taught from a young age that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" and classic American values preach the importance of family "dinner." School lunches are notoriously inedible and the lunch period in schools is growing shorter and shorter with each consecutive budget cut. In middle school, my lunch break was 15 minutes to eat and 15 minutes to run around outside. From this rushed experience, I came away with two things: 1. Eat fast. 2. Lunch isn't important. I'm pretty sure the Egyptians would beg to differ. With regards to my first lesson, nothing in Egypt happens fast. You know the joke "Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow"? I'm pretty sure that is the national motto of this country. Meals (along with most things) are taken leisurely. The day doesn't usually start until about 10 am. A result of this long, drawn out day is that lunch, the meal to refuel in the middle, is taken very seriously. Often eaten around 3:00 in the afternoon, it seems to be widely considered the most important and significant meal of the day. If you don't believe me, take a look at the spread prepared for lunch at Mona's house:

A whole chicken, potatoes, shaved beef, minced meat with phyllo, rice, salad, bulgar soup, pickled vegetables, and for desert, a sweet potato confection.

There was enough food to feed the Egyptian army. And in Egypt, it is customary to not only try everything, but to eat a lot of it. In the time it took me to blink, Mona and her mother-in-law had loaded my plate to the brim.

Despite my protest, this was only my first helping

The chicken was beautifully cooked with crispy, golden skin encasing juicy, tender meat. Mona's mother-in-law said she prepares it first by boiling it (creating the stock which she later uses as a base for her delicious bulgar soup) and then pops it in the oven for 10 or 15 minutes to crisp up. Voila!

Bulgar Soup

Accompanying the chicken were thin slices of deliciously seasoned meat, soft potatoes in a warm tomato stew, flaky phyllo dough layered with ground beef and onions, an enormous bowl of rice, and a number of small side dishes.

Paired with the meal was Mona's homemade pomegranate juice. It's fresh, sweet, tangy, vibrant, and utterly delicious. 

Luckily, I remembered to stop gulping it down long enough to take a picture!

Because this was clearly just not enough food, the meal was followed up with sweet potatoes, covered in a creamy béchamel sauce and baked in a pan so that the top caramelized. It is a testament to how delicious it was that I managed to eat the whole piece almost immediately after our feast. 

Mona's mother-in-law has promised to teach how to make everything and I, in turn, promise to teach you. For now, enjoy the visual feast of her cooking and the tantalizing promise of more to come. Very soon I will post about the first big meal I prepared in our apartment. It is an eggplant dish inspired by a classic Turkish preparation. There are also big plans for my first foray into jam making: an attempt at pomegranate jam! Stay tuned!