A Foodie's Thanksgiving!

Happy Thursday!

It’s been a really ideal week for the foodie in me, thanks to Thanksgiving and family shenanigans, so I figured I’d share a bit of my meals with you all, plus a recipe from the Syrian family.

My dining room table!

I had a great time making the American-style Thanksgiving meal this year. This is my fourth time making it without my mother, and this is the first time that I feel like the prep work for the meal went smoothly. I think that partly has to do with my familiarity with the timing of everything. Now, I just know when the turkey and all the sides should go in and out of the oven without having to look it up.

My pretty hilal turkey (and the cranberry sauce to the left)!

I had a few people comment that this was an exceptionally tasty turkey, and asking me what I did to make it so juicy. For me, I think the trick is to brine the turkey for at least two days prior to Thanksgiving. Then, first thing in the morning, I pop the turkey (covered!) into the oven at 300° F and just forget about it. I’ve even put the turkey in at 250° F the night before, and the meat was really falling off the bones by dinnertime, it was that juicy! Americans tend to freak out about whether the turkey will be cooked enough. My logic is that anything in the oven for eight or more hours will most definitely be cooked enough. And, to my knowledge, no one has gotten food poisoning from my turkeys! We got a 12-pound hilal turkey that, surprisingly, was more than enough for eight people! 

Mr. Hilal Turkey taking a brine bath.

I also made sweetpotato casserole, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and two types of mashed potatoes (the traditional American kind and then the Middle Eastern olive-oil-and-garlic kind for the lactose intolerant at the table). 

For dessert, I made my mummy-in-law her favorite treat: apple pie bites. They're so easy and fun to make, plus they look like pretty, dainty pastries at the end! 

This week's dessert: Apple pie bites!

By the time I got back to school, I was already missing Syrian food, so I made fetty. You can translate fetty from Arabic to “torn up;” the dish gets its name from the pieces of bread you tear up to create the dish’s base. Specifically, I made fettet djaj which is the “torn up” part of the dish topped with chicken.

Fettet Djaj

To make fetty, you first boil the cut-up chicken (I prefer sizes of one inch or less) in either a pressure cooker for thirty minutes or in a regular pot for 2-3 hours. S has our pressure cooker, so at school I use a regular pot and study while the chicken simmers. Anyway, in the boiling water, add salt, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, and an onion. Then add the chicken. Towards the end of the boil, fry up pieces of thin, white flat bread for about five minutes and then put them into a pie dish. Fry enough bread to cover the bottom of the dish.

Then you make the rice. I usually fry up vermicelli (“shariyya”) with olive oil at the bottom of the rice pot under the vermicelli is a light golden color, then add soaked short-grain white rice with two parts water to every part rice. I also add a teaspoon of salt for every cup of rice. Stir the rice and then wait for the rice to boil, then bring it down to a simmer, cover the pot, and only open the pot to check on the water level. If there is no visually apparent water, I usually tip the pot sideways to see if any excess water is around. If you taste the rice and it is undercooked, just add no more than a fourth of a cup to the pot and let it simmer covered for a few more minutes. Then put your rice on top of the fried pieces of flat bread in the dish.

Then create a yoghurt sauce. For a pie dish-size meal, go with about a cup and a half of plain yoghurt (“kasi wa nus leben”), one or less than one piece of garlick (“toomi o nus toomi”), and a little bit of water (“shwayyat mai”). I know the measurements sound strange, but this is literally the family recipe passed on orally since forever, and measurements of the recipe is all based on the experience of simply making it! Anyway, pour the yoghurt sauce over the rice and make sure it sinks into the rice and reaches the bottom of the dish. Next, garnish with chopped parsley and top with your drained chicken, and then enjoy a super tasty meal!

A quick note on portion size: I find a pie dish size plate is more than enough for three to four people, depending on how many of those people will want seconds just because they love how tasty it is! To double the size, you could easily use a casserole dish to feed 6-8 and just double the amount of everything in the recipe. Like most of my mummy-in-laws food, this is a non-measuring kind of recipe, so the proportions are very flexible and in the end, the amount of parsley, chicken, or yogurt all depends on your preference! But definitely don't go overboard on the garlic, otherwise no one will want to actually eat the fetty (or kiss you!). 

Anyone who tries this recipe, please let me know how it turns out! Cheers!

October Fun

Happy Autumn, everyone! I’ve been pretty busy with TAing two classes, taking two full classes and two seminars, on top of my research stuff and traveling to see S and family (who are all two hours away… sigh). But I’ve also managed to enjoy autumn a bit. Here’s a little bit of what I did:

My bunt cake!

I’m not a big cool weather person, but there are a few things about the fall season that I love, including PUMPKINS! My mother knows how much I love pumpkins and baking, but as a grad student she knows I don’t have much time to bake these days, so she sent me an amazing care package…

Thanks Mom!

 

… That included spice cake mix and cans of pumpkin puree! I’m so into this recipe: add a can of pumpkin puree to cake mix and, ta-da, you have pumpkin spice cake. I made a bunt cake out of one batch, and I can’t wait to make some cupcakes soon.

I’ve also been doing a bit of shopping. I noticed that vests have been really popular up here in New England since forever, and so I finally caved and got one:

Along the CT coastline!

There was a great sale at Gap last weekend ($20 for vests that usually cost $50), so I splurged and I’m so happy did. I’m love how my vest keep my core warm! It makes romping around in the leaves, or hanging out by the wind-chilled coastline, so much more pleasant.

Climbing up Long Mountain!

 I’m also very lucky to TA a geologic mapping class. It’s so much fun to have my job be adventuring around the Pioneer Valley’s mountains, especially with the foliage being so colorful these past few weeks.

Me with my pumpkin spice latte!

And, of course, I had my first pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks this weekend while I graded homework. And I was so snug and content in my sparkly scarf from Damascus. I can’t believe it’s been over six years since my trip to Syria. I wish I could go back so much.

Well, it’s been a whirlwind adventure learning how to be a grad student. More news on that to follow, I promise. Meanwhile, enjoy autumn where ever you are! Even if the air isn’t cool and crisp, maybe you can sip a pumpkin spice latte!

Using the Market Skills I Learned in Jordan to get Groceries on a Grad School Budget

My latest trip to Boston's Haymarket.

Hope you guys had a lovely weekend! I had a really good time this weekend chilling with S, plus some family and friends. I also did a bit of prep work for grad school living, including going grocery shopping, and I figured I would talk a bit about how I've used my market shopping skills that I learned in Jordan to get healthy and tasty groceries on a budget. 

As an amateur foodie, I decided to kick the students-only-eat-ramen trope to the side (though do I love Korean ramen)! I decided instead to focus on cooking all my food at home and getting healthy ingredients to fuel my grad school days. It's tough to get by on a grad school budget, but I'm finding that with a little effort and planning I can eat well on less than $50 a week. 

A big part of such thrifty eating comes from going to the most cost effective food sources, including surplus produce markets like Haymarket in downtown Boston. 

If you've ever been to Haymarket or any market like it, you might feel like you're stepping into a different country, where vendors are calling out specials, customers are haggling over prices, and a few special carts will give you a good deal if they like you. It's this relationship-first mentality to shopping that I learned to love in Jordan. 

In Jordan, there were more little grocery shops where the veggie guy would personally get to me, ask how my studies were going, and give me an extra banana as a treat. I missed these interactions a lot when I returned to the U.S., where all I got was seemingly overpriced food that I paid an often bored and unhappy cashier for. 

So, at Haymarket, I get to prioritize people over capitalism, even though the market is an example of capitalism at its finest. It's also conveniently the cheapest way to get all my fruits and vegetables! I pay less than $20 for all the fresh produce I need to make two weeks worth of meals. It may take a bit more time than going to the grocery store and getting all the groceries I need in one place, but for the maybe half hour of extra time I'm essentially paying myself in all the savings I'm keeping. 

I'm talking about a gritty, no-frills surplus food market, not an organic farmers market, as much as I love those too. While farmers market are equally as pleasant and often reasonably priced, you will probably not get the overall discount that you're looking for. 

So here are a few tips for going to the market:

1.) Bring cash. Probably few people will have debit card machines.

2.) Don't be afraid to ask for a lower price. The worst thing they could do is say no. But remember to ask with a smile.

3.) Return regularly to build relationships - and maybe even get a few "preferred customer" discounts!

4.) Walk around the whole market before you buy anything. A lot of vendors sell similar products, so taking a quick walk around will give you a better idea of what produce is the best quality for the best price. 

5.) Keep a record of the prices to get an understanding of how they fluctuate through the season. I'm not good at mental notes, so I have a little note on my phone where I write the lowest price I've paid for each fruit or veggie. It's really helpful to get an idea of whether something is getting a little too pricey and I maybe need to change my eating habits slightly, if only for a few months!

Good luck and enjoy! 

CAMP FOOD MENU FROM MY ACADIA TRIP

Sunday's Dinner: The Grilled Salmon

Happy Friday, everyone!  For this week’s edition of Foodie Friday, I decided to share the menu that I made for my camping trip with S and my Dad up to Acadia. The dudes knew that I probably had the most experience with making fresh food so they asked me to plan the meal schedule for our Maine getaway. I usually don’t over plan camping food, but S lately has had the worst acid reflux ever, so it mattered to me that I could create menu plan that was easily flexible for him.

So, below, you’ll see what I wrote up with photos from Pinterest (my ultimate guide in doing just about anything), ingredients, and a step-by-step guide of how a group of people can split up the meal prep. I also have my grocery list, though I must warn that it’s not one hundred percent complete with all the kitchen needs (knives, towels, etc.) and whatnot.

But I hope you enjoy and have a great weekend! Message me if you have any questions or leave comments of awesome meals you’ve done yourself!

TOP 10 THINGS TO DO IN JORDAN

Happy Monday! I can’t believe I managed to move in to my new grad school apartment in two days, and now I’m preparing for the school year and TAing my first class! Despite all the activity, I’m really enjoying the whole process of getting to know the department and my research team before I settle down for the semester.

And, sorting through all my old stuff as I move and unpack, I’m finding all these knick-knacks that bring waves of nostalgia, especially for Jordan. It’s the little things that make a living experience in place so special, so while it’s all very fresh in my mind, I figured I’d put together a list of places to see and things to do in Jordan. Basically, if you visit Jordan and do all ten of these things, I think you’ll be able to say you’ve really experienced a lot of important parts of the country. But keep in mind that this list is for more outdoors-oriented people.

1.)   Take a Turkish bath. My favorite Turkish bath is Al-Pasha in Jebel Amman, near the first circle (there are seven famous circles in Amman; conveniently ordered in geographic order from east to west). It’s pretty hard to find the bath, since it’s on a side street, so feel comfortable to ask around for direction. The experience of getting a whole layer of skin scrubbed off is somehow intense and relaxing at the same time. But it’s completely worth it.

2.)   Go to downtown Amman to have mansaf at Al-Quds, and try some knafeh at Habiba Sweets. I love Al-Quds; it oozes local charm. Mansaf is basically the country’s national dish, so you have to try it! Plus, a walk through the downtown area called wasad al-balad (“the center of the country”) is worth the having the experience itself. Habiba is also in wasad al-balad, and is a quick walk from Al-Quds. Just be ready for the tiny sweet shop to be completely packed at all times of the day and night with hungry customers.

3.)   Float in the DeadSea. If you go to a well-maintained beach, it is definitely a tourist trap and also quite pricey. Most hotels along the sea charge a crazy amount like 30 JD (about$42) per person for the day, but there’s one beach with a restaurant along the sea that is only about 12 JD (so about $17). If I went to a resort, I usually got in for free (either through a Fulbright event or as an extra on a movie set) or at a very discounted cost (through a group discount rate). But if you’re cool with stopping on the side of the road and taking a dip for free, just avoiding hurting yourself on the rocks with some sturdy water shoes. 

Me and my sis floating in the Dead Sea.

4.)   Navigate the water trail at Wadi Mujib. For all you outdoorsy people. Basically, you hike and rock climb, but with waterfalls gushing on top of you. It’s really refreshing and fun, especially for adventurists! Since Wadi Mujib is next to the southern section of the Dead Sea, this is especially useful for someone who’s been floating in the Dead Sea and needs to wash off all the salt. 

You might want to grab a waterproof camera to take pictures of your friends and family getting pummeled by water, like me here!

5.)   Spend a night in Wadi Rum. This is like the Dead Sea and Petra (below) in that it’s one of those must-see things. I went there twice and somehow got flat tires both times I was there, so I wax less romantic towards Wadi Rum than most expatriates living in Jordan. That being said, it is breath-takingly gorgeous and seeing it in photos does not compare to seeing it in person. 

Me and sis chilling on the dunes in Wadi Rum.

6.)   Go to Petra. Of all the tourist traps in Jordan, Petra ranks number one, but, it is a must-see. And, despite the relentless Bedouins hawking trinkets, it’s still a very magical moment to round the last corner of the wadi and see the famous façade, as popularly known from the Indiana Jones movie. I usually got in for almost free as a legal resident of Jordan, but for foreigners the cost of entrance is pretty expensive (currently at a whopping 50 JD, which is over $70 - yikes). If you don’t know a Jordanian and end up paying the foreigner fee, just pat yourself on the back for making a generous donation to UNESCO and preserving a world heritage site. 

There are also swings in Petra, if you want to do that instead.

7.)   Spend a night at Aqaba. I really love that little city by the Red Sea. The seafood there is fresh and tasty; definitely have a meal there. I used to really enjoy sitting on a dock and watching the colorful tropical fish drift in the turquoise waters. Plus, if you get hooked on knafeh and want to try recreating it at home, I remember seeing very discounted knafeh platters in the local market. The seaside resorts all cost an arm and a leg, so you can always do a day trip between Amman and Wadi Rum.

8.)   Check out Azraq. This used to be a lush spring and animal sanctuary, until the government tapped into the aquifer and almost completely drained it. It’s depressing but also very educational to visit. There’s also a bunch of desert castles along the way to Azraq, so it’s fun to make a day trip just to see the desert stuff. Plus, surprisingly, there’s a Chechen community at Azraq, and you can get to meet them a little by grabbing lunch at one of the town’s little restaurants.

9.)   Hang out at Jerash. I only did this once and I wish I could have done it at least five more times. This is one of the best preserved Roman ruins in Jordan. It’s a quick trip away from Amman by either taxi or bus. 

Me in Jerash. Admittedly not a telling photo of Jerash's beauty.

10.)Hike through Wadi Dana. My Dad and I had a good time camping on the roof of Wadi Dana’s hotel for almost no money. Then we hiked down the Wadi to really dramatic, elevated views of the wadi looking out to the Jordan Rift Valley.

Also note that a lot of the outdoor adventures require automotive transportation. It’s pretty easy to rent cars from Amman and use the capital as a base for all of these trips. However, if you’re up for the challenge, you can definitely travel to most of these locations through the impressively comprehensive and efficient system of buses.

For more outdoorsy things to check out, I also highly recommend Tropical Desert. I personally know the owner and he is fabulous at organizing and planning outdoor trips all over the country.

Over all, Jordan is a very tourist-friendly country and completely worth a visit. Good luck and safe travels!

IFTAR FUN & RAMADAN DECOR

I’m taking a quick break from this hectic Saturday to have a little snack in my room while S and his family prepare a ginormous iftar meal that could probably feed twenty people when we’re probably having eight guests. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Ramadan is the holy month is Islam when muslims fast (i.e. consume no food or water) from before sunrise to sunset. It’s a beautiful, prayerful month for the Muslims I know, and I really enjoy it for several reasons. First, I love to decorate for special occasions. As a Christian American who’s used to super commercialized holidays, I show my support by decorating the house and putting up things like an “iftar time” announcement! It’s turned into a pretty serious hobby; I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to Ramadan and Eid decoration ideas.

The second and favorite thing about Ramadan for me is the mouth-watering, unparalleled array of food. Oh, the food! I get hungry just thinking about all the amazing food, I write as I reach for my fourth caramel delite out of my secret girl scout cookie stash. So, for those of you who don’t know, the word “iftar” literally means the breaking of the fast. That means, when Muslims break fast at the end of a long day, and especially after a grueling fifteen hours of sunlight during the summer, there has to be some amazing food to fill those grumbling tums. Seriously, foodies, if you don’t have any Muslim friends, you need to make some fast and partake in the mind-blowing culinary phenomenon that is an iftar.

Iftars are usually tons of dishes of food. I calculate one 16-inch platter-sized (i.e. huge) meal for every two people. A lot of these meals also involve a lot of time, and often days in advance, of food preparation. So, despite the hunger and the thirst, there are so many tasty treats to look forward to at the end of the day. I know that, for me, the memories of late-night dinners with friends, lounging in our moon-lit back yard under our grape vine trellis, is priceless.

Below are some photos of our food and gatherings! Enjoy!

A lower-key iftar with just S's immediate family: lentil soup, which is a very common iftar appetizer, with just one entree!

Can you handle all this goodness? This iftar had lentil soup again, with fattoush (a popular iftar salad), stuffed grape leaves, and mouttabal (i.e. chopped-up grilled eggplant with lots of yummy things mixed in).

I'm going into a food coma just looking at this photo. From closest to farthest, we have kibbeh, makloubeh (which exactly translates to "upside down" because the recipe requires flipping), my pretty Le Creuset is hiding a bomb ass meal called shish barak which is meat dumplings in yogurt sauce, then there's ground beef-stuffed zuchini, and finally stuffed grape leaves with the most tender lamb on top. 

We made only an average-sized meal (i.e. still more than enough) because we invited our guests very last minute. This is a famous dish called kebseh, which is basically very spiced chicken and rice. We also added little plates of moutabbal on the side.

I am absolutely enamored by this fetteh, which is a word that you can translate as "torn up" because you tear pieces of flat bread into little bits before you pour an amazing yogurt sauce over them. I'm used to mummy-in-law's fetteh which has chicken on top, but this version that our friend from Damascus makes is vegetarian with pomegranate seeds and melted semini (purified butter) on top. There's also chickpeas and parsley.