"my class depends on the lunar calendar"

I was cracking last night when I was talking to my colleague J, who is from the deep South (USA). In a southern drawl she says "Can you please explain to me how my Arabic class on Wednesday depends on the Lunar calendar?"

Ah yes, we are about to launch ourselves into the long, hot, and hungry month of Ramadan. If we see the moon tonight, Ramadan will begin, if not-- Ramadan will begin tomorrow.

Here is where it gets particularly tricky.

If we see the moon tonight, the Palestinian Authority says that we have to turn back the clocks 1 hour. So tomorrow could offer 2 options:

1. A normal day, 7:30-4pm working hours
2. A day where the clock turns back, Gazans start work at 8am, and end at 2pm and struggle through the first day of fasting.

Fasting is particularly hard the first few days. I would be rather grumpy if that was me.

The fasting will follow with feasting every single day. Only hope I get my hands on a tasty homemade meal!

Morning Surroundings

I'm sitting here in the baking heat. Actually I just checked the weather and today it'll be a high of 34 degrees Celsius and 74% humidity levels. Not as bad as the 38 degrees yesterday.

Nevertheless, my coffee addiction is making me drink a hot coffee right now. The sound coming from the window is a massive buzz due to the hundreds of generators that are on right now because Gaza only has 3 hours of electricity per day. The other sound is the sound of construction next door because I guess the owner of the building managed to get enough construction materials from the tunnels from Egypt to make a few repairs. Oh now pleasant it would be to hear birds, or even be able to hear the waves of the sea that are 20 meters away from my building

Seems like there are lots of people out on the beach today.

Ramadan is supposed to start on August 10 or 11. I have to say, this has got to be one of the toughest times. In this type of heat, being unable to drink water, and having to fast. Yikes. I'm a little nervous because if that were me I would be in a ferocious mood. I have a feeling a lot of people will be. I will continue my regular eating and thirst quenching habits.

Beating the heat has been tough- so I'm consistently making Ice- 20 cubes at a time. When you do exercise, you feel like you've done so much exercise (you're thinking, sweet- I'm so in shape), when actually the dripping sweat has come from doing 10 lunges and withstanding the heat. Maybe I should just take up hot (Bikram) yoga.

I'm also laying low-- and returned back to gaza fully equipped with Monopoly, Scrabble and Catch Phrase (never fails).

And the West Bank Crumbles

I was about to go and read in this deadly heat, but couldn't help myself from sharing this sad email that just popped up in my inbox. It is from the United Nations Displacement Working Group-- a group that follows, tracks, and studies the patterns of displacement in Palestine.

*Note: IDF- Israeli Defense Forces

Today's update:

• "In Al Farisiye, in the northern West Bank, the IDF this morning demolished at least 32 Palestinian structures belonging to 114 people, including 55 children. This is the second demolition suffered by the community in the span of a few weeks, but on 19 July almost the entire community was demolished (79 structures in total). This morning the IDF demolished 27 emergency tents that were provided by the ICRC and the PA in response to the previous demolitions, as well as 10 new structures, including 3 residential tents that had previously been left standing. The demolitions have forcibly displaced 22 Palestinians, including 11 children, and otherwise affected 92 children, all of which were displaced on 19 July.
• Yesterday, in 'Azzun Atma in Qualqylia Governorate the IDF demolished 2 Palestinian structures, both of which were used for livelihood-related purposes. The demolition affects the livelihood of a family of 3 people.
• Yesterday, in Hebron Governorate, the IDF demolished several water-related structures, including a water cistern. "

If you're curious about displacement...here's a good link

Figgy Figgy

I have never appreciated 'seasonal' fruit. Things seemed to be available year round growing up in Colombia. Or if they are seasonal, our messed up unsustainable planting systems are now making things available year round.

In Gaza I have truly started to appreciate seasonal fruits and vegetables. I miss them terribly while they're gone- such as avocado. There isn't an avocado in town, yet the veggie stores are booming with figs and mangoes right now. I've eaten more mango than I could ever imagine, and now I have a stock of figs in the fridge. The lemons are also disappearing-- and so are the sweet potatoes. WAAAAA!

My friend Inka was telling me the other day that she was trying to buy some figs with her colleagues. They insisted that she buy the ones with the broken skin, whilst Inka couldn't fathom buying those and preferred buying the ones that looked 'whole'. I guess the riper the sweeter, this one in my hand was just lovely.

DUST!

BE PREPARED!

And be forewarned! If you ever decide to move to the Middle East you will forever live in a filthy house and you will eternally combat dust which will coat your entire house on a daily basis.

Dust is an incredible phenomenon here in the Middle East. First- you have khamaseen or 'fifty days of wind'- which means some days will look entirely hazy and yellowish because there is so much dust in the air. Even when you don't have that miserable phenomenon, you will still have dust blowing into your house non-stop. Every counter top-table, decorative item, Kleenex box will eternally have a layer of dust on it.

You will clean it, and the next day it will be there again.

You will clean it again, and two hours later you'll notice that it is still dirty.

My new technique is baby wipes. I'm going through them like they're going out of style. This is the result after cleaning my bedside table:

And your windows will eternally be dusty, so if you would like to see the view outside your window, you have to open your widows and let more dust in. Otherwise you can look through the murky glass as you can see below:

As you can tell..I'm not a fan of the dust. Beside the fact that it makes me sneeze 258720958 times a day.

Passiflora Edulis

I grew up drinking "Jugo de Maracuya"-- Passion Fruit Juice. When I first came to Gaza I discovered that it grew here. Recently it seems to be back in season, and later I found out there are 2 seasons for passion fruit in this region. I have gone wild buying up the Passion Fruit while it lasts- since I have to say it is one of my favorite fruity delicacies- and at least it is a flavor from home.

In Arabic they call it "Flora"- but other than farmers, nobody seems to know what it is. I tell them it grows in Gaza, and people refuse to believe it. I brought some in to work to share and explained then people in Gaza seem to believe it has aphrodisiac effects. I told them, I'm not going to explain that word-- google it. So they did on handy dandy Google translate and the jaws that dropped were priceless.

Someone left a bag of mint and passion fruit on my desk this afternoon, not sure who it was, but it was certainly a special surprise.

Curiosity spurred, and wanted to look up passion fruit and see what the deal was behind the name.

Turns out the name "Passion Fruit" comes from a religious background that came from Catholic Missionaries who believe that parts of the fruit bore religious connections, it was a way of illustrating the Crucifixion:

• "The three stigmas were to reflect the three nails in Jesus's hands and feet.
• The threads of the passion flower were believed to be a symbol of the Crown of Thorns.
• The vine's tendrils were likened to the whips.
• The five anthers represented the five wounds.
• The ten petals and sepals regarded to resemble the Apostles (excluding Judas and Peter)."

Funny huh?

It was first documented in Peru in 1569 by a doctor named Monardes who took it back to be used for herbal tea.

An Easy Treat

Today we were chatting away about garlic and all the magical thing you can do with it. Here's an easy one, I have yet to try it, but it is on my to-do-list:

1. Fry cauliflower

2. Make the dipping sauce: Lots and lots of crushed garlic + lots of lemon juice+cumin (it is the exact recipe for cuban mojo, except for no olive oil, but then again you are eating it with deep-fried cauliflower.

Zeaki! Delish!

Makdous

Today my colleague G brought a VERY tasty treat to work. Actually this may have been one of the finer delicacies I have yet to try in the Middle East as it is a complicated dish- and also requires a wealth of olive oil making it a truly rich dish.

Makdous are oil cured eggplants. Here is how you make this tricky wonder:

1. Boil in water until they turn soft, boil it with the stem. After boiling the stems will come off easily
2. Cut them open, fill with salt
3. Put them in a jar and turn it upside down. Allow for drainage (put them on the edge of the sink.
4. The eggplants will have white bits around them, try to clean all of it off with paper towels. This has to be a very thorough process to avoid fermentation. Clean the jar, put them in the jar again and leave them for the night again.
5. If the water release has stopped, clean them again

Prepare the filling:

1. Mix together crushed walnuts, crushed garlic, crushed fil fil (red pepper- depending how spicy you want it.
2. Stuff them with the filling. Put them back in the jar.
3. Re drain them for a few hours
4. Clean off any white bits, replace in the jar halfway, cover them completely in olive oil, they should be completely submerged. Leave space at the top because the eggplants will continue to release water over time.

These shouldn't be eaten for a few weeks, and keep for many many months. The longer you keep them, the more tender they will get and the more the flavors will merge together into the wondrous final product of the Makdous.

Eat the Makdous with a fresh pita bread. Break off a piece of the bread and grab a piece of the tender wondrous delight.

Make sure you make a cup of sweet mint tea to go along with it.

Palestinian "Settlements"

I'm planning on traveling to the US soon, and got pretty confused and thought I needed to fill out a form on the "Electronic System for Travel Authorization", which is an authorization for individuals holding foreign passports that can enter the US with no visa.


Ok...so in my confusion I was filling it out (I don't actually need to) and I had to enter my telephone number. LO AND BEHOLD- the area code for Palestine is under the label of "Palestinian Settlements"-- Umm..Ok I know the US government is often very-- one sided about this international, global, historical issue. But in no way- and I mean in no way are the Palestinian territories a "settlement." There are Israeli "settlements" on Palestinian territories. But there is no such thing as a "Palestinian Settlement"

Reading material: This document from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

This is not a nomenclature debate- nor a tricky wording issue. This is wrong.

FEAST Gaza Style

My friend G cooked up a storm! It was absolutely, magically delicious!
Wara Einab- Stuffed Grape Leaves. They were DIVINE. So rich and tasty and so plentiful too.

Lotso of babaganoush, taboule, stuffed zucchini and eggplant too!

AMAZING!

Count my lucky sunsets

Some count their lucky stars, I count the lucky sunsets I have the pleasure of seeing outside my bedroom window. I don't know if I'll ever have this view from my bed again.

deLIGHTful!

When the building crumbles

After "Cast Lead," the war in Gaza ending in early 2009- buildings and home were left destroyed throughout the Gaza Strip. I went to visit one of the engineers from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP and he showed me some of the innovative materials that they were trying to make now that half of Gaza was left in crumbles. The rubble removal project lasted over a year after the war, and there are still many buildings that are yet to be completely demolished.

Here's the problem-- the rubble was removed- step 1, but nothing else is happening. There is barely any reconstruction happening becuase no materials are allowed into the Gaza strip to enable actual reconstruction. Lately there has been some wood allowed in- and a very small amount of cement under very controlled means- through the United Nations. Certainly not enough to even start making a dent.

UNDP is left with hundreds of tons of rubble, and ideas sparked in terms of what could be done with the carcasses of destroyed houses. The engineer showed me one of the little ideas they had which was using it as the filler for this cactus plant, below:

But the bigger and better idea is to make these sort of cinder blocks out of rubble. The only problem-- it needs a lot of cement. Enough was allowed in to re-pave one road- it looks great, but it seems to be at a standstill at this point.

"Just add spices"

Ok, my eternal issue in Gaza is that conversations about food usually go like this:

Me: Oh my gosh, this food is DIVINE, this is the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. HOW did you make this?

Palestinian woman: Oh it's SO easy.

Me: How? What did you put in it??

Palestinian woman: Chicken, rice

Me: AND?

Palestinian woman: And spices

Me: What spices?

Palestinian woman: Chicken spices

Or "maklouba spices" or "fish spices" or "maftoule spices"-- Maftoule is CousCous in Palestine. Usually my response is "but, but, how do I get the Maftoule spices"--the answer is "go to the spice shop and just tell the guy you want Maftoule spices"-- I then have to explain, look once I leave here-- there isn't going to be a spice man!

It's usually a nightmare trying to figure out what the heck these magical mixes have in them. My friend Dawne even joked about taking them to a laboratory and getting the spices identified. It's not a far-fetched idea.

This pattern happened again when I went to get some roasted chicken, this chicken is from Jerjawi, the best chicken place in town. These succulent chickens are stuffed with divine rice covered in "spices"- they also put lots of lemons on top of it and a final magic 'spice'--

I asked everyone, what's this spice, WHAT is this spice? "Chicken spice" everyone responded.

Living Vicariously Through Others

My movement restrictions these days impede me from prancing around Gaza, but others can- so I'm living vicariously through them. I claim no credit to the lovely pictures below taken by my friend Patricia. Today they went on an exciting tour of Gaza, on the hunt for mosaics, roman ruins and other goodies.

The romans pretty much made their mark as far as they possible could, and Gaza wasn't left out. Unfortunately, due to bigger priorities-- Gaza's ruins and antiques aren't protected under glass and kept in perfect temperatures, but there are still a few items left preserved.
Below, the image of the tomb (or the monsatery- not clear) of Saint Hilarion. He was born south of Gaza and spent most of his life as an anchorite (withdraws from secular society for prayer). After reading a bit more about St. Hilarion-- I do wish I could go and visit this place myself!
St. Hilarion was "beset by carnal thoughts"- hence decided to go on a wild diet that sounds excruciating- no wonder he started seeing deamons. He kept a close diary of his diet which included:

"from 20-23: half a pint of lentils moistened with cold water
23-27: dry bread with salt and water
27-30: wild herbs and roots
31-35: six ounces of barley bread, and boiled vegetables without oil
After that, he suffered from signs of malnutrition, his eyesight grew poor, his body shrivelled and he developed dry mange and scabs, so he had to slightly modify his diet.
35-63: six ounces of barley bread, and boiled vegetables with oil
63-80: six ounces of water, boiled vegetables with oil and a broth made from flour and crushed herbs, taken after sunset"
A baptismal bath?
The gatekeeper, a 90 year old sweet woman who carries the key to this magical place.

Gaza's warm climate is bringing up beautiful bright flowers as others die due to lack of water.

Last but not least the fabulous Byzantine mosaic still preserved. It is kept covered with a clot and sand over it to reduce the damage, though you can see the little mosaic pieces falling off in the corners. Some interesting details at this link.

Traffic Jam a la Gaza

3 Sad Colombians in Gaza

This morning-- on top of flotilla news, we also found out that Juan Manuel Santos won the presidency of Colombia- the ex-minister of defense who has yet to lead a village let alone a country.

Colombia has demonstrated they are not ready for change, not ready for peace processes, not ready for progress, and not ready for thinking about measures other than military solutions.

I'll cling on to my hope that maybe in 4 years Antanas Mockus (below) will be able to rise to the presidency- we need a super citizen in power. A man who has demonstrated leadership, honesty, creativity, and grassroot changes.

There are 3 other Colombians in Gaza, we're pretty bummed out. Equally as guilty, I tried to sign up to vote in January- turns out registration had closed in November of last year- grrr!

Flotilla Intercepted

Today was a really sad day in Gaza, because Gazans always maintain a glimpse of hope - I'm not quite sure how they do it and I'll never cease to be amazed. A flotilla with aid was due to arrive this morning in Gaza. The boat contained medical aid, materials for water systems and wheelchairs among other items. The six ship flotilla was carrying 10,000 tons of aid.

I spoke to friends and colleagues and everybody thought- maybe! Others, on the more cynical side (myself included) though forget it, it'll never happen. But as one colleagues says "you know, in Gaza we never know." Other people made big signs in preparation for their arrival.

Indeed it didn't happen, but much earlier than we thought. At 3am while the boat was still in international waters, armed forces boarded the vessel. So far 10 have been reported killed and 30 wounded (conservative estimate since other reports calculate higher numbers).

Today is a sad day for the Gazans, and especially for the families who have lost loved ones. The local authorities in Gaza have declared a general strike for the Gaza strip tomorrow. Trucks with amplifiers have been going up and down the streets announcing the deaths of individuals who died this morning.

Seems like there will be a lot of demonstrations tomorrow....

Here is a picture of the demonstration at the marina slowly diffusing at 3pm today.

Mood Mender

Even though things aren't looking so good for Gaza- there's one thing that keeps my spirits up- and it's the magnificent sunsets that I never get tired of admiring.

Easter In Gaza

Easter in Gaza is a special moment- especially when you celebrate it with a small Christian community tucked away in Gaza. Families gathered in the magical church of St. Porphyrius. The walls are beautifully decorated with bursting colors and the chanting from the voices on a proud Easter morning made it a glorious experience.

During the service, psalms were recited in multiple languages including French, Russian, Spanish, and Arabic. We proceeded to meet the Archbishop of Tiberias, Alexios, who was giving blessings and red easter eggs elegantly dressed in an ornate chasuble.

For a true depiction of what it was like visit: http://www.vqronline.org/webexclusive/2010/04/21/woods-easter-gaza/

Comfort food

So when you're away from home, you start craving the strangest things that you wouldn't even buy at the grocery store if you WERE home! My cravings can be divided in two categories: American and Colombian food.

Colombian

1. Platanos (Plantaines)


2. Ajiaco (Potato soup from the bogota region)


3. Beans (the cuban/colombian way)


4. Chontaduro (an odd fruit)


5. Lulo (another odd fruit- described to a mix between rhubarb and lime)

American

1. Cheap Chinese Food (yes, that's American)


2. White bakery cake


3. Root Beer


4. Pulled Pork

So when Elliott went to the US, I pathetically requested FunFetti cake, the fakest, most delicious, saturated fat filled box cake. And boy was it divine.

I lovingly mixed in the 3 ingredients: oil, water, eggs.

And lovingly mixed in all the ingredients.

And impatiently stood by the oven watcing it like a hawk to make sure our oven wouldn't burn it.

I delicately decorated it with fat-filled wonderful fake frosting.

And then indulged in what is the nonsense of Funfetti cake.

Kushari: Italian-Egyptian Fusion

Kushari is a very popular dish-- especially in Egypt. I was out at a handicrafts bazaar- where all kinds of beautiful palestianian stitching was being displayed and sold for good prices (considering all the time and effort it takes to make on of these masterpieces-- if you've ever done crosstiching, you know exactly what I'm talking about).



I was strolling around then of course, had to stop at the food station. I got two take-aways for lunch in the coming days.



1. Maftoule- i.e. couscouse (but in Palestine, stick to saying 'maftoule'-- because the latter can sound like a dirty word).

2. Kushari--rice+lentils, topped with macaroni and tomato sauce.

Verdict: Fail

It was like a wild mistake in my mouth. Like I had taken leftover lentils and rice (lovely)- and scooped on some leftover italian and gobbled it up together.



It may not have been the finest form of Kushari, but I would be hesitant to have it again.

Palestinian Rapperz

I had the pleasure of a day in the recording studio with Pal Rapperz as they were preparing for a special song dedicated to Mothers.

Palestinian Rapperz which began in 2003, found their voice through Rap and Hip Hop music- a growing genre in the Middle East. A day in the studio with the group demonstrates their down-to-earth demeanor and their passion for the words they are singing. Though the song for mother's day was full of gratefulness and love- many of the songs that PalRapperz write and perform reflect the difficulties and strife of the Palestinians.

They perform in the Gaza Strip, but dream about the day when they can step foot outside of Gaza to really get the show on the road.

The day began with voice warm up, and work in the recording studio.

The voice recordings were then mixed with the background beats which included an alternative instrument- the famous Oud (a pear shaped instrument used in Middle Eastern music)-- giving it a pleasant traditional touch fused with modern rap tunes. Check out the Pal Rapperz blog to listen to a few clips of their music.The song was performed a few days later in front of a big group of women from southern Gaza.

Girl Power

On women's day I headed south to Khan Younis where among songs, speeches and presentations, the day was inaugurated with a women's outdoor volleyball game. I was pleasantly suprised to see these two awesome teams of sporty Gazan girls showing their stuff.

Sports for women are not very common in Gaza at the moment, let alone public ones, so this was quite exciting. The teams represented Islamic University and AlAqsa University here in Gaza.

Ok, for real now

James and the Giant Mosque

I thought I had just run into the wonderland of Roald Dahl, with James and the Giant Peach. You'd think Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker were going to pop out of somewhere with the look of this structure.

PEACHY KEEN!

TRIPLE TOMATO!

One of my coworkers was out in the field visiting farmers and brought this freakazoid back to show us! It is a triple tomato fused in one! It was the actual size of there tomatoes beautifully fused like siamese triplets. The joke in the office was that Gaza has invented the new hybrid between a tomato and a red pepper.

Fresh Almonds

These little guys are popping up in every corner market. FRESH ALMONDS! It is popular to dip them in salt and pop them into your mouth. They are rather crunchy, with a peachy fuzz on the outside. They taste a little "planty" with a hint of almond flavor.

Beautiful Tiles

Instructions: How to get away with not sharing

If you would like a really good excuse to not share your delicious cookies, do the following.

1. Move to a predominantly Muslim Location
2. Buy these cookies made with wine.
3. Take them to your office
4. Result: No one will touch your cookies.

Fattat Hummus

I popped down to the kitchen in my office and this large array was on the table. My first thought was...holy S*** that's a lot of hummus!

This my friends is Fattat Hummus, which is hummus with little pieces of pita bread already cut up and mixed in side. How do you eat it? You just scope about 5 spoonfuls onto your plate and eat it!

Very bizarre, psychologically I'd rather scoop hummus onto dry bread and eat it rather than having the 2-in-1 deal.

Your Falafel or Mine?

In my first blog entry entitled "Your Hummus or Mine?" I reflected the claim to fame of the world famous middle eastern food. It's "Jewish! Israel makes the best Hummus" I heard on the plane, thinking about how I wasn't so sure about that little fact.

A few weeks ago I was outside of Gaza, up in the city of Akko which is one the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the area. It has been in the hands of the Romans, then the Arabs, then the Crusaders, then back to the Arabs (we're talking year 1191 here). The UN 1947 Partition Plan included Akko as part of the Palestinian state, but during the war of 1948 Akko was besieged by Israeli Forces. 13,000 residents became refugees and fled as a result. Sigh.

Strolling through Akko, I found this post card and it speaks for itself.

I'm Sad

There are many sad times in Gaza.

Today I was in the kitchen and popped down to get a cup of coffee, ended up talking with my sweet co-worker H. H and I started talking about my Arabic classes and I was practicing the basics of "your office, my office, our office".... she giggled, and told me about how she once had the opportunity to study in Virginia.

She had won a scholarship, but they soon informed her that they were sorry, and they would choose someone from the West Bank because it was impossible to get her out of Gaza. H also had the opportunity of studying in Belgium, again, she won a scholarship, and soon enough encountered a denied exit from Gaza.

I couldn't help but burst into tears in the middle of the kitchen thinking about the pain and sadness and the block to opportunity and knowledge. She even said it matter-of-factly, and had clearly dealt with the pain and sadness of it when it first happened. After receiving notice, H cried for two days, moving on to the resilience that many Gazans have built up over time.

This is not the first impediment to education that I have heard of. Knowledge is power, and education is a right.

It's a sad day.

Recycling Dorito Bags

So...growing up I was a pretty good kid, right Mom?

I never lit things on fire, or tried to take something appart, or try to make some kind of explosive out of household cleaners. But, one thing I've always wanted to is shrink a bag of chips!

There is a ton of Garbage in Gaza, and on the way home I saw a bag of "Mexican" flavor Dorito chips that came from the tunnels. I picked it up, took it home. Did some research on how exactly the shrinking mechanism works best (put it in the microwave for 8 seconds) and VOILA! My first bag was a total failure and I fried it, the second bag worked!

Hi hi hi.

Now I have a recycled Dorito bag key chain. Straight off the streets of Gaza.

Rosy's Gym & Beauty Salon

Behind Hijabs and Nikabs are bundles of beautiful women with luscious locks and sleek haircuts. I went with two friends to Rosy's Beauty Salon, owned by Miriam who is a buisness-minded british woman who has lived in Gaza for 26 years. Miriam and I chatted while I was under the eye pencil, being polished up with a 25 makeup process.

Miriam's business contains a gym with aerobics classes, along with a full on beauty salon (hair styling, dyes, waxing-- you name it). She also has a clothing store on the side. The beauty salon experience is a true behind-the-scene to the lives of some women in Gaza. Unveiled and tweezed- women prep for their engagement parties, weddings, and in my case- a Hena party (upcoming post).

"It's hard to get the products"-- Miriam notes- since everything has to come from the tunnels, and from Miriam's experience it's the first thing to stop- since it's a luxury item. Evidently- rice and beans would come first in times of need.

Waxing is a big part of beautifying processes in the Middle East (especially in this age of hairlessness- lasers, ultra modern 90 bade razors that change models every month, hair removing lotions...) From the stories I've heard, women often having "waxing day"-- with homemade Halawa: Sugar, Water, Lemon.

A simple recipe to hairlessness. The syrupy wax is made, and let the ripping begin! As a treat, mother's often dip a spoon into the Halawa and give it to the kids for a homemade lollipop.

Waxing is also essential for the bride-to-be, requiring a full body wax for the day of her wedding.

Sounds like a nightmare to me.

Here's a recipe for Halawa, which I'd rather call Hell- owww aaa!

Ingredients for Halawa

1. Two cups of water
2. Three cups of sugar or three cups of honey
3. Two teaspoons of lemon juice

Procedure

1. Place all ingredients in saucepan. Bring to boil.
2. When its colour changes to golden brown, lower the heat and continue to simmer.
3. Keep a careful watch on the colour. Once it starts to change to brown, turn off the heat.
4. Allow to cool a little, then pour small quantities onto heavy duty plastic, of the cereal bag type. Plastic that is not heavy duty will melt. It is not a good idea to use a plate, as you will need to peel it off something pliable after it cools.
5. When it becomes cool enough to handle, pull a piece off the plastic and pull and stretch it. This will immediately cause it to change color, from a clear golden brown to an opaque gold. It should be easy to stretch and pull. If it is too hard, you have left it on the heat for too long and must make a new batch. If it is too liquid, it has not been heated enough and must be heated once more, or a new batch made.

My Hummus!

The most superbly presented hummus, drenched with olive oil and topped with a juicy black olive. Mouthwatering!

Mandi Meal

This is just a pile of dirt. It is a very nice pile of dirt. I walked over it a few times by mistake as I pranced through the citrus garden at B's house.But suddenly, the pile dirt was pushed away to reveal a magical treat.
I gasped! This is where lunch is? B happily presented a beautiful meal called Mandi, which is cooked underground for over 2 hours.
After the top is carefully lifted, a fantastic three-tiered dreamy meal was revealed. Containing slow cooked onions, potatoes, carrots and chicken. The oil of the chicken drips onto a platter of yellow rice making the most superb, succulent, tender treat.
And voila-- one of the most mouth watering dishes I have tried yet. Beautifully presented, the carrots were tender and the chicken was dreamily seasoned with secret spices!

QUE DELICIA!