“Pragmatic politics has nothing to do with literature. If you ask me about a pragmatic solution, I think all this complication can be solved in two minutes. There are occupied territories, so just get out.”

“Literature speaks in many ways. It speaks to the present, of course, and to the future, if it is good literature. But literature is also a way for the writer to make a dialogue with the dead. This is the power of literature. It is not like religion: religion gives you the feeling that you are eternal. Here, there is no eternity at all, but it opens the possibility of dialoguing with the dead.”

“If you analyze Israeli literature, you will find that the Palestinian is not there. He is either dumb, or a mad Bedouin, or marginal, or a young boy. Until now, the Palestinian as a human being is not really there. It is difficult, I can understand, for the Israelis to see the Palestinian, because they are walking on his shadow.”

More from the interview with openDemocracy.

Source: myfoxphilly

Discovered this outlet while on my way to Turner Road through the bylanes of Bandra starting from Carter Road! Located in the quiet Sherly Rajan Road, it is not suprising that no one knew about this place. Since it was around 11 PM, most of the shelf was already empty with only a couple of chicken and mutton cutlets remaining. Giving them some company were the pastries which were at the other end of a very long shelf! This rectangular shaped ‘cafe’ doesn’t have seating space, making it essentially a takeaway or a free home delivery option (which it does have).

Now, you will not associate a takeaway with an extensive menu. Normally, what you see is what you can get but here its something different. An extensive menu, with exactly 250 items (They have numbered every item in the menu. Did you really think I would count all 250 of em??), makes me wonder how they can manage to offer so much. If you look closely at the menu, it is easy to figure out that this place primarily serves Lebanese.

Alright then, since it was late night and most of the items were already over, I decided to try the Mutton Cutlet which was covered with Vermicelli – making it a crispy delight. The presentation was a bit different wherein the cutlet wrapped around a thin stick in a way similar to the way chikken tikka is served in the many takeaways in Bandra. The cutlet wasn’t a hit with my taste buds. Maybe it was because the cutlet was made in the Lebanese style – less oily and less spicy – which was a bummer! Though less oily is a winner in my book, less spicy isn’t!

Merhaba extensively serves Lebanese and is the first such place I came across which does so. Otherwise, for instance, for Falafels you need to go somewhere and for Shawerma somewhere else! I am definitely coming back to try out their many dishes on offer.

Update: Went again here and ate a chicken shawerma. The shawerma was strictly ok. The pita bread was baked just about right and wasn’t hard to chew. Gotta give them that  – they do  know how to bake a pita bread to perfection! Though the chicken was a downer here. A bit too try and overcooked! There was a paneer shawerma that my friend had and she seemed to like it thought I couldn’t get to taste it!

Address: No.4, Hardik Villa, Sherly Rajan ROad, Bandra West, Mumbai 400050

Ph: 9222384321 | 9222394321

Manakeesh is not something I would usually make at home.  But, this past weekend I went to visit my in-laws and we went out to get some freshly made manakeesh.  I devoured it like a ravenous beast and since then I’ve been thinking of it constantly.  I became so obsessed that I bought everything I needed to make it.  When I visit bigger cities I become like a child in a candy store, don’t let me loose!  Not many middle eastern groceries are not available in my small city, then again what is *smirk*? (As you can tell I can’t wait for my husband to finish med school).

I was thinking of buying some pizza dough from a bakery but then I thought that would just be the easy way out.  If I’m going to make manakeesh might as well really make manakeesh.  To any of you who don’t know what manakeesh is, well it’s an arabic/lebanese type of flatbread with different toppings, most popularly za’atar.  Za’atar is an herb blend of thyme, sumac, sesame seeds, and olive oil.  I had never eaten it until I tried it at Al-Taib in Montreal.  They fill the manakeesh with pickled radishes, tomatoes, onions, olives, and lettuce.  My friends and I would go to Al-Taib sometimes at 3 in the morning because they were always open.  Thank God for that because you never know when a manakeesh craving will come around.  (Note:  The za’atar manakeesh is vegan!)

I topped the manakeesh with za’atar and akawi cheese.  Akawi is a semi soft cheese that is often in a salt bath.  If Akawi is not available in your area, you can try Halloumi, which I have seen in major supermarkets.  I love akawi manakeesh and I top it off with a little sprinkling of chili flakes.  The cheese is mild yet still packs a lot of creamy, salty flavor.

Also, don’t be afraid of the dough.  Believe me when I tell you that I am NOT a dough person.  I have had many dough disasters, but the dough I prepared for the manakeesh was fool proof.  It was so soft and pliable.  Not to sound odd, but it felt like a baby’s skin.  Go ahead, and brave the dough!  It will be sooo worth it!  Plus, this dough is multipurpose.  So use it for pizza, manakeesh, calzones, and so on.

Manakeesh

makes 8 medium sized rounds

Ingredients for Dough

I used a mixture of two recipes: DedeMed and JustforLicks

1 packet dry yeast

1 cup warm water

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups flour

Method:

Place the yeast in a small bowl, with sugar and warm water.  Let it activate, about 10 minutes.  In another bowl mix the flour and salt together.  After the yeast mixture is activated add the olive oil in with the liquids.  Using a dough hook on a hand mixer (or stand mixer-still hoping for one *sigh*) add the yeast mixture into the flour.  Do not over mix.  Just enough so that the dough comes together.  If necessary add a little extra water or extra flour depending on the consistency of your dough.  It should be a little sticky at this point.  Knead the dough lightly for about 5-10 minutes.  Place the dough in an oiled bowl, make sure to coat the dough ball with oil.  Cover with a damp towel and let it rise in a warm place.  I let my dough rise for 2 hours.  Once it has risen knead it a little more and separate into 8 balls.  Let the balls rise for 15 more minutes.  At this point preheat the oven to 375 degrees  Then strech the balls out with your hands so that they are about 1/2 an inch thick and have a diameter of about 8 inches.  Brush the top with a little olive oil.  Top with za’atar or akawi. Bake for 15-20 minutes.  The dough should not get brown just light golden.

Za’atar is simply prepared by mixing the herb mix with an equal amount of olive oil and salt to taste until it forms a paste then place a heaping tablespoon on the dough and spread it evenly.

For the akawi simply grate it and place about a large handful of cheese of top of the dough.  Sprinkle with chili flakes and salt to taste.

I served cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, olives, mint, lemon, hummus, and labneh (thickened yogurt cheese) on the side.  This is how they serve it at Al-Hallab in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  The food at Al-Hallab is on another level!  Also, in Dubai is Al-Reef, which has amazing manakeesh.

So after breakfast, I headed to James house where he surprised me by saying that we were going shopping for boy stuff instead of lazing around all day. I was not very happy at that, I have a tendency to if I’m at his house refuse to leave his bed (it is very warm and soft and feels so comforting). Either way, we went and we were all starving by the time we got to Oxford Street that we needed food. So I mentioned this french-lebanese place called Comptoir, and so we went there. It was not expensive (£8 per person) and the food was ok, however the service was really crap and the food was quite dry. You needed all the houmous on the falafels instead of a tiny bit just to add more flavour. Sorry for the above picture, I was starving and after taking bites and sips I remembered to take a picture. The flatbread thing in the front is Manouch (I think…) topped with Halloumi cheese, there are falafels in the back and the drink is called Roomana, a flat lemonade made with pomegranate and orange blossom. We then went back to James house where he made me tea and let me sleep as I fell asleep on the bus on the way back to his as I was so tired. When I got home I found this on the kitchen table. Turns out a few amazing companies did not email me about sending me samples but did anyway. So thank you to Navita’s naturals, Manitoba Harvest and Larabar!

So yeah I got hemp protein powder, chocolate hemp milk, hemp seed butter, 4 larabars, acai powder and (unpictures) coconut oil. Unfortunately due to my sister being charged per weight for use of her address, so no more american samples. So yeah if any British health product companies wanna send me samples of stuff to review please please do. Anyway for dinner last night I had a salad, I love this mix of salad, olives, carrot, cucumber, lettuce and sweetcorn. I do not have any dressing at all with this, it tastes awesome as is.

And this gross looking thing is applesauce mixed with chia seeds and left to set. It tasted yum, so maybe ignore how it looks…

And since I had a light dinner, I made popcorn. I figured out popping the kernels into a paper bag and putting it into the microwave for 3 minutes. It needed no oil and was so much easier then using the airpopper. I then sprayed the popcorn with a little olive oil spray and topped it with chili flakes, citric acid and salt. There is a diet vimto on the side. I keep drinking them recently and truly need to stop, I managed to get to a point where I drank no fizzy drinks at all and I need to go back to that. No diet crack still, so I guess I’m good.

Breakfast this morning, tea and pancakes and pomegranate and pineapple. No I am not sick of pomegranate, I truly love them.

A close up as I think my breakfast looked beautiful.

Then me and my mum went shopping and went to pick up my niece. On the way back I ate half a tiny granny smith apple as I was starving. We got home at about 4 and I made myself vegan mac and cheese and my niece had plain pasta. She finally ate some brown pasta. I found this awesome almost brown pasta at Asda, 75% whole wheat, and the rest white. No other ingredients, it’s made for kids so has tiny shapes, little conchiliges. Any way the mac and cheese, for ages I’ve been reading recipes for it, and I finally attempted it. I loved it, I made a random recipe of it tbh. Lots of nutritional yeast and cashews blended with some oatmilk till smooth and some garlic. I then sliced up onion, mushrooms and fried them a bit in some olive oil and added some sweetcorn. I mixed in the sauce and heated it through and then mixed in the pasta. I then left it for a while and ate it. It was good and not chili yet I enjoyed it. It looks a bit of a mess…

But close up it looks a bit less ick. Anyway I loved it, normally mac and cheese makes me feel pukey and ick, but wow it was yum.

I then baked! I made vegan chocolate chip muffins! They were nice, I made them with dark brown unrefined sugar and apple sauce and oil. I liked them, they did turn out a tiny bit not sweet enough and a tiny bit dry. But much much better than my last attempt.

My dinner was a salad and some Aqni and a tiny bit of yoghurt. I had no time to go to the organic store to buy some non sweetened soy milk, so oops. This meal took me half an hour to eat, I swear I eat so slowly yet I am still always hungry.

After dinner I decorated a cake. I made an icing out of sugar, margarine, dessicated coconut and almond flour. Very yum. I guess throwing things together works for me.

I then topped it with sprinkles, I was determined to make myself a pretty cake that was vegan that I actually liked because I did manage to go to Babycakes in New York and was really disappointed. First the place was a hole in the wall, you think for a place that has it’s own recipe book it would be done up and cute and clean. No instead it’s tiny with very rude staff that don’t like it if you stay in the store longer then paying for things unless you are hot tall leggy blondes. Also I got a carrot cupcake, I did like the fact that with every purchase you are asked if you have any allergies. The cake was not very fluffy and was bitter. Sorry for the moaning, I really was quite annoyed as I walked a really long way while ill to get there and the crapness really pissed me off. Maybe my bad mood made me view everything as worse as most people tend to love it.

More cupcake! Sorry this is honestly the first time I have actually liked what I baked and went to the effort of icing it and adding sprinkles.

Close up of icing! I think this the first thing that truly counts as food porn on my blog.

And after a few hours of tv I went and ate two packs of crisps with brown bread. I was good in a way in that I ate brown bread but meh. I think to be truthful I have not actually eaten as much as usual today and yesterday and I think the snack I just had made up for it.

Anyway now to do some ab exercises. A certain lovely blogger is strengthening her core over the next 30 days and I am joining in as my abs need help. So does the rest of me, but baby steps and I think 6 – 10 minutes of abs 5 days a week is baby steps… maybe. I hope I last more than 3 days doing it as I did only last that long on the 30 day shred (although I did get the flu…).

Anyway night night now. Also if I forget to say it, I truly love blogging. I have never felt more accepted and that I am ok as I am, I don’t need to change who I am to fit to someone else’s vision or wants.

When I went down into the back yard after work this evening to water the gardens, I noticed a few changes.

• All the seedlings, whatever their species, are so far growing well, with probably the Lebanese cucumbers doing the best.
• The first beetroot seeds have germinated and are lifting tiny, red and green shoots above the soil.
• And two of the climbing beans (out of the 5 or 6 seeds I splanted) are sprouting as well.

Things are on track!

The first radishes sprout

The first climbing beans appear

The vegetable garden bed, half in the sunlight and half in shadow

The vegetable garden from above

Dalila Mahdawi guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 10 November 2009 21.00 GMT
They mop floors, take out the rubbish, walk the dog, buy groceries and care for the children, the elderly or disabled. Many a well-to-do and lower middle class Lebanese family relies on migrant domestic workers to take care of their household, but when it comes to providing for these women, not all return the favour.

Migrant domestic workers – women who work as live-in or freelance housekeepers, cooks, and nannies – form a vital presence in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East, where women’s increased participation in the workforce has not been accompanied by state-backed social or childcare services.

There are thought to be about 200,000 women, mostly from the Philippines, Ethiopia and Sri Lanka, in Lebanon alone. But although they are becoming an intrinsic part of the country’s social fabric, their contribution is often overlooked. While many Lebanese people are careful to ensure their housekeepers are well treated, a significant number abuse them. In extreme cases, migrant domestic workers are killed or kill themselves.

The spate of suicides has become so bad in recent weeks it prompted Lebanese blogger Wissam to launch the grimly named Ethiopian Suicides blog. The website is dedicated to monitoring media reports on the deaths of foreign migrant domestic workers in Lebanon. “I have a dream,” Wissam says. “That migrant domestic workers will be treated humanely in Lebanon and will stop trying to commit or commit[ting] suicide.”

In the last three weeks alone, Wissam notes, four Ethiopian women have died. Lebanese police say the deaths of Kassaye Atsegenet, 24, Saneet Mariam, 30, Matente Kebede Zeditu, 26, Tezeta Yalmiya, 26 were probably suicides. But as human rights activists here will testify, the truth about what happened to them may never be known because police usually only take into account the employer’s testimony. Migrants who survive abuse or suicide attempts are not usually provided with a translator, meaning their version of events often does not get registered with officials.

Sadly, violations against such workers occur throughout the region and in some cases the women end up in slave-like conditions.

Reflecting the concern of sender countries for the wellbeing of their citizens, Ethiopia and the Philippines have placed bans on working in Lebanon and Jordan, but this has not stemmed the flow of illegal migrants smuggled in through third countries. Without the necessary work papers and embassy support, migrant women become even more vulnerable to human rights abuses.

One reason the women are driven to the edge is that, in Lebanon at least, they are not given protection under the country’s labour law. Such exclusion means that those who withhold salaries, confiscate passports, confine their employees to the house or otherwise abuse them, can literally get away with murder. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that five months after parliamentary elections, a Lebanese government is only now being formed.

The campaign to grant migrant domestic workers greater rights in the region has been led by Human Rights Watch. This summer, it contacted Lebanese beach resorts and found that 17 out of 27 private facilities practised some form of discrimination against such women by prohibiting them from swimming in the pool or even the Mediterranean sea.

A study conducted by the organisation last year found that more than one migrant domestic worker was dying in Lebanon each week – mostly from suspected suicide or by falling off a balcony while trying to escape abusive employers. The numbers sent ripples throughout the rights community and resulted in far more sustained local media coverage on the issue of domestic migrant workers. Judging by Wissam’s recent statistics, however, this does not appear to have persuaded the authorities to take sufficient measures to protect their rights.

The embassies of countries that supply migrant workers have a duty to protect their citizens. They could start by offering amnesty and assistance to all illegal workers, increasing their legal protection capabilities and properly informing women at home of their rights and responsibilities while working abroad. Many countries, such as Nepal or Madagascar, which are sending women to the Middle East in increasing numbers, would do well to increase their diplomatic representation from consular level to embassies.

Many migrant workers come to the Middle East seeking a better life for the families they left behind. The Lebanese themselves have a long history of migration and hardship, and should know first-hand the difficulties of living and working in a foreign country. Just as many Lebanese abroad work hard with the hopes of eventually returning home, the Lebanese should ensure that these women get to go back to their countries – alive and well, not in body bags.

NOTE: Since this article was published, the death toll of migrant workers women has risen to eight, according to Human Rights Watch.

The situation

Yesterday’s major effort to fully plant up the vegetable garden left 7 unused seedlings still drooping forlornly in their punnets:

• 2 cherry tomatoes
• 1 Lebanese cucumber
• 4 chillies, comprising:
  • 2 Cayenne
  • 1 Anaheim
  • 1 Jalapeño

Overflow garden as seen from the back deck, next to established plants

There’s a large amount of garden space in our back yard, hugging the fences on all 3 sides. Now it so happens that one part of it, about 3 metres’ worth on the upper, southern side nearest the deck, is empty.

It used to be shaded, a little too well, by a Macadamia nut tree that leaned over the fence from George the upper side neighbour’s yard, so we’d really never grown anything there.

(That Macadamia was a wonderful tree – big enough to partly shade our back deck, making it considerably cooler on those stinking hot summer days of ours. The new, wind-down shade we had installed after it was gone is okay, good even, but still… I miss the tree, its leaves, its birds, and even its occasional possum denizens.)

Anyway, about 8 months back George finally had the nut tree chopped down – it had been heavily crowded out by both our and his back decks for years, so major branches had been lopped off here and there. It was starting to look lopsided. (Hmmm, could it be this is where the term “lopsided” comes from…?)

The overflow garden, planted, trellised and mulched.

After the tree went, we realised that the area of never-used garden bed below it was now far more exposed to the sun and therefore more “plantable”. So I got in a half metre of organic garden soil from Camp Hill Timber and Landscape, our nearest supplier of landscaping supplies. After adding the soil to the bed I’d then thoroughly swaddled it in sugar cane mulch and used some of the ubiquitous old pavers to protect the mulch (not all that successfully, let’s face it) from cat attack. And that’s how the bed has stayed ever since, waiting for a purpose.

Well, almost half of it now has that purpose.

The process

I spent a pleasant couple of hours in the middle of the day there (fortunately it was cloudy and so not too hot), first removing the pavers and scraping the mulch back out of the way. I then dug up the areas where the excess seedlings were to go and added a measure of compost to each area, mixing it well through the soil. Wetting everything down thoroughly at each step I transplanted the seedlings into position, putting in a stake or trellis next to those that will need it (the tomatoes and cucumber). I finished off by re-mulching around the new denizens, making sure to keep the mulch at least 5 centimetres away from the seedling stems so the organisms that break down the mulch don’t focus on the stems instead, and “re-paving” the lot for ongoing protection. Step back and away, and the job ’tis done.

Potted chillies (Jalapeño and Anaheim) destined for the back deck

Oh, and while I was at it, I potted up the last 2 remaining chillies, the  Anaheim and the Jalapeño, and put them upstairs on the back deck.

The outcome

The new, ‘overflow’ vege garden is hereby dubbed the Annexe. I can see it going one way or the other – either down in flames and eaten out because it’s closer to the fence and may be easier and safer for the possums to reach; or it’ll flourish because it’s somewhat more out of site and sheltered than the main bed out in the yard.

What’s the bet?

(P.S. Ignore the date on the photos – it’s wrong. I accidentally set the camera date to the day before after recharging the battery overnight. A true GardenerScampus moment – no doubt merely the first of many more.)

Figure 1. The garden bed - trellises already in place (I forgot to take a photo earlier in the process)

The garden bed is located close to the lower, northern side of the backyard (see Figure 1). Made from 6 treated pine sleepers from Camp Hill Timber and Landscape, it’s 2 sleepers high on all sides (so I don’t have to bend down all the way to the ground while working in it) and has dimensions of 3.6 x 1.2 metres. It’s positioned so that it will receive heaps of sunshine for much of the day, but from about 2.00 to 2.30pm onwards the Fiddlewood tree down the lower back corner will completely shade it. This will hopefully save the plants from getting heatstroke due to too much exposure to our subtropical summer sun.

Trellises

First task of the day was to make myself 3 trellises, to support Lebanese Cucumbers, Cherry tomatoes and Climbing beans. I was able to make the trellises from fairly cheap materials. Each trellis consists of a metre of plastic coated, wire mesh with square holes 10 cm on a side. The mesh was stretched between 2 pine garden stakes each a little over a metre long. The mesh is actually 1.2 m high, with the top 20 cm folded over to keep things tidy. But I have a feeling I’m going to have to unfold it later, especially with the climbing beans which need a trellis up to 2 m high.

Figure 2. Diagram showing the layout and information about the vegetables initially planted in the garden

With the trellises built (it took about 3/4 hour sitting in the shade under the back deck) the action shifted to the garden bed itself. I first moved the sugar cane mulch back from the northern half of the bed, clearing it off the soil  in readiness. I used a rubber mallet to hammer my 3 trellises in a line down the bed, 30 cm from and parallel to the northern wall.

Lunch

Before I could start planting, the Significant Other suggested that since it was the last day of our 2 week vacation (not counting the weekend still ahead, which I suppose we would have had anyway), we should head up to the Rare Pear at Holland Park for lunch. Which we promptly did. Lunch was great, coffees weren’t bad (though not a patch on the coffees we experienced down in NSW last week – is it the milk they use?), and we were back home within the hour.

Planting the veges

Figure 3. Lebanese Cucumber seedlings planted and awaiting mulching

Back to the garden. Satiated and armed with a black and white printout of my handy dandy diagram (see Figure 2) I set to planting with a will.

• First plants to go in were the Lebanese cucumbers – 3 seedlings, 20 cm apart.
• Cheery tomatoes – 2 seedlings, 60 cm apart.
• Climbing beans – 5 or 6 seeds buried 2 cm down and 10 cm apart.

Then, down the southern side of the bed, starting from the western end:

• Radish – seeds, 1/4 inch down in two rows 20 cm apart.
• Carrot – seeds, 1/4 inch down in two rows 20 cm apart.
• Chillies – in 2 rows of 2 seedlings (2 Cayenne, 1 Siam, 1 Anaheim) with 25 cm between them.
• Sweet corn – seedlings in 3 rows about 70 cm apart, 2 seedlings in each row about 35 cm apart.

I watered the plants at various stages during each planting, of course.

All up, I suppose this process took about 3 hours.

At the end there were one or more seedlings of each kind left over. AnnMaree suggested potting some of them, to go up on the back deck with the other potted herbs and plants. By this stage of the afternoon I was pretty much out of energy, so I promised I would pot some of them and plant the rest in a spare, long-prepared garden bed on the south side of the back deck… tomorrow.

I’ve also put off building a cage to go around the whole bed. It’s to be chicken wire over some kind of wooden frame, set up so that the sides can be lifted up and back to allow easy access. I’m hoping I won’t need to build this – that the possums and crows will keep their greedy claws and beaks out of it. Let’s face it, I’m kidding myself here. But I also know that building a cage of the type I have in mind is going to be a monumental undertaking (for me) and will take all of a day to do. And at heart I’m lazy, when it boils right down to it. So if I can get out of it, I will. I’ll pay for it later…

To top things off, it rained quite strongly for a short while during the night, giving the garden and its plants their first proper watering.

Oh. My. God.

I love Jasmins. Look at this spread – a mixed plate and chilli chicken. About $20 total, and boy is it worth every cent!

Feast like a king at Jasmins, Lakemba

The Shaved Ape goes crazy at this place. I always end up nicking some of his kofte (best I’ve ever tasted – amaaaazing), kibbeh (like none other) and felafel (not just for vegetarians, like crunchy cumin-y fluffy balls of heaven). The bowl in the middle is garlic sauce… as you can see it also comes with humous, tahini, tabouli, loads of bread and pickles. We always end up taking leftovers home. Even he can’t finish it.

I didn’t turn into my mother, I just realised that I’ve always been her.

Of course, all those qualities that make up Salem are diverse and wonderful.  But for the purpose of writing this piece and expressing what it is that had me come to this realisation (again), I write about one more thing that annoys the crap out of me.

I phoned home a couple of hours ago.  Dad answered.  I didn’t realise how glad I was that he did until I asked about mum.  I was hoping that he wouldn’t put her on the phone.  I’ve got a lot on my plate right now and I was afraid that mum was going to make yet another request that I ‘m unable to fulfill.  Lately, I’m noticing just how much she asks of me, my sisters, my dad.  She’s also totally giving.  But who can give back to her as much as she gives out?  There are five of us girls and dad and we hardly keep up.

Well, I’m my mum.  I’m in a new relationship and I’m noticing my old patterns weave their way right back in.  It’s amazing, because like my mum, I’m very resourceful, yet I manage to need my partner to make some major shift in his life just so that I can get by.  And I’m very giving as well.  It’s almost irresistible.  But it comes at a cost.  I give, you must give.  I’m very rarely ever conscious of this going on in the moment.  But it goes on… and on… and on…

It’s partly one-up-man-ship.  I don’t know exactly why I do that.  I know that I learnt it in my family home and it’s a habit.  I wonder if I feel inferior to others and wish to inflate myself…  It’s partly to have others constantly prove their allegiance to me.  I don’t know why I do that either.  I think I copied that too.  It’s never-ending though… how much can one prove before they just get over it?

I think I’ve been trying to prove my allegiance to mum forever.  And I’m still caught in the trap.  I notice myself still feeling guilty when she doesn’t approve of me or something I’m doing.  And I’m still trying to prove that she’s not better than me, or more to the point, that I’m not as bad as I can feel around her from time to time. It’s insidious.  I’d have never thought that was still at play, we get on so well these days…

Lebanese people use the term “seeing oneself” to denote self-importance.  For as far back as I remember, dad’s been taunting mum about her and her family’s seeing themselves.  It’s a double-edged sword.  Although it’s used in our culture with a negative connotation, there’s an underlying communal envy of others who see themselves.  Of course there is.  Confidence and pride in oneself are enviable.  At the moment though, I’m wondering which of the two it is for me.  I certainly see myself. Perhaps it’s just the thing that I do best that’s used both to propel me into the world as a healthy individual and to hide that which I deem to be lacking in myself.  In other words to see myself so that nobody else will.

I copied mum’s behaviour.  But I also copied her covert opinions and beliefs about herself, as well as her more obvious ones.  I did this all before I got a chance to see myself for myself.  And now, after all these years… well frankly, it’s a bit boring. I’m seeing that seeing myself gets in the way of seeing others.

I want to see my partner now.  I haven’t seen him in ages…

It’s Halloween and I’m standing in the checkout aisle of the Superstore. Before embarking on this last-minute candy dash, Deb and I decided to fuel up at the Blue Olive with some delicious lebanese sandwiches.

There was a time, not long ago when Moncton was limited to just the Donair for middle eastern sandwich wraps. I don’t fully understand the origin of the Donair and it’s mysterious sauce, but it’s somewhere between a Greek gyro or a Lebanese kebab pita. Little did I know that there was a wide array of pita sandwiches out there in the world to choose from. It could even be said that if there is one unifying theory of humanity, it’s that we want nothing more than to enjoy a delicious sandwich wrapped in a pita with some garlic sauce. They may be universally enjoyed.

The Blue Olive delivers an excellent shawarma. Not too spicy, it’s a savory sandwich in a traditional style. I had mine with fries and a pepsi. Deb had a falafel and tabouleh. At one point, she opined that it may have been the best falafel she had ever had. I remain somewhat more reserved in my praise having enjoyed the Marroush shawarma from Ottawa many times in the past, quite probably the finest example of the species on earth. Nevertheless it was very tasty and the fries were crispy and hot.

We also discovered the small grocery had a bunch of middle eastern and Asian foods. Also a decent spice selection. We picked up some udon and soba noodles for soup on our way out.

So, next time you’re on Paul St. in Dieppe, pass the taco bell and kfc and grab yourself a shawarma.

Happy Halloween!

Chapter 1: Pilpel.

36, Brushfield Street, Spitalfields | www.pilpel.co.uk | ingested Sunday Oct 18th ‘09

It was 2pm already and we were still Sunday brunch-less. Although the original plan for that afternoon was to head west to Comptoir Libanais to quell a craving for good Lebanese and then hit the shops on Oxford Street, the thought of a 20 minute ride on the Central line from Liverpool Street to Bond Street on an empty stomach proved too much to bear. Pilpel is the ultimate pit-stop if you ever find yourself in our shoes or want a quick bite in the Spitalfields area.

Pilpel Falafel Bar @ Brushfield Street

They do one thing here, but they do it well. The falafels are absolute bliss… the exterior crisp and crunchy, the interior moist yet wholesome, testament to the staff here who deep-fry each batch freshly before loading the goodies into white or wholemeal pitta (toasty warm of course). Fill up your pitta with anything you fancy… tabbouleh, chickpeas, tomato salad, carrot, pickles, chilli or homous to order. Uber-value at £3.99 a roll, and for 40p extra, you can load-up some fried aubergine, free-range egg, or feta to your heart’s desire. Yummy.

Fully Loaded Falafel Roll

Chapter 2: Comptoir Libanais.

65, Wigmore Street, Marylebone | www.lecomptoir.co.uk | Sunday 18^th Oct ’09

20 minutes on the Central line of wishing I had ordered a 2^nd Pilpel later, we made it to Comptoir Libanais, a 3 minute duck off the chaos of Oxford Street. The eclectic, chic deco of Comptoir looks much more Leon than Beirut Express, differentiating this vibrant café chain from its dated Edgeware Road peers. It was buzzing despite the 3pm post-lunch hour… the high counter and barstool area was near-full with happy clientele, sandwiched between the food aisle and walls brimming with Lebanese store-cupboard essentials.

Tea-time Buzz

We were seated on diner-style yellow benches and bright red metal stools towards the back, amidst bold, technicolour pop art. Much cosier and more comfortable relative to the sterile shopping mall food-court feel of its pilot Westfield outfit in Shepherd’s Bush.

Eclectic cafe area

The fresh, bold flavours we enjoyed earlier on in the year at Westfield set a high bar, and this newer Marylebone branch certainly did not disappoint on this occasion. A lamb tagine sharer which came with a small mezze platter was great value at £9.50. The fresh lemoni-ness of the tabbouleh, sharp piquancy of the pickles and creamy richness of the hommous continued where Pilpel left off – simple, but fresh, great tasting Lebanese. The lamb tagine with cous-cous was faultless – just the right balance of savoury from the melt-in-your-mouth lamb and sweetness from the cooked down apricots and prunes. Perfectly rounded off by the sweet croissant-like date pastry and pot of fresh mint-tea we had to accompany the tagine and mezzes.

Lamb Tagine Platter to share…

There is much much more on offer here which warrant several visits back for brunch, lunch, tea or even supper. A wide selection of deep-fried sambousseks, falafels, freshly made wraps, pastries, baklavas, cakes and macaroons line the clear-glass food-aisle, all waiting to be pointed at. Other substanstial main dishes in addition to the staple Lamb and chicken Tagines include Aubergine Moussakka and Stewed lamb Koftes with Chickpeas. They don’t have an alcohol license at this particular branch, but the immense spectrum of juices, smoothies, teas, coffees and house specialities (try the Pomegranate and Rosewater cooler) certainly make you forget the need for booze to have a great meal. Even if you turned up absolutely famished without a Pilpel ingested, you would struggle to exceed a tenner a head here in terms of damage.

Comptoir Libanais @ Wigmore Street, Marylebone

With 4 branches in the WestEnd already, I’m sure Comptoir Libanais’ mix of great value and chic appeal will continue to explode across the capital. When o when will the proprietors realise Spitalfields and the EastEnd is where its at? (in the meantime at least, I’ll still have the consolation of dropping by Pilpel on my way westwards!)

G.

Sometimes I don’t blog about things because I want them to stay a secret. And sometimes they’re just too much a part of my regular eating habits to occur to me to write about. Babylon Cafe is one of those places that I frequent regularly, but haven’t blogged about yet. As you can see from the line up in the photo, the it’s no secret and I can tell you that there is a line for a reason. Standing inside the tiny shop with the cold air outside and the heat from the cookers while the small space fills with aromas of garlic, onion and cooking meats one of the simplest pleasures. My stomach was grumbling in anticipation of greasy goodness the other day while my shawarma was laid out with hummus, onion, tomato, hot sauce, tabbouleh and finally, lamb.

You get in and you get out. There’s not a lot of room, so people stand around outside eating hungrily (especially late at night) and the deconstructed shawarma plates that are often available at other Lebanese places are not on the menu here. It’s probably just as well, because walking down the street trying not to spill hot sauce out of your wrap is hard enough, but well worth it.

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Babylon Cafe
708 Robson Street, Vancouver

I came across this Lebanese ad for the first time today and it made me laugh. This got me thinking about what could potentially be the funniest Lebanese ad out there. If you’ve got one, please don’t hesistate to send it over! We all need a good laugh.

In an attempt to thwart Israel’s claiming of the hummus dish a bunch of Lebanese chefs and helpers gathered to make the world’s biggest hummus dish ever – breaking Israel’s record. AP explains: “Lebanese chefs react (above) after preparing a massive plate of hummus, seen in the middle, weighing more then 2,056 kilograms, during a bid to break a record previously held by Israel and reclaim ownership over the popular Middle Eastern dish, in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday Oct. 24, 2009. The event is part of a simmering war between Lebanon and Israel over regional cuisine. Lebanese businessmen accuse Israel of stealing traditional Middle Eastern dishes, like hummus, and marketing them worldwide as Israeli products.”

That true. But, the Lebanese could have easily proven that hummus is more Lebanese than israeli by explaining that the name is Arabic. Here’s what wikipedia says about it: “the word comes from Arabic: حمّص‎ḥummuṣ^[2] ‘chickpeas’. Like other Arabic loanwords, its spelling in English is unstable.^[2] The earliest use of the wordhummus in English noted by the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) was in 1955.^[3] Among the common spellings for this word as transliterated into English arehummus, hommos and hoummos. The spelling humus is avoided in English due to its having the same spelling as another English word, though this is the most common Turkish spelling^[2] and the OED indicates the word entered the English language from Turkish.^[3] The full Arabic name of the prepared spread is حُمُّص بطحينة (ḥummuṣ bi ṭaḥīna) which means chickpeas with tahina.”