FOOD!

Anyone who knows me won't be surprised that I'm writing a blog entry about food. My family didn't call me moochie for nothing. "Are you going to eat all of that?" or "When are we going to eat?" is probably what comes to mind when certain people think of me.

So...food in Jordan is pretty awesome. For instance, check out the photo of figs. I really don't even think I saw a fresh fig in the US but here you can find them everywhere in the summer and fall. Did I mention how extremely tasty they are? I miss them. They are out of season. The tomatoes are also pretty darn good. The tomatoes here generally don't taste like cardboard which is a bonus. Sure, you can get great tomatoes when they are in season at farmers markets in the US but that's about the only time they are good. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an American food hater. I miss my Taco Bell (yeah, I know it's not the model of healthy eating, nor is it fresh) and kettle corn, macaroni and cheese, sheet cake and other things. But there are realllly good things here too. Another bonus is that fruits and vegetables here are inexpensive. I bought a couple green peppers, some onions, sweet potatoes, garlic, apples and bananas for $4.50! Oddly enough, a latte here costs almost the same as a bag full of fresh, tasty produce. I don't get it either.

The schwarma here is pretty awesome as well, for $1.50 I can get a huge, tasty grilled schwarma on some nice flat bread. Way better than the ones back home. (sorry to all the Middle Eastern markets back home) There aren't as many preservatives here and I'm pretty sure that the animals aren't pumped full of hormones and antiobiotics. The last thing we all need is more hormones and more antiobiotics.

I discovered a tasty winter drink a couple weeks ago that I'll try to recreate at home. It's called sahleb and it's a cup full of goodness. It's milk with cornstarch, to thicken it up, rosewater, cinnamon, raisins and nuts. It might sound odd to some but trust me, this stuff is not to be missed.