on food

People keep asking me what we're eating here. We're eating pretty much what we eat at home, with the exception that we can't find black beans, long and hard as we might search. So anyone coming to visit us, bring some dry black turtle beans. Black soy beans are available, but they're totally different. We have canellinis, navys, kidneys, garbanzos, lentils, even pintos and limas and of course favas, but none quite scratch the black bean itch. Also we're waiting and hoping for kale and chard to come into season. Broccoli season has begun.

A connected question is if we're having a tough time eating vegetarian here. The diet of the average Egyptian seems to mirror our diets pretty well in being vegetarian, mostly. Beans and vegetables and fruits and bread are the staples of the diet here. Eggs and milk and cheese are common. Meat is eaten, but most Egyptians can't afford to eat it on a daily basis, and many can't even weekly. The way chicken dominates the American palate is absent here (most of it seems to be sold through KFC), as is pork, though we're told that those who look hard enough find pork chops. Chicken exists, but is no more common than beef or lamb. Pigeon and goose are also common, as is fish. Islam forbids the forbidding of that which isn't forbidden, so Muslims aren't supposed to consider themselves vegetarians, but that doesn't mean that they have to eat meat more than occasionally. The typical Egyptian eats fava beans and pita once or twice a day.

Below is a stir-fry I was working on with some of the most common vegetables here. These are all from a produce guy downstairs from our building who sells only the most common local veggies and fruits, cheap and fresh and very convenient. Here we have tomatoes, eggplant (both thin white and fat purple are usually downstairs), onions (sometimes only red, and often half-red half yellow), cilantro, carrots, bell peppers, zucchini and garlic. Also always downstairs are potatoes, small lemons, hot peppers, spinach, okra, and yams. As is typical for Egypt, often the produce is out, but it takes some yelling and patience to find the seller.

We didn't detail it, but the bigger market two or three entries ago has much more selection, including many imported items. Guavas are local and abundant and cheap, apples imported and expensive. There are also supermarkets nearby with produce wrapped in styrofoam and plastic-wrap, but they just look sad in there.

Also, we're up to all our usual baking madness. Cakes, cookies, brownies, you name it. Rachel took no time getting used to an oven with numbers from 1-10 instead of temperatures. Here the pancake king strikes again, although alas no maple syrup. We're using cream cheese and jam.

We also haven't mentioned it, but alcohol is easy to find. Even during Ramadan a few liquor stores stayed open. A couple of chains deliver liquor in under an hour, and are popular since most drinking seems to be done in homes. Most restaurants don't sell liquor, and cafes almost never do. Maadi has a small variety of bars, with prices generally about what we'd pay in NYC.

This brings me to restaurant culture. Egyptians seem to love to hang out in cafes and restaurants, usually just for a drink, usually juice or tea, and maybe an appetizer or dessert, or maybe a series of appetizers spread over hours. There might be a bit of stigma about eating a full meal out, like it means you're not getting fed well at home.