Back from the homeland

Coming back from a visit in Egypt always makes me feel sad for a few days or weeks even. It's a glimpse into what my life may have been had I grown up there, and it's also a reminder that there's a rich culture there that I am sometimes a stranger to.

Language is a bit of a dead-end at this point, given I wasn't raised speaking the language. So my time there is often spent trying to communicate with my 9 lessons learned from a CD of Egyptian Arabic. This time, proved better than others, but there were still a lot of blank stares. While language is an immediate entry to a culture, so is the food. And this is where I can help out.

The one thing my family did do over the years was maintain the food. I grew up eating all the same delights as cousins and friends did back in Egypt. So my time in Egypt is spent reconnecting via food.

I would like this blog to be about all the different foods that are typical to Egypt. Not the general Middle Eastern cuisine that most are familiar with; but the specific dishes that make the food Egyptian. I want to share all the recipes I have, and I want to learn about all the other ones that are still out there. I will try to break each dish down into easy-to-follow sections, and when possible, offer some of the historical or cultural relevance. Food can tell many stories in one bite.

First recipe to come: Molokhia

I will prepare this dish for Monday's post.

Enjoy!