It's Cookie Time Again

Our Italian made range/oven is not very precise when it comes to temperature regulation. I was aiming for 375 degrees F when I set the gauge at 190 degrees C. You can see by the internal thermometer that it was actually just short of 350F. Oh well, let's bake them at that temp then.

  

 

When all of our friends hear the word "cookie" they think chocolate chip cookies so that's what I make for them.

 

The typical recipe calls for brown sugar which is difficult to find these days but luckily the Internet tells us that white sugar mixed with molasses makes "brown sugar". In Egypt, molasses is called "black honey". Molasses can be found in nearly all shops, including small convenience type shops.

 

I use the recipe that my grandmother used. I can't say it's her recipe since she probably found it on a package of chocolate chips but I refer to it as "Grandma's recipe".

 

Ten minutes at "whatever" temperature will be perfect.

 

Years ago we found chocolate chips readily available at larger super markets. That is no longer the case so I pack a couple packages in my allotted luggage.

 

This recipe typically makes about 80 cookies--enough for everyone.

 

 

When all the chocolate chips are used, I switch to M&M's which can be found in abundance everywhere. I really don't like using the blue ones in cookies. Such intense blue in food somehow feels wrong but I once removed all the blue ones and discovered that I'd have to buy way too many packages to satisfy blue aversion.

  

 

Here they are--packaged to give away with a small bag to keep around to serve visitors.

 

The baking was done under the watchful eyes of our cat, Kitty Kat. No cookies for her. She would rather eat chicken.

Winter in Egypt, 2024 - Linda Makes Roqaq

When I saw this product in our local supermarket I was intrigued so I bought a package of it. I had no idea what it was.

 

We opened the package once we were home. Still had no idea what it was or what to do with it. We asked a visiting friend what it was and he said, "Raqaq." I asked how it is used. He said that you dip it in soup and bake it. This friend is not known for food knowledge so I questioned his answer.  

 

I looked up raqaq recipes on YouTube and watched how Egyptians prepared the dish. It did indeed call for using stock or soup, as our friend had suggested. I always have stock on hand for making various recipes so I was ready to go. After coating both sides of the cracker-like sheets, I continued for several layers. The YouTuber suggested making a filling of ground beef with onions and then adding more stock coated layers.

  

 

I had some leftover chili con carne so I thought that would make a good filling. Turns out I had just the right amount of chili to complete a layer. After the chili layer I continued to add several layers of sheets and topped the dish with dots of butter.

 

Into the 350 degree oven it went.

 

After about 35 minutes it was browned and crispy.

  

 

I cut into the raqaq and removed a slice for us to sample. It looked very much like the YouTube version.

 

Flaky layers with a meat filling.

 

The raqaq combined with some stuffed vegetable that our neighbors had given to us made for a tasty Egyptian meal. Notice our special Ramadan plates.

 

A Reading Chair

 There was an empty corner in our sun-filled bedroom that was begging for a chair. I thought it would be the perfect spot for a dedicated reading chair. Thinking doesn't make it happen so we went looking for a furniture store. I remembered seeing Zoski Furniture on our regular route to the bakery.

One night on a whim we stopped to see what they had.

Zoski is a family furniture business. They have two shops in Giza, one on Faisal Street and one on Lebeny Street. The furniture itself is made in the Delta city of Damietta. I was helped by a lovely young lady, Minna, with excellent English ability, matched only by her lively personality. She really knew her product also.

I brought a photo of the type of chair that I wanted and a soft cushion from one of our living room chairs as an example. Egyptian furniture tends to be on the hard side for me. 

 

My chair was promised for completion in twelve days at the very acceptable price of  6800 EGP ($227.00)

Twelve days after order would have suggested the delivery date would be February 6. True to the Egyptian time line, the chair was not ready for deliver until February 15. Omar, the son of the Zoski owner, (and brother of Minna) delivered the chair with the help of a tall muscular man, who carried it up eight flights of stairs. Our building does have an elevator that we use but it was deemed too small for the chair.

The reading chair fits perfectly in the corner. Now we just need a small table for my coffee and glasses.

That table sounds like a project for next year. Until then Tom has given up his night stand for me to use. I enjoy sitting in my reading corner with a book, an iPad and a sunny view toward the pyramids of Sakkara.

You Just Never Know...

 I was baking cookies today and thinking about dinner.

I had an idea of what was for dinner but then the doorbell rang.

Tom answered the door and happily accepted a delivery from Omar, the young man who lives across the hall from us. "Oh, you made my day!" exclaimed Tom. The neighbor had prepared a lovely plate of koshary for us, complete with a tasty garlic sauce. Koshary is Tom's favorite Egyptian meal.

You just never know what's for dinner. There is no warning, no phone call letting us know that a meal is being prepared for us. It just appears. We eat it and enjoy it.

 

 

Vegetable Jenga

 The first time I went to this market I was struck by the beauty of all the vegetables and fruit. I stood in one spot and stared, then reached for my camera.  I never see the vegetables piled like this in my local supermarket or farmers’ market in Minnesota. Why not?
When I recovered from the beauty of the food, I realized why not.
Have you ever played Jenga, the game in which players take turns removing one block at a time from a tower constructed of 54 blocks? If you know the game then you know how the blocks can tumble.

What if I didn’t see a cucumber on top of the pile that I liked and wanted to purchase. Instead I thought this one looked good for my salad.

 

What about if I wanted this zucchini to complete my dinner?  Or this carrot?   Maybe I’m in a mischievous mood and just want to see if I could remove one and have nothing happen until the next person comes along.

 

I have been in the market when an avalanche of egg plants began. And the person didn’t even pull a veg from the middle. Luckily it didn’t progress too far. But it did make me think about Jenga.

 

No more "Jenga thinking". I'm just going to enjoy the beauty of the piles of fruits and veggies.

 

It's that time again.

 The cookie lady is in Cairo again and it's time to begin baking.

There are some people here who think that "cookie" means chocolate chip ONLY. When I make a different variety they are disappointed and ask, "Where are the cookies?"

There will probably be a lot of disappointment this year because I only brought one bag of chocolate chips and have been to three supermarkets but have not found a single bag of them. Oh, no!

Who will be the lucky ones to receive a batch of "Cookies" this year?

Linda Restores the Key of Life

One of the ancient symbols of power associated with the Egyptian Kings is the "Ankh," or Key of Life.  The two depicted here are in the recently opened National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.  They are several thousand years old.

 

 We have had a nice replica hanging in our condo here for several years.  Unfortunately, it broke. We tried gluing it back together but we were not satisfied with the results. In 2020 we searched the Khan el Khalili Bazaar high and low looking for a replacement.  

 

We finally found a good match in size and color but without the requisite gold trim.  Linda brought along a bottle of paint this year but needed a small brush to apply it.  A trip to a local paint store did not yield anything approaching the right size.  A later trip to a book store turned up the perfect artist's brush.

  

 

With painstaking care, Linda applied gold trim to the Ankh.

 

The resulting product is a perfect replacement

 

 and now hangs proudly on our kitchen archway.