I am now the proud owner of a grill! This was not my intention when I woke up this morning.
I made my first batch of scones here in Kingdom. Wish I could send you some Dad! Even though I didn't have either of my favorite scone mixing bowls they still came good! Crumbly on the inside and a nice brown crunchy outside. Even better with my mother's blueberry jam. The brand of flour makes such a difference- no skimping on flour- must invest in quality non-Saudi flour. Would love King Arthur but settle for Pillsbury.
I have got into the habit of cooking dinner for Paul and Jamal on Fridays- kind of like our Sunday dinner. Jamal has been craving steak for two days and they had some very good looking sirloins when I went to the grocery store. My marinade recipe called for Rice Wine. You don't really realize how many recipes call for red wine vinegar or white wine or rice wine until you live in a country where there is no wine. And no alcohol period so even simple baking ingredients like vanilla are missing. Well, okay, there is a powder form of vanilla sold here that doesn't contain alcohol but really would it hurth them to sell some quality vanilla. It may be a good venture idea to research substitutes for such ingredients. Anyway, excellent mariande even without the rice wine-- soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic and a kiwi! Yes, th erecipe also called for a kiwi. It didn't even make it taste fruity... I also made an amazing, if I do say so myself, winter vegetable roast- parsnips, sweet potatoes, butternut squash with wilted spinach and dried cranberries.
Now the grill story itself was funny. I had no intention of buying a grill- I wouldn't use one on my own because I am afraid of lighting fires. But Paul wanted one for his house so he offered to buy the grill, bring it to my house for cooking our steaks, and then bring it home. Sounded like a good plan. Because the store wouldn't sell him th edented floor model at a discount he paid full price for the unassembled one and then had to buy tools to put it together. I am not kidding when I tell you at 7:00 pm he brought over a box with a gagillion pieces in it and hoped I wasn't in a rush for dinner. He bought the cadillac of grills. I kindly suggested he save the assembly for another evening in the privacy of his own home and that he go back and buy a smaller preassembled model that I had seen earlier in the day. His pride got in the way though and he would not go back. Finally, Jamal, who had gone for a run, arrived and went to the store to buy the smaller preassembled model. By 8:45 we were grilling steaks!! And the cadillac of grills got assembled too.
My other adventure this week was a night out to the fish restaurant not far from the campus gate here in Thuwal. Thuwal, the town that KAUST is in, is a small fishing village. Right on the Red Sea so lots of fish restaurants. I wish I could have taken pictures of our big Thursday night out. When we arrived we saw a big outdoor seating area to the left- the men's section. There is a big screen tv and metal A frames that get set with cushions around a carpet. The family section was indoors in this brightly lit room with extrememly uncomfortable looking booths. Perhaps I should back track and explain that all restaurants in Saudi Arabia have two seating areas- the "family section" is where women or men with women sit. If a group of men go to a restaurant without a woman they sit in the "men's section." I have been told that even the menus can vary between sections at the same restaurant. We really wanted to sit outside and the restaurant was kind enough to let us as long as I was okay. I was of course. We then proceeded to the back of the restatuant where there was a room full of freshly caught fish. No one told me to stay behind but I was the only woman in the fish market. I felt like Paul and Jamal took forever picking out our fish. But what an excellent job they did! They got a Hammer fish, some kind of red fish and shrimp. All really amazing. So they cook the fish- either grilled or fried and serve it with a giant (24 inch diameter?) tray of brown rice, taboule salad, tahini salad and the best bread I have had since arriving- giant flat breads right from the oven. And no utensils! So we used th eflat bread to scoop everything and picked at the fish- delicious! Before they serve th efood they lay a big plastic table cloth on the carpet. So, at the end of the meal they just roll it all up! So ingenious! About 10 minutes after we sat down a big national football/soccer match came on and the place filled up-- it was like being at a sports bar only without beer and buffalo wings. We sat way on the far end away from the door so the only self-conscience part of the evening was having to walk through the crowd of men to leave. With Jamal and Paul on either side not a bad price to pay for a great fish dinner.
And a final note to thank all for the Christmas cards this week! It was like I won the lottery... the Russell family, Phelps-Blair family, Keegan family, Mitchell family, Paul and Jane and family, and the International Programs office at BU!! Have a great weekend---
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