Mmmmmmmmm... Camel

Ok, I tried it, I did; in a dish called kuftah. The camel was mixed with beef and lamb so you couldn't really taste the camel, but it was pretty darn good. So good that I ate it on at least two other occasions. I have to say that I really enjoyed Egyptian food, and we ate it as often as we could. In case you are curious about what they eat over there, here are a few of my favorites:

The dips below were really good. The first one is made with tahini and garlic. You dip warm pita bread (right from the bread lady) into it as an appetizer.

This one is called baba ghanoush -it's made with egg plant. Not quite as good as the tahini, but still quite yummy.

This was the lunch we had at the Pharonic Village. I didn't eat the salad (my doctor advised me not to eat any uncooked vegetables) but the grilled chicken was wonderful. (I wish I could remember the name.) The rice was interesting; it was seasoned with cinnamon and nutmeg, but wasn't really sweet. It was OK, but not something I would ever make at home.

Chic peas are in lots of dishes in Egypt. One day for lunch they were served with a rather spicy sauce. It was delicious.This was, hands down, my favorite Egyptian food. The souk (little shopping area) around the corner from my mom's apartment has a bakery where they make bread and other goodies. Almost every evening I would go there and buy four of these little beauties for our breakfast the next day. (I think it is called fiteer, but I need my mom to double check.) It is hard to describe; it is kind of like a cross between a slightly sweet croissant and filo dough, and was it ever good. If I thought I could get them through customs I would bring about 10 of them home. That way my talented husband could figure out how to make it for me at home. The possibilities are endless, I see it as pizza, with eggs and sausage on top, stuffed with veggies. It was that good!

We didn't eat at McDonald's - we just met a group there and I thought it looked interesting in Arabic. My dad tells me their food tastes quite different in Egypt- partially because all their sausage is made from beef. (Followers of Islam do not eat pork.) We saw all the fast food places you can imagine: KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and Hardees, and I'm proud to say we never stopped to eat. I can't imagine going all that way just to get a Quarter Pounder... I had hoped to buy my husband a cookbook while I was there, but the only ones I could find were in Arabic. So now I am searching for recipes on line. If anyone is interested I can post the good ones as I find them.